REVELATIO 18 COMMETARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Lament Over Fallen Babylon

1 After this I saw another angel coming down

from heaven. He had great authority, and the

earth was illuminated by his splendor.

1.BARNES, “And after these things - After the vision referred to in the previous chapter.I saw another angel come down from heaven - Different from the one that had last appeared, and therefore coming to make a new communication to him. It is not unusual in this book that different communications should be entrusted to different angels. Compare Rev_14:6, Rev_14:8-9, Rev_14:15, Rev_14:17-18.Having great power - That is, he was one of the higher rank or order of angels.And the earth was lightened with his glory - The usual representation respecting the heavenly beings. Compare Exo_24:16; Mat_17:2; Luk_2:9; Act_9:3. This would, of course, add greatly to the magnificence of the scene.

2. CLARKE, “The earth was lightened with his glory - This may refer to some extraordinary messenger of the everlasting Gospel, who, by his preaching and writings, should be the means of diffusing the light of truth and true religion over the earth.

3. GILL, “And after these things,.... The vision of the woman on the scarlet coloured beast, and the interpretation of both by the angel:

I saw another angel; not the Lord Jesus Christ, though the several things said of this angel agree with him; nor one of the ministering spirits, though the characters of him will also suit with one of them, but rather a minister of the Gospel, or a set of Gospel ministers, who will arise a little before the downfall of Babylon, in the spiritual reign of Christ; though not the same with the angel of fire, Rev_14:18 as some have thought, because of his illustrious appearance, and the loudness of his voice; but the same with the angel, or third thundering voice in Rev_14:6 for not only the times of both agree, but the selfsame words are expressed by one as by the other; and this angel is distinct from him that showed John the preceding vision, and gave him the interpretation of it, and from all the seven angels that had the vials, and is described as follows: and first by the place from whence he came, John saw him

come down from heaven; denoting the suddenness of his appearance and cry; he came down at once, and cried out immediately; the subject of his cry, the destruction of Babylon, being what will be at an unawares; and also the commission and authority of the ministers signified by him, who will have their warrant from heaven to say what they will deliver; so that this likewise expresses the truth of their message, since both that and they come from heaven:

having great power; to do great work, to declare the fall of Babylon the great: or "having great authority"; being sent from the King of kings, in his name, as his ambassador, to proclaim what shortly will come to pass; an event of the greatest importance to the glory of God, the interest of Christ, and the comfort of his people:

and the earth was lightened with his glory; see Eze_43:2 by which is meant the glorious Gospel of Christ, the light of which will at this then be very great: these ministers will run to and fro the earth, and knowledge will be increased, and the earth will be filled with it: the Arabic version reads, "with

the splendour of his countenance"; and the Ethiopic version, "with the splendour of his countenance, and his glory"; see Isa_60:1.

4. HENRY, “The downfall and destruction of Babylon form an event so fully determined in the counsels of God, and of such consequence to his interests and glory, that the visions and predictions concerning it are repeated. 1. Here is another angel sent from heaven, attended with great power and lustre, Rev_18:1. He had not only light in himself, to discern the truth of his own prediction, but to inform and enlighten the world about that great event; and not only light to discern it, but power to accomplish it.

4B. BARCLAY, "THE DOOM OF ROME

Rev. 18:1-3

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority and the earth was lit up by his glory. He cried with a loud voice saying: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She has become a dwelling-place of demons, and a stronghold of every unclean spirit, and a stronghold of every unclean and hated bird, because the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich.with the wealth of her wantonness."

In this chapter we have a form of prophetic literature common in the prophetic books of the Old Testament. This is what is called "A Doom Song," the doom song of the city of Rome.

We quote certain Old Testament parallels. In Isa.13:19-22 we have the doom song of ancient Babylon:

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendour and pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. It will never be inhabited or dwelt in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. But wild beasts will lie down there, and its houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there satyrs will dance. Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.

In Isa.34:11-15 we have the doom song of Edom:

But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plummet of chaos over its nobles.... Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas, the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, there shall the night hag alight, and find for herself a resting place. There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and gather her young in her shadow; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, each one with her mate.

Jer.50:39 and Jer.51:37 are part of doom songs of Babylon:

Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her; she shall be peopled no more for ever, nor inhabited for all generations. And Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing without inhabitant.

In Zeph.2:13-15 we have the doom song of Nineveh:

And he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert. Herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the field; the vulture and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; the owl shall hoot in the window, the raven croak on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare. This is the exultant city that dwelt secure, that said to herself, "I am and there is none else." What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Every one who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

In spite of their grim foretelling of ruin these passages are all great poetry of passion. It may be that here we are far from the Christian doctrine of forgiveness; but we are very close to the beating of the human heart.

In our passage the angel charged with the message of doom comes with the very light of God upon him. No doubt John was thinking of Eze.43:1-2: "He brought me to the gate, the gate facing east; and behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory." H. B. Swete writes of this angel: "So recently he has come from the Presence that in passing he brings a broad belt of light across the dark earth."

So certain is John of the doom of Rome, that he speaks of it as if it had already happened.

We note one other point. Surely the most dramatic part of the picture is the demons haunting the ruins. The pagan gods banished from their reign disconsolately haunt the ruins of the temples where once their power had been supreme.

5. JAMISON, “Rev_18:1-24. Babylon’s fall: God’s people called out of her: The kings and merchants of the earth mourn, while the saints rejoice at her fall.And — so Vulgate and Andreas. But A, B, Syriac, and Coptic omit “And.”power — Greek, “authority.”lightened — “illumined.”with — Greek, “owing to.”

5B. NOTES, “ It is no wonder that John tended to worship angels in heaven, for they are so much like God or Jesus in their power and light. They are awesome and any of us would be tempeted to fall and worship them.

Rev. 18:1-8

Another angel which had great power ("authority" ASV) came down from heaven and the earth was illuminated with his glory (indicates his greatness and the importance of his message). He announces with a strong voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen..." As announced and foreshadowed in earlier visions (14:8; 16:19), the final destruction of Rome has now come. It is now become the habitation of devils ("demons" ASV; see 9:20; 16:14) and the hold (a place of guarding, a prison for detention) of every foul ("unclean" ASV) spirit, and a cage ("hold" ASV) of every unclean and hateful bird. Its overthrow was like that of ancient cities which became dwelling places for all types of doleful creatures (Isa. 13:19-22; 34:11-15). Concerning "the wine of wrath of her fornication" see 14:8; 17:2 and the comments on 14:8. The nations of the earth had followed her lascivious ways, yielded to her seductive practices, and had engaged in her "wrath" (in persecuting Christians). The kings of the earth had committed fornication with her (had made idolatrous political and economic alliances to purchase pleasures, power and prestige). The merchants (first mentioned here; their involvement is discussed in vss. 11, 15) had waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies ("wantonness" ASV; refers to her desire to heap up riches and luxuries). Thus, the angel explains the "fornication" more fully. It is seen all over the world today as men seek to gain pleasure, wealth, and power through unethical, immoral and unscrupulous means. The people of God were summoned to come out of her that they would have no fellowship with her sins and would not receive of her plagues. A complete separation from her sins was necessary to escape her plagues. Her sins had reached even unto heaven (see also Jonah 1:2) and God had remembered her iniquities (see also 16:19). God was going to render to her double (the phrase indicates a balancing of the scales); thus, the punishment was commensurate with the guilt. Verse 7a adds to the thought revealed in verse 6; the judgment was to be in accord with her sin. The word "deliciously" ("waxed wanton" ASV) again refers to her desire for pleasures, luxuries and riches. She had great pride even as the old Babylon (Isa. 47:7-9) and as ancient Tyre (Ezek. 28:2). Therefore (because of these things) in one day (very suddenly) shall here plagues

come upon her, for strong is the Lord God who judges her (the guarantee of her end rests on the power of God). The plagues mentioned in verse 8--death, mourning, famine, fire--shows the proper interpretation of the bowls of wrath of chapter 16. DAVID RIGGS

6. PULPIT, “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven; after [omitting "and"]K coming down, etc. The usual form of introduction to a new vision (cf. Rev_4:1; Rev_7:1, etc.). The "mystery" of the beast and the harlot having been declared, the angel now describes the doom in store for them. The angel is from heaven, as carrying the news of the judgment which is sent from heaven (cf. Rev_10:1; Rev_19:6, Rev_19:15, Rev_19:17; Rev_15:1, etc.).Having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. The great "authority" refers to the judgment which follows, which, however, is not acted out before the seer, but only described. The last clause records the visible manifestation of the great power (cf. the description in Eze_43:2).

6B. ELLICOTT,"THE FALL OF BABYLON.—In the commencement of the last chapter the angel (one of the vial-bearing angels) had promised to show the seer the judgment of the harlot (Revelation 18:1); he was accordingly shown first the vision of the scarlet-clad woman seated on the wild beast. The seer was filled with wonder, and the angel ENTERED into explanation of the mystery of the woman, touching on her relation to the beast, and her ultimate doom, and revealing to him who she was. But though the angel has proclaimed her overthrow in his explanatory statement, the judgment of the harlot has not been seen in the vision; we must, in fact, regard the portion of the last chapter, from Revelation 18:7 to the end, as a kind of parenthesis, a pause in the drama of vision, the action of which is RESUMED in Revelation 18. Yet though the dramatic action is taken up, we are not shown in vision her actual overthrow; but we gather it from the four agencies which are put forward—the angel which proclaims her moral fall (Revelation 18:1-3); the voice from the heaven which gives the vivid description of her sudden overthrow, and of the marvellous sensation it occasioned (Revelation 18:4-20); the angel which tells the irremediable character of her overthrow (Revelation 18:21-24); and finally, the chorus of the heavenly multitude rejoicing over her fall (Revelation 19:1-4).

Verse 1(1) And after these things . . .—Or, better, After these things (omit “and”) I saw another angel coming down, having great POWER (or, authority—entrusted to him for the work against Babylon); and the earth was illumined by (literally, out of) his glory. The light which shines from the heavenly messenger shines like day upon the tawdry splendour of Babylon, and shows that what was admired was but worthless and corrupt. In his brief, but rousing call, he proclaims it to be so.

7. EBC, “THE FALL OF BABYLONBABYLON has fallen. We have now the Divine proclamation of her fate, and the lamentation of the world over the doom to which she has been consigned: -"After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of devils, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird. For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness (Rev_18:1-3)."At Rev_17:1, we read of one of the angels that had the seven Bowls. The angel now introduced is another, or a second. We shall find as we proceed that we have entered upon a new series of seven parts, similar to that in chap. 14, where six angels and their actions, three on either side, are grouped around One higher than angels, and forming the central figure of the movement.* The series is a long one, extending from chap. 17:1 to chap. 22:5, the central figure meeting us at Rev_19:11; and again, as before, the fact ought to be carefully noticed, for it has a bearing on the interpretation of some of the most difficult sections of this book. Meanwhile we have to do with the second angel, whose action extends to Rev_18:20 of the present chapter. (*Kliefoth seems to have been the first to point this out.)The description given of this angel is proportioned to the importance of his message. He has great authority; the earth is lightened with his glory; the voice with which he cries is mighty. It could

hardly be otherwise than that, with such joyful tidings as he bears to men, the "glory of the Lord should shine round about him, and a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun."1 The tidings themselves follow, taken from the Old Testament accounts of the desolation that was to come upon Babylon: "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces."2 In words such as these, though combined throughout both the present and following descriptions with expressions taken from the ruin of other famous and guilty cities of the Old Testament, we have the source whence the powerful and pathetic words of this chapter are drawn. The most terrible disasters of bygone times are but types of that wreck of all the grandeur of earth which we are now invited to behold, while Babylon s sinfulness is referred to that her fate may appear to be no more than her appropriate punishment. (1 Luk_2:9; Act_26:13; 2 Isa_13:19-22)At this point we are met by one of those sudden transitions, common in the Apocalypse, which so completely negative the idea of chronological arrangement. A cry is heard which seems to imply that Babylon has not yet fallen: -"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she hath mingled mingle unto her double. How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. Therefore in one day shall, her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God which judged her (Rev_18:4-8)."The first words of this voice from heaven deserve peculiar attention: Come forth, My people, out of her; that is, out of Babylon, the degenerate Church. We are at once reminded of the striking teaching of our Lord in chap. 10 of the fourth Gospel, where He compares Himself to the "door" of the fold, not the door by which the sheep enter into, but by which they come out of, the fold.l We are also reminded of the blind man of chap. 9 of the same Gospel, whom our Lord "found" only after he had been "cast out" of the synagogue.2 In the midst of the blinded theocracy of Israel in the days of Jesus there was a faithful, though small, remnant. It had been betrayed by the religious guides of the people, who had become "thieves and robbers," whom the true sheep did not know, and to whom they ought not to listen. Jesus came to call it out of the theocracy to Himself. Such was the spectacle which St. John had witnessed when his Master was in the world, and that experience is now repeated. The Church as a whole degenerates. Called to prepare men for the Second Coming of the Lord, and to teach them to live, not for the present, but the future, she becomes herself the victim of the present She forgets that, in the absence of the Bridegroom, her days are days of fasting. She fails to realize the fact that until her Lord comes again her state is one of widowhood. And, instead of mourning, she sits as a queen, at ease and satisfied, proud of her pomp and jewellery. What is all this but a recurrence of the old events of history? The Apostle sees the future mirrored in the past; and he can only follow in his Master’s footsteps, and call His Christian remnant out of Babylon. (1 Joh_10:7; 2 Joh_9:35)The words are in the highest degree important for the interpretation and understanding of the Apocalypse. We have already found in more than one passage distinct traces of this double Church, of the true Church within the false, of the few living ones within the Body which had a name to live, but was dead. Here the distinction meets us in all its sharpness, and fresh light is cast upon passages that may have formerly seemed dark. "Many are called," "many" constituting the outward Church; but "few are chosen," "few" constituting the real Church, the Church which consists of the poor, and meek, and lowly. The two parts may keep together for a time, but the union cannot last; and the day comes when, as Christ called His sheep out of the Jewish, so He will again call His sheep out of the Christian "fold," that they may hear His voice, and follow Him.Having summoned the true disciples of Jesus out of Babylon, the voice from heaven again proclaims in a double form, as sins and as iniquities, the guilt of the doomed city, and invites the ministers of judgment, according to the lex talionis, to render unto her double. The command may also be founded upon the law of the theocracy by which thieves and violent aggressors of the poor

were required to make a double repayment to those whom they had injured,1 or it may rest upon the remembrance of such threatenings as those by the prophet Jeremiah, "I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double."2 (1 Exo_22:4; Exo_22:7; Exo_22:9; 2 Jer_16:18)Judgment is next supposed to have been executed upon Babylon; and the Seer proceeds to describe in language of unexampled eloquence the lamentation of the world over the city’s fall: -And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and merchandise of horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these thing’s, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stone, and pearl! for in one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth anywhither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off, and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein were made rich all that had their ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice with her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her (Rev_18:9-20)."Three classes of persons are introduced to us: Kings, Merchants, and Sailors. All are of the earth; and each class, in its own strain, swells the voice of lamentation. The words are largely taken fromthe Old Testament, and more particularly from the description of the overthrow of Tyre in Ezekiel (chaps. 26 and 27). There is even a peculiar propriety in this latter reference, for Tyre was known by the prophets as another Babylon. In describing the "Burden of Tyre," Isaiah uses in one part of his description the words, "The city of confusion" (the meaning of the word Babylon) "is broken down."* (* Isa_24:10)It is unnecessary to enter into any examination clause by clause of the passage before us. We shall better catch its spirit and be made sensible of its effect by attending to a few general observations upon the description as a whole.1. Not without interest may we mark that the classes selected to mourn over the burning of the city are three in number. We have thus another illustration of the manner in which that number penetrates the structure of all the writings of St. John.2. Emphasis is laid upon the fact that the city is burned. Her destruction by fire has indeed been more than once alluded to. Of the beast and the ten horns it had been said that "they shall burn her utterly with fire;"1 and, again, it had been proclaimed by the voice from heaven that "she shall be utterly burned with fire."2 We shall not venture to say with any measure of positiveness that the type of this "burning" is taken from the burning of Jerusalem by the Romans. It may have been taken from the burning of other cities by victorious enemies. But this much at least is obvious: that, in conjunction with the fact that Babylon is a harlot, destruction by fire leads us directly to the thought of the spiritual, and not simply the civil, or political, or commercial, character of the city. According to the law of Moses, burning appears to have been the punishment of fornication only in the case of a priest s daughter: "And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playingthe harlot, she shall be burnt with fire."3 (1 Rev_17:16; 2 Rev_18:8; 3 Lev_21:9)3. Whether there is any other allusion to spiritual traffic in the lamentations before us it is not easy to say. Of one at least which may be quoted in this connection the interpretation is uncertain. When the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over the loss of that merchandise which they now miss, they extend it, not only to articles of commerce bought and sold in an ordinary market, but to souls of men. It may be that, as often suggested, slavery alone is thought of. Yet it is highly improbable that such is the case. Rather may it be supposed to refer to that spiritual life which is destroyed by too much occupation .with, and too engrossing interest in, the world. "The characteristic of this fornication is the selling themselves for gold, as the Greek word signifies.

Therefore with such wonderful force and emphasis of accumulation is every species of this merchandise mentioned, running up all into one head: the souls of men. Like that in the prophet: ‘Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots; their land also is full of idols’ And it must be observed that all these things which are so minutely particularized as expressive of the meshes of that net by which men’s souls are taken have also their place in the new Jerusalem, where every jewel is specified by name, and the gold of its streets, and the fine linen, and the incense, and the wine, and the oil, its white horses also. In both alike must they stand for spiritual merchandise of good and evil, the false riches and the true."* (*Isaac Williams, The Apocalypse, with Notes, etc., p. 360)The conclusion to be drawn is that Babylon is a spiritual city. That, as such, she is Jerusalem is further confirmed by the fact that, at the close of the chapter, it is said, And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth. Similar words met us in Rev_17:6; and here, as there, they unmistakably remind us of the words already quoted in which our Lord describes the great city of the Jews.* (* Mat_28:35)4. From all that has been said, it must be obvious that nothing is here spoken of Babylon inapplicable to Jerusalem when we think of this latter city in the light in which the Seer specially regards it. Jerusalem was indeed neither a commercial nor a maritime city, but Rome also was no city on the sea. A large part, therefore, of the details of St. John’s description is not less destitute of force when applied, if applied literally, to the latter than to the former. On the other hand, these details are more applicable to Jerusalem than to Rome, if we remember that Jerusalem supplies, in a way impossible to Rome, the groundwork for a delineation of those religious forces which are far more wide-spreading in their reach, and far more crushing in their power, than the legions of the imperial metropolis.Babylon then is fallen, and that with a sudden and swift destruction, a destruction indeed so sudden and so swift that each of the three companies that lament takes particular notice of the fact that in one hour did her judgment come.* (* Rev_18:10; Rev_18:17; Rev_18:19)More, however, so important is the subject, has to be said; and we are introduced to the action of the third angel of the first group: -"And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and minstrels, and flute-players, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth (Rev_18:21-24)."Yet once again, it would seem, must we think of Babylon as to be destroyed rather than as destroyed already. So great is her guiltiness that the Seer again and again approaches it, and dwells, though from different points of view, upon the thought of her disastrous fate. In the present case it is less the method than the effect of her destruction that is before his eye, and nothing can be more touching than the light in which he presents it. At one moment we behold the city in her brightness, her gaiety, her rich and varied life. We hear the voice of her harpers, and minstrels, and flute-players, and trumpeters, all that can delight the ear accompanying all that can please the eye. Her craftsmen of every craft are busy at their work; and each shop in the great city resounds with the noise of the hammer, or the shuttle, or the other instruments of prosperous industry. The cheering sound of the millstone tells that there is food in her humbler dwellings. Her merchants, too, are the princes of the earth; innumerable lamps glitter in their halls and gardens; and the voice of the bride groom and the bride is the pledge of her well-being and joy. The next moment the proud city is cast like a millstone into the sea; and all is silence, desolation, and ruin. The resources of language appear as if they had been exhausted to supply the description of so great a fall.We have now reached the close of the longest and most important section of the Apocalypse, beginning, as has been already pointed out, with chap. 6. It is the fourth in that series of seven of which the book is composed; and the main purpose of St. John in writing finds expression in it. As the writer of the fourth Gospel describes in the fourth section of that book, extending from chap. 5 to chap. 12, the conflict between the Son of God and "the Jews," so he describes in the corresponding section of the Apocalypse the conflict between the glorified Son of man as He lives

and reigns in His Church and the evil of the world. Throughout the conflict we are not once permitted to forget that, although Christ and the true members of His Body may be the objects of attack, and may even have to retire for security from the field, God is on their side, and will never suffer His faithfulness to fail or forget His promises. In a threefold series of judgments the guilty world and the guilty Church are visited with the terrors of His wrath. These three series of judgments, too, go on in an ascending line. The climactic character of their contents has already been pointed out, and nothing more need be said of it. But it may be worthwhile to notice that the element of climax appears not less in the nature of the instruments employed. Comparing the Trumpets with the Seals, the simple fact that they are Trumpets indicates a higher, more exciting, more terrible unfolding of wrath. The Trumpet is peculiarly the warlike instrument, summoning the hosts to battle: "Thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war;" "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities."* That the Bowls, again, are still more potent than the Trumpets, appears from the language in which they are described, from their mode of introduction, and from the vessels made use of for the plagues. They are "the last " plagues; in them is "finished" the wrath of God; they are called for by a "great voice out of the sanctuary;" and they proceed. not from a secular instrument, however warlike, but from a sacred vessel, not from one which must be sounded for a length of time before it produces its effect, but from one which, inverted in a moment, pours out with a sudden gush its terrors upon men. Similar though they thus are, the three series of judgments lose what might otherwise be their sameness; and the mind is invited to rest upon that most instructive lesson of the providence of God, that in proportion to privilege misused is the severity with which sin is punished. Throughout all these judgments the righteous are kept safe. (* Jer_4:19; Zep_1:15-16)It will thus be observed that there is no strict chronological succession in the visions of this book. There is succession of a certain kind, succession in intensity of punishment. But we cannot assign one series of judgments to one period in the history of the Church or limit another to another. All the three series may continually fulfill themselves wherever persons are found of the character and disposition to which they severally apply.But while these three series constitute the chief substance of the fourth, or leading, section of the seven into which the Apocalypse is divided, they do not exhaust the subject. The last series, in particular - that of the Bowls has proceeded upon a supposition the most startling and pathetic by which the history of the Church is marked, - that "they are not all Israel which are of Israel," that tares have mingled With the wheat, and that the spirit of Babylon has found its way into the heart of the city of God. A phenomenon so unexpected and so melancholy stands in need of particular examination, and that examination is given in the description of the character and fate of Babylon. The remarks already made upon this point need not be repeated. It may be enough to remind the reader that in no part of his whole book is the Seer more deeply moved, and that in none does he rise to strains of more powerful and touching eloquence. Yet what is chiefly required of us is to open our minds to the full impression of the fact that Babylon does fall, deep in ruin as in guilt, and that with her fail the conflict ends.

8. WILLIAM BURKITT, “The destruction of spiritual Babylon hath in this prophecy been several times predicted and already foretold: now here an angel from heaven is employed to declare it shall certainly be performed.

This angel is variously here described, 1. By the place from whence he came, namely, from heaven; signifying, that the destruction of Babylon was there surely decreed, and should most certainly be accomplished.

2. By the authority and power with which he came, in the name of, and by commission from, the great God, and having great power. A mighty angel is employed in this great and mighty work, to destroy Babylon, the mighty throne of antichrist.

3. By the effect of his appearance, the earth was lightened with his glory; denoting, that Babylon's destruction should be open and manifest, and matter of joy and glorious rejoicing both to heaven and earth.

Learn hence, That as the destruction of Babylon is the work and office of an angel, under God, so is it unto the angels matter of joy and triumph; especially to such of them as are employed as officers therein. I saw an angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.

Observe, 2. The place against which the mighty angel doth denounce the vengeance of God, and that with an ingemination, or repetition of the threatening: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; where, by Babylon, all, both papists and protestants, do understand the city of Rome, though in different respects.

This is called mystical Babylon, in allusion to ancient Babylon, because of their resemblance,

1. In sin; namely, in pride and sedf-exaltation, in cruelty and oppression, in sorcery and witchcraft. Isa_51:7.

2. In punishment: the destruction of old Babylon was a sudden destruction, Isa_17:9 and a perpetual destruction. See Isa_13:20 compared with Rev_11:10 and Rev_18:8.

It is called Babylon the great, 1. Because of the greatness of its strength and glory; it was the strongest and most fortified place in the world. Cyrus besieged it thirteen years before he took it, and then by cutting channels, and drawing dry the river Erphrates.

2. In regard of her great power and dominion: literal Babylon said, and Are not my princes altogether kings? and mystical Babylon ruleth over all the kings of the earth.

Farther, it is here said, that Babylon the great is fallen, nay, it is ingeminated and repeated, is fallen, is fallen; implying,

1. The certainty of her ruin; it is a speech of faith, speaking of things to come as already past; God's punishments when threatened are as certain as if already inflicted.

2. It denotes the suddenness of her destruction, She is fallen, that is subito ruitura, she shall soon fall; as when Christ said of his suffering work, It is finished, he meant that it was very near finishing.

3. It denotes her utter ruin and destruction, is fallen, is fallen, never to rise more: the church shall never more be tormented by her, or troubled with her.

4. It denotes the joy and rejoicing which will be found in Sion, at Babylon's downfall and destruction: she is fallen, she is fallen; it is not only a speech of faith and trust, but of joy and triumph.

Learn hence, 1. That Rome or mystical Babylon, shall certainly fall, shall utterly fall, shall irrecoverably fall.

2. That the downfall of Babylon will be matter of great joy and triumph to the inhabitants of Sion, because she has been to the church of Christ an old and inveterate enemy, a cruel and bloody enemy, and shall be the last enemy. When Babylon is fallen, then shall all persecutions cease, Satan shall be bound, and the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ. Let all that have an interest in God, be instant in prayer with him to hasten its time, that it may be in the history as it is here in the prophecy, that Babylon is fallen.

Observe lastly, what an heap of multiplied expressions the Holy Ghost is pleased to make use of, to set forth the utter ruin and final desolation of Babylon,--She is become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; that is, as devils and evil spirits are supposed to haunt desolate places, and birds which make hideous and dismal noises, do dwell in ruinous and ruined places: in like manner these expressions denote how entirely and

absolutely God will bring about the destruction of Babylon, insomuch that the place which hath known her, shall know her no more, and her habitation shall be an eternal desolation, so that none that pass by shall say, This is Babylon.

9. KRETZMANN, “The Fall and Destruction of Anti-Christ's Kingdom.

The angel's announcement:

v. 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

v. 2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

v. 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

This entire paragraph reminds one of chap. 14:6-7, where an angel was pictured as lying in mid-heaven: After these things I saw another angel descending out of heaven having great power, and the earth was lit up by his glory. The reference is undoubtedly to Luther and his co-workers in the great work of the Reformation. The Gospel which they once more proclaimed was not their own, but was the message of God from heaven, and therefore was full of power. Nor was this movement one that was done in secret, but the preaching and the writing of these men of God was done before the whole world, and gave true spiritual light to all men that accepted the pure doctrine of salvation.

The specific message of the angel on this occasion is recorded by the prophet: And He cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, and has become the habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit and a hold of every unclean and loathsome bird; for of the wine of the wrath of her fornication all nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich through the power of her luxury. That was the effect of the preaching of the pure Gospel upon the kingdom of Anti-Christ, especially on the Pope and his hierarchy. Spiritually the empire of the Pope has been cast down; his show of spirituality has been taken from him, his magic is no longer as effective as formerly. To all believers that do hot willfully close their eyes the true nature of the Roman Church as such has been revealed. Since the Church of the Pope has officially rejected the preaching of the pure Gospel and declared her unwavering devotion to the fundamental errors that crept into the Church in the Middle Ages, since that time the Church of the Pope as such has hardened her heart, has become obdurate against all true reform. It has become the habitation of devils, of unclean spirits, and of loathsome birds, as the prophets describe the condition of all anti-Christian bodies, Isa_13:21-22; Isa_34:14;Jer_50:39; Jer_51:8-38. And that is a just punishment of God upon the kingdom of Anti-Christ, for the deliberate guilt of this Church as such is such as cannot be adequately expressed. She has done more to spread the anti-Christian doctrine of works than any other organization in the world, trying especially to obtain influence with the great and powerful in the world, to lead them into the ways of idolatry and to make them her willing servants. And so far as the merchants of the earth are concerned, including many of her own high officials, the luxury and pomp of this Church have brought them untold wealth. The very name of God, which the Church of the Pope piously used, was and is made a bait for the unwary, and the wrath of the zealous God is aroused to the utmost pitch.

10. COLLEGE PRESS, “vs. 1 "And after these things."

After the descriptions given us in the seventeenth chapter to re-

veal to us the identity of that great city of Spiritual Babylon, or papal Rome which rules over the kings of earth, we now come to the consideration of her downfall.

"I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory." (Rev. 18:1)

296

WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:1,2

The introduction of such a mighty angel at this juncture em- phasizes the importance of the subject matter of this vision before us. This is another angel than one of the seven angels which had the seven vials who talked with John in the seventeenth chapter.

To this present angel was given great power or authority because of the world-shattering events introduced in this chapter. The earth was lightened with his glory, because he came with a revelation of great enlightment concerning the final destruction of that great city Babylon which had darkened the earth doctrinally, spiritually, politically and economically.

vs 2 "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."

Here this angel repeats a former angelic pronouncement recorded in (Rev. 14:8), "Babylon is fallen is fallen." By referring back to that setting we find that this first pronouncement falls into the time of the seventh vial, because in the pouring out of his seventh plague "great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath." (Rev. 16:19)

The repetition of this announcement of Babylon's fall calls our attention to the importance of this climactic event of history's consummation. Again the emphasis becomes apparent in the double declaration "is fallen is fallen."

When Joseph explained to Pharoah why his dream was "dou- bled," he said: "And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharoah twice; it is because the thing is established, and God will shortly bring it to pass." (Genesis 41:32)

For the same evident reason the word "fallen" is repeated twice, even doubled unto us twice, — one double in 14:8 and the second double in 18:2.

The importance of all this is readily seen when we realize that all the activities of men, all their religious or business enterprises,

297

18:1,2 WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE

eventuate in that condition of a godless civilization as typified by the literal Babylon of antiquity and the spiritual Babylon symbol- zed under that name in Revelation.

The confusion that obtains in religion, education, economics, finance, industry, government, politics and morality — all is traced back to that great city that rules over the Kings of the earth the "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and abomina- tions of the earth." This Babylon we have proved by the testimony of Scripture and History alike to be the religio-political heirarchal system known to the world as the papacy and the apostate church.

With a false church dominating the world, it follows, as nat- urally as daylight comes after dark, that men would have false conceptions of right and wrong in the moral, spiritual, intellectual, financial, economic and political realms of activity.

Our present state of civilization is the harvest. Rome sowed the wind and the closing period of this age is reaping the whirlwind.

The angel describes this present age of which the world is so blindly proud, as a habitation of devils, a hold for every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird.

Of course to the spiritually deluded and the worldling this all sounds absurd. They point to the grandeur of the Roman church, her multitudes of earnest devotees, her pronouncements on peace, her denunciation of intellectual evils, etc. This generation boasts of its material accomplishments in the way of scientific research and inventive genius, but they do not see all this through God's eyes.

Surely, the world, in its evaluation of things, needs to hark back to the declaration God made to Samuel who was trying to select a king to be annointed. Samuel was one of the noblest men of history, yet even this fine man illustrates how far wrong a good man can be in property evaluation. Hear God's council to him:

"And the Lord said to Samuel; Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature: because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)

298

WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:1-4

This twice repeated expression "is fallen is fallen" describes a twin falling action. Babylon, as a system of false teaching and wor- ship in an apostate church, and, Babylon as a system of commercial- ism resulting from a scriptural departure in doctrine and practice, falls,

Twin falls are thus portrayed. Both Mother and child, both spiritual and carnal, both cause and effect are included in this re- peated expression, "is fallen is fallen."

And the reason by both fall together is given in the very next verse:

11. BI, “The overthrow of wickednessI. A glorious angel proclaims this (cf. Rev_18:1 as to this angel). Then such overthrow must be—1. Righteous.2. Blessed.3. Divine. Had it been possible for men to effect this, it would have been done long since.II. God’s people receive command.1. To separate themselves from sin. From which we learn—(1) That God’s people may have to dwell in the midst of sin.(2) That though where wickedness is, they are not to be partakers of it.(3) That they shall one day be effectually separated from it.2. To avenge themselves upon it. Resentment and wrath are passions given us by God. Our peril and propensity is lest we turn them in a wrong direction.III. The friends of wickedness lament.1. Wickedness has friends. Those who find delight in it, who “live deliciously” in it (Rev_18:9). Those who make profit out of it. The merchants, etc. (Rev_18:11). And—2. Their lament is loud and long. They weep, mourn, wail; say, “Alas, alas” cast dust on their heads, etc. (Rev_18:11; Rev_18:15-16; Rev_18:19).3. But the lament is utterly selfish. They mourn not because of the wickedness: that does not trouble them. Nor even for Babylon’s sufferings. But because the hope of their gain is gone (Rev_18:19).4. And they do not go to her help (Rev_18:15). They stand afar off for the fear of her torment. Look well at these friends, for such are they that sin and sinners call friends.IV. All heaven, angels and saints, rejoice. When we read over the subject of their joy, we find that—1. It is not because in this Babylon there was nothing innocent or good. There was much. Verses 22, 23 tell of what was lawful and right in any community. In the worst of men there is good. None are utterly bad. But—2. That the main characteristic of her life was evil. And therefore her destruction was a matter of joy. She deceived all nations. She slew God’s saints. Thus—3. Justice was done. And—4. It was completely done. See the symbol of the angel with the millstone (Rev_18:21). Nothing like this has ever been accomplished yet, but this prophecy is a sure promise that it will be. “Who shall live when the Lord doeth this”? Amongst whom shall we be found? Let us now “some out of her, that we be not,” etc. (Rev_18:4). (S. Conway, B. A.)

