1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2With a mighty voice he shouted:
“ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’18:2 Isaiah 21:9
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
3For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment
4Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“ ‘Come out of her, my people,’18:4 Jer. 51:45
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for what she has done.
Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
7Give her as much torment and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow;18:7 See Isaiah 47:7,8.
I will never mourn.’
8Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
There is a woman who is claiming to be God this day. Also there was a man, and another man also claiming to be God. It is all very strange. There have been dozens who have claimed to be God throughout this century alone.
Its hard to speak about Rev. chapter 18 without speaking of Rev. chapter 17, the two are basically one chapter in reality, because there were no chapters, the translators decided where to make chapters. These two actually go together.
For starters Revelation chapters 17 and 18 are not real time events, they both happen starting in Rev. ch. 6, in the middle of the 70th week. Rev. 17 is the Judgement of the Harlot, Rev. 18 is Babylon being judged.
An Angel TALKS to John !!
Rev. 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
John is hearing the angel tell him that the Harlot is about to be JUDGED (DESTROYED). She sits on many waters, and has fornicated with KINGS of the World or GOVERNMENTS of the World.
The Vision John sees in the Wilderness or in his solitude:
Rev. 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written,
Mystery, Babylon The Great,
The Mother Of Harlots And
Abominations Of The Earth. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the
blood of the saints,
AND with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [wonderment].
So what does John see in the Vision, which is the only part of Rev. 17 that is a Vision. Well he saw a Scarlet Colored Beast (Apollyon) full of Blasphemy, having Seven Heads and Ten Horns (Government Beasts of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and the coming Anti-Christ Gov. with 10 Kings). Then there is a Woman arrayed in Purple & Scarlet (Royalty & Religious Orders) who flaunts her riches, and golden cups full of abominations. She also has the blood of THE SAINTS (Jewish Saints) AND the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus.
On her FOREHEAD are 4 Descriptors giving us CLUES who this Women/Harlot is. She is a MYSTERY (but we are told her Secrets from verses 8-18), she is Associated with BABYLON THE GREAT, she is seen as the Mother of Harlots (where she originated) and she is seen as Abominations of the Earth. Then John saw her DRUNKEN with the blood of both THE SAINTS........AND.........The Martyrs of Jesus. When John saw her he did not ADMIRE HER, that's a bad translation, he wondered with AMAZEMENT, or Wonderment !! In other words he marveled at this vision.
The Four Descriptions are meant to point out who this Harlot is. She has FORNICATED with Kings, she is/was a MYSTERY/Secret because this False Religion moved underground to keep God from pointing it out and destroying it. You know all the Underground Secret Societies etc. etc. She is seen as BABYLON THE GREAT because that is where False Religion flourished. She is seen as the Mother of Harlots because all False Religion sprang forth from the Babylonian model. She is seen as an Abomination because serving False gods is an Abomination unto God.
She is of course The Harlot which = All False Religion of All Time. She was a part of a Two sided coin, the Harlot rode the Beast, they were in a joint venture so to speak, everywhere the BEAST was found so was False Religion and you know why ? If they had served the one TRUE God, then they would not have been serving False Gods, and all of the Nations I mentioned above served False Gods, thus the Harlot and the Beast(s) were always CO-MINGLED, The Harlot rode the back of the Seven Headed Beast.
(False Religion and False Gov.)
The Angel says I will REVEAL the Mystery unto you.
7 And the angel said unto me,
Wherefore (WHY) didst thou marvel? (SEE it should be MARVEL Above) I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
THE MYSTERY REVEALED
8 The beast that thou sawest
was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (Apollyon), and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was,and is not, and yet is. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And thebeast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
So in verse 7 the Angel tells us he is going to REVEAL this Great Secret unto us, then in verses 8-18 he does just that. So there is no Mystery Babylon anymore, the Harlot (False Religion) that rides the Gov. Beast is explained. Thus in verse 8 we are told the Scarlet Colored Beast, who WAS....IS NOT... YET IS, stands for Seven Kingdoms which are Seven Mountains (Rulers that Arose above the plains) and they are ALSO 7 KINGS........5 Have fallen, ONE US, and one is NOT YET COME, but when he comes he will rule a SHORT TIME.
What does this even mean ? God is trying to tell us the LAST BEAST is not a Kingdom but a MAN. Thus he reduces the Kingdoms to KINGS by calling them Mountains or RULERS who have arisen, then in the very next verse he says they are ALSO 7 KINGS....
5 Have fallen....ONE IS......and one is NOT YET COME. So we are shown, every Beast had a King at the Helm when it became a BEAST POWER, and every Beast had a King at the helm when it lost its POWER !! But the LAST BEAST will be a Man, he will be at the helm of the End Time Gov. when he becomes THE LAST BEAST [HEAD] and he will be at the helm when Jesus defeats him and then casts him into HELL FIRE, thus he is the ONLY BEAST that has ONE MAN at the helm when it both ARISES & FALLS. This is why God is reducing the KINGDOMS to KINGS !! That takes care of WHO THE BEAST IS !!
Now as per the Harlot, she sits on many waters
(World wide false religions) and the 10 Kings in league with the Beast Government shall HATE THE HARLOT (Remember God is going to JUDGE HER) and destroy her in verse 16, because God put it in THEIR HEARTS to do his will (verse 17). Thus these 10 Kings in league with the Beast do away with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and he tries to kill every Jew, but God protects the 1/3 who REPENT. The Kings in league with the Beast also comes after the Remnant Church, these KIngs desire that ALL MEN Worship the Beast as the ONLY GOD !! Then in verse 18 , the Angel reminds John what he SAW in his Vision (verses 3-6) the Woman (HARLOT) you saw is THAT GREAT CITY..........BABYLON THE GREAT is what was tattooed on her forehead. The Harlot was a MYSTERY RELIGION via Babylon the Great. That is all that quote by the Angel was meant to relay, he wanted John to remember the Vision he saw, to understand what Babylon the Great stood for.
Babylon of Revelation 18 is speaking of Satan's Dark Kingdom on Earth
Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The header here is that this world is fallen, its become the Habitation of Demons/Devils, Satan is cast down to earth, Apollyon and his horde of Demons are released from the pit. All of the nations have drunk from these abominations, God then calls unto Israel to come out of her [Babylon] that she not partake in her plagues (Rev. 7, the 144000 and Rev. 12 the Woman Flees, same EVENT).
The Merchants Economy Goes South or is DESTROYED !!
Rev. 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Babylon = The World getting pelted by God or the Whole Worlds Plagues:
The KINGS here Cry and Lament Babylon's burning (1/3 trees burn and all the Grasses). The rest of the Plagues of course destroy the Economy of these Merchants. The Seas turn to blood and kill the Fish/Shrimp, etc. The Drinking Waters turn to blood, 1/4 of all men are killed by the Anti-Christ/BEAST and 1/3 of the rest of all men are killed via the 2nd Woe. That puts a dent in the Merchants SELLING POWER doesn't it? Famine, Wars etc. etc. OF COURSE Babylon's (The Whole Worlds) Economy is DESTROYED !! The Seal, Trumpet and Vial Judgments bring the whole World to its knees !!
So the Harlot (All False Religion) Rides the Government Beast (Babylon represents the Head of Gold).