The concept of a haunt
or prison
cuts in two directions. The first is that those imprisoned are not free to come and go at will; the prison (complete with walls and guards) confines them. The second is that within the prison the imprisoned set the atmosphere (obviously fed by the parameters permitted by the guards). In this case, Jesus Christ, sovereign Lord and King (Revelation 17:14), has imprisoned the unclean (represented as spirits, birds, and wild animals) in fallen Babylon so that these unclean creatures characterize the atmosphere. As those in prison (or a concentration camp) generate an atmosphere largely inimical to their guards, so in this fallen Babylon the imprisoned spawn an atmosphere hostile to their Victor. In Christ’s kingdom in this present dispensation, much of the atmosphere is set by these imprisoned unclean spirits. Yet today’s Christians may never forget that these spirits are imprisoned (i.e., defeated).
2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.