Question 1

What does the stone like a great millstone being cast into the sea mean?

Accepted Answer

The angel lifting a stone like a great millstone and throwing it into the sea is a picture of how Babylon will fall. A millstone is large and heavy, and once it sinks, it does not come back up. In the same way, this shows that Babylon’s fall will be sudden, powerful, and final. The city that once seemed strong and secure will be thrown down and will not rise again. It helps us see that when God judges evil, no human power can undo what he has decided.

Question 2

Why does the passage repeat that things will be heard or found no more at all in Babylon?

Accepted Answer

The repeated words “no more at all” stress that Babylon’s fall is complete and permanent. Music stops, work stops, grinding grain stops, lights go out, and even wedding voices are gone. This is not just a setback or a hard season. It is total silence and emptiness. The repetition helps us feel how fully God brings this proud, violent city to an end. What once was full of noise, wealth, and celebration becomes a place with no normal life left at all.

Question 3

What is the meaning of the music and craftsmen stopping in this passage?

Accepted Answer

The end of music and crafts shows that all normal joys and daily work in Babylon will cease. Harpers, musicians, pipers, and trumpeters point to parties and celebrations. Craftsmen and the sound of the millstone point to useful work, food, and trade. When God judges Babylon, both pleasure and industry are gone. This tells us that sin and oppression can seem enjoyable and profitable for a time, but when judgment comes, even ordinary comforts are taken away and the city is left empty.

Question 4

Why are the light of a candle and wedding voices removed from Babylon?

Accepted Answer

The light of a candle and the voice of the bridegroom and bride picture basic human happiness and family life. Candles give light in the darkness, and weddings are moments of joy and hope for the future. In Babylon, these simple blessings are taken away. This shows that the judgment is not only on its riches, but on its very life as a community. There will be no more new families, no children, no future. It underlines how complete God’s judgment is on a culture that has turned against him.

Question 5

What does it mean that Babylon’s merchants were the great men of the earth?

Accepted Answer

Babylon’s merchants are called the great men of the earth because they became powerful and wealthy through trading with her. They rose high in the world through her luxury and religion, treating spiritual things like goods to buy and sell. Princes and commoners alike sought gain through this system. The passage shows that their greatness was tied to a corrupt city that God would judge. It warns that when people build their status only on wealth and ungodly power, that greatness will not last.

Question 6

How did Babylon deceive all nations by her sorceries?

Accepted Answer

Babylon’s “sorceries” point to her spiritual tricks and false religion. She did not only trade in goods, but also spread teachings, customs, and worship that drew people away from the true God. With these practices she bewitched and misled nations, making evil look holy and gain look godly. The picture is of a city that uses its influence like magic to blind people. Because she fooled so many with these lies, God’s judgment on her is shown as fair and deserved in this vision.

Question 7

Why is Babylon held guilty for the blood of prophets and saints?

Accepted Answer

Babylon is said to hold the blood of prophets, saints, and all who were slain on the earth connected with her. This means she is responsible for persecuting and killing God’s faithful people, or for approving and encouraging that violence. She did not only deceive; when she could not win people by her lies, she used force. The image of her being filled with their blood shows that her history is marked by cruelty to those who spoke truth. Because of this, God now answers their cries for justice.

Question 8

What does this passage show about God’s judgment on powerful, sinful systems?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows that God sees when a powerful system uses wealth, religion, and force to deceive and crush people. For a long time, Babylon seemed strong and untouchable. Yet in God’s time, her fall is sudden and final. Music, trade, light, and weddings end because she misled nations and shed the blood of God’s people. The vision reminds us that no empire or city is above God’s justice. Even when evil seems to prosper, God will bring a right and thorough judgment in the end.

Question 9

How can this picture of Babylon’s fall affect how believers view wealth and power?

Accepted Answer

The fall of Babylon warns believers not to trust in riches, trade, or human power as if they will last forever. This city drew people in with luxury and business, but all of it vanished in a moment when God judged her. Even the simplest joys of life disappeared. Seeing this should make believers careful about loving a system that profits from injustice or false worship. It calls us to hold wealth lightly, to care more about faithfulness to God than success in a world that may be opposed to him.

Revelation 18:21

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

The Doom of Babylon

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Revelation 18:21

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

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The Doom of Babylon

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