Revelation 18

John T. Hinds Commentary On Revelation 18THE FALL OF BABYLON Rev_18:1-24 The general idea of this chapter is that of a rich populous city being reduced to desolation. The fall of Babylon is the symbol by which is prophetically described the destruction of the apostate church. The vivid imagery, in the main, carries its meaning upon the surface. Only brief expressions from the text in 18: 1 to 19: 10 are given; hence, comparatively few notes will be necessary in explanation. The ideas of a wicked city and a dissolute woman are intermingled and carried to the end of the chapter.(1) The Fall Announced (Revelation 18:1-3)Revelation 18:1 —After these things.— After the vision described in the last chapter John saw an angel in a halo of light descend from heaven. This is assurance that the announcement he made will certainly be fulfilled.

Revelation 18:2 —“ Fallen, fallen is Babylon."— This expression is borrowed from the Old Testament prophets who speak of ancient Baby­lon’ s fall. (Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 51:8.) The tense here is “ prophetic past" to indicate the certainty that the event would take place. For another example consult Isaiah 9:2 Isaiah 9:6. The ruins of cities become the habitation of unclean and wild animals. Compare the language about literal Babylon. (Isaiah 13:20-22.)

Revelation 18:3 —All the nations are fallen.— This shows the reason for her fall— she made the nations drunk with her wine, and this will lead to their fall ultimately. By her perversion of the truth leaders have been seduced into sinful practices, here described as spiritual adultery.

Revelation 18:3 —Merchants of the earth waxed rich.— This includes all those who traffic in papal doctrines for gain. Those made the victims of this traffic will also fall when spiritual Babylon falls. (2) God’ s People Told to Flee (Revelation 18:4-5) Revelation 18:4 —Come forth, my people.— This is not the language of John, but the command of an angel of heaven. It is the same com­mand that was given Israel regarding literal Babylon. (Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 50:8 Jeremiah 51:6.) The angel’s command means that people should abandon all false doctrines taught by the mother of harlots, or any of her daughters. This is nothing less than a command to abandon sectarian teaching and practice. If any who have obeyed the gospel have wandered into human churches, they should come out at once. “ My people" here probably do not mean Christians, but that noble, honest number that really want to obey God— hence, by anticipation, called God’ s people. (Com­pare Acts 18:10.) That means they could become God’ s people in fact by coming out. Two reasons are assigned for their coming out: to prevent partaking of her sins and to escape the punish­ment sure to come.

Revelation 18:5 —for her sins “have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."— Her wickedness is known to God and he will not forget properly to reward her. (3) (Revelation 18:6-8)Revelation 18:6 —According to her works.—Render to her double is language addressed to whatever powers God will use for administering punishment to the apostate church. It will be what her works deserve.

Revelation 18:6 —Mingle unto her double.— As her dupes drank from the cup of her false doctrines, so she must drink the cup of punishment. Her glorying in wantonness will be matched with torment and mourning.

Revelation 18:8 —In one day.— The harlot’ s boast “ I sit a queen” finds its fulfillment in the papal claim of infallible authority, but her arrogant claims will end in one day— that is, suddenly. Paul represents the coming of Jesus as a “ thief in the night.” The plagues mentioned in verse 8 are such as naturally would come upon a city being destroyed; typically, they represent the com­plete overthrow and end of the apostate church. (4) Extent of Babylon’s Ruin (Revelation 18:9-19) Revelation 18:9 —Shall weep and wail.— Those who have been deceived by false doctrines shall weep and wail when in fear they look upon her destruction. They will be amazed at the sudden punish­ment of a city so great and proud. Those who have made gain trafficking in human practices in religion will mourn because their source of income has been cut off. There will no longer be anyone to be deceived. The articles of merchandise men­tioned symbolize every kind of religious device used to deceive those ignorant of God’s word. The things desired by the reli­gious merchants are gone forever.

Naturally such characters will cry, “ Woe, woe,” when spiritual Babylon falls. The smoke and blaze seen in a burning city are a weak but fitting emblem to indicate what will happen when apostate religion is forced to end its wicked work. (5) An Outburst of Praise (Revelation 18:20)Revelation 18:20 —Rejoice over her.— This language is in direct contrast with the preceding description of the effect on those who made gain out of similar practices. The number of the righteous who will rejoice at the end of spiritual Babylon will include apostles and prophets and all other Christians. The meaning is that God’ s judgment in the case will be what the suffering of saints will demand as a just reward. (6) Sudden and Complete End Symbolized (Revelation 18:21-24)Revelation 18:21 —Cast it into the sea.—John next sees an angel cast a large stone into the sea. A similar act was performed to indicate the fall of ancient Babylon. (Jeremiah 51:63-64.) The sinking of the stone represents the sudden and complete fall of the apostate church; not by a slow decline, but because of a violent force against it. Revelation 18:22 —Shall be heard no more.— Music which is the natural sign of joy will cease; no one in the city will have anything to pro­duce gladness. All kinds of crafts will have no chance to operate, and machinery will cease to be heard. Lights will go out and social events will no longer occur. Revelation 18:23 —All the nations deceived.—The reason for such desolation and ruin will be that false religion has deceived the nation with sorceries— all kinds of tricks, impositions, and false claims to divine power. Another reason is that in bloody persecu­tions this spiritual Babylon has slain saints and prophets of God. The word “ all” here is used in an accommodated sense, meaning that a multitude had been slain in perpetuating the papal system.Revelation Chapter XVIII by B.W. Johnson The Doomed City Summary—The Fall of Babylon Decreed. The People of God Commanded to Come out of Her. The Kings of the Earth Lament Over Her Fall. The Merchants and Traffickers Also Lament. The Millstone Cast into the Sea.The fall of the great city, Babylon, otherwise represented as the woman who sat upon the beast, has been symbolized in the pouring out of the seven vials. The seventeenth chapter describes her, shows her general character, points out the sources of her support, and how these shall finally become her destroyers.

