The present paragraph concludes the vision begun in chapter 17 concerning the woman identified as Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations (Revelation 17:5). As the exposition of Revelation 17:1–18 made clear, Babylon represents the spirit of self-sufficiency exhibited by the mighty of the world seeking to build a paradise on earth without God, and in so doing banding together to destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ and his church, an effort characterizing the New Testament era. This spirit, however, is inherently futile because Christ Jesus is victorious (Revelation 17:14, Revelation 17:17), and so, fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! (Revelation 18:2). It follows that God’s people of all ages need to distance themselves from the self-sufficient attitude of Babylon-like civilizations as they surface throughout history (Revelation 18:4). It equally follows that every iteration of this Babylon-spirit over the centuries of the new dispensation will fail so that kings and merchants and blue-collar workers alike mourn the loss of their dreams (Revelation 18:9–20). In fact, every repetition of Babylon will fail so completely as to leave no footprint on this earth (Revelation 18:21–24). With these prophecies complete concerning the total destruction of every would-be Babylon, John next gets to hear heaven’s reaction to Babylon’s demise. That is the present paragraph.

More closely, in Revelation 18:20 an instruction had been given to rejoice over her, O heaven as Babylon collapsed. In Revelation 19:1–5 John hears heaven respond to this instruction.