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Babylon, the Mystery of Satans Rebellion and Wickedness Fallen Rev. 18:1 - 24

February 16, 2014 Speaker: Jim Galli Series: Revelation

Topic: Sunday Eve. Bible Study Passage: Revelation 18:1–24

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Revelation 18:1 - 24   
  1After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
     4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; 5for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6“Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7“To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’ 8“For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.
     9“And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more; 12cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. 14“And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15“The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ 19“And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ 20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
     21And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22“And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24“And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.

There really aren't any exegetical challenges here, except one gigantic one.  The rest is easy peasy.  We'll just look at words and grammar . . mostly.

But the challenge is a doozy, so we'll stumble bumble over it first.

Who?  or What?  and Where? is Babylon??

It's the same Babylon as last week in Ch. 17, but here it gets very real.  Babylon seems to be a distinct place, as well as a source, as well as a religion, as well as a worldwide political center.  Where?

There are lots of interesting answers out there.  But they're diverse enough and weird enough that the safest thing to do is say without much argument, nobody really knows.

In his 1971 tape series MacArthur says it's Rome.  Many scholars believe it's Rome.  And there's lots of good reasons for that.  We talked about Rome last week, but I tried to move you beyond just Rome, the city and the Vatican, to Rome the foundation of Western idea and civilization.  Western Europe and the United States.  The European Union and her allies.  A 2nd Roman Empire, if you will, and that's what the Bible indicates.  

But last week we pictured a very nervous and fractured empire that also enfolds global south and east.  Islam!  Old Rome included every nation along the southern rim of the mediteranean as well as Europe.  North Africa.  Egypt.  Syria.  Israel.  Turkey.  Jordan.  Arabia.  Even Persia.  And right up into the northern nations.  All controlled by Rome.

So, where is the physical seat of this vast empire ruled by one man, the Anti-Christ?

Interestingly enough, MacArthur changed his mind about this.  His 1992 series on Revelation is different than the 1971.  JMac is remarkably consistent in his teaching over the 44 years I've been tuned in.  This is the only instance I can think of where he differs.

In the 1992 series he kind of thinks maybe this is physical Babylon in Persia (Iraq).  After all, wasn't Saddam rebuilding old Babylon?

So I did a little study (I have 20-20 hind-sight) to see if Babylon is becoming a PLACE in the intervening years.  In 2014 Babylon is nothing but a tourist site.  For $20 you can walk all over the mud bricks of old Babylon and roll your eyes at the audacity of Saddam to stamp his name in the bricks of rebuilt Babylon just the same as Nebuchadnezzar did in old Babylon.

But other than a gate and a guy collecting the tourist money, it's dead.  Nothing going on.

So we can surmize at least 2 possibilities from that.  Either real physical Babylon ain't the place, or if it is, we're well off on our guess that the stage is beyond set for imminent things to happen.

We're either off on our place, or off on our time frame, if it's at the site of old Babylon in Iraq.  Or maybe God will shut my mouth and an entire city will get built there in a very very short time frame.  

Since this is my guessing game, at the moment, I'm going to rule out Babylon.

So, the answer, as we've said before, is tied up in the word, mystery.  It's a bible mystery.  It will be revealed to God's people at God's time.  Mystery Babylon the Great.  The mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.

Still, I'll not stop there.  I'm going to throw some ideas out at you and we'll see if any of them float to the top over time.  Or not.  Maybe we'll be watching from a theater seat in Glory.

666 dot babylon dot com.  First of all I see world-wide connectivity unlike anything other believers could have even imagined until now!  An electronic world . . controlled completely by anti-christ.

The world will be connected, and you'll be LOCKED out unless you take the mark of the beast.  Maybe www gets replaced with 666?  

