Revelation 18:2

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

·         This angel publishes the fall of Babylon, as a thing already come to pass (MH)

·         He announces that Babylon is fallen, fallen; the phrase is “repeated like a solemn dirge of the damned.” (Robertson)

Revelation 18:1

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

·         This angel has not only light in himself, to discern the truth of his own prediction, but to inform and enlighten the world about that great event (MH)

·         This angel coming down from heaven is so “fresh” from God’s presence that he glows. “So recently has he come from the Presence (of God) that in passing he flings a broad belt of light across the dark earth.” (Swete)

Revelation 17:18

And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

·         The woman whom you saw is the great city = begins the final explanatory item of the bowl-carrying angel. The identity of the woman is given. She is the great city. (RC)

·         Which reigns (literally, has a kingdom) over the kings of the earth = is the final defining strait for the woman. The way the woman rules over the kings of the earth is through the Antichrist. This makes her a harlot. She prostitutes herself with Antichrist when she rightly belongs to God.  (RC)

Revelation 17:17

For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

·         For God has = signals that an explanation follows concerning why the ten kings will act as they do  (RC)

·         Until the words of God will be fulfilled = indicates that the destruction of the harlot is a fulfillment of prophecy.  (RC)

Revelation 17:16

And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

·         Will hate the harlot = is the first. Revelation 17:7 and 9 indicates that the harlot’s relationship to the beast is mutual. She wants to be with the beast and the beast wants her. Therefore, Revelation 17:16 must be taken in an ingressive sense. That is, the ten horns and the beast "will begin to hate the harlot." Something will happen that will change the relationship between the harlot, the beast, and his confederate nations.  (RC)

·         Will make here desolate and naked = signals both depopulation and shame.  (RC)

Revelation 17:15

Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

·         The waters which you saw where the harlot sits = continues the angelic interpretation of the harlot’s judgment.  (RC)

·         The waters are people, multitudes, nations and tongues. Revelation 17:9 declares that the harlot sits on seven king/kingdoms. Thus, we can say that the harlot is carried by a universal segment of the population of the earth. (RC)

Revelation 17:14

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

·         These will wage war against the Lamb = indicates the purpose or mind of the ten kings. They are united in their attitudes toward the Lamb. The attack of the ten kings against the Lamb is not specially detailed, but they must gather with the nations to Armageddon.   (RC)

·         The Lamb will overcome them = signals defeat for the ten kings and the beast. The title "Lord of lords and King of kings" is applied to the Lamb here and the rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:16. (RC)

Revelation 17:13

These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

·         These have one purpose = indicates unity among the ten kings.   (RC)

·         They give their power and authority to the beast = signals the intent of the kings. All that they represent is given to the beast. They do not have kingdoms, but they must have assets that the beast can utilize for his goal. (RC)

Revelation 17:12

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.

·         This probably alludes to a ten-nation confederation (as in the toes of the Daniel 2:24-45 image), but some take ten as a symbolic number.  (DG)

·         “They are ten kingdoms which shall arise out of the fourth great kingdom there: ten European powers, which in the last time, in concert with and subjugation to the antichristian power, shall make war against Christ. In the precise number and form here indicated, they have not yet arisen . . . What changes in Europe may bring them into the required tale and form, it is not for us to say.” (Alford, 1866)

Revelation 17:11

The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.

·         He is of the seven in the sense that he shares characteristics with all previous world empires, but his fate is clear. (DG)

·         Perdition means “destruction,” and the beast will be destroyed.  (DG)

Revelation 17:10

There are also seven kings.  Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come.  And when he comes, he must continue a short time.