The eighteenth chapter borrows language and imagery from the destruction of the ancient Babylon, the oppressor of Israel, especially from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, in order to describe the overthrow of the spiritual Babylon. Since in Revelation 17:16-18 it is shown that the horns of the beast upon which the woman sat have been turned upon her, the present chapter refers to a period of desolation which shall precede her final overthrow. The Papacy is to exist for a period after the support of the secular power is withdrawn. How strikingly the state portrayed in chapter 18 is fulfilled in the lamentations over evil times that are found in all the encyclical letters of Pope Pius IX. and Leo XIII! Revelation 18:1-3. After these things. Those described in chapter 17. Another angel. Some have urged that this is Christ. There is no proof of their correctness. Having great power. There was assigned to him great authority. And the earth was lightened with his glory. This was a proof of power proceeding from God. Revelation 18:2. And he cried… Babylon the great is fallen. Compare this description with Isaiah 21:9; Revelation 14:23 and Revelation 13:21. The fall of Babylon has been already declared (Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:16) but now it is developed. This picture is intended to portray her utter desolation. Revelation 18:3. For all the nations have drunk. Partaken with her in her sins. Fornication. See note on Revelation 17:5. Merchants of the earth are waxed rich. Her luxurious living had made great markets. Revelation 18:4-8. Come out of her, my people. This invitation is given to the people of God yet in captivity, lest by remaining they should be involved in her destruction. As God once had a captive people in the old Mesopotamian Babylon, so he has a people in the spiritual Babylon. Ever since the Reformation began his voice has called on them to come out of her. Nor can it be doubted that he has many true and earnest worshipers still who have found enough of Christ in the mazes of the Papacy to have given him their hearts. The condemnation of the great spiritual despotism is not a declaration that all whom she has enslaved are the children of the devil. Revelation 18:5. Her sins have reached unto heaven. They call therefore for God’s remembrance of her iniquities in judgments. Revelation 18:6. Reward her even as she has rewarded you. This is addressed to those who have meted out her judgments. The divine principle of judgments is that every one shall be rewarded according to his works. What they sow, that shall they reap. This power shall have returned upon it in double portion what it has meted out to others. Revelation 18:7. I sit as a queen. This verse describes her former pride. Compare Isaiah 47:8-9. Revelation 18:8. Therefore shall her plagues come. Notwithstanding her pride and exultation. Burned with fire. See Revelation 17:16. When an ancient city was taken and destroyed it was burned with fire. Revelation 18:9-14. The kings… shall bewail her. There will be mourners. Those who have sinned with her, or profited by her will bewail her fall. Revelation 18:10. Standing afar off. The picture represents these mourners looking from a great distance, afraid to approach nearer. For in one hour is thy judgment come. It has come suddenly. Revelation 18:11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep. All who had made gain in any way from the sins or the luxury of Babylon shall mourn. There follows, then, an enumeration of the articles in which there was traffic. Revelation 18:13. Slaves and souls of men. The Greek reads, “ the bodies and souls of men.” The first seems to refer to the traffic in slaves, a common traffic until modern times and sanctioned by the Papacy. The latter expression seems to me to refer to a spiritual traffic. What is the whole system of masses for the dead, paid for out of the money drawn from mourning relatives, but a traffic in the souls of men? Revelation 18:14. The fruits. These things for which Babylon so lusted are all gone from her forever. Revelation 18:15-19. The merchants of these things… shall stand afar off. The lamentation of the kings over the fall of the city has been given in verses 9-14. The lamentation of the merchants is now given. They are also represented as standing afar off. With them join the shipmasters and mariners who have been engaged in her trade. These all mourn because their profits from her are brought to an end. Revelation 18:20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven. While there are mourners, another company is called upon to rejoice. She had exalted herself against God. All who have been for God, and who have suffered from her, are called to rejoice. Revelation 18:21-24. And a strong angel took up a millstone. See Jeremiah 51:61-64. This symbolical act implies an utter destruction. In Jeremiah the stone is cast into the Euphrates. Now it is cast into the sea, because another Babylon is designed. Revelation 18:22. And the voice of harpers. It is this third angel who declares the silence and desolation of the city now. And the sound of the millstone. In the mills grinding food for the people. The mills were hand-mills, usually worked by women as a domestic duty. Revelation 18:23. For with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. This accounts for the fact that all nations poured their treasures into her lap. Revelation 18:24. And in her was found the blood of the prophets. It is because she has slain the saints of the Most High that these judgments come upon her. As Jerusalem in the time of Christ filled up the measure of the sins of Israel (see Matthew 23:29 Matthew 23:35-36; Luke 11:51 Luke 13:33), so the spiritual Babylon, the great persecutor, fills up the measure of the sins of the beast and false prophet, and is required to account for the blood of slaughtered prophets and saints of all ages. Verse 1 Revelation Chapter Eighteen The relationship of this chapter to the preceding one is generally admitted, although there are several views with regard to the exact nature of that relationship. That the judgment of the great whore is still under consideration seems certain; but Criswell thought that Revelation 18 deals with the particular “judgment of God himself upon Babylon,"[1] as sharply distinguished from the judgment of Revelation 17, in which “the nations of earth, not by the intervention of heaven, but by something that mankind does, grow weary of her and destroy her."[2] As we see it, this is a distinction without a difference. “God puts into their hearts to do his mind” (Revelation 17:17); therefore, it is still God’s judgment in both instances. The judgment of Jerusalem was nonetheless God’s, because it was executed by Roman armies (Matthew 22:7); nor is the destruction of the harlot any less the judgment of God himself because it was effected by multiple kingdoms of the earth who finally had enough of her. In the great judgment scene of Rev 16:20, the final overthrow of “Babylon the great” was briefly mentioned; and both Revelation 17 andRevelation 18 are a double recapitulation of that same event, Revelation 17 being given over to the revelation of “Babylon’s” identity, as indicated by the brief tie-in by another reference to her destruction in Revelation 17:17. Next, comes Revelation 18 with a particular close-up of conditions in Babylon on the eve of the final overthrow in the last judgment. One of the big expressions in this chapter is “one hour,” that being the period of the ten kings (Revelation 17:12) who “burnt” the whore and ate her, not realizing in doing so that they also destroyed themselves. These are the mysteries cleared up in chapter 18. Thus it will be seen that the principal events here are what takes place against Apostate Christianity during the period of the ten kings and the eighth beast with whom they are surely identified and to whom they gave their mind and authority. Ladd gave this analysis of Revelation 18 : After foretelling the destruction of Babylon by the beast (the ten kings) and his vassal kings, a long section on the same theme depicts in greater detail the destruction of the once proud city.[3]Thus, both Revelation 17 and Revelation 18 are successive “close-ups” of the great judgment of Rev 16:20. At the end of these (Revelation 18:21), the final judgment is again symbolized by the hurling of the mighty boulder into the sea, making both of these chapters another recapitulation ending in exactly the same place as the previous sections have ended; namely, in the final judgment of the last day. In our interpretation, the events of chapter 18 are future from our own times, because they belong to the period of the ten kings and the eighth beast which apparently have not yet been fully manifested upon earth. Still, there have been enough “partial” fulfillments to leave an element of uncertainty. Here is an outline of the chapter: A CLOSE-UP OF BABYLON’S 1. The announcement of her fall (Revelation 18:1-8). 2. Consequences of her fall for the world (Revelation 18:9-20). 3. The finality of her doom (Revelation 18:21-24). THE OF THE HARLOTOnce more, it is incumbent upon us to explain our persistent identification of the harlot with Apostate Christianity, the great Roman Catholic Church itself being a conspicuous element of that apostasy, but by no means all of it. The extensive details in this chapter regarding business, commerce, merchandise, and trade have led some to make confident assertions limiting these references to pagan Rome, overlooking the fact, as Alford pointed out, that, “The difficulty of doing so is unsolved."[4] Whatever may be intended by these elaborate commercial symbols: One thing cannot be denied: the muddy Tiber flowing through Rome could never carry the enormous maritime traffic portrayed here. Pagan Rome was never famous as a center of selling and exchanging merchandise.[5]Despite all the insoluble problems of doing so, some scholars insist that the harlot is pagan Rome. “Babylon is a figure of the city of Rome."[6] “The great harlot symbolizes the city of Rome."[7] The destruction of the harlot is used here to picture “the destruction of the Babylon of the New Testament, Rome,"[8] etc. Nevertheless, we are certain that this view is incorrect and that the elaborate commercial symbols which in no sense can properly symbolize pagan Rome have a far more appropriate meaning. There are some who cannot see anything here except Papal Rome as the harlot; and, as Smith said, “There is much here to support their view,"[9] but, as frequently noted in this commentary, we simply cannot thus limit it. Much more is involved than the Papacy, despite the undeniable truth that the Papacy must certainly be included in the meaning. Morris rejected the inadequacy of applying this chapter merely to pagan Rome, thus: John is thinking not of the fall of one city or empire but of the collapse of civilization. Final judgment means the overthrow of all that opposes itself to God.[10]This is correct as far as it goes, but it falls short of including the religious situation as it must be related to all this. In short, it leaves out the Papacy (as so many do); and without that nothing is explained. Wilbur M. Smith believed that the fall here presented is that of the “Apostate Christianity, the world religion that has betrayed Christ, and is interlocked with pagan, godless governments."[11] This too is correct as far as it goes, but it leaves unexplained the inconceivable grief in which the very people who destroyed the Apostate Christianity greeted the actual accomplishment of it. To understand this is to understand the passage. True, the destruction of the harlot was the destruction of Apostate Christianity; but that is not all it was. Merely getting rid of all religion would have been greeted with howls of glee all over the world if that had been all that the destruction of the harlot meant. We shall attempt to show the larger picture of what actually is prophesied as happening. The limited views already noted, that “the great world-city,” “cities everywhere,” “urban civilization,” etc., are what is meant by the harlot, is absolutely contradicted by one thing, the hatred of the ten kings (Revelation 17:17) who are the symbols of great world governments. We cannot imagine, nor can anyone else, that there can ever come a time when the great governments of the earth will “hate” urban civilization, the great world city, or cities everywhere, which have always been, are now, and shall ever continue to be the very essence and foundation of world governments. Could any government hate and willfully destroy its tax base? We cannot believe that Revelation prophesies any such thing. Is it not clear that it is the religious thing which will at last incur the wrath and hatred of the kings? This is the undeniable fact that absolutely requires that the Papacy and related phenomena be included in the understanding of who the whore is, and all that was involved in her destruction. The ten kings, who are the executioners of God’s wrath upon the whore, will hate her, not the great populous cities of the world, either singly or collectively; but what they will overlook in their terminal assault upon the whore is that the whore herself is the principal element of stability in the whole civilized world, and that her fall will have fatal repercussions for themselves. Christendom, in a remarkable degree, is an edifice constructed by the harlot; and this is as good a place as any to take a look at the harlot’s contribution to the world structure in which she is yet the principal glue that holds the whole thing together. OF THE HARLOTJohn himself wondered at the harlot “with great admiration” (Revelation 17:6 KJV), and there are ample reasons for our own very great admiration of her. Some of these are:

1. The stern, basic moralities advocated and taught by the Apostate Church are the principal foundation of all commerce, business, industry, and trade. Nearly half a billion Roman Catholics are basically honest, virtuous, sober, truthful, and diligent, opposed to violence, murder, theft, abortion, etc. Without such virtues, which the Apostate Church has effectively promulgated, no business, industry, or civilization can endure. To be sure, the Apostate Church has allowed, or even sold the right of violation of these principles, nevertheless her achievement in enforcing them generally cannot be denied.
2. The art, music, architecture, and culture of our whole civilization are, in large measure, the achievement of the harlot. Volumes could be written about any one of these.
3. The stability and sanctity of marriage and the home, which is the basic building block of all civilized order, are due, more than to any other single agency of their advocacy, to the accomplishments of the harlot. What will happen to any society when such things are no longer effectively advocated and promulgated? The incredibly dark scenes of this chapter which confounded the “smart” kings who decided to get rid of religion, with the sudden and unexpected result, when they had done so, of their glee being turned into howling misery - these scenes depict exactly what happened!
4. It is the Roman Catholic Church which alone is the worldwide Christianity, imperfect and apostate though it is; and there is not a church of any name on earth today that does not in some degree stand indebted to her accomplishments, which have been providentially used for the protection of the truly faithful. Nevertheless, “the true followers of Christ” on earth today are a dwindling minority with reference to the whole of mankind; and when the Apostate Christianity is destroyed, as it will be, that minority will either go underground or perish, thus reducing what little impact they have upon “all people” even further toward the vanishing point. Here then, in Revelation 18, is the mystery of the ten kings hating the whore. They are blind to the truth that when they “burn her with fire” and destroy her, they will at the same time kindle the fires of their own destruction, remove the keystone from the arch of world order, and reduce the vaunted civilization of which they are a part to utter chaos and disorder. The foolish dream of modern humanist fools who vainly believe that they can produce a good society apart from its roots in the religion of Christ is an idiot’s nightmare. The fruits of a Christian world (imperfect as they are) will not be kept alive apart from their roots in the word of God. When “the kings” shall see what follows their removal of the whore, that is when the howling, the wailing, the cries, the mourning, and the casting of dust on their heads will take place. In America today, there are at the top intellectual level a horde of humanistic atheists who are paving the way for the “ten kings.” “The 1955 Harvard Report on Education claimed that Western Civilization would never again utilize Christianity as the foundation of our social structure."[12] This report rejected Christianity without ever knowing what it really is.

