Revelation 18:1-12 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

Reader Related Verse
Bible Comments

Revelation 18:1. another angel: we have no means of identifying this angel of doom.

Revelation 18:2. habitation. bird: cf. Isaiah 13:21 f; Isaiah 34:14, where the rained cities of Babylon and Edom become the haunts of unclean spirits.

Revelation 18:3. kings of the earth: Revelation 17:2 *.

Revelation 18:4. come forth: the cry - come forth-' rings through Hebrew history (e.g. Genesis 12:1; Genesis 19:12; Numbers 16:26; Isaiah 52:11).. In this context the sauve qui peut is to be regarded partly as a feature borrowed from the OT model, partly as a warning to Christians at Rome to shun entanglement in the sin and punishment of Babylon (Swete).

Revelation 18:6. double unto her: this phrase is explained by Jeremiah 16:18 (cf. Isaiah 40:2).

Revelation 18:9. all the kings of the earth: Revelation 17:2 *. The vassal kings are the first to take up the strain of woe, because Rome was the prop upon which they leaned, and when it fell, they lost their main support.

Revelation 18:11. the merchants: Rome was the market of the world in the first century of our era, and the merchants bemoan the loss of their trade. The list of the imports given in Revelation 18:11-14 is an indication of the wealth and luxury of the time.

Revelation 18:12. thyine wood: i.e. all kinds of scented wood. Citrus or thyine wood was much prized for its veining, and was largely used in the manufacture of dining tables.

Related Commentaries of Revelation 18:1

Revelation 18:1-12

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 abundancea 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 thyineb wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,