Revelation 18:8 Komentář

We have here, I. An angel proclaiming the fall of Babylon (Rev 18:1, Rev 18:2). II. Assigning the reasons of her fall (Rev 18:3). III. Giving warning to all who belonged to God to come out of her (Rev 18:4, Rev 18:5), and to assist in her destruction (Rev 18:6-8). IV. The great lamentation made for her by those who had been large sharers in her sinful pleasures and profits (Rev 18:9-19). V. The great joy that there would be among others at the sight of her irrecoverable ruin (Rev 18:20, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 18 This chapter gives an account of the fall of Babylon, and of the lamentation of many, and of the joy of others, by reason of it; which account is published by several angels: the first that declares her fall is described by his original, descending from heaven; by the great power he had; by his resplendent glory, and by his mighty cry in publishing her destruction; which is illustrated by the desolate condition she will be in upon her fall; the reasons of which are given, became the nations and kings of the earth had committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth were enriched by her luxury, Rev 18:1. Another voice is heard from heaven, calling upon the people of God, first to come out of her, lest partaking of her sins they should share in her plagues, seeing her iniquities had reached to heaven, and were remembered before God; and next to take full vengeance on her, because she had glorified herself, lived deliciously, and in great security, Rev 18:4. And then follows a continuation of the account of her destruction, what her plagues would be, death, mourning, famine, and fire; and which would be sudden, in one hour, and certain, from the power and justice of God, Rev 18:8. Next follow the lamentations of the kings, merchants, and masters of ships, because of her greatness, riches, and merchandise, which are all come to nothing, Rev 18:9. And then the church; the saints, apostles, and prophets, are called upon to rejoice at the vengeance taken on her, Rev 18:20 upon which a mighty angel appears, who by an action signifies the manner of her destruction, and the irrecoverableness of her state and condition, Rev 18:21 and declares her utter ruin, by affirming that nothing that was either delightful or profitable, or necessary or comfortable, should any more be found in her; giving the reasons of it, because of her luxury, idolatry, and bloodshed, Rev 18:22.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,.... The seven last plagues, which will be in a very little time executed upon her, very speedily and very quickly, one after another, if not all together; and particularly the fifth vial may be respected, as well as the plagues that follow; see Isa 47:9 death; not the second death, which will not be till after the decisive battle at Armageddon, when the beast will be taken, and cast alive into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death; but either the pestilence, which is called so, Rev 6:8 or rather death by the sword, war, which will be brought upon her, and in which she and her children will be slain with the sword: mourning; for the loss of her children, the destruction of the city of Rome itself, the seat of the beast, and for the darkness of his kingdom, the inhabitants of which shall be in such pain, as to gnaw their tongues for it: famine; which generally attends war, at least sieges; and it looks as if Rome would be besieged awhile before it is destroyed, which will produce a grievous famine in it; this is opposed to her living deliciously, as well as the two former are to her notion of sitting a queen for ever, and knowing no sorrow: and she shall be utterly burnt with fire; the burning of Rome has been attempted several times, by different persons, and has been burnt in part, but not wholly; see Gill on Rev 17:16 but now it will be entirely destroyed by fire; either by fire from heaven, as Sodom and Gomorrah were; or by fire breaking out of the earth, it being very manifest that there are volcanos, burning mountains, and subterraneous fires in those parts, which seem to be so many preparations in nature for the burning of that city; or rather by the ten kings, who will set fire to it; and it may be by all these ways. The Jews have a notion, that, at the coming of the Messiah, Rome will be burnt (a), as Sodom has been; you will find, say they (b), that of Sodom and of that kingdom (Rome, of which they are speaking, and which they afterwards call the fourth kingdom), it is decreed concerning them both, that they "should be burnt with fire"; of Sodom, Gen 19:24 and of the fourth kingdom (Rome), Isa 34:9. for strong is the Lord God that judgeth her; the Alexandrian copy reads, "that has judged": and so the Syriac and Arabic versions; that is, has purposed and determined her destruction, and therefore it is unavoidable; he that has resolved upon it, and foretold it, and has condemned her to it, is the Lord God Almighty; and he is able to execute the sentence determined and pronounced, and it is impossible she should escape: it may be understood of Christ the mighty God, the Judge of quick and dead; see Jer 50:34. (a) Zohar in Gen. fol. 74. 3. & in Numb. fol. 86. 1. (b) Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 48. 2.

Therefore, because of her loftiness, all evil will come upon her at once; for he says God is strong and will be prevented by no one from bringing judgment and punishment upon her; may it be that by the grace of the one who called us into his knowledge and hope in Christ he would make us all free; to whom be glory for the ages. Amen.

