Revelation 18:11-21

Verse 11-19 “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing. And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”

The merchants of the earth weep and wail over Babylon’s destruction as nobody bought material goods from them like she did. Her merchandise runs the gamut of every luxurious item that exists. Even slaves are mentioned, and we know America's history of slave trading. She not only trades in men's lives, she trades in men's souls. America proselytizes her pagan religions with rampant abandon. Notice that it is the sailors and companies of ships that see her burning. That goes along with the idea that she is literally surrounded by waters, as it is those on the sea who actually see her burning. This again makes a case for America being Babylon. The act of casting dust on the head while weeping and wailing in mourning is an ancient custom that shows the deepest distress and sorrow.

Here Babylon is referred to as a city. The city in America that is associated with financial wealth is of course New York City. It is the location of Wall Street, it is the location of the U.N., it is a port city wherein the ships come to buy and sell merchandise. In the space of one hour, this city will be destroyed. As the original Babylon was a city/state, not just a city, so too N.Y.C. represents our entire country in this respect. It is our largest and most important city as far as commerce goes. It is also, as already mentioned, the headquarters of the present world government.

Verse 20 “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.”

Now the company in heaven are told that they can rejoice, for the vengeance for which they had been long awaiting has finally come to pass. One does not rejoice in the destruction of human lives, but in the destruction of the evil that was being perpetuated through this whore Babylon.

Verse 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.”

It would appear that this angel is giving a metaphorical object lesson to the heavenly watchers of these events. He picks up a stone similar to a huge millstone and throws it into the sea comparing it to the way Babylon will be destroyed - with suddenness and violence. It is interesting that this particular act is used, as this is the same type of destruction that God would have a person who hurts a child to suffer. He would have a millstone hung about their neck and have them drowned. We are God’s children and Babylon is charged with making God’s children suffer. That this is metaphorical is clear as she does not drown, she is burned, but the violence with which He has her suffer is the same type of violence.