The Great City Divided Revelation 16:19

As John continued to share concerning the events during the tribulation, He wrote about the antichrist, the false prophet and the angels who were involved in the reaping of the harvest of believers who received the Lord Jesus during that time. John wrote about the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth angel pouring out their “vials filled with the wrath of God”, and he continued by writing, “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. ” In chapter sixteen and verse nineteen of Revelation John shares what happened when “the great city was divided into three parts” where we read:

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

The verse reads, “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell:” John began with the words, “and the great city” which means “and the large, massive, spacious and abundant town or inhabited place” “was divided” or “became separated” “into three parts” which means “into three different sections or or constituent parts of the whole”, “and the cities” or “and the towns or inhabited places” “of the nations” which refers to “pertaining to the multitudes of people, companies, troops and individuals of the same nature or genus” “fell” or “descended from a higher place to a lower and were thrust down under judgment and condemnation”. John watched as “the capital and seat of the apostate Church or spiritual Babylon” (perhaps which Rome is the representative if a literal city is meant) as well as the “cities” around the world were affected by this “division”.

The verse continues, “and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” John added the words, “and great Babylon” which was “the territory of Babylonia” and allegorically means “Rome as the most corrupt seat of idolatry and the enemy of Christianity” “came in remembrance” or “was recalled and remembered” “before God” which means “in front and in the presence of the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”, “to give” which means “to grant, bestow, furnish and supply” “unto her” or “toward great Babylon” “the cup” which means “the drinking vessel or fate” “of the wine” or “pertaining to the fiery wine” “of the fierceness” which means “pertaining to the passion, anger boiling up and soon subsiding again, glow and inflaming ardor” “of his wrath” or “pertaining to God's anger, temper, violent emotion and punishment”. God “remembered” “great Babylon” or “Rome” and their treatment of His children, and He poured out His “wrath and punishment” upon them.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how “great Babylon” was not forgotten by God. Their manner against the Christians in the early days of the church and during the tribulation period was not “forgotten” by God, and now was the time for pouring out His “wrath” upon them. Woe be to those who belong to “great Babylon”, and let this be a clarion call for all people to align themselves with God through a relationship with His Son Jesus lest the “wrath” poured out upon “great Babylon” be that of those who are opposed to Him.

Next time John shares how, “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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