The harlot has herself long resorted to war and cruelty as instruments of policy; and this fact colored their distorted view. They just overlooked other qualities of the harlot’s work. “The mystery of iniquity” is in this (2 Thessalonians 2:7), and other theological questions of the utmost significance are also present. When every church on earth has lost its tax status and the Christian religion is outlawed everywhere as it already is in Russia, the situation will be the beginning of what Revelation 18 describes. All enterprise, business, commerce, industry, trade, etc., will be slowed down, thwarted and halted, because the basic morality upon which such enterprise rests will have been destroyed. Human rights will no longer exist. The basic ethics of the harlot are Christian in many particulars; and when she falls, the disaster will be sudden, complete, and final. The sacred virtues of the holy faith in Christ will be unable to prevail afterwards, except in a beleaguered remnant. The reason for this is that the harlot taught such basic virtues as hers, existing through her authority, and enforced through her power, and not as Christ’s requirements.

This was the fatal error. When she falls, as far as the world as a whole is concerned, all the hoops will be removed from the barrel of the world’s morality and order. For these, and a multitude of other considerations, we must, through our tears, see the harlot as Apostate Christianity, most conspicuously represented by that form of it known all over the world in every village and hamlet of it, and the sole historical figure large enough to fit the description of it; namely, the Papal system and its derivatives. And what are those derivatives? Practically all of Protestantism is included in this. What church is free of the guilt? This writer has experienced in his own ministry bulls of excommunication, anathemas, and denunciations just as bitter as any ever issued by any Pope, and which came from little popes and agents of Diotrephes from within his own communion. Where is the church that does not have its synod, conference, presbyter, president, moderator, chairman, or some other substitute for a pope? And if these are not found, some college, publication, preacher, or other functionary is allowed to serve the same end.

Christendom itself is apostate; and we freely confess that we do not know any patent solution of the problem. Freely admitting this still leaves us no escape from reading the harlot as the one most conspicuously identified as the historical church and its papal apparatus.

If there is any solution of the apostasy, it must be allowed as the one proposed by Reuel Lemmons, distinguished editor of the Firm Foundation: “Let us be sure that those whom we convert are truly converted to Christ."[13]When God used Rome to destroy apostate Israel (Jerusalem), as revealed in Matthew 22:7, the true Israel (the church) was also nearly annihilated at the same time; and from this we may suppose that when the new Israel turned harlot receives the wrath of God from the “ten kings,” that the righteous remnant of the true faith will suffer their greatest test. We pray that in our understanding Roman Catholicism as the harlot, that this extended explanation and definition of it will also be considered. There is nothing narrow, sectional, denominational, or vindictive in this. It is a tragedy that reaches all the way to heaven, and the shadow of the apostasy, in one form or another, falls upon every Christian upon earth. For some, it is in the innovations with which they worship God; for others it is the totalitarian organization of their church; for some it is the perverted form of the baptism they receive; for many it is the secularization of their faith; for yet others it is the false idea that the church is the dispenser of salvation; for still others it is their acceptance of tradition instead of the word of God; and many have elevated a “priesthood” between themselves and the Lord, etc. [1] W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962), IV, p. 16. [2] Ibid. [3] George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 235. [4] Alford as quoted by Wilbur M. Smith, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 1089. [5] Ibid. [6] J. W. Roberts, The Revelation of John (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, 1974), p. 145. [7] Albertus Pieters, Studies in the Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), p. 250. [8] Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1961), p. 193. [9] Wilbur M. Smith, op. cit., p. 1089. [10] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Vol. 20, Revelation Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969), p. 214. [11] Wilbur M. Smith, op. cit., p. 1089. [12] James D. Strauss, The Seer, the Saviour and the Saved (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1972), p. 225. [13] Reuel Lemmons, Editorial, Firm Foundation (Austin, Texas: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1978), Dec. 12,1978. After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (Revelation 18:1) Another angel coming down out of heaven … This angel does not mean that another vision is being introduced. “The Babylon of Revelation 18 is identical with the Babylon of Revelation 17 … the theme of great Babylon’s downfall is continued."[14]Having great authority … This together with the glorious appearance of the angels emphasizes the eternal truth of what would be revealed. ENDNOTE: [14] F. F. Bruce, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969),p. 659. Verse 2 And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.It should be noted that it is not merely the fall of Babylon (a symbol of pagan Rome) that is announced, but of “Babylon the great,” the symbol of something far more extensive. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great … “Here is portrayed not merely the doom of an ancient city, but the sure collapse of all human organization, commercial and otherwise."[15] See chapter introduction for an elaboration of this. “Mystical Babylon is the representative of religious degeneracy, not wickedness."[16] This announcement is not made so that the earth will know it; the earth will already know it when this occurs. “Babylon is in ruins and does not need to be told. The announcement is because the destruction is so vast and terrible."[17]That the actual city of Rome is in some way to be identified with Babylon cannot be denied. “There can be no doubt that the preterists are right in asserting this; but the historicists may be right in applying it to the Papacy."[18] They are both right. Just as Jesus’ prophecy had reference to: (1) the fall of Jerusalem, and also to (2) the end of the world, this prophecy also is big enough to take care of both events. Rome is properly identified both as the pagan city and also as the later headquarters of the harlot. It is the vain effort to nullify and discard this second meaning that we reject. And is become a habitation of demons … The pagan city made “demons” of its dead emperors and worshipped them; but the papal city did exactly the same thing with its dead “saints,” making them objects of worship and invoking their names in the public worship. And a hold of every unclean spirit … This also was true both of the pagan city with its sorcery, witchcraft, and savage cruelty exhibited daily in the Coliseum, and likewise later of the apostate Christianity with its inquisitions, persecutions, and vicious politics. And a hold of very unclean and hateful bird … “This probably alludes to the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32), indicating the demonic forces at work in the apostate system."[19] See our exegesis of that parable in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 192-194. Hendriksen’s view that “hold” here should be understood in the sense of a prison, with the meaning that, “The unclean spirits and hated birds consider it a prison,"[20] does not appear to be correct. “This meaning as a place where unclean spirits are confined seems hardly appropriate."[21] It merely means that “they have built their nests in the church,” after the analogy of the parable. “It is their natural and fitting stronghold, rather than a place where they are involuntarily confined."[22][15] Ibid. [16] Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas: P. D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305,1957), p. 134. [17] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Revelation (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), p. 515 [18] Ralph Earle, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 598. [19] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Revelation (Chicago: Moody Press, 1968), p. 105. [20] William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 207. [21] Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 713. [22] A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 431. Verse 3 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.By the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen … This places the blame squarely upon the harlot herself for the universal disaster about to fall. How is this so? The essence of this wine that at last intoxicates all mankind, especially the “ten kings” who are the executioners of this judgment, is that man himself is the supreme authority. In the elevation of a human being as the head of God’s church and by giving his word precedence and greater authority than the word of the Son of God himself, this harlot established the prototype of the ultimate and final rebellion of mankind against all that God said. If a man is really supreme, people can logically dispense with the whole system of Christianity; and the tragedy unfolded in this chapter is what takes place when “the kings” at last catch on to this and decide to act in accordance with the very principles the harlot herself established. This was prefigured, of course, in the pagan city, by the cult of emperor worship; but it would issue ultimately in the savage, atheistic humanism of the last days, thus applying appropriately to both situations. And the kings of the earth committed fornication with her … They presumed to rule by “divine right.” They accepted the principle of the supremacy of a man; but, in the episode of the “ten kings” they decided themselves to be “the man,” leading to their rejection and hatred of the whore through their acceptance of her principles. It is totally inadequate to view the seduction of “the kings” as being derived solely from “the vast luxury trade bringing widespread prosperity."[23] Something far more significant is indicated. And the merchants waxed rich … This enters into the ultimate disaster, because the proliferation of a rich class indicates a loss of spiritual values. “The English word waxed comes from the German word, “wachsen”, to grow or increase."[24] The implication is that the rich, borrowing the principles of the harlot, grew selfish and unmindful of other duties. Up through this verse, the prophecy views the fall of Babylon as in the past, having already happened, as announced in Revelation 16:19; but there were still some things to be related concerning the “hour” leading up to this; therefore, the next verses, beginning with Revelation 18:4, retrogress in order to relate it. “InRevelation 18:2,3, by means of aorists, Babylon’s fall is viewed as having occurred; but the imperatives ofRevelation 18:4ff present her as still standing with all her seduction."[25] Not merely by the use of different tenses, but by the introduction of another “voice from heaven” (Revelation 18:4), the transition is indicated. [23] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 223. [24] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 223. [25] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 517. Verse 4 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:Another voice from heaven … See under the preceding verse for the reason behind this. Come forth, my people, out of her … Amazing! Does God have people in the harlot church? Yes, nor should this surprise us. There were also saints in Sardis (Revelation 3:14), and much people who belonged to God even in pagan Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). Even of wicked Corinth, God said to Paul in the night by a vision, “I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm thee: for I have much people in this city” (Acts 18:10).

