Jerusalem means “foundation of peace.” The name carries the promise of God’s ultimate plan for the future. While Jerusalem is the city most often mentioned in the Bible, you might be surprised to learn that the second most often mentioned city in Scripture is not Rome—it is Babylon.

Babylon, originally called Babel, was founded by Nimrod (Genesis 10:9-10). He built the city, along with that infamous tower of Babel, in defiance of God’s command to spread out and fill the earth (Genesis 11:1-9). Nimrod wanted to unite the world into one global kingdom under his rule. The city of Babylon became his political headquarters, and the tower of Babel was going to become the center of his false religion.

The Tower of Babel was the prototype of what are called ziggurats. These towers were designed with a temple on top, representing the heavens. This was the beginning of astrology, with stars and constellations being deified as having power over people’s lives. That false religion still exists to this day. The meaning of Babel is “confusion.” And people who follow the religion of Babel even today are certainly confused.

Both cities, Jerusalem and Babylon, are going to be at the center of end-time events. Jerusalem represents the plans and purposes of God; a rebuilt Babylon represents the plans and purposes of Satan.

We are sailing now into Revelation 17, where John the apostle describes a new Babylon and its false religion. Some say that Babylon here is only a symbol for evil—that it represents the city of Rome. I believe we have every reason to take Babylon as a literal city, rebuilt in what is modern-day Iraq. Babylon will become the headquarters of the Antichrist.

I want to point out four characteristics of Babylon and its one-world religion, beginning in verse 1:

Then one of the seven angels . . . said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” (verses 1-2)

The first characteristic is its great influence. It is described here as an alluring prostitute who has effectively seduced the leaders of the world.

Keep in mind that with the rapture, the restraining influence of the church will be removed. But that will not remove the religious appetite of the human heart. The human heart is going to worship something. Here in the new “Babylon the great” (verse 5), all the false religions of the world will be joined together.

The second characteristic is her partnerships. Verse 3 describes her as “sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.”

We have already learned that the Antichrist’s kingdom will be the seventh world empire, which is made up of a coalition of ten kings. Verse 9 says the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. Some take this as a reference to Rome, the city set on seven hills; but if you look carefully here, these “seven heads” are kings and represent their kingdoms.

Verse 10 tells us that five of these kingdoms “have fallen.” This indicates they are past tense in reference to John. “One [kingdom] is,” and that refers to the current Roman Empire of John’s time. Then John writes, “The other [kingdom] has not yet come.” This future kingdom will be the kingdom of the Antichrist.

A third characteristic of the new Babylon and its false religion is its enormous wealth. Verse 4 describes the prostitute—this false religion—as adorned in expensive clothing and gold, jewels, and pearls. The false religion of the Antichrist will dazzle the world’s attention with its wealth and beauty.

Fourth, this false system will have an evil agenda. Verse 6 describes the woman as “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” Her mission is not to make disciples but to murder—to martyr—the followers of Christ.

John then reveals the destruction of religious Babylon:

The ten horns . . . and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. (verse 16)

Simply put, this ten-kingdom federation, under the Beast/the Antichrist, will eventually decide they do not want this religious system anymore. While initially this one-world religion is useful to their cause, they will not allow it to challenge their power and that of their ruler, the Antichrist. Indeed, the Antichrist will proclaim himself God and demand that all worship him alone (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

With that, chapter 18 fast-forwards to the end of the tribulation to show us the final destruction of the city of Babylon. Chapter 18 focuses on the political and economic fall of the city.

An angel announces, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” (verse 2). He goes on to describe how the city is becoming a wasteland for demons and wild animals.

Another voice is heard from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (verse 4). The great collapse is coming. Judgment is unavoidable and fully justified. Verse 5 says, “Her sins are heaped high as heaven.”

Verse 7 continues: “She [Babylon] glorified herself and lived in luxury . . . in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen.’” She’ is filled with arrogance and effectively dares God to judge her.

Well, God will bring judgment:

“Her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” (verse 8)

With Babylon’s tragic destruction, you might think the world will finally wake up and see that they are fighting against the God of heaven. But they will not repent. They will weep and wail over the collapse of Babylon, the political and economic center of the Antichrist’s global kingdom.

Three categories of people are shown weeping and wailing. First are the monarchs of the earth (verses 9-10). They have lost the luxury the city provided for them, as well as their own economic power.

Second are the merchants. Verse 11 tells us they “weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore.” They have lost their businesses and their benefit packages.

Third, are the mariners:

All shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea . . . cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning. (verses 17-18)

As they see their warehouses and markets and shopping centers all going up in flames, they never ask why. They see only what they have lost. One author explained their reaction by writing, “When money is god, and God is gone, what is left but godless grief?”[1]

While most of the world is crying, God’s people are now rejoicing. A heavenly voice is heard in verse 20, saying, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”

Beloved, although we plead with unbelievers to trust in Christ and avoid God’s final judgment, we will one day rejoice in God’s perfect justice and the vindication of His righteous character and His victorious kingdom.

Verse 21 gives us God’s final word:

Then a mighty 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 be found no more.”

Humanity’s united defiance of God began with Nimrod and the first city of Babylon. The final defiance of mankind will circle back to a newly built Babylon. But it will all end with Christ’s victory at the final battle of Armageddon, which we explore in the next chapter of Revelation.