BabylonI. The description of Babylon.1. Its corrupt character. As before the prophets were “false” and the spirits were “unclean,” and stood opposed to God; so now harlotry, fornication, drunkenness, blasphemy, abominations, luxury, persecuting, violence, sorcery, submission to the beast, warring against the Lamb, are the terms employed to describe or indicate the excessive foulness and corruption of the faithless city. This is “the woman” having in her hand “a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication.” This the “Babylon the great,” which is become “a habitation of devils, a hold of every unclean spirit and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.”2. Virulent antagonism to the good, even to the loftiest ideals of goodness. “War against the Lamb”; “blasphemed the God of heaven”; “gather together unto the war of the great day of God”; “poured out the blood of saints and prophets”; in such terms is the antipathy to all righteousness declared.

3. Occasion of all evil, seen in the corruption of life, the deceitfulness of iniquity, the loss of the blessings of righteousness, degradation in sin, to which the “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” are reduced “where the harlot sitteth”; and the judgments and consequent sufferings in which they are involved.4. The widespread, universal character of the desolation caused. In every aspect this vision is “great and marvellous.” It is “Babylon the great.” The harlot “sitteth upon many waters,” which waters are “peoples and multitudes, and nations and tongues.” “And the woman is the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth”; “by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen.” “What city is like the great city,” with whose “sorcery were all nations deceived”? “In her was found the blood of all that have been slain upon the earth.” This is the universal kingdom of evil, whose “sins reached unto heaven.” This great kingdom shall come to an end. Such is the ever-recurring promise of this book.II. Its destruction is complete. The “harlot” is made “desolate and naked”; hated by all over whom she sat as a queen; they shall “eat her flesh, and burn her utterly with fire.” “Woe, woe!” is pronounced against the great city, Babylon; “for in one hour is thy judgment come.” “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” “In one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God which judgeth her.” “The Lamb shall overcome,” and thus shall they also overcome that are with Him. “And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be east down, and shall be found no more at all.” Then shall the kings of the earth that committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth who were made rich by her, and every shipmaster and mariner, and all that were made rich by her, weep and mourn and lament; while to heaven a sweet song of joy and thankfulness shall rise from them who with the Lamb have overcome—who are called, and chosen, and faithful. (R. Green.)

The fall of corrupt societyThe fall of corrupt society is—I. Divinely proclaimed. As there is a law of disintegration in the material universe, that so separates the hugest mountains that they ultimately disappear, so there is in the moral a law of retribution, which will ultimately break into pieces the world of corrupt society.II. Manifestly deserved. As in the ruins of old cities, the cormorant, the screech-owl, the vulture, and other hideous creatures are found, so in this moral Babylon are found the most horrible and detestable of all existences. The utter extermination, or rather extinction, of such objects is urgently required.III. A reason for quitting it.1. The possibility of good men living in this moral Babylon. The depravities of our contemporaries and neighbours are no justification for our defects.2. Good men, unless they quit this corrupt society, will be involved in its guilt and fate.IV. A development of retribution. The ruin comes, not as a casual event, nor as a positive infliction, but as the result of the eternal law of retribution: a law silent in its operation, resistless in its force, and inevitable in its issues (Gal_6:7).V. An overwhelming catastrophe. When full judgment comes upon a corrupt community the horrors involved not only transcend description, but even imagination. What is lost? Friendship gives way to fiendish battlings; peace gives way to furious storms; hope gives way to black despair and terrible apprehensions: liberty gives way to a crushing thraldom, to which every faculty of the soul is bound in chains of darkness. All the lights of the soul are quenched, and the whole heavens are mantled in a starless midnight. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The habitation of devils.The habitation of demonsI. Every Babel-like city or system, is doomed to destruction, and will fall into an abyss of fearful degradation. This is the lesson of all history from the beginning of the world. We see it in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, and of the Greek and Roman Empires. Wherever we find a nation that is supremely devoted to the things of sense, we have Babel-like adolaters, who are destined to a certain fall and degradation. Such is the appointed end of every political or religious system that ignores God and His truth, and seek after

material power and prosperity as the chief objects of life. Let a nation lose her faith in God—let her drive truth, virtue, love, and righteousness from her heart and life, and what will she become? Can she become anything else than a habitation of devils? Can she become anything else but the seat and prey of demon-like passions?II. Observe how diabolical the passions of men may become. “The most terrible physical calamity that can be imagined,” says one, “has no terror to compare with that of fiends let loose from hell and taking possession of human hearts and hands. A ship sinking in a tempest with its hundreds of helpless passengers; a Lisbon overwhelmed by sudden earthquake; a Pompeii buried alive beneath the lava and ashes of Vesuvius are very terrible to hear of, and to think of, but they are nothing to what Paris has lately seen. Her streets have been flooded with the worst passions of which human nature, satanically inspired, is capable. Men, women, and even children, born in the same streets, neighbours all their life long, who have traded and danced and sung together, pursuing each other to death with the ferocity of tigers, and inflicting all manner of dishonour and indignity on the mangled remains of the dead—and all this in the most polished and beautiful city in the world—what can it all mean, except it be an eruption of demons from the bottomless pit?”III. We see what society has to expect from the apostles of infidelity and atheism. When men have destroyed the idea of a God in their own minds, is it not natural to think that they will enter on a career of destruction in reference to other and smaller things? If they hesitate not to destroy the idea of a God—the fountain of right and wrong—will they shrink from destroying human life or property? If the idea of a God be not a sacred idea to such persons, do you think that the idea of the value of human life or property will be a sacred idea to them? No. Society has everything to lose and nothing to gain from such apostles of atheism and infidelity. Not from them, but from other and higher sources, would we look for the salvation of men.IV. All men are in danger of falling into a Babel-like spirit and life. For all are only too prone to put faith in the things of sense, and to forget the things that are unseen and eternal. The Babylonian spirit is not dead. Every man to some extent is a little Babel. We have faith in the powers of nature. We have faith in the sun, in the moon, in the star, in the coal, and in the seed that we cast into the ground. Do we believe also in God? Have we a real and lasting faith in Him? Have we such a faith in love, truth, virtue, and righteousness, as in the things that we see with the eye of our body and touch with our hands? (Wm. M’Kay.)

Come out of her.—The influence of the apostate BabylonWhen the great apostate power named Babylon comes, as hero sot forth, to utter destruction, it is seen how wide and how deep its malign influence had been. The whole fabric of the world’s commerce is shattered by its fall; for all human industries and traffic and all the markets of the world had come to be diverted from the service of God, and directed and controlled by the corrupt principles and unhallowed delights of the vast apostasy. Even though the identity of this mystic Babylon be left unfixed, the warning reaches us with no lack of distinctness and urgency. We need not wait until we can precisely define and allocate the form and system of wrong which is here denounced before we determine to hold ourselves clear of all wrong, by doing that only whichis right, by acknowledging and serving God alone in all particulars and interests of our daily fife, at home and in the world. (G. S. Rowe.)

In the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.—The rule of retributionI. This rule commends itself to our sense of justice. That those of the wicked who in this world live in affluence, and have more than heart can wish, possess abundant opportunities for intellectual and moral improvement, and means of doing good, should in future retribution fare alike with those who have none of these blessings or advantages, would be an outrage on our sense of right. Justice requires a balancing of human affairs, a kind of compensation for existing discrepancies, and this mankind will have in the great retributive future.II. This rule answers to biblical teaching. Throughout the whole Scripture record it is taught that sinners, after they have passed through their probationary period, will be dealt with according to the mercies they have abused, the opportunities they have neglected, and the advantages they have wasted. “He that knoweth his Master’s will and doeth it not,” etc. “It will be more tolerable for

Sodom and Gomorrah,” etc. “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime didst receive,” etc.III. This rule agrees with universal experience. Conscious contrast between a propitious past and a distressing present is and must ever be an element in mental suffering. (Homilist.)

She hath glorified herself.—The degenerate ChurchCalled to prepare men for the second coming of the Lord, and to teach them to live, not for the present, but the future, she becomes herself the victim of the present. She forgets that, in the absence of the Bridegroom, her days are days of fasting. She fails to realise the fact that until her Lord comes again her state is one of widowhood. And, instead of mourning, she sits as a queen, at ease and satisfied, proud of her pomp and jewellery. (W. Milligan, D D.)

Therefore shall her plagues come.—National ruinOur scientific friends find yellow bricks still impressed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and they go back to the sarcophagus of a monarchy buried more than two thousand years ago. But is it possible that that is all that remains of Babylon? a city once five times larger than London and twelve times larger than New York? Wall three hundred and seventy-three feet high and ninety-three feet thick. Twenty-five burnished gates on each side, with streets running clear through to corresponding gates on the other side. Six hundred and twenty-five squares. More pomp and wealth and splendour and sins than could be found in any five modern cities combined. A city of palaces and temples. Great capital of the ages! But one night, while honest citizens were asleep, but all the saloons of saturnalia were in full blast, and at the king’s castle they had filled the tankards for the tenth time, and reeling and guffawing and hiccoughing around the state table were the rulers of the land. General Cyrus ordered his besieging army to take shovels and spades, and they diverted the river from its usual channel into another direction, so that the forsaken bed of the river became the path on which the besieging party entered. When the morning dawned the conquerors were inside the city walls. Babylon had fallen. But do nations die? Oh, yes, there is great mortality among monarchies and republics. They are like individuals in the fact that they are born, they have a middle life, they have a decease, they have a cradle and a grave. Some of them are assassinated, some destroyed by their own hand.1. One evil threatening the destruction of American institutions is the solidifying of the sections against each other. This country cannot exist unless it exists as one body—the national capital, the heart, sending out through all the arteries of communication warmth and life to the very extremities.2. Another evil threatening the destruction of our American institutions is the low state of public morals. What killed Babylon of my text? What killed Phoenicia? What killed Rome? Their own depravity; and the fraud and the drunkenness, and the immorality which have destroyed other nations will destroy ours, unless a merciful God prevent. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

2 With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’[a]

She has become a dwelling for demons

and a haunt for every impure spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable

animal.

1.BARNES, “And he cried mightily - Literally, “he cried with a strong great voice.” See Rev_10:3.Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen - See the notes on Rev_14:8. The proclamation here is substantially the same as in that place, and no doubt the same thing is referred to.And is become the habitation of devils - Of demons - in allusion to the common opinion that the demons inhabited abandoned cities, old ruins, and deserts. See the notes on Mat_12:43-45. The language here is taken from the description of Babylon in Isa_13:20-22; and for a full illustration of the meaning, see the notes on that passage.And the hold of every foul spirit - f??a??` phulake‾. A watch-post, station, haunt of such spirits - That is, they, as it were, kept guard there; were stationed there; haunted the place.And a cage of every unclean and hateful bird - That is, they would resort there, and abide there as in a cage. The word translated “cage” is the same which is rendered “hold” - f??a??` phulake‾. In Isa_13:21, it is said, “and owls shall dwell there”; and in Isa_14:23, it is said that it would be a “possession for the bittern.” The idea is that of utter desolation; and the meaning here is, that spiritual Babylon - papal Rome Rev_14:8 - will be reduced to a state of utter desolation resembling that of the real Babylon. It is not necessary to suppose this of the city of Rome itself - for that is not the object of the representation. It is the papacy, represented under the image of the city, and having its seat there. That is to be destroyed as utterly as was Babylon of old; that will become as odious, and loathsome, and detestable as the literal Babylon, the abode of monsters is.

2. CLARKE, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen - This is a quotation from Isa_21:9 : And he said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. This is applied by some to Rome pagan; by others to Rome papal; and by others to Jerusalem.Is become - the hold of every foul spirit - See the parallel passages in the margin. The figures here point out the most complete destruction. A city utterly sacked and ruined, never to be rebuilt.

2B. ELLICOTT, "{(2) And he cried . . .—We must omit “mightily,” and render, And he cried in a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become an habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean SPIRIT, and a prison of every unclean and hated bird. Those who walk in darkness, and whose eyes the god of this world hath blinded through their lusts, look only on the material side, upon prosperous times, large revenues, rapidly developing resources. The great city of the world looks fair and glorious in their eyes, and even the godly are dazzled by her beauty; but when the light of heaven shines, her fall is seen to be inevitable, for she is seen to be hateful; her palaces are seen to be prisons, her highest wisdom little more than low cunning, her most exalted intelligence base-born, her sweetest songs discordant cries; the evil spirit, WELCOMED BACK, has come in seven-fold power; for the dry places afford no rest to those who still love sin and the pleasures of sin. The description in this verse is drawn largely from Isaiah 13:21-22; it is a PICTURE OF desolation and degradation, but it has its moral counterpart.

3. GILL, “And he cried mightily with a strong voice,.... Which shows not only the vehemence and affection of the ministers of the word, who will publish what follows, but the greatness and importance of it; and this loud voice may be, as for the sake of the whole church in general, that all may bear, so for the sake of those of the Lord's people in particular, that will be in Babylon at this time; and it may have regard to that deep sleep and spirit of slumber that Babylon itself will be in, which, notwithstanding this loud cry, will remain insensible of its ruin till it comes upon her, as was the case of old Babylon, Jer_51:39,

saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: the whole world is not designed by Babylon, for it is distinguished from all nations in the following verse; nor Babylon in Chaldea, which was fallen long before John saw this vision, but Rome Papal; See Gill on Rev_14:8 so the woman is called in Rev_17:5 who sits on seven mountains, and is that great city, the city of Rome, that reigns over the kings of the earth, Rev_18:9 this is said to be fallen, because, in a very little time after this declaration, it will fall; for as yet it was not destroyed, since after this the Lord's people are called

upon to come out of her, and are bid to reward her double; and it is declared, that her plagues, should come in one day, and she should be burnt with fire; and an angel after this throws a millstone into the sea, saying, that so should Babylon be thrown down, Rev_18:4 and it is repeated to denote the certainty and utter destruction of her: and which is more fully expressed by what follows,

and is become the habitation of devils; as old Babylon was of satyrs, Isa_13:21 demons, which appeared in a hairy form, like goats, and the word is rendered devils in Lev_17:7 and the inhabitants of Rome now are no other; the pope and his cardinals, the priests, Jesuits, monks, and friars, are the spirits of devils, and their doctrines the doctrines of devils; see Rev_16:14

and the hold of every foul spirit: devils are frequently called unclean spirits, and these appear in desert and desolate places, Mat_12:43 where they are either of choice, or rather are obliged to it; and so the word translated "hold" signifies a prison, or place of confinement; and such as are comparable to unclean spirits now haunt and abound in Rome, and its territories; see Rev_16:13

and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; such, as vultures, kites, owls, &c. which generally reside in desolate and uninhabited places; the Alexandrian copy, the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, add, "and the hold", or "seat of every unclean and hateful beast"; and so the desolation of old Babylon is described by wild beasts and doleful creatures dwelling in it, Isa_13:21. Some consider all this as a reason of the destruction of Babylon or Rome, because it now is the residence of persons comparable to devils, foul spirits, hateful birds, and beasts of prey; but this account rather describes its state and case in which it will be after its ruin, being never more to be inhabited by men, in allusion to old Babylon, Isa_13:19.

4. HENRY, “This angel publishes the fall of Babylon, as a thing already come to pass; and this he does with a mighty strong voice, that all might hear the cry, and might see how well this angel was pleased to be the messenger of such tidings. Here seems to be an allusion to the prediction of the fall of pagan Babylon (Isa_21:9), where the word is repeated as it is here: has fallen, has fallen. Some have thought a double fall is hereby intended, first her apostasy, and then her ruin; and they think the words immediately following favour their opinion; She has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Rev_18:2. But this is also borrowed from Isa_21:9, and seems to describe not so much her sin of entertaining idols (which are truly called devils) as her punishment, it being a common notion that unclean spirits, as well as ominous and hateful birds, used to haunt a city or house that lay in its ruins.5. JAMISON, “mightily ... strong — not supported by manuscripts. But A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read, “with (literally, ‘in’) a mighty voice.”is fallen, is fallen — so A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas. But B and Coptic omit the second “is fallen” (Isa_21:9; Jer_51:8). This phrase is here prophetical of her fall, still future, as Rev_18:4 proves.devils — Greek, “demons.”the hold — a keep or prison.

5B. NOTES, “ Some say Babylon represents the world in its pursuit of wealth and pleasure. Commercialism and industrialism rule the world and are not evil in themselves, but become leaders of evil because they put materialism above God and push Him out of the picture. The almighty dollar becomes the primary idol. The banks are the temples and bankers the high priests. The love of money is the root of all that is good in this system. The Bablonian captivity of the church is when Christians are so caught up in this world system that their devotion to God is a mere sideline that is not allowed to interfere with with mammon.

Babylon is mentioned more than any other city in the Bible except for Jerusalem. Criswell says it is mentioned 260 times. It was the city which at one time conquered the Jerusalem of God and took the people captive. It destroyed the temple of God.

1. Introduction: is this the same Babylon as is described in chapter 17?a. Good scholars see the issue differently. Some point to two manifestations of Babylon (one

religious and one commercial); others see the two as one, both being judged at the same timeb. There are definite similarities between Babylon as described in Revelation 17 and Revelation 18; both are under the rule of Antichrist, ruling queens; both are filled with blasphemy; both hate the saints, and shed their blood; both are associates with kings in fornication; both are under judgment and destroyedc. However, there are also some significant differences:17: Religious Babylon 18: Commercial Babylon1. Mystery Babylon 1. Great Babylon; Babylon the Great2. Symbol: a harlot woman 2. Symbol: a great city3. Identified with Rome (inland) 3. Identified with a port city4. Woman, whore, and mother 4. Habitation, great city, market place5. Guilty: religious abominations 5. Guilty: greed, self-indulgence6. Destroyed by a political power 6. Destroyed by a sudden act of God who had previously supported herd. In my view, it is best to see them as intertwined, yet somewhat distinct; with one being attacked at the mid-point of the seven year period of tribulation (religious Babylon), and the other at the end of that period (commercial Babylon)e. This passage is very much in the style of Old Testament prophecies of doom regarding wicked cities (Babylon: Isaiah 13; 14; 21 and Jeremiah 50; 51; Tyre: Ezekiel 26-28)i. "John has caught the spirit of the prophetic doom songs" (Morris)2. Is this Babylon a literal or symbolic city?a. Some have thought it to be a future rebuilt Babylon on the Euphrates river in the Middle East (now desolate desert in modern day Iraq)i. Sudam Hussein has been outspoken in his desire to resurrect the ruined city of Babylon in all of its glory; he may in fact do this, and it is conceivable that a rebuilt Babylon could be a world economic center, especially with the wealth of Mideast oil. But so far, Hussein has not made good on his dream to rebuild Babylonb. But most likely, commercial Babylon is like religious Babylon, symbolic: "When the Lord was here on earth He spoke of the great hatred that 'the world' had for Him and His own (John 15:18,19). What is this world but a combination of religion, government and commerce? In other words, Babylon in all its parts stands for that which Christ called 'the world.'" (Barnhouse)i. "In portraying the destruction of a (symbolic) city, he describes God's judgment on the great satanic system of evil than has corrupted the earth's history." (Johnson)

6. PULPIT, “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying; and he cried with a strong voice, saying. This "strong voice" is characteristic of the heavenly utterances (cf. Rev_7:2; Rev_14:7, etc.). Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. The event, though future, is described as past, being predetermined in the counsels of God. The words here are a reproduction of Isa_21:9. And is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; a habitation K a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hated bird. "Devils" (Greek, da?µ?´??a ), inferior evil spirits. The three phrases express the same idea, viz. the loathsome and hateful state to which Babylon is reduced. The language is derived from the prophets (cf. Isa_13:21, Isa_13:22; Isa_34:11-15; Jer_1:1-19 :39; Jer_51:37). A hold (Greek, f??a??´ , "a strong place"); the natural and fitting stronghold of the devils, rather than a place to which they are involuntarily confined.

3 For all the nations have drunk

the maddening wine of her adulteries.

The kings of the earth committed adultery with

her,

and the merchants of the earth grew rich from

her excessive luxuries.”

1.BARNES, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication - See the notes on Rev_14:8. This is given as a reason why this utter ruin had come upon her. She had beguiled and corrupted the nations of the earth, leading them into estrangement from God, and into pollution and sin. See the notes on Rev_9:20-21.And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her - Spiritual adultery; that is, she has been the means of seducing them from God and leading them into sinful practices.And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies - The word rendered “abundance” here, means commonly “power.” It might here denote influence, though it may also mean number, quantity, wealth. Compare Rev_3:8, where the same word is used. The word rendered “delicacies” - st??????? stre‾nous - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means rudeness, insolence, pride; and hence “revel, riot, luxury.” It may be rendered here properly as “luxury,” or “proud voluptuousness”; and the reference is to such luxuries as are found commonly in a great, a frivolous, and a splendid city. These, of course, give rise to much traffic, and furnish employment to many merchants and sailors, who thus procure a livelihood, or become wealthy as the result of such traffic. Babylon - or papal Rome - is here represented under the image of such a luxurious city; and of course, when she falls, they who have thus been dependent on her, and who have been enriched by her, have occasion for mourning and lamentation. It is not necessary to expect to find a literal fulfillment of this, for it is emblematic and symbolical. The image of a great, rich, splendid, proud and luxurious city having been employed to denote that anti-Christian power, all that is said in this chapter follows, of course, on its fall. The general idea is, that she was doomed to utter desolation, and that all who were connected with her, far and near, would be involved in her ruin.

2. CLARKE, “The wine of the wrath - The punishment due to her transgressions, because they have partaken with her in her sins. See the note on Rev_14:8.

3. GILL, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,.... That is, all the nations of the Roman empire, the European nations, otherwise the Pagan and Mahometan nations have not; but these have, being made to drink by her, and made drunk therewith, that is, with her idolatries; See Gill on Rev_14:8.

And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; joined with her in her idolatrous worship and practices, and encouraged the same, and obliged their subjects to them in their dominions; See Gill on Rev_17:2.

And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies; or "luxury"; which is not to be understood in a literal sense; though it is true that many merchants, in all ages, have enriched themselves by sending their commodities to Rome, where, through the vast consumption and luxuriousness of the place, they have bore a good price; but this is to be interpreted of spiritual merchants; these are such who do not merchandise by sea, but are land merchants, the merchants of the earth, and are said to be the great men of the earth, Rev_18:23 such as are equal to princes, lords, and nobles; such are the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops; though the inferior clergy of the Romish church, who are under these, may be included: to which may be added, that one part of their wares is said to be the souls of men, Rev_18:13 which plainly shows what sort of merchants these are; they are such who make merchandise of men, and pretend to sell them heaven, and the salvation of their souls; these are they that deal in pardons and indulgences, which they sell to ignorant people, and for a sum of money say Mass to fetch souls out of purgatory: all things have been saleable at Rome, crucifixes, priests, altars, temples, prayers, heaven, Christ, yea, God himself, as the poet Mantuan expresses it; and because of these idolatries, and wicked practices, Rome will be at last destroyed.

4. HENRY, “The reason of this ruin is declared (Rev_18:3); for, though God is not obliged to give any account of his matters, yet he is pleased to do so, especially in those dispensations of providence that are most awful and tremendous. The wickedness of Babylon had been very great; for she had not only forsaken the true God herself, and set up idols, but had with great art and industry drawn all sorts of men into the spiritual adultery, and by her wealth and luxury had retained them in her interest.5. JAMISON, “drunk — Rev_14:8, from which perhaps “the wine” may have been interpolated. They have drunk of her fornication, the consequence of which will be wrath to themselves. But A, B, and C read, “(owing to the wrath of her fornication all nations) have fallen.” Vulgate and most versions read as English Version, which may be the right reading though not supported by the oldest manuscripts. Babylon, the whore, is destroyed before the beast slays the two witnesses (Rev_11:7), and then the beast himself is destroyed.the wine — so B, Syriac, and Coptic. But A, C, and Vulgate omit.abundance — literally, “power.”delicacies — Greek, “luxury.” See on 1Ti_5:11, where the Greek verb “wax wanton” is akin to the noun here. Translate, “wanton luxury.” The reference is not to earthly merchandise, but to spiritual wares, indulgences, idolatries, superstitions, worldly compromises, wherewith the harlot, that is, the apostate Church, has made merchandise of men. This applies especially to Rome; but the Greek, and even in a less degree Protestant churches, are not guiltless. However, the principle of evangelical Protestantism is pure, but the principle of Rome and the Greek church is not so.

5B. NOTES, “Announcement of the glorious angela. Illuminated with his glory: "So recently has he come from the Presence (of God) that in passing he flings a broad belt of light across the dark earth." (Swete)b. He announces that Babylon is fallen, fallen; the phrase is "repeated like a solemn dirge of the damned" (Robertson)c. The city has become a habitation of demons; this is "A prophetic picture of absolute desolation where the proud achievements of man become the demonic haunts of unclean and horrible creatures" (Mounce)d. Abundance of her luxury - Babylon's sin is not only idolatry (referred to with the term fornication), but also pride, greed and excessive wealth4. (4-5) A call to God's people to separate from Babylona. It is inconceivable that a child of God could be a part of religious Babylon (though elements may creep in); but commercial Babylon, with its materialistic lure, is a constant threatb. The warning is focused towards saints who are in the position Lot was in while living in Sodom (Genesis 19); these are God's people in a place they shouldn't be, a place ripe for destructionc. The call to depart from Babylon and the worldliness that it represents is a theme repeated frequently in the Scripturesi. Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. (Isaiah 52:11)ii. Flee from the midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life! (Jeremiah 50:8)iii. My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 51:45)iv. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)v. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)d. Their sins have reached to heaven; they have piled up like a tower; the tower of Babele. God will remember her iniquities; but for believers, He says I will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12)6. PULPIT, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. "The wine" is omitted in A, C, but it is inserted in à , B, and retained in the Revised Version. "The wrath" is omitted (cf. the expression in Rev_14:8 and Rev_17:2).And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. (On the figure employed, as well as the identical language, see Rev_17:2.) And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. The "abundance" (Greek, d?´?aµ?? , which Vitringa renders by copia, referring to Job_31:25; Eze_28:4, LXX.). "Delicacies." (Greek, st?????? , occurs in the New Testament only here, and as a verb in Rev_18:7, Rev_18:9, and (compounded) in 1Ti_5:11. It signifies overweening pride and

insolence and wantonness, arising from superfluity of wealth and gifts. Cf. the warning to the Church of Laodicea (Rev_3:17).

7. WILLIAM BURKITT, “The Spirit of God is placed here to assign the reason and cause of Babylon's fatal ruin and final desolation; namely,

1. Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornications.

All nations, that is, very many; the generality of the Roman empire have been allured to, and intoxicated by, her idolatries, which have brought all this wrath upon her and them.

Where note, 1. How idolatry is compared to wine, because very pleasing to corrupt nature, and also very enticing and ensnaring, overtaking, like wine, a person unawares; and it is called wine of wrath, because it exciteth and provoketh God's wrath against a person or people guilty of it.

2. Because the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, that is, joined with her in her idolatrous worship.

Where note, The policy of Babylon in drawing kings and princes to the bed of her fornications, well knowing how fast their example would be followed by inferiors. The example of superiors in doing evil is strangely powerful; Jeroboam made Israel to sin, not by commanding them to worship the golden calves, but commending that idolatrous worship to them in his own person.

3. Because the merchants of the earth were waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. By the merchants, understand all such as trade in Babylon's wares, her pleasing and costly wares of pardons, as masses and indulgences, by which so many were enriched. All things are vendible at Rome, any sin may be forgiven for silver, and a license for any thing that is unlawful for money. These are the reasons here assigned for Babylon's ruin. The nations were made drunk by her, kings committed fornication with her, and the merchants enriched through the abundance of her delicacies.

8. COLLEGE PRESS, “vs. 3 "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication and the kings of the earth have committed fornica- tion with her and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies."

Then John hears a call for God's people to come out of this Babylonish nightmare: vs. 4 "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be not par- takers of her sins, and that ye receive not her plagues."

This call to come out of this spiritual Babylon, producer of all the evils of our present civilization, is not the first time such a call has been heard. The call to flee from either physical or spiritual Babylon has been issued seven times in all the scriptures. The call occurs five times in the Old Testament. They are: (Isaiah 48:20; 52:4-11) (Jeremiah 50:8,9; 51:6,8) (Zechariah 2:6, 7)

In the New Testament there are two calls. Although in the first of the two the name "Babylon" is not actually mentioned, but is implied by the confusion caused by the mixing of believers and unbelievers. The two instances are: (2 Cor. 6:17, 18) (Rev. 18:4)

The seven-fold, or fullest possible measure of calling, for the peo- ple of God to flee this great Babylon is impressive indeed.

However, we should recall that whereas God brought His people

out of Egypt in a body, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, in the case of this call to flee Babylon is an individual one,

Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

“‘Come out of her, my people,’[b]

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

1.BARNES, “And I heard another voice from heaven - He does not say whether this was the voice of an angel, but the idea seems rather to be that it is the voice of God.Come out of her, my people - The reasons for this, as immediately stated, are two:(a) That they might not participate in her sins; and,(b) That they might not be involved in the ruin that would come upon her.The language seems to be derived from such passages in the Old Testament as the following: “Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing,” Isa_48:20. “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity,” Jer_51:6. “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord,” Jer_51:45. Compare Jer_50:8.That ye be not partakers of her sins - For the meaning of this expression, see the notes on 1Ti_5:22. It is implied here that by remaining in Babylon they would lend their sanction to its sins by their presence, and would, in all probability, become contaminated by the influence around them. This is an universal truth in regard to iniquity, and hence it is the duty of those who would be pure to come out from the world, and to separate themselves from all the associations of evil.And that ye receive not of her plagues - Of the punishment that was to come upon her - as they must certainly do if they remained in her. The judgment of God that was to come upon the guilty city would make no discrimination among those who were found there; and if they would escape these woes they must make their escape from her. As applicable to papal Rome, in view of her impending ruin, this means:(a) That there might be found in her some who were the true people of God;(b) That it was their duty to separate wholly from her - a command that will not only justify the Reformation, but which would have made a longer continuance in communion with the papacy, when her wickedness was fully seen, an act of guilt before God;(c) That they who remain in such a communion cannot but be regarded as partaking of her sin; and,(d) That if they remain, they must expect to be involved in the calamities that will come upon her. There never was any duty plainer than that of withdrawing from papal Rome; there never has been any act attended with more happy consequences than that by which the Protestant world separated itself forever from the sins and the plagues of the papacy.

2. CLARKE, “Come out of her, my people - These words appear to be taken from Isa_48:20; Jer_1:8; Jer_51:6, Jer_51:45. The poet Mantuanus expresses this thought well: - Vivere qui sancte cupitis, discelite; RomaeOmnia quum liceant, non licet esse bonum.“Ye who desire to live a godly life, depart; for, although all things are lawful at Rome, yet to be godly is unlawful.

3. GILL, “And I heard another voice from heaven,.... Either of another, or of the same angel, or

rather of God, or Christ himself, since the persons addressed are called his people:

saying, come out of her, my people; meaning either his elect ones, till now uncalled, being such whom God had chosen for his people, and were so by virtue of the covenant of grace, were given to Christ as his people, and were redeemed by him, though, till this call, in an unconverted state; or else such who had been secretly called by the grace of God, but had not made a public profession of the Gospel, nor bore an open testimony against the Romish idolatry; for as the Lord had a righteous Lot in Sodom, and saints where Satan's seat was, Rome Pagan, so he will have a people in Rome Papal, at the time when its destruction draws near; and these wilt be called out, not only in a spiritual sense, to quit the communion of the church, to forsake its idolatries, and not touch the unclean thing, separate themselves from her, and bear a testimony against her doctrines and worship, but in a literal sense, locally; they shall be bid to come out of her, as Lot was ordered to go out of Sodom before its burning, and the people of the Jews out of Babylon before the taking of it, Jer_50:8 to which reference is here had: and as the Christians were called out of Jerusalem before the destruction of it: this shows the particular knowledge the Lord has of his people, be they where they will, and the gracious care he takes of them, that they perish not with others; and that it is his will they should be a separate people from the rest of the world; and this call of his sufficiently justifies the Protestants in their separation from the church of Rome, and every separation from any apostate church;

that ye be not partakers of her sins: by conniving at them, or committing the same; and all such are partakers of them, and have fellowship with these unfruitful works of darkness, that are in the communion of that church; and those that dwell at Rome are in great danger of being so, and cannot well avoid it: yea, even those that only go to see it, and stay but for a time in it, and that not only through the strength and influence of example, but through the force of power and authority:

and that ye receive not of her plagues; or punishments; the seven last plagues, which belong to her, the vials of which will be poured out upon one or other of the antichristian states, and the fifth particularly will fall upon Rome, the seat of the beast, and is what is here referred to.

