Revelation 18:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"

NIV: When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’

NASB: and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’

CSB: as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: "Who was like the great city?"

NLT: They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, 'Where is there another city as great as this?'

KJV: And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

NKJV: and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

This continues to describe the mourning John hears in his vision (Revelation 17:1–3). Babylon, as an economic superpower, has been quickly and utterly destroyed. The merchants and kings of earth are grieving their loss of income (Revelation 18:9–16). In their lament, the shipmasters, seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea reflect upon Babylon's past greatness. They ask, "What city was like the great city?"

Cites are often used as stand-ins for an entire culture or government. This is seen when referring to "Mecca" when discussing some teaching of Islam, or "London" when referring to a law of the United Kingdom. As it pertains to the end times, this "Babylon" certainly refers to some physical city, but the effects of ruin might extend beyond one location to an entire government. In his rise to power, the beast (Revelation 13:1–8) would have been able to make Babylon the most famous, most powerful, and most affluent center of commerce in the world. However, it also seems to become the most decadent, godless city in the world, and God destroyed it accordingly.

Throughout history cities have attracted people for various reasons: security, job opportunities, cultural and sports attractions, and convenience. But someday all the cities of the world will tumble and cease to exist. Even their tallest skyscrapers will collapse into dust. This will happen when God melts the earth with a fervent heat. The apostle Peter predicts in 2 Peter 3:10: "But the day of God of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." Only one city is secure forever; that is the city of God. Hebrews 13:14 states: "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." The writer of Hebrews credits the people of faith listed in Hebrews 11 as desiring a better country, a heavenly one, and tells us God has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:16). Revelation 21:1–2 identifies the city as the new Jerusalem.

Revelation 18:9–20 reports the reactions of kings, merchants, and seafarers to the fall of Babylon. While the fall of ''religious Babylon'' in chapter 17 was un-mourned, these men will passionately lament the demise of ''political Babylon.'' Ezekiel 26:15–21 records similar lamenting at the demise of Tyre. Realted passages such as Revelation chapter 16 described the bowl judgments directed at the beast and his kingdom. Jesus warned about the folly of building one's life on material things instead of on his Word (Matthew 6:19–24; 7:24–27). Paul and James did the same (1 Timothy 6:3–10, 17–19; James 5:1–6). Revelation 19:11–21 reveals the destructive end of the beast and his followers at the return of Jesus to the earth.

A glorious angel announces the fall of Babylon, here used to name a dwelling place for demons and the source of corrupt commercialism. Another angel summons believers to get out of Babylon and avoid being caught up in the judgment for her sins. God is ready to punish Babylon for extensive wickedness. He promises to burn the city with fire. The kings of the earth mourn Babylon's demise, and they keep a safe distance from her as she burns. Merchants, too, weep because no one can purchase cargo from her and profit from selling her goods. Like the kings, the merchants try to put distance between themselves and Babylon for fear of sharing her destructive fate. Their mourning is intense. They throw dust on their heads, weep, mourn, and lament how quickly she fell from prominence and prosperity to a wasteful state. A mighty angel announces Babylon's doom and desolation. The city that once included renowned merchants, deceived the nations, and martyred believers, is now shattered into silence and desolation.

Revelation 18:1–8 contains a glorious angel's pronouncement of doom on Babylon. This Babylon here appears to be a literal physical city, whereas the Babylon described in chapter 17 is a corrupt religious system. The Babylon of chapter 17 was associated with a political system but was not the political power. The Babylon of chapter 18 is the center of a demonic political, commercial, and economic system. The fall of Babylon parallels what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1–29). Religious Babylon falls in the middle of the tribulation to the delight of kings. Commercial Babylon falls at the end of the tribulation, and kings lament her fall.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''