LECTURE XVIII. THE FALL OF BABYLON. REV. XVIII. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was lightened with his glory. 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. 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. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according unto her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 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. 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. 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, 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. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 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, 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 slaves, and souls of men. 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. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for 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, and pearls ! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city 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. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; 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 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; 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. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. THE language of the last chapter was precise. The angel spoke of five kings that were not, of one that was, of a seventh that was to come, of an eighth that would be like one of the seven. It spoke of a city set upon seven hills, which ruled over the kings of the earth. Such a description must have been intended, I thought, to fix our minds upon imperial Rome at a certain epoch. The emperor before Vespasian seemed to be clearly indicated; the scene of the prophecy appeared to be laid in the time between the death of Nero and the overthrow of Vitellius. The language of this chapter is large and general. To identify the description with any calamities which befel the mere city of Rome-supposing the calamities included, as they did, the burning of the capitol itself— is impossible. I cannot wonder-I cannot regret—that men in different ages should have been sure that it did not concern some past event which affected others; that it concerned them and their doings; that it was a prophecy respecting the world in which they were living. I believe, then, as I said last Sunday, that their instinct is wholly a right one, that the more strictly we adhere to the very words of the book, the more it will be justified. If the Apostle meant Rome, why did he speak of Babylon? The question has often been asked; the answer which is sometimes given is surely unsatisfactory. It has been supposed that to talk openly would have been unsafe; he was driven to enigmas. Unsafe for whom? He was already in Patmos-would a few years longer on earth signify so much to an apostle that for the sake of them he would suppress the truth? But unsafe, perhaps, because he might have caused a sedition against the ruling powers. Whom could he have tempted to take part in such a sedition? No heathen would have heeded his words. They were especially discouraging to all the dreams of Jewish supremacy. They gave direct warning to the members of the Church, not to take the sword, lest they should perish by the sword. The whole empire, heathen and Jewish, was in anarchy already. What men wanted was some one to tell them whether the anarchy would last for ever. We read of the destruction of Babylon, not of Rome, because the destruction of Babylon, not of Rome, was in the mind of the prophet, and of Him who taught the prophet. We read of the destruction of Babylon, and not of Rome, because the words were strictly true respecting the Babel polity of which Rome had become the centre, and would not have been true concerning the mere city, contemplated either as a city of walls or as a city of men, We read of Babylon, and not of Rome, because the subject is a system which had been working for generations, not in one country, but in all countries, and which was to hear its sentence in that generation. We Ꮓ read of Babylon, and not of Rome, that we may not identify that system with one place-be the place as evil as it may-but may study it in all its forms and aspects, may be sure that wherever it has existed, does exist, or shall exist, it is essentially the same. I. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 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. 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.' The darkness of the earth is revealed to St. John by a light from heaven. That light does not permit him to look at any evil as original, at any evil as victorious. Babylon has fallen from a better and nobler state; she has become a habitation of demons. The expression clearly points to moral or spiritual wickedness. The * unclean and hateful birds' which lodge in the city, are not owls and bitterns, but the covetousness, filthiness, malice, which fill the hollows that better spirits had ace occupied. The ruling city had been corrupting the |