3B. ELLICOTT, "(4) Voice from heaven . . .—Read, Voice out of heaven, saying, Come forth out of her, my people, that ye partake not in her sins, and that of her plagues ye receive not. The voice is not said to be that of another angel. It is not necessary to say whose voice it is; that it is a voice of divine love giving warning is enough. The coming forth is not to be understood of a bodily exodus from Rome. It is rather the warning which is so needful in every corrupt state of society, to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; to practise that separation from the spirit of the world which is essential lest we should be entangled in the meshes of its sinful habits. This duty of separation may sometimes lead to a literal exodus, and even under the pressure of overwhelming necessity to secession from a world-corrupted church; but the jeopardy lies in ATTACHMENT to the world-spirit (1 John 2:15). The parallel warnings in Jeremiah 51:6; Jeremiah 51:45, and Zechariah 2:6-7, should be read; but the story of Lot in Sodom best illustrates the spirit of the passage (Genesis 19), for it is participation in sin which is to be primarily guarded against.

4. HENRY, “Fair warning is given to all that expect mercy from God, that they should not only come out of her, but be assisting in her destruction, Rev_18:4, Rev_18:5. Here observe, (1.) God may have a people even in Babylon, some who belong to the election of grace. (2.) God's people shall be called out of Babylon, and called effectually. (3.) Those that are resolved to partake with wicked men in their sins must receive of their plagues. (4.) When the sins of a people reach up to heaven, the wrath of God will reach down to the earth.5. JAMISON, “Come out of her, my people — quoted from Jer_50:8; Jer_51:6, Jer_51:45. Even in the Romish Church God has a people: but they are in great danger; their only safety is in coming out of her at once. So also in every apostate or world-conforming church there are some of God’s invisible and true Church, who, if they would be safe, must come out. Especially at the eve of God’s judgment on apostate Christendom: as Lot was warned to come out of Sodom just before its destruction, and Israel to come from about the tents of Dathan and Abiram. So the first Christians came out of Jerusalem when the apostate Jewish Church was judged. “State and Church are precious gifts of God. But the State being desecrated to a different end from what God designed it, namely. to govern for, and as under, God, becomes beast-like; the Church

apostatizing becomes the harlot. The true woman is the kernel: beast and harlot are the shell: whenever the kernel is mature, the shell is thrown away” [Auberlen]. “The harlot is not Rome alone (though she is pre-eminently so), but every Church that has not Christ’s mind and spirit. False Christendom, divided into very many sects, is truly Babylon, that is, confusion. However, in all Christendom the true Jesus-congregation, the woman clothed with the sun, lives and is hidden. Corrupt, lifeless Christendom is the harlot, whose great aim is the pleasure of the flesh, and which is governed by the spirit of nature and the world” [Hahn in Auberlen]. The first justification of the woman is in her being called out of Babylon the harlot, as the culminating stage of the latter’s sin, when judgment is about to fall: for apostate Christendom, Babylon, is not to be converted, but to be destroyed. Secondly, she has to pass through an ordeal of persecution from the beast, which purifies and prepares her for the transfiguration glory at Christ’s coming (Rev_20:4; Luk_21:28).be not partakers — Greek, “have no fellowship with her sins.”that ye receive not of her plagues — as Lot’s wife, by lingering too near the polluted and doomed city.

5B. JAMES NISBET, “THE CALL TO SEPARATION

‘Come out of her, My people.’

Rev_18:4‘Babylon the great’ (Rev_18:2) typifies for us in this twentieth century the ungodly world. In this world you and I are living and must live. Are we of it? Do we belong to it? Once we were of the world, worldly. Have we come out of the world? Have we cast out of our hearts the worldly spirit? Remember, ‘the friendship of the world is enmity with God,’ and if we are to serve God we must resolve to come out of the world. The text is the call to separation. ‘Be ye separate’ is the command, and it is a call to the Church as a corporate body as well as to the individual believer.

I. The call to the Church.—From the very earliest days the spirit of the world has invaded the Church, and there have been times in her history when the spirit of worldliness has so dominated her life that it has seemed there was no difference—the Church and the world seemed to be one. How is it to-day? ‘Come out of her, My people,’ and the Church is never so strong spiritually as when the line of demarcation between the Church and the world is most clearly marked.

II. The call to the individual.—But it is to each one of us that the call comes with the greatest force. If we would be Christ’s people we must have no part with the world. And yet the world and all that the world stands for is very attractive to us, and too many of us yield to the desire to enjoy the world’s pleasures—and sometimes, alas! the world’s sin—while at the same time professing to serve Christ. But this will not do. There must be complete separation.

5C. NOTE, Here is a calling out, for God is always concerned that His people not be included in the judgment that He pours out on the wicked. There is always a way of escape if we give heed to God's warnings.

6. PULPIT, “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying. Probably the voice of another angel in succession to the one mentioned in Rev_18:1. Another angel takes up the theme, because the message is now directly addressed to Christians.Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. The angel says, "my people," because he is representing God. These words, resembling Isa_48:20; Isa_52:1-15 :l; Jer_1:8; and especially Jer_51:6 (cf. also Jer_51:8), 45, recall also the warning of our Lord in Mat_24:16 (cf. also Gen_19:22, "I cannot do anything till thou be come thither"). Since the harlot, who is identical with Babylon, is representative of the faithless part of the Church of God, these words form a direct warning to Christians. The departure which is commanded is not necessarily a literal, visible one; but the command implies a dissociation from, and condemnation of, the works of Babylon. Lot's wife literally departed from Sodom, but was overtaken with punishment, because her heart was not dissevered from the wickedness of the city.

6B. BARCLAY, "COME YE OUT!

Rev. 18:4-5

I heard another voice from heaven saying: "Come out, my people, from her, lest you become partners in her sins, and lest you share in her plagues, because her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God has remembered her unrighteous deeds."

The Christians are bidden come out of Rome before the day of destruction comes, lest, sharing in her sins, they also share in her doom. H. B. Swete says that this call to come out rings through Hebrew history. God is always calling upon his people to cut their connection with sin and to stand with him and for him.

It was the call which came to Abraham: "Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country, and your kindred, and your father's house, to the land that I will show you" (Gen.12:1). It was the call that came to Lot, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: "Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city" (Gen.19:12-14). It was the call that came to Moses in the days of the wickedness of Korah, Dathan and Abiram: "Get away from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.... Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men" (Num.16:23-26). "Go forth from Babylon," said Isaiah, "flee from Chaldea" (Isa.48:20). "Flee from the midst of Babylon," said Jeremiah, "and go out of the land of the Chaldeans" (Jer.50:8). "Flee from the midst of Babylon, let every man save his life" (Jer.51:6). "Go out of the midst of her people. Let every man save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord" (Jer.51:45). It is a cry which finds its echo in the New Testament. Paul writes to the Corinthians: "Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial?" (2Cor.6:14-15). "Do not participate in another man's sins; keep yourself pure" (1Tim.5:22).

Swete well points out that this cry and challenge do not involve a coming out at a definite moment. They imply a certain "aloofness of spirit maintained in the very heart of the world's traffic." They describe the essential apartness of the Christian from the world. The commonest word for the Christian in the New Testament is the Greek hagios (GSN0040), whose basic meaning is different. The Christian is not conformed to the world but transformed from the world (Rom.12:2). It is not a question of retiring from the world; it is a question of living differently within the world.

7. WILLIAM BURKITT, “Observe here, An admonition given, and a double reason assigned for that admonition.

1. The admonition itself; Come out of her my people, that is, come out of mystical Babylon, have no communion with that idolatrous church; abstain from all communicating with her in her sins, as ever you would approve yourselves to be my faithful people.

Here note, it is not so much a local departure, as a moral separation, that is here intended; not so much from Babylon's local bounds, as from her abominable errors, superstitions, and idolatries.

Learn hence, 1. That God has, and ever had, a people, even in Babylon.

Learn, 2. That it is a special duty which God requires of his people, to depart from mystical Babylon, especially when her downfall is approaching.

3. That such a departure from Babylon is no schismatical separation; it is not a departure from the true church, but the true church's separation from an idolatrous communion; and that by the express and positive command of God himself, Come out of her my people an allusion to the charge given with respect to Babylon of old, We would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed; forsake her. Jer_51:6; Jer_51:9.

Observe, 2. A double reason assigned for this admonition.

1. Because we are in danger of being partakers of her sins, namely, by incurring the guilt of her sins, and by contracting the spot and filth of her sins.

2. There is a danger also of being made partakers of her plagues: there is no safety in being near those who are under the curse of God; participation in sin will certainly cause a participation in judgment.

How dreadful is this text to such as continue in, or apostatize unto, Babylon's idolatry and communion!

8. KRETZMANN, “The warning voice from heaven:

v. 4. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

v. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

v. 6. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.

v. 7. How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

v. 8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.

This passage is strongly reminiscent of the so-called psalms of vengeance, where the wrath of God is poured out upon His enemies in fearful measure. The voice of the Lord follows the voice of the angel: And I heard another voice out of heaven saying, Come out from her, My people, lest ye become guilty of her sins, and lest ye receive of her plagues; for her sins are heaped up unto heaven, and the Lord has called to remembrance her misdeeds. Reward her as she rewarded you, and make the retribution double, twofold, according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed mix to her double. This is a terrifying arraignment, the proper understanding of which ought to open the eyes of many people. Rome has added sin upon sin, in a heap which now reaches to heaven; she has become guilty of so many deeds of unrighteousness that it is impossible for the Lord to ignore the situation. His warning call, therefore, goes out to all such as may be outwardly affiliated with this Church, but do not realize the depth of depravity which their organization represents, that they should leave her organization; for to remain in their connection with her will expose them to the same punishment as will strike her, since their association with her will make them guilty of her sins. God will judge and punish her with a fearful double punishment; and woe to all that are found in her company! The Lord wants no false sympathy with the Church of Anti-Christ, such as many are inclined to give in our days; He wants the testimony against the great harlot to double in force, in order that men everywhere may realize what the cup of abominations in her hand really is, namely, the sum total of all the idolatrous practices that have ever been invented against the holiness of the Lord.

This is brought out also in the next verses: As she glorified herself and lived a wanton life, to that extent give to her torment and Borrow; for in her heart she says, I sit a queen and am no widow and know no sorrow. For this reason her plagues shall come in one day, death and sorrow and famine, and she will be burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God that judges her. Here it appears that the punishment, although carried out, to some extent, by men as God's instruments, is all divine, and includes no personal revenge on the part of men. There is not a suspicion of repentance in the great harlot; she still vaunts herself, she continues her luxurious, wanton life, her show of pomp and power is as great as ever. Her boast is even today that she is the queen of the world, and that she, the Church of Rome, is the only saving Church. Her very existence is a blasphemy of Jesus Christ, for she is the Church of Anti-Christ. But the day and hour of her final judgment is even now fixed in the counsel of the Lord; on one day, the day of God's vengeance, all the plagues will strike her, death, sorrow, famine, and fire; the mighty power of the Lord will be

revealed in His judgment.

9. COLLEGE PRESS, “18:4-6 WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE

Again his people were forced to 'flee out of Egypt, but here only those who have a mind to come out may do so.

It will not be a mass evacuation, but rather an individual and voluntary leave of this world-wide institution of confusion and apostacy.

vs. 5 Regardless of man's human judgment her sins are enormous, for we read: "For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

While the promise to the obedient believer is "Their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more" (Hebrew 8:12), the sins of Babylon are remembered and unforgiven by God, because we read:

vs. 6 "Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double."

Contemptous flaunting and defiance of the word of God is the essence of the sin of Babylon. If Revelation did not here declare it so plainly we would know it applied to our age in which we live.

Rome's disregard for the Scriptures and the authority of Christ's word has caused the world to hate what they know as the church. They have falsely and mistakenly judged the church of Christ by what they have beheld in the Catholic church. The result has been that men have turned away from God's word, the church and drifted into utter indifference, agnosticism, skepticism, free-thinking and out right infidelity. We live, as a result of Babylons heaven reaching sins, in this age of humanism.

God's principle of judgment is that every individual, as well as every institution, is to be rewarded according to his or its work. What is sown must be harvested. This Thyatira church as "given space to repent of her fornication and she repented not." (Rev. 2:21)

He further adds, "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds." (Rev. 2:22)

5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

1.BARNES, “For her sins have reached unto heaven - So in Jer_51:9, speaking of Babylon, it is said, “For her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.” The meaning is not that the sins of this mystical Babylon were like a mass or pile so high as to reach to heaven, but that it had become so prominent as to attract the attention of God. Compare Gen_4:10, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” See also Gen_18:20.And God hath remembered her iniquities - He had seemed to forget them, or not to notice them, but now he acted as if they had come to his recollection. See the notes on Rev_16:19.

2. CLARKE, “Her sins have reached unto heaven - They are become so great and enormous that the long-suffering of God must give place to his justice.

3. GILL, “For her sins have reached unto heaven,.... Or "have followed unto heaven"; one after another, in one age after another, until they have been as it were heaped up together, and have reached the heavens; the phrase denotes the multitude of them, God's knowledge and notice of them, and the cry of them to him; see Gen_18:20 the Alexandrian copy and Complutensian edition read, "have cleaved", or "glued", and so the Syriac and Arabic versions seem to have read; her sins were as it were soldered together, and stuck fast to her, and being joined and linked together, made a long chain, and reached to heaven, and cleaved to that, and cried for vengeance:

and God hath remembered her iniquities; and is about to punish her for them; for as forgiveness of sin is signified by a non-remembrance of it, so punishment of sin by a remembrance of it, and of the persons that commit it; see Rev_16:19.

4. HENRY, “Here observe, (1.) God may have a people even in Babylon, some who belong to the election of grace. (2.) God's people shall be called out of Babylon, and called effectually. (3.) Those that are resolved to partake with wicked men in their sins must receive of their plagues. (4.) When the sins of a people reach up to heaven, the wrath of God will reach down to the earth.

5. JAMISON, “her sins — as a great heap.reached — Greek, “reached so far as to come into close contact with, and to cleave unto.”

6. PULPIT, “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. That is, the accumulation of sin is so great as to reach up to the heaven. Exactly the description of the judgment of Babylon given in Jer_51:9, "Forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies." The last part of the verse is a repetition of Rev_16:19.

7. WILLIAM BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. The reason assigned why Almighty God inflicted such severe punishments upon Babylon, because her sins, that is, the cry and clamour of her sins, had reached up to heaven, the measure of her sins was filled up,and God had remembered her iniquities, that is, manifested his rememberance of them, by inflicting on her so great, so just, a punishment for them, viz. for her idolatry and persecution.

Learn hence, That although sins be transient actions, yet they have a permanent pleading before the Lord's tribunal, to bring down judgments upon incorrigible sinners.

And, 2. That although the justice of God may be thought to be asleep, and he may seem to be forgetful of sin and sinners, yet he will take his own time to manifest that he remembers them, by inflicting the heaviest of his judgments upon obdurate sinners: Her sins reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Observe, 2. The injunction and command given by God unto his people, to every one of them in their place and station, to contribute regularly all they can towards Babylon's downfall and

destruction, Reward her as she rewarded you, yea, double; this is required, not from a private spirit of revenge, which Christianity expressly forbids, but as a public work, in an authoritative way and manner, out of an ardent zeal for the glory of God, and from a just indignation against her tyranny and idolatry; and the command to double unto her double, implies that a double punishment is due unto her, yea, a just one, according to her works.

Behold here! what bloody persecutors may at length expect, namely, to receive at the Lord's hand double for all their sins. Babylon's punishment shall be double, respecting what she has acted, but not double in respect of what she has deserved; if possible, let her have as much blood again to drink as ever she spilt, for one drop of the blood of Sion is more worth than an ocean of the blood of Babylon: give her therefore double, for though it be more in quantity, it is nothing so much in value.

Observe, 3. How suitable and unanswerable Babylon's punishment inflicted will be to her sin committed; her sins were pride and insolence, luxury and voluptuousness.

Note, 1. Her pride; she said in her heart, I sit as a queen.

Mark, she did not barely say, I am a queen, but I sit as a queen; as if she had said, "I am not only in a high place, but in a sure place: I have a warm and a firm seat, I am well settled, I have a great command, yea, an uncontrollable command, I am no widow; no desolate widow, no disconsolate widow, for I have many children to comfort me, many sons and daughters to support me; I shall see no sorrow, I neither feel nor fear any." Behold how worldly men fancy to themselves an everlastingness in worldly things; they fancy themselves sitting as upon down pillows for ease and softness, and as upon rocks of adamant for sureness and unmovableness, I sit as a queen, and shall see no sorrow.

Note, 2. Her luxury and voluptuousness, she lived deliciously, in pompous palaces, pleasantly situated, plentifully furnished, and her judgment bears a strict proportion to her sin, How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; the justice of God will exact all the arrears of abused mercy. Sinners that now fare deliciously every day, shall pass from their good things here, to the flames which live by the breath of God's revenging wrath. Ah! doleful exchange! one hour's feeling of that fire will be more tormenting than an age's enjoyment of this world's delight can be pleasing.

Observe, 4. The equity, the celerity, and multiplicity of Babylon's punishments; their equity is intimated in the illative particle therefore, that is, because of her former sins her plagues shall come; the celerity and swiftness of her punishment is intimated, they shall come upon her in one day, as did Sodom's plagues, suddenly and unexpectedly; and the multiplicity and variety of her plagues is particularly here expressed; death, for putting the saints to death;mourning, for her former rejoicing; famine, for famishing God's people; and burning, for having burnt so many of the bodies of the holy martyrs to a coal. Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy judgments.

Observe lastly, The reason here assigned for the unavoidableness of all these plagues coming upon Babylon-- for strong is the Lord who judgeth her. True, Babylon has all natural power and all civil strength on her side; but the strong God is against her, it is his controversy with her, and he is able to effect what he pleaseth, how incredible soever the thing may seem to us: sooner may the ark and Dagon be reconciled, and cease to be adverse, than God can be at peace with Babylon; Strong is the Lord who judgeth her.

6 Give back to her as she has given;

pay her back double for what she has done.

Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

1.BARNES, “Reward her even as she rewarded you - It is not said to whom this command is addressed, but it would seem to be to those who had been persecuted and wronged. Applied to mystical Babylon - papal Rome - it would seem to be a call on the nations that had been so long under her sway, and among whom, from time to time, so much blood had been shed by her, to arise now in their might, and to inflict deserved vengeance. See the notes on Rev_17:16-17.And double unto her double according to her works - That is, bring upon her double the amount of calamity which she has brought upon others; take ample vengeance upon her. Compare for similar language, Isa_40:2, “She hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” “For your shame ye shall have double,” Isa_61:7.In the cup which she hath filled - To bring wrath on others. See the notes at Rev_14:8.Fill to her double - Let her drink abundantly of the wine of the wrath of God - double what she has dealt out to others. That is, either let the quantity administered to her be doubled, or let the ingredients in the cup be doubled in intensity.

2. CLARKE, “Reward her even as she rewarded you - These words are a prophetic declaration of what shall take place: God will deal with her as she dealt with others.

3. GILL, “Reward her even as she rewarded you,.... This is spoken to the people of God, who are before called out of Babylon; and the chief of them are the seven angels with the seven last plagues of the wrath of God, and the same with the ten kings that will burn the whore with fire; these are called upon to take vengeance, by way of retaliation, for what she had done to them, in allusion to what is said of old Babylon, Jer_1:15 and must be understood not of what she will have done to them personally, but to their predecessors in the faith of Christ in former ages; that as she had hated them, and made war with them, so now they should hate her, and make war with her; and as she had stripped them naked of their clothes, and spoiled them of their worldly goods and substance, so now they should strip her naked of her harlot's attire, of her gold, silver, and precious stones, and make her and her territories desolate; and as she has burnt many of the precious saints in the flames, as here in England, and elsewhere, so now they shall utterly burn her with fire; and as she has shed the blood of the righteous, and drank it, and been drunk with it, they shall give her blood to drink; and as she hath killed multitudes with the sword, so now shall they kill her and her children; see Rev_13:12 nor is this contrary to the doctrine of Christ and his apostles, and the spirit of Christianity, which will not admit of revenge, Mat_5:38 Rom_12:17 since this will not be private, but public revenge, inflicted by Christian princes and magistrates, who are ministers of God, and revengers to execute wrath on them that do evil:

and double unto her double according to her works: the meaning is not to inflict upon her a punishment doubly greater than her sins, for this would be contrary to the justice of God; nor does ever God punish men in this life more, but less, than their iniquities deserve; nor can any temporal punishment be doubly greater than sin, which deserves eternal death; and with this she will be punished hereafter, and therefore will not have her full punishment now, and much less a greater than her sins required; to which may be added, that this will be according to her works, her wicked works, and therefore will not exceed the demerit of her sins: but the sense is, that if it was possible to be done, they should use her with double severity to that she had used them with; seeing her sins deserved a severer treatment than even they had had from her; the phrase signifies an abundant and utter destruction, a punishment which was suitable and sufficient; see Isa_40:2 and it suggests that they should not spare her, nor pity her, but use her with the greatest severity imaginable, it being not possible to exceed her due deserts, or what her works required:

in the cup which he hath filled, fill to her double: not in the cup of her abominations, her errors, idolatries, and wickedness; but in the cup of afflictions and trouble, which she wrung out to the people of God, in that give her double portion: the sense is the same as before.

4. HENRY, “Though private revenge is forbidden, yet God will have his people act under him, when called to it, in pulling down his and their inveterate and implacable enemies, Rev_18:6.

4B. ELLICOTT, "(6) Reward her even as she rewarded . . .—The same voice which bids the people of God come forth, summons the agents of vengeance. Revelation 17:16 tells whence these may arise. Read, Give back to her, as she herself also gave back (the word “you” should be omitted; it is not the saints, or those who have suffered from her, that are called to REPAY her), and double (the) double according to her works; in the cup in which she mingled, mingle for her double. Many Old Testament parallels will suggest themselves (Jeremiah 51:18; Psalms 79:12; Psalms 137:8; and Isaiah 40:2). The “double” must not be taken to mean double her sins; her sins are themselves called double, and her judgment is according to her sins. She is double-stained in wickedness, and “the law of retribution fiercely works “in her. The cup of her luxuriousness becomes the cup of vengeance. (Comp. Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:4; and Revelation 18:3.) The flowery path “has led to the broad gate and the great fire.”

5. JAMISON, “Addressed to the executioners of God’s wrath.Reward — Greek, “repay.”she rewarded — English Version reading adds “you” with none of the oldest manuscripts. But A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit it. She had not rewarded or repaid the world power for some injury which the world power had inflicted on her; but she had given the world power that which was its due, namely, spiritual delusions, because it did not like to retain God in its knowledge; the unfaithful Church’s principle was, “Populus vult decipi, et decipiatur.” “The people like to be deceived, and let them be deceived.”double — of sorrow. Contrast with this the double of joy which Jerusalem shall receive for her past suffering (Isa_61:7; Zec_9:12); even as she has received double punishment for her sins (Isa_40:2).unto her — So Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. A, B, and C omit it.in the cup — (Rev_18:3; Rev_14:8; Rev_17:4).filled — literally “mixed.”fill to her double — of the Lord’s cup of wrath.

5B BARCLAY, "THE DOOM OF PRIDE

Rev. 18:6-8

Repay her in the coin with which she paid others; and repay her double for her deeds. Mix her a double draught in the cup in which she mixed her draughts. In proportion to her boasting and her wantonness give her torture and grief, for she says in her heart: "I sit a queen: I am not a widow; grief is something that I will never see." Because of this her plagues will come upon her in one day--pestilence and grief and famine and she will be burned with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is strong.

This passage speaks in terms of punishment. But the instruction to exact vengeance on Rome is not an instruction to men; it is an instruction to the angel, the divine instrument of justice. Vengeance belongs to God, and to God alone. We have here two truths which we must remember.

(i) There is in life a law by which a man sows that which he reaps. Even in the Sermon on the Mount we find an expression of that law: "The measure you give will be the measure you get" (Matt.7:2). The double punishment and the double reward come from the fact that frequently in Jewish law anyone responsible for loss or damage had to repay it twice over (Exo.22:4,7,9). "O daughter of Babylon, you devastator!" says the Psalmist, "happy shall he be who requites you with what you have done to us" (Ps.137:8). "Requite her according to her deeds," says Jeremiah of Babylon, "Do to her according to all that she has done; for she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel" (Jer.50:29). There is no getting away from the fact that

punishment follows sin, especially if that sin has involved the cruel treatment of fellowmen.

(ii) We meet here the stern truth that all pride will one day be humiliated. Rome's supreme sin has been pride. It is in Old Testament terms that John speaks. He reproduces the ancient judgment on Babylon:

You said, "I shall be mistress for ever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children": These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

Nothing rouses such condemnation as pride, Isaiah speaks grimly: "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet the Lord will smite with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion" (Isa.3:16-17). Tyre is condemned because she has said: "I am perfect in beauty" (Eze.27:3).

There is a sin which the Greek called hubris (GSN5196), which is that arrogance, that comes to feel that it has no need of God. The punishment for that sin is ultimate humiliation.

6. PULPIT, “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. "You" is omitted in all the best manuscripts. The second "unto her," though supported by P, Syriac, Coptic, is omitted in à , A, B, C, etc.: Render to her as she also rendered, and double the doubled things according to her works, etc. The description of God's judgment is still founded on the denunciations against Babylon in Jeremiah (see Jer_1:5 -29; Jer_51:24; Jer_16:18; cf. also Isa_61:7; Zec_9:12; and the legal retribution ordered in Exo_22:4-7). The cup which she hath filled is that containing "the wine of her fornication (cf. verse 3); she is now to receive a double measure of the cup of God's wrath (cf. verse 3).

7, COLLEGE PRESS, “WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:6,7

But an added measure of punishment is revealed here, Babylon, or Rome shall be rewarded double,

Not only was she and still is unrepentant, but she is the most arrogant institution in all the world, Hear the angel describe her haughty attitude: "How much hath she glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her."

vs. 7 "This recalls the case of the rich man and Lazarus: "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day," but at the end, in hell a far dif- ferent scene is presented: "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. (Luke 16:19, 25)

Likewise, she who lived deliciously shall be meted out torment and sorrow.

But her boasting continues: "for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."

What a strange statement of the angel concerning Babylon — the papal church! The holy word of God, says Christ is the bridegroom

and the repentant baptized believers are his bride. But inform a member of this apostate church of his condition and he will imme- idately declare, "the Roman Catholic church is the only and true church." It is the voice of the apostacy crying "I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."

And as for this ungodly and unregenerate civilization she has produced, if you tell them of the impending danger of living in sin until Christ comes, they if not in substance, at least in their ac- tions will reply, "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the begin- ning of the creation (2 Pet. 3:4). But Christ said of these last days,

"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah

301

18:6-11 WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE

entered the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Even so shall it be when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke. 17:26, 27,30)

So shall the plagues of Babylon come suddenly:

vs. 7 "Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord who judgeth her."

Man's disbelief that God will punish, notwithstanding, God will destroy her suddenly.

Like the saints under the fifth seal the true saints of this day, cry out, "How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"

I know all who have perused the contents of this book are crying out, How long? When will Babylon fall? In answer will say that such time has never been revealed. There is the highest authority for such a reply, even Christ himself:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father." (Matt. 24:36)

Christ continued after this declaration "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matt. 24:37)

So even the angel who here announced the suddenness of Baby- lon's destruction knew not the hour, so could not tell us when the destruction shall be."

vs. 9-11 And the kings of the earth, who have committed forni- cation and lived deliriously with her, shall bewail her, and lament

for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that, mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:"

7 Give her as much torment and grief

as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts,

‘I sit enthroned as queen.

I am not a widow;[c]

I will never mourn.’

1.BARNES, “How much she hath glorified herself - Been proud, boastful, arrogant. This was true of ancient Babylon, that she was proud and haughty; and it has been no less true of mystical Babylon - papal Rome.And lived deliciously - By as much as she has lived in luxury and dissoluteness, so let her suffer now. The word used here and rendered “lived deliciously” - e?st????´ase? estre‾niasen - is derived from the noun - st?????? stre‾nos - which is used in Rev_18:3, and rendered “delicacies.” See the notes on that verse. It means properly, “to live strenuously, rudely,” as in English, “to live hard”; and then to revel, to live in luxury, riot, dissoluteness. No one can doubt the propriety of this as descriptive of ancient Babylon, and as little can its propriety be doubted as applied to papal Rome.So much torment and sorrow give her - Let her punishment correspond with her sins. This is expressing substantially the same idea which occurs in the previous verse.For she saith in her heart - This is the estimate which she forms of herself.I sit a queen - Indicative of pride, and of an asserted claim to rule.And am no widow - Am not in the condition of a widow - a state of depression, sorrow, and mourning. All this indicates security and self-confidence, a description in every way applicable to papal Rome.And shall see no sorrow - This is indicative of a state where there was nothing feared, notwithstanding all the indications which existed of approaching calamity. In this state we may expect to find papal Rome, even when its last judgments are about to come upon it; in this state it has usually been; in this state it is now, notwithstanding all the indications that are abroad in the world that its power is waning, and that the period of its fall approaches.

2. CLARKE, “How much she hath glorified herself - By every act of transgression and sinful pampering of the body she has been preparing for herself a suitable and proportionate punishment.

3. GILL, “How much she hath glorified herself,.... And acted the proud and haughty part in exalting herself above all emperors, kings, and princes, above all kingdoms and states, and also above all churches, assuming arrogant titles, and even blasphemous names; see Rev_13:1

and lived deliciously: in a very luxuriant manner, as the popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, and friars have done; some being clothed in purple and scarlet, and in gold and silver, and all living upon the fat of the land, and in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness:

so much torment and sorrow give her: by pulling down her pride, which goes before a fall, than which nothing could more torment and afflict her; by stripping her of her fine clothes and rich apparel; and by taking away her fat benefices from her, which will cut her to the heart; and by burning her with fire, which will be very excruciating:

for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen; a lady of kingdoms, as in Isa_47:5 to which the reference is; having a temporal power and authority over the kings of the earth, and a spiritual jurisdiction over all churches, apostate ones, being the mother of harlots; and her "sitting" as such, as it well agrees with the whore on many waters, and the woman on the scarlet coloured beast and seven mountains, who are all the same, and is very suitable to antichrist, who pretends to sit in Peter's chair, and does sit in the temple of God, as if he was God; so it is expressive of her empire and government over nations and churches, and of the continuance of it, as she imagines, see Isa_46:7 and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "I shall reign always": to which she adds,

and am no widow; nor never shall be, as she flatters herself, see Isa_47:8. Were she the true spouse of Christ, as she boasts herself, she indeed would be no widow, for Christ is an everlasting and never dying husband; but she is the whore of the kings of the earth, and though she fancies she shall be no widow, that is, bereft of people and power, see Lam_1:1 because she now sits on many waters, people, multitudes, and nations and tongues; yet ere long, like old Babylon, she will have no men in her, but will be inhabited by devils, foul spirits, and hateful birds:

and shall see no sorrow; through loss of children, power, and authority; see Isa_47:8 but in this also she will be mistaken; her children will be killed with death, as is threatened to Jezebel, Rev_2:23 and her plagues shall come upon her at once: now these words may be considered either as spoken by her when in the height of her power and glory, as she was about three or four hundred years ago; or just before her destruction, which seems to be the case, and looks as if she would regain her power, and be in her former state before her utter ruin; See Gill on Rev_11:2.

4. HENRY, “God will proportion the punishment of sinners to the measure of their wickedness, pride, and security, Rev_18:7. (7.) When destruction comes on a people suddenly, the surprise is a great aggravation of their misery, Rev_18:8.

5. JAMISON, “How much — that is in proportion as.lived deliciously — luxuriously: see on Rev_18:3, where the Greek is akin.sorrow — Greek, “mourning,” as for a dead husband.I sit — so Vulgate. But A, B, and C prefix “that.”I ... am no widow — for the world power is my husband and my supporter.shall see no sorrow — Greek, “mourning.” “I am seated (this long time) ... I am no widow ... I shall see no sorrow,” marks her complete unconcerned security as to the past, present, and future [Bengel]. I shall never have to mourn as one bereft of her husband. As Babylon was queen of the East, so Rome has been queen of the West, and is called on Imperial coins “the eternal city.” So Papal Rome is called by Ammian Marcellin [15.7]. “Babylon is a former Rome, and Rome a latter Babylon. Rome is a daughter of Babylon, and by her, as by her mother, God has been pleased to subdue the world under one sway” [Augustine]. As the Jew’s restoration did not take place till Babylon’s fall, so R. Kimchi on Obadiah, writes, “When Rome (Edom) shall be devastated, there shall be redemption to Israel.” Romish idolatries have been the great stumbling-blocks to the Jews’ acceptance of Christianity.

6. PULPIT, “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. (For "lived deliciously," see on "delicacies," Rev_18:3.) The words are a re-echo

and expansion of those in Rev_18:6 (cf. Luk_16:25).For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow; because she saith, etc.; and contact with the succeeding verse. The prophetical writers still supply the imagery (cf. Isa_47:8, "I shall not sit as a widow;" see also Lam_1:1).

8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake

her:

death, mourning and famine.