We shall leave it to others to edit these words out of the New Testament. The very fact of God’s having people in the apostate church itself points to his having people, in one sense or another, in all the harlot daughters as well; and there is no way to harmonize this with any classification of people by denominations or groups as either saved or lost, on the basis of blanket judgments of the evil accepted by any group. Salvation is an individual matter; and Christ has specifically warned his people against “‘judging.” That was the great sin of the great harlot herself who arrogated to herself alone the right of deciding who is saved or lost, and then enforcing that decision even through the gates of the cemetery. “The Lord knoweth them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19); and we consider it unchristian to meddle with this question in any manner. We have the commission to teach what the New Testament says, but not the right to bind our deductions from it upon others. That God’s people in the apostate church are in mortal danger is clear enough, for they are ordered to “Come out!” That ye have no fellowship with her sins … “Through history, God is always calling his people to cut their connection with sin and to stand with him and for him."[26] “Persecuted and harried as they were, God’s people must have been tempted to come to terms with the city; for she could make their lives rich and comfortable."[27] This call to “Come out” was the call of God to Abraham (Genesis 12:1), and to Lot (Genesis 19:12-14), to Moses (Numbers 16:23-26), to Israel (Isaiah 48:20), and to Christians (in this verse, and in 1 Corinthians 6:15-16). “This precept is obeyed by standing aloof from evil in the very heart of the world’s traffic."[28]That ye receive not of her plagues … This is a warning that God’s people, by their very association with apostasy, may also incur its penalties. [26] William Barclay, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 151. [27] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 215. [28] Charles H. Roberson, op. cit., p. 138. Verse 5 for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.For her sins have reached even unto heaven … There is something resembling the quality of “glue” in the metaphor here. As Beckwith said, “The thought is not that the sins cleave to the skies, but that they cleave to each other, forming a mass reaching to heaven."[29] Moffatt saw it as a “gluing together of the leaves comprising a roll”;[30] Rome’s sins would make a roll reaching all the way to heaven! No catalogue of these could be complete. And God hath remembered her iniquities … God remembers all sins, unless they are forgiven, in which case they are forgotten. This indicates that the harlot church was not only powerless to forgive the sins of her followers, but that she was also utterly unable to procure forgiveness even for her own sins. As Spurgeon once admonished his church: Therefore, if some shaveling priest shall lift his hand to absolve thee, even upon thy deathbed, lift thy bony hand and absolve him; thou hast the same right! [29] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 714. [30] James Moffatt, Expositor’s Greek New Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 457. Verse 6 Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.Render unto her even as she rendered … The ultimate accountability of men, all people, for the evil that they do is inherent in this. We are ashamed of the commentators who view the sentiments of these verses as unchristian. It is they themselves who are sub-Christian, having fallen in some way with Satan’s primeval lie that there is no penalty of sin. God told Eve of the penalty; but Satan said, “Thou shalt not surely die”; and it was a lie. Barclay pointed out that this is not an instruction to men."[31] It is the operation of the divine principle that, “Vengeance belongeth unto me, saith the Lord; I will repay” (Romans 12:19). God will surely punish sin unless it is repented of and forgiven. Render unto her double according to her works … Does this mean she is to be punished more than she deserves? “The last clause shows clearly that she receives just the amount that she deserves.[32] This verse reflects Jeremiah 50:29, where, “The archers arrayed against Babylon are told to recompense her according to her work."[33]Who is to do all this to Babylon? Many think that they are the ones mentioned in Revelation 17:16-17, the more so since God puts into their minds the consent to do his will.[34] We agree with this. It is the “ten kings” who shall rise up long after the sixth and seventh heads of the beast are gone, in the times of the eighth beast, who shall execute the wrath of God upon Babylon, showing conclusively that the “Babylon the great” of this passage cannot possibly be literal Rome. According to her works … Christians should never forget this clause which sounds repeatedly like a refrain throughout the New Testament. The popular doctrine of salvation by “faith alone” is not a repeal of this principle, even if some think it is. In the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double … This is a repetition, for emphasis, of the first clause of this verse. [31] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 153. [32] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 224. [33] Martin Rist, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XII (New York-Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 497. [34] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 518. Verse 7 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.The first extended clause here is merely the reiteration, for emphasis, of what was said in Revelation 18:6. For she saith in her heart … Making such a boast to others was bad enough; but, “In her self-glorification, presumptuousness, and boastfulness, she had said it in her heart, which is even worse than saying it to others."[35]I sit a queen … Even the coinage of the pagan city proclaimed her as “the eternal city."[36] Lenski noted that we should not pass lightly over “I sit."[37] Where does the sitting take place? In the church of God, no less. See 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and our comments on that passage, also the “Excursus on the Man of Sin,” my Commentary on 2Thessalonians, pp. 106-117. And am no widow … “It is curious that she should say, no widow."[38] God’s entire true church is spiritually “widowed” in the absence of the Bridegroom from the earth; but this whore has picked up another in his stead to be the “head of the church,” illegally taking the place of Christ who is the lawful and rightful head. The meaning of this boast is that the harlot is certainly not looking to be overthrown. An arrogant confidence born of centuries of unjust domination has created within her the delusion that nothing can stop her. She will continue, so she believes, to be stronger and stronger; but there is no fall like that that comes to one who thinks that it cannot happen to him. Arnold Toynbee’s History of the great world civilizations shows that all great civilizations, including Rome, fell at the height of their power.[39][35] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 208. [36] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 150. [37] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 520. [38] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 217. [39] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 224. Verse 8 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 who judged her.In one day shall her plagues come … “The prophet sees not a decline and fall, but a sudden collapse.[40]One day the dam will break, and utter lawlessness shall engulf mankind. The tragic thing is that blind and stupid governments are doing nothing to prevent this. The basest of violent criminals are tolerated, protected, excused, and justified by silly laws enacted in the name of humanism. Death, and mourning, and famine … It is no light judgment that will fall. For she shall be utterly burned with fire … This points squarely to Revelation 17:16-17 for the agencies by which this judgment will come. The kings of the earth, the “ten kings,” the ones finally identified as giving their mind to the eighth beast, whose dominion is only “one hour” before the final judgment (an indefinite, but short period), - these are they who shall execute God’s wrath upon the whore, and inadvertently upon all mankind at the same time also. For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her … Strauss’ comment on this was: She did not consider the greatest of her enemies, the Holy and Righteous God. She thought no one could call her to give an ac count, but the Almighty is the one who judged her; and she was unprepared for that summons.[41][40] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 457. [41] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 226. Verse 9 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,Here is the great paradox, without the understanding of which there can be no explanation of these passages. And the kings … shall weep and wail … Commentators have really struggled with this, for these are exactly the ones who did the burning and the eating of the harlot’s flesh. How can this be? The best explanation, short of the true one, is by Lenski: They cooled their vengeance upon the whore and then grieved that they had done so. Let the paradox remain. There is no reason … The lover of a whore strangles her, and then weeps like a fool.[42]Interesting as that comment is, there is nevertheless a reason, and a very good one. The humanistic kings simply failed to realize that it was the true Christianity, imperfectly taught by the harlot, that actually formed the foundation of their world. The evil, atheistic, humanist kings proudly imagined that they could get along without any religion whatever, having finally rejected even the apostate forms of it; but their stupid action in burning up the whore destroyed everything, for not even the harlot ever went as far away from God and the truth as did those kings, or governments, of the final age.

