What is the context?
An angel descends from heaven with great authority, lighting the earth with his glory. He announces Babylon’s fall. The city that drew the nations, rulers and merchants into its luxury and immorality is described as a dwelling place of demons and unclean creatures. Splendor gives way to desolation.
A second voice calls God’s people to come out of her so they will not share in her sins or plagues. The warning joins two concerns: refusing participation in corruption and escaping its judgment. Babylon’s sins have piled up to heaven, and God remembers what she has done.
The punishment is described as repayment for her deeds. Her self-glorification and luxury are answered by torment and grief. In her heart she treats herself as a secure queen who will never experience loss. The judgment overturns that confidence.
Death, grief, famine and fire come upon her. The reason given is that the Lord who judges her is mighty. Her apparent strength cannot protect her when He acts.
How is this passage commonly understood?
The USCCB notes understand Babylon as Rome, with prophetic images expressing judgment on its idolatry and persecution. Wesley also identifies Babylon with Rome, especially in its later religious power. Walvoord expects a future collapse of political and commercial Babylon, discussing a rebuilt Babylon as a possible location. The setting is disputed; the connection between corruption and judgment is shared.
The command to come out is also read differently. The USCCB notes emphasize separation from sin rather than evacuation of a city. Walvoord includes actual departure from the place facing destruction, alongside separation from its wrongdoing. These explanations differ over the action pictured while taking the call to reject Babylon’s sins seriously.
The repayment language presents God’s judgment. The chapter’s first direct call to His people is to leave Babylon’s corruption behind.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The call echoes Jeremiah 51:5–9 and 45–50, where God’s people are told to flee Babylon and not perish in its punishment. Babylon’s wealth and influence do not make its conduct safe to share. Revelation draws on that earlier warning as it calls God’s people away from a power that stands under judgment.
The boast of a queen who will never know widowhood or loss recalls Isaiah 47:7–9. The desolate city also recalls Isaiah 13:19–22. These scriptural connections show a recurring theme: a power that treats its prosperity as permanent must still answer to God.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.