Framework:
Section 4D - what or who is Babylon?
Introduction
In Revelation, its author (John) describes a magnificently-dressed woman who sits upon a scarlet beast, by ‘many waters’ (17:1-3). The waters are peoples, nations and languages (17:15) and the beast has seven heads (kings and hills; 17:9-10) and ten horns (future kings; 17:12) (see Framework 4C). The woman is Babylon – a harlot who is also a great city, and she corrupts the kings and nations of the earth and she persecutes the prophets and God’s faithful people (17:1-18:24). Her name signifies an historical enemy of God’s people because the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar II) besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, and its people were taken into exile in 598/597 B.C.; this is recorded in the Hebrew Bible (for example: 2 Kings 24:1-25:21, 2 Ch. 36:5-21). The people were repatriated 70 years later (for example: 2 Ch. 36:20-23, Ezr. 1:1-4) and it was prophesised that Babylon will ultimately be destroyed (for example: Jer. 51). Daniel was one of the exiles (Dan. 1:1-6) and Jesus’ genealogy includes the time his ancestors spent in exile in Babylon (Mt. 1:1-17). Today, Babylon is an archaeological site on the lower river Euphrates in central Iraq, south of Baghdad. Her precise identity is not revealed by John but she is the epitome of extravagant luxury and persecution of the faithful. This was Rome in John’s era but what she will represent in the eschaton (‘last days’ or ‘end times’) is considered in this section.
This study proposes that there are two earthly spaces described in Revelation: the physical-spiritual earth and the biblical earth. Both tell the Creation to New Order story (see Framework 1) and the differences between them are accentuated by the fall of the great city and harlot, Babylon. Richard Bauckham describes 12:1-14:20 as the ‘messianic war’ (Bauckham, 1993a: 94; see Framework 1B.d) and the only reference to Babylon in this war is to her destruction (14:8; on the biblical earth) – which is a warning to John of coming judgement and the need for the faithful to endure. 14:1-20 is like a framework for the events which follow on the physical-spiritual earth (16:12-19:21). 16:12-19:21 is a literary spiral surrounding and following Babylon’s fall which traces the path of John’s eyes as events unfold before him (see Figures 4 and 5).
Babylon is the most structurally important of the three magnificently-dresssed women in Revelation (mother, harlot, bride) because Babylon is the only one whose presence is recorded in every cosmic space. Literary observations that the harlot is a parody of the heavenly bride (Framework 5) or celestial mother (Framework 1) are clear but the descriptions of the women are text-parallels, not time-parallels.
Figure 4 - the Lamb, imminent war and fall of Babylon
This section begins with the slain Lamb (Christ) appearing on Mt Zion with the 144,000 ‘redeemed’ (14:1-5) and then Babylon falls (14:8). Her fall is recorded three times in Revelation (14:8, 16:17-21, 18:1-3) and the text implies that heaven celebrates her fall (19:1-4). Babylon is a unique character in Revelation so her fall is regarded as a single event in the spatio-temporal analysis in this study. In other words, 14:8, 16:17-21, 18:1-3 and 19:1-4 are contemporaneous and they act as a relative fixed point, or time-parallel, in the story; a time-parallel is like a text-parallel, but with a chronological component (see Towards 2b). Babylon’s fall (time-parallel 10) is the centre of the time-parallels in Revelation which begin with the Cross (death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ; time-parallel 1) and end with the Final Judgement (time-parallel 18). These three time-parallels are the only ones in this study in which the events impact every cosmic space and they enable all the time-parallels to become apparent, thus defining Revelation’s Creation (pre-Cross) to New Order (post-Final Judgement) macrostructure (see the Macrostructure Model, Figures 1-5).
Events surrounding the fall of Babylon are illustrated in Figure 4. In the proposed macrostructure, the Lamb appears in the middle of the emptying of fifth bowl (time-parallel 8b) and he is followed by the three angels (14:6-11). ).[1] The first angel proclaims the Gospel and warns that judgement is near; evil armies gather (time-parallel 9). The second angel announces the fall of Babylon; Babylon falls and heaven celebrates (time-parallel 10). The third angel warns that judgement on the beasts’ followers (the ‘marked’) will be severe; crippled society laments Babylon’s destruction and the wedding of the Lamb begins (time-parallel 11). This section considers different aspects of Babylon and two questions: Who or what is Babylon? What is the relationship between Babylon and the slain Lamb in Revelation?
