I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      The seventh bowl of judgment brought destruction upon Babylon the great.

                                                             1.      Symbolically, the great city was split into three parts by an earthquake.

                                                             2.      In this bowl, Babylon the great was remembered by God, and He gave her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

B.      The seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of Revelation give further symbols of this destruction.

                                                             1.      Let us notice that two pairs of symbols are used in Revelation to provide a contrast between the wickedness of Rome and the holiness of God’s people.  One pair is the harlot and the great city (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 17:1-18:24), and the other pair is the bride of Christ and the blessed city (11:1-2; 19:7-8; 20:9; 21:2-27).

                                                             2.      The words of these two chapters and this book as a whole show the ultimate victory of the bride and the blessed city over the harlot and Babylon, the great city.  The meaning is simply that God’s people will overcome the wickedness of their enemies and the forces of Satan.

II.      THE GREAT HARLOT

A.      One of the angels with the seven bowls showed John the judgment of the great harlot (Rev. 17:1-6).

                                                             1.      Notice the description of the great harlot, which is a symbol of the city of Rome.

a.       She sat on many waters (Rome ruled over many peoples and nations – see v. 15).

b.       She was also seated on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns (the beast from the sea, the Roman Empire – compare v. 3 to 13:1).

c.        She was adorned in great splendor (symbolic of the wealth and luxury of Rome).

d.       Her gold cup was full of abominations and unclean things (the fullness of Rome’s sins).

e.        On her forehead was written the mysterious name “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.”

i.         The harlot was the same as Babylon the great (14:8; 16:19).  Whatever is said of the harlot is also true of Babylon the great, which is also the great city (11:8; 16:19).  These are symbols of the city of Rome throughout the book of Revelation.

ii.        She was the source of all harlotry and abomination in the earth (from Rome originated the policies of godlessness, wickedness, and persecution against Christians).

f.        She was drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses of Jesus (Rome was responsible for the persecution and death of many Christians – see 11:8-10).

                                                             2.      The kings of the earth were guilty of fornication with the great harlot (the Roman Empire’s vassal kingdoms joined in Rome’s policies of wickedness, idolatry, and persecution).

B.      The angel explained that this great harlot is symbolic of the great city (Rev. 17:7-18).

                                                             1.      Notice the explanation of the beast upon which the harlot sat.

a.       The angel said that the beast “was and is not and will come” (descriptive of the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians under Nero, its subsequent relenting, and its renewed persecuting power under Domitian).

b.       The beast was “about to come up out of the abyss” (the place of Satan – 20:1-3) and “go to destruction” (the end of the Roman Empire’s persecuting force).

c.        Those who dwell on the earth will wonder at the beast (compare to 13:3).

d.       The seven heads of the beast represented “seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings” (symbolic of Roman emperors).

i.         Mountains are often figurative of kings and governments in Scripture (see Isa. 2:2; Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:44-45; also note that Rome was built upon seven hills).

ii.        These seven (complete number) kings represent the fullness of the line of emperors (five had fallen, one was, and another would come; note – Emperor Nerva, who followed Domitian, revoked many anti-Christian policies).

iii.      The beast (the cruel government itself) is personified as an eighth king and is synonymous with the seven kings.

e.        The ten horns represented the provincial kings under Roman authority (see 16:14).

f.        All of these elements of the beast waged war against the Lamb, but the Lamb would overcome them (v. 14 states the theme for the entire book).

                                                             2.      In the end, the ten horns and the beast will turn against the harlot, the great city (symbolic of the rebellion and rejection by the Roman Empire and the Roman provinces against the city of Rome).

III.   BABYLON IS FALLEN

A.      Another authoritative angel declared the downfall of Babylon the great (Rev. 18:1-8).

                                                             1.      Notice the degree of her punishment.

a.       She would become “a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird” (a spiritually desolate place).

b.       She would receive back double for all she had paid out in persecutions, wars, etc.

c.        Her degree of her punishment would match the level of her arrogance (the citizens and governors of Rome thought themselves to be invincible).

d.       In one day, her punishment would come upon her (swift and complete judgment).

e.        These terms and descriptions are very similar to Old Testament prophecies concerning the true Babylon, but in Revelation they are applied to the figurative Babylon, which was Rome (see Isa. 13; Jer. 50, 51).

                                                             2.      Notice the reason for her punishment.

a.       She had seduced all the nations into her immorality (see comments on 17:1-6).

b.       “Her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”

                                                             3.      The people of God were called upon to separate themselves from her sins to avoid her punishment.

B.      The earth would mourn for the fallen city (Rev. 18:9-19).

                                                             1.      Notice those who would mourn for Babylon the great.

a.       The kings of the earth (Rome’s provincial rulers and kingdoms) would weep and lament from a safe distance (so as not to incur the judgment themselves).

b.       The merchants of the earth who had “become rich by the wealth of her sensuality” (v. 3) would mourn for the loss of the source of their riches.  Like the kings of the earth, they also would weep and mourn from a safe distance because of her torment.

                                                             2.      The meaning of these things is that unbelievers trusted in Rome as the stronghold of their society and economy.  When the city faltered, it would turn their world upside-down.

C.      Heaven and the saints would rejoice over the fall of Babylon the great (Rev. 18:20-24).

                                                             1.      Heaven, the saints, the apostles, and the prophets were all called upon to rejoice for the judgment of Babylon on their behalf (recall the request made in 6:10).

                                                             2.      A strong angel threw down a millstone into the sea and addressed Babylon the great directly.

a.       This was a symbol of the violent overthrow of the wicked city.

b.       No longer would there be the sound of revelry or the sound of industry in the great city.

c.        No longer would there be symbols of a home (the light of a lamp, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride) within the great city.

                                                             3.      Notice the reasons for this great judgment.

a.       Babylon was judged because she deceived the great men of the earth by her sorcery (men were drawn into Rome’s wickedness, idolatry, emperor worship and persecution).

b.       She was also judged because of her guilt for the blood of the prophets, saints, and all who had been slain on the earth.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      With these chapters, we are now in the closing stages of the book in which the final judgment of God against the enemies of Him and His people are revealed.

B.      The next lesson will pronounce the final judgments against the beasts and the dragons before we at last see the ultimate destiny of God’s faithful people.

*** In the next lesson, we will consider the judgments on the beasts and the dragon (19:1-20:15).***