<p>14:8- see on Rev. 16:12.</p><p><em>And another, a second angel, followed, saying: Fallen Fallen is Babylon the great, that has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication</em>- The word &quot;fallen&quot; occurs many times in Revelation. Believers either fall before the Lord, or fall in condemnation. We must fall and be broken- one way or the other (Mt. 21:44). Making others sin is the ultimate sin. To make just one brother stumble means we should be thrown into the sea with a millstone around our necks (Mk. 9:42). And Babylon has made multitudes stumble. Just as &quot;the beast&quot; is introduced in 11:7 without introduction, so &quot;Babylon&quot; is spoken of here as if we know all about her; although she is only spoken of in detail chapter 17. Revelation is a kaleidoscope of images. It's not that Babylon or a beast is introduced, defined and then we have progressive development of the theme in a chronological sense. What we have, true to the apocalyptic genre, is a kaleidoscope of images, rotating before us.</p><p>In 18:4 we have the same cry, &quot;Babylon is fallen&quot; and there is then an appeal to come out from her- to leave the beast system which has been dominating the earth / land. This appeal is repeated here when 14:9 warns that those who receive her mark will be destroyed. This is therefore the equivalent to the urgent appeal in :6 to respond to the Gospel. Babylon has fallen from heaven's perspective, but the fact people are asked to separate from her suggests that on earth, she appears still standing.</p><p>The Old Testament source passages teach the same; it is a man on a watchtower who perceives from afar that Babylon has fallen (Is. 21:8-10); and Isaiah's first hearers were hearing this <em>before</em> Babylon fell. Likewise Jer. 51:8 suggests that at the time of the cry that &quot;Babylon is fallen&quot;, she could still repent and avert her judgment: &quot;Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take her balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed&quot;. And the context speaks of her <em>impending</em> fall and destruction as if it is yet future: &quot;I will send to Babylon strangers who shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her around... They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans&quot; (Jer. 51:2,4).</p><p>Drinking a cup of wine is a double symbol. It's either &quot;the cup of blessing&quot; or the cup of condemnation. Hence the breaking of bread service leads us to a T-intersection, we take the cup either to our eternal blessing or eternal condemnation. And we can't flunk the choice. God's judgment of her is because of her fornication. Babylon caused the nations around her to drink her wine of fornication, making them &quot;mad&quot; (Jer. 51:7; Rev. 14:8).&nbsp;Wine being a symbol of teaching, this must point to 'Babylon' spreading the idea of Islamic fundamentalism to the nations around Israel (as &quot;the nations&quot; seem to normally refer to), making them &quot;mad&quot; in their hatred of Israel.&nbsp;Iran and Iraq, geographical Babylon/Assyria, are already noted for this.&nbsp;As Sennacherib relied heavily on propaganda and religious rhetoric, so Nebuchadnezzar and his latter-day equivalent will do even more so.&nbsp;Jer. 51:55 speaks of Babylon as &quot;the great voice&rdquo;, referring to her religious propaganda. This will be quite complex, carrying with it all the power and persuasion of a pseudo-intellectuality:&nbsp;&quot;Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you&quot; (Is. 47:10).</p>