_THE FALL OF BABYLON._
REV. xviii.
Babylon has fallen. We have now the Divine proclamation of her fate,
and the lamentation of the world over the doom to which she has been
consigned:--
After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven,
having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his
glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is
Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of devils, and a
hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and
hateful bird. For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all
the nations are fallen and the kings of the earth committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by
the power of her wantonness (xviii. 1-3).
At chap. xvii. 1 we read of one of the angels that had the seven
Bowls. The angel now introduced is _another_, or a second. We shall
find as we proceed that we have entered upon a new series of seven
parts, similar to that in chap. xiv., where six angels and their
actions, three on either side, are grouped around One higher than
angels, and forming the central figure of the movement.[480] The
series is a long one, extending from chap. xvii. 1 to chap. xxii. 5,
the central figure meeting us at chap. xix. 11; and again, as before,
the fact ought to be carefully noticed, for it has a bearing on the
interpretation of some of the most difficult sections of this book.
Meanwhile we have to do with the second angel, whose action extends to
ver. 20 of the present chapter.
The description given of this angel is proportioned to the importance of
his message. He has _great authority_; the earth is _lightened with his
glory_; the voice with which he cries is _mighty_. It could hardly be
otherwise than that, with such joyful tidings as he bears to men, the
"glory of the Lord should shine round about him, and a light from heaven
above the brightness of the sun."[481] The tidings themselves follow,
taken from the Old Testament accounts of the desolation that was to come
upon Babylon: "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It
shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation
to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall
shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the
desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful
creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance
there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the
pleasant palaces."[482] In words such as these, though combined
throughout both the present and following descriptions with expressions
taken from the ruin of other famous and guilty cities of the Old
Testament, we have the source whence the powerful and pathetic words of
this chapter are drawn. The most terrible disasters of bygone times are
but types of that wreck of all the grandeur of earth which we are now
invited to behold, while Babylon's sinfulness is referred to that her
fate may appear to be no more than her appropriate punishment.
At this point we are met by one of those sudden transitions, common in
the Apocalypse, which so completely negative the idea of chronological
arrangement. A cry is heard which seems to imply that Babylon has not
yet fallen:--
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, My
people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached even
unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Render unto
her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according
to her works: in the cup which she hath mingled mingle unto her
double. How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton,
so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see
mourning. Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and
mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire:
for strong is the Lord God which judged her (xviii. 4-8).
The first words of this voice from heaven deserve peculiar attention:
_Come forth, My people, out of her_; that is, out of Babylon, the
degenerate Church. We are at once reminded of the striking teaching of
our Lord in chap. x. of the fourth Gospel, where He compares Himself
to the "door" of the fold, not the door by which the sheep enter into,
but by which they come out of, the fold.[483] We are also reminded of
the blind man of chap. ix. of the same Gospel, whom our Lord "found"
only after he had been "cast out" of the synagogue.[484] In the midst
of the blinded theocracy of Israel in the days of Jesus there was a
faithful, though small, remnant. It had been betrayed by the
religious guides of the people, who had become "thieves and robbers,"
whom the true sheep did not know, and to whom they ought not to
listen. Jesus came to call it out of the theocracy to Himself. Such
was the spectacle which St. John had witnessed when his Master was in
the world, and that experience is now repeated. The Church as a whole
degenerates. Called to prepare men for the Second Coming of the Lord,
and to teach them to live, not for the present, but the future, she
becomes herself the victim of the present. She forgets that, in the
absence of the Bridegroom, her days are days of fasting. She fails to
realize the fact that until her Lord comes again her state is one of
widowhood. And, instead of mourning, she sits as a queen, at ease and
satisfied, proud of her pomp and jewellery. What is all this but a
recurrence of the old events of history? The Apostle sees the future
mirrored in the past; and he can only follow in his Master's
footsteps, and call His Christian remnant out of Babylon.
