The Fall of Babylon: God's Justice and the Heavenly Banquet

November 28, 2024 - Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9A

In the Hebrew Bible, Babylon is associated with the Tower of Babel—a symbol of human pride—and the empire that wiped out the kingdom of Judah from the maps of the ancient world. The builders of the tower aimed for the sky, and the king of Babylon sought to "ascend to heaven" and make himself "like the Most High" (see Is. 14:13-14). The Latin translation of Isaiah describes him with a term that, in Christian tradition, became synonymous with Satan—"Lucifer": "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning?" (Isaiah 14:12, Vulgate).

Neither the project of building a tower "with its top in the sky" (Gen. 11:4) nor the Babylonian empire succeeded in achieving a godlike status. The tower was left unfinished, and mighty Babylon fell, becoming "like Sodom and Gomorrah" (see Is. 13:19). For the biblical authors, Babylon often "reincarnated" itself in any empire that imitated its cruelty, idolatry, and immorality. The temptation to reach for the sky and become "like the Most High" has always accompanied human history—with tragic consequences.

For the first Christians, "Babylon" became a code name for the capital of the Roman Empire. Saint Peter, for example, sent greetings from a local church gathered in "Babylon," referring to Rome. However, whether the angel's announcement, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great" (Rev. 18:2), predicts the fall of the Roman Empire is doubtful. If we read the entire chapter 18, we realize that those who mourn the city's fall are kings, merchants, and those in the shipping industry—three groups that profited from the city's wealth (see Rev. 18:9-19). Influenced by Ezekiel's dirge over the fall of Tyre, John indicates that Babylon represents a society where wealth and profit trump faith, morality, and the well-being of ordinary citizens, and where the state persecutes God's people.

"A great multitude in heaven" rejoices over Babylon's fall (Rev. 19:1), and seeing the fruit of God's judgment, they praise the Lord with a resounding "Alleluia!" Just as the ancient Israelites suffered under Babylon, God's saints, apostles, and prophets were victims of its cruelty. However, the city was primarily judged for leading others into sin. As Jesus warned: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt. 18:6; Rev. 18:21). This became the fate of the city that led all nations "astray by your magic potion" (Rev. 18:23): "A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, 'So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more'" (Rev. 18:21).

The fall of Babylon testifies to God's sovereign power over the world and human history. All the citizens of heaven praise and worship God for this immense sign of His justice. It also paves the way for the wedding feast of the Lamb. The Bride of the Lamb—the Church—is adorned with "the righteous deeds of the saints" (Rev. 19:8), and the invitation to that feast has already been sent. Our passage ends with one of the beatitudes that every Catholic hears during Mass just before the Holy Communion: "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:9). Every Eucharist is a foretaste of that heavenly banquet, and we are indeed blessed for the grace of participating in it.