[1] John is told that Christ will come at an unknown time ‘like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake’ (16:15a) so it is entirely possible, in the proposed macrostructure and in reality, that Christ will come after the bowls, but time-parallels 1-9 and 12-18 are otherwise unchanged in this scenario (see Framework 4A.d).
4D.a) Babylon and the two earths
Babylon, the harlot and city, is on the physical-spiritual earth, rather than on the biblical earth in the interpretation in the proposed macrostructure. The physical-spiritual space is so called because John describes the two dimensions together on this earth, for example the Babylon the harlot (spiritual) brings physical consequences (corruption and destruction of the city and its aftermath). The biblical earth includes mythic or allegorical characters and events that are described or foretold in Scripture, like the celestial mother (probably Israel, 12:1-18, Framework 1) and satan and his abyss beast and earth beast (13:1-18, Framework 3).
Babylon’s location is on the physical-spiritual earth for three reasons: she is described as a woman sitting on the beast in a wilderness or as a city, rather than as a ‘sign’ in the heavens (unlike the celestial mother and the dragon/ satan, 12:1-4); she is physically destroyed by earthquake and hailstorm, and not thrown into the fiery lake along with satan and his beasts; and it would create a temporal paradox for chapters 16-19 to interrupt events described in 14:1-20 (see the previous Construction, 4A.a). Both the physical-spiritual and biblical earths are visionary versions of the earth within which John lived (the material earth).
4D.b) Who and what is Babylon?
After John sees the physical destruction of Babylon in the vision (16:17-21), he is taken to a place in a wilderness by one of the seven bowl angels, so that he (John) can see Babylon’s true nature (a harlot) and why she has been condemned (17:1-18) and how Babylon (as the great city) corrupted the kings and nations of the earth and persecuted the prophets and God’s faithful people (18:1-24):
‘I (the bowl angel) will tell you the mystery of the woman (Babylon), and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. (…) The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain for only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. (…) They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them (…) The waters that you saw, where the whore/ harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore/ harlot; they will make her desolate and naked (…) For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.’ (17:7-18)
Babylon is a harlot-city who sits upon the scarlet (abyss) beast (who will be an eighth king), by ‘many waters’ (which is humanity). The beast has seven heads (which are seven mountains and seven kings) and ten horns (which are ten future kings). The symbols associated with appearance (the harlot’s attire, the beast’s heads and horns, the water) reflect a symbolic or spiritual identity, and the explanations are given in terms of physical identity (great city, mountains and kings, humanity). It is most likely that John thought of Babylon as Rome because Rome was ‘the great city that rules over the kings of the earth’ (17:18) in John’s era. The image is traditionally accepted as a clear reference to the seven hills of Rome and seven Caesars/ kings of the Roman Empire.
The ten future kings (ten horns) and satan’s beasts will make war against the Lamb/ Christ and they will be defeated (17:16-17). They will hate Babylon and bring her to ruin (17:16), perhaps because she sits upon the beast (17:3) and upon humanity (the water beneath the beast, 17:15), and this may signify her control over them. In addition, the beast’s followers are seduced from dedicated worship of the beast by her wiles (18:3), and Babylon considers herself to be a queen (18:7) and (probably) fully equal to the beast (an eighth king, 17:11).
Babylon, the great city and her satellite cities (16:19-20), may represent the commercial power of a virtual construction of suppliers and clients, who are ruined (18:8-20), time-parallel 11) after parts of her physical networks are destroyed by earthquake, famine and disease (16:17-21, time-parallel 10). Preterist interpretations of Revelation (i.e. all Revelation’s prophesies were fulfilled in the past) equate Babylon with Rome (Osborne, 2002: 19), but there is no hard evidence of this link before A.D. 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem (Michaels, 1992: 45). This study follows an Eclectic interpretation (i.e. mixed or diverse) because it proposes that Babylon was present John’s era and she will be present in the eschaton (‘last days’ or ‘end times’), with the ten future kings and satan’s two beasts. She may be any great city whose destruction would cause international chaos or she may represent an amalgam of all cities which reject God (Osborne, 2002: 427 Note 12, 433). Babylon’s ongoing roles as harlot and major city (both are symbols of extravagant hedonism in Revelation) are most visible when she is destroyed (time-parallel 10, Figure 4). The Gospels warn that hedonism will dominate society just before the Parousia, like in the times of Noah (Lk. 17:26-27, Mt. 24:37-39) or Lot (Lk. 17:28-33).
