--- title: "Revelation 18 - Study King James Bible with burkitts expository notes with practical observations on the nt" description: "Read Revelation 18 with burkitts expository notes with practical observations on the nt commentary. 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightil" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/burkitts-expository-notes-with-practical-observations-on-the-nt/revelation/18" --- [ Read](/kjv/revelation/18)[ Commentary](/study/revelation/18)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/revelation/18) Audio 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And 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. 3 For 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. 4 And 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. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward 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. 7 How 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. 8 Therefore 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. 9 And 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, 10 Standing 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. 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The 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, 13 And 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. 14 And 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. 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 And 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! 17 For 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, 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What *city is* like unto this great city! 19 And 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. 20 Rejoice over her, *thou* heaven, and *ye* holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21 And 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. 22 And 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; 23 And 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. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. [Revelation 17](/study/revelation/17) [Revelation 19](/study/revelation/19) ## Commentary To verse 1 The destruction of spiritual **Babylon** hath in this prophecy been several times predicted and already foretold: now here an angel from heaven is employed to declare it shall certainly be performed. This angel is variously here described, 1. By the place from whence he came, namely, from heaven; signifying, that the destruction of **Babylon** was there surely decreed, and should most certainly be accomplished. 2. By the authority and power with which he came, in the name of, and by commission from, the great God, and **having great power.** A mighty angel is employed in this great and mighty work, to destroy **Babylon,** the mighty throne of antichrist. 3. By the effect of his appearance, **the earth was lightened with his glory;** denoting, that **Babylon's** destruction should be open and manifest, and matter of joy and glorious rejoicing both to heaven and earth. Learn hence, That as the destruction of **Babylon** is the work and office of an angel, under God, so is it unto the angels matter of joy and triumph; especially to such of them as are employed as officers therein. **I saw an angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.** Observe, 2. The place against which the mighty angel doth denounce the vengeance of God, and that with an ingemination, or repetition of the threatening: **Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen;** where, by **Babylon,** all, both papists and protestants, do understand the city of Rome, though in different respects. This is called mystical **Babylon,** in allusion to ancient Babylon, because of their resemblance, 1. In **sin;** namely, in pride and sedf-exaltation, in cruelty and oppression, in sorcery and witchcraft. [Isaiah 51:7](/kjv/isaiah/51/7). 2. In **punishment:** the destruction of old Babylon was a sudden destruction, [Isaiah 17:9](/kjv/isaiah/17/9) and a perpetual destruction. See [Isaiah 13:20](/kjv/isaiah/13/20) compared with [Revelation 11:10](/kjv/revelation/11/10) and [Revelation 18:8](/kjv/revelation/18/8). It is called **Babylon the great,** 1. Because of the greatness of its strength and glory; it was the strongest and most fortified place in the world. Cyrus besieged it thirteen years before he took it, and then by cutting channels, and drawing dry the river Erphrates. 2. In regard of her great power and dominion: literal Babylon said, and **Are not my princes altogether kings?** and mystical **Babylon ruleth over all the kings of the earth.** Farther, it is here said, that **Babylon the great is fallen,** nay, it is ingeminated and repeated, **is fallen, is fallen;** implying, 1. The certainty of her ruin; it is a speech of faith, speaking of things to come as already past; God's punishments when threatened are as certain as if already inflicted. 2. It denotes the **suddenness** of her destruction, **She is fallen,** that is **subito ruitura,** she shall soon fall; as when Christ said of his suffering work, **It is finished,** he meant that it was very near finishing. 3. It denotes her utter ruin and destruction, **is fallen, is fallen,** never to rise more: the church shall never more be tormented by her, or troubled with her. 4. It denotes the joy and rejoicing which will be found in Sion, at **Babylon's** downfall and destruction: **she is fallen, she is fallen;** it is not only a speech of faith and trust, but of joy and triumph. Learn hence, 1. That Rome or mystical **Babylon,** shall certainly fall, shall utterly fall, shall irrecoverably fall. 2. That the downfall of **Babylon** will be matter of great joy and triumph to the inhabitants of Sion, because she has been to the church of Christ an old and inveterate enemy, a cruel and bloody enemy, and shall be the last enemy. When **Babylon** is fallen, then shall all persecutions cease, Satan shall be bound, and the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ. Let all that have an interest in God, be instant in prayer with him to hasten its time, that it may be in the history as it is here in the prophecy, that **Babylon is fallen.** Observe lastly, what an heap of multiplied expressions the Holy Ghost is pleased to make use of, to set forth the utter ruin and final **desolation of** Babylon,--She is become the habitation of devils, the **hold of every foul spirit, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird;** that is, as devils and evil spirits are supposed to haunt desolate places, and birds which make hideous and dismal noises, do dwell in ruinous and ruined places: in like manner these expressions denote how entirely and absolutely God will bring about the destruction of **Babylon,** insomuch that the place which hath known her, shall know her no more, and her habitation shall be an eternal desolation, so that none that pass by shall say, **This is Babylon.** ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/burkitts-expository-notes-with-practical-observations-on-the-nt/revelation/18#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/burkitts-expository-notes-with-practical-observations-on-the-nt/revelation/18#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/burkitts-expository-notes-with-practical-observations-on-the-nt/revelation/18","name":"Revelation 18 - Study King James Bible with burkitts expository notes with practical observations on the nt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/burkitts-expository-notes-with-practical-observations-on-the-nt/revelation/18#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Revelation 18 with burkitts expository notes with practical observations on the nt commentary. 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; 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