END OF TIME PROPHECIES 199

                                                          Revelation 18 v1-3

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.   And he cried mightily with a loud voice saying  "Babylon the great is fallen is fallen , and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.   For all nations have drunk of the wine 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."     

We wish to study this astonishing chapter, which records the fall of Babylon in all its aspects, in the following way: it is only as we look at the passage step by step, that we understand the enormity of what is here.

• Chapter 18v1-3      -     the announcement by the angel.
• Chapter 18v4-7      -     the appeal for the separation of God's people.
• Chapter 18v8-10    -     the amazement of the kings of the earth. 
• Chapter 18v11-19     -  the anguish of the merchants of the earth.
• Chapter 18v20-24     -  the acclaim of heaven at the destruction of Babylon.

The announcement of the angel.

Another angel appears on the scene.   The Greek word "allos" suggests this is a heavenly angel but distinct from the one in chapter 17v1.   This has given scholars a problem to understand why two angels would be used to declare the fall of Babylon.   We cannot be dogmatic but the clue may lie in the thrice repeated phrase  "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen."   It seems clear that chapter 17 is dealing with Babylon as a worldwide religion  (an amalgamation of many religions).   There the emphasis is on  "the inhabitants of the earth."   In chapter 18 however the emphasis is on the kings of the earth, and the merchants of the earth thus suggesting we are dealing with here the political/commercial aspect of Babylon in a one- world global enterprise.   It seems to me on balance however that both branches  grow together and both branches fall together.   Four things are said about the angel that are very informative.

1. He came down from heaven.   This angel has come as an emissary of the throne of heaven.  in the previous chapter it would seem that the ten horns destroyed the woman.   However here it is made clear that this was heaven's action using the agency of men.
2. Having great power (authority).   This lone angel is confronting the forces of evil singlehandedly and would require great authority to do so.   The bible is full of examples where even demons and Satan himself must bow to the authority of God.   The voice of this angel as was the voice of God. 
3. The earth was lightened with his glory.    None of us living in this world have any conception of what an angel looks like.   If we were to see one now we would tremble at the awesome presence of such a being.   The phrase used is that he illuminated the entire earth with his presence.   On earth we are the highest form of creation but in heaven there are beings greater and mightier and more glorious than we.  
4. He cried mightily with a strong voice.   Babylon the great is fallen is fallen.   Not only was his physical presence awesome but his mighty voice ensured that the whole earth knew of the news according to heaven. God often uses the past tense to proclaim the certainty of any future event; here He uses the aorist point tense,( which is an action completed in the past); it just means that in the mind of God the fall of Babylon was inevitable. 

The message is that Babylon has fallen never to rise again and fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 13v19-22.   She will be inhabited only by demons; she will become the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.  (Birds are used in Matthew 13 to describe demons). She will remain a place haunted by the foulest of ghosts, not fit for human habitation.  God never judges without explaining the reason and in verse 3 the angel gives the reason, this evil woman, (religious/political system of power) has corrupted the whole earth, every nation, every king, and every merchant.   For the sake of financial gain they have sold their souls to the devil. 

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