And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over Babylon because her fall ends their trade and no one buys their merchandise anymore. This mourning belongs to her final condition after the last warning to the world has been rejected, when her iniquity is full and the time of God's wrath and destruction has come. Babylon is the corrupted churches in corrupt harmony with kings and rulers, made Babylon by exalting the false Sabbath above the Sabbath the Lord blessed and by teaching the immortality of the soul. The prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18, and of Revelation 18 and 19, are soon to be fulfilled and are right upon us. They are the last call of mercy and testing truth for this time, to be proclaimed with boldness and power to strengthen the third angel's message until the earth is lighted with glory.
Merchants Mourn Babylon's Fall
The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over Babylon because her fall ends their trade and no one buys their merchandise from her anymore. This loss of trade is part of Babylon's desolation and of the coming fulfillment of Revelation 18 and 19. When judgment brings their trade to an end it belongs to the coming retribution against worldly wealth and pride, when costly possessions and structures will be destroyed and wealth gained through fraud will not protect its owners. This mourning belongs to Babylon's final condition after the threefold and final warning to the world has been rejected, in the day of God's wrath when her iniquity is full and her time for destruction and desolation has come, as the next great event brought to view after that final warning.
Babylon is the corrupted churches, mystic Babylon. The merchants are part of Babylon in corrupt harmony with kings, rulers and religious teachers. She is the churches that reject the truth and are made Babylon by kindred heresies that exalt the false and spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord blessed and sanctified for man and that teach the immortality of the soul. God's judgment on mystic Babylon follows the spread of wickedness caused by false shepherds who turn people from God's law to human theories, and their work will react upon them.
Coming Judgment on Cities
The prophecies of Revelation 18, and of Revelation 12 to 18, will soon be fulfilled, are being fulfilled, and their fulfillment is right upon us in the coming fulfillment of Revelation 18 and 19. During the proclamation of the third angel's message another angel will descend with great power and the earth will be lighted with his glory, and the Spirit will bless consecrated people to spread God's knowledge throughout the earth. The verse belongs to the very last call to the churches, which is the last message of warning that all are to hear and that is now to be given, and Babylon's fall brings grief to the merchants of the earth because no one buys their goods anymore.
After this very last call comes the time pictured in Revelation 19 when the beast and the false prophet are taken and cast into a lake of fire. The dragon who instigated the great rebellion against heaven is then bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This is followed by the resurrection of the wicked and the final destruction of Satan and all the wicked and the final triumph and reign of Christ in this earth.
The chapter shows God's storehouse of retributive judgments falling upon those who have continued in sin in the face of great light, bringing sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The flattering monuments of men's greatness are crumbled in the dust even before the last great destruction comes. The most costly structures supposed to be fireproof will become ashes just as Sodom perished in the flames of God's vengeance, and vessels costing immense sums wrestling the mighty waters with their treasures of gold and silver and their human freight will sink into a watery grave. It is part of the warning of what is coming on the earth when the Lord arises to shake terribly the earth, when terrible scenes take place whose fearfulness cannot be imagined and destruction is in the world. Then great buildings built story after story are thrown down by the turning and overturning of God's power, when one word from the Lord and one touch of His mighty power makes massive structures fall. Man's pride will be buried with the treasures he has accumulated by fraud, for costly possessions and structures will be destroyed and wealth gained through fraud will not protect its owners, and God will avenge the widows and orphans who in hunger and nakedness have cried to Him for help from oppression and abuse.
The chapter portrays events still to take place in the cities, including God's call for His people to leave sin and a wonderful display of His power in destruction because of the sins of cities, and the merchants' mourning is part of that larger warning. Its fulfillment will be awful events of divine judgment like the terrible judgment that fell upon San Francisco, so destructive that it looks as if the day of judgment has come and brings great distress. The chapter exposes the wickedness existing in the world today and stresses the importance of obeying God's law, and it brings a message of danger and warning to the churches. A city recently destroyed stands as a special indication of God not to be ignored or treated with indifference. Believers in the prophecies of this book must not make light of such destruction and flatter themselves that they will build buildings far in advance of former buildings, for if those who have felt the rebuke of God defiantly invest their means as before, God will exercise His power to counteract their efforts.