She will be consumed by fire,

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

1.BARNES, “Therefore - In consequence of her pride, arrogance, and luxury, and of the calamities that she has brought upon others.Shall her plagues come in one day - They shall come in a time when she is living in ease and security; and they shall come at the same time - so that all these terrible judgments shall seem to be poured upon her at once.Death - This expression, and those which follow, are designed to denote the same thing under different images. The general meaning is, that there would be utter and final destruction. It would be as if death should come and cut off the inhabitants.And mourning - As there would be where many were cut off by death.And famine - As if famine raged within the walls of a besieged city, or spread over a land,And she shall be utterly burned with fire - As completely destroyed as if she were entirely burned up. The certain and complete destruction of that formidable anti-Christian power is predicted under a great variety of emphatic images. See Rev_14:10-11; Rev_16:17-21; Rev_17:9, Rev_17:16. Perhaps in this so frequent reference to a final destruction of that formidable anti-Christian power by fire, there may be more intended than merely a figurative representation of its final ruin. There is some degree of probability, at least, that Rome itself will be literally destroyed in this manner, and that it is in this way that God intends to put an end to the papal power, by destroying what has been so long the seat and the center of this authority. The extended prevalence of this belief, and the grounds for it, may be seen from the following remarks:(1) It was an early opinion among the Jewish rabbies that Rome would be thus destroyed. Vitringa, on the Apocalypse, cites some opinions of this kind; the Jewish expectation being founded, as he says, on the passage in Isa_34:9, as Edom was supposed to mean Rome. “This chapter,” says Kimchi, “points out the future destruction of Rome, here called Bozra, for Bozra was a great city of the Edomites.” This is, indeed, worthless as a proof or an interpretation of Scripture, for it is a wholly unfounded interpretation; it is of value only as showing that somehow the Jews entertained this opinion.(2) The same expectation was entertained among the early Christians. Thus Mr. Gibbon (vol. i. p. 263, ch. xv.), referring to the expectations of the glorious reign of the Messiah on the earth (compare the notes on Rev_14:8), says, speaking of Rome as the mystic Babylon, and of its anticipated destruction: “A regular series was prepared (in the minds of Christians) of all the moral and physical evils which can afflict a flourishing nation; intestine discord, and the invasion of the fiercest barbarians from the unknown regions of the north; pestilence and famine, comets and eclipses, earthquakes and inundations. All these were only so many preparatory and alarming signs of the great catastrophe of Rome, when the country of the Scipios and Caesars should be consumed by a flame from heaven, and the city of the seven hills, with her palaces, her temples,

and her triumphal arches, should be buried in a vast lake of fire and brimstone.” So even Gregory the Great, one of the most illustrious of the Roman pontiffs, himself says, acknowledging his belief in the truth of the tradition: Roma a Gentilibus non exterminabitur; sed tempestatibus, coruscis turbinibus, ac terrae motu, in se marcescet (Dial. Isa_2:15).(3) Whatever may be thought of these opinions and expectations, there is “some” foundation for the opinion in the nature of the case:(a) The region is adapted to this. “It is not Aetna, the Lipari volcanic islands, Vesuvius, that alone offer visible indications of the physical adaptedness of Italy for such a catastrophe. The great Apennine mountain-chain is mainly volcanic in its character, and the country of Rome more especially is as strikingly so almost as that of Sodom itself.” Thus the mineralogist Ferber, in his “Tour in Italy,” says: “The road from Rome to Ostia is all volcanic ashes until within two miles of Ostia.” “From Rome to Tivoli I went on fields and hills of volcanic ashes or tufa.” “A volcanic hill in an amphitheatrical form includes a part of the plain over Albano, and a flat country of volcanic ashes and hills to Rome. The ground about Rome is generally of that nature,” pp. 189, 191, 200, 234.(b) Mr. Gibbon, with his usual accuracy, as if commenting on the Apocalypse, has referred to the physical adaptedness of the soil of Rome for such an overthrow. Speaking of the anticipation of the end of the world among the early Christians, he says: “In the opinion of a general conflagration, the faith of the Christian very happily coincided with the tradition of the East, the philosophy of the Stoics, and the analogy of nature; ‘and even the country, which, from religious motives, had been chosen for the origin and principal scene of the conflagration, was the best adapted for that purpose by natural and physical causes;’ by its deep caverns, beds of sulphur, and numerous volcanoes, of which those of Aetna, of Vesuvius, and of Lipari, exhibit a very imperfect representation,” vol. i. p. 263, ch. xv. As to the general state of Italy, in reference to volcanoes, the reader may consult, with advantage, Lyell’s Geology, book ii. ch. 9–12. See also Murray’s Encyclopaedia of Geography, book ii. ch. 2. Of the country around Rome it is said in that work, among other things: “The country around Rome, and also the hills on which it is built, is composed of tertiary marls, clays, and sandstones, and intermixed with a preponderating quantity of granular and lithoidal volcanic tufas. The many lakes around Rome are formed by craters of ancient volcanoes.” “On the road to Rome is the Lake of Vico, formerly the Lacus Cimini, which has all the appearance of a crater.”The following extract from a recent traveler will still further confirm this representation: “I behold everywhere - in Rome, near Rome, and through the whole region from Rome to Naples - most astounding proof, not merely of the possibility, but the probability, that the whole region of central Italy will one day be destroyed by such a catastrophe (by earthquakes or volcanoes). The soil of Rome is tufa, with a volcanic subterranean action going on. At Naples the boiling sulphur is to be seen bubbling near the surface of the earth. When I drew a stick along the ground, the sulphurous smoke followed the indentation; and it would never surprise me to hear of the utter destruction of the southern peninsula of Italy. The entire country and district is volcanic. It is saturated with beds of sulphur and the substrata of destruction. It seems as certainly prepared for the flames, as the wood and coal on the hearth are prepared for the taper which shall kindle the fire to consume them. The divine hand alone seems to me to hold the element of fire in check by a miracle as great as what protected the cities of the plain, until the righteous Lot had made his escape to the mountains” (Townsend’s Tour in Italy in 1850).For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her - That is, God has ample power to bring all these calamities upon her.

2. CLARKE, “Therefore shall her plagues come - Death, by the sword of her adversaries; mourning on account of the slaughter; and famine, the fruits of the field being destroyed by the hostile bands.Utterly burned with fire - Of what city is this spoken? Rome pagan has never been thus treated; Alaric and Totilas burnt only some parts with fire. Rome papal has not been thus treated; but this is true of Jerusalem, and yet Jerusalem is not generally thought to be intended.

3. GILL, “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,.... The seven last plagues, which will be in a very little time executed upon her, very speedily and very quickly, one after another, if not all

together; and particularly the fifth vial may be respected, as well as the plagues that follow; see Isa_47:9

death; not the second death, which will not be till after the decisive battle at Armageddon, when the beast will be taken, and cast alive into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death; but either the pestilence, which is called so, Rev_6:8 or rather death by the sword, war, which will be brought upon her, and in which she and her children will be slain with the sword:

mourning; for the loss of her children, the destruction of the city of Rome itself, the seat of the beast, and for the darkness of his kingdom, the inhabitants of which shall be in such pain, as to gnaw their tongues for it:

famine; which generally attends war, at least sieges; and it looks as if Rome would be besieged awhile before it is destroyed, which will produce a grievous famine in it; this is opposed to her living deliciously, as well as the two former are to her notion of sitting a queen for ever, and knowing no sorrow:

and she shall be utterly burnt with fire; the burning of Rome has been attempted several times, by different persons, and has been burnt in part, but not wholly; see Gill on Rev_17:16 but now it will be entirely destroyed by fire; either by fire from heaven, as Sodom and Gomorrah were; or by fire breaking out of the earth, it being very manifest that there are volcanos, burning mountains, and subterraneous fires in those parts, which seem to be so many preparations in nature for the burning of that city; or rather by the ten kings, who will set fire to it; and it may be by all these ways. The Jews have a notion, that, at the coming of the Messiah, Rome will be burnt (a), as Sodom has been; you will find, say they (b), that of Sodom and of that kingdom (Rome, of which they are speaking, and which they afterwards call the fourth kingdom), it is decreed concerning them both, that they "should be burnt with fire"; of Sodom, Gen_19:24 and of the fourth kingdom (Rome), Isa_34:9.

for strong is the Lord God that judgeth her; the Alexandrian copy reads, "that has judged": and so the Syriac and Arabic versions; that is, has purposed and determined her destruction, and therefore it is unavoidable; he that has resolved upon it, and foretold it, and has condemned her to it, is the Lord God Almighty; and he is able to execute the sentence determined and pronounced, and it is impossible she should escape: it may be understood of Christ the mighty God, the Judge of quick and dead; see Jer_50:34.

4. HENRY, “When destruction comes on a people suddenly, the surprise is a great aggravation of their misery, Rev_18:8.

4B. ELLICOTT, "(8) Therefore shall her plagues come . . .—Read, For this cause in one day shall come her plagues, death and mourning . . . and with fire shall she be burnt, for strong is the Lord God who judged her. God, the mighty God, has passed sentence. She thought herself strong; she FORGOT the strength of the Almighty. Her plagues are four-fold, as though from every quarter her trouble came: “death for her scorn of the prospect of widowhood; mourning, for her inordinate revelling; famine, for her abundance;” and fire, the punishment of her fornication (Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9). (Comp. the series of contrasts in Isaiah 3:24-26.)

THE LAMENT OF THE KINGS (Revelation 18:9-10).—(Their words of lament are given in Revelation 18:10.)

5. JAMISON, “death — on herself, though she thought herself secure even from the death of her husband.mourning — instead of her feasting.famine — instead of her luxurious delicacies (Rev_18:3, Rev_18:7).fire — (See on Rev_17:16). Literal fire may burn the literal city of Rome, which is situated in the midst of volcanic agencies. As the ground was cursed for Adam’s sin, and the earth under Noah

was sunk beneath the flood, and Sodom was burnt with fire, so may Rome be. But as the harlot is mystical (the whole faithless Church), the burning may be mainly mystical, symbolizing utter destruction and removal. Bengel is probably right in thinking Rome will once more rise to power. The carnal, faithless, and worldly elements in all churches, Roman, Greek, and Protestant, tend towards one common center, and prepare the way for the last form of the beast, namely, Antichrist. The Pharisees were in the main sound in creed, yet judgment fell on them as on the unsound Sadducees and half-heathenish Samaritans. So faithless and adulterous, carnal, worldly Protestant churches, will not escape for their soundness of creed.the Lord — so B, C, Syriac, and Andreas. But A and Vulgate omit. “Strong” is the meaning of God’s Hebrew name, “EL.”judgeth — But A, B, and C read the past tense (Greek, “krinas”), “who hath judged her”: the prophetical past for the future: the charge in Rev_18:4 to God’s people to come out of her implies that the judgment was not yet actually executed.

6. PULPIT, “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine. This is the retribution for her boasting in Rev_18:7 (cf. Isa_47:9, "These two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day," etc.). Alford says, "death, for her scorn of the prospect of widowhood; mourning, for her inordinate revelling; famine, for her abundance" (cf. Rev_18:3). The description is not to be taken literally, but is typical of a sudden and overwhelming reverse, viz. that which will occur at the last judgment day (cf. the words of our Lord in Mat_24:37-42). Some writers see here an allusion to the second, third, and fourth seals (see Rev_6:1-17.). And she shall he utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. Who judged her; ???´?a? is found in à , A, B, C, P, and others. This is the fulfilment of the predicted punishment of the harlot (Rev_17:16). The last clause replies, as it were, to the boast in Rev_18:7, "I sit as a queen," etc.

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

9 “When the kings of the earth who committed

adultery with her and shared her luxury see the

smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn

over her.

1.BARNES, “And the kings of the earth - This verse commences the description of the lamentation over the fall of the mystical Babylon (see the Analysis of the chapter).Who have committed fornication - That is, who have been seduced by her from the true God, and have been led into practical idolatry. See the notes on Rev_14:8. The kings of the earth seem to be represented as among the chief mourners, because they had derived important aid from the power which was now to be reduced to ruin. As a matter of fact, the kings of Europe have owed much of their influence and power to the support which has been derived from the papacy, and when that power shall fall, there will fall much that has contributed to sustain oppressive and arbitrary governments, and that has prevented the extension of popular liberty. In fact, Europe might have been long since free, if it had not been for the support which despotic governments have derived from the papacy.And lived deliciously with her - In the same kind of luxury and dissoluteness of manners. See Rev_18:3, Rev_18:7. The courts of Europe, under the papacy, have had the same general character for dissoluteness and licentiousness as Rome itself. The same views of religion produce the same effects everywhere.Shall bewail her, and lament for her - Because their ally is destroyed, and the source of their power is taken away. The fall of the papacy will be the signal for a general overturning of the

thrones of Europe.When they shall see the smoke of her burning - When they shall see her on fire, and her smoke ascending toward heaven. See the notes on Rev_14:11.

2. CLARKE, “The kings of the earth - Those who copied her superstitions and adopted her idolatries.

3. GILL, “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication,.... Idolatry, Rev_17:2

and lived deliciously with her; Rev_18:3 joining with her in her sensual, as well as in her idolatrous practices:

shall bewail her, and lament for her: shall mourn inwardly, and by various gestures outwardly express their sorrow at her desolation; see Eze_27:30 these will not be the ten kings who will burn the whore with fire, and then repent of what they have done, and weep over her, as Titus did at the destruction of Jerusalem, as some Popish writers have fancied, for they will hate the whore, and eat her flesh; but earthly and idolatrous kings, who will be in the communion of the church of Rome:

when they shall see the smoke of her burning: as Abraham saw the smoke of Sodom and Gomorrah go up like the smoke of a furnace; by which they will perceive that her judgment is come, and her ruin begun.

4. HENRY, “Here we have,I. A doleful lamentation made by Babylon's friends for her fall; and here observe,1. Who are the mourners, namely, those who had been bewitched by her fornication, those who had been sharers in her sensual pleasures, and those who had been gainers by her wealth and trade - the kings and the merchants of the earth: the kings of the earth, whom she had flattered into idolatry by allowing them to be arbitrary and tyrannical over their subjects, while they were obsequious to her; and the merchants, that is, those who trafficked with her for indulgences, pardons, dispensations, and preferments; these will mourn, because by this craft they got their wealth.

4B. ELLICOTT, "(9) And the kings of the earth. . . .—Read, And there shall weep and mourn over her the kings of the earth, who with her committed fornication and luxuriated, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off because of the FEAR of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the strong city; because in one hour is come thy judgment. Kings, merchants (Revelation 18:11-17), shippers (Revelation 18:17-19) join in lamenting the overthrow of the great city; all stand afar off, as though fearing to be involved in her ruin; all cry, “Woe” (or, Alas!) at the beginning of their lament; and at the CLOSE the words, “in one hour,” telling the suddenness of the great city’s overthrow, recur (Revelation 18:10; Revelation 18:17; Revelation 18:19) with the monotony of a passing BELL heard at intervals amid the strains of sad music. The parallel passages in Ezekiel 26:15-16; Ezekiel 27:35, should be compared. The grief described is the result of fear mingled with selfishness; the mourners remember with a regret, only tempered with terror, the voluptuous life, the quick-growing profits, and the varied commercial advantages which they have lost in her overthrow.

THE LAMENT OF THE MERCHANTS (Revelation 18:11-17).—The lament proper, that is, the actual words put in the mouths of the merchants, is contained in Revelation 18:16-17. The immediately PRECEDINGverses describe the various kinds of merchandise which were dealt in.

4B. BARCLAY, "THE LAMENT OF THE KINGS

Rev. 18:9-10

The kings of the earth, who committed fornication with her and who shared in her wantonness, will weep

and lament over her, when they will see the smoke of her burning, while they stand afar off because of the fear of her torture, while they say: "Alas! Alas! for the city that seemed so strong, for Babylon the strong city! for in one hour your judgment is come."

In the rest of this chapter we have the dirges for Rome; the dirge sung by the kings (Rev. 18:9-10), the dirge sung by the merchants (Rev. 18:11-16), the dirge sung by the shipmasters and the sailors (Rev. 18:17-19). Again and again we hear of the greatness, the wealth and the wanton luxury of Rome.

We may well ask whether John's indictment is justified or whether he is merely a fanatic shouting doom without any real justification. If we wish to find an account of the luxury and the wantonness of Rome we will find it in such books as Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius, by Samuel Dill, Roman Life and Manners, by Ludwig Friedlander, and especially in the Satires of Juvenal, the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, and the works of Tacitus, themselves Romans and themselves appalled by the things about which they wrote. These books show that nothing John could say of Rome could be an exaggeration.

There is a saying in the Talmud that ten measures of wealth came down into the world and that Rome received nine and all the rest of the world only one. One famous scholar said that in modern times we are babes in the matter of enjoyment compared with the ancient world; and another remarked that our most extravagant luxury is poverty compared with the prodigal magnificence of ancient Rome.

In that ancient world there was a kind of desperate competition in ostentation. It was said of Caligula that "he strove, most of all to realize what men deemed impossible," and it was said that "the desire of the incredible" was the great characteristic of Nero. Dill says: "The senator who paid too low a rent, or rode along the Appian or Flaminian Way with too scanty a train, became a marked man and immediately lost caste."

In this first century the world was pouring its riches into the lap of Rome. As Dill has it: "The long peace, the safety of the seas, and the freedom of trade, had made Rome the entrepot for the peculiar products and delicacies of every land from the British Channel to the Ganges." Pliny talks of a meal in which in one dish India was laid under contribution, in another Egypt, Cyrene, Crete and so forth. Juvenal speaks of the seas peopled with great keels and of greed luring ships on expeditions to every land. Aristides has a purple passage on the way in which things flowed into Rome. "Merchandise is brought from every land and sea, everything that every season begets, and every country produces, the products of rivers and lakes, the arts of the Greeks and the barbarians, so that, if anyone were to wish to see all these things, he would either have to visit the whole inhabited world to see them--or to visit Rome; so many great ships arrive from all over the world at every hour, at every season, that Rome is like some common factory of the world, for you may see such great cargoes from the Indies, or, if you wish, from the blessed Arabias, that you might well conjecture that the trees there have been stripped naked; clothing from Babylon, ornaments from the barbarian lands, everything flows to Rome; merchandise, cargoes, the products of the land, the emptying of the mines, the product of every art that is and has been, everything that is begotten and everything that grows. If there is anything you cannot see at Rome, then it is a thing which does not exist and which never existed."

The money possessed and the money spent was colossal. One of Nero's freedman could regard a man with a fortune of 652,000 British pounds as a pauper. Apicius squandered a fortune of 1,000,000 British pounds in refined debauchery, and committed suicide when he had only 1OO,000 British pounds left because he could not live on such a pittance. In one day Caligula squandered the revenues of three provinces amounting to 100,000 British pounds and in a single year scattered broadcast in prodigal profusion 20,000,000 British pounds. Nero declared that the only use of money was to squander it, and in a very few years he squandered 18,000,000 British pounds. At one banquet of his the Egyptian roses alone cost 35,000 British pounds.

Let the Roman historian Suetonius describe his emperors, and remember that this is not a Christian preacher but a pagan historian. Of Caligula he writes: "In reckless extravagance he outdid the prodigals of all times in ingenuity, inventing a new sort of baths and unnatural varieties of food and feasts; for he would bathe in hot or cold perfumed oils, drink pearls of great price dissolved in vinegar, and set before his guests loaves and meats of gold." He even built galleys whose sterns were studded with pearls. Of Nero Suetonius tells us

that he compelled people to set before him banquets costing 20,000 British pounds. "He never wore the same garment twice. He played at dice for 2,000 British pounds per point. He fished with a golden net drawn by cords woven of purple and scarlet threads. It is said that he never made a journey with less than a thousand carriages, with his mules shod with silver."

Drinking pearls dissolved in vinegar was a common ostentation. Cleopatra is said to have dissolved and drunk a pearl worth 80,000 British pounds. Valerius Maximus at a feast set a pearl to drink before every guest, and he himself, Horace tells, swallowed the pearl from Metalla's ear-ring dissolved in wine that he might be able to say that he had swallowed a million sesterces at a gulp.

It was an age of extraordinary gluttony. Dishes of peacocks' brains and nightingales' tongues were set before the guests at banquets. Vitellius, who was emperor for less than a year, succeeded in spending 7,000,000 British pounds mainly on food. Suetonius tells of his favourite dish: "In this he mingled the livers of pike, the brains of pheasants and peacocks, the tongues of flamingoes, and the milk of lampreys, brought by his captains and triremes from the whole empire from Parthia to the Spanish strait." Petronius describes the scenes at Trimalchio's banquet: "One course represented the twelve signs of the zodiac.... Another dish was a large boar, with baskets of sweetmeats hanging from its tusks. A huge bearded hunter pierced its side with a hunting knife, and forthwith from the wound there issued a flight of thrushes which were dexterously captured in nets as they flew about the room. Towards the end of the meal the guests were startled by strange sounds in the ceiling and a quaking of the whole apartment. As they raised their eyes the ceiling suddenly opened, and a great circular tray descended, with a figure of Priapus, bearing all sorts of fruit and bon-bons."

In the time when John was writing a kind of insanity of wanton extravagance, to which it is very difficult to find any parallel in history, had invaded Rome.

5. JAMISON, “lived deliciously — Greek, “luxuriated.” The faithless Church, instead of reproving, connived at the self-indulgent luxury of the great men of this world, and sanctioned it by her own practice. Contrast the world’s rejoicing over the dead bodies of the two witnesses (Rev_11:10) who had tormented it by their faithfulness, with its lamentations over the harlot who had made the way to heaven smooth, and had been found a useful tool in keeping subjects in abject tyranny. Men’s carnal mind relishes a religion like that of the apostate Church, which gives an opiate to conscience, while leaving the sinner license to indulge his lusts.bewail her — A, B, C, Syriac, Coptic, and Cyprian omit “her.”

5B. NOTE, “ Here are grown men shedding tears for their lover, the source of their wealth and pleasure. It is the death of their god. It is economic catastrophe.

Rev. 18:9-19

Nineveh, represented as a harlot, received its glory through conquest (Nahum 3:1-7). Tyre, a harlot, relied on its trade and commercial aspects (Isa. 23; Ezek. 26-28). Babylon, a mistress, was a city of pleasure and conquest (Isa. 13 and 14). However, the great city of Rome represented all of these evils, for she was made up of all. Rome represents all that is lustful, seductive and enticing. Verses 9-19 give a picture of how the destruction of the great city affected those on earth. Three groups stand by to bewail and lament her fall: kings (vss. 9-10), merchants (vss. 11-17a), and mariners (vss. 17b-19).

The kings of the earth (identified as the kings of the provinces, 17:2, 12-18; 18:3) who had enjoyed pleasures, luxuries and riches through whoring with the great harlot, bewail and lament her fall. Helplessly they stand afar off (because they fear her torment) and bewail the sudden destruction of the city. Like many of the world with selfish sorrow and tears, these kings are mourning because of their own loss.

The merchants also weep and mourn because their opportunity to make riches is taken away. Verse 12 and 13 list 28 things of luxury in which they traded. "Thyine wood" according to Smith's

Bible Dictionary was wood from a small cone bearing tree related to the pine, valued for its beauty. The "souls of men" probably refers to "persons of men" as in Ezek. 27:13-14; e.g., mercenaries, horsemen, or special hired servants for particular services. In verse 14 all those things of extreme luxury would be found no more at all when God brought His plagues upon her. The merchants (as all rich men do) were weeping and wailing because their riches were quickly taken away. The things in verse 16 with which the great city was clothed are the same in which the harlot was arrayed (17:4); thus, again confirming the identity of the two. All three groups say, "Alas, alas," (meaning "Woe, woe"; an expression of bitter grief) bewailing the destruction of "that great city" (vss. 10, 16, 19). The mariners (those having to do with the sea; Rome had a great fleet of ships, some very large, Acts 27:37) also bewail her fall. They cast dust on their heads (a sign of great mourning, Joshua 7:6; 1 Sam. 4:12; Job 2:12) and weep and wail--again, because their riches are quickly lost. Like the others, their grief was through selfishness. They were grieving over their own loss and not because of the destruction of Rome. Trade and commerce in and of itself is not evil, but good when used for the welfare of humanity. However, when used for selfish luxury and the gratifying of fleshly lusts, it becomes wicked and embodies sins of all kinds. DAVID RIGGS6. PULPIT, “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning; and the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and revelled with her, shall weep and wait over her, when they see, etc. It is noteworthy that this sentence is in the future tense; that in Rev_18:11 in the present; that in Rev_18:17, Rev_18:18 in the past. (On "committed fornication," seeRev_18:3; Rev_14:4,Rev_14:8; Rev_16:14; Rev_17:2. On "lived deliciously," see Rev_17:3, Rev_17:7.) "Lament'' is the same word used in Rev_1:7, "All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." Cf. the description of the fall of Tyre (Eze_26:16). (On "smoke," see on Rev_9:2.)

7. WILLIAM BURKITT, “The Spirit of God having in the former part of the chapter set forth the certainty and severity of those judgments which should come upon mystical Babylon, he next declares what wailings and bitter lamentations her downfall would occasion to her votaries and admirers, to her friends and followers; more particularly he acquaints us with three sorts of persons that shall bewail Babylon's destruction, kings, merchants, and seamen; the former we have here before us in these two verses: The kings of the earth, who have adhered to the whore, committed spiritual fornication with her, and delighted themselves in her carnal and pompous idol-worship, when they see the smoke of her burning, and understand the certainty of her destruction, they shall stand afar off, like persons astonished, and like persons afraid, amazed at the dreadfulness of the judgment, and afraid to come near, they be involved in it; and the words of their lamentation are here set down, Alas, alas! that great city Babylon; in one hour is her judgment come! As if they had said, "Notwithstanding all Babylon's grandeur, which we so admired and magnified, and which she herself put so much trust and confidence in, to our astonishment we behold, in one hour, her judgment come upon her; a great and mighty city destroyed, a gay and splendid church, politically founded, powerfully strengthened, on a sudden broken in pieces, and brought to desolation: Alas, alas! that great city Babylon!

Learn hence, That when God begins to enter into judgment with his church's enemies, the strongest arm of flesh cannot avail, but kings with their armies will flee and be discomfited, the stoutest hearts will be afraid and terrified, not daring to approach the presence of an angry God: the kings of the earth shall stand afar off for fear of her torment.

8. KRETZMANN, “The description of the desolation:

v. 9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

v. 10. standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.

v. 11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more;

v. 12. the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

v. 13. and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

v. 14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

So the judgment of the Lord, which was spoken of in chap. 17:16-17, has already gone forth, as is here pictured with intense dramatic power: And there will cry and wail over her the kings of the earth that have committed fornication with her and lived a wanton life, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Woe and alas, the great city, Babylon the mighty city! For in one hour thy doom has come. So the same rulers and kings that have been the instruments of God in bringing about the punishment of Anti-Christ's kingdom were also the companions of the great harlot in her sins. They themselves have kindled the fire of Rome's destruction, but when they see the smoke of her burning, they are terrified and prefer to remain at a safe distance, since their conscience tells them of their guilt. Time and again the lament of the mighty of the earth has arisen in the last four hundred years when the power of Anti-Christ had received a severe setback. The great and mighty city that has bidden defiance to all enemies has been conquered, her real power being broken forever. The doom of one mightier than she has fallen upon her, and she will never regain her original prestige.

But the doom of the papal power strikes another class of men still worse: And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because their merchandise no one buys any more, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls; and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet goods, and all kinds of citron wood and all manner of ivory vessels and all manner of vessels of most costly wood and of brass and of iron and of marble, and cinnamon and balsam and spices and myrrh and frankincense, and wine and oil and the finest flour and wheat, and cattle and sheep, and some horses and wagons and slaves, and the souls of men; and the fruit of thy soul's desire has gone away from thee, and all the luxurious and splendid things have been lost from thee, and men shall find them no more. There is a deliberate irony in the long enumeration of things which have delighted the heart of the great Roman harlot, which she has made the object of her desires, which her merchants, her vassals, the men that trafficked in these things to their own enrichment, now bewail as lost forever. For the possession of many of these things is in itself not wrong; it has become a sin only in the case of the Church of Anti-Christ on account of the sinful uses to which these things have been put. The pomp, the lavish display of glory which Rome affects wherever she gains a foothold, requires such costly and luxurious things; whenever, therefore, this power is taken from her, it means a loss to the scheming members of the hierarchy and other sycophants that grow rich and live in luxury under the fostering care of their spiritual mother, the Church of Rome. But the climax is reached in the traffic in souls which is carried on in that Church, in taking away the simple doctrine of faith in Christ's salvation and supplanting it with man-made doctrines, especially that of salvation by works, and in the delusion which places thousands of young men and women into monasteries and nunneries every year, all in the vain hope that they will thereby merit heaven and its glory.

9. BI, “The fall of the corrupt in human lifeWrong, including all that is morally evil ill human thought, feeling, and action is constantly falling. Though it has a very slow death, it will by the eternal law of moral disintegration be one day brought down.I. The lamentation of the bad.1. The ruling class. True kinghood is the majesty of intellect and goodness.2. The mercantile class. When the grand altruistic truth of Christian socialism becomes realised by the masses—“Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth”—then the every-

man-for-himself principle will fall, and with its fall what will become of the enormous possessions which they have obtained merely by working for themselves?II. The jubilation of the good.1. Because the fall is just. Evil has no right to exist.2. Because the fall is beneficent. It is the uprooting of those thorns and thistles and noxious weeds that have turned the paradise of our being into a howling wilderness.3. Because the fall is complete. Destroyed once, it is destroyed for ever. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The commercial Babylon1. We should first of all learn that the hold of God on all that we have and are is absolute. We are but tenants-at-will. The proud and conceited talk as if the world were ours—“My river is my own, and I have made it for myself”—is an abomination to the Lord. God has never waived His rights in entrusting to us His loans. Let merchants, stockbrokers, bankers, bondholders, traders learn this lesson. At any moment God may bring all our possessions to nought; and He will do that at His own time, not waiting for ours.2. It may well yield us matter for lamentation that the use of so much earthly capital is a perverted one. Many of God’s gifts are put in alliance with overreaching, corruption, and fraud. But when things of wealth and beauty become the instruments of apostacy it is sad indeed.3. Let us learn to look at whatever is beautiful and costly and artistic as precious in the truest sense only as it is allied to or in harmony with righteousness. Beauty and wealth are only of genuine value when employed in accordance with God’s will and Word.4. Let us take care that, so far as we are concerned, we have no share in this heart-apostacy of Babylon the great, even in the commercial world. The voice cries now, “Come out of her, my people” (Isa_48:20; Isa_52:11; Jer_1:8; Jer_51:6; Jer_51:45; 2Co_6:14-17). If we would not share her plagues we must not share her sins. There are those who are in Babylon the great, the slaves of godless gain or godless pleasure. There are those who belong to the new and eternal city, the New Jerusalem, who engrave on the bells of the horses, “Holiness to the Lord,” and whose daily toil is being sanctified for Him. It may cost something to renounce all fellowship with Babylon. But it is worth infinitely more than it costs. Yea, to be right is so transcendently great, that the question of cost should scarce be deemed worth a thought. Better die with Christ than reign with Caesar. (S. Conway, B. A.)

10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off

and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,

you mighty city of Babylon!

In one hour your doom has come!’

1.BARNES, “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment - Not daring to approach, to attempt to rescue and save her. They who had so long contributed to the support of the papal power, and who had, in turn, been upheld by that, would not now even attempt to rescue her, but would stand by and see her destroyed, unable to render relief.Alas, alas, that great city Babylon - The language of lamentation that so great and so mighty a city should fall.For in one hour is thy judgment come - See the notes on Rev_18:8. The general sentiment here is, that, in the final ruin of papal Rome, the kings and governments that had sustained her, and had been sustained by her, would see the source of their power taken away, but that they would

not, or could not attempt her rescue. There have been not a few indications already that this will ultimately occur, and that the papal power will be left to fall, without any attempt, on the part of those governments which have been so long in alliance with it, to sustain or restore it.

2. CLARKE, “Standing afar off - Beholding her desolations with wonder and astonishment, utterly unable to afford her any kind of assistance.

3. GILL, “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,.... Lest they themselves should share in it, who have partook of her sins; either they will not be in a capacity to help her, or they will be dispirited, and will be in awe and dread of God's righteous judgments:

saying, alas! alas! that great city Babylon! that mighty city! it will aggravate their sorrow, when they reflect upon the former grandeur, magnificence, power, and authority, of the city and see of Rome, so often called in this book the great city; and so it is by other writers; the Jews call it so: they say (c), when the Messiah comes,

"the kings of the world shall be gathered to ???? ????, "the great city" of Rome; and the holy blessed God will cast upon them fire and hail, and great hail stones, (with which compare Rev_16:21), and they shall perish from the world, except those kings that do not come there.''

It is common with the Jewish writers to call the Roman empire Edom; and Magdiel, one of the dukes of Edom, Gen_36:43 who has his name from "greatness", is interpreted by one of their commentators (d) of Rome; the reason of which, another of them says (e), is because Rome is become great above all kingdoms: the mount of Esau in Oba_1:21 is interpreted ?? ???? ???, "that great city" of Esau, which is Rome (f), and the same epithet it has in the Talmud (g); and Porphyry calls it t?? µe?a??? p????, "that great city", without making mention of its name, as here; so among the Latins (h), "Magnoe spes altera" Romae:

for in one hour is thy judgment come: the Ethiopic version reads, "the hour of her judgment"; the time of her punishment fixed by God; but the sense is, that her vengeance was suddenly come upon her; this is the judgment of the great whore, which the angel proposed to show to John, Rev_17:1.