·         Seven sorts of government (MH)

·         Five of these were extinct, one was then in being, and the other was yet to come (MH)

Revelation 17:9

“Here is the mind which has wisdom:  the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

·         We will see in this scripture that the city of seven hills is where this evil system has its headquarters.  (DR)

·         This is a marvel to the world who are not fully aware of the implications of the Bible it shows. Of course the bride of Christ, the Christians who have their names written in the Lamb's book of life since the world began, are aware of all of this and why it happened.  (DR)

Revelation 17:8

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.  And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

·         It was a seat of idolatry, persecution, and tyranny (MH)

·         The false religious system of the end times will be very convincing and popular among the unsaved, but those who have committed themselves to Christ will understand that anything idolatrous is not of God.   (DR)

Revelation 17:7

But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel?  I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

·         The focus of the explanation is on the beast. (DG)

·          It appeared that the harlot ruled (rode) the Antichrist’s system, but he is the dynamic factor, using her as tyrants have always used religion - as a mere tool to accomplish their purposes.  (DG)

Revelation 17:6

I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.  And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

·         The more she kills the bolder she will become in killing the saints (Rev. 6:10; 12:11; 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2).

·         The greatest enemy of the Harlot religion is the Bride of Christ.

Revelation 17:5

And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY,

 

BABYLON THE GREAT,

THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

 

·         This title is not for literal Babylon; but its spiritual (mystery) representation, which is the source (mother) of all idolatry (abominations) and spiritual adultery (harlots).    (DG)

·         This harlot must be larger than any one branch of a religious institution. She is the embodiment of Satan’s own ecumenical movement - the religion of the world system.   (DG)

Revelation 17:4

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

·         The kings of the earth (political leaders) will be privy to some of the lies that empower the Harlot system, yet ascribe to it for money, honor and power. They will support her agenda and knowingly promote her lies to the masses for the sake of their own gain. In this way, they will knowingly “prostitute themselves” or “commit fornication” with her in knowingly supporting her deception for money (Rev. 17:2; 18:3, 9).

·         Her “wine” is the false ideas or beliefs that come from her “fornication” or compromises with biblical truth. Her seductions offer great benefits, including humanitarian aid, unified religion (that minimizes wars) and a prosperous world economy, but come at a great cost of God’s judgment. The nations will “get drunk” (intoxicated and euphoric) about this new religion and ideology that brings unity and peace without any restraint or accountability for their actions (Ps 2).

Revelation 17:3

So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.  And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and then horns.

·         The Harlot will “sit on many waters” (v. 1) or will have authority over “peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues”, as interpreted by the angel (v. 15). She will do this by seducing and controlling the world’s most powerful religious, political and economic leaders through global networks. It is both a religious network (Rev. 17) and an economic network based in the rebuilt city of Babylon in Iraq (Rev. 18).

·         The kings of the earth (political leaders) will be privy to some of the lies that empower the Harlot system, yet ascribe to it for money, honor and power. They will support her agenda and knowingly promote her lies to the masses for the sake of their own gain. In this way, they will knowingly “prostitute themselves” or “commit fornication” with her in knowingly supporting her deception for money (Rev. 17:2; 18:3, 9).

 

Revelation 17:1-2

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

·         This is a new vision (MH)

·         A “great sign” in heaven speaks of a sign that had to be interpreted (Rev. 12:9, 17; 17:7, 12) and as having great significance. This is the first of three signs in the book of Revelation (Rev. 12:1, 3; 15:1).

Revelation 16:20-21

 

Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent.  Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

·         They were so from repenting that they blasphemed God who thus punished them (MH)

·         The great hailstones of the seventh bowl have been reserved by God for centuries (Job 38:22-23). God asked Job if he knew about the “treasury of hail” that He has reserved for the day of battle when He judges His enemies (Ps. 78:47; 105:32-33; 148:8).

Revelation 16:19

Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.  And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

·         The fall of Babylon (the great city) is more explicitly described in Revelation 17 and 18. Here, it is enough to say that God gives her the cup of the wine of the fierceness (the ancient Greek word thymos, describing a passionate outburst of anger) of His wrath (the ancient Greek word orge, describing a standing state of anger).  (DG)

·         “The combination of thymos and orge connotes the strongest kind of outpouring of divine judgment.” (Walvoord)

Revelation 16:18

And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

·         This bowl releases the greatest earthquake in human history, shaking every city on earth, including the two “great cities” of Jerusalem and Babylon (Rev. 11:8; 14:8). It continues by removing every mountain and island, while releasing a flurry of great hailstones upon men (100-120 lbs.).

·         A great earthquake will occur in Israel at the 7th bowl strategically dividing it into three parts (Ezek. 38:19; Zech. 14:5; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Rev. 16:19).

