Intoxicated with the Maddening Wine of Adultery

"'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,' which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries" (Rev 14:8). "...the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries" (Rev 17:2).

(Today's sermon on The Wrath of God explains how intoxication with the wine of adultery seduces us to our own demise.)

What does Babylon stand for? In Revelation Babylon is distinct from the historical, geographical city of Babylon. Rather, it symbolizes the great city, which is the symbol of mankind in community opposed to the things of God, beginning with the Tower of Babel. To first century people there was no better illustration of what Babylon means than contemporary Rome. Declaring that Babylon has fallen (Isa 21:9; Rev 16:19; 17:1-18) means that all of the evil that Babylon stands for will be overthrown, as history has already proven over and over again.

Why is Babylon regarded as the mother of prostitutes (Rev 17:5)? It is because she is not only a prostitute herself, but she spawns other prostitutes and evils like her own. She is "filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries" (Rev 17:4). She is able to do so very well because the people of the world are only too happy at being seduced by her prostituting herself. Thus, Babylon the prostitute represents society's allure of material prosperity and pleasure, seducing the unwary into adultery against the Lord. The prostitute desires nothing less than we becoming unfaithful to our True Spouse.

How does wine symbolize God's wrath? In Isa 63:1-3, 6 wine symbolizes God's judgment in two ways: God's enemies are trodden as grapes, and their blood is the wine that flows from his winepress. Wine is also the beverage with which God intoxicates his enemies and renders them senseless. Similarly, in Revelation 14 wine pictures judgment in the same two ways. When grapes are crushed, the red juice flows from the winepress like the blood of God's enemies when he treads them down (Rev 14:19-20; cf. Rev 19:13-15; Isa 63:3). Also, when the wine is fermented, its mind-numbing strength symbolizes the confused stupor of those who will drink God's cup of wrath (Rev 14:8, 10; 17:2).

Reference:

1. Johnson, Dennis E., Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company. 2001. 206, 213-214.