Revelation 18:2; The Angel Cried Mightily With a Strong Voice

Revelation 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 

The participle “saying” introduces the substance of the angel’s cry. It is the first of a series of voices that draw heavily from Old Testament descriptions of Babylon (Isaiah 13:21; 34:14; 47:7-9; Jeremiah 50-51), Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28) and Nineveh (Nahum 3; Zephaniah 2:15).

Isaiah 13:21  But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 

Isaiah 34:14  The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. 

Isaiah 47:7-9  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 

Zephaniah 2:15  This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. 

This chapter combines a song of triumph (v20) with the wailing strains of lamentation (Moffatt, Johnson).

Revelation 18:20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 

The prelude (v1-3) and the finale (v21-24) of the chapter tell two fundamental reasons for God’s judgment of the city: political self-interest and materialism (Revelation 18:3, 23).

Revelation 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 

Revelation 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 315]