4. HENRY, “5. JAMISON, “God’s judgments inspire fear even in the worldly, but it is of short duration, for the kings and great men soon attach themselves to the beast in its last and worst shape, as open Antichrist, claiming all that the harlot had claimed in blasphemous pretensions and more, and so making up to them for the loss of the harlot.mighty — Rome in Greek means strength; though that derivation is doubtful.

6. PULPIT, “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying. Unconsciously acting upon the command in Rev_18:4, "Come out of her ... that ye receive not of her plagues." Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come; Woe, woe, the great city. In one hour (cf. Rev_18:8). Some writers understand the "one hour" to refer to the space of time during which the kings rule (see Rev_17:12); but a comparison with Rev_18:8 leads to the conclusion that the meaning is "suddenly;" the contrast in a short time between the two positions of Babylon enhancing the fearfulness of the visitation.

11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and

mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes

anymore—

1.BARNES, “And the merchants of the earth - Who have been accustomed to traffic with her, and who have been enriched by the traffic. The image is that of a rich and splendid city. Of course, such a city depends much on its merchandise; and when it declines and falls, many who had been accustomed to deal with it, as merchants or traffickers, are affected by it, and have occasion to lament its fall.Shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore - The merchandise which they were accustomed to take to the city, and by the sale of which they lived. The enumeration of the articles of merchandise which follows, seems to have been inserted for the purpose of filling out the representation of what is usually found in such a city, and to show the desolation which would occur when this traffic was suspended.

2. CLARKE, “The merchants of the earth - These are represented as mourning over her, because their traffic with her was at an end.Bishop Bale, who applies all these things to the Church of Rome, thus paraphrases the principal passages: - The mighty kinges and potentates of the earth, not havinge afore their eyes the love and feare of God, have committed with this whore moste vile filthynesse; abusinge themselves by many straunge or uncommaunded worshippings, and bynding themselves by othe to observe hyr lawes and customs. At the examples, doctrines, counsels, and perswasions of hyr holy whoremongers, have they broken the covenaunts of peace; battailed, oppressed, spoyled, ravished, tyrannously murthered innocents; yea, for vain foolish causes, and more vaine titles, as though there were neither heaven nor hel, God nor accounts to be made.“And her mitred marchantes, hyr shorne souldiers, hir massemongers, hyr soulesellers, and hir martbrokers, waxed very riche, through the sale of hir oyles, creme, salt, water, bread, orders, hallowings, houselinges, ashes, palme, waxe, frankensence, beades, crosses, candlesticks, copes, belles, organes, images, reliques, and other pedlary wares.“They have gotten in unto them pallaces and princely houses, fat pastors and parkes, meadowes and warrens, rivers and pondes, villages and towns, cities and whole provinces, with the divill and all els; besides other men’s wives, daughters, mayde servantes, and children, whom they have abhominably corrupted. What profites they have drawen unto them also by the sale of great bishopricks, prelacies, promocions, benefices, tot quoties, pardons, pilgrymages, confessions, and purgatory; besides the yearely rents of cathedrall churches, abbayes, colleges, covents, for sutes and suche other. - Specially shal they be sore discontented with the matter, which have with hir committed the whordom of the spyrite, by many externe worshipings of drye waffer cakes, oyles, roods, relyques, ladyes, images, sculles, bones, chippes, olde ragges, showes, (shoes), bootes, spurres, hattes, breches, whodes, night capes, and such like.“And they that have lived wantonly with hir, (Rev_18:9), in following hir idle observacions, in mattenses, houres, and masses; in sensinges, halowings, and font halowing; in going processions with canapye, crosse, and pyx; with banneres, stremers, and torche light; with such other gaudes to folish for children.“Alas, alas, that great cyty (Rev_18:10) that beautiful Babilon, that blessed holy mother the Church, which somtime had so many popes pardons, so many bishoppes blessinges, so many holye stations, so many cleane remissions a pena et culpa, so many good ghostly fathers, so many religious orders, so much holy water for spirites, and Saint John’s gospel, with the five woundes and the length of our Lord for drowning, is nowe decayed for ever!‘Alas, alas, who shall pray for us now? Who shall singe dirges and trentoles? Who shal spoile us of our sinnes? Who shal give us ashes and palmes? Who shal blesse us with a spade, and singe us out of purgatory when we are deade? If we lacke these things we are like to want heaven. These are the desperate complaints of the wicked.”

2B. ELLICOTT, "(11-13) And the merchants of the earth . . .—Better, The merchants of the earth

weep and mourn (not “shall weep;” the vividness of the description is intensified by the use of the present tense) over her; because their cargo no one buyeth any longer—the cargo of gold, &c. THE LIST of the cargoes and merchandise is not without arrangement. The various goods are placed in groups. The treasures come first—gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. The soft goods used for raiment are placed next—fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet; in the description of Dives, clothed in purple and fine linen (Byssus, the same word as here), we have a suggestive resemblance. Materials used in giving splendour to the furnishing of houses come next. Thyine wood, and every article (vessel, as in the English version, is hardly wide enough in meaning) of ivory, costly wood, brass, iron, and marble. The thyine wood was derived probably from a kind of citron-tree of African growth; the wood was sweet-scented, and was a favourite wood for doors, panels, and ceilings; its rich brown hue was often relieved by inlaid ivory. To articles used in furniture aromatics succeed. Cinnamon, amomum (this is omitted in the English version, but authority is in favour of its insertion), odours, ointments, and frankincense. Cinnamon, on its use, comp. Exodus 30:2-3; it was one of the perfumes EMPLOYED to enhance the delight of the voluptuary (Proverbs 7:17). It is doubtful whether it is the same as our modern cinnamon. Amomum, a kind of sweet-scented shrub, yielding an ointment much used for the hair. Odours, employed in incense. Next come articles of food—wine, oil, fine meal, wheat, cattle, and sheep. Then come the equipages—horses and chariots. The chariot (rheda) was a vehicle much used in Rome by the wealthy classes. Lastly, the traffic in human beings CLOSES the list. Slaves (literally, bodies, and souls of men. There is perhaps an allusion specially to those slaves who were attached to the chariots or litters used by the rich. The traffic in slaves (“persons of men”) is mentioned as part of the commerce of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:13). The number of slaves in Rome was enormous. “Souls of men.” The climax of wicked worldliness is reached in this last; it gives the finishing touch to the picture of society wholly engrossed in pleasure and indolence and selfishness, which lays every market under tribute to add to its luxuriousness, and sacrifices not only the happiness, but the lives and liberties of their fellow-creatures, to their own enjoyment. It has been said that the general description here does not suit Rome, as Rome never was, and never could be, a commercial centre; but the picture is designed to show the corrupt luxury and voluptuousness of society in great Babylon, not necessarily the accumulated merchandize of a great commercial city. The various wares are “for her use and consumption,” not for her to sell. All the avenues from every distant spot of the earth found their focus in Rome; her existence, her political supremacy, and her luxuriousness of living, created and sustained all the commercial activity here described; with her fall, the hope of their gains passed from the merchants of the earth. Compare the language of Gibbon:—“The most remote countries of THE ANCIENT WORLDwere ransacked to supply the pomp and delicacy of Rome. The forests of Scythia afforded some valuable furs; amber was brought from the shores of the Baltic and the Danube; and the barbarians were astonished at the price which they received for so useless a commodity. There was a considerable demand for Babylonian carpets and other manufactures of the East; but the most important and unpopular branch of foreign trade was carried on with Arabia and India. Every year, about the time of the summer solstice, a fleet of an hundred and twenty vessels sailed from Myos-hormos, a port of Egypt on the Red Sea. The coast of Malabar or the island of Ceylon was the usual term of their navigation, and it was in those markets that the merchants from the more remote countries of Asia expected their arrival. The return of the fleet was fixed to the months of December or January; and as soon as their rich cargo had been transported on the backs of camels, from the Red Sea to the Nile, and had descended that river as far as Alexandria, it was poured without delay into the capital of the Empire. The objects of Oriental traffic were splendid and trifling: silk, a pound of which was esteemed in value not inferior to a pound of gold; precious stones also, among which the pearl claimed the first rank after the diamond, and a variety of aromatics that were consumed in religious worship and the pomp of funerals. The labour and risk of the voyage was rewarded with almost incredible profits; but the profits were made upon Roman subjects, and a few individuals were enriched at the expense of the public” (Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, vol. i., Rev. ii.).

3. GILL, “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over over her,.... Who these are; see Gill on Rev_18:3 and, what their lamentation, Rev_18:16 the reason of their weeping and mourning follows: for no man buyeth their merchandise any more; what their merchandise is, is expressed in the two next verses; and this shows that it is not to be understood merely in a literal

sense; for such commodities in general as are there mentioned, if they do not sell at one place, they will at another; and the decline of trade in one city does not put a stop to business all the world over; and often so it is, that the ruin of commerce in one place is the rise of it in another; and all the things hereafter spoken of, excepting the last article, are what will be merchandised in one place or another to the end of the world; unless the sense should be, that no man at Rome, and the parts adjacent, will buy of this merchandise any more; but though they should not, this could not be cause of such lamentation as is afterwards expressed, since their goods might be sold elsewhere; but it looks as if this must be understood of such kind of wares as will be disused and despised all the world over, and they will meet with no customers any where to deal with them in them.

3B. BARCLAY, "THE LAMENT OF THE MERCHANTS (1)

Rev. 18:11-16

And the merchants of the earth will weep and lament over her, for no one buys their cargo any more, the cargo of gold and of silver and of precious stones and of pearls, of fine linen and of purple and of silk and of scarlet, all kinds of thyine wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, and of bronze and of iron and of marble, and cinnamon and perfume and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense and wine and oil, and fine flour, and wheat and cattle and sheep, horses and chariots and slaves, the souls of men.

The ripe fruit your soul desired has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendours have perished, never again to be found. The merchants who dealt in these wares, who grew wealthy from their trade with her, shall stand afar off because of the fear of her torture, weeping and grieving. "Alas! Alas!" they shall say, "for the great city, for the city which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, the city which was decked with gold and with precious stones and with pearls, for in one hour so much wealth is desolated!"

The lament of the kings and the merchants should be read along with the lament over Tyre in Eze.26-27 for they have many features in common.

The lament of the merchants is purely selfish. All their sorrow is that the market from which they drew so much wealth is gone. It is significant that both the kings and the merchants stand afar off and watch. They stretch out no hand to help Rome in her last agony; they were never bound to her in love; their only bond was the luxury she desired and the trade it brought to them.

We will learn still more of the luxury of Rome, if we look in detail at some of the items in the cargoes whichcame to Rome.

At the time during which John was writing there was in Rome a passion for silver dishes. Silver came mainly from Carthagena in Spain, where 40,000 men toiled in the silver mines. Dishes, bowls, jugs, fruitbaskets, statuettes, whole dinner services, were made of solid silver. Lucius Crassus had wrought silver dishes which had cost 50 British pounds for each pound of silver in them. Even a fighting general like Pompeius Paullinus carried with him on his campaigns wrought silver dishes which weighed 12,000 pounds, the greater part of which fell into the hands of the Germans, spoils of war. Pliny tells us that women would bathe only in silver baths, soldiers had swords with silver hilts and scabbards with silver chains, even poor women had silver anklets and the very slaves had silver mirrors. At the Saturnalia, the festival which fell at the same time as the Christian Christmas, and at which gifts were given, often the gifts were little silver spoons and the like, and the wealthier the giver the more ostentatious was the gift. Rome was a city of silver.

It was an age which passionately loved precious stones and pearls. It was largely through the conquests of Alexander the Great that precious stones came to the west. Pliny said that the fascination of a gem was that the majestic might of nature presented itself in a limited space.

The order of preference in stones set diamonds first, emeralds--mainly from Scythia--second, beryls and opals, which were used for women's ornaments, third, and the sardonyx, which was used for seal-rings, fourth.

One of the strangest of ancient beliefs was that precious stones had medicinal qualities. The amethyst was said to be a cure for drunkenness; it is wine-red in colour and the word amethyst was derived--so it was said--from a which means not and methuskein (GSN3182) which means to make drunk. The jasper, or bloodstone, was held to be a cure for haemorrhage. The green jasper was said to bring fertility. The diamond was held to neutralise poison and to cure delirium, and amber worn on the neck was a cure for fever and for other troubles.

Of all stones the Romans loved pearls more than any other. As we have seen, they were drunk dissolved in wine. A certain Struma Nonius had a ring with an opal in it as big as a filbert worth 21,250 British pounds, but that pales into insignificance compared with the pearl which Julius Caesar gave Servilia and which cost 65,250 pounds. Pliny tells of seeing Lollia Paulina, one of Caligula's wives, at a betrothal feast, wearing an ornament of emeralds and pearls, covering head, hair, ears, neck and fingers, which was worth 425,000 British pounds.

THE LAMENT OF THE MERCHANTS (2)

Rev. 18:11-16 (continued)

Fine linen came mainly from Egypt. It was the clothing of priests and kings. It was very expensive; a priest's robe, for instance, would cost between 40 and 50 British pounds.

Purple came mainly from Phoenicia. The very word Phoenicia is probably derived from phoinos, which means blood-red, and the Phoenicians may have been known as "the purple men," because they dealt in purple. Ancient purple was much redder than modern purple. It was the royal colour and the garment of wealth. The purple dye came from a shellfish called murex. Only one drop came from each animal; and the shell had to be opened as soon as the shellfish died, for the purple came from a little vein which dried up almost immediately after death. A pound of double-dyed purple wool cost almost 50 British pounds, and a short purple coat more than 100 pounds. Pliny tells us that at this time there was in Rome "a frantic passion for purple."

Silk may now be a commonplace, but in the Rome of the Revelation it was almost beyond price, for it had to be imported from far-off China. So costly was it that a pound of silk was sold for a pound weight of gold. Under Tiberius a law was passed against the use of solid gold vessels for the serving of meals and "against men disgracing themselves with silken garments" (Tacitus: Annals 2: 23).

Scarlet, like purple, was a much sought after dye. When we are thinking of these fabrics we may note that another of Rome's ostentatious furnishings was Babylonian coverlets for banqueting couches. Such coverlets often cost as much as 7,000 British pounds, and Nero possessed coverlets for his couches which had cost more than 43,000 British pounds each.

The most interesting of the woods mentioned in this passage is thyine. In Latin it was called citrus wood; its botanical name is thuia articulate. Coming from North Africa, from the Atlas region, it was sweet-smelling and beautifully grained. It was used especially for table tops. But, since the citrus tree is seldom very large, trees large enough to provide table tops were very scarce. Tables made of thyine wood could cost anything from 4,000 to 15,000 British pounds. Seneca, Nero's prime minister, was said to have three hundred of such thyine tables with marble legs.

Ivory was much used for decorative purposes, especially by those who wished to make an ostentatious display. It was used in sculpture, for statues, for swordhilts, for inlaying furniture, for ceremonial chairs, for doors, and even for household furniture. Juvenal talks of the wealthy man: "Nowadays a rich man takes no

pleasure in his dinner--his turbot and his venison have no taste, his unguents and his roses seem to smell rotten--unless the broad slabs of his dinner table rest upon a ramping, gaping leopard of solid ivory."

Statuettes of Corinthian brass or bronze were world famous and fabulously expensive. Iron came from the Black Sea and from Spain. For long marble had been used in Babylon for building, but not in Rome. Augustus, however, could boast he had found Rome of brick and left it of marble. In the end there was actually an office called the ratio marmorum whose task was to search the world for fine marbles with which to decorate the buildings of Rome.

Cinnamon was a luxury article coming from India and from near Zanzibar, and in Rome it commanded a price of about 65 British pounds per pound (of weight).

Spice is here misleading. The Greek is amomon (GSN0299); Wycliff translated simply "amome". Amomon was a sweet-smelling balsam, particularly used as a dressing for the hair and as an oil for funeral rites.

In the Old Testament incense had altogether a religious use as an accompaniment of sacrifice in the Temple. According to Exo.30:34-38 the Temple incense was made of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, which are all perfumed gums or balsams. According to the Talmud seven further ingredients were added--myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron, costus, mace and cinnamon. In Rome incense was used as a perfume with which to greet guests and to scent the room after meals.

In the ancient world wine was universally drunk, but drunkenness was regarded as a grave disgrace. Wine was usually highly diluted, in the proportion of two parts of wine to five parts of water. The grapes were pressed and the juice extracted. Some of it was used just as it was as an unfermented drink. Some of it was boiled to a jelly, and the jelly used to give body and flavour to poor wines. The rest was poured into great jars, which were left to ferment for nine days, then closed, and opened monthly to check the progress of the wine. Even slaves had abundant wine as part of their daily ration, since it was no more than 2 1/2 pence per gallon.

Myrrh was the gum resin of a shrub which grew mainly in Yemen and in North Africa. It was medically used as an astringent, a stimulant, and an antiseptic. It was also used as a perfume and as an anodyne by women in the time of their purification, and for the embalming of bodies.

Frankincense was a gum resin produced by a tree of the genus Boswellia. An incision was made in the tree and a strip of bark removed from below it. The resin then exuded from the tree like milk. In about ten or twelve weeks it coagulated into lumps in which it was sold. It was used for perfume for the body, for the sweetening and flavouring of wine, for oil for lamps and for sacrificial incense.

The chariots here mentioned--the word is rede--were not racing or military chariots. They were four-wheeled private chariots, and the aristocrats of Roman wealth often had them silver-plated.

The list closes with the mention of slaves and the souls of men. The word used for slave is soma (GSN4983), which literally means a body. The slave market was called the somatemporos, literally the place where bodies are sold. The idea is that the slave was sold body and soul into the possession of his master.

It is almost impossible for us to understand how much Roman civilization was based on slavery. There were some 60,000,000 slaves in the empire. It was no unusual thing for a man to have four hundred slaves. "Use your slaves like the limbs of your body," says a Roman writer, "each for its own end." There were, of course, slaves to do the menial work; and each particular service had its slave. We read of torch-bearers, lantern-bearers, sedan-chair carriers, street attendants, keepers of the outdoor garments. There were slaves who were secretaries, slaves to read aloud, and even slaves to do the necessary research for a man writing a book or a treatise. The slaves even did a man's thinking for him. There were slaves called nomenclatores whose duty it was to remind a man of the names of his clients and dependants! "We remember by means of others," says a Roman writer. There were even slaves to remind a man to eat and to go to bed! "Men were

too weary even to know that they were hungry." There were slaves to go in front of their master and to return the greetings of friends, which the master was too tired or too disdainful to return himself. A certain ignorant man, unable to learn or remember anything, got himself a set of slaves. One memorized Homer, one Hesiod, others the lyric poets. Their duty was to stand behind him as he dined and to prompt him with suitable quotations. He paid 1,000 British pounds for each of them. Some slaves were beautiful youths, "the flower of Asia," who simply stood around the room at banquets to delight the eye. Some were cup-bearers. Some were Alexandrians, who were trained in pert and often obscene repartee. The guests often chose to wipe their soiled hands on the hair of the slaves. Such beautiful boy slaves cost at least 1,000 or 2,000 British pounds. Some slaves were freaks--dwarfs, giants, cretins, hermaphrodites. There was actually a market in freaks--"men without shanks, with short arms, with three eyes, with pointed heads." Sometimes dwarfs were artificially produced for sale.

It is a grim picture of men being used body and soul for the service and entertainment of others.

This was the world for which the merchants were grieving, the lost markets and the lost money which they were bewailing. This was the Rome whose end John was threatening. And he was right--for a society built on luxury, on wantonness, on pride, on callousness to human life and personality is necessarily doomed, even from the human point of view.

4. WILLIAM BURKITT, “The second sort of persons who passionately lament and bitterly bewail Babylon's downfall and destruction, are the merchants who traded in and with Babylon.

Here we have an allusion to the merchants and merchandise of Tyre spoken of, Ezekiel 17 As Tyre was the mart of the earth for temporal things, so was Babylon for spiritual things, making merchandise even of the souls of men,persuading people that they could purchase the redemption of souls out of purgatory by masses.

Here note, That Pagan Rome, though she did traffic for slaves, yet not for souls: but Papal Rome deals for both. She sells also the souls of men, by selling her ecclesiastical benefices, and cure of souls. And I would to God that this piece of spiritual merchandise were only found amongst them, and not heard of elsewhere.

Observe next, The Holy Ghost is pleased to enumerate at last several sorts of wares, and the kinds of merchandise, which Babylon, dealt and trafficked in, namely, gold, silver, precious stones, fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all things for ornament, necessity, and delight; the pride and sensuality of Rome prompted her to buy up all sorts of commodities, and took off all that the countries round about could bring in; partly to gratify her pride, and partly to serve her idolatry.

Observe farther, What a bitter lamentation is here taken up; but for what? not for their sins, their luxury, or idolatry, but for the loss of their market and merchandise only. Behold in these Babylonians, the spirit and temper of all natural men, they weep not for sin, but for sufferings: for any temporal cross they have tears enough, they refuse to be comforted: but for their sins, which are not their cross, but their curse, their plague, yea, the greatest of all plagues, because spiritual, these they can speak of with dry eyes and unaffected hearts.

Observe lastly, How these merchants here, as the kings before, stand afar off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing; pitying and condoling one another, greatly affected and sorely afflicted to see the ruin of that polity that sustained them, but not able to help one another.

Behold! how fruitless and helpless the wicked's friendship is to one another in the day of visitation; they stand afar off for fear of torments, but can afford no succour to each other: they durst not come near to help Babylon or them.

5. JAMISON, “shall — So. B. But A and C read the present, “weep and mourn.”

merchandise — Greek, “cargo”: wares carried in ships: ship-lading (compare Rev_18:17). Rome was not a commercial city, and is not likely from her position to be so. The merchandise must therefore be spiritual, even as the harlot is not literal, but spiritual. She did not witness against carnal luxury and pleasure-seeking, the source of the merchants’ gains, but conformed to them (Rev_18:7). She cared not for the sheep, but for the wool. Professing Christian merchants in her lived as if this world not heaven, were the reality, and were unscrupulous as to the means of getting gain. Compare Notes, see on Zec_5:4-11, on the same subject, the judgment on mystical Babylon’s merchants for unjust gain. All the merchandise here mentioned occurs repeatedly in the Roman Ceremonial.

6. PULPIT, “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her. Weep and mourn; the historical present (see on Rev_18:9). The kings have been mentioned; the merchants and next the seamen are referred to, showing the wide distribution of "Babylon," and forbidding the application to a single state or city. The description which follows is analogous to that in Eze_27:1-36.; Isa_23:1-18. For no man buyeth their merchandise any more; their cargo. We are naturally reminded of the action of the second beast in forbidding to buy and sell (Rev_13:17). Alford here recognizes the difficulty in applying the prophecy to Rome, either pagan or papal, and adds, "I leave this difficulty unsolved ... The details of this mercantile lamentation far more nearly suit London than Rome." (See the interpretation given of the harlot and Babylon on Rev_17:1.)

12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and

pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth;

every sort of citron wood, and articles of every

kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and

marble;

1.BARNES, “The merchandise of gold, and silver - Of course, these constitute an important article of commerce in a great city.And precious stones - Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, etc. These have always been important articles of traffic in the world, and, of course, most of the traffic in them would find its way to great commercial cities.And pearls - See the notes on Mat_7:6; Mat_13:46. These, too, have been always, and were, particularly in early times, valuable articles of commerce. Mr. Gibbon mentions them as among the articles that contributed to the luxury of Rome in the age of the Antonines: “precious stones, among which the pearl claimed the first rank after the diamond,” vol. i. p. 34.And fine linen - This was also a valuable article of commerce. It was obtained chiefly from Egypt. See the notes on Isa_19:9. Linen, among the ancients, was an article of luxury, for it was worn chiefly by the rich, Exo_28:42; Lev_6:10; Luk_16:19. The original word here is ß?´ss?? bussos, “byssus,” and it is found in the New Testament only in this place, and in Luk_16:19. It was a “species of fine cotton, highly prized by the ancients.” Various kinds are mentioned - as that of Egypt, the cloth which is still found wrapped around mummies; that of Syria, and that of India, which grew on a tree similar to the poplar; and that of Achaia, which grew in the vicinity of Elis. See Robinson, Lexicon.And purple - See the notes on Luk_16:19. Cloth of this color was a valuable article of commerce, as it was worn by rich men and princes.And silk - Silk was a very valuable article of commerce, as it was costly, and could be worn only bythe rich. It is mentioned by Mr. Gibbon as such an article in Rome in the age of the Antonines: “Silk, a pound of which was esteemed not inferior in value to a pound of gold,” vol. i. p. 34. On the cultivation and manufacture of silk by the ancients, see the work entitled, “The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, and Wool, etc.,” published by Harper Brothers, New York, 1845, pp. 1-21.And scarlet - See the notes on Rev_17:3.

And all thyine wood - The word used here - ??´????? thuinon - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It denotes an evergreen African tree, from which statues and costly vessels were made. It is not agreed, however, whether it was a species of cedar, savin, or lignum-vitae, which latter constitutes the modern genus Thuja, or Thyia. See Rees’ Cyclo., art. “Thuja.”And all manner vessels of ivory - Everything that is made of ivory. Ivory, or the tusk of the elephant, has always been among the precious articles of commerce.And all manner vessels of most precious wood - Furniture of costly wood - cedar, the citron tree, lignum-vitae, etc.And of brass, and iron, and marble - Brass or copper would, of course, be a valuable article of commerce. The same would be the case with iron; and so marble, for building, for statuary, etc., would likewise be.

2. CLARKE, “The merchandise of gold, and silver, etc. - The same author, Bishop Bale, who was once a priest of the Romish Church, goes on to apply all these things to that Church; and whether the text have this meaning or not, they will show us something of the religious usages of his time, and the real mockery of this intolerant and superstitious Church. Speaking in reference to the Reformation, and the general light that had been diffused abroad by the word of God, which was then translated into the vulgar tongue, and put into the hands of the people at large, he says: - “They will pay no more money for the housell sippings, bottom blessings; nor for ‘seest me and seest me not,’ above the head and under of their chalices, which in many places be of fine gold. Neyther regarde they to kneele anye more downe, and to kisse their pontificall rings which are of the same metal. They will be no more at coste to have the ayre beaten, and the idols perfumed with their sensers at pryncipall feastes; to have their crucifixes layde upon horses, or to have them solemply borne aloft in their gaddings abroade; with the religious occupyings of their paxes, cruettes, and other jewels which be of silver.“Neyther passe they greatly to beholde precyous stones any more in their two-horned miters, whan they hollow their churches, give theyr whorishe orders, and tryumphantly muster in processions. Nor in costuous pearles in theyr copes perrours, and chysibilles, whan they be in their prelately pompous sacrifices. Men, knowing the worde of God, supposeth that their ornaments of silk, wherewith they garnishe their temples and adorne their idolles, is very blasphemous and divillish. They thinke also, that their fayre white rockets of raynes, or fine linnen cloath; their costly gray amices, of calaber and cattes tayles; theyr fresh purple gownes, whan they walke for their pleasures; and their read scarlet frockes, whan they preach lyes in the pulpit, are very superfluous and vayne.“In their thynen wood (whom some men call algume trees, some basill, some corall) may be understande all theyr curious buildings of temples, abbeys, chappels, and chambers; all shrines, images, church stooles, and pews that are well payed for; all banner staves, paternoster scores, and peeces of the holy crosse.“The vessels of ivory comprehendeth all their maundye dyshes, their offring platters, their relique chestes, their god boxes, their drinking horns, their sipping cuppes for the hiccough, their tables whereupon are charmed their chalises and vestiments; their standiches, their combes, their muske balles, their pomaunder pottes, and their dust boxes, with other toyes.“The vessels of precious stone; which after some interpretours, are of precious stone, or after some are of most precious wood; betokeneth their costuous cuppes, or cruses of jasper, jacinct, amel, and fine beral; and their alabaster boxes, wherwith they annointe kinges, confirme children, and minister their holy whorish orders. Their pardon masers, or drinking dishes, as St. Benit’s bole, St. Edmond’s bole, St. Giles’s bole, St. Blythe’s bole, and Westminster bole, with such other holy re-liques.“Of brasse, which containeth latten, copper, alcumine, and other harde metals, are made all their great candlesticks, holy water kettles, lampes, desks, pyllers, butterasses, bosses, bels, and many other thinges more.“Of strong yron are the braunches made that holde up the lightes before their false gods; the tacks that sustayne them for fallinge; the lockes that save them from the robberye of thieves; their fyre pans, bars, and poolyes, with many other straunge ginnes besides.“With marble most commonlye pave they their temples, and build strong pillers and arches in their great cathedrale churches and monastries; they make thereof also their superalities, their tumbs, and their solemne grave-stones; besides their other buildinges, with free-stone, flint, ragge, and

brick, comprehended in the same.

3. GILL, “The merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls,.... Things for treasure and ornament, and with which the great whore is said to be decked, Rev_17:4 and, literally understood, may denote the vast riches which these spiritual merchants, or factors for Rome, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, and friars, bring into their own coffers and the pope's, by the trade they drive in her wares with the souls of men; and may have also a regard to what their images, chalices, crowns, mitres, &c. are made of, and what some of them are adorned with; and as Tyre, to whom the reference is in the several particulars of this account, had her merchants for these things, Eze_27:12 so Mr. Brightman thinks that in these, and in some following ones, Spain is Rome's merchant, which fetches them from the Indies for her: but these things, mystically taken, sometimes design the doctrines of the Gospel, 1Co_3:12 and which are to be preferred to, and more to be esteemed than thousands of gold and silver; and these Rome's merchants pretended to deliver out; but instead of them, they put off wood, hay, and stubble, yea, doctrines of devils, and lies in hypocrisy; and sometimes the grace of God is meant, Rev_3:18 which is more precious than gold that perisheth; and this they pretend to convey to men "ex opere operato", in the ordinances, as baptism, &c. and to communicate the Spirit, with his gifts and graces, for money, which is direct simony; yea, they pretend to sell eternal life, nay, Christ, and God himself:

and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet: things which belong to apparel and dress; and, literally taken, the "fine linen" is for their copes, wore by bishops and by chanters, and sub-chanters, and for surplices wore by their priests, in imitation of the Jewish priests, and for Mass clothes, &c. the "purple, silk", and "scarlet", were for the popes, cardinals, archbishops, and bishops; so the woman on the scarlet coloured beast is said to be arrayed in purple and scarlet, Rev_17:4, Tyre had its merchants for these, Eze_27:7 the fine linen and silk may mystically denote the holy lives, good works, and merits of the saints, those of them called works of supererogation, which become the church's stock, and they sell out for others that want; which is a monstrous kind of ware, and a dreadful imposition upon men, since men cannot be saved and justified by works; and the best of men are so far from having a redundancy of works, that in everything they sin and offend, and are greatly deficient: and they are so far from helping others, that they are unprofitable servants themselves: the purple and scarlet may signify the blood of Christ, which they pretend to sell in the Mass; nay, they have pretended to have had the very liquid blood of Christ, which they have carried in a crystal glass, thick on one side, and transparent on the other; and so could not be seen by persons in a mortal sin, until they had given a good deal of money, and then the clear side was by sleight of hand turned to them; and which was no other than the blood of a duck, renewed weekly by the priest; which trick for a long time brought in vast sums of money, and was detected at Hales in Gloucestershire, in Henry the Eighth's time; or these may intend the sufferings of the saints, which likewise come into the treasure of the church, and are at its dispose for money, the virtue of which being very great for the salvation of men's souls:

and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble: things for utensils and furniture, not so much for their houses, as for their churches; Tyre had its merchants for these, Eze_27:5. "Thyine wood", Pliny says (i), was very durable, and of it the rafters of ancient temples were made; and may design such like lasting and odoriferous wood as cypress, cedar, &c. used in the Popish churches, for the embellishing of them, and for images in them; it may be the same with the wood of the Almug, or Algum trees, since these are rendered thyine wood in the Vulgate Latin version in 1Ki_10:11 vessels of ivory may be boxes made thereof, in which the host is put, and the relics of saints are preserved: and "vessels of most precious wood", or "stone", as the Alexandrian copy, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions read,

and of brass, iron, and marble, may intend various vessels used in their churches; as vessels for holy water, fonts of marble, and other valuable stones, for baptism, censers of iron and brass to burn incense in. Cocceius thinks that by these vessels of different materials are meant good men; who are like sweet smelling wood for the fragrancy of their doctrines and lives; and like iron,

brass, and marble, for their courage, constancy, and patience; and who have been canonized for saints, which has brought in much money into the pope's coffers: this is a practice in imitation of the Heathens, who deified men, and set them over particular days and affairs; and the privileges of such canonization among the Papists are, that such a saint has his name set in the calendar in red letters, may have churches and altars dedicated to him, and his image set up in them, and a holiday be kept for him, and may be prayed to, and worshipped; a practice dreadfully derogatory to the glory of Christ's person and office, but is that in which these merchants have found their account; for through references, commissions, and reports, for proof of the saint's character and miracles, his friends are at very great expense before the affair is issued, especially if rich; our King Henry the Seventh was very desirous of having his kinsman Henry the Sixth canonized, and solicited the pope for it, but he would not do it under fifteen hundred ducats of gold, which the king thought was too much, and so declined it.

4. HENRY, “What was the cause of their mourning; not their sin, but their punishment. They did not lament their fall into idolatry, and luxury, and persecution, but their fall into ruin - the loss of their traffic and of their wealth and power. The spirit of antichrist is a worldly spirit, and their sorrowis a mere worldly sorrow; they did not lament for the anger of God, that had now fallen upon them, but for the loss of their outward comfort. We have a large schedule and inventory of the wealth and merchandise of this city, all which was suddenly lost (Rev_18:12, Rev_18:13), and lost irrecoverably (Rev_18:14): All things which were dainty and goodly have departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The church of God may fall for a time, but she shall rise again; but the fall of Babylon will be an utter overthrow, like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Godly sorrow is some support under affliction, but mere worldly sorrow adds to the calamity.

