Questions and Comments
Verses 1-2: Another angel
Notice that this angel has great authority, a mighty voice, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
Certain angelic creatures will have God-like qualities in heaven, though they are are not actually gods.
Verse 3: Sexuality immorality
Again, “sexual immorality” does not refer only to sexual sin. Rather, it is a blanket reference to all sin that resulted from Babylon the Great.
Verse 3: Merchants
There are several references in this chapter to merchants and commerce.
Remember, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. These merchants benefited from the success of the woman, Babylon the Great. Now, in this passage, she is gone.
Verse 4: Not share in her sins
This phrase likely refers to the results or consequences of her sins. Her sin is over at this point. She is being judged for her sin.
It’s sort of like when a child is being disciplined, the other children around the child may back away to communicate, “I have no part in this situation.”
Verse 6: The cup
In Revelation 17:4 we hear about the golden cup that is full of the woman’s sin. Here, we see the cup mentioned again.
God is mixing judgment in the same cup in which she mixed her sins.
The judgment that will be leveled against her is a double-portion of the sins she committed.
This language is a reminder that God’s wrath is more fierce than anything we can imagine.
Verses 7-8: I sit as queen . . .
Babylon the Great mentions three ways that she’s doing just fine: She’s a queen, she’s not a widow, and she will never see grief.
However, she is not a queen, she will suffer great loss (as a widow would), and she will experience terrible grief.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.”
Indeed, her pride is part of the pile of her sins which will bring about her destruction and fall.
Verse 8 indicates as much when it says “For this reason . . . ”
Verse 10: Fear of torment
I mentioned on Sunday that others will mourn for her particualry because of their financial loss.
However, this is also a genuine fear, as it says “ . . . in fear of her torment.”
Why do you think they will be in fear because of her torment?
Verses 9-20: Kings, merchants, people of the sea
In verses 9-20 we see three groups mentioned: (1) the kings of the earth, (2) the merchants of the earth, and (3) people of the sea, including shipmasters, seafarers, and sailors.
Each of these say, “Woe, Woe,” which refers to great distress or sorrow shown towards something. It can sometimes refer to warning that something will happen, but in this case, the damage has already been done.
They also each say something like, “ . . . for in a single hour she was destroyed.”
Verse 20: Rejoice over her
There are several other places in the Bible where God’s people rejoice at His judgment.
Psalm 58:10–11 “The righteous one will rejoice when he sees the retribution; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, “Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! There is a God who judges on earth!”
Psalm 96:11–13 “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for he is coming— for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.”
Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries; he will purify his land and his people.”
We rejoice in God’s judgment because we rejoice when God is God.
We rejoice in God’s judgment because we rejoice when God is God.
Verse 21: Threw it into the sea
I enjoy throwing things into a body of water and retrieving them. However, this description presents a scenario of a stone thrown into the depths of the sea in a way that is unretrievable.
In other words, there will be no coming back from this judgment.
Verse 24: Blood of prophets and saints
Again, we see that Babylon the Great was guilty of the harm and killing of God’s people.
This final verse sort of underscores the guilt of Babylon the Great. She is a killer of God’s people; she deserves the judgment being poured out on her.
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