JUDGMENT DEFINED
“Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.” (Rev. 18:6–8)
The angel now speaks to God. His call for vengeance on Babylon parallels the prayers of the martyred saints recorded in 6:9–10. Babylon has been extended enough grace and heard enough warnings. It is time for her destruction.
The angel’s plea is reminiscent of the Old Testament saints’ pleas for vengeance on ancient Babylon. In Psalm 137:8 the psalmist wrote, “O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, how blessed will be the one who repays you with the recompense with which you have repaid us.” Jeremiah also pleaded for vengeance on Babylon (Jeremiah 50:14–15, 29).
The angel’s request that God give back to Babylon double “according to her deeds” (literally “double the double things”) is a request that Babylon’s punishment fit her crimes. Double has been her iniquity, double will be her punishment.
Further stating his request that God fully punish Babylon, the angel asks that “in the cup which she has mixed,” God would “mix twice as much for her.” Fittingly, in the very cup that Babylon used to deceive the nations (verse 3; 14:8; 17:2, 4) she is to receive a double portion of God’s wrath. The imagery of the cup of God’s wrath also appears in 14:10 and 16:19.
Then the angel calls on God a third time to exact complete vengeance on Babylon: “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ” The phrase “to the degree” is a call to match the punishment to the crime, a biblical principle (Proverbs 29:23; Isaiah 3:16ff.; Luke 1:51; 14:11).
Three sins call for Babylon’s judgment. First, she was proud. She glorified herself. Second, she pursued self-gratification. She lived sensuously. Third, she was guilty of self-sufficiency. She said in her heart, “I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.” For those three sins Babylon will receive torment and mourning. The Greek word for “torment” literally means torture. “Mourning” refers to the grief that the torture produces. Hell will be a place of both unimaginable torment (20:10; Luke 16:23–24, 28) and crushing grief (Matthew 8:12; 13:42).
Then the angel notes that in “one day her plagues will come.” Babylon’s destruction will not be progressive. The wicked city will be instantly destroyed. Daniel 5 records the similar fate that befell ancient Babylon; the city fell the very night that God wrote its doom on the wall of the king’s palace (Daniel 5:30). As noted, the plagues that will destroy Babylon are specific judgments on that city, possibly in connection with the seventh bowl. Three plagues will result in Babylon’s complete devastation: pestilence and mourning and famine—heaven’s fitting answer to her proud boast. After those three plagues have run their course, Babylon will be burned up with fire.
JUDGMENT LAMENTED
“And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ ” (Rev. 18:9–19)
The first mourners introduced are the leaders, the kings of the earth. This group includes the ten kings who rule Antichrist’s kingdom under his authority (17:12), as well as the rest of the world’s leaders under them. They will greet the news of Babylon’s destruction with shock and dismay. The destruction of the seat of Antichrist’s political and economic power will strike a fatal blow to his empire.
As they watch her burn, the leaders will cry out in anguish, “Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” As the crown jewel of Antichrist’s empire, Babylon will be a great city. Since it will have survived the devastating judgments of the tribulation up to that point, the leaders will believe it to be a strong city. Babylon’s swift destruction will shock and amaze them, and they will cry out to her in dismay.
The next mourners to appear on the scene are the merchants of the earth. These business leaders will weep over Babylon “because no one buys their cargoes anymore.” The destruction of Antichrist’s capital will end any semblance of normalcy on the devastated planet. Whatever economic activity will have been taking place on an earth will then come to a halt.
Then follows a list of twenty-eight items or categories of merchandise that comprised the merchants’ cargoes, ranging from “gold and silver and precious stones and pearls” to “fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves.” These items were common commodities in the ancient world and were the source of immense financial gain. They are only representative of the great wealth of Antichrist’s future commercial empire.
Continuing their lament, the merchants now address Babylon directly: “The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.” All of the city’s luxurious possessions have passed away. The words “no longer” translate a double negative in the Greek text, the strongest negative form in the Greek language. It indicates these items will never be found again.
The merchants will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!” They weep and mourn, not out of some emotional sympathy for the city, but because they have been stripped of the key source of their finances. These greedy merchants are the classic illustration of all those in all times who gain the whole world, but forfeit their souls (Mark 8:36).
Then a third and final group in the vision joins the lament for Babylon: “every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea.” In addition to her political and economic importance, Babylon will also be an important distribution center. With its destruction, there will be no more goods to transport by those who make their living by the sea. Like the rulers and merchants, the sailors were careful to stand at a safe distance from the city. As they gazed on the ruined city they were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “What city is like the great city?” Then, in a typical ancient expression of grief, the sailors threw dust on their heads (e.g., Joshua 7:6; 1 Samuel 4:12; 2 Samuel 1:2). Like the rulers and the merchants, they too will cry out, “Woe, woe, the great city.” That is an expression of pain, but not of repentance. Like the rulers and the merchants, the sailors also express amazement at the swiftness of Babylon’s downfall, exclaiming, “In one hour she has been laid waste!” In an astonishingly short period of time, the city that was the source of their wealth was destroyed.
