JUDGMENT ENJOYED
“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” (Rev. 18:20)
Heaven will have quite a different perspective than Antichrist’s earthly followers. The angel who began speaking in verse 4 then addressed the redeemed in heaven: the saints and apostles and prophets. He calls on them to rejoice over Babylon’s fall, “because God has pronounced judgment … against her.” Heaven rejoices, because of the triumph of righteousness, the exaltation of Jesus Christ, and the arrival of His kingdom on the earth.
JUDGMENT COMPLETED
"Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer..." (Rev. 18:21–23a)
Another strong angel (cf. 5:2; 10:1) now appeared in the vision. In a dramatic act, He “took up a stone like a great millstone [typically four to five feet in diameter, a foot thick, and very heavy] and threw it into the sea.” “So,” explained the angel, “will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.” In one moment, as that stone disappeared into the sea, Babylon will disappear.
So complete will be Babylon’s destruction that none of the normal activities of human life will take place. There will be no music, no working, no preparing of food, no light, and no marriage. Babylon will be so thoroughly destroyed that it will never rise again, as predicted by the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 13:19–22; 14:22–23; Jeremiah 50:13, 39; 51:37).
JUDGMENT JUSTIFIED
“...for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (18:23b–24)
Three final reasons are given for Babylon’s judgment. First, her “merchants were the great men of the earth,” using their wealth to ascend to positions of power, prominence, and influence. A second reason for Babylon’s judgment is that her sorcery deceived the nations. “Sorcery” is from the Greek root word from which we derive the English words “pharmacy” and “pharmaceuticals.” The word is used in the New Testament to refer to magic and occult practices (9:21; Galatians 5:20). Babylon’s hold on the world will not be entirely due to her military and economic power, but also to her occult influence.
The final reason for Babylon’s judgment is her murderous slaughter of God’s people; “in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” The heavenly rejoicing over Babylon’s downfall in chapter 19 also mentions this: “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her’ ” (19:1–2).
