This Angel with great authority is Christ. As He comes down out of heaven, the earth is illumined with His glory. In Rev. 10:1 Christ is still clothed with a cloud, and in Rev. 14:14 He is sitting on the cloud; whereas here His glory shines over the earth, indicating that His coming back to earth is nearer at hand than the coming mentioned in 10:1 and 14:14. He will come out of heaven, first in the cloud secretly, then on the cloud openly; eventually, He will shine over the earth to destroy Babylon the Great, the city of Rome, with His great authority.

This is Christ's coming (parousia) reaching the earth at the end of the great tribulation for Him to take full possession of the earth as His kingdom. At this time the material Babylon the Great will suffer judgment and fall.

This is the fall of the material Babylon, the city of Rome, at the end of the great tribulation (see note Rev. 14:8^1b, note Rev. 16:19^2b, and note Rev. 17:5^1b and note Rev. 17:18¹). The Bible reveals three aspects of Babylon:
1) the literal aspect, referring to ancient Babel or Babylon (Gen. 11:9), today's Iraq;
2) the religious aspect, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, spoken of in ch. 17;
3) the material aspect, referring to the city of Rome, mentioned in this chapter.

Or, prison.

Or, prison.

Some MSS read, have fallen by.

Rome, signified by Babylon the Great in a twofold way, has both religious and material aspects. The nations have drunk of the wine...and the kings of the earth have committed...refers to the religious aspect (note Rev. 14:8; 17:2), while the merchants of the earth have become...refers to the material aspect.

Since Babylon the Great has two aspects, to come out of her is to come out of both the religious Babylon and the material Babylon. God's people should come out of these two aspects of Babylon.

Lit., joined together.

Or, crimes, misdeeds.

Double recompense was required according to the Levitical law (Exo. 22:4, 7, 9). Here, that double recompense is doubled.

In Rev. 17:16 the religious Babylon is utterly burned. Here, the material Babylon is utterly burned. Chapter 17 records the destruction of the religious Babylon; ch. 18, the destruction of the material Babylon.

Or, enchantment, poisonous charm.

This will probably occur through the earthquake mentioned in Rev. 16:18-20.

This is a part of the answer to the martyrs' prayer in Rev. 6:9-10.

Antichrist and his armies will be destroyed by Christ in one hour (Rev. 17:12-14; 19:19-21), and the material Babylon the Great also will be destroyed by the Lord in one hour. Perhaps both of them will be destroyed by the Lord in the same hour of His coming to the earth in His shining glory (Rev. 18:1; 2 Thes. 2:8).

Lit., costliness.

Of the cargo sold by Babylon, the first item is gold and the last is the souls of men. Souls of men refers to men who sell themselves for employment. This depicts not only the coming Babylon but also today's world. People sell their soul, their life, i.e., themselves, to their occupation, neglecting God and their eternal destiny.

Lit., bodies; referring to the bodies of those who are in slavery.

A spice plant.

An aromatic and coniferous tree.

That the cargo listed in vv. 12-13 consists of various material things proves that Babylon the Great in this chapter is the material Babylon. The cargo is of seven categories:
1) ornaments, from gold to pearls;
2) clothing, from fine linen to scarlet;
3) furniture and decorations, from thyine wood to marble;
4) spices, from cinnamon to frankincense;
5) food, from wine to sheep;
6) transportation, horses and chariots;
7) employment, slaves and souls of men.