4D.c) Babylon and the two eras
Babylon sits on (and so dominates) the scarlet (abyss) beast and its seven heads (seven kings or hills, 17:9-11) and its ten horns (ten future kings, 17:12-14) (see 4D.b and Framework 4C). The beast’s image represents two short eras because, in John’s day, five of the seven kings have already ‘fallen’, one is living and the seventh will only rule for a little while (17:10). In second era (the eschaton), the abyss beast’s authority from the dragon/ satan is time-limited (13:5, ‘forty-two months’) so its role as the ‘eighth king’ is probably short lived (17:10-12). For ‘one hour’, i.e. a short time, the ten corrupted kings and the beast will orchestrate events in the eschaton (17:12), until God’s words are fulfilled (17:17). Babylon is also prominent in two eras: in John’s era, probably as Rome, which is built on seven hills and was ruled by seven kings/ Caesars; and in the eschaton in the time of the ten future kings. Babylon’s fall is described in detail on the physical-spiritual earth (16:2-18:24) and this supports the proposal in this study that John describes the two earthly dimensions together. Babylon the city (on the physical earth) and the harlot (on the spiritual earth) is a visionary representative of hedonistic luxury, financial power and spiritual corruption on the material earth. Christ as the Lamb and One-like-a-son-of-man (14:1-20) appears on the biblical earth in the proposed macrostructure and this is considered further in Framework 5. How all these events might affect events on the material earth during this time is uncertain but gathering armies, earthquakes and storms will quickly follow one another and it will be a time of commercial chaos and laments.
In the proposed macrostructure, only the seven seals equate to the time of the Roman Empire (see Framework 2) and the destruction of Imperial Rome itself and her subsequent ruin is like a precursor to the destruction of Revelation’s Babylon. Babylon is the archetype of every corrupt society, including Rome, and she (Babylon) remains potent until her abrupt collapse in the eschaton.
Babylon is particularly hedonistic and corrupt when she is influenced by satan’s beasts in the eschaton and Babylon the city becomes the dwelling place of demons (18:1-3). Babylon the harlot boasts that she is a queen, controlled by no one (18:7), but she is hated by the beast and the ten kings, and they will ruin her (17:16). This study proposes that Babylon and her satellite cities are destroyed in the time of the ten kings, when the scarlet/ abyss beast is the eighth king. She is ‘doomed’ in ‘one hour’ and in ‘one day’ she is ruined by plague, famine and fire (18:8-10, 18:17-19). However, her destruction is not caused by the armies of the kings, but by a storm and earthquake (16:17-21). Grant Osborne suggests that Babylon’s destruction may possibly be the result of a ‘God-directed civil war’ when the beasts turn on her (17:16) (Osborne, 2002: 625, 669). Babylon’s ongoing ruin could be caused by a civil war orchestrated by satan and his beasts, resulting in the plagues, famine and fire (18:8), but her destruction by storm and earthquake is controlled by ‘a loud voice from the temple’ (16:1), when the seventh bowl empties (16:17-21).
The kings and satan’s beasts witness the fall of Babylon the city because the kings of 16:12-16) are probably the same kings who see Babylon’s smoke and weep over her destruction and the loss of her luxuries (18:9-10, time-parallel 11); others suggest these are different groups of kings (for example: Osborne, 2002: 625). Babylon’s ruin (time-parallel 11) may be caused by the physical destruction, or it may be unintended consequences or even opportunistic damage caused by the gathered evil forces. Grant Osborne suggests that Babylon’s destruction occurs in ‘stages’ (corresponding to the different references to her fall) and it may be the result of a ‘God-directed civil war’ when the beasts turn on her (17:16) (Osborne, 2002: 625, 669). This study proposes that Babylon’s ruin/ possible civil war happens after she is abruptly destroyed by the storm and earthquake. The laments (18:9-19) may represent realisation by the kings that their own actions have accentuated the devastation and ruin (as anticipated by the third angel (14:9-11).
