SEVEN FINAL VISIONS (2-6) | A MIGHTY ANGEL (REVELATION 18:21-24)
1. Revelation
a) John wrote Revelation while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, approximately 85-95 A.D. Its purpose is to give encouragement and hope for all Christians to continue watching for the return and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also is to warn of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure on that Last Day.
b) John wrote that Revelation is special because,“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
c) A brief view of the Book of Revelation. It gives you some basic understanding of the book of Revelation.
2. An Angel
Revelation 18:21-24
21 Then a strong 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 not be found any longer. 22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
3. A Mighty Angel
Revelation 18:21-24
a) Great millstone
i) A strong angel lifts a rock like a huge grinding wheel and throws it with violence into the sea. This signifies the fall and destruction of “Babylon”. Now this angel gives John the sixth woe song. It is a summary of the first five songs.
b) Babylon thrown down
i) The song begins, "Like this, Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and never more found." (Revelation 18:21).
c) Never more found
i) The strong angel’s song takes up the theme “Never More Found” and joins it to a series of laments. These word pictures impress upon us the sad loss of culture and celebration of life that results from evil (Revelation 18:22-23).
"The sound of harpists and musicians, flute-players and trumpeters, will never more be heard in you"
"No artisan of any trade will ever more be found in you."
"The sound of a mill will never more be heard in you."
"The light of a lamp will never more shine in you."
"The voices of the bridegroom and bride will never more be heard in you."
ii) The next two lines of the song contrast the material glory of the great city typified by its merchants, with its spiritual rottenness typified by its magicians and sorcerers (Revelation 18:23).
d) Your merchants
i) "For your merchants were the great men of the earth" (Revelation 18:23). An empire is as good as its economy, and the traders who bought and sold merchandise in this city were its backbone. But from a distance they have watched the city burn, and they have gone away.
e) Your witchcraft
i) "For all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft" (Revelation 18:23). There was one craft that was the undoing of the great city —the practice of sorcery and black magic. This was the rotten core of Babylon, and of Rome, and of any city, nation, or empire, who joins herself to demons. No matter how glorious its culture, or sound its economy, or advanced its civilization, if there is witchcraft within, then ruin will come, and the wealth and happiness will be lost.
ii) When Daniel was in Babylon he had to compete with "all the conjurers and magicians of the realm" (Daniel 1:20). The apostles of Jesus likewise had to compete with sorcerers like Simon "practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the least to the greatest, were following him and saying, 'This man is God’s great power.' They were following him because he had long astounded them with his magical arts" (Acts 8:10).
f) Blood of the prophets
i) The strong angel’s song ends with a strong condemnation: "And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of holy ones..." (Revelation 18:24). Trade and industry was not found, music and celebration was not found, not even the light of a lamp was found; but there on the ground the blood of God’s servants was found. These were "slain on earth" but will be glorified in heaven; Babylon was glorious on earth but is condemned by heaven to destruction and desolation. In the end, God wins.
Revelation 18:21-24
21 Then a strong 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 not be found any longer. 22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
3. A Mighty Angel
Revelation 18:21-24
a) Great millstone
i) A strong angel lifts a rock like a huge grinding wheel and throws it with violence into the sea. This signifies the fall and destruction of “Babylon”. Now this angel gives John the sixth woe song. It is a summary of the first five songs.
b) Babylon thrown down
i) The song begins, "Like this, Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and never more found." (Revelation 18:21).
c) Never more found
i) The strong angel’s song takes up the theme “Never More Found” and joins it to a series of laments. These word pictures impress upon us the sad loss of culture and celebration of life that results from evil (Revelation 18:22-23).
"The sound of harpists and musicians, flute-players and trumpeters, will never more be heard in you"
"No artisan of any trade will ever more be found in you."
"The sound of a mill will never more be heard in you."
"The light of a lamp will never more shine in you."
"The voices of the bridegroom and bride will never more be heard in you."
ii) The next two lines of the song contrast the material glory of the great city typified by its merchants, with its spiritual rottenness typified by its magicians and sorcerers (Revelation 18:23).
d) Your merchants
i) "For your merchants were the great men of the earth" (Revelation 18:23). An empire is as good as its economy, and the traders who bought and sold merchandise in this city were its backbone. But from a distance they have watched the city burn, and they have gone away.
e) Your witchcraft
i) "For all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft" (Revelation 18:23). There was one craft that was the undoing of the great city —the practice of sorcery and black magic. This was the rotten core of Babylon, and of Rome, and of any city, nation, or empire, who joins herself to demons. No matter how glorious its culture, or sound its economy, or advanced its civilization, if there is witchcraft within, then ruin will come, and the wealth and happiness will be lost.
ii) When Daniel was in Babylon he had to compete with "all the conjurers and magicians of the realm" (Daniel 1:20). The apostles of Jesus likewise had to compete with sorcerers like Simon "practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the least to the greatest, were following him and saying, 'This man is God’s great power.' They were following him because he had long astounded them with his magical arts" (Acts 8:10).
f) Blood of the prophets
i) The strong angel’s song ends with a strong condemnation: "And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of holy ones..." (Revelation 18:24). Trade and industry was not found, music and celebration was not found, not even the light of a lamp was found; but there on the ground the blood of God’s servants was found. These were "slain on earth" but will be glorified in heaven; Babylon was glorious on earth but is condemned by heaven to destruction and desolation. In the end, God wins.
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