The Second Proclamation (verse 8)

“And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’”

There’s an interesting statement. This second angel brings a different kind of good news. The first angel was bringing the Message of the Gospel. This one is bringing the news that Babylon the great has fallen. These words are very strongly reminiscent of what Isaiah says in Isaiah 21and verse 9: “‘And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!’ Then he answered and said, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.’”There’s a similar reference in Jeremiah 51, verses 6-8: “Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He shall recompense [to repay or reward] her. 7 Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. 8 Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed.”

What is in view here as we read about the angel declaring that “Babylon is fallen”? Again, we are talking about something that is representative and figurative in its nature. But when we think about, and go back and look at, the Old Testament references, what was one of the great nemeses [anyone or anything that seems inevitably to defeat or frustrate one] of the children of Israel? Well, it was ancient Babylon, wasn’t it? Babylon had taken the children of Israel into captivity, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, had taken all of the articles from the temple, etc. Indeed, Babylon of old fell. They were crushed at the hand of the Lord, not directly, but the Lord used the Persians as His instrument to crush Babylon.

Nevertheless, there is a connection that we see here. It would seem that what is in view here is not ancient Babylon at all, but rather, the 1^st Century city of Rome as it was seen and understood as the world power, the dominating force of the world in that day, and that one day it would be crushed, it would be destroyed, as was Babylon of old.

Now, when something is introduced as if it had already taken place, but it will really take place in the future, there’s a word for that. It’s “prolepsis,” a type of figure of speech in which something can be said as if it has already taken place because God knows that it will take place. And because God is connected with the event, it is certain that it will happen. That would seem to be what is being said here in this message from this angel. Yes, Babylon of old had fallen, and those who would have read this in the 1^st Century would have understood that, would have known that. But if the message here, if the code here, if you will, if the figure, is of ancient Rome, then it’s as if the Lord were saying to the 1^st Century Christians, “Put it in the bank! Rome is going to fall! Rome is going to be crushed!” “Rome is fallen, Rome is fallen” could very well be the message here.

Just as Babylon of old had overpowered, had overtaken people, had forced themselves, if you will, on other nations, had taken them captive, had occupied their areas, so would they be overpowered and crushed. And by the way, the children of Israel, the Hebrews, were not the only people who the ancient Babylonians took captive and forced into slavery, and took over their land and their cities, etc. They did that to many nations.

Here is this view of Babylon having made “All nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Well, that’s what Jeremiah said specifically in reference to ancient Babylon in the long ago [Jeremiah 51:6-8—see above]. So, indeed, what had Rome done at this particular point in the latter part of the 1^st Century? What would Rome continue to do until about the 4^th Century AD? As a world-dominating force, they were an occupying force; they were an occupying power. They forced people to do their bidding, to do their will, and many of the things that they forced upon people were evil, as it were, fornication, in the sense of being unfaithful to God, not necessarily of just physical fornication, although it’s not eliminated because of the type of sexual promiscuity and things like that that was practiced.

Remember, we talked at some length in chapter 13 about emperor worship, and the requirement for people to bow down and to worship the emperor, to treat him as though he were divine, as though he were deity. Of course, a Christian could not do that, although some did. We will see a reference to those who did later on in this chapter. Nevertheless, in effect, there was a euphemism, a figure that was used, concerning the children of Israel of old when they took on the practices of the neighboring people—the Assyrians and others—and they began to engage in idolatry, as well as other things. How were they referred to? Well, they were referred to as “whoring.” They were whoring—they were unfaithful, to God—a spiritual fornication. So we have a similar image here. Rome, in doing what they did as a dominating world power, forcing themselves onto other people, and so on, and particularly when it comes to Christians—requiring them to bow down and worship the emperor—would be, in effect, causing them to be involved in a spiritual fornication.