Revelation 18:21

21 And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw [it] into the sea, saying, "In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again!

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 and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, "Woe, woe, the great city, in which all those who had ships on the sea became rich from her prosperity, because in one hour she has been laid waste!"
20 Rejoice over her, heaven and the saints and the apostles and the prophets, because God has pronounced your judgment on her!"
21 And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw [it] into the sea, saying, "In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again!
22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will never be heard in you again! And every craftsman of every trade will never be found in you again! And the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again!
23 And the light of a lamp will never shine in you again! And the sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again! For your merchants were the most important people of the earth, because with your sorcery they deceived all the nations.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.