The words are in the highest degree important for the interpretation
and understanding of the Apocalypse. We have already found in more
than one passage distinct traces of this double Church, of the true
Church within the false, of the few living ones within the Body which
had a name to live, but was dead. Here the distinction meets us in all
its sharpness, and fresh light is cast upon passages that may have
formerly seemed dark. "Many are called," "many" constituting the
outward Church; but "few are chosen," "few" constituting the real
Church, the Church which consists of the poor, and meek, and lowly.
The two parts may keep together for a time, but the union cannot
last; and the day comes when, as Christ called His sheep out of the
Jewish, so He will again call His sheep out of the Christian "fold,"
that they may hear His voice, and follow Him.
Having summoned the true disciples of Jesus out of Babylon, the voice
from heaven again proclaims in a double form, as _sins_ and as
_iniquities_, the guilt of the doomed city, and invites the ministers of
judgment, according to the _lex talionis_, to _render unto her double_.
The command may also be founded upon the law of the theocracy by which
thieves and violent aggressors of the poor were required to make a
double repayment to those whom they had injured,[485] or it may rest
upon the remembrance of such threatenings as those by the prophet
Jeremiah, "I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double."[486]
Judgment is next supposed to have been executed upon Babylon; and the
Seer proceeds to describe in language of unexampled eloquence the
lamentation of the world over the city's fall:--
And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived
wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look
upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of
her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the strong
city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of
the earth weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more: merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk,
and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and
every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron,
and marble, and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment,
and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat,
and cattle, and sheep, and merchandise of horses, and chariots,
and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits which thy soul lusted
after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and
sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more
at all. The merchants of these 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
precious stone, and pearl! for in one hour so great riches is made
desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth
anywhither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea,
stood afar off, and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her
burning, saying, What city is like the great city? And they cast
dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe,
woe, the great city, wherein were made rich all that had their
ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is
she made desolate. Rejoice with her, thou heaven, and ye saints,
and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your
judgment on her (xviii. 9-20).
Three classes of persons are introduced to us: Kings, Merchants, and
Sailors. All are _of the earth_; and each class, in its own strain,
swells the voice of lamentation. The words are largely taken from the
Old Testament, and more particularly from the description of the
overthrow of Tyre in Ezekiel (chaps. xxvi., xxvii.). There is even a
peculiar propriety in this latter reference, for Tyre was known by the
prophets as another Babylon. In describing the "Burden of Tyre,"
Isaiah uses in one part of his description the words, "The city of
confusion" (the meaning of the word Babylon) "is broken down."[487]
It is unnecessary to enter into any examination clause by clause of
the passage before us. We shall better catch its spirit and be made
sensible of its effect by attending to a few general observations upon
the description as a whole.
1. Not without interest may we mark that the classes selected to mourn
over the burning of the city are three in number. We have thus another
illustration of the manner in which that number penetrates the
structure of all the writings of St. John.
2. Emphasis is laid upon the fact that the city is _burned_. Her
destruction by fire has indeed been more than once alluded to. Of the
beast and the ten horns it had been said that "they shall burn her
utterly with fire;"[488] and, again, it had been proclaimed by the
voice from heaven that "she shall be utterly burned with fire."[489]
We shall not venture to say with any measure of positiveness that the
type of this "burning" is taken from the burning of Jerusalem by the
Romans. It may have been taken from the burning of other cities by
victorious enemies. But this much at least is obvious: that, in
conjunction with the fact that Babylon is a harlot, destruction by
fire leads us directly to the thought of the spiritual, and not simply
the civil, or political, or commercial, character of the city.
