7. _And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel?_ He

was doubtless struck with the appearance of John as he stood fixed in

astonishment. The question asked him, _why_ he wondered, was designed

to show him that the cause of his surprise would be removed or lessened,

for that he would proceed so to explain this that he might have a

correct view of its design. ¶ _I will tell thee the mystery of the

woman._ On the word _mystery_, see Notes on ver. 5. The sense is, “I

will explain what is meant by the symbol――the hidden meaning that is

couched under it.” That is, he would so far explain it that a just

view might be obtained of its signification. The explanation follows,

ver. 8‒18. ¶ _And of the beast that carrieth her_, &c. Ver. 3.

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall

[523]ascend out of the bottomless pit, and [524]go into

perdition, and they that dwell on the earth shall [525]wonder,

whose names were not written in the book of life from the

foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was,

and is not, and yet is.

8. _The beast that thou sawest was, and is not._ In the close of the

verse it is added, “and yet is”――“the beast that was, and is not, and

yet is.” There are {386} three things affirmed here: first, that there

is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to,

that it “was,” or that, _before_ this, it had an existence; second,

that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that

is, that it had become practically extinct; and third, that there is a

sense in which that power would be so _revived_ that it might be said

that it “still is.” The “beast” here referred to is the same that is

mentioned in ver. 3 of this chapter, and in ch. xiii. 1, 3, 11‒16. That

is, there was one great formidable power, having essentially the same

origin, though manifested under somewhat different modifications, to

one and all of which might, in their different manifestations, be given

the same name, “_the beast_.” ¶ _And shall ascend out of the bottomless

pit_――ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου. On the meaning of the word here used, see Notes

on ch. ix. 1. The meaning here is, that this power would _seem_ to come

up from the nether world. It would appear at one time to be extinct,

but would revive again _as if_ coming from the world over which Satan

presides, and would, in its revived character, be such as might be

expected from such an origin. ¶ _And go into perdition._ That is,

its end will be destruction. It will not be permanent, but will

be overthrown and destroyed. The word _perdition_ here is properly

rendered by Prof. Stuart _destruction_, but nothing is indicated by the

word of the _nature_ of the destruction that would come upon it. ¶ _And

they that dwell on the earth._ The inhabitants of the earth generally;

that is, the matter referred to will be so remarkable as to attract

general attention. ¶ _Shall wonder._ It will be so contrary to the

regular course of events, so difficult of explanation, so remarkable

in itself, as to excite attention and surprise. ¶ _Whose names were not

written in the book of life from the foundation of the world._ See this

explained in the Notes on ch. xiii. 8. The idea seems to be, that those

whose names _are_ written in the book of life, or who are truly the

friends of God, would not be drawn off in admiration of the beast, or

in rendering homage to it. ¶ _When they behold the beast that was, and

is not, and yet is._ That is, the power that once was mighty; that had

declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that

was revived again with so much of its original strength, that it might

be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this

manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to

excite this admiration.

9 And here _is_ the mind which hath wisdom. The [526]seven

heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

9. _And here |is| the mind which hath wisdom._ Here is that which

requires wisdom to interpret it; or, here is a case in which the mind

that shows itself able to explain it will evince true sagacity. So

in ch. xiii. 18. See Notes on that place. Prof. Stuart renders this,

“Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom.” It is undoubtedly implied

that the symbol _might_ be understood――whether in the time of John,

or afterwards, he does not say; but it was a matter which could not

be determined by ordinary minds, or without an earnest application of

the understanding. ¶ _The seven heads are seven mountains._ Referring,

undoubtedly, to Rome――the seven-hilled city――_Septicollis Roma_. See

Notes on ch. xii. 3, (d). ¶ _On which the woman sitteth._ The city

represented as a woman, in accordance with a common usage in the

Scriptures. See Notes on Is. i. 8.

10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is,

_and_ the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must

continue a short space.

10. _And there are seven kings._ That is, seven in all, as they are

enumerated in this verse and the next. An _eighth_ is mentioned in

ver. 11, but it is, at the same time, said that this one so pertains to

the seven, or is so properly in one sense of the number seven, though,

in another sense, to be regarded as an eighth, that it may be properly

reckoned as the seventh. The word _kings_――βασιλεῖς――may be understood,

so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, (a) literally, as

denoting a king, or one who exercises royal authority; (b) in a more

general sense, as denoting one of distinguished honour――a viceroy,

prince, leader, chief, Mat. ii. 1, 3, 9; Lu. i. 5; Ac. xii. 1; (c) in a

still larger sense, {387} as denoting a dynasty, a form of government,

a mode of administration, as that which, in fact, _rules_. See Notes

on Da. vii. 24, where the word _king_ undoubtedly denotes a dynasty, or

form of rule. The notion of _ruling_, or of authority, is undoubtedly

in the word, for the verb βασιλεύω means _to rule_, but the word may be

applied to anything in which sovereignty resides. Thus it is applied to

a king’s son, to a military commander, to the gods, to a Greek archon,

&c. See Passow. It would be contrary to the whole spirit of this

passage, and to what is demanded by the proper meaning of the word,

to insist that the word should denote literally _kings_, and that it

could not be applied to emperors, or to dictators, or to dynasties.

¶ _Five are fallen._ Have passed away as if fallen; that is, they have

disappeared. The language would be applicable to rulers who have died,

or who had been dethroned; or to dynasties or forms of government that

had ceased to be. In the fulfilment of this, it would be necessary

to find _five_ such successive kings or rulers who had died, and who

appertained to one sovereignty or nation; or five such dynasties or

forms of administrations that had successively existed, but which had

ceased. ¶ _And one is._ That is, there is one――a sixth――that now reigns.

The proper interpretation of this would be, that this existed in the

time of the writer; that is, according to the view taken of the time

of the writing of the Apocalypse (see Intro., § 2), at the close of

the first century. ¶ _And the other is not yet come._ The sixth one

is to be succeeded by another in the same line, or occupying the same

dominion. ¶ _And when he cometh._ When that form of dominion is set

up. No intimation is yet given as to the _time_ when this would occur.

¶ _He must continue a short space_――ὀλίγον. A short time; his dominion

will be of short duration. It is observable that this characteristic

is stated as applicable _only_ to this one of the seven; and the fair

meaning would seem to be, that the time would be short _as compared_

with the six that preceded, and as compared with the one that

followed――the _eighth_――into which it was to be merged, ver. 11.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,

and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

11. _And the beast that was, and is not._ That is, the one power

that was formerly mighty; that died away so that it might be said

to be extinct; and yet (ver. 8) that “still is,” or has a prolonged

existence. It is evident that, by the “beast” here, there is some one

power, dominion, empire, or rule, whose essential identity is preserved

through all these changes, and to which it is proper to give the

same name. It finds its termination, or _its last form_, in what is

here called the “eighth;” a power which, it is observed, sustains

such a peculiar relation to the seven, that it may be said to be

“of the seven,” or to be a mere prolongation of the same sovereignty.

¶ _Even he is the eighth._ The eighth in the succession. This form of

sovereignty, though a mere prolongation of the former government, so

much so as to be, in fact, but keeping up the same empire in the world,

appears in such a novelty of form, that, in one sense, it deserves

to be called the _eighth_ in order, and yet is so essentially a mere

concentration and continuance of the one power, that, in the general

reckoning (ver. 10), it might be regarded as pertaining to the former.

There was a sense in which it was proper to speak of it as the eighth

power; and yet, viewed in its relation to the whole, it so essentially

combined and concentrated all that there was _in_ the seven, that, in

a general view, it scarcely merited a separate mention. We should look

for the fulfilment of this in some such concentration and embodiment of

all that it was, in the previous forms of sovereignty referred to, that

it perhaps would deserve mention as an _eighth_ power, but that it was,

nevertheless, such a more prolongation of the previous forms of the one

power, that it might be said to be “_of_ the seven;” so that, _in this

view_, it would not claim a separate consideration. This seems to be

the fair meaning, though there is much that is enigmatical in the form

of the expression. ¶ _And goeth into perdition._ See Notes on ver. 8.

In inquiring now into the application of this very difficult passage,

it may be proper to suggest some of the principal opinions which have

been held, and then to endeavour to ascertain the true meaning.

{388} I. The principal opinions which have been held may be reduced to

the following:――

(1) That the seven kings here refer to the succession of Roman

emperors, yet with some variation as to the manner of reckoning. Prof.

Stuart begins with Julius Cæsar, and reckons them in this manner:――the

“five that are fallen” are Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,

Claudius. Nero, who, as he supposes, was the reigning prince at the

time when the book was written, he regards as the sixth; Galba, who

succeeded him, as the seventh. Others, who adopt this literal method

of explaining it, suppose that the time begins with Augustus, and then

Galba would be the sixth, and Otho, who reigned but three months, would

be the seventh. The expression, “the beast that was, and is not, who is

the eighth,” Prof. Stuart regards as referring to a general impression

among the heathen and among Christians, in the time of the persecution

under Nero, that he would again appear after it was reported that

he was dead, or that he would rise from the dead and carry on his

persecution again. See Prof. Stuart, _Com._ vol. ii., Excur. iii.

The _beast_, according to this view, denotes the Roman emperors,

specifically Nero, and the reference in ver. 8 is to “the well-known

hariolation respecting Nero, that he would be assassinated, and would

disappear for a while, and then make his appearance again to the

confusion of all his enemies.” “What the angel,” says he, “says,

seems to be equivalent to this――‘The _beast_ means the Roman emperors,

specifically Nero, of whom the report spread throughout the empire

that he will revive, after being apparently slain, and will come, as it

were, from the abyss or Hades, but he will perish, and that speedily,’”

vol. ii. p. 323.

(2) That the word “kings” is not to be taken literally, but that it

refers to forms of government, dynasties, or modes of administration.

The general opinion among those who hold this view is, that the first

six refer to the forms of the Roman government――(1) kings; (2) consuls;

(3) dictators; (4) decemvirs; (5) military tribunes; (6) the imperial

form, beginning with Augustus. This has been the common Protestant

interpretation, and in reference to these _six_ forms of government

there has been a general agreement. But, while the mass of Protestant

interpreters have supposed that the “six” heads refer to these forms of

administration, there has been much diversity of opinion as to the

seventh; and here, on this plan of interpretation, the main, if not the

sole difficulty lies. Among the opinions held are the following:――

(a) That of Mr. Mede. He makes the seventh head what he calls the

“Demi-Cæsar,” or the “Western emperor who reigned after the division

of the empire into East and West, and which continued, after the last

division, under Honorius and Arcadius, about sixty years――a short space”

(_Works_, book iii. ch. 8; book v. ch. 12).

(b) That of Bishop Newton, who regards the sixth or imperial “head”

as continuing uninterruptedly through the line of Christian as well as

Pagan emperors, until Augustulus and the Heruli; and the seventh to be

the _Dukedom_ of Rome, established soon after under the exarchate of

Ravenna (_Prophecies_, pp. 575, 576).

(c) That of Dr. More and Mr. Cunninghame, who suppose the Christian

emperors, from Constantine to Augustulus, to constitute the seventh

head, and that this had its termination by the sword of the Heruli.

(d) That of Mr. Elliott, who supposes the seventh head or power

to refer to a new form of administration introduced by Diocletian,

changing the administration from the _original imperial character_ to

that of _an absolute Asiatic sovereignty_. For the important changes

introduced by Diocletian that justify this remark, see the _Decline and

Fall_, vol. i. pp. 212‒217.

Numerous other solutions may be found in Poole’s _Synopsis_, but these

embrace the principal, and the most plausible that have been proposed.

II. I proceed, then, to state what seems to me to be the true

explanation. This must be found in some _facts_ that will accord with

the explanation given of the meaning of the passage.