The world will have suffered a complete devastating financial collapse.  Everything stalled.  All of the old puffed up propped up financial systems, gone in a day.  The house of cards, collapsed.  People will lose everything they thought they had, in a moment of time.  Commerce will stall.  Banks will collapse.  The entire world will be at a standstill . . until one man, the anti-christ, magically puts a system together that brings the whole world back to something normal.  Crisis miraculously solved!  But with caveat's.

To get back into the world, the portal will be 666 dot babylon dot com.  Your retirement savings will magically re-appear, as long as you sign on to the world wide control of anti-christ.

Religions will still be religions, kings will still be kings, merchants will still be merchants, banks will still be banks . . . except they will be required to agree with the world wide principals and goals of one man.  anti-christ.

And the world will shout hurrah!  This is the best thing that ever happened.  World Wide Government Control at one source by one man who holds ultimate control over everything.  666 dot babylon dot com.  This man has done what no other man could do for as long as the world existed.  Peace reigns under his ultimate control.  And control is TOTAL.  Go against him and the piece of fiber optic that hooks you to the rest of the world is shut off.  No commerce.  No existence.  Without this connection, you languish outside the rest of commerce.

Where!??

Well, he'll be everywhere fiber optic cable goes.  The image of the beast will be on every flat screen, or maybe 3D is closer than we think.

But still, there has to be a physical place.  The language about cities, and merchants, and kings, and ships is not figural.  There is some literal physical center of all this.

Well, your guess is as good as mine, but since this is my class, you're stuck with mine.  Take it and $4 bucks and get yourself an expresso.

I've ruled out Rome, because, other than being important to the religious connection to this world empire, it just isn't very vital in the big world picture.  There's no sea port.  Babylon barely has a drinking fountain, let alone a sea port.  The sea merchants show up twice in this passage.

I'm thinking New York.  I'm thinking there's a good reason the USA has turned into the new Sodom and Gomorrah.

New York is as Western Civilization as the world gets.  It has the United Nations building.  It has the sea port.  It has Wall Street, the center of world finance.  It not only has every thing that we'll see described in Ch. 18, I can't think of any place in old Europe that even comes close.  It's got Hillary Clinton.  Just kidding.  I hope.

A center of great power.  A center of governments.  A center of finance.  A center of sea and land commerce.  That's what chapter 18 requires.  Can you think of a better fit, anywhere?  I'm wide open.  Mystery.  Babylon.

God has judged other nations and governments of old for wickedness that is far less than our own.  There are darker places in the world, but there is no place with the level of revelation (illumination) and blessing we have enjoyed from God that has gone so extremely wicked in spite of God's revealed truth and blessing.  Never.  No one even close.  The logical conclusion is God is withholding judgement waiting for the day described just here.

So, I went to Wikipedia to see how the top cities of the world rate against each other.  Very interesting.  Let me just bore you with a few of the worlds ideas on how to rate what I learned are called "Global Cities"

From Wikipedia;  A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.
The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.

Characteristics
Although what constitutes a world city is still subject subject to debate, standard characteristics of world cities are:
A variety of international financial services, notably in finance, insurance, real estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing
⦁        Headquarters of several multinational corporations
⦁        The existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange and major financial institutions
⦁        Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area
⦁        Major manufacturing centres with port and container facilities
⦁        Considerable decision-making power on a daily basis and at a global level
⦁        Centres of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture and politics
⦁        Centres of media and communications for global networks
⦁        Dominance of the national region with great international significance
⦁        High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information sector
⦁        High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities, international student attendance and research facilities
⦁        Multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical and entertainment facilities in the country

The 2008 roster, similar to the 1998 version, is sorted into categories of "Alpha" world cities (with four sub-categories), "Beta" world cities (three sub-categories), "Gamma" world cities X3
    Alpha++ cities are New York City and London, which are vastly more integrated with the global economy than any other cities.
In all the lists except one (probably configured by Englishmen) New York is far out in front, and London is next.  But London has no sea port.  New York and London are always listed side by side, the only Alpha ++ cities, with New York far more important.  Like New York 70 and London 42 others follow with >#'s

Rome is somewhere down around 50-ish in only 3 of the 7 or 8 lists.  It was at the same level as Dallas, Texas.  Jerusalem didn't make any of the lists at all.  Rome is a Beta city.