Their philosophy was dogmatically stated by a member of one of the great theological seminaries fifty years ago, by Dr. George Albert Coe, who wrote: The sovereign for this universe, that is, the sovereign for us, is just ourselves when we cooperatively assist in providing ourselves with what we want.[43]Coe’s hometown, New York city, is today virtually bankrupt; and the rising tide of violence, corruption, and irresponsibility may yet cause its utter ruin, unless there is a repudiation of the type of humanistic philosophy which has caused the decline. Clearly, it is exactly this type of thinking that will lead to the “ten kings’” destruction of the whore. Shall weep and wail … when they look upon the smoke of her burning … It is of prime significance that there is prophesied here the “burning” of the harlot. In Moses’ Law (Leviticus 21:9), burning appears to have been the form of punishment for fornication only in the case of a priest’s daughter, another indication that Babylon is a wicked religious person.[44]They look upon the smoke … Smoke is the result of fire; and that is what put the disaster upon them. There were the most diabolical repercussions which ensued when the last visible support of religion crumbled into ashes in the flames of their hatred, repercussions of such a vast and terrible nature that they bankrupted and destroyed civilization. That is the absolute climax of the present dispensation, as prophesied here! Of course, those wailing and weeping kings were not at all concerned about the whore; they made no move to assist her; they were screaming only about their business and their profits (Revelation 18:11), and the precious fruits that perished (Revelation 18:14), the desolation of so great riches (Revelation 18:17), and the loss of jobs (Revelation 18:17). Disasters such as these were indeed the sorrow of kings. No wonder they wailed. When Babylon perishes, the economic chaos is complete. The world of the unbeliever upon which he pinned his hopes and built his trust collapses.[45]Do we have to point out that such a complete ruin of the whole world could not be conceived of as the result of the total ruin of any single city? Berlin collapsed, but nothing like this occurred, nor did this happen even when pagan Rome fell. Those who attempt to interpret this as the fall of pagan Rome are refuted by every word in this chapter. [42] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 522. [43] George Albert Coe, Educating for Citizenship (New York, 1932), p. 143. (Coe was Professor of Education at Columbia University until 1928, and Professor of Religion in Union Theological Seminary for many years thereafter. [44] Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 107. [45] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 210. Verse 10 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.Standing afar off … They make no move to help Babylon; they do not wish to be involved; it has not yet dawned upon them that all things rest upon divine authority (even as inadequately taught and delivered by the harlot), and they still do not see that in burning her they have burned down their own kingdoms. They still seem to think that they shall escape the holocaust. Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city … “The imagery here is from Ezekiel 26-27."[46] Barclay quoted a number of Old Testament passages called the dirge songs of Tyre, Nineveh, Edom and Babylon;[47] but John’s words here do not come from any of them. The terrible judgments of the Old Testament do, however, have one utility; they show that, “God looks upon worldly wickedness at any time according to the same principles with which he regarded Babylon and Tyre of old."[48] Regarding the terrible judgments here predicted, Eller commented that, “In spite of the propriety of evil’s collapse, the event itself nevertheless carries overtones of tragedy."[49]For in one hour is thy judgment come … “Three times we are told that the desolation is to be accomplished in one hour, and we are reminded of the ten kings’ reign with the monster."[50] This makes it certain that these events are prior to the actual judgment day; they are the last act, we might say, leading up to it. Of course, the judgment is already done (Revelation 18:1-3), and thus this is a playback showing some of the antecedent particulars connected with it. Beasley-Murray thought the kings of this passage were different from the “ten kings” (Revelation 17:16-17); but we view them as positively identical. [46] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 222. [47] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 150. [48] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1087. [49] Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), p. 171. [50] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 225. Verse 11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more;And the merchants weep and mourn … Why? “For no man buyeth their merchandise any more.” The economic ruin is total. If they have any goods left, they will be looted or stolen, not bought. Verse 12 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;There is no point in commenting upon this inventory, which is but a partial catalogue of all the precious goods of the world. The extensive nature of this list prompted the great scholar Alford to say that, “Certainly the details of this far more nearly suit London than Rome of any assignable period of her history."[51]ENDNOTE: [51] Alford as quoted by Wilbur M. Smith, op. cit., p. 1089. Verse 13 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.This is more of the same inventory, but there are a couple of items of special interest: And slaves … The mention of these in connection with “the souls of men” is intriguing. “Slaves” is clear enough, as “There were 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman empire when this was written."[52] So much for pagan Rome; now what is the spiritual counterpart of this in the apostasy? And the souls of men … How were these sold? By means of the doctrine of purgatory, in which the souls of the departed are “sold” to their living relatives for money to get them prayed out of purgatory. We are looking for a better explanation of this, but where is it? ENDNOTE: [52] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 162. Verse 14 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 fruits … all things dainty … men shall find them no more at all … The recurrence of this ominous refrain, “no more at all,” some five times in the final paragraph has prompted some scholars to suppose that this verse belongs there instead of here; but Beasley-Murray skillfully refuted this: “This verse does not suit the final paragraph, but it is related to the paragraph of the merchants,"[53] where it is found. See further word on this in the final paragraph, ENDNOTE: [53] G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (Greenwood, South Carolina: The Attic Press, 1974), p. 268. Verse 15 The merchants of these things, 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 previous stone and pearl!The wail of the merchants is like that of the kings, for they too stood “afar off.” The ancient prejudice of businessmen that they are not concerned with religion will at last be confounded when there is none, or so little that it hardly counts on any effective scale. Woe, woe … They shall cry not for lost faith, but for lost profits. Caird confused the present tense of these supplementary and recapitulatory views of an end that has already occurred, saying, “After it has happened, men are still able to stand afar off and watch the smoke of their burning."[54] The events here are not after the end; they are before it. See under Revelation 18:3. “There is something almost pathetic about these laments. In every case, the lament is not for Rome, but for themselves."[55][54] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 227. [55] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 164. Verse 17 for in one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off,For in one hour … The triple mention of this (Revelation 18:9 Revelation 18:17 Revelation 18:19) makes it imperative to relate these events to the brief ascendancy of the final “ten kings” (Revelation 17:12-17). See comment there. “It is the loss of the wealth, not any concern for people, that the merchants express."[56]ENDNOTE: [56] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 220. Verse 18 and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?And cried as they looked upon the smoke of her burning … The repetition of “smoke of her burning” is of interest. It does not seem that the kings, merchants, etc., were much concerned about the “burning” of the harlot, but the smoke of it, indicating that it was the subsequent consequences of her destruction which confounded them. No! They did not care at all about the harlot being burned, but they certainly got the message from the smoke! Verse 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.Note that it is not for the harlot that all of the weeping and wailing and mourning and crying and casting dust on the heads comes about, but for “the great city.” This is the great world-city, the complex of urban civilization, so identified in earlier chapters. Even at this late hour, the mourners cannot see the connection that the harlot had with all this. Cast dust on their heads and cried, etc. … “The awful woes that are sure to come upon mankind when they turn completely away from God and burn even the apostate version of holy religion, which is all that they know, will issue in the wholesale destruction of all that is worthwhile on earth. In a pale little epitome of what is yet to happen upon a far more vast scale, Hitler and his peers burned the Bibles at Nuremburg; and what followed? The most awful slaughter in nineteen centuries! When the liberal theologians, atheistic humanists and insane Marxists have finally dismantled the last vestiges of religion, even in its apostate forms, the true and final holocaust will suddenly appear. God be merciful and delay that day. As Morris pointed out, it is the working class, the sailors, who carry their mourning the furthest by casting dust on their heads.[58] And, as in the case of the other mourners, it is not weeping for lost faith, but for lost jobs. There is here the evident truth that laboring humanity will suffer first and longest. The godless labor unions that have led the world in their defiance of true religion as well as every other form of it shall suddenly discover that the society which they helped to kill was their own. It will be too late for dust on the head to do any good. What all this means is that a working coalition between a watered-down, apostate Christianity and the unbridled forces of the devil will one day be terminated, and the final prejudgment wreck of the whole social order will reach its roaring climax. THE FINAL Again, the Book of Revelation shows us the judgment, particularly as it comes to human civilization: there will be a summary end of it. Before depicting it, as usually throughout the prophecy, the vision will first show us a scene of rejoicing in heaven, for the purpose of showing that the wreck of all things shall not in any manner hurt God’s people. ENDNOTE: [58] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 221. Verse 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints … Of course, the saints and apostles are not yet in heaven, but they will be; and the vision is to encourage all who may yet die in the fires of persecution. The reason for the rejoicing is that, after all, God’s word has been proved true; the righteous shall be saved and the wicked punished, and the universe itself will finally be demonstrated as just. No greater cause of rejoicing could be imagined. “This is not a song of gleeful rejoicing, but an announcement of the vindication of God’s justice and righteousness."[59] “How can there be anything but rejoicing when wrong is righted and truth justified?"[60]There comes a time to rejoice over the defeat of evil. When the heartless, bloody Robespierre was finally overthrown in Paris, and he lay wounded, bleeding, and dirty with his jaw shattered by a bullet and hanging down upon his chest, someone approached and after gazing a long time said, “Yes, Robespierre, there is a God."[61]“The analogy of this passage shows that this verse is not directed to saints in heaven - nothing is implied as to where these are, or whether they are living or dead."[62]And ye apostles and ye prophets … The thought of the martyrdoms of Paul and Peter which had probably already occurred when this was written seems to be in the background here. All of the apostles recognized what their fate at the hands of Rome would be. For God hath judged your judgment upon her … Rome had burned the saints for the false reason that they had burned Rome; but now God would execute the judgment upon her which she had falsely imposed upon them. The Greek reads literally, “God has judged (upon Rome) your judgment from her."[63] Of course, this is the primary and immediate application; but it also applies equally well to the end of the age situation when the wicked humanist kings shall burn all religion in their vain destruction of the harlot, only to find their own kingdoms burned as a consequence. [59] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 241. [60] Vernard Eller, op. cit, p. 171. [61] Stanley Loomis, Paris in the Terror (Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1964), p. 400. [62] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 718. [63] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 229. Verse 21 And a strong angel took up a great 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.A strong angel … stone … cast into the sea … This is the final judgment of Babylon, the great city, the latter words showing that more than just pagan Rome is meant; this is the final day, the ultimate judgment of the great day of God at the Second Advent of Christ. The Biblical background of the figure is in Jeremiah 51:59-64 : Jeremiah instructed Seriah who was traveling to Babylon to take a scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecy of the destruction of Babylon, and upon his arrival in Babylon to read it to the city, and then to throw this scroll, weighted with a stone, into the Euphrates river. As it sinks, he is to prophesy that thus shall Babylon sink to rise no more (paraphrase). The significant thing is that the prophecy was literally and summarily fulfilled; the old Babylon sank into oblivion, and even the ancient site of it is today not certainly known. A similar finality of the overthrow of mystical Babylon is indicated by the employment of the same imagery here. The choice of the figure demands this conclusion; therefore, this is not merely a temporary judgment. The final end at the last judgment is indicated. The placement of the verbs in the Greek indicates “the final act of judgment."[64] This verse is a reiteration of Rev 16:19-20. And shall be found no more at all … The ominous phrase “no more at all” occurs six times in this chapter, five times in these last verses, indicating the absolute finality of the judgment. It is impossible to limit the application of this merely to pagan Rome. “This judgment is sudden, complete and final."[65] Let those who deny that such a thing as this will take place show us the site of the old Babylon. Where is it? Earth knows not even the place. Exactly the same word of God that doomed the old one, doomed also the one in view here. [64] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 530. [65] Frank L. Cox, op. cit., p. 109. Verse 22 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 mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;This verse merely catalogues the phases of city life that shall perish forever when judgment falls. No more at all … This is the refrain. “Civilization is as though it had never been."[66] Was the fabled city of Atlantis a historical type of this? ENDNOTE: [66] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975), p. 66. Verse 23 and the light of a lamp 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 princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.The light of a lamp … the voice of the bridegroom … of the bride … shall be heard no more at all in thee … The marriage business has always been a big thing with churches; and thus there would seem to be in this litany of the doomed and destroyed city a religious coloring, even in the catalogue of her eternal silence. Thy merchants were the princes of the earth … “Princes of the Church” they are sometimes called, an incongruous title for followers of a crucified Saviour who had nowhere to lay his head. That something like this is meant appears in the fact that this is stated as a “reason why” of the fall. With thy sorcery were all the nations deceived … This is another “reason why” of the fall. Truth was forsaken and deception practiced. Verse 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.And in her was found the blood … prophets … saints … and of all that have been slain upon the earth … Is this mere hyperbole? No! If the religious wars promulgated to advance the harlot’s designs are remembered, the figure appears appropriate enough. Furthermore, the murder of one is, in principle, the murder of all. There is no single literal city of earth that answers to this, not even Rome. It is the spirit of lawlessness and apostasy from the truth, spectacularly represented in the harlot; it is that whole religious apparatus moving throughout history and responsible for wholesale deaths all over the world. Also, there is something else in it. Jesus told Jerusalem that in their murder of the Messiah all of the blood shed from Abel until that very day would come upon her. (See pertinent comment on this in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 373,374.) In exactly that same way, the system that murdered the Christians, the true spiritual body of Christ, was chargeable with all the blood ever shed on earth. The two cases are exactly parallel. This concludes the awful picture of the final judgment in this sequence.

