Revelation 18: 1 - 3

1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 
With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’[a]
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
For all the nations have drunk
    the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
    and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”



Observation Questions

What is illuminated in verse 1?

Who is speaking in verses 2-3?
What is the volume like in verses 2-3?
What is said about Babylon the Great? (verse 2-3)
How many of the nations have drunk the maddening wine of the adulteries of Babylon the Great?
What have the kings of the earth done in verse 3?
What have the merchants of the earth done in verse 3?



Thoughts

How is the earth illuminated in verse 1?



Isaiah 21 

A Prophecy Against Babylon

 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland,
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.
 A dire vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot.
Elam, attack! Media, lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
 At this my body is racked with pain,
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered by what I see.
 My heart falters,
    fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror to me.
 They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!
 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout
    and have him report what he sees.
 When he sees chariots
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”
 And the lookout[a] shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
 Look, here comes a man in a chariot
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen!
All the images of its gods
    lie shattered on the ground!’”
 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,
    I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
    from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:
Someone calls to me from Seir,
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
 The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

 A prophecy against Arabia:
You caravans of Dedanites,
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
     bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,
    bring food for the fugitives.
 They flee from the sword,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
  2. Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.

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