I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but let's at least say;  What if...?  As we read through and look at the verses of this chapter, see if you don't think it sounds like the worlds most important hub city.

In chapter 17 it seems the Spirit is also giving us hints in this direction.  The woman sits on seven hills.  Obviously Rome.  But the woman is just the religious component of the Beast.  

Then the picture shifts to 7 world kingdoms, including this one we'll see shattered tonight.  7 World hubs.  The 6th was rome.  The 7th is Rome - ish.  Western.  European.  The word mystery leaves it wide open, as to where.

Vs. 1  After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.

Another angel.  The word another means one like the others we've seen.  Don't try to make this Jesus because of the illuminating glory.  This is a powerful angel.  A mighty angel.  

2And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

This mighty angel pronounces judgement!  Babylon is destroyed.  Babylon is foul and unclean, filthy, inhabited with demons.  It is a prison for demons.

You need to let your imagination run wild here for a minute.  You know, Hollywood loves to scare us out of our wits, or rather we love to be scared out of our wits with every sort of vain imagining.  Your worst hollywood nightmare is going to be like a sunday school picnic compared to this.  Demons turned loose to torment.  It's black as the inside of a cow, and there are angry demons crawling up walls like so much filth, with a view to torment any living person

3“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”

Here the 'act' of engaging into a socio-religious-political union with the beast and the world system of the beast is seen by God as an un-faithful sexual union.  You left the real God, who would have given you everything and your heart has turned against that husband, and gone after another husband.  It is a filthy, evil, shocking situation.

And look who the participants are.  Nations.  All of them.  Kings.  All of them.  And merchants, all of them.

Kings and nations have become drunk.  The pleasure of the passion of this spiritual immorality is like an opium.  Kings and people groups.  Nations of people and their kings with them are reeling drunk.  They can't even think along reasonable ways.  

I'm reading "The Book Thief" right now, and Germany in WWII is a type.  It is a picture in remembrance where an entire people group walk away from reason and morality and follow a mad man off a cliff.

They had science.  They had reason and philosophy of reasonable thought.  They had education.  They had the revealed word of God, and somehow an entire nation became drunk with the opium of one man, and 40 million people died, including 6,000,000 jews.  Why?  They were drunk.  They ceased thinking reasonably.  

That situation was minor compared to this one in Revelation 18 that we're looking at.  All the nations.  All the kings.  All the merchants are drunk and reeling with opium of this pied piper, the anti-christ.

Merchants!  They will go from a meltdown panic situation to one where riches beyond anything they thought possible are flowing under the control of the anti-christ.  

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

This is a general call like we've seen continually throughout Revelation.  God has made it clear to His elect people that if they take the sign of the beast and participate in his system, they are lost to Him.  This will cost you your life.

Participate in her sins; receive her plagues.  God has His remnant.  Even here, at this point of finality where destruction is about to occur . . has occured in this chapter, God has His remnant.

I think at this point of the story, the remnant is mostly Jews, and jewish peoples.  I think they will have a treaty with the beast that allows them some autonomy from the rest of the nations.  No idea how that will work, but the Word of God is clear that millions of Jews are going to be alive on earth and recognize their Messiah when He returns to defeat His enemies and take over the Authority to Reign on this earth.

God says, to His remnant, His elect, "seperate yourselves" from the beast and his system.  Come Out.  It's not a new rule folks.  We in this room, that have been purchased out of this world, are to live seperated from it.

Remember when I was talking about the level of sin that the world and the USA has sunk into.  How God has in the past judged other people groups and wiped them from the earth for less sin than we have now.  We've murdered more children, for our own convenience, than Hitler murdered people in WWII.

