PROPHECY.

THE FALL OF PAPAL ROME.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Ver. 1. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that y t ye receive not of her plagues.

5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

6. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

7. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine: and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning.

10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth her merchandise any more:

12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble. 13. And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, a 'and wine, and oil, and fine flour, wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from

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thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing.

16. And saying, Alas, alas, that great eity, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls,

17. For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea, by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

21. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

22. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

24. And in her were found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

*

INTERPRETATION.

This chapter gives a view of the wrath of heaven against papal Rome. It is in some degree a parallelism with the concluding chapter of the Vision of the Church, and commences with a declaration that sentence has been passed upon Rome; which is in consequence to be delivered over to ruin; and that those who would avail themselves of the Divine mercy, must hasten to abandon her communion. "Come out

Apoc. xiv.

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

Ver. 4. This language had been previously used by St. Paul, in his exhortation to the pagan converts, "What agreement hath the temple of God with idols, for ye are the temple of the living God.-Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you."*

The denunciations of the papal crimes and ruin, the sorrows of those who had indulged themselves in her temptations or carried on a luxurious and corrupting traffic with her in spiritual things, symbolized by the dealings of merchants in spices, &c. are expressed nearly in the language of the ancient prophets on the fall of Babylon and Tyre. But as the fulfilment is still future no exact elucidation can be given.

PROPHECY."

THE FALL OF PAPAL ROME.

CHAPTER XIX.

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Ver. 1. And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

2. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judg ed the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand,

3. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 346. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

2 Corinth. xvi. 17.

Isaiah xxii. Ezek. xxvi. 27, &c.

7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of

saints.

9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

10. And 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 testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11. And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. !

13. And he was clothed with a yesture dipped in blood : and his name is called the Word of God.

14. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,

KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

INTERPRETATION.

Ver. 1. The prophet beholds the rejoicing of the saints in heaven over the fall of their great enemy, which had been announced in the preceding chapter, and is now to be completed by the direct interposition of our Lord. They rejoice in it, as the sign that the æra of happiness is about to begin.

Ver. 10. Overwhelmed by gratitude and wonder the prophet prostrates himself before the angel, who forbids all semblance of worship, declaring that it is not for angels but for God alone; angels being subordinate agents and fellow-servants with those employed on earth to propagate the gospel; for the gospel, "the Testimony of Jesus," was the purpose and spirit of the angelic prophecy, as it was that of the apostolic mission.

St. John seems to have conceived the angel to be our Lord, who had in the commencement of the Apocalypse similarly prophesied to him. The angel's words had been highly authoritative, "Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the supper of the Lamb. These are the true sayings of God." (Ver. 9.) The worship is repeated,* apparently under the same impression, the angel's language being still more directly authoritative; "Those sayings are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his ANGEL to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold I come quickly, Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." The "Angel of the Lord," was a frequent name of the Messiah; the words, "Behold I come quickly," however spoken in a representative sense, might naturally have suggested the idea that the Lord stood before him; the apostle prostrates himself and worships, but is stopped by the declaration that angel-worship is forbidden. The error may have been divinely permitted for the sake of the precept; Apoc. xxii. 6, 7.