4D.d) Babylon's fall and the literary spiral
The fall of Babylon is recorded in 14:8, 16:14-17:18 and 18:1-3, and heaven celebrates her fall (19:1-4) (see Framework 4A.a, time-parallel 10). This is a cosmos-wide event that is the central part of two interlinked chronologically linear dramas in the proposed macrostructure (4:1-11:19 and from 12:1, Framework 1). The first drama begins in heaven’s throne-room and is then set on the physical-spiritual earth; Babylon’s fall is described in 16:14-17:18. The second drama begins in heaven’s environs and then moves to the biblical earth; Babylon’s fall is announced in 14:8. Earlier (4D.a), the biblical earth was described as the earthly space that represents mythic or allegorical characters and events that are described or foretold in Scripture. Babylon is a real place in the Hebrew Bible but the Gospels are the guiding Scriptures for events surrounding Babylon, because her fall follows the appearance of the Lamb on Mt Zion (14:1-5); see Framework 5 for pre-Parousia Gospel references.
Announcements by the three angels who follow the Lamb onto the biblical earth (14:6-11) act as a framework for events elsewhere in the visionary cosmos in this section (16:12-19:6): the Lamb appears on Mt Zion (14:1-5); the Gospel is proclaimed by the first angel, judgement has come and a plea is made for people to worship God (14:6-7); Babylon’s fall is announced by the second angel, (14:8) and the third angel announces that judgement on satan’s follower (the ‘marked’) is imminent (14:9-11). In Figure 4, 14:1-11 define time-parallels 8b-11. Events outlined in 14:1-11 are described in more detail in a few consecutive verses in every cosmic space: on the physical-spiritual earth; at the below-the-earth/ physical-spiritual earth boundary; and in heaven’s throne-room (16:12-19:6). A text spiral begins in this section (16:12-19:6) that continues to 21:9 (Framework 5). The spiral reflects the path of John’s eyes as events surrounding Babylon’s fall unfold. The spiral does not include 14:1-11 (continuing to 14:20 in Framework 5) because John saw this outline of what was about to happen earlier on his visionary journey, as part of the ‘messianic war’ (12:1-14:20, Bauckham, 1993a: 94).
The announcement: ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the great!’ is made by the second of three angels who follow the Lamb in the biblical space (14:8). The same announcement is also made by the angel with ‘great authority’ to below-the-earth (18:2), and Babylon is accused of the same crime in both locations (all the ‘nations drink/have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’, 14:8, 18:3).[1] The judgement placed upon Babylon (the wine-cup full of the fury of God’s wrath, 16:19) is appropriate to her drunken and debauched sins (18:3-5). This suggests the same event is announced to two different audiences (people and demons), probably at the same time, and the second of the three angels may be the angel with ‘great authority’ (see Framework 4A.a). The description of the unprecedented earthquake and hailstorm that destroys Babylon and its territories in 16:17-21 suggests that the physical-spiritual earth may be the focus of her fall, because only announcements are made to the biblical earth and below-the-earth. Finally, heaven celebrates; 19:1-4 is the (implied) fourth reference to the fall of Babylon (time-parallel 10, Figure 4).
[1] Other ancient authorities read ‘She has made all nations drink’ for both verses (NRSVA note, 18:3). Verb tenses are unreliable indicators for relative event timings in Revelation, particularly in chapter 18; this may reflect the tension between the narrative literary form and content, and/or how John saw future events unfold (Collins, 1979: 126).
4D.e) John's visionary vantage points (part 3) and Babylon
John’s references to Babylon’s collapse supports the proposal made earlier (see Framework 3B.c) that John sees events from a vantage point on the physical-spiritual earth from 6:2 (the opening seals) to 10:9, when John takes the little scroll from the hand of the mighty angel and he (John) measures the temple in Jerusalem (11:1-2). When John sees the ‘two witnesses’ (11:3-14), he may have settled on a vantage point in or near to Jerusalem. Whether this is the same vantage point, or a new one, is unknown. This is consistent with John seeing ‘signs’ in heaven or the sky (οὐρανῷ) from earth, rather than John being taken into the heavenly realms again (after 4:2) to see the celestial mother and dragon (12:1-5) and then following them to earth (12:6, 12:13-18). John is probably on the same vantage point when he witnesses all of the messianic war (12:1-14:20) and the bowls and their consequences. The literary spiral supports this proposal, when John records events described in 16:12-19:6 in this section, continuing onto 21:9 in Framework 5. The literary spiral traces the path of John’s eyes as he watches contiguous events unfold. It is created by the interweaving of text passages which record events in two or more spaces in a few consecutive verses.
