In Revelation 17:1–18 the Lord had shown John a vision of a woman bearing this name on her forehead: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (Revelation 17:5). Through this vision the Lord showed John how the great and mighty of the world work together under the direction of a single operating principle: to destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ and so his church, a reality characterizing the new dispensation. Gloriously, however, that effort is ultimately futile because Christ Jesus is victorious (Revelation 17:14, Revelation 17:17). In Revelation 18:1–3 an angel with heavenly authority provided John with God’s deeply encouraging commentary on the vision of Revelation 17: Babylon is fallen and so there is abundant light in God’s world. Following on from the words of the first angel, the present paragraph provides a second voice instructing God’s people what steps they need to take to escape sharing in Babylon’s fall.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;