“ THE BOOK OF "

Chapter EighteenIn this chapter we find the fall of “Babylon the great” proclaimed, and the great mourning over her by those in the world. The fall of Babylon is proclaimed by an angel with great authority, who illuminated the earth with his glory. The reasons for her fall include how the nations and kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and how the merchants have become rich through her abundance. Meanwhile, a voice from heaven calls for the people of God to come out of her lest they receive the plagues to come upon her. Her judgment will involve death, mourning, famine, and utter destruction by fire, for it is the Lord God who judges her (Revelation 18:1-8).

The fall of Babylon is mourned by the kings of the earth who committed fornication with her, and the merchants and sea-traders who had become rich by her. They all cry out “Alas, alas, that great city…” as they observe her judgment. They bemoan that in just one hour her riches came to nothing and she has become desolate. On the other hand, heaven itself, along with the apostles and prophets, are called to rejoice, because God has avenged them on her (Revelation 18:9-20).

Finally, a mighty angel throws a large stone into sea to depict with what great violence Babylon will be thrown down. The sounds and sights of music, crafts, even weddings will be gone. The fall of Babylon is justified, for her merchants were great, by her sorcery the nations were deceived, and in her was found the blood of prophets, saints, and all those slain on the earth (Revelation 18:21-24).

What is this chapter describing? If the date of the book suggested in the introduction is correct (spring, 70 A.D.) , and Jerusalem is indeed the “harlot”, then this chapter likely refers to its destruction by the Romans in August, 70 A.D. This would be in harmony with Revelation 17:16, where those who first supported the harlot eventually turned on her. So it was with Jerusalem, who depended upon the approval of the Roman authorities to persecute the church, and later became the object of Roman persecution herself. Very fitting is the depiction of Jerusalem as a harlot, for she who should have been a great spiritual city had become a great commercial center by virtue of the roads that passed through her between Europe, Asia and Africa. Her spiritual adultery was also manifested by rejecting the many prophets and apostles sent to her (cf. Matthew 23:31-39 with Revelation 17:6 Revelation 18:20 Revelation 18:24 Revelation 19:2).

But if Rome (in particular her commercial and immoral spirit) is the “harlot”, then this chapter may describe the fall of Rome in 476 A.D. The statements in Revelation 18:3 Revelation 18:9-19 (“all the nations…” and “the merchants of the earth…”) seem to fit Rome better than Jerusalem. The fall of “Babylon, the harlot” was due to her treatment of apostles, prophets, and saints (Revelation 18:20 Revelation 18:24). When Revelation was written, Rome had already killed Peter and Paul, and by the time of Rome’s fall, there had been at least ten periods of persecutions by Rome against the church. Rome, like Jerusalem, certainly qualifies as “Babylon, the harlot!”

POINTS TO PONDER

• The pronouncement and depiction of the fall of “Babylon the great”

• The reasons why Babylon would receive such terrible judgment

• The identity of “that great city Babylon, that mighty city”

OUTLINE I. THE FALL OF BABYLON (Revelation 18:1-8) A. BY AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN (Revelation 18:1-3)1. John sees an angel coming down from heaven a. Having great authority b. Illuminating the earth with his glory 2. The angel cries mightily with a loud voice a. Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen b. She has become…

1. A dwelling place of demons
2. A prison for every foul spirit
3. A cage for every unclean and hated bird c. With her…
4. The nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication
5. The kings of the earth have committed fornication
6. The merchants of the earth have become rich

B. BY A VOICE FROM HEAVEN (Revelation 18:4-8)1. Calling God’s people to come out of her a. Lest they share in her sins and her plagues b. For her sins have reached to heaven and God has remembered her iniquities 2. Calling for judgment to be rendered her a. Render her just as she rendered them b. Repay her double according to her works c. In the cup she has mixed, mix double for her d. To the degree she glorified herself and lived luxuriously…

1. Give her torment and sorrow
2. For she says in heart that she is a queen and will not see sorrow as a widow e. Her plagues will come in one day…
3. Death, mourning, and famine
4. Utterly burned with fire – For great is the Lord God who judges her

II. THE FALL OF BABYLON MOURNED (Revelation 18:9-20) A. BY THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (Revelation 18:9-10)1. Those who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her 2. They shall weep and lament when they see the smoke of her burning 3. They shall stand afar off for fear of her torment, saying… a. “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!” b. “For in one hour your judgment has come.”

B. BY THE OF THE EARTH (Revelation 18:11-17 a)1. They shall weep and mourn over her 2. For no one buys their merchandise anymore 3. All that they longed for, both rich and splendid, they shall find no more 4. The merchants shall stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing… a. “Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!” b. “For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.”

C. BY THE TRADERS AND ON THE SEA (Revelation 18:17-19)1. They stood at a distance, crying when they saw the smoke of her burning, “What is like this great city?” 2. Throwing dust on their heads, they cried out, weeping and wailing… a. “Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth!” b. “For in one hour she is made desolate.”

D. BUT NOT BY THE HOLY AND (Revelation 18:20)1. They are to rejoice over her 2. For God has avenged them on her

III. THE FALL OF BABYLON (Revelation 18:21-24) A. THE EXTENT OF HER FALL (Revelation 18:21-23 a)1. By a mighty angel… a. Who took a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea b. Who then proclaims “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.” 2. Neither shall be heard or seen in her… a. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters b. A craftsman of any craft c. The sound of a millstone d. The light of a lamp e. The voice of bridegroom and bride

B. THE EXTENT OF HER FALL (Revelation 18:23-24)1. For her merchants were the great men of the earth 2. For by her sorcery all the nations were deceived 3. For in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who slain on the earth

REVIEW

1. What are the main points of this chapter?- The fall of Babylon proclaimed (Revelation 18:1-8)

• The fall of Babylon to be mourned (Revelation 18:9-20)
• The fall of Babylon justified (Revelation 18:21-24)

2. Who proclaims the fall of Babylon? (Revelation 18:1-2)- An angel with great authority, whose glory illuminated the earth

3. What is said concerning nations, kings and merchants in regards to Babylon? (Revelation 18:3)- Nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication

• Kings have committed fornication with her
• Merchants have become rich through the abundance of her luxury

4. What does a voice from heaven implore the people of God? Why? (Revelation 18:4-5)- Come out of her, lest they share in her sins and receive of her plagues

• Her sins have reached to heaven and God has remembered her iniquities

5. To what degree will Babylon be judged? (Revelation 18:6-7)- Just as she did to others

• Double according to her works
• To the degree she lived in glory and luxury, she will suffer torment and sorrow

6. What plagues will come to her in one day? Her ultimate end? (Revelation 18:8)- Death, mourning, and famine

• Utterly burned with fire

7. What first group is described as mourning the fall of Babylon? (Revelation 18:9)- The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her

8. What will they say as they see the smoke of her burning from a distance? (Revelation 18:10)- “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!”

• “For in one hour your judgment has come.”

9. What second group is described as mourning the fall of Babylon? Why? (Revelation 18:11)- The merchants of the earth

• No one buys their merchandise anymore

10. What will they say as they stand afar off, weeping and wailing? (Revelation 18:16-17 a)- “Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with great gold and precious stones and pearls!”

• “For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.”

11. What third group is described as mourning the fall of Babylon? (Revelation 18:17 b)- Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and sea-traders

12. What do they say as they see the smoke of her burning? (Revelation 18:18-19)- “What is like this great city?”

• “Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth!”
• “For in one hour she is made desolate.”

13. Who is told to rejoice over the fall of Babylon? Why? (Revelation 18:20)- Heaven, and the holy apostles and prophets

• For God has avenged them on her

14. What did a mighty angel do and say? (Revelation 18:21)- Throw a great millstone into the sea

• “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.”

15. What did the angel say would not be seen or heard in Babylon anymore? (Revelation 18:22-23 a)- The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters

• Craftsmen, or the sound of a millstone
• The light of a lamp, or the voice of bridegroom and bride

16. What two reasons are given for her downfall? (Revelation 18:23-24)- By her sorcery all the nations were deceived

• In her was found the blood of prophets, saints, and of all those slain on the earth

Questions by E.M. Zerr On Revelation 181. After this what did John see? 2. How was the earth affected by him? 3. State the announcement he made. 4. Tell what all nations had done. 5. What had the great city become? 6. What had the kings of earth done? 7. How had the merchants fared through her? 8. From where did John hear another voice? 9. What call did it make? 10. That they might not receive what? 11. What had reached unto heaven? 12. Tell what God remembered. 13. How must she be rewarded? 14. In what proportion must it be done? 15. Of what cup must she drink? 16. On whom had she bestowed glory? 17. Tell how she had lived. 18. What boasts had she made? 19. What were to come to her? 20. Over what space of time would they come? 21. How will she be destroyed? 22. By whom will she be judged? 23. Who shall bewail her burning? 24. Tell what they had enjoyed with her. 25. State the comment of these kings. 26. Why will the merchants of the earth mourn? 27. Of what had the merchandise consisted? 28. Did it include any living beings? 29. What fruits had departed from her? 30. When were they to be returned 1 31. Where will these patrons stand looking on 1 32. Why stand thus 1 33. What had happened in one hour 1 34. Who else stood afar off? 35. For what comparison did they inquire? 36. What did they place upon their heads? 37. What were they doing at the same time? 38. Who is bid to rejoice over her? 39. Because of what could they rejoice 1 40. What personage then appeared? 41. Ten what he took up. 42. What did he do with it 1 43. This was to represent what city 1 44. For how long will she be down? 45. What will not be heard any more? 46. Ten what trades will be discontinued. 47. What provisions will be cut short? 48. Ten what will no longer shine. 49. How will the bride and groom be affected? 50. Who were her merchants? 51. By what were many deceived? 52. What blood was found in her?