When John is taken by a bowl angel to a new place, in a wilderness (17:3), to see what Babylon represents (a harlot sitting on the scarlet beast, 17:1-18:24), this is a spatial shift to a new vantage point on the physical-spiritual earth (see Framework 4B.c). The spiral is uninterrupted by the move. Later, the bowl angel carries John away to a great, high mountain and he sees the bride of the Lamb, ‘the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God’ (21:10; Framework 5).
4D.f) What is the relationship between Babylon and the slain Lamb in Revelation?
The close proximity of the Lamb’s appearance on Mt Zion with the 144,000 ‘redeemed’ (14:1-5) and Babylon’s collapse (14:8) raises the question: do the evil forces gather for war in response to the appearance of Christ the Lamb or to attack Babylon (see Figure 4)? Whether Babylon or the Lamb is the focus of the events described in 16:12-19:4 is debated because the proximity of the appearance of the Lamb and the fall of Babylon is accentuated by the actions of satan and his beasts.[1] The beasts and their supporters will make war against the Lamb (17:16) and they will hate Babylon and bring her to ruin (17:16) before their defeat and the fulfilment of God’s words (17:17).
The announcements of the three angels who follow the Lamb on the biblical earth (14:6-11; 4D.d) give the overview of what will happen before and after Babylon is destroyed (see Figure 4). In the interpretation of the proposed macrostructure, Christ appears on Mt Zion (14:1-5) during the time when ‘the fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness (… but the people) did not repent of their deeds (16:10-11) (time-parallel 8b). John describes how ‘the kings of the whole world’ are manipulated by satan, his two beasts and the demonic spirits into gathering for war (16:13-14, the sixth bowl) (time-parallel 9). The demons anticipate ‘battle on the great day of God the Almighty’ (16:14) and demonic forces gather the kings for battle at a place called Armageddon) (16:16) and Babylon falls during the seventh bowl (14:8, 16:14-17:18, 18:1-3, 19:1-4, time-parallel 10).
After Christ the Rider appears (19:11-16), evil forces re-group (19:19); and after the Millennium, evil forces gather for the Final War against the city of God (20:7-10) (see Framework 5). This interpretation is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 in the Macrostructure Model. This suggests Christ (the Lamb and the Rider), not Babylon, is the target for the evil gatherings. If Babylon was the original target of the evil forces, there would be no need for them to re-group, after her fall, for war against the Rider. This interpretation is supported by the expectation of the demonic spirits: they anticipate ‘battle on the great day of God the Almighty’ (16:13-14). The fall of Babylon may be part of the ‘day of God’s wrath’ but is not ‘judgement day’ or the great day of God the Almighty, because life continues – albeit in a restricted and devastated way (18:9-19).
This study proposes that the invasion by the kings from the East and the whole world (16:12-16) before the storm and earthquake destroy Babylon (16:17-21) may give the impression that Babylon is destroyed by foreign armies and many kings ‘on the day of the Lord’ or on the ‘day of trouble’, as prophesised in Is.13, Jer.50 and Jer.51 (so Jauhiainen, 2005: 388; see Framework 4B.a). This study also proposes that the collapse of Babylon by storm and earthquake (time-parallel 10) facilitates her ruin (time-parallel 11); and her ruin is destruction (opportunistic or otherwise) of Babylon’s trade and financial power that is secondary to satan’s, his beasts’ and the corrupted kings’ planned attack on Christ the Lamb. These interpretations avoid the problem of how to connect 16:16 with 19:11-21 or 20:7-10, which Jauhiainen cites as problems if the focus of the 16:14-16 gathering is not Babylon (Jauhiainen, 2005: 387-388). In this study: 16:16 is the first gathering before Babylon falls, after the Lamb appears with the 144,000 ‘redeemed’; 19:11-21 is the re-gathering after Babylon falls and after Christ the Rider appears; and 20:7-10 is the re-re-gathering for the Final War, after satan is released from 1000 years captivity in the Abyss (see Framework 5). The target of the evil gatherings is the heavenly armies (led by Christ the Lamb and the Rider) or the city of God.
