18:1 John next saw another scene on earth (Gr. Meta tauta eidon, "After these things I saw,"cf. 4:1). Another angel of the same kind as in 17:1 (i.e., one who descends from heaven to fulfill a special mission; cf. 10:1; 20:1) announced the next scene that John saw in his vision. This angel possessed great authority and glory, probably indicative of the importance of the judgment he announced. His description has led some interpreters to conclude that he is Jesus Christ.589However his clear identification as an angel and the function he performs seem to mark him as an angel (cf. 14:8).590Evidently his task required great authority.591His great glory, with which he illuminated the earth, probably suggests that he had just come from God's presence (cf. Exod. 34:29-35; Ezek. 43:2).
18:2 The repetition of the word "Fallen"(cf. 14:8; Isa. 21:9; Jer. 51:8) probably indicates that God guaranteed this judgment and that it will happen quickly (Gen. 41:32; cf. 2 Pet. 3:8). This is another proleptic announcement in which the angel described a future action as already having happened.592
"It is the prophetic way of declaring that the great purpose of God in triumphing over evil is a fait accompli."593
The description of Babylon in this verse is what it will be after God judges it (cf. Isa. 13:21; 34:14; 47:7-9; Jer. 50-51; Ezek. 26-28; Nah. 3; Zeph. 2:15). Ancient Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C., but that fall did not fulfill Old Testament prophecies about Babylon completely (cf. Isa. 47:11; Jer. 51:8).594John had described God only through hymns of worship to this point, and he now similarly described the fall of Babylon through the laments of onlookers.595
"The prophecy thus indicates that before the advent of the warrior-king in 19:11-16, Babylon will rise to its greatest heights, not only of idolatry (chap. 17), but also of luxury (chap. 18). . . . Babylon of the future, therefore, will be the center for both false religion and world economic prosperity."596
Apparently it is the city that will be the prison of demons, a place where they are safe but kept against their wills (cf. Isa. 13:21-22; 34:11-17; Jer. 51:37). A prison (or haunt) for unclean birds is a figure of desolation (cf. Isa. 34:11, 13; Jer. 50:39). Babylon will become utterly desolate.
18:3 This verse is very similar to 17:2. However it seems that in view of the description God gave of Babylon in the rest of chapter 18 it is not exactly the same Babylon pictured in chapter 17. The political, economic, commercial system that originated in Babylon and that leaves God out seems to be in view here. Her philosophy has influenced all the nations that have acted immorally as a result and grown rich at the expense of and in defiance of others. Babylon's influence has been worldwide. Political self-interest and materialism are its chief sins (cf. v. 23).597