According to the law of Moses, burning appears to have been the
punishment of fornication only in the case of a priest's daughter:
"And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the
harlot, she shall be burnt with fire."[490]
3. Whether there is any other allusion to spiritual traffic in the
lamentations before us it is not easy to say. Of one at least which may
be quoted in this connexion the interpretation is uncertain. When the
merchants of the earth weep and mourn over the loss of that merchandise
which they now miss, they extend it, not only to articles of commerce
bought and sold in an ordinary market, but to _souls of men_. It may be
that, as often suggested, slavery alone is thought of. Yet it is highly
improbable that such is the case. Rather may it be supposed to refer to
that spiritual life which is destroyed by too much occupation with, and
too engrossing interest in, the world. "The characteristic of this
_fornication_ is the selling themselves for gold, as the Greek word
signifies. Therefore with such wonderful force and emphasis of
accumulation is every species of this merchandise mentioned, running up
all into one head: _the souls of men_. Like that in the prophet: 'Their
land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their
treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end
of their chariots; their land also is full of idols.' And it must be
observed that all these things which are so minutely particularized as
expressive of the meshes of that net by which men's souls are taken have
also their place in the new Jerusalem, where every jewel is specified by
name, and the gold of its streets, and the fine linen, and the incense,
and the wine, and the oil, its white horses also. In both alike must
they stand for spiritual merchandise of good and evil, the false riches
and the true."[491]
The conclusion to be drawn is that Babylon is a spiritual city. That,
as such, she is Jerusalem is further confirmed by the fact that, at
the close of the chapter, it is said, _And in her was found the blood
of prophets, and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the
earth._ Similar words met us in chap. xvii. 6; and here, as there,
they unmistakeably remind us of the words already quoted in which our
Lord describes the great city of the Jews.[492]
4. From all that has been said, it must be obvious that nothing is
here spoken of Babylon inapplicable to Jerusalem when we think of
this latter city in the light in which the Seer specially regards it.
Jerusalem was indeed neither a commercial nor a maritime city, but
Rome also was no city on the sea. A large part, therefore, of the
details of St. John's description is not less destitute of force when
applied, if applied literally, to the latter than to the former. On
the other hand, these details are more applicable to Jerusalem than to
Rome, if we remember that Jerusalem supplies, in a way impossible to
Rome, the groundwork for a delineation of those religious forces which
are far more wide-spreading in their reach, and far more crushing in
their power, than the legions of the imperial metropolis.
Babylon then is fallen, and that with a sudden and swift destruction,
a destruction indeed so sudden and so swift that each of the three
companies that lament takes particular notice of the fact that _in one
hour_ did her judgment come.[493]
More, however, so important is the subject, has to be said; and we are
introduced to the action of the third angel of the first group:--
And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone,
and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall
Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at
all. And the voice of harpers, and minstrels, and flute-players, and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman,
of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the
voice of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the
voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at
all in thee: for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And
in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all
that have been slain upon the earth (xviii. 21-24).
Yet once again, it would seem, must we think of Babylon as to be
destroyed rather than as destroyed already. So great is her guiltiness
that the Seer again and again approaches it, and dwells, though from
different points of view, upon the thought of her disastrous fate. In
the present case it is less the method than the effect of her
destruction that is before his eye, and nothing can be more touching
than the light in which he presents it. At one moment we behold the city
in her brightness, her gaiety, her rich and varied life. We hear the
voice of her harpers, and minstrels, and flute-players, and trumpeters,
all that can delight the ear accompanying all that can please the eye.
Her craftsmen of every craft are busy at their work; and each shop in
the great city resounds with the noise of the hammer, or the shuttle, or
the other instruments of prosperous industry. The cheering sound of the
millstone tells that there is food in her humbler dwellings. Her
merchants, too, are the princes of the earth; innumerable lamps glitter
in their halls and gardens; and the voice of the bridegroom and the
bride is the pledge of her well-being and joy. The next moment the proud
city is cast like a millstone into the sea; and all is silence,
desolation, and ruin. The resources of language appear as if they had
been exhausted to supply the description of so great a fall.
