Today we conclude Chapter 18 and finish studying the fall of the economy and the political center of the end times.
"Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: 'With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.'" (Revelation 18:21) The prophet Jeremiah did a similar thing when he predicted the fall of ancient Babylon. The Lord gave Jeremiah His message of condemnation against Babylon in Jeremiah 51, and after Jeremiah wrote down these words on a scroll, he gave the scroll to a man named Seraiah. Seraiah was to read the words of the scroll aloud in Babylon, then he was to tie a stone to the scroll and throw it into the Euphrates River and pronounce these words of the Lord: "So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall." (Jeremiah 51:64)
The boulder the angel casts into the sea is compared to the size and weight of a millstone. A millstone was very heavy because it was used to grind wheat into fine flour. In Bible times, no equipment existed that was powerful enough to retrieve a millstone from a body of water. Anything tied to a millstone was going to sink straight to the bottom and stay there. Many scholars compare Revelation 18:21 to the words of Jesus from the gospel accounts when He said of those who cause people to stumble in their faith: "It would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:5, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2) The judgment for the person who overthrows someone's faith is worse than if that person lost his physical life by being drowned in the sea. The Babylon of the end times has been nothing but idolatry and deception. Its primary goal has been to prevent human beings from giving their hearts to the living God. Because of this, Babylon is doomed. Just as ancient Babylon has never been rebuilt, the Babylon of the last days will never rise again after it has been destroyed.
The angel who cast the boulder into the sea goes on to say this about Babylon: "The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again." (Revelation 18:22a) Music is associated mainly with celebrations, with fun, and with having a merry heart. Music has the ability to enhance our moods and lift our spirits. But the fall of the commercial system of the end times, and the destruction of the capital city of the world, will be nothing to celebrate for those who placed their trust in the wrong things.
Work will come to a halt. "No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again." (Revelation 18:22b) There won't be any jobs in the city. No one will be doing any grinding of grain because no meals will be cooked. The city is going to be deserted.
"The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again." (Revelation 18:23a) The city will go completely dark and remain that way. None of the normal everyday things will go on there. No celebrations will take place. No one will ever want to use the capital city for a wedding destination ever again. When Babylon falls, God is shutting down the Antichrist's deceptive and hideous theatrical production, closing the curtains on the stage, and turning off the lights for good.
"Your merchants were the world's important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God's holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth." (Revelation 18:23b-24) These merchants made a great name for themselves, but it doesn't matter what kind of name a person makes for himself on the earth. Only one name matters, the name above every name (Philippians 2:9), the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we stand before a holy God someday, the name we made for ourselves on the earth will mean nothing. The only thing that will mean anything is whether we have confessed the name of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Terrible things have taken place in the Antichrist's capital city. Prophets have been slaughtered for their message of truth. Believers have been persecuted and killed for their faith. A day is coming when God will judge every wicked thing that has ever happened in this world. He will judge the wicked of the earth who are still alive and He will judge the wicked who have already passed on. (2 Timothy 4:1)
It is up to our holy and righteous and perfect God to choose the day of vengeance. It is our job to trust His timing. Not one tear we have ever shed has gone unnoticed by God. Not a wrong done to us has ever been overlooked. Not a single drop of innocent blood has gone unseen. Wickedness will be judged and the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the whole world in righteousness and peace forever. Never again will we turn on the news and see a horror unfolding before our eyes. Never again will we open the morning paper and spot the obituary of a dear friend. Never again will we stand heartbroken by a casket. The Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have placed all our hope and trust, will do away with all of this on the day He makes all things new.
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