Reflections on Revelation 18:21-24
Next, a mighty angel demonstrates the finality and declares the completeness of the judgment of the great prostitute, Babylon. The finality of her judgment is shown by the angel throwing a great millstone into the sea from which it will never rise again just as Jeremiah declared, "Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more" (Jeremiah 51:64).
The completeness of Babylon's judgment is shown by the total silence and darkness that encompasses her. Drawing from several Old Testament passages concerning God's judgment of several wicked cities,1 John says that the sounds of musicians, craftsmen, bakers, brides, and bridegrooms will be silenced and that every lamp will be extinguished in Babylon.
Finally, the mighty angel reiterates the reasons for Babylon's judgment: her princes were rapacious merchants, her sorceries deceived the nations, and her streets were stained with the blood of prophets and saints. The question of those who were slain, "How long?" has now be answered (see Revelation 6:10).
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1 Isaiah 14:11 concerning Babylon, Isaiah 24:8 concerning the whole earth, Ezekiel 26:13 concerning Tyre, and Jeremiah 7:34; 25:10 concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
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