(1) There can be no doubt that this refers to Rome, either Pagan,

Christian, or Papal. All the circumstances combine in this; all

respectable interpreters agree in this. This would be naturally

understood by the symbols used by John, and by the explanations

furnished by the angel. See ver. 18: “And the woman which thou sawest

is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

Every circumstance combines here in leading to the conclusion {389}

that Rome is intended. There was no other power or empire on the

earth to which this could be properly applied; there was everything

in the circumstances of the writer to lead us to suppose that this

was referred to; there is an utter impossibility now in applying the

description to anything else.

(2) It was to be a _revived_ power; not a power in its original form

and strength. This is manifest, because it is said (ver. 8) that the

power represented by the beast “was, and is not, and yet is”――that is,

it was once a mighty power; it then declined so that it could be said

that “it is _not_;” and yet there was so much remaining vitality in

it, or so much revived power, that it could be said that it “still

is”――καίπερ ἐστίν. Now, this is strictly applicable to Rome when the

Papal power arose. The old Roman might had departed; the glory and

strength evinced in the days of the consuls, the dictators, and the

emperors, had disappeared, and yet there was a lingering vitality, and

a reviving of power under the Papacy, which made it proper to say that

it still continued, or that that mighty power was prolonged. The civil

power connected with the Papacy was a revived Roman power――the Roman

power prolonged under another form――for it is susceptible of clear

demonstration that, if it had not been for the rise of the Papal power,

the sovereignty of Rome, as such, would have been wholly extinct. For

the proof of this, see the passages quoted in the Notes on ver. 3.

Comp. Notes on ch. xiii. 3, 12, 15.

(3) It was to be a power emanating from the “abyss,” or that would

seem to ascend from the dark world beneath. See ver. 8. This was true

in regard to the Papacy, either (a) as apparently ascending from the

lowest state and the most depressed condition, _as if_ it came up

from below (see Notes on ver. 3, comp. ch. xiii. 11); or (b) as, in

fact, having its origin in the world of darkness, and being under

the control of the prince of that world, which, according to all

the representations of that formidable Antichristian power in the

Scriptures, is true, and which the whole history of the Papacy, and

of its influence on religion, confirms.

(4) One of the powers referred to _sustained_ the other. “The seven

heads are seven mountains on which the woman _sitteth_,” ver. 9.

That is, the power represented by the harlot was _sustained_ or

_supported_ by the power represented by the seven heads or the seven

mountains. Literally applied, this would mean that the Papacy, as an

ecclesiastical institution, was sustained by the civil power, with

which it was so closely connected. For the illustration and support

of this, see Notes on ch. xiii. 2, 3, 12, 15. In the Notes on those

passages it is shown that the support was _mutual_; that while the

Papacy, in fact, _revived_ the almost extinct Roman civil power, and

gave it new vitality, the price of that was, that _it_ should be, in

its turn, sustained by that revived Roman civil power. All history

shows that that has been the fact; that in all its aggressions,

assumptions, and persecutions, it has, _in fact_, and _professedly_,

leaned on the arm of the civil power.

(5) A more important inquiry, and a more serious difficulty, remains

in respect to the statements respecting the “seven kings,” ver. 10, 11.

The statements on this point are, that the whole number properly was

seven; that of this number five had fallen or passed away; that one

was in existence at the time when the author wrote; that another one

was yet to appear who would continue for a little time; and that the

general power represented by all these would be embodied in the “beast

that was, and is not,” and that might, in some respects, be regarded as

an “eighth.” These points may be taken up in their order.

(a) The first inquiry relates to the five that were fallen and the

one that was then in existence――the first six. These may be taken

together, for they are manifestly of the same class, and have the

same characteristics, at least so far as to be distinguished from the

“seventh” and the “eighth.” The meaning of the word “_kings_” here has

been already explained, ver. 10. It denotes ruling power, or forms of

power; and, so far as the signification of the _word_ is concerned, it

might be applicable to royalty, or to any other form of administration.

It is not necessary, then, to find an exact succession of _princes_ or

_kings_ that would correspond with this――five of whom were dead, and

one of whom was then on the throne, and all soon to be succeeded by one

more, who would soon die.

The true explanation of this seems to be that which refers this to the

forms of the Roman government or administration. These six “heads,” or

forms of {390} administration, were, in their order, _Kings_, _Consuls_,

_Dictators_, _Decemvirs_, _Military Tribunes_, and _Emperors_. Of these,

five had passed away in the time when John wrote the Apocalypse; the

sixth, the imperial, was then in power, and had been from the time

of Augustus Cæsar. The only questions that can be raised are, whether

these forms of administration were so _distinct_ and _prominent_,

and whether in the times previous to John they so embraced the whole

Roman power, as to justify this interpretation――that is, whether these

forms of administration were so marked in this respect that it may be

supposed that John would use the language here employed in describing

them. As showing the probability that he would use this language, I

refer to the following arguments, viz.: (1) The authority of Livy, lib.

vi. cap. 1. Speaking of the previous parts of his history, and of what

he had done in writing it, he says: “Quæ ab condita urbe Roma ad captam

eandem urbem, Romani sub _regibus_ primum, _consulibus_ deinde ac

_dictatoribus_, _decemviris_ ac _tribunis consularibus_ gessere, foris

bella, domi seditiones, quinque libris exposui.” That is, “In five

books I have related what was done at Rome, pertaining both to foreign

wars and domestic strifes, from the foundation of the city to the time

when it was taken, as it was governed by _kings_, by _consuls_, by

_dictators_, by the _decemvirs_, and by _consular tribunes_.” Here

he mentions _five_ forms of administration under which Rome had been

governed in the earlier periods of its history. The imperial power had

a later origin, and did not exist until near the time of Livy himself.

(2) The same distribution of power, or forms of government, among

the Romans, is made by Tacitus, _Annal._ lib. i. cap. 1: “Urbem Romam

à principio _reges_ habuere. Libertatem et _consulatum_ L. Brutus

instituit. _Dictaturæ_ ad tempus sumebantur. Neque _decemviralis

potestas_ ultrà biennium, neque _tribunorum militum consulare jus_

diu valuit. Non Cinnæ, non Syllæ longa dominatio: et Pompeii Crassique

potentia cito in Cæsarem, Lepidi atque Antonii arma in Augustum

cessere; qui cuncta, discordiis civilibus fessa, nomine _principis_

sub _imperium_ accepit.” That is, “In the beginning, Rome was governed

by _kings_. Then L. Brutus gave to her liberty and the _consulship_.

A temporary power was conferred on the _dictators_. The authority of

the _decemvirs_ did not continue beyond the space of two years: neither

was the consular power of the _military tribunes_ of long duration. The

rule of Cinna and Sylla was brief; and the power of Pompey and Crassus

passed into the hands of Cæsar; and the arms of Lepidus and Antony

were surrendered to Augustus, who united all things, broken by civil

discord, under the name of _prince_ in the _imperial_ government.”

Here Tacitus distinctly mentions the _six forms of administration_ that

had prevailed in Rome, the last of which was the imperial. It is true,

also, that he mentions the brief rule of certain _men_――as Cinna,

Sylla, Antony, and Lepidus; but these are not forms of _administration_,

and their temporary authority did not indicate any change in the

_government_――for some of these men were _dictators_, and none of

them, except Brutus and Augustus, established any permanent form of

administration. (3) The same thing is apparent in the usual statements

of history, and the books that describe the forms of government at

Rome. In so common a book as Adam’s _Roman Antiquities_, a description

may be found of the forms of Roman administration that corresponds

almost precisely with this. The forms of _supreme_ power in Rome, as

enumerated there, are what are called _ordinary_ and _extraordinary_

magistrates. Under the former are enumerated kings, consuls, prætors,

censors, quæstors, and tribunes of the people. But of these, in fact,

the _supreme_ power was vested in two; for there were, under this,

but _two_ forms of administration――that of kings and consuls; the

offices of prætor, censor, quæstor, and tribune of the people being

merely subordinate to that of the consuls, and no more a new form

of administration than the offices of secretary of the state, of

war, of the navy, of the interior, are now. Under the latter――that of

_extraordinary_ magistrates――are enumerated _dictators_, _decemvirs_,

_military tribunes_, and the _interrex_. But the _interrex_ did not

constitute a _form_ of administration, or a change of government, any

more than, when the President or Vice-president of the United States

should die, the performance of the duties of the office of president by

the speaker of the senate would indicate a change, or than the regency

of the Prince of Wales in the time of George III. constituted {391}

a new form of government. So that, in fact, we have enumerated, as

constituting _the supreme power_ at Rome, kings, consuls, dictators,

decemvirs, and military tribunes――five in number. The imperial power

was the sixth. (4) In confirmation of the same thing, I may refer to

the authority of Bellarmine, a distinguished Roman Catholic writer. In

his work _De Pontiff_., cap. 2, he thus enumerates the changes which

the Roman government had experienced, or the forms of administration

that had existed there: 1. Kings; 2. Consuls; 3. Decemvirs;

4. Dictators; 5. Military Tribunes with consular power; 6. Emperors.

See Poole’s _Synop._, _in loco_. And (5) it may be added, that this

would be _understood_ by the contemporaries of John in this sense.

These forms of government were so marked that, in connection with the

mention of the “seven mountains,” designating the city, there could be

no doubt as to what was intended. Reference would at once be made to

the _imperial_ power as then existing, and the mind would readily and

easily turn back to the five main forms of the supreme administration

which had existed before.

(b) The next inquiry is, what is denoted by _the seventh_. If the word

“kings” here refers, as is supposed (Notes on ver. 10), to a form of

government or administration; if the “five” refer to the forms previous

to the imperial, and the “sixth” to the imperial; and if John wrote

_during_ the imperial government, then it follows that this must refer

to some form of administration that was to succeed the imperial. If the

Papacy was “the eighth,” and of the “seventh,” then it is clear that

this must refer to some form of civil administration lying _between_

the decline of the _imperial_ and the rise of the _Papal_ power:

that “short space”――for it _was_ a short space that intervened. Now,

there can be no difficulty, I think, in referring this to that form of

administration over Rome――that “dukedom” under the exarchate of Ravenna,

which succeeded the decline of the imperial power, and which preceded

the rise of the Papal power;――between the year 566 or 568, when Rome

was reduced to a dukedom, under the exarchate of Ravenna, and the time

when the city revolted from this authority and became subject to that

of the pope, about the year 727. This period continued, according to

Mr. Gibbon, about two hundred years. He says, “During a period of two

hundred years, Italy was unequally divided between the kingdom of the

Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. The offices and professions,

which the jealousy of Constantine had separated, were united by

the indulgence of Justinian; and eighteen successive exarchs were

invested, _in the decline of the empire, with the full remains of

civil, of military, and even of ecclesiastical power_. Their immediate

jurisdiction, _which was afterwards consecrated as the patrimony of

St. Peter_, extended over the modern Romagna, the marshes or valleys of

Ferrara and Commachio, five maritime cities from Rimini to Ancona, and

a second inland Pentapolis, between the Adriatic coast and the hills

of the Apennine. The duchy of Rome appears to have included the Tuscan,

Sabine, and Latian conquests, _of the first four hundred years of the

city_; and the limits may be distinctly traced along the coast, from

Civita Vecchia to Terracina, and with the course of the Tiber from

Ameria and Narni to the port of Ostia” (_Dec. and Fall_, iii. 202).

How accurate is this if it be regarded as a statement of a _new_ power

or form of administration that succeeded the imperial――a power that

was, in fact, a prolongation of the old Roman authority, and that

was designed to constitute and embody it all! Could Mr. Gibbon have

furnished a _better_ commentary on the passage if he had adopted the

interpretation of this portion of the Apocalypse above proposed, and

if he had _designed_ to describe this as the seventh power in the

successive forms of the Roman administration? It is worthy of remark,

also, that this account in Mr. Gibbon’s history immediately _precedes_

the account of the rise of the Papacy; the record respecting the

exarchate, and that concerning Gregory the Great, described by

Mr. Gibbon as “the Saviour of Rome,” occurring in the same chapter,

vol. iii. 202‒211.