You think God isn't paying any attention? You think we're getting away with it?

I listen to Al Mohler's "The Briefing" every morning that I can, and the speed that gay activism, the sodomite marriage movement has swept over this nation is beyond startling.  DOMA was passed in 1996!  Less than 20 years and it's gone.  And the nation is crying VICTORY!

Our children are totally secular.  No idea of God.  No idea of creation.  True rules of science are abandoned.  Evolution is the only answer even allowed to be taught.  If you're a sodomite, it's in your genetic make-up and you were born that way, and anyone who thinks that is somehow sinful is a hater.  We have to gather up the haters and re-program their brains.  Stop hating or we'll come and take your stuff away.

Whatever happened to God?  Why have things gotten this far?  Look again at vs.5.   for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities

Don't kid yourself.  The USA, and the Nations of the world will be judged.  On this day!  Utter destruction.  Burned down.  Removed in such a way that the smoke will be a column rising up from this place that shook their collective fist and spat at the idea of a God who created, and required honor.

6“Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7“To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’ 8“For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

There's an old sermon illustration in my memory about a farmer who was an obstinate unbeliever.  He had a field across from a church of worshippers and he would delight to plow that field and make just as much dust and noise as possible to spoil the worship. One day he happens to meet the preacher at a gathering and he says something to the effect, if God's really there, why doesn't he judge me.  I've been making dust and trouble for you folks for years, and nothing ever happens to me.  Doesn't that prove that God doesn't exist?

And the preacher says, No, it just proves God doesn't collect on His debts on the day they come due.

Here we see that debt, piled up to heaven.  And pay back day has arrived.  Pay her back double.

This queen who laughed at God and led the world into idolotry.  Calculate the enormity of her sin and pay her back double!

For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong

God . . who does repay evil . . is strong.  Strong God can turn the world upside down and inside out in one day.  He spoke it into existence in 6 days.  He'll judge it in one.

 9“And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

Political destruction of the world.  They danced in the streets over this 'messiah' that gave them power and made them rich.  Gone!  Shock and Awe on a scale never seen or imagined.

Babylon, the STRONG city.  These fools will weep and lament because they thought their city was stronger than God.  Strong God is tormenting Babylon and the smoke is rising up in a column and these so-called kings aren't kings any more.  They stand at a distance.  Their knees knock against each other.

11“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—

Notice here, there's no repentence.  It's quite obvious that Strong God is raining down judgement!  But the source of their sorrow . . is lost sales!!  Unbelievable.

We could spend a week or two in here doing word studies.  Suffice to say some of these definitions of the articles of cargo certainly sound like first century words struggling to describe 21st century articles.  I'll single out three that I think are telling.

12cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

Chariots.  It's the only use in the entire Bible.  It is the word you would use for a fancy chariot with 4 wheels that a king would ride in perhaps.  Reaching a bit here, because it's the only use.  MacArthur says these are probably Ford Xplrers  

Slaves and Human Souls.  This is nothing but human trafficking.  You thought we had risen above slavery?  Not!  And in this time and place, money will buy you pleasure of any type imagined.  Cargoe's of slaves.  

Think about Abraham Lincoln's statement; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

It isn't in the Bible.  Not after the fall of man.  Not after sin entered the world.  It's an ideal to be worked for.  And if you study history, you'll see that christianity and judeo-christian ethics is the place where this idea thrives.

Laws that protect the weakest amongst us, women and children from wicked men, all stem from the judeo-christian ethic rooted in the Word of God that made it's way to Rome and became western civilization.

Do you see it slipping away as we abandon those roots.  People on the left think sharia law is esteemed.  Get ready, women and children, for abuse.  It's coming.  Here, in this passage, it's full blown.  There are cargoe's of psuchas (feminine plural) souls, for sale.  When God and His rules are abandoned, anyone weaker than anyone else . . is at risk.  

