Revelation 18:21

21 Then ¹a mighty angel ²took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon ³the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;

Revelation 18:21 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 18:21

And a mighty angel
Not Christ, nor one of the ministering spirits, but some man or set of men, perhaps the same with him in ( Revelation 18:1 )

took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea;
just as Jeremiah took a stone and bound it to his book after he had read it, and cast it into the river Euphrates, as a sign and token of the destruction of old Babylon, ( Jeremiah 51:63 Jeremiah 51:64 ) ( Exodus 15:5 ) ( Nehemiah 9:11 )

saying, thus with violence shall that great city be thrown down, and
shall be found no more at all;
which is expressive of the utter destruction of Rome, and of the violence, force, and power with which it will be destroyed, and of the suddenness and swiftness of its destruction, and of the irrecoverableness of its state and condition.

Revelation 18:21 In-Context

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, "Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.

20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"

21 Then a mighty 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 be found no more;

22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,

23 and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

Cross References

• 1. Revelation 5:2; Revelation 10:1
• 2. [Jeremiah 51:63, 64]
• 3. ver. 10