“‘Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!’ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.
The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth'” (Revelation 18:20-24).
Given the apocalyptic imagery that precedes it, the exhortation to rejoice here in Revelation 18:20 may seem rather disturbing. For instance, consider the following passage from Revelation 18:8: “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine…” (KJV). How could anyone rejoice over such a fate?
A shift in perspective may help address that concern. Just as we rejoice when justice is served in a human court of law, the downfall of Babylon, a place that had become “…a home for demons” and “…a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal” (Revelation 18:2 NLT) offered cause to rejoicing.
Moreover, we should not forget that this blasphemous regime had committed many criminal acts. In fact, Revelation 18:5 tells us, “…Her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God has remembered her crimes” (GW). Revelation 17:6 also serves as a case in point. That portion of Scripture depicts Babylon as a woman who sat astride a scarlet beast while she was “…drunk with the blood of God’s people and the blood of those who were killed because they had been loyal to Jesus” (GNT).
Finally, Revelation 18:24 tells us, “In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth” (NIV). Should God permit such criminal activity to go unpunished? Should not those who perpetrated such crimes be held to account for their actions? On the contrary, it would be wrong for a righteous judge to allow such crimes to go unavenged. Thus, we find heaven rejoicing over the fact that justice had been served.