Revelation 14:8

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.

Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great ... The prophetic tense speaks not of what has already taken place, but of what is certain to occur in connection with the final judgment. As Roberts said, "This anticipates the fuller description"[43] later in the prophecy. Babylon the great is primarily the pagan city of Rome, the proud sea-beast, in the manifestation of its sixth head, the Roman empire, that was doomed by this heavenly pronouncement.

Remember that this was written in the first century, and possibly as early as 69 A.D., at a time when the pagan empire was supreme on the earth and would continue to be supreme for at least four centuries afterwards. It seems nearly incredible that so few writers dwell upon the dramatic fulfillment of this prophecy in 476 A.D. Rome did fall, as here prophesied; and in this clearly fulfilled prophecy, there is seen the absolute necessity of beholding, in at least some of its declarations, a definite revelation of historical events lying centuries in the future when Revelation was written.

That Babylon here is a reference to the pagan empire, especially the city of Rome, hardly needs to be argued. See the discussion of this in the Introduction to 1Peter, in my Commentary to 1Peter, pp. 157,158. The ancient Babylon on the Euphrates had not existed for centuries, and there were many current references to Rome as "Babylon" in the secular literature of New Testament times. As a great enemy of the Old Testament Israel, which had taken God's people captive and mercilessly exploited them, Babylon was the idea1 type of oppressive, pagan, anti-Christian government.

The generation of John's day would not live to see Babylon fall, but this assurance to them from an apostle of Christ was comforting. They knew that, "The wrath of God was falling upon the pagan city and that her judgment was determined."[44]

That hath made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication ...

This combines two ideas: the wine used to intoxicate and to seduce to fornication, and the wine of God's wrath. Babylon had deceived and seduced all nations by the enticement of her wealth and luxuries; but this cup will turn out to be the cup of God's wrath.[45]

Only this cryptic mention of Babylon's fall is here, the first mention of her in Revelation; but John will return to this.

The announcement of the doom of great pagan Rome, mentioned here in close connection with the final judgment, must also be understood as a prophecy of the fall of all great wicked cities, or at least a very significant portion of them before the final judgment day itself. The "Babylon" in view here is not merely the one on the Tiber. We observed in connection with Revelation 11:13 that the collapse of urban civilization as opposed to God, will occur before the end; so "Babylon" here is understood as a type. "She has also reared palaces on the Seine, the Thames, and the Bosphorus."[46] And we might add, the Hudson, the Mississippi, the Rhine, and the Bayou that is called Buffalo. Wherever there is entrenched greed, indifference to God, hatred of Christ, and the worship of man, there also is Babylon the great.

[43] J. W. Roberts, The Revelation of John (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, 1974), p. 120.

[44] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 274.

[45] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 194.

[46] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 602.