* * * * *
We have now reached the close of the longest and most important section
of the Apocalypse, beginning, as has been already pointed out, with
chap. vi. It is the fourth in that series of seven of which the book is
composed; and the main purpose of St. John in writing finds expression
in it. As the writer of the fourth Gospel describes in the fourth
section of that book, extending from chap. v. to chap. xii., the
conflict between the Son of God and "the Jews," so he describes in the
corresponding section of the Apocalypse the conflict between the
glorified Son of man as He lives and reigns in His Church and the evil
of the world. Throughout the conflict we are not once permitted to
forget that, although Christ and the true members of His Body may be the
objects of attack, and may even have to retire for security from the
field, God is on their side, and will never suffer His faithfulness to
fail or forget His promises. In a threefold series of judgments the
guilty world and the guilty Church are visited with the terrors of His
wrath. These three series of judgments, too, go on in an ascending line.
The climactic character of their contents has already been pointed out,
and nothing more need be said of it. But it may be worth while to notice
that the element of climax appears not less in the nature of the
instruments employed. Comparing the Trumpets with the Seals, the simple
fact that they are Trumpets indicates a higher, more exciting, more
terrible unfolding of wrath. The Trumpet is peculiarly the warlike
instrument, summoning the hosts to battle: "Thou hast heard, O my soul,
the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war;" "That day is a day of
wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a
day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities."[494] That the
Bowls, again, are still more potent than the Trumpets, appears from the
language in which they are described, from their mode of introduction,
and from the vessels made use of for the plagues. They are "the last"
plagues; in them is "finished" the wrath of God; they are called for by
a "great voice out of the sanctuary;" and they proceed, not from a
secular instrument, however warlike, but from a sacred vessel, not from
one which must be sounded for a length of time before it produces its
effect, but from one which, inverted in a moment, pours out with a
sudden gush its terrors upon men. Similar though they thus are, the
three series of judgments lose what might otherwise be their sameness;
and the mind is invited to rest upon that most instructive lesson of the
providence of God, that in proportion to privilege misused is the
severity with which sin is punished. Throughout all these judgments the
righteous are kept safe.
It will thus be observed that there is no strict chronological
succession in the visions of this book. There is succession of a
certain kind, succession in intensity of punishment. But we cannot
assign one series of judgments to one period in the history of the
Church or limit another to another. All the three series may
continually fulfil themselves wherever persons are found of the
character and disposition to which they severally apply.
But while these three series constitute the chief substance of the
fourth, or leading, section of the seven into which the Apocalypse is
divided, they do not exhaust the subject. The last series, in
particular--that of the Bowls--has proceeded upon a supposition the
most startling and pathetic by which the history of the Church is
marked,--that "they are not all Israel which are of Israel," that
tares have mingled with the wheat, and that the spirit of Babylon has
found its way into the heart of the city of God. A phenomenon so
unexpected and so melancholy stands in need of particular examination,
and that examination is given in the description of the character and
fate of Babylon. The remarks already made upon this point need not be
repeated. It may be enough to remind the reader that in no part of his
whole book is the Seer more deeply moved, and that in none does he
rise to strains of more powerful and touching eloquence. Yet what is
chiefly required of us is to open our minds to the full impression of
the fact that Babylon does fall, deep in ruin as in guilt, and that
with her fall the conflict ends.
FOOTNOTES:
[480] Kliefoth seems to have been the first to point this out.
[481] Luke ii. 9; Acts xxvi. 13.
[482] Isa. xiii. 19-22.
[483] John x. 7.
[484] John ix. 35.
[485] Exod. xxii. 4, 7, 9.
[486] Jer. xvi. 18.
[487] Isa. xxiv. 10.
[488] Chap. xvii. 16.
[489] Chap. xviii. 8.
[490] Lev. xxi. 9.
[491] Isaac Williams, _The Apocalypse, with Notes_, etc., p. 360.
[492] Matt. xxiii. 35. Comp. p. 291.
[493] Vers. 10, 17, 19.
[494] Jer. iv. 19; Zeph. i. 15, 16.