All of these future events are appropriate for the second advent, when upon the inquiry of the final judgment the society of the impious will be excluded and will suffer its just reward, so that those who sinned in time might be punished in perpetuity. This is what is meant when it says, “Repay her double” and “a double draught is mixed for her,” that whoever took pleasure in transient delights might suffer eternal torments. By way of the psalm the Lord foretells that he frees his own from such payments: “From usury and injustice he will redeem their souls.” In addition, they are said to burn in a perpetual fire and to be afflicted by a famine, namely, then when those who now hunger and thirst after righteousness shall receive an incorruptible abundance. Moreover, they suffer death, since God has abandoned them. For just as when the soul leaves, the body dies, so when God abandons the soul, it is thought to die. This mourning is that of which Christ speaks in the Gospel, “Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” To show that God desires to keep his followers unharmed by these plagues, it says, “Lest you share in her plagues.” This is as though it said, since you were turned away from their will and were not like them in their sins, you will not receive an equal punishment. Nor can we by our own strength avoid these plagues, since this can be granted to us only by the goodness of God. But keeping to the proper order, the Holy Spirit declares that those who were not made captive in their heart by an assent to impiety would in no way suffer the torments of the impious, saying, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.”

In Isaiah it is said to her, “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground, for there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, because you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.” And shortly thereafter: “Sit, be silent, go into the darkness, for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.” And again: “You said, ‘I shall be mistress forever,’ so that you did not lay these things to heart, nor did you remember your name. Now therefore, hear this, you delicate one who dwells in confidence, who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children.’ These two things shall come to you suddenly, in one day, sterility and widowhood.” Who would not understand these things together to be one prophecy and that they were said of one, universal event?

By a “single day” he means either the suddenness and shortness of the time in which mourning will come to her either from the sword or from famine, and she will be wasted from pestilence and will be consumed by fire. Or it refers to the course of the day itself in which [the city] will experience these things that are prophesied. For after the enemies gain control of the city, only one day will suffice to bring every evil and every form of death upon those who have been defeated. For God is strong both to save those who please him and to punish those who are unrepentant sinners.

A luminous angel proclaims the fall of Babylon, and the cause of it, Rev 18:1-3. The followers of God are exhorted to come out of it, in order to escape her approaching punishment, Rev 18:4-8. The kings of the earth lament her fate, Rev 18:9, Rev 18:10. The merchants also bewail her, Rev 18:11. The articles in which she trafficked enumerated, Rev 18:12-16. She is bewailed also by shipmasters, sailors, etc., Rev 18:17-19. All heaven rejoices over her fall, and her final desolation is foretold, Rev 18:20-24.

Therefore shall her plagues come - Death, by the sword of her adversaries; mourning on account of the slaughter; and famine, the fruits of the field being destroyed by the hostile bands. Utterly burned with fire - Of what city is this spoken? Rome pagan has never been thus treated; Alaric and Totilas burnt only some parts with fire. Rome papal has not been thus treated; but this is true of Jerusalem, and yet Jerusalem is not generally thought to be intended.

BABYLON'S FALL: GOD'S PEOPLE CALLED OUT OF HER: THE KINGS AND MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH MOURN, WHILE THE SAINTS REJOICE AT HER FALL. (Rev. 18:1-24) And--so Vulgate and ANDREAS. But A, B, Syriac, and Coptic omit "And." power--Greek, "authority." lightened--"illumined." with--Greek, "owing to."

death--on herself, though she thought herself secure even from the death of her husband. mourning--instead of her feasting. famine--instead of her luxurious delicacies (Rev 18:3, Rev 18:7). fire--(See on Rev 17:16). Literal fire may burn the literal city of Rome, which is situated in the midst of volcanic agencies. As the ground was cursed for Adam's sin, and the earth under Noah was sunk beneath the flood, and Sodom was burnt with fire, so may Rome be. But as the harlot is mystical (the whole faithless Church), the burning may be mainly mystical, symbolizing utter destruction and removal. BENGEL is probably right in thinking Rome will once more rise to power. The carnal, faithless, and worldly elements in all churches, Roman, Greek, and Protestant, tend towards one common center, and prepare the way for the last form of the beast, namely, Antichrist. The Pharisees were in the main sound in creed, yet judgment fell on them as on the unsound Sadducees and half-heathenish Samaritans. So faithless and adulterous, carnal, worldly Protestant churches, will not escape for their soundness of creed. the Lord--so B, C, Syriac, and ANDREAS. But A and Vulgate omit. "Strong" is the meaning of God's Hebrew name, "EL." judgeth--But A, B, and C read the past tense (Greek, "krinas"), "who hath judged her": the prophetical past for the future: the charge in Rev 18:4 to God's people to come out of her implies that the judgment was not yet actually executed.