Revelation 18:1

Revelation 18:1. The angel had great power which is from EXOUSIA, the leading meaning of which is “authority.” The possession of that qualification is explained by the fact that he came down from heaven which is the seat of all authority. It is understandable also why his glory would light up the earth, for everything that pertains to that celestial region is glorious.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceIntroduction.XITHE FINAL OF DOOM ON (Chapter 18)The approaching fall of Jerusalem, under the symbol of Babylon was envisioned in this chapter. It pictured the overthrow of Judaism and the Jewish state as having been actually accomplished when in fact it was an apocalyptic forecast of an event still future, described in the details of past occurrence. Verse 1.(1) The angel’s announcement–Revelation 18 :l-3.This is another instance of a proleptic utterance by an angel, as the following verses of the chapter outline the successive stages of the fall and the desolation of the Babylon–Jerusalem. The proclamation of doom was delivered by an angel having great power, a power commensurate with the magnitude of the proclamation and which signified the authority to pronounce a final doom. As a result of the proclamation the earth (land of Judea) was lightened with glory, as the heavens are aglow with lightenings attending the thunders. This was symbolic of the awe and terror of the appalling events impending.

Revelation 18:2

Revelation 18:2. The preceding chapter pictures conditions just prior to the revolution of the Reformation. The present chapter will extend the vision on through that period, showing the effects it will have among the nations of the world, and will predict the permanent end of the union of church and state. We should keep clearly in mind the truth that we are studying a book of symbols, and therefore we will not try to make a literal application of the symbols. However, even political and religious advantages may sometimes bring material gains to men of selfish character, hence we should not be surprised to see indications of that in some instances. The angel cried with a strong voice, which signified that his announcement was of interest to many.

Babylon here means the institution formed by the union of church and state. That body had been in control since the time of Constantine, but now it is destined to be dissolved by the work of the Reformation. Babylon is fallen, is fallen; the repetition is for emphasis. The fall refers to the disolving of church and state through the influence of the Bible that had been given to the people by Luther and his fellow workers. Is become the habitation, etc. This is symbolic and the language is formed from what literally happened to the ancient city of Babylon after it was destroyed by its conqueror.

The description of that destruction from which our verse gets its symbols may be seen in Isaiah 13:19-22 and Jeremiah 50:35-40.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerse 2.The dirge of fallen Babylon in verse two, was an extension of the same vision in Revelation 14:8, and was substantially the same lamentation over the fall of the ancient Babylon recorded in Isaiah 21:9 : “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.” The Babylon of this chapter was symbolic of Jerusalem, and the voice of verse two was crying a threnody–a dirge of lamentation–on the day of doom for the once faithful but apostate city. The latter part of the verse describes Jerusalem as the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. The severance of all commercial affiliations by the siege of Jerusalem and the devastation of Judea, had reduced the city to a haunt, symbolized by the demoniac habitation of evil spirts, devils and vultures. The visions of the overthrow of Tyre and Babylon in the Old Testament were combined in these same symbols.

Revelation 18:3

Revelation 18:3. Wine of the wrath of her fornication. This combines several symbolical thoughts. Wine suggests drunkenness and that is used figuratively sometimes to mean being beside oneself through the influence of false doctrine, which certainly was an outstanding characteristic of Rome. It also stands for the wrath of God upon evildoers, and fornication refers to intimacy with unlawful organizations. Kings and merchants all reaped personal advantages from their subjects and customers, because they were duped into thinking they should submit to the wishes of their superiors.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerse 3. The repetition in verse three of the harlot’s winecup, representing her multiplied forms of seduction. The reference to the kings of the earth was used in the sense of the rulers and authorities of Judea and Palestine; and the reference to the nations was a designation for the heathen. They were all particeps criminus, having drunk of the harlot’s seductive wine-cup of abominations. The language was symbolic of Jerusalem’s heathen affiliations. Thus the proud capital of the Jews, once the dwelling place of God and the depository of the Oracles and the center of Judaism, by apostasy had come to destruction and was reduced to a haunt of the demon-world of heathenism, the habitat of the diabolical agents of the satanic beast.

Revelation 18:4

Revelation 18:4. Come out of her my people. Even after the work of the reformers was well under way, and the institution of Babylon as a body had fallen, there were still some individuals connected with the church part of the former institution who were honest and at heart were desirous of serving God. They are the ones who are called my people because the Lord considered them true to the testimony of Christ as far as they had been permitted to learn it- Now if they will heed the call to come out and line up with the workers of the Reformation they will be received by Him. If they refuse to heed this call they will have to receive of her plagues. Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerse 4. (2) The call to the faithful–Revelation 18:4-8.The voice from heaven introducing verse four was a call to the faithful saints to depart from the doomed city before the calamity struck. It is manifestly parallel with the Lord’s exhortation in Matthew 24:15-16 for his faithful disciples to flee Jerusalem when the signs of the impending destruction appeared. The same call was spiritually applied by Paul to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6:14-18), beseeching them to cut all the ties that would bind them to heathenism or in any way maintain affiliation with the heathen world and its temple of Belial. Its derived or applied meaning was to abandon all that both Judaism and heathenism represented.

Revelation 18:5-6

Revelation 18:5. Sins have reached unto heaven means the corruptions of Rome were an offense to heaven, and also had become notoriously public so that God remembered (took unfavorable notice of) her iniquities. Revelation 18:6. The pronoun you refers to “my people” in the preceding verse. Human beings cannot bring judgment upon a universal body of corruption by mere human strength. But if they will come out and then use their influence to expose the harlot (which many people did as shown in various histories of the Reformation), they will bring about a chastisement of her that is figuratively described as making her drink a double measure of her own wine.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerses 5-6.The enormity of Jerusalem’s sins which reached unto heaven are underlined in verses five and six in the exercise of the prerogatives that belongs only to God–“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord”–He remembered her iniquities, and rendered due reward double unto double, according to her works. Again, it was Lord’s answer to the altar cry of martyrs in Revelation 6:10, “how long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.”

Revelation 18:7-8

Revelation 18:7. The leaders in Rome or Babylon had been living a selfish life at the expense of their helpless dupes. Now that they have been undeceived by the workers in the Reformation, they are urged to make their condemnation all the more severe upon her. A queen would be in good circumstances in that she would have one on whom to depend for support and would have no sorrow or anxiety.

Revelation 18:8. One day cannot be restricted to a period of 24 hours, but the things predicted of her will come on the same day or by the same cause. That will be the effects of opening the eyes of the nations that have been oppressed by her. The mourning will be literal and it will be over the loss of her former power- Utterly burned with fire denotes that the fire of God’s jealousy will bring utter (complete) destruction to the combination of church and state–not to each separately, but the combination will be dissolved for ever.

Verses 7-8.The description of the proud, and presumptuous city of David, which for centuries had enjoyed the admiration expressed in verse seven, to sit as queen, employed symbols of glory. The old city declared that she was no widow and would see no sorrow (of widowhood), for she was the Jerusalem of the Israel which was wedded to the God of the Jews. But verse eight bluntly decreed that destruction would come upon her in one day, as suddenly as the Lord’s statement in Matthew 24:16-18 : “Then let them which be in Judea flee . . . let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” Hence, the expression one day symbolized the suddenness of the impending judgment against Jerusalem and the shortness of time for the faithful to respond to the call to come out of her. The extended application, as in 2 Corinthians 6:17, meant to come out of the evils and the errors of Jerusalem’s apostasies and of heathendom’s idolatries. The last line of verse eight, for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her, meant that God’s word was inexorable, and without change of purpose he would destroy the apostate city.

Revelation 18:9

Revelation 18:9. Kings of the earth had been protected in their defrauding of the uninformed people. Committed fornication. Rome has been called a harlot hence those who have been intimate with her are guilty of fornication. It is natural for them to lament seeing her burning (under the fiery judgments of God.)

Revelation 18:10. The symbols are changed from a woman to a city. But it means the same thing for the mother of harlots had her seat where she carried on her adulterous practices in the city of Babylon. Of course to see her “red light district” going up in smoke means the end of her trade. One hour is used here to mean the same period as one day in verse 8.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVeses 9-10.(3) The three-fold threnody over the ruined city– Revelation 18:9-19.These verses form the threnody of kings, merchants and seamen–their song of lamentation, as a dirge over Jerusalem, the fallen city. They were represented in verses nine and ten as having thrived on her harlotries, but cut off from the lucrative revenues of her commerce they were envisioned as standing afar off, offering no help but bewailing the plight of besieged Jerusalem: Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Revelation 18:11

Revelation 18:11. The merchants were the prominent leaders in Rome who had been reaping much gain (both political and material) by imposing their false doctrines on them. There will now be no demand for such “wares” for the customers will have learned that they had been defrauded.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerse 11.The statement of verse eleven, that the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her was parallel with Revelation 1:7 : “Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” This coming referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, as in Zechariah 14:1-21; and the declaration that every eye shall see him referred to the universal knowledge of what was happening to Jerusalem; and all the kindreds (tribes) of the earth shall wail denoted the mourning of all Jewish families in all parts of the world over the destruction that had befallen their beloved city.

