Revelation 18:4-8
The End Times

In my last post, we explored Revelation 18:1-3 ~ Bavel Has Fallen. In this post, we continue in Revelation 18:4-8 ~ Come Out of Her.

“Then I heard another voice out of heaven say: ‘My people, come out of her! so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not be infected by her plagues, ⁵ for her sins are a sticky mass piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. ⁶ Render to her as she rendered to others! Pay her back double for what she has done! Use the cup in which she has brewed to brew her a double-sized drink! ⁷ Give her as much torment and sorrow as the glory and luxury she gave herself! For in her heart she says, ‘I sit a queen — I am not a widow, I will never see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore, her plagues will come in a single day — death, sorrow and famine; and she will be burned with fire, because Adonai, God, her Judge, is mighty’”  ~ Revelation 18:4-8 (CJB)

A Call to Separation from Bavel

Then I heard another voice out of heaven say: ‘My people, come out of her! so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not be infected by her plagues, ⁵ for her sins are a sticky mass piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. By this time many true Believers have already been martyred, and it is hard to imagine anyone escaping the cruel hand of the Beast. Perhaps some Believers have been able to move about and have avoided making a choice (at least publicly) that would seal their doom. At any rate, there must be some who have remained faithful, and they are being told to get out of Bavel before it is too late. It sounds like the warning given to Lot and his family before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Yochanan offers two reasons for this call. First, that you will not share in her sins and second, to escape the judgment that was about to come.

The Indictment Against Bavel

Render to her as she rendered to others! Pay her back double for what she has done! Use the cup in which she has brewed to brew her a double-sized drink! ⁷ Give her as much torment and sorrow as the glory and luxury she gave herself! For in her heart she says, ‘I sit a queen — I am not a widow, I will never see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore, her plagues will come in a single day — death, sorrow and famine; and she will be burned with fire, because Adonai, God, her Judge, is mighty’” The trouble with Bavel can be reduced to one word, PRIDE. And yet, from that one sin, springs forth every kind of sin imaginable and Bavel was guilty of them all! One has only to read this chapter to discover her fallen position. Pride has been the undoing of many an individual.

Proverbs 6:16 says: There are six things Adonai hates, seven which he detests.  The first item on the list is a haughty look (v. 17a). God hates this kind of arrogant pride. Call the roll of every excuse, and though the wording is different, mainly the real problem is human pride. The torment and sorrow of Bavel will be proportional to her self-glorification. Her debasement will correspond to the degree of her self-glorification. Her poverty will measure up to her prosperity. She rests in a false security, fancying that her lifestyle will last forever. The very thing that caused HaSatan expulsion from heaven will bring his little kingdom here on earth to an end – PRIDE (Isaiah 14:12-14). In that final day, the rebuilt Bavel will be a city dripping with pride and arrogance, a picture of man’s attempt to function in the world apart from God. We will learn in my next post that God will bring Bavel down in a single hour (Revelation 18:10, 17, 19).

Special Comparative Note on Chapter 18:4-8 ^[1]

 Historicist Approach:

Historicists point out that come out of her recalls Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s exhortation for the Jewish exiles to leave ancient Bavel and return to their land (Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 51:6, 45). Barnes makes an application to Papal Rome as evidenced by the Reformation.

Preterist Approach:

Preterists believe the entire chapter is filled with allusions against ancient Bavel, Tyre, Sodom, and Jerusalem. They also concur with the Historicists in recalling Isaiah and Jeremiah.  Sodom is included in the list by reference to her sins are a sticky mass piled up to heaven as depicted in Genesis 18:21.

Futurist Approach:

Most Futurists equate come out of her to post-Rapture Believers who have escaped detection from the authorities.

Idealist Approach:

Idealists concur with the Futurists position above.

In my next post, we’ll examine Revelation 18:9-24 ~ Fornicators Lament; Apostles and Prophets Avenged.

Click here for PDF version.

[1] Material in this post is taken from “Revelation: Four Views, Revised & Updated” by Steve Gregg. Notations in brackets, if any, are my comments.