Today’s daily devotional on Revelation 18 is a powerful chapter that portrays the culmination of God’s judgment on Babylon, symbolizing the corrupt and seductive economic systems of the world. As Babylon’s fall unfolds, it serves as a sobering reminder of the fleeting nature of worldly wealth and power.
The chapter challenges us to examine our own lives: Are we more invested in the temporary systems of the world, or are we devoted to God’s eternal kingdom? This passage invites us to evaluate where our time, resources, and priorities truly lie, urging us to turn from the ways of Babylon and align ourselves with the Lord’s eternal purposes. To learn about the judgment of Babylon, read the daily devotional on Revelation 17.
Revelation 18 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
Revelation 18 is the continuation of the wrath of God on earth, the final days, and the fall of Babylon. Are you serving the world’s economic system, or are you serving the Lord’s economic system? Which one gets more of your time and resources? Please read or listen to Revelation 18.
Why Is Babylon Deserted?
In chapter 18, Babylon is deserted by the beast that once supported her and the kings who once adored her. The system of the world is falling.
What City Will Be Destroyed in the Book of Revelation?
In 1995, in my personal Bible reading journal, I wrote, “Angels continue to deliver God’s will upon the physical and spiritual worlds. Babylon is judged and condemned, the law of reaping and sowing. For the Lord who judges her is strong. The things of this world will no longer matter. Babylon, the way of the world, deceives so many. The blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth was found in her.”
What Does the Bible Say About the Fall of Babylon in Revelation?
From 2008 (NASB), “This angel has great authority and glory. Angels are powerful agents, executing God’s will on the earth. Babylon: sin, plagues, iniquity, arrogance, pestilence, famine, sensuousness, rich, in one hour. In other words, in no time, Babylon is judged and ruined by an angel, ‘for her sins have piled up as high as heaven’ (v. 5). ‘And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints’ (v. 24).”
Who Is Babylon in the Bible?
From 2013, “Some angels may have greater authority than others. Economic sin, selfishness, luxury is now cast down. Babylon may be the economic power of the world. Judged and gone quickly. The USA is the greatest economic power on earth. Could we be Babylon? Or hundreds of years into the future, China may be Babylon.”
Those were my thoughts from my journals over various years. Let’s look at Revelation 18:
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” (vs. 1-2).
They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come.” (v. 10).
“The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!” (v. 14).
“Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste” (vs. 16-17).
Then a mighty 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 be found no more” (v. 21).
What Does Babylon Symbolize in Revelation?
What does Babylon represent? I surmised it represents the economic system of the world. Let me verify that with some of my English Standard Version Study Bible footnotes, “the great prostitute especially represents the lust for materialistic acquisition and luxury”. A second footnote states, “so its prostitute includes every corrupt economic system” (p 2489).
What Does It Mean to Not Be of the World?
What is our application from chapter 18? Though we are in the world, we should not be of the world. Most of us spend much of our time, much of our effort, much of our talents and abilities, working in the ways of the world. Some of us even buy the lie that it provides for us. No wonder God equates it to a prostitute that takes us away from our first love.
Is the Economy on the Brink of Collapse?
In our day and age, the system is failing. Countries, including the United States, are in debt beyond measure. I recently read an article in a magazine that says consumer debt is in the trillions of dollars. Though the world system appears to provide pleasure, wealth, and success, it is a lie. Many homes are in financial disarray. The world system is broken, yet like a prostitute, it lures us away from our first love.
What Is the Danger of Being Busy for God?
Think about it this way, we are all so busy. What are we so busy doing that we do not have time for our first love, the Lord? It is the system of the world taking us away from the things of God. This system, this Babylon, is failing and is falling, and one day will be judged harshly by the Lord.
Why Is it Important to Stay in God’s Word?
From the Book of Revelation, we learn not to put our eggs in the basket of the world but put them in the Word of God. We see here in Revelation 18, the world system will end. It will be judged by God. But God is eternal. He will last forever. Which basket are your eggs in?
Prayer
Father, many of us have been caught up in the ways of the world. It is understandable. It has a tremendous lure, dragging us deeper and deeper into it, and farther and farther away from You. By reading this chapter, Lord, help us out of that mess. Many of us may need to repent, ask for Your forgiveness, and ask for Your love and Your grace. Lord, we may need to make some significant changes in the way we live our lives. Give us strength, give us courage to do so. We are not just hearers of the Word; we are doers of the Word.
Holy Spirit, help our hearts focus on eternal things, not things that are going to fade away. Holy Spirit, guide us back to our first love, our relationship with Jehovah-Jireh, the God who is our provider. In Jesus’ name, amen.