Revelation 18:12-14

Revelation 18:12-13. All of the articles named in this paragraph are literal products, and doubtless the leaders in the corrupt institution dealt in such property for their own selfish enjoyment, but the literal articles are used as symbols of the selfish enjoyments they had by being able to extract the services of the dupes under them.

Revelation 18:14. This virtually continues the same prediction that is made in the preceding verses, but I will call attention to the words about these gains that thou shalt find them no more at all. That means the advantages once enjoyed by Babylon (church and state) were never again to be enjoyed by her as before because she will never exist again to enjoy them.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerses 12-14.The rulers, merchants and mariners of Palestine bewailed the calamity for no man buyeth their merchandise any more. The valuables of the merchandise in which this trade consisted were listed in verses twelve to fourteen. The description of gold, purple and spice were symbols of the flow of commerce which characterized Jerusalem’s prosperity. But with the severance of all trade, deprived of all commerce, the authorities of Judea, the merchants and the shippers, once associated with Jerusalem in all of her luxury and wantonness, then stood aloof as witnesses of the destruction, deploring the devastation; but only to bewail her plight.

Revelation 18:15-16

Revelation 18:15. This is virtually the same lament that is described in verse 9, 10, because of their loss of unlawful privileges at the expense of the people. For the fear of her torment denotes that the sight of such a burning will give them a feeling of horror. Lest the reader gets lost in all this array of figurative judgments, I shall again state that it is a symbolical picture of the political and religious revolution that came upon the old wicked institution of Rome, after the work of the Reformation broke up the great conspiracy.

Revelation 18:16. The items mentioned are used symbolically, but there is some special appropriateness in the materials named. The formalities of the old Pagan Roman ceremonies were copied by the clergy of Papal Rome. Linen was used for the official robes in the services, and purple and scarlet were the royal colors. The garments were decked literally with gold and precious stones. The city is said to have all these decorations because the scarlet woman was located in the city for her corrupt practices.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerses 15-16.The extensive traffic in thirty articles specified by John represented the affiliations of the Jewish capital with all the heathen world. Included in this commercial revenue was the traffic in slaves, and souls of men–meaning the lives of men. There was no source of revenue from the heathen world not included in the coalition between Jerusalem and the merchants of the earth, as described in verses fifteen and sixteen.

Revelation 18:17-19

Revelation 18:17. One hour calls for the same comments that are offered at verse 10. The chapter as a whole is a vision in symbolic form, yet the institution of Babylon or Rome was so widespread, that it was logical to include many of the activities of the members of it. Hence the people interested in the traffic of the sea are brought into the picture, among those whose selfish practices were to be cut off by the downfall of the city.

Revelation 18:18. What city is like means a general statement of her greatness as of the past, for now she is very low and worthless since she is being destroyed by fire.

Revelation 18:19. There is not much change in the significance of the symbols of this verse. Casting dust on their heads was an ancient custom to give expression to feelings of mourning and dismay (Joshua 7:6; Job 2:12; Lamentation 2:10). One hour is the same figurative phrase that is in verse 10. Made desolate means that Babylon the Great as the union of church and state was to be deserted and cease to be.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerses 17-19.In continuation of this resplendent description verses seventeen through nineteen recorded the lamentations of the merchant–men because the luxuries and revenues in which they had shared had come to nought and were no more at all. In unison they cried: What city is like unto this great city . . . alas, alas, that great city . . . she is made desolate. Thus the traffickers of the heathen world lamented the ignominious end of the once glorious city of Jerusalem.

Revelation 18:20-24

Revelation 18:20. The speaker is still the voice from heaven (verse 4) which is bidding the apostles and prophets to rejoice over the downfall of Babylon (union of church and state). It was especially appropriate to congratulate these great servants of God, because they had been foremost in defending the lawful church of the Lord against the encroachments of the apostate church. Now that the conspiracy formed by the union of church and state was thrust down, they had great and just reason to rejoice.

Revelation 18:21. Mighty angel is said to indicate the size or weight of the stone that was to be handled. The stone was like great millstones which were heavy, and their weight was such that if they were thrown into the water they would most assuredly sink; nor would such an object float back up to the surface. That is doubtless why Jesus used it in his comparison of the irreparable fate of certain sinners (Matthew 18:6). After this mighty angel had cast the stone into the sea he made his explanation of the symbol; it represented the casting down of Babylon. We know it does not mean literal Babylon for that city had not been in existence for centuries (Isaiah 13:19-22).

We know also it does not apply to the religious part of the corrupt institution (though it also was known as Babylon), for that apostate church is not to be destroyed until Jesus comes (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Hence this can apply only to the Babylon that was composed of church and state. When the stone that represented it was cast into the sea, the angel said that it shall be found no more at all. From the foregoing evidences we are given the divine assurance that there will never be another world-wide union of church and state.

Revelation 18:22-23. The enterprises and activities of human interest that are mentioned in these verses have all been considered in this chapter and understood to have a symbolical meaning. In this paragraph they may be used in both symbolical and literal senses. In either sense the announce ment is made that they will never be done again. However, this is not true until we apply it in the light of a proviso that is stated as follows. The phrase in thee is used five times in these two verses, and that is the key to the subject. There is not an interest mentioned that will not continue to be practiced as long as the world stands. But they will not be done “in thee” (Babylon as the union of church and state), for that institution will have gone down never to rise again.

Revelation 18:24. This short verse is merely a summing up of the crimes that have been committed by Babylon, on account of which she was doomed to complete overthrow.

Comments by Foy E. WallaceVerses 20-22.(4) The anthem of rejoicing over the fall of Apostate Jerusalem–Revelation 18:20-24. It seems unnecessary to follow the order of line by line comments on these verses, which would involve so much repetition. This last section of the chapter, verses twenty to twenty-four, represented John’s own rhapsody of rejoicing over the avenging judgment of God on Jerusalem, the once faithful city which had turned harlot. In contrast with the wailing of the associates in the harlotries of the city, John was joined in vision to the witnesses and apostles and saints who had been victims of Jerusalem’s murderous wantonness–a united chorus in celebration of the end of the abominations of Jerusalem and the obstructions of Judaism. The Lord foretold this fulfillment in Matthew 23:29-38 : “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” This anticipated fulfillment of the Lord’s predictions received and written by John in the Neronic period and represented the Lord’s words, “fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.” In the symbols of this chapter verse twenty-one, the angel casts a great millstone into the sea as a sign of irretrievable doom for Jerusalem. The same symbolism was adopted in Jeremiah 51:63-64 to signify the end of old Babylon: “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: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.“Verses 23-24. It is appropriate that the end of the symbolic Babylon, Jerusalem should be signified by the same imagery. The symbols meant the total disappearance of both the literal and the figurative Babylons. Verse twenty-three includes the symbols of the crafts of prosperity, of marriages and of merriment, all of which were to be no more; and verse twenty-four reverted to the sins of Jerusalem in the guiltiness of the blood of prophets, and of saints, and all that were slain upon the earth (Matthew 23:29-39). In the avenging judgment on Jerusalem the guilt of the blood of these slain ones found retribution. It is needless to go out of the Neronic period or away from Jerusalem to find the facts of history that meet all the demands of these apocalypses. They do not fit Rome, nor any other city than Jerusalem; where the prophets, apostles and saints were slain. The usual interpretation to bring the apocalypse down through the ages to stage again the historical pageantry of the Roman empire, in the effort to find a future fulfillment, takes all the force out of the words of Christ in Matthew 23:1-39; Matthew 24:1-51, and robs the apocalypse of its immediate message. The apostate Jerusalem was the object of the visions of Revelation, and all things else in the book were collateral to the implementation of the symbols. The readers should not fail to consider that all these visions were recorded before the events occurred, therefore bearing a pre-destruction of Jerusalem date; and Revelation takes its place alongside the Lord’s own forecast of Mat 24:1-51, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:1-38, some thirty-seven years before the siege of Jerusalem, the Revelation itself bearing the date of the early part of the Neronic reign, several years previous to A. D. 70, when Jerusalem was besieged and later desolated. It is evident that the visions of Revelation belong to the ten days period of Roman emperors from Nero to Diocletian, the period of the persecution of the church resulting from the destruction of Jerusalem. It is not a sane interpretation of the apocalyptic symbols to pass over the corresponding events of history then in process-the current events and the contemporary kings of Rome and Judah–in order to link the fulfillment of these symbols to future events which, if they should come to pass, could not provide a more perfect similitude between the symbol and the event that fulfills it than was present in the events of the history surrounding Jerusalem and Judah; and which followed in immediate rapid succession the fall of Jerusalem, Judaism and the Jewish state. The theories of futurism would revive kingdoms that have perished, and their kings who have turned to dust; and after several thousands of years in an ultra-special sort of resurrection stage a historical pageant to parade them all before the world again in order to meet the demands of a future fulfillment of Revelation. It is not compatible with the announced purpose of the book nor the character of its symbols, the fulfillment of which was accomplished in the corresponding events of that period, and in the experiences of the churches then living–events long ago committed to the annals of history and to the archives of earth’s treasures. Jerusalem had filled up the measure of its sin of the slain prophets and servants of God and the rejection of the Son of God, the Saviour of man. It had therefore to expiate the guilt incurred by Israel and officially accepted by the officials of the nation: His blood be upon our heads and upon the heads of our children. With this vision the judgment on Jerusalem was completed and sealed.