(c) This was to “continue for a short space”――for a little time. If

this refers to the power to which in the remarks above it is supposed

to refer, it is easy to see the propriety of this statement. Compared

with the previous form of administration――the imperial――it was of

short duration; absolutely considered, it was brief. {392} Mr. Gibbon

(iii. 202) has marked it as extending through “a period of two hundred

years;” and if this is compared with the form of administration which

preceded it, extending to more than five hundred years, and more

especially with that which followed――the Papal form――which has extended

now some twelve hundred years, it will be seen with what propriety this

is spoken of as continuing for a “short space.”

(d) “The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of

the seven,” ver. 11. If the explanations above given are correct, there

can be no difficulty in the application of this to the Papal power;

for (1) all this power was concentrated in the Papacy, all that revived

or prolonged Roman power had now passed into the Papacy, constituting

that mighty dominion which was to be set up for so many centuries over

what had been the Roman world. See the statements of Mr. Gibbon (iii.

207‒211), as quoted in the Notes on ver. 3. Compare also, particularly;

the remarks of Augustine Steuchus, a Roman Catholic writer, as quoted

in the Notes on that verse: “The empire having been overthrown, unless

God had raised up the _pontificate_, Rome, resuscitated and restored

by none, would have become uninhabitable, and been thenceforward a most

foul habitation of cattle. But in the pontificate it revived as with

a _second birth_; its empire in magnitude not indeed equal to the

old empire, but its form not very dissimilar: because all nations,

from East and from West, venerate the pope, not otherwise than they

before obeyed the emperor.” (2) This was an _eighth_ power or form of

administration――for it was different, in many respects, from that of

the kings, the consuls, the dictators, the decemvirs, the military

tribunes, the emperors, and the dukedom――though it comprised

substantially the power of all. Indeed, it could not have been spoken

of as identical with either of the previous forms of administration,

though it concentrated the power which had been wielded by them all.

(3) It was “_of_ the seven;” that is, it pertained to them; it was a

prolongation of the same power. It had the same central seat――Rome;

it extended over the same territory, and it embraced sooner or latter

the same nations. There is not one of those forms of administration

which did not find a prolongation in the Papacy; for it aspired after,

and succeeded in obtaining, all the authority of kings, dictators,

consuls, emperors. It was in fact still the _Roman_ sceptre swayed

over the world; and with the strictest propriety it could be said that

it was “_of_ the seven,” as having sprung out of the seven, and as

perpetuating the sway of this mighty domination. For full illustration

of this, see the Notes on Da. vii. and Re. xiii. (4) It would “go

into perdition;” that is, it would be under this form that this mighty

domination that had for so many ages ruled over the earth would die

away, or this would be the _last_ in the series. The _Roman_ dominion,

as such, would not be extended to a ninth, or tenth, or eleventh form,

but would finally expire under the eighth. Every indication shows that

this is to be so, and that with the decline of the Papal power the

_whole Roman domination_, that has swayed a sceptre for two thousand

five hundred years, will have come for ever to an end. If this is so,

then we have found an ample and exact application of this passage even

in its most minute specifications.

12 And the [527]ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,

which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as

kings one hour with the beast.

12. _And the ten horns which thou sawest._ On the scarlet-coloured

beast, ver. 3. ¶ _Are ten kings._ Represent or denote ten kings;

that is, kingdoms or powers. See Notes on Da. vii. 24. ¶ _Which have

received no kingdom as yet._ That is, they were not in existence when

John wrote. It is implied, that during the period under review they

_would_ arise, and would become connected, in an important sense, with

the power here represented by the “beast.” For a full illustration

respecting the ten “kings,” or kingdoms here referred to, see Notes on

Da. vii., at the close of the chapter, II. (2). ¶ _But receive power._

It is not said from what _source_ this power is received, but it is

simply implied that it would in fact be conferred on them. ¶ _As

kings._ That is, the power would be that which is usually exercised

by kings. ¶ _One hour._ It cannot be supposed that this is to be taken

_literally_. The meaning clearly is, that this would be brief and

temporary; {393} that is, it was a form of administration which would

be succeeded by one more fixed and permanent. Anyone can see that, in

fact, this is strictly applicable to the governments, as referred to

in the Notes on Daniel, which sprang up after the incursion of the

northern barbarians, and which were finally succeeded by the permanent

forms of government in Europe. Most of them were very brief in their

duration, and they were soon remodelled in the forms of permanent

administration. Thus, to take the arrangement proposed by Sir Isaac

Newton, (1) the kingdom of the Vandals and Alans in Spain and Africa;

(2) the kingdom of the Suevians in Spain; (3) the kingdom of the

Visigoths; (4) the kingdom of the Alans in Gallia; (5) the kingdom of

the Burgundians; (6) the kingdom of the Franks; (7) the kingdom of the

Britons; (8) the kingdom of the Huns; (9) the kingdom of the Lombards;

(10) the kingdom of Ravenna――how _temporary_ were most of these; how

soon they passed into the more permanent forms of administration which

succeeded them in Europe! ¶ _With the beast._ With that rising Papal

power. They would exercise their authority in connection with that,

and under its influence.

13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and

strength unto the beast.

13. _These have one mind._ That is, they are united in the promotion

of the same object. Though in some respects wholly independent of each

other, yet they may be regarded as, in fact, so far united that they

tend to promote the same ultimate end. As a fact in history, all these

kingdoms, though of different origin, and though not unfrequently

engaged in war with each other, became Roman Catholics, and were united

in the support of the Papacy. It was with propriety, therefore, that

they should be regarded as so closely connected with that power that

they could be represented as “ten horns” on the seven-headed monster.

¶ _And shall give their power and strength unto the beast._ Shall lend

their influence to the support of the Papacy, and become the upholders

of that power. The meaning, according to the interpretation above

proposed, is, that they would all become Papal kingdoms, and supporters

of the Papal power. It is unnecessary to pause to show how true this

has been in history. At first, most of the people out of whom these

kingdoms sprang were Pagans; then many of them embraced Christianity

under the prevailing form of Arianism, and this fact was for a time

a bar to their perfect adhesion to the Roman see; but they were

all ultimately brought wholly under its influence, and became its

supporters. In A.D. 496, Clovis, the king of the Franks, on occasion

of his victory over the Allemanni, embraced the Catholic faith, and

so received the title, transmitted downward through nearly thirteen

hundred years to the French kings as his successors, of “_the eldest

son of the church_;” in the course of the sixth century, the kings of

Burgundy, Bavaria, Spain, Portugal, England, embraced the same religion,

and became the defenders of the Papacy. It is well known that each

one of the powers above enumerated as constituting these ten kingdoms,

became subject to the Papacy, and continued so during their separate

existence, or when merged into some other power, until the Reformation

in the sixteenth century. _All_ “their power and strength was given

unto the beast;” all was made subservient to the purposes of Papal Rome.

14 These shall [528]make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb

[529]shall overcome them: for he is [530]Lord of lords,

and King of kings: and [531]they that are with him _are_

[532]called, and [533]chosen, and [534]faithful.

14. _These shall make war with the Lamb._ The Lamb of God――the Lord

Jesus (Notes, ch. v. 6); that is, they would combine with the Papacy in

opposing evangelical religion. It is not meant that they would _openly_

and _avowedly_ proclaim _war_ against the Son of God, but that they

would _practically_ do this in sustaining a persecuting power. It is

unnecessary to show how true this has been in history; how entirely

they sustained the Papacy in all its measures of persecution. ¶ _And

the Lamb shall overcome them._ Shall ultimately gain the victory over

them. The meaning is, that they would not be able to extinguish the

true religion. In spite of all opposition and persecution, that would

still live in the world, until it would be said that a complete triumph

{394} was gained. ¶ _For he is Lord of lords, and King of kings._ He

has supreme power over all the earth, and all kings and princes are

subject to his control. Comp. ch. xix. 16. ¶ _And they that are with

him._ The reference is to the persecuted saints who have adhered

to him as his faithful followers in all these protracted conflicts.

¶ _|Are| called._ That is, called by him to be his followers; as if he

had selected them out of the world to maintain his cause. See Notes on

Ro. i. 7. ¶ _And chosen._ See Notes on Jn. xv. 16, and 1 Pe. i. 2. In

their steadfast adherence to the truth, they had shown that they were

truly _chosen_ by the Saviour, and could be relied on in the warfare

against the powers of evil. ¶ _And faithful._ They had shown themselves

faithful to him in times of persecution, and in the hour of darkness.

15 And he saith unto me, [535]The waters which thou sawest,

where the whore sitteth, are [536]peoples, and multitudes, and

nations, and tongues.

15. _And he saith unto me._ The angel, ver. 7. This commences the more

_literal_ statement of what is meant by these symbols. See the Analysis

of the chapter. ¶ _The waters which thou sawest._ See Notes on ver. 1.

¶ _Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues._ For an

explanation of these terms, see Notes on ch. vii. 9. The meaning here

is, (a) that these waters _represent_ a multitude of people. This is a

common and an obvious symbol――for outspread seas or raging floods would

naturally represent such a multitude. See Is. viii. 7, 8; xvii. 12, 13;

Je. xlvii. 2. Comp. _Iliad_, v. 394. The sense here is, that vast

numbers of people would be subject to the power here represented by

the woman. (b) They would be composed of different nations, and would

be of different languages. It is unnecessary to show that this, in

both respects, is applicable to the Papacy. Nations have been, and

are subject to its control, and nations speaking a large part of the

languages of the world. Perhaps under no one government――not even the

Babylonian, the Macedonian, or the ancient Roman――was there so great a

diversity of people, speaking so many different languages, and having

so different an origin.

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,

[537]these shall hate the whore, and shall [538]make her

desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and [539]burn her

with fire.

16. _And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast._ Ver. 3.

The ten powers or kingdoms represented by those horns. See Notes on

ver. 12. ¶ _These shall hate the whore._ There _seems_ to be some

incongruity between this statement and that which was previously made.

In the former (ver. 12‒14), these ten governments are represented as in

alliance with the beast; as “giving all their power and strength” unto

it; and as uniting with it in making war with the Lamb. What is here

said must, therefore, refer to some subsequent period, indicating some

great change in their feelings and policy. We have seen the evidence

of the fulfilment of the former statements. This statement will be

accomplished if these same powers, represented by the ten horns, that

were formerly in alliance with the Papacy, shall become its enemy, and

contribute to its final overthrow. That is, it will be accomplished if

the nations of Europe, embraced within the limits of those ten kingdoms,

shall become hostile to the Papacy, and shall combine for its overthrow.

Is anything more probable than this? France (see Notes on ch. xvi.) has

already struck more than one heavy blow on that power; England has been

detached from it; many of the states of Italy are weary of it, and are

ready to rise up against it; and nothing is more probable than that

Spain, Portugal, France, Lombardy, and the Papal States themselves,

will yet throw off the yoke for ever, and put an end to a power that

has so long ruled over men. It was with the utmost difficulty, in 1848,

that the Papal power was sustained, and this was done only by foreign

swords; the Papacy could not probably be protected in another such

outbreak. And this passage leads us to anticipate that the period will

come――and that probably not far in the future――when those powers that

have for so many ages sustained the Papacy will become its determined

foes, and will rise in their might and bring it for ever to an end.

¶ _And shall make her desolate and naked._ Strip her of all her power

and all her attractiveness. {395} That is, applied to Papal Rome,

all that is so gorgeous and alluring――her wealth, and pomp, and

splendour――shall be taken away, and she will be seen as she is, without

anything to dazzle the eye or to blind the mind. ¶ _And shall eat her

flesh._ Shall completely destroy her――_as if_ her flesh were consumed.

Perhaps the image is taken from the practice of cannibals eating the

flesh of their enemies slain in battle. If so, nothing could give a

more impressive idea of the utter destruction of this formidable power,

or of the feelings of those by whom its end would be brought about.