We've already murdered 40 million children, just in case you're thinking, "this will never be!"  Civilization only works where God restrains sinful people.  We can't get rid of it fast enough.

14“The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15“The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’

Gone!  Luxury, splendid things, ease, fine dining, river cruises through old Europe, stables full of fine things, antiques, art, noble things that were prized and had value.  Gone.  When God judges, fine things become . . . nothing!

And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ 19“And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’

Again, no one is repenting!  They're throwing dust in the air, because they're out of business.  No more cargoes.  No more ships full of sex workers.  No more ships hauling fine things to rich people.  All gone!  Laid waste with Babylon, the great.

I want to take these final verses out of order if you'll allow it.  Skip to vs22

22“And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer;

A long long time ago   I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile   And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance   And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver   With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep   I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried    When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside   The day the music died.  Don McLean

That's just a silly song about Buddy Holly's death, but that last line has always lingered.  The day the music died.

The Bible says there is a day that the music dies.  This is it.  Music; gone.  No more soul refreshment from music.  No dirges.  Nothing but the silence of rising smoke.

and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;

Production; over.  Maybe the folks at GM and Ford will be able to see that column of smoke . . from Detroit and Dearborn.  

23and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer;

Darkness, repaid with darkness.  Blackness.  Demons.  Terror.  Smoke.  Judgement.  You think I just described hell?  Close, but the mouth of hell awaits.

and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer;

I would add the voice of the bride and the bride, and the groom and the groom will not be heard any more.  No more sodomite marriages.  No more marriages at all.

for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

No more rich men.  No more Donald Trump's.  No more billionaires.  No more millionaires.  No more great men.  No more important men.  Worldwide!  See the word nations.  When Babylon is destroyed, the system goes with it.

I think what's left after this is armies moving, moving, moving towards Jerusalem.  Armegeddon awaits.

Perhaps you're thinking to yourself, this is pretty harsh!  Is God righteous to do this?  Congratulations, you're now more righteous than even God if you pose that question.  Is God righteous to judge His enemies?  In fact, He's doing this,  for us.  Back up to vs. 20, and we'll finish the chapter thinking about this judgement.

20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”

This is courtroom speak.  Rejoice because you've won your case, you saints and apostles and prophets!

We'll consider Vs. 24 right here, and also Revelation 6:10

Vs 24 says;  “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”

Revelation 6:9-11 says;  When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

So you have the complaint to the judge of all judges in Revelation 6 that we just read.  Add to it all of the old testament saints and new testament saints who were aliens and strangers in this world and shed their blood when Satan required it.  We see them included in Vs. 24.  The sin of Babylon has been spilling the blood of saints since Abel.  In fact EVERY murder ever committed is included in Vs. 24

Judgement has come!  Rejoice!  We're part of the judgement.  If the world hates you because you illuminate their sin, you're part of this judgement class.  Rejoice.  If the world doesn't hate you because you aren't illuminating their sin, you need to take an accounting.  This court case is coming.  You want to be on the side that wins!

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her

21Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.

A millstone is a rock that is flattened and made to grind against another stone so that wheat germs become flower.  This is a great millstone.  A huge rock.  And the angel throws it to the earth and his point is, that's what's going to happen to Babylon.  It will be destroyed violently.  Anihilated!  Missing from where it was before.  Gone!  

Nobody ever found Sodom and Gomorrah after God sent fire from heaven and burned them up.  So complete was their removal that all we can do is imagine the place where Abraham and Lot stood and divided their wealth and where they would settle, and say, maybe somewhere over there?

Babylon will be removed from earth with violence.  A column of smoke will rise up from the place.  You've seen the pictures of Nagasaki Japan after the atom bomb was finished?  There won't be that much left.  God is going to burn it with fire!

Malachi sees this day 2500 years ago.  Chapter 4:1  “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3“You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts.

Babylon is going to be ashes under my feet.  That's all that will be left.  Ashes.