Revelation 18

==Revelation 18:1==
1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
I believe this to be Michael himself declaring victory over the Jewish nation, the foremost persecutors of His church.
==Revelation 18:2==
2And 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.
===A. ...Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen===
Jerusalem, the great city of Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8 is spoken of as fallen. Past tense of a future event is used to show its inevitability.
===B. is become the habitation of devils...===
Echoing verses such as Isaiah 13:21-22; Isaiah 18:6; Isaiah 34:14; Isaiah 43:20; Isaiah 56:9; Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 15:3; Jeremiah 16:4; Zephaniah 2:15, indicate the utter desolation of the city after war. This abomination (that which abhorrent to God) is spoken of in Daniel as well (Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:15).
==Revelation 18:3==
3For 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.
The nations are the Gentiles with which the Jewish nation has committed fornication with. The Jewish leaders, a.k.a. kings of the earth (as opposed to the kings of the whole world - Revelation 16:14) and the Jewish merchants are responsible for this “fornication” with the Gentile nations and benefited from it.
==Revelation 18:4==
4And 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.
Since what has just been spoken of as having happened has not yet, in fact, happened, Christians (especially converted-Jews) are called out of Jerusalem (the main point of the Olivet Discourse and one of the main points of this letter) so they don’t become corrupted by, and fall with, the city.
==Revelation 18:5==
5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
The very idea that God is remembering the sins of Babylon points to historical (Biblical) sins, that is the sins committed throughout the Bible. It is imperative that one keep things within Biblical context, the things that are important within the Biblical frame of reference. Without recourse to external sources, this points directly at the Jews.
==Revelation 18:6==
6Reward 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.
As the Jews have persecuted the Christians, so the Jews who did not repent will be destroyed (Acts 2:40; Matthew 23).
==Revelation 18:7==
7How 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.
While seeking after the riches of the world, the Jews were notorious for self-righteousness (Ezekiel 33:13; Romans 10:3). These combined have made the Jewish nation arrogant and fearing nothing just before she is utterly destroyed.
==Revelation 18:8==
8Therefore 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.
The idea of one day is the Day of the Lord that would come soon, quickly, and whose time was at hand. That destruction would be complete.
==Revelation 18:9-10==
9And 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, 10Standing 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.
The kings of the earth, Herod and his family in specific, is in Rome, safe and sound as the Jewish nation falls (see Revelation 6:15). The fear of Jerusalem’s torment (Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8) in the Herods is because they are 1) Jews, 2) no longer king of anything.
==Revelation 18:11==
11And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Were these merchants of the other nations, they would simply sell to other markets. But these are merchants of the earth, Jewish merchants. No one buys their goods any more because the Jewish state is no longer producing anything because it no longer exists. Thus the cause of their mourning.
The reaction of mourning for one who has died just does not fit the businesses of any other nation. It would be annoying to find other markets, but not worthy of this level of emotional response to them.
==Revelation 18:12-14==
12The 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, 13And 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. 14And 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.
Here are all the things traded in by the Jews. Note the reference to “the souls of men” especially. In “Babylon”, these things would be found no more at all because the Jewish state (as far as the Bible is concerned) was at an end.
==Revelation 18:15==
15The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Just like the king, many of the Jewish merchants were not in Jerusalem when it fell being mobile by nature. The fear and the mourning are for the fall of their nation, their capital city. This depth of reaction does not make sense (even symbolically) for Gentile merchants.
==Revelation 18:16-17==
16And 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! 17For 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,
The great city, Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8, is Jerusalem representative of the Jewish nation. While Jerusalem itself was not a port city, the Jewish state that she represents had a number of ports on the Mediterranean Sea so this applies to Jerusalem as well.
==Revelation 18:18==
18And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Smoke rising (Acts 2:19) is again representative of the destruction of the city. The great city is once more Jerusalem according to the near context of Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8.
==Revelation 18:19==
19And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
These actions are distinctly Jewish actions of mourning so the sea-faring merchants mourning the great city (Jerusalem - Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8) are indicated as being Jewish.
==Revelation 18:20==
20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
All those that Jesus said the Jewish nation killed (Matthew 23; Luke 11:49) would be avenged on the Jewish nation, represented by Jerusalem, its capital city.
What is powerful about this verse is that if we use only the inspired word to interpret it, then only the Jews are recorded as having killed apostles and are identified as the ones upon whom all of the blood of all of the prophets is laid. These verse powerfully identifies Babylon as Jerusalem.
==Revelation 18:21==
21And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Read Matthew 18:6. This is a horrible, complete, thorough end. A watery grave from which there is no rising (in contrast to NT immersion). The great city, Babylon (Jerusalem - Revelation 11:8; Revelation 14:8) is cast down and will be found no more at all. Thus is described the end of the Jewish state as it existed according to scripture.
==Revelation 18:22-23==
22And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
No more Jewish culture, nor commerce, or anything Jewish will remain. Amidst this description we see that there will no more be heard the voice of the bridegroom and the bride (where all the others are plural and indefinite, these are definite and singular). This indicates the end of the preaching of the gospel to the Jews because the Jews preferred to listen to money and false religions rather than the Truth. The Christians fled and left Jerusalem to her doom.
==Revelation 18:24==
24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
The slain upon the earth is again those slain by the Jewish nation throughout the years since Moses, but specifically in the last days according to Matthew 23, Acts, and most of the New Testament where the Jewish nation is portrayed as the foremost persecutor of the church.
In Truth and Love.
==Navigation - Revelation==
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19 
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Category:Apocalyptic