The last pause in the unfolding course of God's judgment comes after the pouring of the seventh bowl of God's wrath. One of the angels, who dispensed a bowl of God's wrath, spoke to the apostle John and explains the meaning behind Babylon (Rev 17:1-18:24). To fully appreciate the basis for this explanation, it is important to observe when the apostle John first personally hears of Babylon.

After the seventh trumpet, three angels are flying in mid-heaven, and each make a proclamation to "every nation and tribe and tongue and people" (Rev 14:6).

The first angel is proclaiming the gospel (Rev 14:6-7; Matt 24:9-14; Mark 13:9-10).

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." (Rev 14:6-7)

This is remarkable. Most Believers have been killed during the Great Tribulation, and yet, out of compassion, God still sends a messenger (that cannot be killed) to proclaim the gospel just before rapture.

The second angel introduces Babylon as the cause of humanity's immorality:

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." (Rev 14:8)

The third angel pronounces the judgment for idolatry; anyone who "worships the beast and his image" or "receives the mark of his name" will be "tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb." (Rev 14:9-11)

he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger;… (Rev 14:10)

After the seventh bowl is poured, supernatural catastrophic events took place including the destruction of major cities and "Babylon the great." As the only ancient city mentioned, Babylon received an emphasis, because "God remembered" (Rev 16:19). The irony here is that imbibing Babylon's wine of passion resulted on one's destruction by Jesus Christ in the great wine press of God's wrath and becoming the source of its blood. (Rev 14:20).

Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. (Rev 16:19)

It seems clear that the location Babylon has a special significance to God. After Noah's Ark and the Flood, human beings attempted to build a tower and make a name for themselves. But it wasn't simply building a tower, it was building a tower "into heaven" and seeking some recognition akin to God.

Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Gen 11:1-4)

The area became known as "Babel," the precursor to Babylon, "because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth" (Gen 11:9).

When the apostle John is told of the "great harlot who sits on many waters," he is carried away "in the Spirit into a wilderness," he "saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast" (Rev 17:3). From this point on, in this fourth and last interlude, it becomes clear that these events precede the dispensation of the seventh bowl (Rev 18:4-8).

Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality." (Rev 17:1-2)

One of the seven angels who had a bowl, explains God's personification of Babylon.

And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. (Rev 17:15)

And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth." (Rev 17:18)

In the New Testament, the theological use of "harlot" is not found except here in the book of Revelation. With the New Testament focused on the New Covenant, the theological emphasis moves from the unfaithful "harlot" of the Mosaic Covenant to the faithful "bride" of the New Covenant, and this is seen towards the end of this interlude:

and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. (Rev 18:23)

In a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13), the light of a lamp is symbolic of the faithful bride waiting for her bridegroom to fetch her for the wedding; it is the faithful Believer waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. But Babylon's lamp will not shine nor will she be able to hear the bridegroom coming.

John's personification of the angel with the golden bowl's great harlot (Rev 17:1-6), the woman sitting on the scarlet beast, portrayed a world now full of evil people, and it is reminiscent of the apostle Paul's warning to Timothy of the seductive power of human lust:

But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and take captive weak women weighed down with sins, being led on by various desires, always learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, disqualified in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also.
But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Tim 3:1-13)

When another angel, with great authority and illuminated with glory, came down from heaven crying, "fallen, fallen is Babylon the great," the apostle learns more about Babylon and what it represented (Rev 18:1-3):

A "dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird and a prison of every unclean and hateful beast." (Rev 18:2)

"For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her sensuality." (Rev 18:3)

What the angel describes figuratively as "Babylon," the apostle John described elsewhere in the words of Jesus as "the world."

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)

The apostle John sees the great harlot sitting upon a scarlet beast.

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; then I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. (Rev 17:3)

Previously, in the third interlude, the apostle saw the heavenly sign of a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns (Rev 12:3). Although the red dragon is not explicitly identified, John's figure of speech is very likely describing Satan.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (Rev 12:3)

The scarlet beast is similar to the red dragon in that it too has "seven heads and ten horns."

But the scarlet beast is dissimilar to the red dragon in that its body color is scarlet, not red, is "full of blasphemous names," and is under the dominion of the great harlot.

When one of the seven angels who has one of the seven bowls of God's wrath interprets the scarlet beast, he explains "the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits."

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. (Rev 17:8-11)

Five significant kings, whoever they may be, have come into existence and have since "fallen." John appears to describe the sixth "king" as presently "ruling," and the seventh "has not yet come" (Rev 17:10).

The seventh king that "has not yet come" is baffling to understand, because the scarlet "beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction" (Rev 17:11). There is one possible interpretation of this is based on the account of the Antichrist.

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" (Rev 13:1-4)

Bestowed his power, throne, and authority by Satan, the scarlet beast appears to be the Antichrist and seventh king under the dominion of the great harlot.

In the context of Daniel's prophecy of the fourth kingdom, an angel provides a partial interpretation where of ten kings, another supplants three, and becomes the seventh king. And the description corresponds to the Antichrist introduced in Revelation 13:1-7. Daniel's number of seven king matches John's scarlet beast's seven kings.

"Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings. He will speak words against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in seasons and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. (Dan 7:23-25)

In addition, corresponding to a body "full of blasphemous names" (Rev 17:3), the Antichrist is known by the angel Gabriel as "one who makes desolate" (Dan 9:27) and by Jesus as "abomination of desolation" (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14).

The Antichrist is the seventh king that "has not yet come and when he comes, he must remain a little while" (Rev 17:9-10). When the Antichrist is judged and thrown into the lake of fire, the scarlet beast "was, and is not" (Rev 17:8).

