The Desolation of Babylon

Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Verses 6 and 7 are a prophetic declaration that she will be rewarded or
punished according to her works. Bear in mind that this testimony applies
to that part of Babylon which is subject to a spiritual fall. As already
pointed out, it must apply especially to the "daughters," the denominations
who persist in clinging to the personal traits of the "mother," and keeping
up the family resemblance. These, as pointed out previously, are to attempt
a sweeping persecution against the truth and the people of God. By these
the "image to the beast" is to be formed. These are to have what will be to
them a new experience--the use of the civil arm to enforce their dogmas.

It is doubtless this first intoxication of power that leads this branch of
Babylon to cherish in her heart the boast, "I sit a queen, and am no
widow;" that is, I am no longer , "chera" (Greek),
"one bereaved," or destitute of power, as I have been. She declares, Now I
rule like a queen, and I shall see no sorrow. With blasphemy she boasts God
is in the Constitution, the church is enthroned, and will henceforth bear
sway. The expression, "Reward her even as she rewarded you," seems to show
that the time for this message to reach its climax, and for the saints to
be finally called out, will be when she begins to raise against them the
arm of oppression. As she fills up the cup of persecution to the saints, so
the angel of the Lord will persecute her. (Psalm 35: 6.) Judgments from on
high will bring upon her a twofold degree ("double unto her double"), the
evil which she thought to bring upon the humble servants of the Lord.

The day in which her plagues come, mentioned in verse 8, must be a
prophetic day, or at least cannot be a literal day, for it would be
impossible for famine to come in that length of time. The plagues of
Babylon are without doubt the seven last plagues, which have already been
examined. The plain inference from the languages of this verse in
connection with Isaiah 34: 8, is that a year will be occupied in that
terrible visitation.

Verse 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and
lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing afar off for the fear of
her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city!
for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11 And the merchants of the earth
shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any
more.

A Fitting Retribution.--The infliction of the first plague must result in a
complete suspension of traffic in those articles of luxury for which
Babylon is noted. When the merchants of these things, who are to a great
extent citizens of this symbolic city, and who have been made rich by their
traffic in these things, suddenly find themselves and their neighbors
smitten with putrefying sores, their traffic suspended, and vast stores of
merchandise on hand, but none to buy them, they lift up their voices in
lamentation for the fate of this great city. If there is anything which
will draw from the men of this generation a sincere cry of distress, it is
that which touches their treasures. There is a fitness in this retribution.
They who but a short time before had issued a decree that the saints of God
should neither buy nor sell, now find themselves put under the same
restriction in a far more effectual way.

The question may arise how persons involved in the same calamity can stand
afar off and lament. It must be remembered that this desolation is brought
to view under a figure, and the figure is that of a city visited with
destruction. Should calamity come upon a literal city, it would be natural
for its inhabitants to flee from that city if they had opportunity, and
standing afar off, lament its fall. Just in proportion to their terror and
amazement at the evil impending, would be the distance at which they would
stand from their devoted city. The figure the apostle uses would not be
complete without a feature of this kind, and he uses it, not to imply that
people would literally flee from the symbolic city, which would be
impossible, but to denote their terror and amazement at the descending
judgments.

Verse 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of
pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine
wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of
most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon,
and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine
flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves, and souls of men.

Babylon's Merchandise.--In these verses we have an enumeration of great
Babylon's merchandise, which includes everything pertaining to luxurious
living, pomp, and worldly display. All kinds of mercantile traffic are
brought to view. The declaration concerning "slaves and souls of men" may
pertain more particularly to the spiritual domain, and have reference to
slavery of conscience by the creeds of these bodies, which in some cases is
more oppressive than physical bondage.

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

Gluttony Rebuked.--The fruits here mentioned are, according to the
original, "autumnal fruits." In this we find a prophecy that the
"delicacies of the season," upon which the gourmand so sets his pampered
appetite, will be suddenly cut off. This, of course, is the work of the
famine, which is the result of the fourth vial. Revelation 16: 8.

Verse 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall
stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and
saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and
purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster,
and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea,
stood afar off, 18 and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19 And they cast dust on
their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great
city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her
costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.

Emotions of the Wicked.--The reader can readily imagine the cause of this
universal voice of mourning, lamentation, an woe. Imagine the plague of
sores preying upon men, the rivers turned to blood, the sea like the blood
of a dead man, the sun scorching men with fire, the traders' traffic gone,
and their silver and gold unable to deliver them, and we need not wonder 
at their exclamations of distress, nor that shipmasters and sailors join in 
the general wail. Very different is the emotion of the saints, as the following
testimony shows:

Verse 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets;
for God hath avenged you on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like
a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at
all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of
whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a
millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 and the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants
were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations
deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and
of all that were slain upon the earth.

Emotions of the Righteous.--The apostles and prophets are here called upon
to rejoice over great Babylon in her destruction, as it is in close
connection with this destruction that they will be delivered from the power
of death and the grave by the first resurrection.

Like a great millstone dropped into the sea, Babylon sinks to rise no more.
The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her midst, and have
ministered to her desires, shall be practiced no more. The pompous music
that has been heard in her imposing but formal and lifeless service, dies
away forever. The scenes of festivity and gladness, when the bridegroom and
the bride have been led before her altars, shall be witnessed no more.

Her sorceries constitute her leading crime, and sorcery is a practice which
is involved in the spiritism of today. "In her was found the blood" of "all
that were slain upon the earth." From this it is evident that ever since
the introduction of a false religion into the world, Babylon has existed.
In her has been found, all along, opposition to the work of God, and
persecution of His people. In reference to the guilt of the last
generation, see comments on Revelation 16: 6.

[1] Alexander Campbell, Christian Baptism, p. 15.

[2] Cosmopolitan Magazine, May, 1909, p. 665.

[3] Dale D. Welch, "Real Issues and Great Choices," The Presbyterian,
January 9, 1941, p. 3.

[4] Phillips Endecott Osgood, "How Much Do You Help the Church?" The
Atlantic Monthly, January, 1940, p. 56, footnote.

[5] "Is It a Lost Cause?" editorial in The Watchman-Examiner, February 1,
1940, p. 105.