^14:8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’^[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

A second angel followed and said,

This angel is distinct from the first one (verse 6). However, the word 'followed' implies that this one also is flying in mid heaven. Like the first angel, this one has a distinct message:

"'FALLEN, FALLEN, is BABYLON the GREAT,'^[a]

This is the first specific mention of BABYLON in Revelation. Again, there is a literal Babylon and a symbolic one. The literal one is the Babylon of the Old Testament. The old city of Babylon generate much discussion by both the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 13 and 14) and the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 50 and 51). Both prophesied its complete destruction.

The Babylon in this Revelation most likely is a symbolic Babylon. Like the one of old built by Nimrod, there really are two symbolic Babylons. As Tim LaHaye describes it in his book 'Revelation', "These two Babylons begun by Nimrod are (1) false religion, which emphasizes idolatry, and (2) commercialization, which causes men to become materialistically oriented." We will cover this symbolic Babylon in much more detail in Revelation 17 and 18. Incidentally, this Babylon, too, will be destroyed.

which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

This phrase is expanded in Revelation 18:1-8. The call to "come out" (Revelation 18:4) is not given here. Thus this angel is just giving us a "sound bite" here in this verse. If the Bible is around at the time this angel flies, mankind will know that the "come out" command had already been given in Hebrews 12:25-29.

^[a] Isaiah 21:9