¶ _And burn her with fire._ Another image of total destruction. Perhaps

the meaning may be, that after her _flesh_ was eaten, such parts of

her as remained would be thrown into the fire and consumed. If this be

the meaning, the image is a very impressive one to denote absolute and

total destruction. Comp. Notes on ch. xviii. 8.

17 For [540]God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will,

and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast,

[541]until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

17. _For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will._ That is, in

regard to the destruction of this mighty power. They would be employed

as his agents in bringing about his designs. Kings and princes are

under the control of God, and, whatever may be their own designs, they

are in fact employed to accomplish _his_ purposes, and are instruments

in _his_ hands. See Notes on Is. x. 7. Comp. Ps. lxxvi. 10. ¶ _And to

agree._ See ver. 13. That is, they act harmoniously in their support

of this power, and so they will in its final destruction. ¶ _And give

their kingdom unto the beast._ Notes, ver. 13. ¶ _Until the words of

God shall be fulfilled._ Not for ever; not as a permanent arrangement.

God has fixed a limit to the existence of this power. When his purposes

are accomplished, these kingdoms will withdraw their support, and this

mighty power will fall to rise no more.

18 And the woman which thou sawest is [542]that great city,

which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

18. _And the woman which thou sawest._ Ver. 3. ¶ _Is that great city._

Represents that great city. ¶ _Which reigneth over the kings of the

earth._ Rome would of course be understood by this language in the time

of John, and all the circumstances, as we have seen, combined to show

that Rome, in some form of its dominion, is intended. Even the _name_

could hardly have designated it more clearly, and all expositors agree

in supposing that Rome, either as Pagan or as Christian, is referred

to. The chapter shows that its power is limited; and that, although

for purposes which he saw to be wise, God allows it to have a wide

influence over the nations of the earth, yet, in his own appointed

time, the very powers that have sustained it will become its foes, and

combine for its overthrow. Europe needs but little farther provocation,

and the fires of liberty, which have been so long pent up, will break

forth, and that storm of indignation which has expelled the Jesuits

from all the courts of Europe; which has abolished the Inquisition;

which has more than once led hostile armies to the very gates of Papal

Rome, will again be aroused in a manner which cannot be allayed, and

that mighty power, which has controlled so large a part of the nations

of Europe for more than a thousand years of the world’s history, will

come to an end.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This chapter may be regarded as a still further _explanatory episode_

(comp. Anal. to ch. xvii.), designed to show the _effect_ of pouring

out the seventh vial (ch. xvi. 17‒21) on the formidable Antichristian

power so often referred to. The description in this chapter is that

of a rich merchant-city reduced to desolation, and is but carrying

out the general idea under a different form. The chapter comprises the

following points:――

(1) Another angel is seen descending from heaven, having great power,

and making proclamation that Babylon the great is fallen, and is become

utterly desolate, ver. 1‒3.

(2) A warning voice is heard from heaven, calling on the people of

God to come out of her, and to be partakers neither of her sins nor her

plagues. Her torment and sorrow would be proportionate to her pride and

luxury; and her plagues would come upon her suddenly; {396} death, and

mourning, and famine, and consumption by fire, ver. 4‒8.

(3) Lamentation over her fall――by those especially who had been

connected with her; who had been corrupted by her; who had been

profited by her, ver. 9‒19. (a) By kings, ver. 9, 10. They had lived

deliciously with her, and they would lament her. (b) By merchants,

ver. 11‒17. They had trafficked with her, but now that traffic was to

cease, and no man would buy of her. Their business, so far as she was

concerned, was at an end. All that she had accumulated was now to be

destroyed; all her gathered riches were to be consumed; all the traffic

in those things by which she had been enriched was to be ended; and

the city that was more than all others enriched by these things, as if

clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold,

and precious stones, and pearls, was to be destroyed for ever. (c) By

ship-masters and seamen, ver. 17‒19. They had been made rich by this

traffic, but now all was ended; the smoke of her burning is seen to

ascend, and they stand afar off and weep.

(4) Rejoicing over her fall, ver. 20. Heaven is called upon to rejoice,

and the holy apostles and prophets, for their blood is avenged, and

persecution ceases in the earth.

(5) The final destruction of the city, ver. 21‒24. A mighty angel takes

up a stone and casts it into the sea as an emblem of the destruction

that is to come upon it. The voice of harpers, and musicians, and

pipers would be heard no more in it; and no craftsmen would be there,

and the sound of the millstone would be heard no more, and the light of

a candle would shine no more there, and the voice of the bridegroom and

bride would be heard no more.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AND after these things I saw another angel come down from

heaven, having great power; and the[543]earth was lightened

with his glory.

1. _And after these things._ After the vision referred to in the

previous chapter. ¶ _I saw another angel come down from heaven._

Different from the one that had last appeared, and therefore coming

to make a new communication to him. It is not unusual in this book

that different communications should be intrusted to different angels.

Comp. ch. xiv. 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18. ¶ _Having great power._ That is,

he was one of the higher rank or order of angels. ¶ _And the earth

was lightened with his glory._ The usual representation respecting the

heavenly beings. Comp. Ex. xxiv. 16; Mat. xvii. 2; Lu. ii. 9; Ac. ix. 3.

This would, of course, add greatly to the magnificence of the scene.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,

[544]Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is

[545]become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every

foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

2. _And he cried mightily._ Literally, “he cried with a strong great

voice.” See ch. x. 3. ¶ _Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen._ See

Notes on ch. xiv. 8. The proclamation here is substantially the same

as in that place, and no doubt the same thing is referred to. ¶ _And

is become the habitation of devils._ Of demons――in allusion to the

common opinion that the demons inhabited abandoned cities, old ruins,

and deserts. See Notes on Mat. xii. 43‒45. The language here is taken

from the description of Babylon in Is. xiii. 20‒22; and for a full

illustration of the meaning, see Notes on that passage. ¶ _And the hold

of every foul spirit_――φυλακὴ. A watch-post, station, haunt of such

spirits. That is, they, as it were, _kept guard_ there; were stationed

there; haunted the place. ¶ _And a cage of every unclean and hateful

bird._ That is, they would resort there, and abide there as in a cage.

The word translated “cage” is the same which is rendered “hold”――φυλακὴ.

In Is. xiii. 21, it is said, “and owls shall dwell there;” and in Is.

xiv. 23, it is said that it would be a “possession for the bittern.”

The idea is that of utter desolation; and the meaning here is, that

spiritual Babylon――Papal Rome (ch. xiv. 8)――will be reduced to a state

of utter desolation resembling that of the real Babylon. It is not

necessary to suppose this of the _city_ of Rome itself――for that is not

the object of the representation. It is the _Papacy_, represented {397}

under the image of the city, and having its seat there. _That_ is to be

destroyed as utterly as was Babylon of old; that will become as odious,

and loathsome, and detestable as the literal Babylon, the abode of

monsters is.

3 For [546]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 [547]merchants of the earth are

waxed rich through the [548]abundance of her delicacies.

3. _For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her

fornication._ See Notes on ch. xiv. 8. This is given as a _reason_

why this utter ruin had come upon her. She had beguiled and corrupted

the nations of the earth, leading them into estrangement from God, and

into pollution and sin. See Notes on ch. ix. 20, 21. ¶ _And the kings

of the earth have committed fornication with her._ Spiritual adultery;

that is, she has been the means of seducing them from God and leading

them into sinful practices. ¶ _And the merchants of the earth are

waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies._ The word rendered

“_abundance_” here, means commonly _power_. It might here denote

_influence_, though it may also mean _number_, _quantity_, _wealth_.

Comp. ch. iii. 8, where the same word is used. The word rendered

_delicacies_――στρήνους――occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It

properly means _rudeness_, _insolence_, _pride_; and hence _revel_,

_riot_, _luxury_. It may be rendered here properly luxury, or proud

voluptuousness; and the reference is to such luxuries as are found

commonly in a great, a gay, and a splendid city. These, of course,

give rise to much traffic, and furnish employment to many merchants and

sailors, who thus procure a livelihood, or become wealthy as the result

of such traffic. Babylon――or Papal Rome――is here represented under the

image of such a luxurious city; and of course, when she falls, they

who have thus been dependent on her, and who have been enriched by

her, have occasion for mourning and lamentation. It is not necessary to

expect to find a _literal_ fulfilment of this, for it is emblematic and

symbolical. The image of a great, rich, splendid, proud and luxurious

city having been employed to denote that Antichristian power, all that

is said in this chapter follows, of course, on its fall. The general

idea is, that she was doomed to utter desolation, and that all who were

connected with her, far and near, would be involved in her ruin.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, [549]Come out

of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and

that ye receive not of her plagues.

4. _And I heard another voice from heaven._ He does not say whether

this was the voice of an angel, but the idea seems rather to be that

it is the voice of God. ¶ _Come out of her, my people._ The reasons

for this, as immediately stated, are two: (a) that they might not

participate in her sins; and (b) that they might not be involved in

the ruin that would come upon her. The _language_ seems to be derived

from such passages in the Old Testament as the following:――“Go ye forth

of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing,” Is.

xlviii. 20. “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man

his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity,” Je. li. 6. “My people, go

ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the

fierce anger of the Lord,” Je. li. 45. Comp. Je. l. 8. ¶ _That ye be

not partakers of her sins._ For the meaning of this expression, see

Notes on 1 Ti. v. 22. It is implied here that by remaining in Babylon

they would lend their sanction to its sins by their presence, and would,

in all probability, become contaminated by the influence around them.

This is an universal truth in regard to iniquity, and hence it is the

duty of those who would be pure to come out from the world, and to

separate themselves from all the associations of evil. ¶ _And that ye

receive not of her plagues._ Of the punishment that was to come upon

her――as they must certainly do if they remained in her. The judgment of

God that was to come upon the guilty city would make no discrimination

among those who were found there; and if they would escape these woes

they must make their escape from her. As applicable to Papal Rome, in

view of her impending ruin, this means, (a) that there might be found

in her some who were the true people of God; (b) that it was their

duty to separate wholly from her――a command that will not only justify

the Reformation, but which would have made a longer continuance in

communion {398} with the Papacy, when her wickedness was fully seen, an

act of guilt before God; (c) that they who remain in such a communion

cannot but be regarded as partaking of her sin; and (d) that if

they remain, they must expect to be involved in the calamities that

will come upon her. There never was any duty plainer than that of

withdrawing from Papal Rome; there never has been any act attended

with more happy consequences than that by which the Protestant world

separated itself for ever from the sins and the plagues of the Papacy.

5 For her sins have [550]reached unto heaven, and God hath

[551]remembered her iniquities.

5. _For her sins have reached unto heaven._ So in Je. li. 9, speaking

of Babylon, it is said, “For her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is

lifted up even to the skies.” The meaning is not that the sins of this

mystical Babylon were like a mass or pile so high as to reach to heaven,

but that it had become so prominent as to attract the attention of God.

Comp. Ge. iv. 10, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from

the ground.” See also Ge. xviii. 20. ¶ _And God hath remembered her

iniquities._ He had _seemed_ to forget them, or not to notice them,

but now he acted as if they had come to his recollection. See Notes on

ch. xvi. 19.

6 Reward[552]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.

6. _Reward her even as she rewarded you._ It is not said to whom this

command is addressed, but it would seem to be to those who had been

persecuted and wronged. Applied to mystical Babylon――Papal Rome――it

would seem to be a call on the nations that had been so long under her

sway, and among whom, from time to time, so much blood had been shed

by her, to arise now in their might, and to inflict deserved vengeance.

See Notes on ch. xvii. 16, 17. ¶ _And double unto her double according

to her works._ That is, bring upon her double the amount of calamity

which she has brought upon others; take ample vengeance upon her. Comp.

for similar language, Is. xl. 2, “She hath received of the Lord’s hand

_double_ for all her sins.” “For your shame ye shall have double,” Is.

lxi. 7. ¶ _In the cup which she hath filled._ To bring wrath on others.

