Revelation 18:3

For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness.

By the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen ... This places the blame squarely upon the harlot herself for the universal disaster about to fall. How is this so? The essence of this wine that at last intoxicates all mankind, especially the "ten kings" who are the executioners of this judgment, is that man himself is the supreme authority. In the elevation of a human being as the head of God's church and by giving his word precedence and greater authority than the word of the Son of God himself, this harlot established the prototype of the ultimate and final rebellion of mankind against all that God said. If a man is really supreme, people can logically dispense with the whole system of Christianity; and the tragedy unfolded in this chapter is what takes place when "the kings" at last catch on to this and decide to act in accordance with the very principles the harlot herself established. This was prefigured, of course, in the pagan city, by the cult of emperor worship; but it would issue ultimately in the savage, atheistic humanism of the last days, thus applying appropriately to both situations.

And the kings of the earth committed fornication with her ... They presumed to rule by "divine right." They accepted the principle of the supremacy of a man; but, in the episode of the "ten kings" they decided themselves to be "the man," leading to their rejection and hatred of the whore through their acceptance of her principles. It is totally inadequate to view the seduction of "the kings" as being derived solely from "the vast luxury trade bringing widespread prosperity."[23] Something far more significant is indicated.

And the merchants waxed rich ... This enters into the ultimate disaster, because the proliferation of a rich class indicates a loss of spiritual values. "The English word waxed comes from the German word, "wachsen", to grow or increase."[24] The implication is that the rich, borrowing the principles of the harlot, grew selfish and unmindful of other duties.

Up through this verse, the prophecy views the fall of Babylon as in the past, having already happened, as announced in Revelation 16:19; but there were still some things to be related concerning the "hour" leading up to this; therefore, the next verses, beginning with Revelation 18:4, retrogress in order to relate it. "In Revelation 18:2,3, by means of aorists, Babylon's fall is viewed as having occurred; but the imperatives of Revelation 18:4ff present her as still standing with all her seduction."[25] Not merely by the use of different tenses, but by the introduction of another "voice from heaven" (Revelation 18:4), the transition is indicated.

[23] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 223.

[24] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 223.

[25] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 517.