5. JAMISON, “(See on Rev_17:4).stones ... pearls — Greek, “stone ... pearl.”fine linen — A, B, and C read Greek, “bussinou” for “bussou,” that is, “fine linen manufacture” [Alford]. The manufacture for which Egypt (the type of the apostate Church, Rev_11:8) was famed. Contrast “the fine linen” (Eze_16:10) put on Israel, and on the New Testament Church (Rev_19:8), the Bride, by God (Psa_132:9).thyine wood — the citrus of the Romans: probably the cypressus thyoyides, or the thuia articulata. “Citron wood” [Alford]. A sweet-smelling tree of Cyrene in Lybia, used for incense.all manner vessels — Greek, “every vessel,” or “furniture.”

6. PULPIT, “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet. (On "precious stone" and" linen," see on Rev_15:6.) Such was the attire of the harlot (Rev_17:4). Writers have endeavoured to classify in various ways the articles mentioned, in order to obtain some signification from the numbers used. Thus Hengstenberg sees four hard and then four soft articles mentioned, and he reminds us that the number four is symbolical of the world: but this does not carry him beyond Rev_18:12. The articles enumerated seem naturally to fall into six classes (from which we can gather no information, unless we look upon six as typifying the world, as in Rev_13:18). First, articles of personal adornment; second, articles used for furniture, etc.; third, objects of sensual gratification—smell, etc.; fourth, articles of food; fifth, animate possessions; sixth, souls of men. These certainly seem to be arranged in a kind of progressive order of importance. All the articles mentioned in the text above were of the highest value. Purple and scarlet (see Rev_17:3) were the prerogative of kings; silk was so scarce, that its use was forbidden in the reign of Tiberius. And all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and every ivory vessel, and every vessel, etc.Thyine wood is "that of the Thuya articulata, Desfont., the Callitris quadrivalvis of present botanists. This tree was much prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, on account of the beauty of its wood for various ornamental purposes. By the Romans the tree was called citrus, the wood citrum. It is a native of Barbary, and grows to the height of fifteen to twenty-five feet" (Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible '). In this passage the accusative case is used; the preceding nouns are in the genitive.

7. COLLEGE PRESS, “WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:12,13

The follows an enumeration of the articles in which they made traffic.

vs. 12, 13 "The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all man- ner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble.

And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves and souls of men."

In this lamentation over the sudden fall of Babylon, the mer- chants of earth and king's of earth join in their voices,

Probably not until God himself reveals all things to us will we begin to realize how this spiritual Babylon has her hand in busi- ness and politics — as symbolized by the lament of merchants and kings.

For a book of such brevity as the apocalypse to devote so much space and divulge so many articles of traffic as here confronts us, it must be that the angel wanted to make plain to a startled world how vast are the ramifactions of Rome's activities in all the affairs of men.

The whole world is conscious of the political activities of this apostate church which maintains embassies and sends ambassadors to almost every nation on earth, but it may come as a complete surprise to learn of her commercial activities.

But the last statement of these verses is the most startling — a revelation of her traffic in the "slaves and souls of men." Literally, the word "slaves" should read, "bodies." Thus the Greek reads.

Here it is that men and women barter their souls and bodies. There are multitudes of Esaus who will barter their spiritual birth- right for a mess of this world's pottage,

How pertinent are Christ's words about the conditions of the near approach of His return.

13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense,

myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of

fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and

carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.

1.BARNES, “And cinnamon - Cinnamon is the aromatic bark of the Laurus Cinnamomam, which

grows in Arabia, India, and especially in the island of Ceylon. It was formerly, as it is now, a valuable article in the Oriental trade.And odours - Aromatics employed in religious worship, and for making perfumes. Mr. Gibbon (vol. i. p. 34) mentions, among the articles of commerce and luxury, in the age of the Antonines, “a variety of aromatics that were consumed in religious worship and the pomp of funerals.” It is unnecessary to say that the use of such odors has been always common at Rome.And ointments - Unguents - as spikenard, etc. These were in common use among the ancients. See the Mat_14:7 note; Mar_14:3 note.And frankincense - See the notes on Mat_2:11. It is unnecessary to say that incense has been always much used in public worship in Rome, and that it has been, therefore, a valuable article of commerce there.And wine - An article of commerce and luxury in all ages.And oil - That is, olive oil. This, in ancient times, and in Oriental countries particularly, was an important article of commerce.And fine flour - The word here means the best and finest kind of flour.And beasts, and sheep, and horses - Also important articles of merchandise.And chariots - The word used here - ??ed??? redo‾n - means, properly a carriage with four wheels, or a carriage drawn by mules (Prof. Stuart). It was properly a traveling carriage. The word is of Gallic origin (Quinctil. 1:9; Cic. Mil. 10; Att. v. 17; 6:1. See Adam’s Rom. Ant. p. 525). It was an article of luxury.And slaves - The Greek here is s?µa´t?? so‾mato‾n - “of bodies.” Prof. Stuart renders it “grooms,” and supposes that it refers to a particular kind of slaves who were employed in taking care of horses and carriages. The word properly denotes body - an animal body - whether of the human body, living or dead, or the body of a beast; and then the external man - the person, the individual. In later usage, it comes to denote a slave (see Robinson, Lexicon), and in this sense it is used here. The traffic in slaves was common in ancient times, as it is now. We know that this traffic was carried on to a large extent in ancient Rome, the city which John probably had in his eye in this description. See Gibbon, Dec. and Fall, vol. 1, pp. 25, 26. Athenaeus, as quoted by Mr. Gibbon (p. 26), says that “he knew very many Romans who possessed, not for use, but for ostentation, ten, and even twenty thousand slaves.” It should be said here, however, that although this refers evidently to traffic in slaves, it is not necessary to suppose that it would be literally characteristic of papal Rome. All this is symbolical, designed to exhibit the papacy under the image of a great city, with what was customary in such a city, or with what most naturally presented itself to the imagination of John as found in such a city; and it is no more necessary to suppose that the papacy would be engaged in the traffic of slaves, than in the traffic of cinnamon, or fine flour, or sheep and horses.And souls of men - The word used and rendered “souls” - ???a`? psuchas - though commonly denoting the “soul” (properly the “breath” or “vital principle”), is also employed to denote the living thing - the animal - in which the soul or vital principle resides; and hence may denote a person or a man. Under this form it is used to denote a “servant” or “slave.” See Robinson, Lexicon. Prof. Robinson supposes that the word here means “female slaves,” in distinction from those designated by the previous word. Prof. Stuart (in loco) supposes that the previous word denotes a particular kind of slaves - those who had the care of horses - and that the word here is used in a generic sense, denoting slaves in general. This kind of traffic in the “persons” or souls of people is mentioned as characterizing ancient Tyre, in Eze_27:13; “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants; they traded in the persons of men.” It is not quite clear why, in the passage before us, this traffic is mentioned in two forms, as that of the bodies and the souls of people but it would seem most probable that the writer meant to designate all that would properly come under this traffic, whether male or female slaves were bought and sold; whether they were for servitude, or for the gladiatorial sports (see Wetstein, in loco); whatever might be the kind of servitude that they might be employed in, and whatever might be their condition in life. The use of the two words would include all that is implied in the traffic, for, in most important senses, it extends to the body and the soul. In slavery both are purchased; both are supposed, so far as he can avail himself of them, to become the property of the master.

2. CLARKE, “And cinnamon - “By the sinamon is ment all maner of costly spyces, wherewith they bury their byshops and founders, lest they shoulde stinke when they translate them agayne to

make them saintes for advauntage.“By the smellynge odours, the swete herbes that they strewe abrode at theyr dedications and burials; besydes the damaske waters, bawmes, muskes, pomaunder, civet, and other curious confections they yet bestow upon theyr owne precious bodyes.“The oyntments are such oyles as they mingle with rose water, aloes, and spike, with other mery conceits, wherwith they anoynt their holy savours and roods, to make them to sweat, and to smell sweete when they are borne abrod in procession upon their high feastfull dayes.“Frankinsence occupye they ofte as a necessarie thinge in the sensyng of their idols, hallowinge of their paschal, conjuringe of their ploughes; besydes the blessing of their palmes, candles, ashes, and their dead men’s graves, with requiescant in pace.“With wine synge they theyr masses for money, they housell the people at Easter, they wash their aultar stones upon Maundy Thursday; they fast the holy imber dayes, besydes other banketinges all the whole years, to kepe theyr flesh chaste.“With oyle smere they yonge infantes at baptisme and bishopping; they grease their massmongers, and gere them the mark of madian; they anele their cattell that starveth; and do many other feates els.“Fyne floure is suche a merchandyse of theirs as far excedeth all other, and was first geven them by Pope Alexander the first, thinkinge Christes institution not sufficient, nor comly in using the common breade in that ministerie. For that ware hath brought them in their plentifull possessions, their lordshippes, fatte benifices, and prebendaries, with innumerable plesures els.“Wheat have thei of their farms, whereof they make pardon bread and cakes, to draw people to devocion towardes them.“Cattell receive they, offered unto their idols by the idiots of the countries, for recover of sondrye diseases; besides that they have of their tithes.“Shepe have they, sometime of their owne pastures, sometime of begginge, sometime of bequestes for the dead, to cry them out of their feareful purgatorye, when they be asleepe at midnight.“Great horses have they, for mortuaries, for offices, for favers, giftes, and rewardes, to be good lords unto them, that they may holde still their farmes, and to have saunder waspe their sonne and their heire a priest; or to admitte him unto a manerly benefice, that he may be called ‘maister person,’ and suche lyke.“Charets have they also, or horse litters, of al manner of sorts, specially at Rome, with foote men runninge on both sides of them, to make roome for the holy fathers. Of whom some carye their owne precious bodyes, some theyr treasure, some the blessed sacramente, some holy reliques and ornamentes, some their whores, and some their bastardes. The bodyes of men must needes be judged to be at their pleasure, so long as Christen provinces be tributaries unto them, princes obediente, people subject, and their lawes at their commaundement to slea and to kyll. And to make this good, who hath not in England payd his Peter peny, sometime to acknowledge hymselfe a bondman of theirs, at the receit of his yerely howsell? Furthermore yet, besides their market muster of monkes, fryars, and priestes, they have certayne bondmen, of whom some they sell to the Venicians, some to the Genues, some to the Portingales, and some to the Turks, to row in their galleis. And laste of all, to make up their market, least any thing should escape theyr hands, these unmercifull bribers maketh marchaundise of the soules of men, to deprive Christe of his whole right, sending many unto hell, but not one unto heaven, (unlesse they maliciously murther them for the truths sake), and all for mony. After many other sortes els, abuse they these good creatures of God, whom the Holy Ghost heere nameth. Much were it to shew here by the cronicles severally of what Pope they have received authorytie, power, and charge, to utter these wares to advauntage, and how they came firste by the old idolatrous.”Several of the most reputable MSS. versions, and some of the fathers, after cinnamon, add ?a? aµ?µ??, and amomum. What this shrub was is not easy to say, though mentioned and partially described by Pliny and Dioscorides. Some think it was a species of geranium; others, the rose of Jericho. It was an odoriferous plant supposed to be a native of Assyria; and is thus mentioned by Virgil, Eclog. iv., ver. 25: - - Assyrium vulgo nascetur amomum.“The Assyrian amomum shall grow in every soil.”This is translated by some spikenard; by others lady’s rose.Thyine wood - The Thyne or Thyin is said to be a tree whose boughs, leaves, stalks, and fruit, resemble the cypress. It is mentioned by Homer, Odyss, lib. v., ver. 60; by Theophrastes, Hist.

Plant, Rev_18:5; and by Pliny, Hist. Nat. lib. xiii. c. 16. How much the different articles mentioned in the 12th and 13th verses were in request among the ancients, and how highly valued, every scholar knows.Slaves - S?µat??? The bodies of men; probably distinguished here from ???a?, souls of men, to express bondmen and freemen.

3. GILL, “And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense,.... Things for delight and pleasure, for the gratifying of the senses; cinnamon, and odours were used for perfuming, Pro_7:17 anointing with oil was used at feasts, Psa_23:5 and "frankincense", or censings, at banquets, and for the regaling of persons after food (k): these customs obtained among the eastern people. Tyre had its merchants for these things, Eze_27:19 and Mr. Brightman thinks Italy is Rome's merchant in these, which it fetches from Greece, Arabia, and Egypt; it may be these rather respect the ecclesiastical use of them; "cinnamon, odours", and "frankincense", may signify the perfumings and censings used in churches, or the burning incense in imitation of the sweet incense under the law; and "ointments" may denote their chrism, or anointing with oil at baptism, imagining that Christ was anointed with material oil at his baptism, whereas it was with the Holy Ghost: moreover, these things may be mystically understood, "cinnamon" being used by harlots in perfuming their bed, Pro_7:17 may intend the stews and brothel houses erected at Rome, and licensed by authority, each whore paying so much per week; the revenues of which would sometimes yearly amount to twenty thousand ducats: "ointments" may be understood of chrism in baptism, and extreme unction at death: "odours" and "frankincense" may mean their prayers and pater nosters, their prayers for the dead, which were never made without the pence; hence that proverbial expression, no pence, no pater noster.

And wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep: things for civil use; these are things which belong to food, to eating and drinking, and are the most material and necessary things of life, Psa_4:7. Tyre had her merchants for these, Eze_27:17 and Mr. Brightman will have Italy to be Rome's merchant for wine and oil; Sardinia and Sicily her merchants for fine flour and wheat; Germany for beasts, and England for sheep: and with respect to the ecclesiastical use of these things, wine is for the chalice, used in daily Masses, and drank only by the priests; "oil" for chrism at baptism, and for the extreme unction: "fine flour" for the Mass, or to make their breaden god of; and "wheat, beasts, and sheep" for tithes for the clergy:

and horses, and chariots, and slaves; things for splendour, equipage, and attendance; horses and chariots for the popes, cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, to ride in state and grandeur, and slaves to wait upon them. Tyre had her merchants for these Eze_27:14 and Mr. Brightman's opinion is, that the French are Rome's merchants for horses and chariots, and the Swiss for slaves, or "bodies", as the word may be rendered, who live by exercising their bodies, and hiring them out in war; and who are many of them the guards of the person of the pope of Rome: and last of all it is added,

and souls of men; still in allusion to the merchandise of Tyre, some of whose merchants are said to trade in the persons of men, Eze_27:13 which the Targum and Septuagint render, in the souls of men; the popes have some of them sold their own souls to the devil, to get into the chair, and, when in, have been the means of destroying of thousands of others; they assume a power over the souls of men, of binding and loosing the consciences of men, imposing new laws upon them, and freeing them from obligation to the laws of God and men, to the ruin of their souls; and it has been said by their sycophants, that if the pope should send thousands of men to hell, no one should say to him, what dost thou? The Romish priests pretend to redeem souls out of purgatory for such a sum of money, and sell pardons and indulgences, say Mass, and promise heaven itself for money; and this they get at the expense of men's souls, by their false doctrine and superstitious worship, and so make merchandise of them, as is said of the false teachers, 2Pe_2:3 moreover, as by "slaves", or bodies, in the preceding clause, are meant such who serve with their bodies, either by way of attendance, or in unnatural lust; so by "souls" of men may be meant men of soul, of great natural wit and understanding, of great parts, abilities, and learning, with which they serve the man of sin, and his interest, such as Bellarmine, and others.

4. JAMISON, “cinnamon — designed by God for better purposes: being an ingredient in the holy anointing oil, and a plant in the garden of the Beloved (Son_4:14); but desecrated to vile uses by the adulteress (Pro_7:17).odours — of incense. A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac prefix “and amomium” (a precious hair ointment made from an Asiatic shrub). English Version reading is supported by Coptic and Andreas, but not oldest manuscripts.ointments — Greek, “ointment.”frankincense — Contrast the true “incense” which God loves (Psa_141:2; Mal_1:11).fine flour — the similago of the Latins [Alford].beasts — of burden: cattle.slaves — Greek, “bodies.”souls of men — (Eze_27:13). Said of slaves. Appropriate to the spiritual harlot, apostate Christendom, especially Rome, which has so often enslaved both bodies and souls of men. Though the New Testament does not directly forbid slavery, which would, in the then state of the world, have incited a slave revolt, it virtually condemns it, as here. Popery has derived its greatest gains from the sale of masses for the souls of men after death, and of indulgences purchased from the Papal chancery by rich merchants in various countries, to be retailed at a profit [Mosheim, III, 95, 96].

5. PULPIT, “And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense; and cinnamon, and amomon, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense. These constitute the third class (see on Rev_18:12). Cinnamon, an Indian tree, was in use in the Levitical ritual (Exo_30:23). It is referred to as a perfume in Pro_7:17. Amomon, which is omitted in the Textus Receptus, is found in à , A, C. P, etc. It is rendered in the Revised Version by "spice." Its use was similar to that ofcinnamon. Its seeds are used under the name "cardamoms." And wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat. These form the fourth class (see on Pro_7:12; cf. Le Pro_2:1, Pro_2:2). And beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves; and cattle, etc. The word rendered "slaves" is s?µa´t?? , "bodies," i.e. slaves. At the word "horses" the nouns are again placed in the genitive (see on Pro_7:12). These form the fifth class (see on Pro_7:12). "Chariots," de´d? , is not the word used in Rev_9:9. It is a word probably of Gaulish origin. And souls of men. The accusative again. Not in the ordinary acceptation of the word "souls," but rather "lives of men," as the Revised Version margin; that is, "living men." It is probable that the two expressions, "bodies" (vide supra) and "souls of men," refer to two classes of slaves.

6. COLLEGE PRESS, “18:13-19 WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE

"For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matt. 16:26, 27)

The spiritual Babylon has with business made traffic of the bodies and souls of men. And when we recall the masses for the dead which are said by the priesthood of Papal Rome, in which the devotees pay to have their loved ones prayed out of Purgatory, surely there has been a long and lively traffic in the souls of men.

But the thmgs for which Babylon longed are gone forever at the time of her fall.

vs. 14-19 "And the fruits that thy soul lusteth after are departed from thee, and all the things that were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shall find them no more at all.

The merchants of these things which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones and pearls!

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every ship- master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, say- ing, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate!"

Thus we see merchants, kings and shipmaster with their sailors lamenting the fall of Babylon. In other words, business, politics and transportation were under the denomination of and blessed by a false religious system that fostered their respective ungodly world- systems.

14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is

gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have

vanished, never to be recovered.’

1.BARNES, “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after - Literally, “the fruits of the desire of thy soul.” The word rendered “fruits” - ??p?´?a opo‾ra - properly means, “late summer; dog-days,” the time when Sirius, or the Dog-star, is predominant. In the East this is the season when the fruits ripen, and hence the word comes to denote fruit. The reference is to any kind of fruit that would be brought for traffic into a great city, and that would be regarded as an article of luxury.Are departed from thee - That is, they are no more brought for sale into the city.And all things which were dainty and goodly - These words “characterize all kinds of furniture and clothing which were gilt, or plated, or embroidered, and therefore were bright or splendid” (Prof. Stuart).And thou shalt find them no more at all - The address here is decidedly to the city itself. The meaning is, that they would no more be found there.

2. CLARKE, “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after - ?a? ?? ?p??a t?? ep???µ?a? t?? ????? s??. As ?p??a signifies autumn, any and all kinds of autumnal fruits may be signified by the word in the above clause.Dainty and goodly - ?a ??pa?a? Delicacies for the table. ?a ?aµp?a, what is splendid and costly in apparel.

3. GILL, “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee,.... Or "the autumn of the desire of thy soul"; the desirable fruits which are then in season; the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions render it "apples", which are ripe in autumn; and may design all such fruit as Italy abounds with, which will now be destroyed; and seems to point at the time of year when Babylon's

destruction will be: but, in the mystical sense, these fruits may intend universal dominion over nations and churches, the obedience of kings and princes, riches, honours, and pleasures of all sorts; things greatly affected by the Papacy, and of which a large harvest was expected, but now all will be at an end:

and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee; all that were palatable to the taste, and pleasant to the sight, that were excellent and desirable; as the triple crown, cardinalships, archbishoprics, bishoprics, deanaries, fat benefices, and good livings:

and thou shalt find them no more at all; for this will be an utter destruction; at the Reformation these desirable things were taken from her in several nations, and in some places she has recovered them again, as in Germany and other places; and the outward court, or the reformed church, sinking into an outward show and form, will be wholly given to the Gentiles, the Papists, and they will have these things in their hands again before Rome's utter destruction, but after that they will no more be regained.

4. ELLICOTT, “(14) Directly ADDRESSED to Babylon herself.

And the fruits that thy soul . . .—Rather, And the fruits (or, the harvest) of the desire of thy soul (that, namely, which thy soul lusteth after) departed (not “are departed:” the word expresses the thought that these things “departed once for all”) from thee, and all things that are rich and that are glorious perish from thee, and thou shalt not find them any more. The descriptive passage is interrupted by this verse, in which Babylon herself is ADDRESSED. It is in harmony with the fervour of the whole chapter that the descriptive tone should for a moment give place to this apostrophe. The fruits to which the eye of desire had looked so longingly as to a harvest of delight departed. The desire of the wicked has perished.

5. JAMISON, “Direct address to Babylon.the fruits that thy soul lusted after — Greek, “thy autumn-ripe fruits of the lust (eager desire) of the soul.”dainty — Greek, “fat”: “sumptuous” in food.goodly — “splendid,” “bright,” in dress and equipage.departed — supported by none of our manuscripts. But A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read, “perished.”thou shalt — A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read, “They (men) shall no more find them at all.”

6. PULPIT, “And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all; all things that were dainty and splendid are perished from thee, and [men] shall find, etc. The Textus Receptus reads a?p????e? , "are gone," as in 1; a?p?´???t? is found in à , 7, and about twelve other cursives; a?p?´?et? is supported by A, R, C, P, and others, besides many versions and Fathers. This verse, containing a direct address to Babylon. has been thought by Vitringa and others to be misplaced; but this is unnecessary (cf. the similar circumstance in Rev_18:21-24).

15 The merchants who sold these things and

gained their wealth from her will stand far off,

terrified at her torment. They will weep and

mourn

1.BARNES, “The merchants of these things - Who trafficked in these things, and who supplied the city with them, Rev_18:11.Which were made rich by her - By traffic with her.Shall stand afar off - Rev_18:10.For fear of her torment - Struck with terror by her torment, so that they did not dare to approach her, Rev_18:10.

2. CLARKE, “Stand afar off - See Rev_18:10.

2B. ELLICOTT, "(15-17) The merchants of these things . . .—The description is RESUMED. The merchants stand like the kings (see Revelation 18:10) afar off, because of the fear of her torment, saying, “Woe! woe! (or, alas! alas!) the great city, because in one hour so great wealth was desolated.” The words of this lamentation are parallel to the lament of the kings, the only difference is characteristic—they bewail the sudden decay of the wealth. On the fine linen and purple, comp. Revelation 18:12, and Luke 16:19.

3. GILL, “The merchants of these things,.... Before mentioned, who have traded in them for themselves and for Rome:

which were made rich by her, see Rev_18:3

shall stand afar off for fear of her torment; as the kings of the earth before, Rev_18:10 being conscious to themselves of their being partners in her crimes, and so might justly fear they should share in her punishment; and it may be, they will outwardly deny they are now of her religion, and will externally embrace the reformed religion; though they will be inwardly weeping and wailing for the destruction of Rome, and the loss of their merchandise and goodly things.

4. KRETZMANN, “These features are so prominent that they are treated in another paragraph:

v. 15. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

v. 16. and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls!

v. 17. For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster and all the company in ships and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

v. 18. and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city?

v. 19. And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.

v. 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

Just as the kings and rulers before them, so here the merchants bewail the fall of the anti-Christian kingdom, which has always offered them such a lucrative trade: The traders in these things, that have grown rich from her, stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe and alas, the great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet goods, and ornamented with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour has been made desolate such great wealth. All this is not due to mere outward sympathy, but they are included in the bankruptcy of the great harlot. They furnished the goods for her sinful and godless traffic and are therefore bound to be included in the damage that results to her. At the same time

their selfishness causes them to keep their distance, lest someone identify them with her whose desolation has become so apparent.

They are finally joined in their wailing by another class of people that has grown rich from the traffic of Rome: And every shipmaster and all sea-faring people and sailors, and all whose business takes them on the sea, stood at a distance and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, Who is like to the great city? And they threw dust on their heads, and they cried, weeping and lamenting, saying, Woe and alas, the great city, in which grew rich all that have ships on the sea from her expensive habits! For in one hour she has become desolate. This scene reminds one strongly of the destruction of the great commercial city Tyre, Eze_27:32, since anti-Christian Rome is also pictured as sitting upon great waters and doing a big business in all parts of the world. No wonder that shipmasters and sailors, and all whose business is on the sea, feel the loss of business very keenly when the power of Rome declines, that they give way to the utmost protestations of grief and lament the fall of her whose luxurious tendencies and expensive habits were a source of great gain to them.

In sharp contrast to these selfish wailings and lamentings is the triumphant cry which is here inserted: Rejoice over her, O heaven and saints and apostles and prophets, for God has judged her with your judgment. The victory always rests with the Lord and with all those that are faithful to Him, and so heaven celebrates the triumph over the great harlot, over the kingdom of Anti-Christ. And not only God and all the host of heaven are here called upon to rejoice, but also the apostles and prophets, since their earnest teaching and warning was directed against all antichristian doctrine and activity as it finally came to a head in the empire of Anti-Christ. By the fall of Rome they have been avenged, they have been vindicated, they have been given justice by God's vengeance upon the great harlot.

5. JAMISON, “of these things — of the things mentioned, Rev_18:12, Rev_18:13.which — “who.”made rich by — Greek, “derived riches from her.”stand afar off for the fear — (Compare Rev_18:10).wailing — Greek, “mourning.”

6. PULPIT, “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her (cf. Rev_18:11), shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment. The future tense is now used (see on Rev_18:9); cf. Rev_18:10, where the same thing is related of' the kings. Weeping and wailing (cf. Rev_18:9, where, however, we have ??´???ta? , "wail," instead of, as here, pe??????te? , "mourn:" cf. also Rev_18:11).

16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,

and glittering with gold, precious stones and

pearls!

1.BARNES, “And saying, Alas, alas ... - notes on Rev_18:10.That was clothed in fine linen - In the previous description Rev_18:12-13, these are mentioned as articles of traffic; here the city, under the image of a female, is represented as clothed in the most rich and frivolous of these articles.And purple, and scarlet - See the notes on Rev_17:3-4. Compare Rev_18:12 of this chapter.

And decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls - notes on Rev_17:4.

2. CLARKE, “Clothed in fine linen, and purple, etc. - The verb pe??ßa??es?a?, which we here translate clothed, signifies often to abound, be enriched, laden with, and is so used by the best Greek writers; see many examples in Kypke. These articles are not to be considered here as personal ornaments, but as articles of trade or merchandise, in which this city trafficked.

3. GILL, “And saying, alas, alas! that great city,..... Using the same words the kings of the earth do, Rev_18:10 only adding, suitable to their characters as merchants, and the things they traded in with her,

that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; See Gill on Rev_18:12, Rev_17:4, see also Eze_27:32.

4. HENRY, “5. JAMISON, “And — so Vulgate and Andreas. But A, B, and C omit.decked — literally, “glided.”stones ... pearls — Greek, “stone ... pearl.” B and Andreas read “pearls.” But A and C, “pearl.”

6. PULPIT, “And saying, Alas, alas that great city! Most authorities omit "and." Woe, woe, the great city! (nominative case); exactly as in Rev_18:10. That was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. She that was clothed, etc. Decked; "gilded," as in the Revised Version margin, as in Rev_17:4. The identity of description of the woman and Babylon is another proof of the essentially identical nature of the two (see on Rev_17:1; cf. also Rev_17:12).

17 In one hour such great wealth has been

brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the

sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,

will stand far off.

1.BARNES, “For in one hour - In a very brief period - so short, that it seemed to them to be but one hour. In the prediction Rev_18:8, it is said that it would be “in one day” (see the notes on that place); here it is said that, to the on-lookers, it seemed to be but an hour. There is no inconsistency, therefore, between the two statements.So great riches is come to nought - All the accumulated wealth of so great and rich a city. This should have been united with Rev_18:16, as it is a part of the lamentation of the merchants, and as the lamentation of the mariners commences in the other part of the verse. It is so divided in the Greek Testaments.And every ship-master - This introduces the lamentation of the mariners, who would, of course, be deeply interested in the destruction of a city with which they had been accustomed to trade, and by carrying merchandise to which they had been enriched. The word “ship-master” - ??ße???´t?? kuberne‾te‾s - means, properly, a “governor”; then a governor of a ship - the “steersman” or “pilot,” Act_27:11.

And all the company in ships - Prof. Stuart renders this “coasters.” There is here, however, an important difference in the reading of the text. The commonly received text is, pa?? e?p?` t??? p???´?? ?? ??´µ???? pas epi to‾n ploio‾n ho homilos - “the whole company in ships,” as in our common version; the reading which is now commonly adopted, and which is found in Griesbach, Hahn, and Tittmann, is ?? e?p?` t?´p?? p?e´?? ho epi topon pleo‾n - “he who sails to a place”; that is, he who sails from one place to another along the coast, or who does not venture out far to sea; and thus the phrase would denote a secondary class of sea-captains or officers - those less venturesome, or experienced, or bold than others. There can be little doubt that this is the correct reading (compare Wetatein, in loco); and hence the class of seamen here referred to is “coasters.” Such seamen would naturally be employed where there was a great and luxurious maritime city, and would have a deep interest in its fall.And sailors - Common seamen.And as many as trade by sea - In any kind of craft, whether employed in a near or a remote trade.Stood afar off - notes on Rev_18:10.

2. CLARKE, “Every shipmaster - Captains of vessels; some think pilots are meant, and this is most likely to be the meaning of the original word ??ße???t??. This description appears to be at least partly taken from Eze_27:26-28.And all the company in ships - ?a? pa? ep? t?? p????? ?? ??µ????? The crowd or passengers aboard. But the best MSS, and versions have ?a? pa? ?? ep? t?p?? p?e??, those who sail from place to place, or such as stop at particular places on the coast, without performing the whole voyage. This sufficiently marks the traffic on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Some might debark (in sailing from Rome) at the island of Sicily, others at different ports in Greece; some at Corinth, others at Crete, or the various islands of the Aegean Sea; some at Rhodes, Pamphylia, etc., etc.; as in those times in which the compass was unknown, every voyage was performed coastwise, always keeping, if possible, within sight of the land.

3. GILL, “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought,.... That is, in a very short time, expressing the suddenness and speediness of Rome's destruction, the quick dispatch and expedition that will be made in it, by the instruments of it, as in Rev_18:10. Rome was always famous for its great wealth and riches; the Jews have a saying (l), that if ten kabs of riches descend into the world, the ancient Romans take nine of them, and the other the whole world:

and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off; the lamentation of the kings and merchants of the earth being ended, masters of ships, sailors, and seafaring men begin theirs: by "ships" are meant dioceses, abbeys, priories, and monasteries; and by the masters, or governors of them, bishops, abbots, priors, the heads of monasteries, and of the several orders of the Franciscans, Dominicans, &c. and by "all the company in ships", or "every shipmate", the fellows that belong to every religious house and order; and by "sailors" and "traders at sea", all such who compass sea and land to make proselytes to the Romish religion, like the Pharisees of old, and who, as they, make them two fold more the children of hell than themselves; and, in general, these traders abroad may design the pope's legates, sent by him into various parts, to collect his revenues, and the Jesuits, who are everywhere sent abroad to sow sedition and false doctrine, and the priests that travel about to sell pardons and indulgences: these

stood afar off; as the kings and merchants before, for fear of sharing in the condemnation and punishment of Babylon; knowing full well that they deserved it, having been associates with her in her crimes.

4. BURKITT, “The last sort of mourners for Babylon's ruin are sailors and seamen; all spiritual seamen that have an oar in St. Peter's boat shall lament greatly, whose life and livelihood did depend upon the merchant trade of that great city; these, though they stuck close to her, and trafficked with her in the day of her prosperity, yet now with the rest they stand afar off from her, lamenting her ruin, and their own loss, in the day when her desolation cometh.

And, as an evidence of the greatness of their sorrow and mourning, they are here said to cast dust on their heads; which amongst the ancients was used as a special token of extraordinary grief and sorrow, Job_2:13. In a time of deep affliction we may express our outward sorrows by our outward gestures: those mourners for Babylon express their sorrow for her and themselves, by casting dust upon their heads.

4B. BARCLAY, "THE LAMENT OF THE SHIPMASTERS

Rev. 18:17-19

And every shipmaster and everyone who sails the sea, and sailors who gain their living from the sea, stood afar off and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning. "What city was like the great city!" they said, and they flung dust upon their heads, and cried weeping and lamenting: "Alas! Alas! for the great city, in which all who had ships on the sea grew rich from her wealth, because in one hour she has been desolated."

First, the kings uttered their lament over Rome; then, the merchants; and now, the shipmasters. John was taking his picture from Ezekiel's picture of the fall of Tyre, from which so much of this chapter comes. "At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes, and down from their ships come all that handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the shore and wail aloud over you, and cry bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes." (Eze.27:28-30).