Final Warning to Proclaim
Revelation 18:11 belongs to the truths of Revelation 18 and 19 that are testing truths for this time. It is the last call of mercy to the world, the very last call to the churches, the last message of warning that all are to hear now. In mercy and long forbearance God is holding back His judgments until this warning is sounded to all. It is to be given more fully because many have not yet heard it.
It was made known by Christ Himself to John on the Isle of Patmos concerning the last events of earth's history. It is to be brought to mind, read verse by verse, and understood by all in the last days. In this way Satan cannot keep minds confused by all deceivableness of unrighteousness in the conflict between the two parties in the world.
The chapter must be proclaimed with boldness and power, with no toning down or muffling of present truth, and must not be considered an inferior matter. It strengthens and confirms the third angel's message, which is a life-and-death question and the great issue and test for God's people in the last days. During that proclamation another angel will descend with great power and the earth will be lighted with his glory, and the Spirit will bless consecrated people to spread God's knowledge throughout the earth. It proclaims the Sabbath truth that the seventh day is the seal of the living God, shows what may be expected from the papal power that has made void God's law, and warns that the time has come when the Protestant churches are reaching out to grasp that power's hand. It is the message Satan would have silenced, and it must be guarded because he works to bind it about and to mingle deception with truth to create side issues that turn minds away from that test.
The chapter brings a message of danger and warning to the churches, exposes the wickedness existing in the world, and stresses the importance of obeying God's law. It portrays events still to take place in the cities, including God's call for His people to leave sin and a display of His power in judgment, and the mourning of the merchants is part of that larger warning. It includes God's call for men to hear His voice and come out and be separate, and the calamity calls men who have abused their privileges and taken advantage of their fellow men to make amends for the wrong they have done. The description should cause all who read it to fear and tremble. But those who do not love the light and will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved will not follow on to know the Lord, showing by their attitude that they want their own way, not God's way.
The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over Babylon because her fall ends their trade and no one buys their merchandise anymore. This mourning belongs to her final condition after the last warning to the world has been rejected, when her iniquity is full and the time of God's wrath and destruction has come. Babylon is the corrupted churches in corrupt harmony with kings and rulers, made Babylon by exalting the false Sabbath above the Sabbath the Lord blessed and by teaching the immortality of the soul. The prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18, and of Revelation 18 and 19, are soon to be fulfilled and are right upon us. They are the last call of mercy and testing truth for this time, to be proclaimed with boldness and power to strengthen the third angel's message until the earth is lighted with glory.
Merchants Mourn Babylon's Fall
The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over Babylon because her fall ends their trade and no one buys their merchandise from her anymore. This loss of trade is part of Babylon's desolation and of the coming fulfillment of Revelation 18 and 19. When judgment brings their trade to an end it belongs to the coming retribution against worldly wealth and pride, when costly possessions and structures will be destroyed and wealth gained through fraud will not protect its owners. This mourning belongs to Babylon's final condition after the threefold and final warning to the world has been rejected, in the day of God's wrath when her iniquity is full and her time for destruction and desolation has come, as the next great event brought to view after that final warning.
Babylon is the corrupted churches, mystic Babylon. The merchants are part of Babylon in corrupt harmony with kings, rulers and religious teachers. She is the churches that reject the truth and are made Babylon by kindred heresies that exalt the false and spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord blessed and sanctified for man and that teach the immortality of the soul. God's judgment on mystic Babylon follows the spread of wickedness caused by false shepherds who turn people from God's law to human theories, and their work will react upon them.
Coming Judgment on Cities
The prophecies of Revelation 18, and of Revelation 12 to 18, will soon be fulfilled, are being fulfilled, and their fulfillment is right upon us in the coming fulfillment of Revelation 18 and 19. During the proclamation of the third angel's message another angel will descend with great power and the earth will be lighted with his glory, and the Spirit will bless consecrated people to spread God's knowledge throughout the earth. The verse belongs to the very last call to the churches, which is the last message of warning that all are to hear and that is now to be given, and Babylon's fall brings grief to the merchants of the earth because no one buys their goods anymore.