Notes, ch. xiv. 8. ¶ _Fill to her double._ Let her drink abundantly

of the wine of the wrath of God――double that which she has dealt out

to others. That is, either let the _quantity_ administered to her be

doubled, or let the ingredients in the cup be doubled in intensity.

7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,

so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her

heart, [553]I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no

sorrow.

7. _How much she hath glorified herself._ Been proud, boastful,

arrogant. This was true of ancient Babylon, that she was proud and

haughty; and it has been no less true of mystical Babylon――Papal

Rome. ¶ _And lived deliciously._ By as much as she has lived in

luxury and dissoluteness, so let her suffer now. The word used here

and rendered _lived deliciously_――ἐστρηνίασε――is derived from the

noun――στρῆνος――which is used in ver. 3, and rendered _delicacies_.

See Notes on that verse. It means properly, “to live strenuously,

rudely,” as in English, “to live _hard_;” and then to revel, to live

in luxury, riot, dissoluteness. No one can doubt the propriety of this

as descriptive of ancient Babylon, and as little can its propriety be

doubted as applied to Papal Rome. ¶ _So much torment and sorrow give

her._ Let her punishment correspond with her sins. This is expressing

substantially the same idea which occurs in the previous verse. ¶ _For

she saith in her heart._ This is the estimate which she forms of

herself. ¶ _I sit a queen._ Indicative of pride, and of an asserted

claim to rule. ¶ _And am no widow._ Am not in the condition of a

widow――a state of depression, sorrow, and mourning. All this indicates

security and self-confidence, a description in every way applicable to

Papal Rome. ¶ _And shall see no sorrow._ This is indicative of a state

where there was nothing feared, not withstanding all the indications

which existed of approaching calamity. In {399} this state we may

expect to find Papal Rome, even when its last judgments are about to

come upon it; in this state it has usually been; in this state it is

now, notwithstanding all the indications that are abroad in the world

that its power is waning, and that the period of its fall approaches.

8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and

mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly [554]burned

with fire: for [555]strong _is_ the Lord God who judgeth her.

8. _Therefore._ In consequence of her pride, arrogance, and luxury,

and of the calamities that she has brought upon others. ¶ _Shall her

plagues come in one day._ They shall come in a time when she is living

in ease and security; and they shall come at the same time――so that

all these terrible judgments shall seem to be poured upon her at once.

¶ _Death._ This expression, and those which follow, are designed to

denote the same thing under different images. The general meaning is,

that there would be utter and final destruction. It would be _as if_

death should come and cut off the inhabitants. ¶ _And mourning._ As

there would be where many were cut off by death. ¶ _And famine._ As

if famine raged within the walls of a besieged city, or spread over

a land. ¶ _And she shall be utterly burned with fire._ As completely

destroyed _as if_ she were entirely burned up. The certain and complete

destruction of that formidable Antichristian power is predicted under

a great variety of emphatic images. See ch. xiv. 10, 11; xvi. 17‒21;

xvii. 9, 16. _Perhaps_ in this so frequent reference to a final

destruction of that formidable Antichristian power by _fire_, there

may be more intended than merely a figurative representation of its

final ruin. There is some degree of probability, at least, that Rome

itself will be literally destroyed in this manner, and that it is

in this way that God intends to put an end to the Papal power, by

destroying that which has been so long the seat and the centre of this

authority. The extended prevalence of this belief, and the grounds

for it, may be seen from the following remarks:――(1) It was an early

opinion among the Jewish rabbies that Rome would be thus destroyed.

Vitringa, on the Apocalypse, cites some opinions of this kind; the

Jewish expectation being founded, as he says, on the passage in Is.

xxxiv. 9, as Edom was supposed to mean Rome. “This chapter,” says

Kimchi, “points out the future destruction of Rome, here called

Bozra, for Bozra was a great city of the Edomites.” This is, indeed,

_worthless_ as a proof or an interpretation of Scripture, for it is a

wholly unfounded interpretation; it is of value only as showing that

somehow the Jews entertained this opinion. (2) The same expectation

was entertained among the early Christians. Thus Mr. Gibbon (vol. i.

p. 263, ch. xv.), referring to the expectations of the glorious reign

of the Messiah on the earth (comp. Notes on ch. xiv. 8), says, speaking

of Rome as the mystic Babylon, and of its anticipated destruction:

“A regular series was prepared [in the minds of Christians] of all

the moral and physical evils which can afflict a flourishing nation;

intestine discord, and the invasion of the fiercest barbarians from

the unknown regions of the north; pestilence and famine, comets and

eclipses, earthquakes and inundations. All these were only so many

preparatory and alarming signs of the great catastrophe of Rome,

when the country of the Scipios and Cæsars should be consumed by a

flame from heaven, and the city of the seven hills, with her palaces,

her temples, and her triumphal arches, should be buried in a vast

lake of fire and brimstone.” So even Gregory the Great, one of the

most illustrious of the Roman pontiffs, himself says, acknowledging

his belief in the truth of the tradition: Roma à Gentilibus non

exterminabitur; sed tempestatibus, coruscis turbinibus, ac terræ motu,

in se marcescet (_Dial._ ii. 15). (3) Whatever may be thought of these

opinions and expectations, there is _some_ foundation for the opinion

in the nature of the case. (a) The region is adapted to this. “It

is not Ætna, the Lipari volcanic islands, Vesuvius, that alone offer

visible indications of the physical adaptedness of Italy for such a

catastrophe. The great Apennine mountain-chain is mainly volcanic in

its character, and the country of Rome more especially is as strikingly

so almost as that of Sodom itself.” Thus the mineralogist Ferber, in

his _Tour in Italy_, says: “The road from Rome to Ostia is all volcanic

ashes till within two miles of Ostia.” “From Rome to Tivoli I went on

fields and hills of volcanic {400} ashes or _tufa_.” “A volcanic hill

in an amphitheatrical form includes a part of the plain over Albano,

and a flat country of volcanic ashes and hills to Rome. The ground

about Rome is generally of that nature,” pp. 189, 191, 200, 234.

(b) Mr. Gibbon, with his usual accuracy, _as if_ commenting on the

Apocalypse, has referred to the physical adaptedness of the soil of

Rome for such an overthrow. Speaking of the anticipation of the end

of the world among the early Christians, he says: “In the opinion

of a general conflagration, the faith of the Christian very happily

coincided with the tradition of the East, the philosophy of the Stoics,

and the analogy of nature; _and even the country, which, from religious

motives, had been chosen for the origin and principal scene of the

conflagration, was the best adapted for that purpose by natural and

physical causes_; by its deep caverns, beds of sulphur, and numerous

volcanoes, of which those of Ætna, of Vesuvius, and of Lipari, exhibit

a very imperfect representation,” vol. i. p. 263, ch. xv. As to the

_general_ state of Italy, in reference to volcanoes, the reader may

consult, with advantage, Lyell’s _Geology_, book ii. ch. ix.‒xii.

See also Murray’s _Encyclopædia of Geography_, book ii. ch. ii. Of

the country around Rome it is said in that work, among other things:

“The country around Rome, and also the hills on which it is built, is

composed of tertiary marls, clays, and sandstones, and intermixed with

a preponderating quantity of granular and lithoidal volcanic tufas. The

many lakes around Rome are formed by craters of ancient volcanoes.” “On

the road to Rome is the Lake of Vico, formerly the Lacus Cimini, which

has all the appearance of a crater.”

The following extract from a recent traveller will still further

confirm this representation:――“I behold everywhere――in Rome, near Rome,

and through the whole region from Rome to Naples――most astounding proof,

not merely of the possibility, but the probability, that the whole

region of central Italy will one day be destroyed by such a catastrophe

[by earthquakes or volcanoes]. The soil of Rome is _tufa_, with a

volcanic subterranean action going on. At Naples the boiling sulphur

is to be seen bubbling near the surface of the earth. When I drew a

stick along the ground, the sulphurous smoke followed the indentation;

and it would never surprise me to hear of the utter destruction of

the southern peninsula of Italy. The entire country and district is

volcanic. It is saturated with beds of sulphur and the substrata of

destruction. It seems as certainly prepared for the flames, as the wood

and coal on the hearth are prepared for the taper which shall kindle

the fire to consume them. The divine hand alone seems to me to hold the

element of fire in check by a miracle as great as that which protected

the cities of the plain, till the righteous Lot had made his escape to

the mountains” (Townsend’s _Tour in Italy_ in 1850). ¶ _For strong |is|

the Lord God who judgeth her._ That is, God has ample power to bring

all these calamities upon her.

9 And the [556]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,

9. _And the kings of the earth._ This verse commences the description

of the _lamentation_ over the fall of the mystical Babylon (see the

Analysis of the chapter). ¶ _Who have committed fornication._ That is,

who have been seduced by her from the true God, and have been led into

practical idolatry. Notes on ch. xiv. 8. The _kings_ of the earth seem

to be represented as among the chief mourners, because they had derived

important aid from the power which was now to be reduced to ruin. As a

matter of fact, the kings of Europe have owed much of their influence

and power to the support which has been derived from the Papacy, and

when _that_ power shall fall, there will fall much that has contributed

to sustain oppressive and arbitrary governments, and that has prevented

the extension of popular liberty. In fact, Europe might have been

long since free, if it had not been for the support which despotic

governments have derived from the Papacy. ¶ _And lived deliciously with

her._ In the same kind of luxury and dissoluteness of manners. See ver.

3, 7. The courts of Europe, under the Papacy, have had the same general

character for dissoluteness and licentiousness as Rome itself. The same

views of religion produce the same effects everywhere. ¶ _Shall bewail

her, and lament for her._ Because their ally is destroyed, and {401}

the source of their power is taken away. The fall of the Papacy will be

the signal for a general overturning of the thrones of Europe. ¶ _When

they shall see the smoke of her burning._ When they shall see her on

fire, and her smoke ascending towards heaven. Notes on ch. xiv. 11.

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas,

alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for [557]in

one hour is thy judgment come.

10. _Standing afar off for the fear of her torment._ Not daring to

approach, to attempt to rescue and save her. They who had so long

contributed to the support of the Papal power, and who had, in turn,

been upheld by that, would not now even attempt to rescue her, but

would stand by and see her destroyed, unable to render relief. ¶ _Alas,

alas, that great city Babylon._ The language of lamentation that so

great and so mighty a city should fall. ¶ _For in one hour is thy

judgment come._ See Notes on ver. 8. The general sentiment here is,

that, in the final ruin of Papal Rome, the kings and governments that

had sustained her, and had been sustained by her, would see the source

of their power taken away, but that they would not, or could not

attempt her rescue. There have been not a few indications already that

this will ultimately occur, and that the Papal power will be left to

fall, without any attempt, on the part of those governments which have

been so long in alliance with it, to sustain or restore it.

11 And the [558]merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn

over her; for no man buyeth her merchandise any more;

11. _And the merchants of the earth._ Who have been accustomed to

traffic with her, and who have been enriched by the traffic. The image

is that of a rich and splendid city. Of course, such a city depends

much on its merchandise; and when it declines and falls, many who

had been accustomed to deal with it, as merchants or traffickers, are

affected by it, and have occasion to lament its fall. ¶ _Shall weep

and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more._

The merchandise which they were accustomed to take to the city, and

by the sale of which they lived. The enumeration of the articles of

merchandise which follows, seems to have been inserted for the purpose

of filling out the representation of what is usually found in such a

city, and to show the desolation which would occur when this traffic

was suspended.

12 The merchandise of [559]gold, and silver, and precious

stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk,

and scarlet, and all [560]thyine wood, and all manner vessels

of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of

brass, and iron, and marble,

12. _The merchandise of gold, and silver._ Of course, these

constitute an important article of commerce in a great city. ¶ _And

precious stones._ Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, &c. These have always

been important articles of traffic in the world, and, of course, most

of the traffic in them would find its way to great commercial cities.

