Thoughts on the Revelation.
By Uriah Smith
Verse 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Some movement of mighty power is symbolized in these verses. The consideration of a few facts will guide us unmistakably to the application. In chapter xiv, we had a message announcing the fall of Babylon. Babylon, the nominal churches of the land, all at war with each other, and in confusion in their sentiments, and destitute of the life and power of godliness, experienced a moral fall by rejecting the first message of that chapter. Consequently the announcement in the chapter under consideration could not have gone forth previous to that time. It is either synonymous with the declaration of the fall of Babylon, in chap. xiv, or it is given at a later period than that. Is it synonymous with that? It is not; for that merely announces the fall of Babylon, while this adds several particulars, which at that time were neither fulfilled, nor in process of fulfillment. As we are therefore to look this side of 1844 where the previous message went forth, for the announcement brought to view in this chapter, we inquire, Has any such message gone forth since that time to the present? There has not; hence this message is still future. But we are now having the third angel's message which is the last to be given before the coming of the Son of man. We are therefore held to the conclusion that the first two verses of this chapter constitute a feature of the third message, when it shall go forth with power, and the whole earth be lightened with its glory. The work brought to view in verse 2, is being accomplished and will soon be completed, by the work of Spiritualism. Spirits of devils are secretly but rapidly working their way into the religious denominations above referred to, which, resting under their deep potations of the wine of Babylon, are unable to resist their insidious approach. Verse 3 shows the wide extent of her influence, and the evil that has resulted from her course, and hence the justness of her punishment. The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Who take the lead in all the extravagances of the age? Church members. Who load their tables with the richest and choicest viands? Church members. Who are foremost in extravagance in dress, and all costly attire? Church members. Who are the very personification of pride and arrogance? Church members. Where shall we look for the very highest exhibition of the luxury, vain show and pride of life, resulting from the vanity and sin of the race? Ans. To a modern church assembly on a pleasant Sunday. But there is a redeeming feature to this picture. Degenerate as Babylon has become as a body, there are exceptions to the general rule; for God has still a people in her communion; and she must be entitled to some regard on their account, till they are called from her connection. Nor shall we have to wait long for this call; for soon, if we mistake not, Babylon will come so completely under the control of devils and foul spirits that her condition will be fully manifest to all the honest in heart, and the way be all prepared for the work which the apostle now introduces. Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 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. 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. 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. The voice coming from heaven, denotes that it will be a message of power, attended with heavenly glory. The fact that God's people are called out so as not to be partakers of her sins, shows that it is not till a certain time that people become guilty by being connected with Babylon; and this explains how it can be said of the 144,000, Rev. xiv, 4, many of whom are the very ones here called out, that they were not defiled with women. Verses 6 and 7 we regard as a prophetic declaration that she will be rewarded or punished according to her works. As she has filled up the cup of persecution to the saints, so the Lord will requite her, Ps. xxxv, 6, and judgments from on high, will bring upon her in a two-fold degree, the evil which she thought to bring upon the saints. 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 been already examined; and we infer from the language of this verse, in connection with Isa. xxxiv, 8, that a year will be occupied in pouring them out. 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. The infliction of the very first plague must result in a complete suspension of traffic in those articles of luxury for which Babylon is noted. And 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 their 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. And if there is anything that will draw from the men of this generation a sincere cry of distress, it is that which touches their pockets. And 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 in the same predicament by a far more effectual process. The question may arise how persons involved in the same calamity can stand afar off and lament, &c. But it must be remembered that this desolation is brought to view under a figure; and that figure is 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; and 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. Now the figure of the apostle would not be complete without a feature of this kind; and so he uses it, not to imply that people would literally flee from the symbolical 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. Here we have an enumeration of great Babylon's merchandise, among which, it will be noticed, are slaves and souls of men; and this must be a description of the abject bondage of both body and soul in which the slave is held by his American master. But what has the church to do with slavery? According to an eminent commentator, Albert Barnes we think, the church is the great bulwark of American slavery; and it is a fact that at least six hundred thousand slaves are held by church members South. This is conclusive evidence that the American church forms a part of great Babylon; for no other church organizations, of which we have knowledge, are at the present time engaged in this abominable traffic. 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. The fruits here mentioned we learn by reference to the original to be "autumnal fruits." In other words, the "delicacies of the season," upon which the luxurious professor 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. Chap. xvi, 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 ship-master, 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. The reader can readily imagine the cause of this universal voice of mourning, lamentation, and woe. Imagine the plague of sores preying upon the race, the rivers turned to blood, the sea like the blood of a dead man, the sun scorching men with fire, their traffic gone, and their silver and gold unable to deliver them, and we need not wonder at their exclamations of distress, nor that ship-masters and sailors join in the general wail. Very different is the emotion the saints are called upon to exercise, 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 mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more 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 mill-stone 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. Who are the apostles and prophets here spoken of? It may refer to apostles and prophets of old, inasmuch as in close connection with this destruction of Babylon, we understand they will all be delivered from the power of death and the grave. Like a great mill-stone, Babylon sinks to rise no more. The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her midst, and ministered to her desires, shall be practiced no more. The pompous music that has been employed in her imposing, but formal and godless, service, dies away forever. The scenes of festivity and gladness, when the bridegroom and bride have been led before her altars, shall be witnessed no more. Her sorceries constitute her leading crime; and sorcery is a work which answers to the Spiritualism of to-day. "And in her was found the blood of all that were slain upon the earth;" from which we infer 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 "Thoughts" on chap. xvi, 6.