Revelation 16:17

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!”

·         It is a great gift of God to show us the end of the story.

·         Jesus wins, the saints will be vindicated and the Antichrist’s empire will be openly defeated, as the consequences of sin are judged forever. In our shortsightedness we get weighed down with the cares of life. Jesus says, “See, I have told you beforehand” (Mt. 24:25), as if to say, “I care about your heart being connected to Mine, as the end-time drama unfolds”.

Revelation 16:16

And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

·         The English word “Armageddon” appears only once in the Bible (Rev. 16:16). It is the place where God will gather all the nations to go to war against Him. It is the military staging area.

·         The English word “Armageddon” comes from the Hebrew “Harmagedon” or “Har Magedon”, which means the hill of Megiddo. The Hebrew “har” means “hill-country”. Thus, “Har Magedon” is the hill-country of Megiddo.  Megiddo is a town in the valley of Jezreel (or Esdraelon) in northern Israel about sixty miles north of Jerusalem. The valley is about fifteen miles wide and twenty miles long.

Revelation 16:15

“Behold, I am coming as a thief.  Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

·         When God’s cause comes to be tried, and His battles to be fought, all His people shall be ready and be faithful and valiant in His service (MH)

·         Garments are pictures of spiritual and practical righteousness. We are given the righteousness of Jesus as a garment (Galatians 3:27), but we are also called to “put on” the nature of Jesus in terms of practical holiness (Ephesians 4:20-24). Above all, we must not be “naked” - that is, without a covering, or trying to provide our own covering like Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:7), which is like filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6).  (DG)

Revelation 16:14

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out of the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

·         Satan will rally the nations armies and resources in his deep arrogance of defeating Jesus at Armageddon in attempting to establish his throne in Jerusalem forever

·         The kings of the earth will gather to make war against Jesus to satisfy their “lust” for more money, power, land, etc.

Revelation 16:13

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

·         In the 6th bowl, “unclean spirits like frogs” come out of the mouth of Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet. They will seduce kings with their words, being confirmed by supernatural miracles.

·         Demon spirits will deceive the governmental leaders of the earth with miracles (Mt. 24:24; Rev. 13:13-14; 2 Thes. 2:9-10). The nations will be accustomed to supernatural activity with many false christs, teachers and prophets (Mt. 24:5, 11).

Revelation 16:12

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

·         The sixth bowl involves God giving over the nations to the full power of their wicked choices on a global scale. God gives people over to increasingly greater evil if they continue to persist in sin to the point where they do not want to and therefore can no longer respond to the Spirit (Mt. 7:8; Rom. 1:24-28; 2 Thes. 2:11).

·         God wants no neutral nation, as He gathers them all to Jerusalem, forcing them to declare what is in their hearts toward Jesus’ leadership. Joel calls this the “valley of decision” (Joel 3:14).

Revelation 16:11

They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

·         The impact will affect the energy, light, temperature, mental, emotional and

physical health, agriculture, navigation, environment, etc. This is a physical, spiritual and moral darkness.

·         As God’s judgments increase, their hatred and blasphemy increase, coming

out fully into the open. Many times we are troubled by Jesus’ wrath while trying to reconcile the Jesus of Christmas and the Jesus of Armageddon. Therefore, He creates the optimum context for the heart of men to be fully revealed. They don’t say, “We’re sorry forgive us”, they say, “We hate you!” In the day of testing the truth of the heart is revealed. God won’t violate human freewill or make eternal beings disappear.

 

Revelation 16:10

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

·         The fifth bowl targets the geographic seat of the Antichrist kingdom causing great pain. God will turn all the lights out in the Antichrist’s empire.

·         The impact will affect the energy, light, temperature, mental, emotional and physical health, agriculture, navigation, environment, etc. This is a physical, spiritual and moral darkness.

Revelation 16:9

And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

·         This judgment will cause men to “blaspheme the name of God” and accuse His character instead of taking responsibility for their sin and repenting.

·         This bowl will be a prophetic message to the earth that science will not be able to explain away. Its scorching fire and great heat will be a prophetic token of the fire that many will experience in the Lake of Fire.