¶ _And pearls._ See Notes on Mat. vii. 6; xiii. 46. These, too,

have been always, and were, particularly in early times, valuable

articles of commerce. Mr. Gibbon mentions them as among the articles

that contributed to the luxury of Rome in the age of the Antonines:

“precious stones, among which the pearl claimed the first rank after

the diamond,” vol. i. p. 34. ¶ _And fine linen._ This was also a

valuable article of commerce. It was obtained chiefly from Egypt.

See Notes on Is. xix. 9. Linen, among the ancients, was an article of

luxury, for it was worn chiefly by the rich, Ex. xxviii. 42; Le. vi. 10;

Lu. xvi. 19. The original word here is βύσσος, _byssus_, and it is

found in the New Testament only in this place, and in Lu. xvi. 19. It

was a “species of fine cotton, highly prized by the ancients.” Various

kinds are mentioned――as that of Egypt, the cloth which is still found

wrapped around mummies; that of Syria, and that of India, which grew

on a tree similar to the poplar; and that of Achaia, which grew in the

vicinity of Elis. See Rob. _Lex._ ¶ _And purple._ See Notes on Lu. xvi.

19. Cloth of this colour was a valuable article of commerce, as it was

worn by rich men and princes. ¶ _And silk._ Silk was a very valuable

article of commerce, as it was costly, and could be worn only by the

{402} rich. It is mentioned by Mr. Gibbon as such an article in Rome

in the age of the Antonines:――“Silk, a pound of which was esteemed

not inferior in value to a pound of gold,” vol. i. p. 34. On the

cultivation and manufacture of silk by the ancients, see the work

entitled, _The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, and Wool, &c._,

published by Harper Brothers, New York, 1845, pp. 1‒21. ¶ _And scarlet._

See Notes on ch. xvii. 3. ¶ _And all thyine wood._ The word here

used――θύϊνον――occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It denotes an

evergreen African tree, from which statues and costly vessels were made.

It is not agreed, however, whether it was a species of cedar, savin,

or lignum-vitæ, which latter constitutes the modern genus _Thuja_, or

_Thyia_. See Rees’ _Cyclo._, art. “Thuja.” ¶ _And all manner vessels

of ivory._ Everything that is made of ivory. Ivory, or the tusk of

the elephant, has always been among the precious articles of commerce.

¶ _And all manner vessels of most precious wood._ Furniture of costly

wood――cedar, the citron tree, lignum-vitæ, &c. ¶ _And of brass, and

iron, and marble._ Brass or copper would, of course, be a valuable

article of commerce. The same would be the case with iron; and so

marble, for building, for statuary, &c., would likewise be.

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 [561]slaves, and

[562]souls of men.

13. _And cinnamon._ Cinnamon is the aromatic bark of the _Laurus

Cinnamomam_, which grows in Arabia, India, and especially in the island

of Ceylon. It was formerly, as it is now, a valuable article in the

Oriental trade. ¶ _And odours._ Aromatics employed in religious worship,

and for making perfumes. Mr. Gibbon (vol. i. p. 34) mentions, among

the articles of commerce and luxury, in the age of the Antonines,

“a variety of aromatics that were consumed in religious worship and

the pomp of funerals.” It is unnecessary to say that the use of such

odours has been always common at Rome. ¶ _And ointments._ Unguents――as

spikenard, &c. These were in common use among the ancients. See

Notes on Mat. xiv. 7; Mar. xiv. 3. ¶ _And frankincense._ See Notes on

Mat. ii. 11. It is unnecessary to say that _incense_ has been always

much used in public worship in Rome, and that it has been, therefore,

a valuable article of commerce there. ¶ _And wine._ An article of

commerce and luxury in all ages. ¶ _And oil._ That is, olive oil.

This, in ancient times, and in Oriental countries particularly, was an

important article of commerce. ¶ _And fine flour._ The word here means

the best and finest kind of flour. ¶ _And beasts, and sheep, and horses.

_ Also important articles of merchandise. ¶ _And chariots._ The word

here used――ῥεδῶν――means, properly a carriage with four wheels, or a

carriage drawn by mules (Prof. Stuart). It was properly a travelling

carriage. The word is of Gallic origin (Quinctil. i. 9; Cic. _Mil._ 10;

_Att._ v. 17; vi. 1. See Adam’s _Rom. Ant._ p. 525). It was an article

of luxury. ¶ _And slaves._ The Greek here is σωμάτων――“_of bodies_.”

Prof. Stuart renders it _grooms_, and supposes that it refers to

a particular kind of slaves who were employed in taking care of

horses and carriages. The word properly denotes _body_――_an animal

body_――whether of the human body, living or dead, or the body of a

beast; and then the external man――the person, the individual. In later

usage, it comes to denote a slave (see Rob. _Lex._), and in this sense

it is used here. The traffic in slaves was common in ancient times, as

it is now. We know that this traffic was carried on to a large extent

in ancient Rome, the city which John probably had in his eye in this

description. See Gibbon, _Dec. and Fall_, vol. i. pp. 25, 26. Athenæus,

as quoted by Mr. Gibbon (p. 26), says that “he knew very many Romans

who possessed, not for use, but for ostentation, ten, and even twenty

thousand slaves.” It should be said here, however, that although this

refers evidently to traffic in slaves, it is not necessary to suppose

that it would be literally characteristic of Papal Rome. All this

is symbolical, designed to exhibit the Papacy under the image of a

great city, with what was customary in such a city, or with what most

naturally presented itself to the imagination of John as found in such

a city; and it is no more necessary to suppose that the Papacy would be

engaged in the traffic of slaves, than in the traffic of cinnamon, or

fine flour, or sheep and horses. {403} ¶ _And souls of men._ The word

used, and rendered _souls_――ψυχὰς――though commonly denoting the soul

(properly the breath, or vital principle), is also employed to denote

the living thing――the animal――in which the soul or vital principle

resides; and hence may denote a person or a man. Under this form it

is used to denote a _servant_ or _slave_. See Rob. _Lex._ Professor

Robinson supposes that the word here means _female slaves_, in

distinction from those designated by the previous word. Professor

Stuart (_in loco_) supposes that the previous word denotes a particular

kind of slaves――those who had the care of horses――and that the word

here is used in a generic sense, denoting slaves in general. This

kind of traffic in the “persons” or _souls_ of men is mentioned as

characterizing ancient Tyre, in Eze. xxvii. 13: “Javan, Tubal, and

Meshech, they were thy merchants; they traded in the persons of men.”

It is not quite clear why, in the passage before us, this traffic is

mentioned in two forms, as that of the _bodies_ and the _souls_ of

men; but it would seem most probable that the writer meant to designate

_all_ that would properly come under this traffic, whether male or

female slaves were bought and sold; whether they were for servitude,

or for the gladiatorial sports (see Wetstein, _in loco_); whatever

might be the _kind_ of servitude that they might be employed in,

and whatever might be their condition in life. The use of the _two_

words would include all that is implied in the traffic, for, in most

important senses, it extends to the body and the soul. In slavery both

are purchased; both are supposed, so far as he can avail himself of

them, to become the property of the master.

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.

14. _And the fruits that thy soul lusted after._ Literally, “the fruits

of the desire of thy soul.” The word rendered fruits――ὀπώρα――properly

means, _late summer_; _dog-days_, the time when Sirius, or the Dog-star,

is predominant. In the East this is the season when the fruits ripen,

and hence the word comes to denote _fruit_. The reference is to any

kind of fruit that would be brought for traffic into a great city, and

that would be regarded as an article of luxury. ¶ _Are departed from

thee._ That is, they are no more brought for sale into the city. ¶ _And

all things which were dainty and goodly._ These words “characterize

all kinds of furniture and clothing which were gilt, or plated, or

embroidered, and therefore were bright or splendid” (Professor Stuart).

¶ _And thou shalt find them no more at all._ The address here is

decidedly to the city itself. The meaning is, that they would no more

be found there.

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,

15. _The merchants of these things._ Who trafficked in these things,

and who supplied the city with them, ver. 11. ¶ _Which were made rich

by her._ By traffic with her. ¶ _Shall stand afar off._ Ver. 10. ¶ _For

fear of her torment._ Struck with terror by her torment, so that they

did not dare to approach her, ver. 10.

16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was

[563]clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and

decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

16. _And saying, Alas, alas_, &c. Notes on ver. 10. ¶ _That was clothed

in fine linen._ In the previous description (ver. 12, 13), these are

mentioned as articles of traffic; here the city, under the image of

a female, is represented as clothed in the most rich and gay of these

articles. ¶ _And purple, and scarlet._ See Notes on ch. xvii. 3, 4.

Comp. ver. 12 of this chapter. ¶ _And decked with gold, and precious

stones, and pearls._ Notes on ch. xvii. 4.

17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And

[564]every ship-master, and all the company in ships, and

sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

17. _For in one hour._ In a very brief period――so short, that it

seemed to them to be but one hour. In the prediction (ver. 8), it is

said that it would be “in one day” (see Notes on that place); here it

is said that, to the lookers-on, it _seemed_ to be but an hour. There

is no inconsistency, therefore, between the {404} two statements. ¶ _So

great riches is come to nought._ All the accumulated wealth of so great

and rich a city. This should have been united with ver. 16, as it is a

part of the lamentation of the merchants, and as the lamentation of the

mariners commences in the other part of the verse. It is so divided in

the Greek Testaments. ¶ _And every ship-master._ This introduces the

lamentation of the mariners, who would, of course, be deeply interested

in the destruction of a city with which they had been accustomed to

trade, and by carrying merchandise to which they had been enriched. The

word _ship-master_――κυβερνήτης――means, properly, a _governor_; then a

governor of a ship――the _steersman_ or _pilot_, Ac. xxvii. 11. ¶ _And

all the company in ships._ Professor Stuart renders this _coasters_.

There is here, however, an important difference in the reading of the

text. The commonly received text is, πᾶς ἐπὶ τῶν πλοίων ὁ ὅμιλος――“the

whole company in ships,” as in our common version; the reading which

is now commonly adopted, and which is found in Griesbach, Hahn, and

Tittmann, is ὁ ἐπὶ τόπον πλέων――“he who sails to a place;” that is, he

who sails from one place to another along the coast, or who does not

venture out far to sea; and thus the phrase would denote a secondary

class of sea-captains or officers――those less venturesome, or

experienced, or bold than others. There can be little doubt that this

is the correct reading (comp. Wetstein, _in loco_); and hence the class

of seamen here referred to is _coasters_. Such seamen would naturally

be employed where there was a great and luxurious maritime city, and

would have a deep interest in its fall. ¶ _And sailors._ Common seamen.

¶ _And as many as trade by sea._ In any kind of craft, whether employed

in a near or a remote trade. ¶ _Stood afar off._ Notes on ver. 10.

18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying,

What[565] _city_ is like unto this great city!

18. _And cried_, &c. That is, as they had a deep interest in it,

they would, on their own account, as well as hers, lift up the voice

of lamentation. ¶ _What_ city is _like unto this great city_? In her

destruction. What calamity has ever come upon a city like this?

19 And they [566]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.

19. _And they cast dust on their heads._ A common sign of lamentation

and mourning among the Orientals. See Notes on Job ii. 12. ¶ _By reason

of her costliness._ The word rendered _costliness_――τιμιότητος――means,

properly, _preciousness_, _costliness_; their magnificence, costly

merchandise. The luxury of a great city enriches many individuals,

however much it may impoverish itself. ¶ _For in one hour is she made

desolate._ So it seemed to them. Notes on ver. 17.

20 Rejoice[567] over her, _thou_ heaven, and _ye_ holy

apostles and prophets; for God hath [568]avenged you on her.