After this very last call comes the time pictured in Revelation 19 when the beast and the false prophet are taken and cast into a lake of fire. The dragon who instigated the great rebellion against heaven is then bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This is followed by the resurrection of the wicked and the final destruction of Satan and all the wicked and the final triumph and reign of Christ in this earth.
The chapter shows God's storehouse of retributive judgments falling upon those who have continued in sin in the face of great light, bringing sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The flattering monuments of men's greatness are crumbled in the dust even before the last great destruction comes. The most costly structures supposed to be fireproof will become ashes just as Sodom perished in the flames of God's vengeance, and vessels costing immense sums wrestling the mighty waters with their treasures of gold and silver and their human freight will sink into a watery grave. It is part of the warning of what is coming on the earth when the Lord arises to shake terribly the earth, when terrible scenes take place whose fearfulness cannot be imagined and destruction is in the world. Then great buildings built story after story are thrown down by the turning and overturning of God's power, when one word from the Lord and one touch of His mighty power makes massive structures fall. Man's pride will be buried with the treasures he has accumulated by fraud, for costly possessions and structures will be destroyed and wealth gained through fraud will not protect its owners, and God will avenge the widows and orphans who in hunger and nakedness have cried to Him for help from oppression and abuse.
The chapter portrays events still to take place in the cities, including God's call for His people to leave sin and a wonderful display of His power in destruction because of the sins of cities, and the merchants' mourning is part of that larger warning. Its fulfillment will be awful events of divine judgment like the terrible judgment that fell upon San Francisco, so destructive that it looks as if the day of judgment has come and brings great distress. The chapter exposes the wickedness existing in the world today and stresses the importance of obeying God's law, and it brings a message of danger and warning to the churches. A city recently destroyed stands as a special indication of God not to be ignored or treated with indifference. Believers in the prophecies of this book must not make light of such destruction and flatter themselves that they will build buildings far in advance of former buildings, for if those who have felt the rebuke of God defiantly invest their means as before, God will exercise His power to counteract their efforts.
Final Warning to Proclaim
Revelation 18:11 belongs to the truths of Revelation 18 and 19 that are testing truths for this time. It is the last call of mercy to the world, the very last call to the churches, the last message of warning that all are to hear now. In mercy and long forbearance God is holding back His judgments until this warning is sounded to all. It is to be given more fully because many have not yet heard it.
It was made known by Christ Himself to John on the Isle of Patmos concerning the last events of earth's history. It is to be brought to mind, read verse by verse, and understood by all in the last days. In this way Satan cannot keep minds confused by all deceivableness of unrighteousness in the conflict between the two parties in the world.
The chapter must be proclaimed with boldness and power, with no toning down or muffling of present truth, and must not be considered an inferior matter. It strengthens and confirms the third angel's message, which is a life-and-death question and the great issue and test for God's people in the last days. During that proclamation another angel will descend with great power and the earth will be lighted with his glory, and the Spirit will bless consecrated people to spread God's knowledge throughout the earth. It proclaims the Sabbath truth that the seventh day is the seal of the living God, shows what may be expected from the papal power that has made void God's law, and warns that the time has come when the Protestant churches are reaching out to grasp that power's hand. It is the message Satan would have silenced, and it must be guarded because he works to bind it about and to mingle deception with truth to create side issues that turn minds away from that test.
The chapter brings a message of danger and warning to the churches, exposes the wickedness existing in the world, and stresses the importance of obeying God's law. It portrays events still to take place in the cities, including God's call for His people to leave sin and a display of His power in judgment, and the mourning of the merchants is part of that larger warning. It includes God's call for men to hear His voice and come out and be separate, and the calamity calls men who have abused their privileges and taken advantage of their fellow men to make amends for the wrong they have done. The description should cause all who read it to fear and tremble. But those who do not love the light and will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved will not follow on to know the Lord, showing by their attitude that they want their own way, not God's way.