วิวรณ์ 18:10 วิจารณ์

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.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,.... Lest they themselves should share in it, who have partook of her sins; either they will not be in a capacity to help her, or they will be dispirited, and will be in awe and dread of God's righteous judgments: saying, alas! alas! that great city Babylon! that mighty city! it will aggravate their sorrow, when they reflect upon the former grandeur, magnificence, power, and authority, of the city and see of Rome, so often called in this book the great city; and so it is by other writers; the Jews call it so: they say (c), when the Messiah comes, "the kings of the world shall be gathered to , "the great city" of Rome; and the holy blessed God will cast upon them fire and hail, and great hail stones, (with which compare Rev 16:21), and they shall perish from the world, except those kings that do not come there.'' It is common with the Jewish writers to call the Roman empire Edom; and Magdiel, one of the dukes of Edom, Gen 36:43 who has his name from "greatness", is interpreted by one of their commentators (d) of Rome; the reason of which, another of them says (e), is because Rome is become great above all kingdoms: the mount of Esau in Oba 1:21 is interpreted , "that great city" of Esau, which is Rome (f), and the same epithet it has in the Talmud (g); and Porphyry calls it , "that great city", without making mention of its name, as here; so among the Latins (h), "Magnoe spes altera" Romae: for in one hour is thy judgment come: the Ethiopic version reads, "the hour of her judgment"; the time of her punishment fixed by God; but the sense is, that her vengeance was suddenly come upon her; this is the judgment of the great whore, which the angel proposed to show to John, Rev 17:1. (c) Zohar in Gen. fol. 74. 3. (d) Jarchi in Gen. xxxvi. 43. (e) Abarbinel in Dan. fol. 42. 3. (f) Jarchi in Obadiah, ver. 21. (g) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 2. (h) Servius in Virgil, Eclog. 6. p. 67.

With this repentance, the kings are not bewailing the evil of wealth, because they sinned with [the harlot]. Rather, they recognize that they are losing the prosperity of the world through which they became subject to its pleasures. Or, since those things in it were beginning to come to an end that because of their luxury were previously pleasing to them, these profligates fight and consume one another.… They are said to stand afar off, not physically but in their souls, since each one will fear for himself when he sees what another suffers through the maliciousness and power of the haughty. “They say, ‘Alas, alas, thou great city, Babylon!’ ” … The Spirit speaks the name of the city. Indeed, they lament the world, which is overtaken by punishment in such a short time and all of whose industry has come to an end so violently.

We think that in this passage the “kings” refer to the rulers, as the psalmist said concerning Jerusalem, “Behold, her kings have assembled.” It says that those who committed fornication in her against the divine commandments will weep, since they see or hear of her burning and her desolation, and they are thoroughly terrified at the sudden change that had taken place in such a short time.

Standing afar off for fear of her torment. Standing afar off not in body but in mind, while each one fears for himself what he sees another suffer through calumny and power.

Saying: Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, etc. The spirit names the city, but they mourn the world, intercepted by punishment in a very short time, and all their efforts stained with ruin.

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.

Standing afar off - Beholding her desolations with wonder and astonishment, utterly unable to afford her any kind of assistance.

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."

God's judgments inspire fear even in the worldly, but it is of short duration, for the kings and great men soon attach themselves to the beast in its last and worst shape, as open Antichrist, claiming all that the harlot had claimed in blasphemous pretensions and more, and so making up to them for the loss of the harlot. mighty--Rome in Greek means strength; though that derivation is doubtful.