Revelation 14:8-10 “And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”
Comment: The fall of Babylon happens before the third angel’s announcement to the world about the mark of the beast. Thus it happens before the last three-and-one- half years of the tribulation.
Revelation 17:12; 16 “And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.”
Comment: When the ten horns are involved in the destruction of Babylon, they do not have their kingdoms yet. Also the beast Babylon rides on has not received the mortal wound to one of its heads yet.
Revelation 19:1-8 “After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
Comment: The fall of Babylon happens before the marriage of the Lamb, or before the rapture.
Revelation 16:17-21 “And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.”
Comment: In the last judgment of Revelation, the earth receives the final fierceness of God’s wrath. The word “remembered” should be noted. Here God’s judgment against Babylon is complete. The sin of Babylon polluted the earth. Since Babylon was destroyed earlier, here God is remembering to judge and remove completely Babylon’s influence upon the earth. This is necessary before He can set up His kingdom.
Isaiah 48:5-6 “therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard it; behold all this; and ye, will ye not declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not known.”
Comment: In the context of the fall of Babylon and Israel’s deliverance, Israel is told that they were told about this before it came to pass. They will not be able to say that they accomplished this on their own. Thus the events are found in the Scriptures. We just aren’t told exactly where and how it fits together.
Revelation 4:1 “After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.”
Comment: The hereafter could begin anytime after the time of John’s writings.
Revelation 22:10 “And he saith unto me, Seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.”
Comment: John is told not to seal up Revelation because the time is about to begin.
Revelation 6:7-11 “And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.”
Comment: The place I see where the fall of Babylon, a disastrous event, would fit in Revelation, is with the fourth seal. The event comes before the fifth seal, where the martyrs are allowed to talk to God (the rapture). The same sequence is found in Chapter 19. It is interesting to note in the fourth seal that death and Hades followed the pale horse, signifying that seal affects mainly the unsaved world. I believe the pale horse is of a greenish color. It is interesting to note the flag of Palestine is green. I believe we are about to enter this fourth seal where we will see one-fourth of the world’s population die. Remember the fall of Babylon affects the whole world. This raises the question that if this is true, what were the first three seals?
Revelation 6:1-6 “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.”
Comment: I have come to the conclusion that the seals are historical periods or events that affect the earth before God’s wrath is poured out. Seal one is the conquering of the New World (the conquistadors). Seal two is the World Wars, or the killing of one another. In the third seal, the emphasis is on the price of things. Everything is more expensive. “Not hurting of the oil and wine” shows that life is still good, but more expensive (difficult economic times).
Summary: The Fall of Babylon in The Book of Revelation
The Scriptures in the book of Revelation tell us of the fall of Babylon. They do not reveal exactly where it fits in the timeline of the overall events. We are told it happens before the warning announcement about the mark of the beast. We also are told she rides on the end-time beast before the 10 kingdoms are given to its heads, and before one of the heads receives a mortal wound. Her fall comes before the marriage of the Lamb in heaven.
The fall of Babylon affects the whole world with disastrous consequences. The place it seems to fit is in the fourth seal where a fourth part of the earth’s population dies. This fits Revelation 19:1-8 where the marriage of the Lamb comes after the fall of Babylon. The fifth seal states the martyrs are allowed to talk to God. The rapture brings them into His presence. Thus the fall of Babylon would have happened earlier. The end result of tribulation is that God remembers and removes all of Babylon’s influence before He sets up His kingdom.
