Revelation 18:4-8 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; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 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.’ 8 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.
The voice from calls for the people of God to flee Babylon. This is a call to separate from sin and thus to be holy. In some cases, it is better to run away from a sinful setting than to remain in it, especially if judgment is coming. There have been Christians over the ages who have fled difficult settings. There is a time for remaining as a witness and there is a time for fleeing. Every person must decide this for him or herself. It may be a time to flee when people will no longer listen to the voice of God. Jesus even talked about shaking the dust off of our sandals when a village will not listen. There are different types of separation: physical, ideological, social. This is a call to holiness. Holiness means “to be separate” “to be set apart.” The reason to flee is that the sins and plagues will eat you alive!
Babylon will be judged on the same level as she has been sinful. She will be judged be of pride and how she has tortured God’s people. What has Babylon done? 17:6 she has gotten drunk on the blood of martyrs. this is now time for payback, vengeance, and justice because of her abuse of power and wealth, and because she glorified herself and boasts in human ability (humanism). Just like the beast, this woman glories in self (see 13:6).
Verse 8 gives the verdict. There will be sudden destruction, in one day. We cannot determine if this is 24 hours, but the implication is that this will be quick. How could a city (or whatever Babylon represents) be destroyed in one day? Rome burned during Nero’s. Rumor was he set the fire but he blamed Christians.
As God’s people, we must flee from sin. Sometimes this may mean fleeing a city, nation, or area lest we be part of the judgment. We must flee sin on an individual basis also.
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