Rome, of course, was not upon the sea coast, but its port was Ostia, and, as we have seen, the merchandise of the world flowed into the port of Rome.

It is little wonder that the shipmasters and the sailors will lament, for all the trade which brought so much wealth will be gone.

There is something almost pathetic in these laments. In every case the lament is not for Rome but for themselves. It is one of the laws of life that, if a man places all his happiness in material things, he misses the greatest things of all--love and friendship with his fellowmen.

5. JAMISON, “is come to naught — Greek, “is desolated.”shipmaster — Greek, “steersman,” or “pilot.”all the company in ships — A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read, “Every one who saileth to a place” (B has “... to the place”), every voyager. Vessels were freighted with pilgrims to various shrines, so that in one month (a.d. 1300) two hundred thousand pilgrims were counted in Rome [D’aaubigne, Histoire de la Reformation]: a source of gain, not only to the Papal see, but to shipmasters, merchants, pilots, etc. These latter, however, are not restricted to those literally “shipmasters,” etc., but mainly refer, in the mystical sense, to all who share in the spiritual traffic of apostate Christendom.

6. PULPIT, “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought; because ( ??´t? ) in one hour was made desolate that so great wealth. This is given as the reason of the "Woe, woe!" of Rev_18:16, and is to be connected with the preceding clauses. (On "one hour," see Rev_18:10, where the same reason is given as in this verse.) And every shipmaster; pilot; found only here and in Act_27:11. And all the company in ships; and every one who saileth to a place. Such is probably the correct text, though there are several small variations. The Authorized Version has little support. The Revised Version renders, And every one that saileth anywhither. And sailors, and as many as trade by sea; as many as work the sea; i.e. gain their living by means of the sea. Thus are enumerated all who are connected with the sea in any capacity (cf. Eze_27:27). Stood afar off. Like the kings (Act_27:10) and the merchants (Act_27:15), and doubtless for the same reason; viz. to avoid being overwhelmed in the destruction of the city.

18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they

will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great

city?’

1.BARNES, “And cried ... - That is, as they had a deep interest in it, they would, on their own account, as well as hers, lift up the voice of lamentation.What city is like unto this great city? - In her destruction. What calamity has ever come upon a city like this?

2. CLARKE, “What city is like unto this great city! - Viz. in magnitude, power, and luxury.

3. GILL, “And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,.... See Gill on Rev_18:9.

saying, what city is like unto this great city? as before for magnificence and grandeur, so now for sorrow, desolation, and ruin; nor was any city like it for power and authority, for pride and luxury, for idolatry and superstition, blasphemy and impenitence; the like the sailors say of Tyre, Eze_27:30 from whence this and other expressions are borrowed in this lamentation.

4. JAMISON, “when they saw — Greek, “horontes.” But A, B, C, and Andreas read, Greek, “blepontes,” “looking at.” Greek, “blepo,” is to use the eyes, to look: the act of seeing without thought of the object seen. Greek, “horao,” refers to the thing seen or presented to the eyes [Tittmann].smoke — so B, C. But A reads “place.”What city is like — Compare the similar beast as to the beast, Rev_13:4 : so closely do the harlot and beast approximate one another. Contrast the attribution of this praise to God, to whom alone it is due, by His servants (Exo_15:11). Martial says of Rome, “Nothing is equal to her;” and Athenaeus, “She is the epitome of the world.”

5. PULPIT, “And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying. The same description as in Rev_18:9 (which see). What city is like unto this great city! (cf. Eze_27:32, "And lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?").

19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with

weeping and mourning cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,

where all who had ships on the sea

became rich through her wealth!

In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

1.BARNES, “And they cast dust on their heads - A common sign of lamentation and mourning

among the Orientals. See the notes on Job_2:12.By reason of her costliness - The word rendered “costliness” - t?µ??´t?t?? timiote‾tos - means, properly, “preciousness, costliness”; their magnificence, costly merchandise. The luxury of a great city enriches many individuals, however much it may impoverish itself.For in one hour is she made desolate - So it seemed to them. See the notes on Rev_18:17.

2. CLARKE, “They cast dust on their heads - They showed every sign of the sincerest grief. The lamentation over this great ruined city, Rev_18:9-19, is exceedingly strong and well drawn. Here is no dissembled sorrow; all is real to the mourners, and affecting to the spectators.

3. GILL, “And they cast dust on their heads,.... As the seafaring men on account of Tyre, Eze_27:30 this was a gesture used in mourning when persons were in afflicted and distressed circumstances, denoting disorder, confusion, and debasement; see Jos_7:6

and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas! that great city; as in Rev_18:10 so it was once, though now in flames:

wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea; not only the merchants of the earth, as in Rev_18:3 the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, but the governors of religious houses; these accumulated great wealth to themselves, and got the best of lands into their possession for the use and support of their abbeys and monasteries:

by reason of her costliness; or costly things; pardons, indulgences, absolution, saying Mass, and praying souls out of purgatory, all which are costly, and hereby these traders have been enriched; and now the remembrance of these things, of which they will be deprived, will affect and grieve them, as well as the suddenness of Rome's ruin:

for in one hour is she made desolate; her judgment come, and her riches come to nought, Rev_18:10.

4. COLLEGE PRESS, “WONDEK BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:19,20

And three times we hear the cry, Alas, alas! Once it comes from the kings of the earth, or the political realm; once it is uttered by the merchants, or the commercial realm; and once from the ship- masters and sailor, or the transportation realm, It is a triple voice, each part of which is double. It is that evil number six complete.

The repeated Alas, alas! is striking. The word is the same as that of the angel in Rev. 8:13, when he cried, "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound."

The casting of dust on the head is a symbolic act of one who thus expresses his utter hopelessness and despair. Because of the sin of Achan which brought defeat to Israel we read:

"And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads." (Joshua 7:6)

Again this recurrence of the word "woe" or "alas" (verses 10, 16, and 19) helps us to identify the time of the fall of Babylon as being in the period of the third and last woe. (Rev. 11:14)

We have had symbolized to us the suddenness of Babylon's down-

fall in the expressions: "in one day" Verse 8, "in one hour" verses 17 and 19. Now we are informed as to the violence of the downfall.

vs. 20 "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill- stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more."

This symbolic action of the mighty angel as portrayed in this verse is an intensified picture of a typical act which Jeremiah com- manded Seraiah to perform when he came to that Babylon on antiquity:

"And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, when thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words, . . . and it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it and cast it into the midst of Euphrates. And thou shalt say. Thus shall Babylon sink and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her." (Jere- miah 51:61, 63, 64)

5. JAMISON, “wailing — “mourning.”that had ships — A, B, and C read, “that had their ships”: literally, “the ships.”costliness — her costly treasures: abstract for concrete.

5B. ELLICOTT,"(19) Alas! alas! that great city . . .—The lament is parallel with the laments of the kings and the merchants; the difference is the appropriate reference to the destruction of THE SHIPPING interests. Woe! woe! (or, Alas! alas!) the great city, in which all who had their vessels on the sea grew rich out of her costliness. By her “costliness” we are to understand her extravagances of living, and the splendour of her palaces which drew materials from all ports of the world. The lament ends with the repeated cry, “in one hour.” Because in one hour she was desolated.

6. PULPIT, “And they cast dust on their heads. This continues the description as given in Eze_27:30, "Shall cast up dust upon their heads." And cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city! Weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe! etc.; an exact repetition of Eze_27:15, Eze_27:16. Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. Like the merchants, the men here described regret the loss of their wealth (cf. Eze_27:11,Eze_27:15, Eze_27:16). So in Eze_27:33, "When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise." For in one hour is she made desolate. Exactly as in Eze_27:17; and similarly to Eze_27:10.

20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens!

Rejoice, you people of God!

Rejoice, apostles and prophets!

For God has judged her

with the judgment she imposed on you.”

1.BARNES, “Rejoice over her - Over her ruin. There is a strong contrast between this language and what precedes. Kings, merchants, and seamen, who had been countenanced and sustained by her in the indulgence of corrupt passions, or who had been enriched by traffic with her, would have occasion to mourn. But not so they who had been persecuted by her. Not so the church of the redeemed. Not so heaven itself. The great oppressor of the church, and the corrupter of the world, was now destroyed; the grand hindrance to the spread of the gospel was now removed, and all the holy in heaven and on earth would have occasion to rejoice. This is not the language of vengeance, but it is the language of exultation and rejoicing in view of the fact, that the cause of truth might now spread, without hindrance, through the earth.Thou heaven - The inhabitants of heaven. Compare the notes on Isa_1:2. The meaning here is, that the dwellers in heaven - the holy angels and the redeemed - had occasion to rejoice over the downfall of the great enemy of the church.And ye holy apostles - Prof. Stuart renders this, “Ye saints, and apostles, and prophets.” In the common Greek text, it is, as in our version, “holy apostles and prophets.” In the text of Griesbach, Hahn, and Tittmann, the word ?a?` kai (and) is interposed between the word “holy” and “apostle.” This is, doubtless, the true reading. The meaning, then, is that the “saints” in heaven are called on to rejoice over the fall of the mystical Babylon.Apostles - The twelve who were chosen by the Saviour to be his witnesses on earth. See the notes on 1Co_9:1. The word is commonly limited to the twelve, but, in a larger sense, it is applied to other distinguished teachers and preachers of the gospel. See the notes on Act_14:14. There is no impropriety, however, in supposing that the apostles are referred to here as such, since they would have occasion to rejoice that the great obstacle to the reign of the Redeemer was now taken away, and that that cause in which they had suffered and died was now to he triumphant.And prophets - Prophets of the Old Testament and distinguished teachers of the New. See the notes on Rom_12:6. All these would have occasion to rejoice in the prospect of the final triumph of the true religion.For God hath avenged you on her - Has taken vengeance on her for her treatment of you. That is, as she had persecuted the church as such, they all might be regarded as interested in it and affected by it. All the redeemed, therefore, in earth and in heaven, are interested in whatever tends to retard or to promote the cause of truth. All have occasion to mourn when the enemies of the truth triumph; to rejoice when they fall.

2. CLARKE, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven - This is grand and sublime; the fall of this bad city was cause of grief to bad men. But as this city was a persecutor of the godly, and an enemy to the works of God, angels, apostles, and prophets are called to rejoice over her fall.

3. GILL, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven,.... This is said by the voice from heaven, Rev_18:4 which having called upon the saints to come out of Babylon, and to take vengeance on her, now calls upon all good men to rejoice at her ruin, while others were weeping and wailing; not at that, simply considered, but as the justice of God is displayed therein: heaven may be literally understood, which sometimes is addressed when anything of very considerable note and moment is done or spoken of, whether it be something exceeding bad, as in Isa_1:2 or something exceeding great and good, as in Psa_96:11 or else the inhabitants of heaven, either the angels, who as they rejoice at the good and happiness of the saints, so at the confusion and destruction of their enemies; and the Syriac version reads, "heavens and angels"; or else the souls of men departed, particularly the souls under the altar, that have been long crying for vengeance on account of the shedding of their blood, Rev_6:9 who may be made acquainted with Rome's destruction; or rather the true church of Christ upon earth, which in this book often goes by the name of heaven, in opposition to the apostate church, called the earth, because its members, doctrines, and ordinances, are from heaven, and its happiness lies there:

and ye holy apostles and prophets; the Alexandrian copy and Complutensian edition read, "and the saints, and the apostles, and prophets"; making three distinct sorts of persons, of which heaven, or the church, consists: by "saints" may be meant private members of churches, who are

sanctified by the Spirit of God, and live holy lives and conversations; and by "apostles", not the twelve apostles, or persons in such an office as they were, but ordinary ministers of the word, who are sent forth to preach the Gospel, and will be upon the spot at the destruction of Babylon, and will be such as shall have preached and defended the pure apostolic doctrine; and by "prophets" are intended not the prophets of the Old Testament, nor such under the New who had the gift of foretelling things to come, but such who have a gift of interpreting the Scriptures and preaching the Gospel; the same with the two witnesses, who till this time will have prophesied in sackcloth, but shall now put it off, and put on the garments of praise and joy:

for God hath avenged you on her; or "judged your judgment on her"; that is, has executed righteous judgment on her, for all the evils done by her to the saints in ages past, the predecessors of the persons here mentioned, as well as to themselves: vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will avenge his elect sooner or later.

3B. ELLICOTT, "(20) Rejoice over her. . . .—Better, Rejoice over her, O heaven, and the saints, and the apostles, and the prophets, because God has judged your judgment on (or, out of) her. The second portion of the chapter CLOSES with this invitation to the saints to rejoice: they are summoned to rejoice because the law of retribution has worked on her. Your judgment (it is said to the saints) is judged on her. This does not mean a judgment which the saints have decreed, but the judgment which Babylon wrought on the holy is now exacted from her (comp. Revelation 18:6, and Revelation 6:10; Revelation 13:10). Heaven, and every CLASS OF those whose citizenship has been in heaven, are bidden by the heavenly voice to rejoice The covetous and the worldly mourn; their minds were set upon a material glory, which has slipped away from their grasp. All saintly souls, whose affections have been towards righteousness and the righteous King, can rejoice; for the wealth of holiness is imperishable. and the fall of Babylon is the removal of one vast hindrance to holiness. It has been argued that the verse represents the Apostles to be in heaven, and from this it has been inferred that the twelve must have all died before the Apocalypse was written, and, if so, St. John was not the writer. The verse, however, has no reference whatever to the question: it is not meant to state who have passed into heaven and who have not: it is simply a summons to all who have fought on the side of their Lord to rejoice at the removal of one of the great obstacles to the manifestation of Christ’s kingdom. Thus do all holy men, whether on earth or heaven, joy when any giant evil is swept away.

4. HENRY, “An account of the joy and triumph there was both in heaven and earth at the irrecoverable fall of Babylon: while her own people were bewailing her, the servants of God were called to rejoice over her, Rev_18:20. Here observe, 1. How universal this joy would be: heaven and earth, angels and saints, would join in it; that which is matter of rejoicing to the servants of God in this world is matter of rejoicing to the angels in heaven. 2. How just and reasonable; and that, (1.) Because the fall of Babylon was an act of God's vindictive justice. God was then avenging his people's cause. They had committed their cause to him to whom vengeance belongs, and now the year of recompence had come for the controversies of Zion; and, though they did not take pleasure in the miseries of any, yet they had reason to rejoice in the discoveries of the glorious justice of God.

4B. BARCLAY, "JOY AMIDST LAMENTING

Rev. 18:20

Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and you dedicated ones of God, and you apostles, and you prophets, because God has given judgment for you against her.

Amidst all the lamenting comes the voice of joy, the voice of those who are glad to see the vengeance of God upon his enemies and their persecutors.

This is a note which we find more than once in Scripture. "Praise his people, O you nations; for he avenges the blood of his servants, and takes vengeance on his adversaries, and makes expiation for the land of his

people" (Deut.32:43). Jeremiah says of the doom of ancient Babylon; "Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, says the Lord" (Jer.51:48).

We are here very far from praying for those who despitefully use us. But two things have to be remembered. However we may feel about this voice of vengeance, it is none the less the voice of faith. These men had utter confidence that no man on God's side could ultimately be on the losing side.

Second, there is little personal bitterness here. The people to be destroyed are not so much personal enemies as the enemies of God.

At the same time this is not the more excellent way which Jesus taught. When Abraham Lincoln was told that he was too lenient with his opponents and that his duty was to destroy his enemies, he answered: "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" The real Christian attitude is to seek to destroy enmity, not by force, but by the power of that love which won the victory of the Cross.

5. JAMISON, “(See on Rev_17:4).stones ... pearls — Greek, “stone ... pearl.”fine linen — A, B, and C read Greek, “bussinou” for “bussou,” that is, “fine linen manufacture” [Alford]. The manufacture for which Egypt (the type of the apostate Church, Rev_11:8) was famed. Contrast “the fine linen” (Eze_16:10) put on Israel, and on the New Testament Church (Rev_19:8), the Bride, by God (Psa_132:9).thyine wood — the citrus of the Romans: probably the cypressus thyoyides, or the thuia articulata. “Citron wood” [Alford]. A sweet-smelling tree of Cyrene in Lybia, used for incense.all manner vessels — Greek, “every vessel,” or “furniture.”

5B. RIGGS, “Rev. 18:20-24

The heaven, the holy apostles and prophets (some ancient manuscripts add, "and ye saints" are told to rejoice because God had avenged them on her ("for God hath judged your judgment on her" ASV). This is another of the key verses which shows the theme and purpose of the book. (See also 6:9-11; 16:6-7; 19:2). The great city shall be cast down as a millstone (literally, "millstone turned by an ass"; thus, a stone of great size used to grind grain; it is the same word used in Matt. 18:6) thrown into the sea and three types of sound would be heard no more at all in her: of music (22a), of business life or industry (22b), and of the home (23). The same kind of symbolism was used in reference to ancient Babylon's destruction (Jer. 51:63-64; 25:10). The sounds of amusement, business, and the home would no more be heard in her because: (1) "Thy merchants were great men of the earth" (also said of Tyre in her destruction, Isa. 23:8-9; here it has reference to Rome's quest for luxuries and riches; it was founded on these and her merchants became rich through them, 18:3). (2) "For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived" (this, too, was said of Tyre, Nah. 3:4; it has to do with her witchcraft by which she beguiled the people into wickedness and idolatry). (3) For her martyrdom of the saints and conquering of peoples (vs. 24). This is another key verse to the proper understanding of the book. It was the reason for her utter destruction (19:2).

Instead of questions, for a study of chapter 18, compare these Old Testament passages with the following verses:

(vs. 2) -- Isa. 21:9; 13:21; Jer. 50:35; 51:37 (vs 3) -- Isa. 47:15 (vss. 4-5) -- Jer. 51:9 (vs. 6) -- Jer. 50:15, 29; 51:49 (vs. 7) -- Ezek. 28:2-8; Isa. 47:7-8; Zeph. 2:13-15 (vs. 8a) -- Jer. 50:13 (vs. 8b) -- Jer. 50:34 (vss. 9-10) -- Ezek. 26:16-17

(vss. 11-17a) -- Ezek. 27:33-36 (vss. 17b-19) -- Ezek. 27:25-32 (vs. 20) -- Jer. 51:48 (vs. 21) -- Jer. 51:63-64 (vss. 22-23) -- Jer. 25:10

We see that the same language of chapter 18 was used against various cities of the Old Testament era and we conclude that chapter 18 is speaking of God's doom and destruction upon the city of Rome. DAVID RIGGS

6. PULPIT, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven. These words are best understood as being uttered by the writer, as in Rev_12:12 (see on Rev_12:10). And ye holy apostles and prophets; and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets, is read in à , A, B, P, etc., and adopted by the Revisers. The Authorized Version reading is found in C, 1, 17. Not only the heavenly inhabitants are to rejoice, but also those on earth who have been persecuted by her, as mentioned in verse 24. The time is again described which has been already referred to in former parts of the book, and especially in Rev_11:18. Some authors have held this verse to prove that the writer of the Apocalypse was not the Apostle John; either because

(1) he speaks as if he were not an apostle, or

(2) because they assume that all the apostles are here referred to, and that they are in heaven.

There is no ground for either presumption:

(1) A rhapsodical utterance of this nature cannot be interpreted literally;

(2) the word "apostles" cannot be limited to the twelve;

(3) as Dusterdieck justly observes, one might as well argue that the writer was not a prophet.

By the "prophets "are primarily intended, perhaps, the Christian prophets (cf. Eph_3:5); but if Babylon is typical of the hostile world power, and the harlot of the faithless, worldly portion of God's Church, as we have seen them to be, the words are applicable to the Church of God in all ages. For God hath avenged you on her; for God hath judged your judgment on her. The answer to the prayer of the martyrs in Rev_6:10. The words, "your judgment," probably mean "that judgment which is her due for her treatment of you," as in the Authorized Version. Hengstenberg gives "the doom which she pronounced upon you." Wordsworth, laying stress upon e?? , "out of," makes the words mean, "He has taken your cause out of her hands into his own."

7. BURKITT, ” Note here, 1. That as Babylon's ruin was matter of great grief and sorrow to the fore-mentioned mourners who merchandised and traded with her; so it is matter of great joy and rejoicing to all spiritual and heavenly-minded persons, which are the true church, who are commanded to rejoice at it. Rejoice over her, O heaven; that is, ye angels in heaven, or ye saints, that are of an heavenly disposition. And all ye holy apostles and prophets; that is, all faithful ministers who succeed them, who are endued with the same spirit, and teach the same pure and holy doctrine with them.

Note, 2. The cause of this rejoicing declared: For God hath avenged them upon her. The church does not, the saints of God dare not, rejoice at Babylon's calamity as such, but as an act of divine vengeance God will be avenged onBabylon for the doctrine of the gospel corrupted by her, and for the rules of worship violated by her, and for all the barbarities and indignities which his church and people have suffered from her: God will revenge the wrongs of his people, when through want of power they cannot, and through his prohibition they may not, avenge themselves.

8. SPURGEON, “May the Spirit of God take away the veil from our eyes while we read what was revealed to the beloved apostle John! Here we have the prophecy of the destruction of the great anti-Christian system of Babylon, which, being interpreted, is and can be none other than the

apostate church of Rome.

18:20-24. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with. violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall he found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that w ere slain upon the earth. Now, after the false church is put away, the true Church of Christ shines out in all her glory and purity.

This exposition consisted of readings from Rev_18:20-24; and Rev_19:1-18.

9. COLLEGE PRESS, “18:20-22 wonder book of the bible

Thus we see that the destruction of ancient Babylon was typical of the destruction of spiritual Babylon.

Thus we see that the fall of mysterious Babylon, that Romish church; that great Harlot woman; the Mother of Harlots and abom- inations of the earth; is one of the, if not the most outstanding and marvelous events of all time. More is said about Babylon in the Scriptures than any other great religious and secular occurrence.

But the rejoicings of heaven, and those whose affections are set on things above and not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2), are now set forth in exact contrast with the lamentations Of the kings, merchants and shipmasters and all their peoples they represent.

vs. 21 "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her." '

While earth rings with the chorus of lamentation, dissappoint- ment and despair, a grand jubulation fills the heaven. While the world cries, Woe, woe over the fall of this religio-political system, the citizens of heaven pour out of their mighty halleluias.

The angel then announces:

vs. 22 "And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee, and no crafts- man, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be herd no more at all in thee.

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."

It will be an event unbelievable to the world. The world has become so accustomed to seeing the Roman church, her priesthood and religious processions and pronouncements played up with such

righteousness in the press, magazines and periodicals; propagated in

306

WONDER BOOK OF THE BIBLE 18:22

the movies, on the radio and television screen; eulogized in song, poetry and story; kowtowed to by politician, merchant, transporta- tion interests, advertisers, rulers and common citizens that the fall of such a church with such suddenness and violence will be shock that will shake the whole earth.

And it will be the immediate act of God. No earthy power or agency could bring to an end an institution so hoary with age and deeply intrenched in every activity of man.

And to think that all of this could have been avoided 1 . If there had been the New Testament church, with Christ as head and supreme authority upon the earth since Pentecost there would have been no spiritual Babylon to confuse the world religiously, currupt political governments, compromise truth and morals, and finally to condemn the world to eternal destruction and damnation.

The Finality of Babylon’s Doom

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the

size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea,

and said:

“With such violence

the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,

never to be found again.

1.BARNES, “And a mighty angel - See the notes on Rev_18:1. This seems, however, to have been a different angel from the one mentioned in Rev_18:1, though, like that, he is described as having great power.Took up a stone like a great millstone - On the structure of mills among the ancients see the notes on Mat_24:41.And cast it into the sea - As an emblem of the utter ruin of the city; an indication that the city would be as completely destroyed as that stone was covered by the waters.Saying, Thus with violence - With force, as the stone was thrown into the sea. The idea is, that it would not be by a gentle and natural decline, but by the application of foreign power. This accords with all the representations in this book, that violence will be employed to overthrow the papal power. See Rev_17:16-17. The origin of this image is probably Jer_51:63-64; “And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her.”

2. CLARKE, “Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down - This action is finely and forcibly expressed by the original words: ???t?? ???µ?µat? ß????seta? ?aß???? ?? µe?a?? p????. The millstone will in falling have not only an accelerated force from the law of gravitation, but that force will be greatly increased by the projectile force impressed upon it by the power of the destroying angel.Shall be found no more at all - In her government, consequence, or influence. This is true of ancient Babylon; we are not certain even of the place where it stood. It is also true of Jerusalem; her government, consequence, and influence are gone. It is not true of Rome pagan; nor, as yet, of Rome papal: the latter still exists, and the former is most intimately blended with it; for in her religions service Rome papal has retained her language, and many of her heathen temples has she dedicated to saints real or reputed, and incorporated many of her superstitions and absurdities in a professedly Christian service. It is true also that many idols are now restored under the names of Christian saints!

2B. ELLICOTT, "(21) And a mighty angel . . .—The taking up of the stone and casting it into the waters is a symbol drawn from Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51). Jeremiah enjoined Seraiah to bind THE PROPHETIC roll to a great stone, and cast them together into the Euphrates. The meaning of the act was explained—“Thus shall Babylon sink and shall not rise,” &c. (Jeremiah 51:63-64). The great dead mass, sinking helplessly by the law of its own weight, signified a fall past recovery. So Pharaoh and his host sank like lead in the mighty waters. It is the doom Christ foreshadowed as awaiting those who caused His children to fall (Matthew 18:6). The mighty angel, strong to lift the ponderous stone, throws it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence (or, with a bound) shall Babylon, the great city, be thrown, and shall not BE FOUND any more. At one bound, without a single resting-stage in its downward career, without chance or POWER of recovery, the vast world-city would fall. She who sat as a queen upon many waters, sinks as a stone in the mighty waters. She will not be found any more. The words “any more,” or “no more,” are repeated in these verses no less than six times, like a funeral knell over the departed greatness which is described.

3. GILL, “And a mighty angel,.... Not Christ, nor one of the ministering spirits, but some man or set of men, perhaps the same with him in Rev_18:1

took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea; just as Jeremiah took a stone and bound it to his book after he had read it, and cast it into the river Euphrates, as a sign and token ofthe destruction of old Babylon, Jer_51:63

saying, thus with violence shall that great city be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all; which is expressive of the utter destruction of Rome, and of the violence, force, and power with which it will be destroyed, and of the suddenness and swiftness of its destruction, and of the irrecoverableness of its state and condition.

4. HENRY, “Because it was an irrecoverable ruin. This enemy should never molest them any more, and of this they were assured by a remarkable token (Rev_18:21): An angel from heaven took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus shall Babylon be thrown down with violence, and be found no more at all; the place shall be no longer habitable by man, no work shall be done there, no comfort enjoyed, no light seen there, but utter darkness and desolation, as the reward of her great wickedness, first in deceiving the nations with her sorceries, and secondly in destroying and murdering those whom she could not deceive,” Rev_18:24. Such abominable sins deserved so great a ruin.

4B. BARCLAY, "THE FINAL DESOLATION

Rev. 18:21-24

And a strong angel lifted a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea. "Thus," he said, "with a rush Babylon the great city will be cast down, and will never again be found. The sound of harpers and minstrels

and flute-players and trumpeters will never again be heard in you. No craftsman of any craft will ever again be found in you. No more will the sound of the mill be heard in you. No more will the light of the lamp shine in you. No more will the voice of the bridegroom and the bride be heard in you; for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and because all nations were lead astray by your sorcery, and because in her was found the blood of the prophets and of God's dedicated ones and of all who have been slain upon the earth."

The picture is of the final desolation of Rome.

It begins with a symbolic action. A strong angel takes a great millstone and hurls it into the sea which closes over it as if it had never been. So will Rome be obliterated. John was taking his picture from the destruction of ancient Babylon. The word of God came to Jeremiah: "When you finish reading this book, bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates: and say, Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the evil that I am bringing upon her" (Jer.51:63-64). In later days Strabo, the Greek geographer, was to say that ancient Babylon was so completely obliterated that no one would ever have dared to say that the desert where she stood was once a great city.

Never again will there be any sound of rejoicing. The doom of Ezekiel against Tyre reads: "And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more" (Eze.26:13). The harpers and the minstrels played and sang on joyous occasions; the flute was used at festivals and at funerals; the trumpet sounded at the games and at the concerts; but now all music was to be silenced.

Never again will there be the sound of a craftsman plying his trade.

Never again will the sound of domestic activity be heard. Grinding was done by the women at home with two great circular stones one on the top of the other. The corn was put into a hole in the uppermost stone; it was ground between the two stones and emerged through the lower stone. The creak of stone on stone, which could be heard any day at any house door, will never again be heard.

Never again will there be light on the streets or in the houses.

Never again will there be any sound of wedding rejoicing for even love will die. Jeremiah uses the same pictures: "I will banish from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom,and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones, and the light of the lamp" (Jer.25:10; compare Jer.7:34; Jer.16:9).

Rome is to become a terrible silent desolation.

And this punishment will come for certain definite reasons.

It will come because she worshipped wealth and luxury and lived wantonly, and found no pleasure except in material things.

It will come because she led men astray with her sorceries. Nahum called Nineveh "graceful and of deadly charms" (Nah.3:14). Rome flirted with the evil powers to make an evil world.

It will come because she was blood guilty. "Woe to the bloody city!" said Ezekiel of Tyre (Eze.24:6). Within Rome the martyrs perished and persecution went out from her all over the earth.

Before we begin to study the last four chapters of the Revelation in detail, it will be well to set out their general programme of events.

They begin with a universal rejoicing at the destruction of Babylon, the power of Rome (Rev. 19:1-10). There follows a description of the emergence of a white horse and on it him who is Faithful and True (Rev.

19:11-18). Next comes the assembling of hostile powers against the conquering Christ (Rev. 19:19); then the defeat of the opposing forces, the casting of the beast and of the false prophet into the lake of fire, and the slaughter of the rest (Rev. 19:20-21).

Rev. 20 opens with the binding of the devil in the abyss for a period of a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3). There follows the resurrection of the martyrs to reign with Christ for a thousand years, although the rest of the dead are not yet resurrected (Rev. 20:4-6). At the end of the thousand years Satan is again loosed for a brief space; there is final conflict with the enemies of Christ who are destroyed with fire from heaven while Satan is cast for ever into the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:7-10). Then comes the general resurrection and the general judgment (Rev. 20:11-14); and finally the description of the new heaven and the new earth to take the place of the things which have passed away (Rev. 21; Rev. 22:1-5).

5. JAMISON, “a — Greek, “one.”millstone — Compare the judgment on the Egyptian hosts at the Red Sea, Exo_15:5, Exo_15:10; Neh_9:11, and the foretold doom of Babylon, the world power, Jer_51:63, Jer_51:64.with violence — Greek, “with impetus.” This verse shows that this prophecy is regarded as still to be fulfilled.

6. PULPIT, “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a groat millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying; add one strong angel (cf. the "mighty voice" in Rev_18:2; also Rev_10:1, and elsewhere). The adjective, of course, refers to the mightiness of the deed wrought (cf. Jer_51:61-64, "Thou shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; and thou shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise," etc.). The sea may be typical of the nations of the earth (seeRev_13:1). Thus with violence shall that groat city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all; Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, etc. (Revised Version). Alford translates "with a rush;"??´?µ?µa is peculiar to this passage. The complete nature of this extinction is indicated by the frequency of the words, "no more at all," in Rev_18:21-23.

7. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. Babylon's utter desolation represented by the type and sign of a millstone cast into the sea; like a millstone she had ground and oppressed the church of God, and now, like a millstone thrown into the sea, she sinks into the pit of destruction.

Almighty God, by this sign or symbol, signified to St. John that Babylon's ruin should be violent, irrecoverable, and irreparable; she falls never to rise more. The casting of a stone into the sea was anciently the emblem of everlasting forgetfulness.

Observe, 2. The amplification of Babylon's ruin particularized in several instances.

1. That nothing should evermore be found in her that belonged to pleasure or delight: no voice of harpers, musicians, or trumpeters.

2. Nothing which belonged to profit or trading, no artificers or craftsmen.

3. Nothing belonging to food, no noise of a millstone for grinding corn and making provision for bread.

4. Nothing to relieve against the darkness and terror of the night; as the light of a candle.

5. No means for the propagation of mankind by marriage; The voice of the bride and the bridegroom shall be heard no more.

All which expressions do imply extreme destruction and utter desolation: intimating, that Babylon shall be a place utterly abandoned and forsaken.

Observe, 3. A three-fold cause assigned for all this, to wit,

1. Damnable covetousness: Her merchants were the great ones of the earth. Her sinful way of merchandising, by dealing in spiritual commodities peculiar to Rome, seems to be here pointed at; her making merchandise of the souls of men, as we have it, Rev_18:13.

2. Her bewitching idolatry, called here sorceries, whereby she enticed people to join with her in her superstitious worship.

3. Her cruelty and bloodshed: In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon earth.

Quest. But how can the blood shed by others be laid to her charge?

Ans. 1. Because the doctrines which caused their blood to be shed were with her.

2. Because her jurisdiction gave commission to slay the saints which were slain in other kingdoms.

3. Because by the influence of her example at home, much blood had been shed abroad.

God will charge upon others, as he did upon Babylon, not only the sin which they have acted, but all the sin which they have been accessary to.

