A heavenly voice (Revelation 18:4) tells the saints to flee Babylon because her sins have “piled” to heaven (v. 5). That translation is questionable. The verb kollao means to “cling,” as a marriage man clings to his wife (Matthew 19:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:16-17; Genesis 2:24, LXX) or as dust clings to the feet (Luke 10:11), or as Jews and Gentiles cling to one another (Acts 5:13; 9:26; 10:28). Babylon’s sins cling to heaven, as pestilence clings to Israel when they break covenant (Deuteronomy 28:21, 60).
The picture is not of a pile, but of sins that have attached themselves to heaven and cannot be removed. There is only one purification for sins that cling to heaven, and that is the blood of the Lamb. Babylon refuses to drink that blood, and instead drinks the blood of Jesus’ disciples. Her sins cannot be removed.
And because the sins cling to heaven, they remain an enduring memorial before the Lord. Because of the harlot’s harlotries, because she doesn’t cling to the Lord but to other gods, her sins cling to heaven. The Lord remembers and will act to remove them by removing her. Since she is a priestess, her sins are right before the face of God.
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