20. _Rejoice over her._ Over her ruin. There is a strong contrast

between this language and that which precedes. Kings, merchants,

and seamen, who had been countenanced and sustained by her in the

indulgence of corrupt passions, or who had been enriched by traffic

with her, would have occasion to mourn. But not so they who had been

persecuted by her. Not so the church of the redeemed. Not so heaven

itself. The great oppressor of the church, and the corrupter of the

world, was now destroyed; the grand hindrance to the spread of the

gospel was now removed, and all the holy in heaven and on earth would

have occasion to rejoice. This is not the language of vengeance, but it

is the language of exultation and rejoicing in view of the fact, that

the cause of truth might now spread, without hindrance, through the

earth. ¶ _|Thou| heaven._ The inhabitants of heaven. Comp. Notes on Is.

i. 2. The meaning here is, that the dwellers in heaven――the holy angels

and the redeemed――had occasion to rejoice over the downfall of the

great enemy of the church. ¶ _And |ye| holy apostles._ Professor Stuart

renders this, “Ye saints, and apostles, and prophets.” In the common

Greek text, it is, as in our version, “holy apostles and prophets.”

In the text of Griesbach, Hahn, and Tittmann, the word καὶ (_and_) is

interposed between the word “_holy_” and “_apostle_.” This {405} is,

doubtless, the true reading. The meaning, then, is that the _saints_ in

heaven are called on to rejoice over the fall of the mystical Babylon.

¶ _Apostles._ The twelve who were chosen by the Saviour to be his

_witnesses_ on earth. See Notes on 1 Co. ix. 1. The word is commonly

limited to the twelve, but, in a larger sense, it is applied to other

distinguished teachers and preachers of the gospel. See Notes on Ac.

xiv. 14. There is no impropriety, however, in supposing that the

apostles are referred to here _as_ such, since they would have occasion

to rejoice that the great obstacle to the reign of the Redeemer was now

taken away, and that that cause in which they had suffered and died was

now to be triumphant. ¶ _And prophets._ Prophets of the Old Testament

and distinguished teachers of the New. See Notes on Ro. xii. 6. All

these would have occasion to rejoice in the prospect of the final

triumph of the true religion. ¶ _For God hath avenged you on her._

Has taken vengeance on her for her treatment of you. That is, as she

had persecuted the church _as such_, they all might be regarded as

interested in it and affected by it. All the redeemed, therefore, in

earth and in heaven, are interested in whatever tends to retard or to

promote the cause of truth. All have occasion to mourn when the enemies

of the truth triumph; to rejoice when they fall.

21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,

and cast _it_ into the sea, saying, [569]Thus with violence

shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be

found no more at all.

21. _And a mighty angel._ Notes on ver. 1. This seems, however, to have

been a different angel from the one mentioned in ver. 1, though, like

that, he is described as having great power. ¶ _Took up a stone like

a great millstone._ On the structure of mills among the ancients see

Notes on Mat. xxiv. 41. ¶ _And cast |it| into the sea._ As an emblem

of the utter ruin of the city; an indication that the city would be as

completely destroyed as that stone was covered by the waters. ¶ _Saying,

Thus with violence._ With force, as the stone was thrown into the sea.

The idea is, that it would not be by a gentle and natural decline,

but by the application of foreign power. This accords with all the

representations in this book, that violence will be employed to

overthrow the Papal power. See ch. xvii. 16, 17. The origin of this

image is probably Je. li. 63, 64: “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 on

her.”

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 [570]the sound of a millstone shall be heard

no more at all in thee;

22. _And the voice of harpers._ Those who play on the harp. This

was usually accompanied with singing. The idea, in this verse and

the following, is substantially the same as in the previous parts of

the chapter, that the mystical Babylon――Papal Rome――would be brought

to utter desolation. This thought is here exhibited under another

form――that all which constituted festivity, joy, and amusement, and

all that indicated thrift and prosperity, would disappear. Of course,

in a great and gay city, there would be all kinds of music; and when

it is said that this would be heard there no more it is a most striking

image of utter desolation. ¶ _And musicians._ Musicians in general;

but perhaps here _singers_, as distinguished from those who played on

instruments. ¶ _And of pipers._ Those who played on pipes or flutes.

See Notes on 1 Co. xiv. 7; Mat. xi. 17. ¶ _And trumpeters._ Trumpets

were common instruments of music, employed on festival occasions,

in war, and in worship. Only the principal instruments of music are

mentioned here, as representatives of the rest. The general idea is,

that the sound of music, as an indication of festivity and joy, would

cease. ¶ _Shall be heard no more at all in thee._ It would become

utterly and permanently desolate. ¶ _And no craftsman, of whatsoever

craft._ That is, artificers of all kinds would cease to ply their

trades there. The word here used――τεχνίτης――would include all artisans

or mechanics, all who were engaged in any kind of trade or craft. The

meaning here is, that all these would disappear, an image, {406} of

course, of utter decay. ¶ _And the sound of a millstone shall be heard

no more._ Taylor (_Frag. to Cal._ _Dict._ vol. iv. p. 346) supposes that

this may refer not so much to the rattle of the mill as to the voice

of singing, which usually accompanied grinding. The sound of a mill is

cheerful, and indicates prosperity; its ceasing is an image of decline.

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in

thee; and the [571]voice of the bridegroom and of the bride

shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy [572]merchants

were the great men of the earth; for by thy [573]sorceries

were all nations deceived.

23. _And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee._

Another image of desolation, as if every light were put out, and

there were total darkness. ¶ _And the voice of the bridegroom and

of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee._ The merry and

cheerful voice of the marriage procession in the streets (Notes on Mat.

xxv. 1‒7), or the cheerful, glad voice of the newly-married couple in

their own dwelling (Notes on Jn. iii. 29). ¶ _For thy merchants were

the great men of the earth._ Those who dealt with thee were the rich,

and among them were even nobles and princes; and now that they trade

with thee no more there is occasion for lamentation and sorrow. The

contrast is great between the time when distinguished foreigners

crowded thy marts, and now, when none of any kind come to traffic with

thee. The origin of this representation is probably the description of

Tyre in Eze. xxvii. ¶ _For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived._

This is stated as a reason for the ruin that had come upon her. It

is a common representation of Papal Rome that she has _deceived_ or

_deluded_ the nations of the earth (see Notes on ch. xiii. 14), and no

representation ever made accords more with facts as they have occurred.

The word _sorceries_ here refers to the various arts――the tricks,

impostures, and false pretences by which this has been done. See Notes

on ch. ix. 21.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints,

and of [574]all that were slain upon the earth.

24. _And in her._ When she came to be destroyed, and her real

character was seen. ¶ _Was found the blood of prophets._ Of the public

teachers of the true religion. On the word _prophets_ see Notes on

ver. 20. ¶ _And of saints._ Of the holy. See Notes on ver. 20. ¶ _And

of all that were slain upon the earth._ So numerous have been the

slain, so constant and bloody have been the persecutions there, that

it may be said that all the blood ever shed has been poured out there.

Comp. Notes on Mat. xxiii. 35. No one can doubt the propriety of this

representation with respect to Pagan and Papal Rome.

In regard to the general meaning and application of this chapter the

following remarks may be made:――

(1) It refers to Papal Rome, and is designed to describe the final

overthrow of that formidable Antichristian power. The whole course of

the interpretation of the previous chapters demands such an application,

and the chapter itself naturally suggests it.

(2) If it be asked why so much of this imagery is derived from the

condition of a _maritime_ power, or pertains to _commerce_, since

both Babylon and Rome were at some distance from the sea, and neither

could with propriety be regarded as seaport towns, it may be replied,

(a) that the main idea in the mind of John was that of a rich and

magnificent city; (b) that all the things enumerated were doubtless

found, in fact, in both Babylon and Rome; (c) that though not properly

seaport towns, they were situated on rivers that opened into seas, and

were therefore not unfavourably situated for commerce; and (d) that,

in fact, they traded with all parts of the earth. The leading idea is

that of a great and luxurious city, and this is filled up and decorated

with images of what is commonly found in large commercial towns. We are

not, therefore, to look for a _literal_ application of this, and it is

not necessary to attempt to find _all_ these things, in fact, in the

city referred to. Much of the description may be for the mere sake of

_keeping_, or ornament.

(3) If this refers to Rome, as is supposed, then, in accordance with

the previous representations, it shows that the destruction of the

Papal power is to be complete and final. The image which John had in

his eye as illustrating that was undoubtedly ancient Babylon {407}

as prophetically described in Is. xiii., xiv., and the destruction of

the power here referred to is to be as complete as was the destruction

described there. It would not be absolutely necessary in the fulfilment

of this to suppose that Rome itself is to become a heap of ruins like

Babylon, whatever may be true on that point, but that the Papal power,

as such, is to be so utterly destroyed that the ruins of desolate

Babylon would properly represent it.

(4) If this interpretation is correct, then the Reformation was in

entire accordance with what God would have his people do, and was

demanded by solemn duty to him. Thus, in ver. 4 of this chapter, his

people are expressly commanded to “come out of her, that they might

not be partakers of her sins, nor of her plagues.” If it had been

the design of the Reformers to perform a work that should be in all

respects a fulfilling of the command of God, they could have done

nothing that would have more literally met the divine requirement.

Indeed, the church has never performed a duty more manifestly in

accordance with the divine will, and more indispensable for its own

purity, prosperity, and safety, than the act of separating entirely

and for ever from Papal Rome.

(5) The Reformation was a great movement in human affairs. It was

the index of great progress already reached, and the pledge of still

greater. The affairs of the world were at that period placed on a new

footing, and from the period of the Reformation, and just in proportion

as the principles of the Reformation are acted on, the destiny of

mankind is _onward_.

(6) The fall of Papal Rome, as described in this chapter, will remove

one of the last obstructions to the final triumph of the gospel. In

the Notes on ch. xvi. 10‒16, we saw that _one_ great hindrance to the

spread of the true religion would be taken away by the decline and

fall of the Turkish power. A still more formidable hindrance will be

taken away by the decline and fall of the Papal power; for that power

holds more millions of the race under its subjection, and with a more

consummate art, and a more powerful spell. The Papal influence has been

felt, and still is felt, in a considerable part of the world. It has

churches, and schools, and colleges, in almost all lands. It exercises

a vast influence over governments. It has powerful societies organized

for the purpose of propagating its opinions; and it so panders to some

of the most powerful passions of our nature, and so converts to its own

purposes all the resources of superstition, as still to retain a mighty,

though a waning hold on the human mind. When this power shall finally

cease, anyone can see that perhaps _the_ most mighty obstruction which

has ever been on the earth for a thousand years to the spread of the

gospel will have been removed, and the way will be prepared for the

introduction of the long-hoped-for millennium.

CHAPTER XIX.

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.

This chapter, as well as the last, is an episode, delaying the final

catastrophe, and describing more fully the effect of the destruction of

the mystical Babylon. The chapter consists of the following parts:――

I. A hymn of the heavenly hosts in view of the destruction of the

mystical Babylon, ver. 1‒7. (a) A voice is heard in heaven shouting

Hallelujah, in view of the fact that God had judged the great harlot

that had corrupted the earth, ver. 1, 2. (b) The sound is echoed and

repeated as the smoke of her torment ascends, ver. 3. (c) The four

and twenty elders, and the four living creatures, as interested in all

that pertains to the church, unite in that shout of Hallelujah, ver. 4.

(d) A voice is heard from the throne commanding them to praise God,

ver. 5; and (e) the mighty shout of Hallelujah is echoed and repeated

from unnumbered hosts, ver. 6, 7.

II. The marriage of the Lamb, ver. 8, 9. The Lamb of God is united

to his bride――the church――never more to be separated; and after all

the persecutions, conflicts, and embarrassments which had existed,

this long-desired union is consummated, and the glorious triumph of

the church is described under the image of a joyous wedding ceremony.