8. KRETZMANN, “The punishment completed:

v. 21. and a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.

v. 22. And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

v. 23. and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in the e; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

v. 24. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Here the seer pictures inevitable doom, total and terrible desolation: And there lifted up one mighty angel a stone like a millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with force shall be thrown down Babylon, the great city, and shall no more be found; and the voice of harpists and minstrels and flutists and trumpeters no more shall be heard in thee, and all craftsmen of every craft shall no more be found in thee, and the sound of the millstone shall no more be heard in thee, and the light of a lamp shall no more shine in thee, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall no more be heard in thee, because thy merchants were the magnates of the earth, because by thy incantations were deceived all nations, and in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and of all those that had been slain on the earth. That is the sentence of doom, given in the form of a rhythmic song, and introduced by a symbolic action resembling that of Jer_51:63-64. The judgment of the great city, of spiritual Babylon, the kingdom of Anti-Christ, is sealed; the blow given her by the Reformation was so strong as to lay her low forever. No matter what efforts the papacy makes to regain her former absolute reign in the world, all such attempts are bound to result in failure. The glory which she formerly held is departed from her forever. The sins of spiritual adultery, of idolatry, and of the magic spells with which Rome managed to seduce the mighty ones of the earth, the blood which she has shed during the thousand years and more which she has been in existence, call down upon her the curse of the Lord, His eternal damnation.

Summary

The fall and destruction of the kingdom of Anti-Christ is here described in full, together with the wailing complaint of rulers and merchants and shipmasters that grew rich in the traffic in her goods and luxuries, while there is rejoicing in heaven over the vindication of the martyrs and prophets and apostles.

9. SPURGEON, “We have no difficulty in knowing to what city this great Babylon refers, for the Church of Rome, in the plenitude of its wisdom, has taken the title to itself in attempting to claim that Peter was the first bishop of Rome. They quote the text, “The church that is in Babylon saluteth thee” that church, they say, being the church in Rome. Therefore, Rome is Babylon. Beside, the whole of the eighteenth chapter gives such a description as can only apply to her, and she must, and shall, come to her end.

Rev_18:21-24. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsmen of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee, And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

10. PULPIT, “"No more."Six times over does this word recur, and always concerning the same fact. That fact, therefore, must be notable, and is intended to be noticed by us. Of what, then, is it thus repeatedly said, it is "no more"? A glance at this chapter shows that "the great city Babylon" is spoken of, and that accursed city meant heathen Rome to the mind of St. John. But full well we know that even when Rome pagan gave way to Rome papal, evil and sin, bloody persecution and cruel wrong, did not disappear. Therefore we take Babylon to mean far more than any Rome, or any city that is or has been on the face of the earth; we take it as telling of the whole kingdom of evil—that mighty empire, that hoary sinner against God and man. Though St. John meant Rome, his words tell of far more than Rome. And we, coming so far further down in the world's history, are able and glad to read in them this fuller meaning which we believe to have been in the Divine mind, though not in that of his servant. Let Babylon stand, then, for the city where Satan's seat is—the whole kingdom and dominion of the devil, and let us listen to the six times repeated stroke of the word "no more," which in our text and two following verses may be heard. The city is to be "no more," and her music "no more," and her trade "no more," and her food supplies "no more," and her lamp lit feasts "no more," and her marriage festivals "no more." Thus, by the utter desolation of a great city, such as that which came on Babylon, is set forth the fact of the final and complete overthrow of that kingdom of evil of which Babylon was the ancient type, and Rome, in St. John's day, the embodiment. Such utter overthrow is—

I. SIGNIFIED BY SYMBOL. See the mighty angel lifting aloft the huge and ponderous millstone and then hurling it, with all his force, into the depths of the sea. There, buried out of sight, sunk down into the bed of ocean, it shall never more be seen. Such is the symbol. One that seemed little likely of fulfilment when it was given, and even now, oftentimes, seems as if it never would be fulfilled.

II. VERIFIED BY FACT. Babylon had fallen, in spite of all its greatness, and heathen Rome was hastening to her fall. And other such Babylons have risen, and wrought their evil, and rioted in their sin, and, like her, have fallen. Therefore we may he assured that the last and greatest of them all will also one day be "no more."

III. LONGED FOR BY THE OPPRESSED. "How long, O Lord, how long, dost thou not avenge?"—

such has been the cry of the oppressed for weary ages. "Thy kingdom come," is the cry we put up day by day.

IV. PROMISED IN THE GOSPEL. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," said Jesus, "because he hath anointed me to preach glad tidings to the poor," etc. (Luk_4:1-44.). And this is the gospel, that the kingdom of evil shall be "no more." It is present with us now, we know, in all its forms. But it is not always so to be. Ere the glad tidings were proclaimed, good men, sore perplexed and troubled, pondered much and sadly over the mystery of evil. They could not understand how God could let it be. Nor do we fully understand even now. But this much we know, that it is but for a time. And faith is able to grasp the promise of the gospel, and to "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him."

V. REJOICED IN BY SAINTS. The joy of all heaven because of this overthrow of evil is told of in the next chapter. Their Alleluias ascend unceasingly, for that God hath judged the accursed city and established his own reign.

VI. CREDIBLE TO REASON. The evidence for the Divine existence and the Divine character—as holy, just, wise, and good—becomes more convincing the more it is considered, notwithstanding the existence of a kingdom of evil. Doubtless that kingdom is a great stumbling block to both reason and faith, but it is not an insurmountable one. But were it not for the truth we are considering now, that all this accursed rule of evil shall one day be "no more," we do not see how faith in God could live. For that faith necessitates as its corollary that evil should terminate and be "no more." Reason reiterates her conviction that if God be, evil must one day be "no more."

VII. ACCOMPLISHED BY CHRIST. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested." "I saw," he says, "Satan as lightning fall from heaven." "The prince of this world is judged." There was that, however imperfectly we may understand it, in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which effected the virtual overthrow of evil. Satan received his death stroke; he is no longer what he was. We know and confess that in some aspects of life it seems very hard to believe this. But when we consider what the power of our blessed Lord and Master has already done; how the might of his meekness, the love of his sacrifice, the attraction of his cross, have already subdued so many hearts and triumphed over so many foes,—then faith revives, and we can believe that, as he said, "the prince of this world is judged." Lord, we believe; but help our unbelief.—S.C.

22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers

and trumpeters,

will never be heard in you again.

o worker of any trade

will ever be found in you again.

The sound of a millstone

will never be heard in you again.

1.BARNES, “And the voice of harpers - Those who play on the harp. This was usually accompanied with singing. The idea, in this verse and the following, is substantially the same as in the previous parts of the chapter, that the mystical Babylon - papal Rome - would be brought to

utter desolation. This thought is here exhibited under another form - that all which constituted festivity, joy, and amusement, and all that indicated thrift and prosperity, would disappear. Of course, in a great and “fun” city, there would be all kinds of music; and when it is said that this would be heard there no more it is a most striking image of utter desolation.And musicians - Musicians in general; but perhaps here singers, as distinguished from those who played on instruments.And of pipers - Those who played on pipes or flutes. See the 1Co_14:7 note; Mat_11:17 note.And trumpeters - Trumpets were common instruments of music, employed on festival occasions, in war, and in worship. Only the principal instruments of music are mentioned here, as representatives of the rest. The general idea is, that the sound of music, as an indication of festivity and joy, would cease.Shall be heard no more at all in thee - It would become utterly and permanently desolate.And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft - That is, artificers of all kinds would cease to ply their trades there. The word used here - te???´t?? technite‾s - would include all artisans or mechanics, all who were engaged in any kind of trade or craft. The meaning here is, that all these would disappear, an image, of course, of utter decay.And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more - Taylor (Frag. to Calmet, Dictionary vol. iv. p. 346) supposes that this may refer not so much to the rattle of the mill as to the voice of singing, which usually accompanied grinding. The sound of a mill is cheerful, and indicates prosperity; its ceasing is an image of decline.

2. CLARKE, “The voice of harpers, etc. - This seems to indicate not only a total destruction of influence, etc., but also of being. It seems as if this city was to be swallowed up by an earthquake, or burnt up by fire from heaven.

3. GILL, “And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters,.... Which were for mirth, delight, and pleasure:

shall be heard no more at all in thee: the words seem to be taken from Isa_24:8 and may not only regard the loss of every thing that was delightful and pleasant to the ear in private houses, at festivals, and nuptials, and the like, but the ceasing of church music; there will be no more bells, nor organs, or any other instruments of music; no more chanters, and sub-chanters, choristers, singing men and boys:

and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be shall be, found any more in thee; which are very useful and necessary in cities and societies; it is threatened to Judah, that the cunning artificer should be taken from her, Isa_3:3 and it is reckoned as a considerable part of the distress of the captivity that the carpenters and smiths were away from Jerusalem, Jer_24:1 and this judgment may fall on Rome for her worshipping idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, the works of men's hands, artificers and craftsmen, and who are employed in making other trinkets and wares for antichrist:

and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; to grind corn with, see Jer_25:10 there will be a famine at the time that Rome is besieged, Rev_18:8 and after it is destroyed, there will be no corn to grind, nor inhabitants to eat it, and so no use of the millstone; this is said in opposition to her luxurious and delicious living, Rev_18:3 and this may also refer to feasts and rich entertainments, for which spices were ground and prepared by an hand mill (m) in the house; and so may signify here that there would be no more of such entertainments and rich living; with which sense agrees what follows. This clause is wanting in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions.

4. ELLICOTT, “(22, 23) And the voice of harpers . . .—Better, the sound, . . The sounds of mirth and triumph, &c., cease: the sound of harpers, and musicians, and flute-players, and trumpeters, shall not be heard in thee ANY MORE: the power of wealth has gone; her own right hand has forgotten her cunning: every craftsman of every craft shall not be found in thee ANY MORE: the sound of grinding the corn is at an end: the sound of millstone shall not be heard in thee ANY MORE: the cheerful lamps of home and feast are extinguished: light of lamp shall not shine in

thee ANY MORE: the sounds of domestic joy are silenced: voice of bridegroom and of bride shall not be heard in thee ANY MORE. The words are an echo of earlier prophecy: “I destroy from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the VOICE OF THE bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.” It was thus Jeremiah warned Jerusalem of her coming doom (Jeremiah 25:10). Now the same judgments are PRONOUNCEDagainst the foe of the true Jerusalem.

5. JAMISON, “pipers — flute players. “Musicians,” painters and sculptors, have desecrated their art to lend fascination to the sensuous worship of corrupt Christendom.craftsman — artisan.

6. PULPIT, “And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; harpers and minstrels and flute players, etc. (Revised Version). Cf. the description of the desolation of Tyre in Eze_26:13and Isa_24:8. And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee. "Every craft" is omitted in à , A. (On the last phrase, see on Isa_24:21.) And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee.This passage, together with the following verse, is founded on Jer_25:10.

23 The light of a lamp

will never shine in you again.

The voice of bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again.

Your merchants were the world’s important

people.

By your magic spell all the nations were led

astray.

1.BARNES, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee - Another image of desolation, as if every light were put out, and there were total darkness.And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee - The merry and cheerful voice of the marriage procession in the streets (notes on Mat_25:1-7), or the cheerful, glad voice of the newly-married couple in their own dwelling (notes on Joh_3:29).For thy merchants were the great men of the earth - Those who dealt with thee were the rich, and among them were even nobles and princes; and now that they trade with thee no more there is occasion for lamentation and sorrow. The contrast is great between the time when distinguished foreigners crowded thy marts, and now, when none of any kind come to traffic with thee. The origin of this representation is probably the description of Tyre in Ezek. 27.For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived - This is stated as a reason for the ruin that had come upon her. It is a common representation of papal Rome that she has deceived or deluded the nations of the earth (see the notes on Rev_13:14), and no representation ever made accords more with facts as they have occurred. The word “sorceries” here refers to the various arts the tricks impostures, and false pretences by which this has been done. See the notes on Rev_9:21.

2. CLARKE, “By thy sorceries - Political arts, state tricks, counterfeit miracles, and deceptive maneuvers of every kind. This may be spoken of many great cities of the world, which still continue to flourish!

3. GILL, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee,.... Either for common use, or at feasts, or at marriages, which being kept at night, required candies, lamps, or torches; this shows that Babylon, or Rome, shall be deprived of everything, even of the least thing that is comfortable in life; see Jer_25:10 this will be a just punishment upon her for her abuse of this blessing of life; so where wax candles in great numbers have been burning in the daytime, there will not be so much as a single candle to give light in the night; and where candles have been lighted up for the dead, there will not be one for the use of the living:

and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: there will be no marrying, nor giving in marriage; no procreation of children, or propagation of posterity, in this place; which denotes the utter extirpation of the inhabitants of it; the phrases are taken from Jer_7:34 Jer_25:10 and this will be in righteous retaliation for the prohibition of marriage; which God has instituted, and is honourable, 1Ti_4:2 the reasons of Babylon's destruction follow:

for thy merchants were the great men of the earth: in allusion to the merchants of Tyre, said to be princes, Isa_23:8 for by trading and dealing in the wares and merchandise of Rome, persons of mean extract, and of very low circumstances of life, have grown exceeding rich, and have equalled the princes of the earth; as for instance, Cardinal Wolsey here in England, a butcher's son at Ipswich; and on the other hand, the princes and great men of the earth have become Rome's merchants, and have thought it an high honour to get a cardinal's hat, as the Cardinals Albertus duke of Austria, Bourbon, Pool, and others, mentioned by Brightman:

for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived; meaning her false doctrines, traditions, idolatry, superstition, and will worship, with which, as another Jezebel, she has bewitched, allured, and deceived the nations of the empire, and the kings thereof, Rev_18:3.

4. ELLICOTT, “(23) For thy merchants were the great . . .—The judgment does not fall because the merchants were great: it is the sorcery of the next clause which is the true cause of her fall: the merchants are those who traded with her, as well as those who dwelt in her: by “her sorceries” we must understand her artful policy, her attractiveness, and the seductions by which she drew into the meshes of her worldliness and sin the nations around. “In thy sorcery were all the nations led astray” (Revelation 13:14).

5. JAMISON, “What a blessed contrast is Rev_22:5, respecting the city of God: “They need no candle (just as Babylon shall no more have the light of a candle, but for a widely different reason), for the Lord God giveth them light.”candle — Translate as Greek, “lamp.”bridegroom ... bride ... no more ... in thee — Contrast the heavenly city, with its Bridegroom, Bride, and blessed marriage supper (Rev_19:7, Rev_19:9; Rev_21:2, Rev_21:9; Isa_62:4, Isa_62:5).thy merchants were — So most of the best authorities read. But A omits the Greek article before “merchants,” and then translates, “The great men of ... were thy merchants.”sorceries — Greek, “sorcery.”

6. PULPIT, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; of a lamp (cf. Jer_25:10, "I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle"). For thy merchants were the great men of the earth; were the princes. The cause of this overthrow is thus again stated. It is a repetition of the idea in Rev_18:7, Rev_18:15, Rev_18:19, "I sit a queen;" "The merchants which were made rich by her;" "That great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea" (cf. Isa_23:8, "Whose merchants were princes;" also Eze_27:20-22). For by thy

sorceries were all nations deceived. The judgment is the result of the non-repentance of Rev_9:21.

24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of

God’s holy people,

of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

1.BARNES, “And in her - When she came to be destroyed, and her real character was seen.Was found the blood of prophets - Of the public teachers of the true religion. On the word “prophets” see the notes on Rev_18:20.And of saints - Of the holy. See the notes on Rev_18:20.And of all that were slain upon the earth - So numerous have been the slain, so constant and bloody have been the persecutions there, that it may be said that all the blood ever shed has been poured out there. Compare the notes on Mat_23:35. No one can doubt the propriety of this representation with respect to pagan and papal Rome.In regard to the general meaning and application of this chapter the following remarks may be made:(1) It refers to papal Rome, and is designed to describe the final overthrow of that formidable anti-Christian power. The whole course of the interpretation of the previous chapters demands such an application, and the chapter itself naturally suggests it.(2) If it be asked why so much of this imagery is derived from the condition of a maritime power, orpertains to commerce, since both Babylon and Rome were at some distance from the sea, and neither could with propriety be regarded as seaport towns, it may be replied:(a) That the main idea in the mind of John was that of a rich and magnificent city;(b) That all the things enumerated were doubtless found, in fact, in both Babylon and Rome;(c) That though not properly seaport towns, they were situated on rivers that opened into seas, and were therefore not unfavorably situated for commerce; and,(d) That, in fact, they traded with all parts of the earth.The leading idea is that of a great and luxurious city, and this is filled up and decorated with images of what is commonly found in large commercial towns. We are not, therefore, to look for a literal application of this, and it is not necessary to attempt to find all these things, in fact, in the city referred to. Much of the description may be for the mere sake of keeping, or ornament.(3) If this refers to Rome, as is supposed, then, in accordance with the previous representations, it shows that the destruction of the papal power is to be complete and final. The image which John had in his eye as illustrating that was undoubtedly ancient Babylon as prophetically described in Isa. 13–14, and the destruction of the power here referred to is to be as complete as was the destruction described there. It would not be absolutely necessary in the fulfillment of this to suppose that Rome itself is to become a heap of ruins like Babylon, whatever may be true on that point, but that the papal power, as such, is to be so utterly destroyed that the ruins of desolate Babylon would properly represent it.(4) If this interpretation is correct, then the Reformation was in entire accordance with what God would have his people do, and was demanded by solemn duty to him. Thus, in Rev_18:4, his people are expressly commanded to “come out of her, that they might not be partakers of her sins, nor of her plagues.” If it had been the design of the Reformers to perform a work that should be in all respects a fulfilling of the command of God, they could have done nothing that would have more literally met the divine requirement. Indeed, the church has never performed a duty more manifestly in accordance with the divine will, and more indispensable for its own purity, prosperity, and safety, than the act of separating entirely and forever from papal Rome.(5) The Reformation was a great movement in human affairs. It was the index of great progress already reached, and the pledge of still greater. The affairs of the world were at that period placed on a new footing, and from the period of the Reformation, and just in proportion as the principles

of the Reformation are acted on, the destiny of mankind is onward.(6) The fall of papal Rome, as described in this chapter, will remove one of the last obstructions to the final triumph of the gospel. In the notes on Rev_16:10-16, we saw that one great hindrance to the spread of the true religion would be taken away by the decline and fall of the Turkish power. A still more formidable hindrance will be taken away by the decline and fall of the papal power; for that power holds more million of the race under its subjection, and with a more consummate art, and a more powerful spell. The papal influence has been felt, and still is felt, in a considerable part of the world. It has churches, and schools, and colleges, in almost all lands. It exercises a vast influence over governments. It has powerful societies organized for the purpose of propagating its opinions; and it so panders to some of the most powerful passions of our nature, and so converts to its own purposes all the resources of superstition, as still to retain a mighty, though a waning hold on the human mind. When this power shall finally cease, anyone can see that perhaps the most mighty obstruction which has ever been on the earth for a thousand years to the spread of the gospel will have been removed, and the way will be prepared for the introduction of the long-hoped-for millennium.

2. CLARKE, “In her was found the blood of prophets, etc. - She was the persecutor and murderer of prophets and of righteous men.And of all that were slain upon the earth - This refers to her counsels and influence, exciting other nations and people to persecute and destroy the real followers of God. There is no city to which all these things are yet applicable, therefore we may presume that the prophecy remains yet to be fulfilled.Bishop Bale, who applies this, as before, to the Romish Church, has, on Rev_18:22, given some information to the curious antiquary.“But be certaine,” says he, “and sure, thou myserable Church, that thou shalt no longer enjoy the commodious pleasures of a free cittye. - The merry noyes of them that play upon harpes, lutes, and fidels; the sweet voice of musicians that sing with virginals, vials, and chimes; the armony of them that pipe in recorders, flutes, and drums; and the shirle showt of trumpets, waits, and shawmes, shall no more be heard in thee to the delight of men. Neyther shall the sweet organs containing the melodious noyse of all maner of instruments and byrdes be plaied upon, nor the great belles be rong after that, nor yet the fresh discant, prick-song, counter-point, and faburden be called for in thee, which art the very sinagog of Sathan. Thy lascivious armonye, and delectablemusique, much provoking the weake hartes of men to meddle in thy abhominable whordom, by the wantonnes of idolatry in that kinde, shall perish with thee for ever. No cunning artificer, carver, paynter, nor gilder, embroderer, goldsmith, nor silk-worker; with such other like of what occupacion soever they be, or have bene to thy commodity, shall never more be found so agayne.“Copes, cruettes, candelstickes, miters, crosses, sensers, crismatoris, corporasses, and chalices, which for thy whorishe holines might not somtime be touched, will than for thy sake be abhorred of all men. Never more shall be builded for marchants of thi livery and mark, palaces, temples, abbeys, collages, covents, chauntries, fair houses, and horcherds of plesure. The clapping noise of neyther wyndmil, horsemil, nor watermil, shal any more be heard to the gluttenous feeding of thy puffed up porklings, for the maintenaunce of thine idle observacions and ceremonies. For thy mitred marchaunts were sumtimes princes of the earth, whan they reigned in their roialty. Thy shorn shavelinges were lordes over the multitude whan they held their priestly authority over the soules and bodies of men. Yea, and with thy privy legerdemain, with thy juggling castes, with thy craftes and inchauntmentes of thy subtile charmes, were all nacions of the world deceyved.”This is very plain language, and thus on all hands a monstrous system of superstition and idolatry was attacked by our Reformers; and with these unfurbished weapons, directed by the Spirit of the living God, popery was driven from the throne, from the bench, from the universities, and from the churches of this favored kingdom. And by a proper application of Scripture, and by the universal diffusion of the word of God, it may be soon driven from the face of the universe. And when the inventions of men are separated from that Church, and it becomes truly regenerated, (and of this it is highly capable, as, among its monstrous errors and absurdities, it contains all the essential truths of God), it will become a praise and a glory in the earth. Protestants wish not its destruction, but its reformation.Some there may be, who, in their zeal for truth, would pull the whole edifice to pieces; but this is not God’s method: he destroys what is evil, and saves what is good. It is reformation, not

annihilation, that this Church needs.

3. GILL, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,.... Such as before mentioned, in Rev_18:20 this is another reason of her destruction, besides her luxury and idolatry, namely, her shedding the blood of the saints, with which she is said to be drunk, and therefore blood is now given her to drink, Rev_17:6 for she will now be found guilty of slaying the witnesses, who are meant by the prophets and saints, that have been from the beginning of the apostasy:

and of all that were slain upon the earth: not only of those that have been slain in the city of Rome, but of all those that have been slain throughout the empire; they being slain by her order, or with her consent, and she conniving at it, encouraging it, and therefore will be justly chargeable with it all; see Mat_23:31 the Ethiopic version adds, "for the name of Christ".

4. ELLICOTT, “(24) And in her was found . . .—It is not by seductiveness only that her guilt is measured: her hands are defiled with blood: the blood of prophets, who had witnessed against her: of saints, whose holy lives were a PROTEST against her sins, and so hateful to her; and “of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Comp. Revelation 17:6, and Note there.) It is not meant that literally all the blood shed by violence had been shed by Rome, or any other single city of which Babylon is type: all that is meant is that Babylon, the world city, is founded on those principles, the logical outcome of which is violence, bloodshed, and hostility to the highest right: those who die by her hands, few or many, are the evidence that the whole tendency of her power is against holiness and truth. In the earthly view, we are guilty of the acts we do: in the heavenly view, we are guilty of all that the spirit and sin of our conduct tends to do. The spirit of transgression is seen in one act as well as in many, and as it is the attitude of the spirit that God looks upon, so in a single act may be gathered up the transgression of the whole law. (Comp. Revelation 17:6, and Note there; see also James 2:10). It is the fatal failure to perceive this which leads MAN TO make light of sin, and to undervalue the Cross of Christ.

5. JAMISON, “Applied by Christ (Mat_23:35) to apostate Jerusalem, which proves that not merely the literal city Rome, and the Church of Rome (though the chief representative of the apostasy), but the WHOLE of the faithless Church of both the Old and New Testament is meant by Babylon the harlot; just as the whole Church (Old and New Testament) is meant by “the woman” (Rev_12:1). As to literal city, Aringhus in Bengel says, Pagan Rome was the “general shambles” for slaying the sheep of Jesus. Fred. Seyler in Bengel calculates that papal Rome, between a.d. 1540 and 1580, slew more than nine hundred thousand Protestants. Three reasons for the harlot’s downfall are given: (1) The worldly greatness of her merchants, which was due to unholy traffic in spiritual things. (2) Her sorceries, or juggling tricks, in which the false prophet that ministers to the beast in its last form shall exceed her; compare “sorcerers” (Rev_21:8; Rev_22:15), specially mentioned among those doomed to the lake of fire. (3) Her persecution of (Old Testament) “prophets” and (New Testament) “saints.”

6. PULPIT, “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. At first sight it seems difficult to understand that these words are spoken not only of Babylon, but of the faithless portion of the Church, symbolized by the harlot. But we must remember

(1) that he who is guilty in respect of one commandment, is guilty of the whole Law;

(2) similar words are addressed by Jeremiah to Judah (Jer_2:34): "Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents" (see on Rev_17:1). Auberlen remarks, "Wherever true, faithful Christians are neglected and oppressed by the rulers of the Church, from avowed or secret antipathy to God's truth; where a false theology and science robs youth of its faith; where a pastor neglects, and keeps at a distance, the true living Christians in his flock, on account of the signum crucis which they bear; wherever we refuse or are ashamed to bear the reproach of Jesus Christ, our heavenly Master, even as he bore it, there we commit murder against the saints of God."

Here is concluded the pronouncement of the judgment of Babylon; which may be said to answer the prayer in Rev_6:10; and which forms the conclusion of the revelation commencing at Rev_17:1-18.

WILLIAM KELLYRevelation Chapter 18

Chapter 18 need not delay us long. It is not. the warning beforehand, as in Rev. 14, announcing Babylon's fall before the fact; nor is it its exact place as the last of the Bowls of God's wrath; nor yet as in Rev.17 the relation of Babylon to the Beast and the kings of the earth in contrast with the Bride's to the Lamb and the millennial kings as in Rev. 21. It is the catastrophe viewed as come, with a preceding call to God's people, and consequent on her ruin the lamentations of all from kings to seamen over her who had contributed to their pleasure and earthly greed. But there is a call for the joy of heaven, and of saints, apostles, and prophets, that God has judged her, the shameless deceiver and prostitute.

Thus runs the introduction. "And after these things I saw another angel descending out of the heaven, having great authority: and the earth was lightened with his glory, and he cried, saying, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great, and become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hated bird; because of the wine of the fury* of her fornication all the nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich by the might of her luxury. And I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her strokes; for her sins reached up to the heaven, and God remembered her unrighteousnesses. Award her, even as she awarded, and double to her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. How much she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much give her torment and grief: because she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and in no wise shall I see grief. For this reason in one day shall come her strokes, death, and grief, and famine; and she shall be burnt with fire; for strong [is] the Lord God that judgeth her."

* "Poison" has been suggested by pious and learned men. But it is better rendered homogeneously with what is said elsewhere. we cannot apply "poison" to God's wrath, but we may with many scriptures employ "fury" to mark His extreme indignation, and Babylon's excessive deception and unbridled iniquity.

It is a description, as we readily see, not of the corrupt woman's relation to the Beast but of the city's fall, with certain dirges put into the month of the different classes that groan because of her extinction here below. But along with that, God warns of her total ruin, and calls on His people (verse 4) to come out of her. "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins reached up to the heaven, and God remembered her unrighteousnesses." Then the word is, "Award her even as she awarded you, and double to her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. How much she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much give her torment and grief: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and I shall in no wise see grief."

Babylon is viewed in this chapter not so much in her mysterious and religious form, giving currency to every kind of confusion of truth and error, of good and evil, intoxicating, corrupting, and seducing, as all can see, through her wickedly ecclesiastical influence; she is regarded here as the most conspicuous aider and abettor of the world in its luxuries and delicacies and the pride of life, or what men call "civilisation."

This is accordingly traced in our chapter with considerable detail, and unto the sorrow and vexation of all the different classes who on the fall of Babylon groaned over her destruction, and the loss of their wealth and enjoyment, or their occupation.

"And the kings of the earth, that committed fornication with her and lived luxuriously, shall weep

and wail over her, when they behold the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the strong city, because in one hour came thy judgment. And the merchants of the earth weep and grieve over her, because no one buyeth their lading any more, lading of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of precious wood; and of brass, and of iron, and of marble; and cinnamon, and spice, and incense." Nor are these by any means all. "And unguent, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle and sheep, and of horses and chariots, and of bodies, and souls of men. And the ripe fruits thy soul desired are departed from thee, and all the fair and bright things are perished from thee, and they shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, shall stand afar off for fear of her torment, weeping, and grieving, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, for in one hour so great wealth was desolated. And every steersman, and every one sailing to a place, and sailors, and as many as ply their work on the sea stood afar off, and kept crying as they beheld the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city] is like the great city 7 And they cast dust upon their heads, and kept crying, weeping, and grieving, saying, Woe, woe, the great city in which all that had ships in the sea were enriched by her costliness; for in one hour was she desolated. Rejoice over her, heaven, and ye saints and ye apostles and ye prophets; for God judged your judgment upon her."

Yet is it a profound error to infer from the divine denunciation of her far-reaching and malignant influence as the centre, and factor, and patron of the world's luxury, that so vast an impulse to commerce is Babylon's worst virus. That she, proclaiming herself the church, should thus play the harlot instead of being a chaste virgin for Christ, is no doubt monstrously false and evil. But to combine idolatry with the Lord's name is viler still and unpardonable before God; to which must be added her implacable and deadly hatred of all that truly bear witness to God and His Anointed.

But the graphic account does not end until the Spirit of God shows us another figure of Babylon's downfall. "And a strong angel took up a stone as a great millstone, and cast [it] into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall be cast down Babylon the great city, and shall be found no more at all; and voice of harp-singers and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no artificer of any art shall be found any more at all in thee; and voice of millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and light of lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; because thy merchants were the grandees of the earth, because by thy sorcery all the nations were deceived. kind in her was found blood[s] of prophets and saints, and of all that were slain on the earth." The reason is given at the close; not only "for by thy witchcraft were all the nations deceived," but above all "and in her was found blood of prophets and saints, and of all that were slain on the earth."

What a solemn and weighty fact in the government of God! How can it be said that this vile, corrupt, idolatrous system of the last days was guilty of the blood of all the martyrs? She followed and had inherited the spirit of all, from the days of Cain, who had lifted up their hands against their righteous brethren. Instead of taking warning from the wickedness of those before her, who had seduced on the one hand and persecuted on the other, she had, when she could, gone on increasing in both, until at last the blow of divine judgment came. It is thus that God is wont to deal as a rule in His judgments, not necessarily on the one that first introduces an evil, but on those that inherit the guilt and perhaps aggravate it, instead of being warned by it. When God does judge, it is not merely for the evil fruits of those then judged but for all from its first budding till that day. Far from being unrighteous, this is, on the contrary, the highest justice from a divine point of view in public government.

We may illustrate it by the members of a family, and suppose, for instance, a drunken father. If the sons had a spark of right feeling, not only must they feel the utmost shame and pain on account of their parent, but they would endeavour (like the two sons of Noah, who had a due sense of what was proper) to cast some mantle of love over that which they could not deny, yet would not look at; but surely above all things they would watch against that shameful sin Alas! there is a son in the family, who, instead of being admonished by his father's sin, tales licence from it to indulge in the same. On him the blow falls, not on the unhappy parent The son is doubly

guilty, because he saw his father's nakedness, yet felt it not enough to turn away in silent sorrow. He ought to have felt the shame as holily hating the sin itself, yet withal in deep compassion for his parent But far from this, the unwitting exposure he wilfully exposed in mockery, not in grief. Then and thus is guilt aggravated in the case of his wicked son.

It is a similar case here. Babylon had once heard the varied testimony of God; for what had she not heard of truth? The gospel had been preached at Rome, as she of Chaldea had heard of law and prophet. The Roman Babylon too must hear the final testimony of God, the gospel of the kingdom that is to go forth in the last days; but she loves earthly pleasure and power, and refuses truth in any measure. She despises everything really divine; she will only use whatever of God's word she can pervert for increasing her own importance, and gaining a greater ascendancy over the consciences of men, whilst enjoying herself more luxuriously in the present life. For it is here to obliterate all remembrance of heaven, and to make this world such a paradise as suits her, which she embellishes, not with pure and undefiled religion, but with the arts of men, the idolatries of the world, and the snares of Satan.

This it is which will bring out the indignant judgment of God upon the last phase of Babylon, so that the guilt of all blood of holy ones shed on the earth shall be imputed to her, and she may be judged accordingly. It does not hinder, of course, that in the judgment of the dead each man is judged for his own sin. This remains true. The day of the Lord on the world in no way sets aside His dealing with souls individually for eternity. The judgment of the dead is strictly individual judgments in this world are not. His blows on the quick come more nationally as on Israel; incomparably more severe, as in possession of greater privileges, is the judgment of corrupt Christendom, or Babylon here so called. But according to His principle of government it is not merely personal guilt, but that which, from despising the testimony of God, thus morally accumulates from age to age in the ratio of the testimony of God and of men's wickedness indulged in spite of it. All Israel too shall be saved (Rom_11:26) as a people, and for the glory of Jehovah on the earth. But there is neither restoration nor mercy for Babylon, but unmitigated destruction, extinction at length through God's indignant judgment.

Footnotes:a. Revelation 18:2 Isaiah 21:9b. Revelation 18:4 Jer. 51:45c. Revelation 18:7 See Isaiah 47:7,8.New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.