[1] Satan’s two main beasts are described in 13:1-18 (Framework 3) and 17:1-18 (Framework 4C).
4D.g) Armageddon - a place not a battle
During the sixth bowl, the water of the River Euphrates dries up and the way is prepared for the kings from the East (16:12) and all the evil forces gather together at a place called Armageddon (16:16). The translation of the Hebrew name ‘Armageddon’ is ambiguous (Jauhiainen, 2005: 381), it can be translated as Mount Megiddo, although there is no mountain near the present-day archaeological site of Megiddo. Megiddo was a town on a small hill adjacent to a flat plain beside the River Jordan, opposite the cliffs of Nazareth, and it is a very suitable place for armies to gather from the East. It is close to the site of the Jesus’ Ascension from the Mt of Olives (between Jerusalem and Bethany, Lk. 24:50-51, Acts 1:9-12), which is the place of his anticipated return in the clouds (Acts 1:11), with power and great glory (Lk. 21:25-28, Mt. 24:29-31, Mk. 13:24-27). John anticipates Christ’s return with the clouds (1:7) and this is fulfilled in 14:14. Babylon, as Rome, on the other hand, is about 1500 miles from Jerusalem, across half the Mediterranean Sea (as the crow flies). The Gospels suggest that the time just before the Parousia will be a time of hedonism – like in the times of Noah (Lk. 17:26-27, Mt. 24:37-39) or Lot (Lk. 17:28-33) – and this suggests that Babylon represents the corruption of society and not an individual society or place.
Armageddon is probably also the site of the second gathering before the Great War (19:17-21), which follows the appearance of Christ the Rider and the armies of heaven (19:11-16). Geography and Scripture support the proposal that evil armies will gather near Jerusalem in response to Christ the Lamb appearing on Mt Zion (in the centre of Jerusalem, 14:1-5), rather than outside Rome or its hedonistic equivalent. Mt Zion is adjacent to the Mt of Olives but the theological difference between the two mountains is considered in Framework 5. The focus for the second evil gathering is likely to be the same place (near to Jerusalem).
4D.h) Jerusalem and Babylon
Scripture suggests Jerusalem will have a specific role in the eschaton, for example: ‘See, a day is coming for the Lord (…) For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, (…) Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations (…) On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, (…) and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley (…) Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.’ (Zech. 14:1-5). This is fulfilled in Revelation when Christ the Lamb stands on Mt Zion with the 144,000 ‘redeemed’ (14:1-5) and Christ the One-like-a-son-of-man appears on the cloud (14:14, see the Parousia in Framework 5). Jerusalem, and not Babylon, is the city containing/ beside both Mt Zion and Mt of Olives and this supports the earlier proposal that the Lamb, not Babylon, is the focus of the evil armies (4D.f and 4D.g). However, it is Babylon that is destroyed after the armies gather (16:14-16) and when the seventh bowl empties (16:17-21) and not Jerusalem.
Babylon is unlikely to be Jerusalem because John’s term for Jerusalem is ‘the holy city’ (11:2), or ‘Sodom and Egypt’ when it is corrupted (11:8). Babylon is the ‘great city’ and the harlot when she is corrupted (17:1-18:24). Jerusalem is also a ‘great city’ (where also their Lord (Jesus) was crucified’, 11:8), but it is partially destroyed during the Second Woe (sixth trumpet, 11:13-14, see Framework 3). Babylon was probably Rome in John’s era and she is the archetype of all ‘great cities’, but she (Babylon) will not be destroyed until the Third Woe (seventh bowl, 16:17-21).
