16 the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, 17 and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and 18 sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city 19 is like unto this great city! 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 pro21 phets; for God hath avenged you on her. 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 22 thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 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 was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. XIX.] 1 Great Rejoicing in Heaven. [Ver. 1-10 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people Whilst kings, merchants, and seamen of Romish countries are lamenting the fall of spiritual Babylon, the holy apostles and prophets, and inhabitants of heaven, are called upon to exult and rejoice over her. To approve the righteous judgments of God is no breach of the spirit of benevolence. (See the striking paragraph in Edward Irving's Introductory Essay to Horne on the Psalms, "Rebuke is a form of charity," etc.) 2 To confirm and render more vivid the sudden and utter destruction of the papacy, we have the emblem of a great millstone cast into the sea to represent the violence with which Babylon will be thrown down. Then the music for which she has long been distinguished shall cease; and artists will no more furnish specimens in painting and sculpture, i.e., the fine arts shall no longer be perverted in the support of this great spiritual usurpation. R in heaven,' saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, 2 and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments; for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged 3 the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, 4 Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; 5 Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both 6 small and great. 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 7 omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His 8 wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the 9 fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 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 10 true sayings of God. 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. : Final Conflict and Victory. [Ver. 11-21. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in right First, John heard a voice of much people in heaven, praising God for faithfulness to His word in visiting an apostate and corrupt church. He also hears the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures respond as they fall down and worship God, saying, "Amen; Alleluia." Then came a voice from the throne exhorting the servants of God to praise Him, and immediately was heard from the voice of a great multitude the epithalamium to be sung at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 2 A sublime description of the Saviour and His redeemed led forth by Him in battle array to the last conflict with antichristian powers. The white horse is not an emblem of bloodshed; and the glorious Leader that sat upon him, whose name was THE WORD OF GOD, was not clad in the armour of a warrior, but had on His head many crowns, and was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood as an emblem of His atoning work. The imagery is similar to that employed in describing what 12 eousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a 13 name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and His name is called. 14 The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and 15 clean. 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 winepress of the fierceness and 16 wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD 17 OF LORDS. 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 18 unto the supper of the great God; 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 20 the horse, and against His army. And the beast' was taken, John saw when the first seal was opened, applied to the early spread of the gospel. Moreover, the armies which followed Him were also upon white horses, and were clothed in fine linen. Does not this imply that the conflict is a moral one, and the victory is to be achieved by the mild and beneficent influence of the gospel? Evil has no doubt been done, and charity been wounded in the house of her friends, by interpreting too literally the symbols of the seventh vial as judgments or calamities to be visited on the papal world. We should be on our guard against harsh, uncharitable judgments, and that spirit which would find satisfaction in visitations of evil on those from whom we differ, however pernicious their errors. This imagery is appropriate to carry out the figure of a battle, as birds of prey follow armies and hover over battle fields, but is to be interpreted in harmony with the supposed spiritual nature of the conflict. This is the final appearance of the beast in this prophecy; here is that end which was foredoomed when the seventh vial was poured out (chap. xvi. 17-21). By "the false prophet " may be understood the priesthood of Rome, as directed and animated by the pope. When the power of the pope is entirely broken the Romish clergy will reassert their proper independence, and there will be a return to the primitive purity of the Church; the signs of the white horses and the crowns of the first seal reappear in connection with the last drops of the seventh vial of the last seal. In this work the term "antichrist" has not been applied to the pope. It is used by the author of the Apocalypse in his First and Second Epistles (1 John ii. 18-23, iv. 1-3; 2 John 7), and occurs nowhere else in Scripture. It has been understood |