III. John is so overcome with this representation, that in his

transports of feeling he prostrates himself before the angel who shows

him all this, ready to _worship_ one who discloses such bright and

glorious scenes, ver. 10. He is gently rebuked for allowing himself

to be so overcome that he would render divine homage to any creature,

and is told that he who communicates this to {408} him is but a

fellow-servant, and that God only is to be worshipped.

IV. The final conquest over the beast and the false prophet, and

the subjugation of all the foes of the church, ver. 11‒21. (a) A

description of the conqueror――the Son of God, ver. 11‒16. He appears on

a white horse――emblem of victory. He has on his head many crowns; wears

a vesture dipped in blood; is followed by the armies of heaven on white

horses; from his mouth goes a sharp sword; and his name is prominently

written on his vesture and his thigh――all emblematic of certain victory.

(b) An angel is seen standing in the sun, calling on all the fowls of

heaven to come to the great feast prepared for them in the destruction

of the enemies of God――_as if_ there were a great slaughter sufficient

to supply all the fowls that feed on flesh, ver. 17, 18. (c) The

final war, ver. 19, 21. The beast, and the kings of the earth, and

their armies are gathered together for battle; the beast and the false

prophet are taken, and are cast into the lake that burns with fire and

brimstone; and all that remain of the enemies of God are slain, and the

fowls are satisfied with their flesh. The last obstacle that prevented

the dawn of the millennial morning is taken away, and the church is

triumphant.

CHAPTER XIX.

AND after these things I heard a [575]great voice of much

people in heaven, saying, [576]Alleluia; [577]Salvation, and

glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

1. _And after these things._ The things particularly that were

exhibited in the previous chapter. See Notes on ch. xviii. 1. ¶ _I

heard a voice of much people in heaven._ The voice of the worshippers

before the throne. ¶ _Saying, Alleluia._ The Greek method of writing

_Hallelujah_. This word――ἀλληλούϊα――occurs in the New Testament

only in this chapter, ver. 1, 3, 4, 6. The Hebrew phrase――הַלְלוּ יָהּ _

Hallelujah_――occurs often in the Old Testament. It means, properly,

_Praise Jehovah_, or _Praise the Lord_. The _occasion_ on which it is

introduced here is very appropriate. It is uttered by the inhabitants

of heaven, in the immediate presence of God himself, and in view of

the final overthrow of the enemies of the church, and the triumph of

the gospel. In such circumstances it was fit that heaven should render

praise, and that a song of thanksgiving should be uttered in which all

holy beings could unite. ¶ _Salvation._ That is, the salvation is to be

ascribed to God. See Notes on ch. vii. 10. ¶ _And glory, and honour._

Notes on ch. v. 12. ¶ _And power._ Notes on ch. v. 13. ¶ _Unto the Lord

our God._ That is, all that there is of honour, glory, power, in the

redemption of the world belongs to God, and should be ascribed to him.

This is expressive of the true feelings of piety always; this will

constitute the song of heaven.

2 For [578]true and righteous _are_ his judgments: for he hath

judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her

fornication, and hath [579]avenged the blood of his servants

at her hand.

2. _For true and righteous |are| his judgments._ That is, the

calamities that come upon the power here referred to are deserved.

¶ _For he hath judged the great whore._ The power represented by the

harlot. See Notes on ch. xvii. 1. ¶ _Which did corrupt the earth with

her fornication._ See Notes on ch. xiv. 8; xvii. 2, 4, 5; xviii. 3.

Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 21. ¶ _And hath avenged the blood of his

servants._ See Notes on ch. xviii. 20, 24. ¶ _At her hand._ Shed by

her hand.

3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her [580]smoke rose up

for ever and ever.

3. _And again they said, Alleluia._ Notes on ver. 1. The event was so

glorious and so important; the final destruction of the great enemy

of the church was of so much moment in its bearing on the welfare of

the world, as to call forth repeated expressions of praise. ¶ _And

her smoke rose up for ever and ever._ See Notes on ch. xiv. 11. This

is an image of final ruin; the image being derived probably from the

description in Genesis of the smoke that ascended from the cities of

the plain, Ge. xix. 28. On the joy expressed here in her destruction,

comp. Notes on ch. xviii. 20.

4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down

and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen;

Alleluia.

4. _And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts._ See Notes

on ch. iv. 4, 6, 7. As representatives of the church, {409} and as

interested in its welfare, they are now introduced as rejoicing in its

final triumph, and in the destruction of its last foe. ¶ _Fell down._

Prostrated themselves――the usual posture of worship. ¶ _And worshipped

God that sat on the throne._ Ch. iv. 2, 3, 10. That is, they now

adored him for what he had done in delivering the church from all its

persecutions, and causing it to triumph in the world. ¶ _Saying, Amen._

See Notes on Mat. vi. 13. The word here is expressive of approbation of

what God had done; or of their solemn assent to all that had occurred

in the destruction of the great enemy of the church. ¶ _Alleluia._

Notes on ver. 1. The repetition of this word so many times shows the

intenseness of the joy of heaven in view of the final triumph of the

church.

5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, [581]Praise our

God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and

great.

5. _And a voice came out of the throne._ A voice seemed to come from

the very midst of the throne. It is not said by whom this voice was

uttered. It cannot be supposed, however, that it was uttered by God

himself, for the command which it gave was this: “Praise _our_ God,”

&c. For the same reason it seems hardly probable that it was the voice

of the Messiah, unless it be supposed that he here identifies himself

with the redeemed church, and speaks of God as _his_ God and _hers_. It

would seem rather that it was a responsive voice that came from those

nearest the throne, calling on all to unite in praising God in view of

what was done. The meaning then will be, that all heaven was interested

in the triumph of the church, and that one portion of the dwellers

there called on the others to unite in offering thanksgiving. ¶ _Praise

our God._ The God that we worship. ¶ _All ye his servants._ All in

heaven and earth; all have occasion for thankfulness. ¶ _And ye that

fear him._ That reverence and obey him. The fear of the Lord is a

common expression in the Scriptures to denote true piety. ¶ _Both small

and great._ All of every class and condition――poor and rich――young and

old; those of humble and those of exalted rank. Comp. Ps. cxlviii. 7‒13.

6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,

and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of

many thunderings, saying, Alleluia; [582]for the Lord God

omnipotent reigneth.

6. _And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude._ In ver. 1

he says that he “heard a great voice of much people;” here he says he

“heard _as it were_ a voice of a great multitude.” That is, in the

former case he heard a shout that he at once recognized as the voice

of a great multitude of persons; here he says that he heard a sound not

distinctly recognized at first as such, but which _resembled_ such a

shout of a multitude. In the former case it was _distinct_; here it was

confused――bearing a resemblance to the sound of roaring waters, or to

muttering thunder, but less distinct than the former. This phrase would

imply (a) _a louder_ sound; and (b) that the sound was more remote, and

therefore less clear and distinct. ¶ _And as the voice of many waters._

The comparison of the voices of a host of people with the roar of

mighty waters is not uncommon in the Scriptures. See Notes on Is.

xvii. 12, 13. So in Homer:――

“The monarch spoke, and straight a murmur rose,

Loud as the surges when the tempest blows;

That dash’d on broken rocks tumultuous roar,

And foam and thunder on the stony shore.”

¶ _And as the voice of mighty thunderings._ The loud, deep, heavy

voice of thunder. The distant shouts of a multitude may properly

be represented by the sound of heavy thunder. ¶ _Saying, Alleluia._

Notes on ver. 1. This is the _fourth_ time in which this is uttered as

expressive of the joy of the heavenly hosts in view of the overthrow

of the enemies of the church. The occasion will be worthy of this

emphatic expression of joy. ¶ _For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth._

Jehovah――God Almighty――the true God. The meaning is, that as the last

enemy of the church is destroyed, he now truly reigns. This is the

result of his _power_, and therefore it is proper that he should be

praised as the _omnipotent_ or _Almighty God_――for he has shown that

he can overcome all his enemies, and bring the world to his feet.

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the

[583]marriage of the Lamb is come, and his [584]wife hath made

herself ready.

{410} 7. _Let us be glad and rejoice._ Let all in heaven rejoice――for

all have an interest in the triumph of truth; all should be glad that

the government of God is set up over an apostate world. ¶ _And give

honour to him._ Because the work is glorious; and because it is by his

power alone that it has been accomplished. Notes on ch. v. 12. ¶ _For

the marriage of the Lamb is come._ Of the Lamb of God――the Redeemer

of the world. Notes on ch. v. 6. The relation of God, and especially

of the Messiah, to the church, is often in the Scriptures represented

under the image of marriage. See Notes on Is. liv. 4‒6; lxii. 4, 5;

2 Co. xi. 2; Ep. v. 23‒33. Comp. Je. iii. 14; xxxi. 32; Ho. ii. 19, 20.

The idea is also said to be common in Arabic and Persian poetry. It is

to be remembered, also, that Papal Rome has just been represented as

a gay and meretricious woman; and there is a propriety, therefore, in

representing the true church as a pure bride, the Lamb’s wife, and the

final triumph of that church as a joyous marriage. The meaning is, that

the church was now to triumph and rejoice as if in permanent union with

her glorious head and Lord. ¶ _And his wife hath made herself ready._

By putting on her beautiful apparel and ornaments. All the preparations

had been made far a permanent and uninterrupted union with its Redeemer,

and the church was henceforward to be recognized as his beautiful bride,

and was no more to appear as a decorated harlot――as it had during the

Papal supremacy. Between the church under the Papacy, and the church

in its true form, there is all the difference which there is between

an abandoned woman gaily decked with gold and jewels, and a pure virgin

chastely and modestly adorned, about to be led to be united in bonds of

love to a virtuous husband.

8 And to her was granted that she should be [585]arrayed in

fine linen, clean and [586]white: for the fine linen is the

[587]righteousness of saints.

8. _And to her was granted._ It is not said here _by whom_ this was

granted, but it is perhaps implied that this was conferred by the

Saviour himself on his bride. ¶ _That the should be arrayed in fine

linen, clean and white._ See Notes on ch. iii. 4, 5, 18; vii. 13.

_White_ has, perhaps, in all countries been the usual colour of the

bridal dress――as an emblem of innocence. ¶ _For the fine linen is the

righteousness of saints._ Represents the righteousness of the saints;

or is an emblem of it. It should be remarked, however, that it is

implied here, as it is everywhere in the Scriptures, that this is not

their _own_ righteousness, for it is said that this was “_given_” to

the bride――to the saints. It is the gracious bestowment of their Lord;

and the reference here must be to that righteousness which they obtain

by faith――the righteousness which results from justification through

the merits of the Redeemer. Of this Paul speaks, when he says (Phi.

iii. 9), “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,

which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the

righteousness which is of God by faith.” Comp. Notes on Ro. iii. 25, 26.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, [588]Blessed _are_ they which

are called unto the [589]marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he

saith unto me, These[590]are the true sayings of God.

9. _And he saith unto me._ The angel who made these representations

to him. See ver. 10. ¶ _Write, Blessed |are| they._ See Notes on ch.

xiv. 13. ¶ _Which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb._

The idea of a festival, or a marriage-supper, was a familiar one to the

Jews to represent the happiness of heaven, and is frequently found in

the New Testament. Comp. Notes on Lu. xiv. 15, 16; xvi. 22; xxii. 16;

Mat. xxii. 2. The image in the passage before us is that of many

_guests_ invited to a great festival. ¶ _And he saith unto me, These

are the true sayings of God._ Confirming all by a solemn declaration.

The importance of what is here said; the desirableness of having

it fixed in the mind, amidst the trials of life and the scenes of

persecution through which the church was to pass, makes this solemn

declaration proper. The idea is, that in all times of persecution――in

every dark hour of despondency――the church, as such, and every

individual member of the church, should receive it as a solemn truth

never to be doubted, that the religion of Christ would finally {411}

prevail, and that all persecution and sorrow here would be followed by

joy and triumph in heaven.

10 And[591] I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said

unto me, See _thou do it_ not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of

thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God:

for the [592]testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.