The interpretation of the proposed macrostructure (see Figure 4) suggests that when the Lamb appears (during the fifth bowl), the kings from the East (16:12) meet with the kings of the whole world (16:14) at Armageddon because demonic forces anticipate ‘battle on the great day of God the Almighty’ (16:14). The armies meet during the sixth bowl, probably in the valley of the River Jordon beside Megiddo, near to Jerusalem (16:16, see 4D.g). According to Zech. 14:1-5, a great earthquake will destroy Jerusalem – and probably disrupt the gathering armies. An earthquake also causes the centre of the commercial world (Babylon) to collapse during the seventh bowl (16:17-21). Those dependent on Babylon’s trade (kings, merchants, ships’ captains and passengers, sailors etc.) see the smoke from her destruction and mourn her loss (18:9-19). In John’s era, Babylon (Rome) was heavily dependent on imported goods by sea and it is a long way away from Jerusalem. It seems likely that the Babylon-equivalent in the eschaton (the main commercial hub at the time) will also be distanced from the gathering evil armies near to Jerusalem (at the sixth bowl) but she will be destroyed and ruined shortly afterwards (at the seventh bowl).
4D.i) It is done!
Babylon’s worst corruption and hedonism coincides with the influence of satan’s two main beasts (the abyss beast and earth beast, see Framework 4C) and a voice from the heavenly throne exclaims ‘It is done!’ (Γέγονεν, 16:17) when Babylon falls. This suggests Babylon’s fall marks the end of the era of the beasts and the beginning of their defeat and punishment. The plural of Γέγονεν (Γέγοναν) ‘They are done!’ (21:6) is exclaimed at the initiation of the New Order (Framework 5).[1] Grant Osborne suggests the second (plural) reference indicates all the events of the Old Order are encompassed (Osborne, 2002:737-738) but Felise Tavo suggests these two words delineate the events of the seventh bowl and the bowl includes the destruction of Babylon’s builders (satan’s two beasts, i.e. including 19:11-20:15) (Tavo, 2005: 59). The proposed macrostructure supports Osborne’s interpretations because Babylon’s fall is a short, defined destruction (seventh bowl, time-parallel 10). It is unlikely that the seventh bowl includes the demise of the beasts’ in the Great War or the Final Judgement (time-parallels 15 and 18, Framework 5). Therefore, this study suggests Γέγονεν highlights the end of Babylon and the beginning of the end of the beasts’ dominance, and Γέγοναν highlights the end of the Old Order.
The fall of Babylon and the satellite cities is a regional disaster with international and cosmic implications (18:9-19). The only other events which occur in every space in the proposed model are the Cross (the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ) and the Final Judgement (time-parallels 1 and 18, respectively) so Babylon imitates the cosmic-wide influence of the Cross; this is ironic because she is also copying cosmic-wide judgement. Babylon’s fall is ironic in a second way: the abyss beast hates her (17:16) and wants to ruin her but her fall is a precursor to the beasts’ own destruction.
The Gospels warn that hedonism will be rife when Christ appears (the Parousia). Jerusalem will be downtrodden ‘until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled’ (Lk. 21:24). This is a period in which people are living ordinary lives, like in the times of Noah (Lk. 17:26-27, Mt. 24:37-39) or Lot (Lk. 17:28-33), before the cosmos is shaken apart and the Son of Man appears suddenly, in the cloud(s) with power and great glory (Lk. 21:25-28, Mt. 24:29-31, Mk. 13:24-27). Matthew adds: a trumpet will sound (Mt. 24:31) and when the Son of Man comes with his angels, he will sit on the throne and the nations will be judged (Mt. 25:31-46). There will be temptations for hedonism, like a sudden snare (Lk. 21:34); take heed, watch! (Lk. 21:34-36); the need for the faithful to prepare and watch is emphasised by parables (Mt. 24:45-25:30, Mk. 13:33-37). Who is Babylon? She is the harlot who illustrates society’s hedonism and corruption. What is Babylon? It is the outworking of this corruption in the great city (probably Rome, and then all societies that reject God), and it will ultimately face destruction.
The last word on Babylon is a plea; ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes’ (18:4-5). A warning to all generations follows: there will be no more celebration, music or work undertaken in Babylon after its destruction (18:21-24) because she killed the prophets and saints and all the faithful on earth (18:24). At the beginning of the book of Revelation, seven messages were written to the Christian congregations (2:1-3:22) and an application of Babylon’s example today endorses a message that is still relevant for all churches: repent, endure patiently and to be prepared for Christ’s appearance, whenever it may happen.
[1] In the Greek, both words are the perfect, active indicative of the verb γίνομαι meaning ‘to be’. Γέγονεν (16:17) is the third person singular and Γέγοναν, is the third person plural (21:6). https://biblecrawler.org/ [accessed 25 November 2023].