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. (Rev 17:8)

and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. (Rev 17:10)

While the Antichrist is thrown into the lake of fire, Satan is thrown and bound into the abyss for one thousand years. When he is free of the abyss, Satan assumes the image of the scarlet beast, because the Antichrist was essentially a surrogate of Satan. And as the eighth king, Satan is not under the dominion of the great harlot who sat on the scarlet beast with seven heads. Satan, now as the scarlet beast, "is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction" (Rev 17:8-11).

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. (Rev 17:8)

Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. (Rev 17:9-11)

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:10)

When one of the seven angels who has one of the seven bowls of God's wrath interprets the scarlet beast, he explains "the ten horns."

And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and elect and faithful." (Rev 17:12-14)

The ten horns represent ten kings who will reign at the very end for a short time as vassals to the Antichrist (Rev 17:12-13). Because the Promised Land is ruled by the fourth empire, these horns likely represent the leaders for the rest of the world who will, in alliance with Satan's Antichrist, assemble at Armageddon to defend against Jesus who is coming to claim His kingdom (Rev 19:19).

Although the scarlet beast has "ten horns," they do not correlate with the ten horns of Daniel's prophecy. In Daniel's prophecy, the "little horn" supplants three horns (Dan 7:20-21), and the resulting horn is "larger in appearance than its associates (Dan 7:20) with "eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts" is very likely describing the Antichrist.

While the ten horns follow the seventh king, the scarlet beast and Antichrist, they resist the dominion of the Great Harlot, which is likely the world's seductive lifestyle and culture, in the pursuit of their own worldview and lusts.

And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will lay waste to her and make her naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God gave it in their hearts to do His purpose both by doing their own common purpose and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be finished. (Rev 17:16-17)

In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel describes the fourth empire "as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things" (Dan 2:40) which alludes to a militarily strong nation. However, Daniel's description of the feet and toes of Nebuchadnezzar's statue as being "partly of iron and partly of pottery" symbolized a "divided kingdom" and one that was not uniformly united (Dan 2:41-43).

Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. Now in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron; it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay; they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. (Dan 2:40-44)

Whether it is Babylon or the "common purpose" of each of the ten kings (horns), they all represent a secular worldview that extinguished any perspective of God and compelled people to rise up and fight in Armageddon.

After the angel from heaven with great authority and glory that illuminates the earth (Rev 18:1-3), the apostle John hears another voice from heaven.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she paid, and give her back double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.' For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. (Rev 18:4-8)

The speaker is Jesus Christ Himself:

"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues" (Rev 18:4).

"For the Lord God who judges her is strong" (Rev 18:8).

Because of His call "come out of her my people," this event takes place before the Seventh Trumpet and Jesus Christ's Second Coming and reaping of His people. Additional evidence can be seen in:

"For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire" (Rev 18:8). This indicates that the day following this statement, the golden bowls containing God's wrath and plagues will start their dispensation.

After calling His people to come out, Jesus Christ predicts the reactions of various people involved with trade to God's judgment of wrath.

"And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived sensuously with her, will cry and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' (Rev 18:9-10)

"And the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargo of horses and carriages and human beings and human lives. And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were splendid and shining have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, crying and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' (Rev 18:11-17)

And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like the great city?' And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, crying and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!' Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her." (Rev 18:18-20)

Babylon represents the world, a secular culture that denies the existence of God and sin. In lieu of God and His imperative to be holy (Lev 20:26), a life in motivated by pride and power derived by human achievement.

To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.' (Rev 18:7)

And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, (Rev 18:9)

And the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore - cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargo of horses and carriages and human beings and human lives. (Rev 18:11-13)

Throughout this passage, the motif of drinking wine and getting drunk illustrates the sin and deceit of Babylon. The death of Believers who testify of Jesus Christ and the glory of God was celebrated. The blood of the saints serves as the wine that inebriates Babylon; the more blood, the better.

Then I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. (Rev 17:6)

Pay her back even as she has paid, and give her back double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, "I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning." (Rev 18:6-7)

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth. (Rev 18:24)

The message of the saints is silenced, because mankind finds the deceit of the immoral worldview pleasing, beneficial and addicting.

Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality." (Rev 17:1-2)

For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her sensuality. (Rev 18:3)

The people who speak of woes for Babylon (Rev 18:9-20) are selfishly lamenting of their losses in wealth and hedonistic lifestyle.

This stands in stark contrast to the eagle's three woes (Rev 8:13) which were expressed in sympathy for those on earth reminiscent of Daniel's lament for Nebuchadnezzar who did not recognize that God "is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes" (Dan 4:19-37).

In contrast to Nebuchadnezzar who came to recognize God, Babylon is a culture whose values denies the existence of the one true God; its wanton evil influence and unrepentant depravity renders God's wrathful judgment.

After speaking of the coming bowl judgment of Babylon in one hour, Jesus Christ gives cause for joy for the saints, apostles, and prophets in heaven.

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her." (Rev 18:20)

John witnesses figuratively how judgment is viewed.

Then a strong angel picked 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 not be found any longer. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth." (Rev 18:21-24)

Two heavy circular millstones are used for grinding grain: one lying flat as a base and the other standing up rolling on an axle atop of the flat circular base.

When speaking of deceit and causing others to go astray, Jesus mentions the use of a millstone in the figurative sense to warn against and emphasize the seriousness of the offense. And this is what Babylon was precisely guilty of.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. (Mark 9:42)

John is informed that the action of the strong angel tossing a stone resembling a great millstone as judgment against Babylon (Rev 18:21).

Then a strong 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 not be found any longer." (Rev 18:21)

When the Seventh Bowl is poured, Babylon is destroyed.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, "It is done." And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His rage. (Rev 16:17-19)