And right away for the second time they said: ‘Hallelujah!b And the smoke from her goes on ascending forever and ever.’”​—Revelation 19:1-3.

4. What is symbolized by the fact that the smoke from Babylon the Great “goes on ascending forever and ever”?

⁴ Babylon the Great has been set afire like a conquered city, and the smoke from her “goes on ascending forever and ever.” When a literal city is burned by conquering armies, the smoke keeps ascending as long as the ashes are hot. Anyone who tries to rebuild it while it is still smoking will simply get burned by the smoldering ruins. Since the smoke from Babylon the Great will rise “forever and ever” in token of the finality of her judgment, no one will ever be able to restore that iniquitous city. False religion is gone forever. Hallelujah, indeed!​—Compare Isaiah 34:5, 9, 10.