Part 18 (1/2)

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 s.h.i.+ne 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.

Vs. 21-23.--The emblem of ”a great millstone cast into the sea,” is a very striking indication of the sudden and irretrievable ruin of mystic Babylon, and contains an allusion to Jer. li. 63, 64.--The removal of ”musicians, craftsmen, candles, etc.,” from this devoted city, as they plainly point to the statuary, music and paintings which have attracted mult.i.tudes to the idolatry, superst.i.tion and harlotry of antichristian Rome, emphatically proclaims the utter and perpetual desolation of papal Rome. The language is borrowed from Isa. xxiv. 8; Jer. xxv. 10; Ezek.

xxvi. 13.--Her merchants being the ”great men of the earth,” and the ”sorceries” by ”which the nations were deceived, very plainly indicate the successful traffic of the ”mother of harlots,”--the church of Rome.

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

V. 24.--When the Lord ”maketh inquisition for blood,” the ”blood of all that were slain upon the earth,”--_for Christ's sake_, will be found in the skirts of this Jezebel. Papal Rome has shed more innocent blood than pagan Rome; than Babylon, Tyre and Egypt; and by her relentless cruelty to ”prophets and saints,” ministers and members of the witnessing church, she has endorsed all the murderous persecutions from Abel down to the present day. (Luke xi. 50, 51; Acts vii. 52.)--Now when we contemplate in the light of prophecy, confirmed by authentic history, the numberless, aggravated and long-continued crimes of Babylon the great, her pride, (v. 7,) her cruelty, (v. 3,) her luxury, her tyranny, her idolatry, her fornication, her impenitence in all,--can we hesitate to acquiesce in the righteousness of her final doom, or to join in the plaudits of the saints in the next chapter?

CHAPTER XIX.

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 G.o.d:

2. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great wh.o.r.e, 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 wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

Vs. 1-4.--The frequent repet.i.tion of the Hebrew word ”Alleluia” in this chapter, may perhaps be an intimation of something which specially relates to the Jews. The perpetuity of the covenant made with Abraham, renewed to Isaac, and confirmed to Jacob, (Ps. cv. 9, 10,) is clearly taught in the Scriptures. (Gen. xvii. 7; Acts ii. 39; Rom. iv. 13; Gal.

iii. 14, 29.)

It has been already intimated, (ch. xi. 15,) that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, ”there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become _the kingdoms_ of our Lord and of his Christ; and he (Christ,) shall reign for ever and ever.” Beholding the overthrow of Babylon, all the people of G.o.d were invited, (ch. xviii.

20,) to ”rejoice over her,” for her downfall was effected under the last trumpet and vial. With that invitation the saints here joyfully comply.

”_Much people_ in heaven,” implies a great augmentation of their number, and as ”heaven” signifies the church on earth, we are warranted to expect a rapid increase of her members.h.i.+p as the consequence of the sounding of the seventh trumpet.--At the pouring out of the third vial, (ch. xvi. 7,) the angel of the altar said, ”True and righteous are thy judgments.” The very same sentiment is repeated here by the ”much people,”--all the saints. Thus they recognise the faithfulness and justice of G.o.d, as he heard and answered the cry of the ”souls under the altar;” (ch. vi. 9, 10,) for he had now ”avenged their blood” and that of their ”brethren that had been killed as they were,” upon them that dwell on the earth,--the population of mystic Babylon. (Ps. cx.x.xvii. 8, 9.) ”And again they said, Alleluia; and her smoke rose up for ever and ever,” like that of Sodom. In all this, the ministry and members of the whole church cordially join, adding their hearty and solemn ”Amen!”

For this protracted joy and exulting praise, two causes seem to be in operation, G.o.d's judgment on Babylon, and his mercy on Zion. Both are matter of praise. (Ps. ci. 1.)

5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our G.o.d, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great mult.i.tude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord G.o.d Omnipotent reigneth.

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 G.o.d.

Vs. 5-9.--This happy company are called upon to renew their song. The call seems to come from some one who is authorized to speak with authority, ”out of the throne.” All the servants of G.o.d are invited, and all appear to respond, ”a great mult.i.tude.” This is the most animated of all the examples of praise recorded in this book. It is compared to the rus.h.i.+ng of waters down a cataract, as the roaring of the sea, or the rolling of thunder in the heavens. It is indeed the ”voice of them that shout for mastery,”--and ”all the people shout with a great shout, for the Lord hath given them the city,”--”Alleluia, _praise ye the Lord_, for the Lord G.o.d omnipotent reigneth.” ”Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.”--These joyful victors encourage each other to prolong their acclamations:--”Let us be glad and rejoice,” ... ”for the marriage of the Lamb is come:” and what can that be, but the recalling of the Jews? This is the day of our New Testament Solomon's espousals, and the day of the gladness of his heart. (Song iii. 11.)--Not only the Jews, but the great majority of professing Christians during the 1260 years of Antichrist's usurpations, have refused to ”submit themselves to the righteousness of G.o.d.” (Rom. x. 3.) The kings of the earth also have fostered the pride and profligacy of the great wh.o.r.e, instead of the bride of the Lamb. The lewd woman, and the woman in the wilderness. .h.i.therto, are now to be distinguished. As their character and conduct are different, so is their raiment. The gaudy and splendid attire of the former, is in striking contrast with that of the latter; which is that of a ”woman professing G.o.dliness,” (ch. xvii. 4; 1 Tim. ii. 10.)--”To her was granted,”--Precious words; for the ”Lamb's wife of herself was utterly dest.i.tute,” (ch. iii. 17.) The Jews, in the day of their Messiah's power, (Psa. cx. 3,) convinced of the law as transgressors, will be brought to adopt the language of their own prophet, (Is. lxi.

10;) ”he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” The righteousness of Christ imputed for justification, and the Spirit of Christ imparted for sanctification, together with good works, the visible evidence of both, will const.i.tute the ”fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints.”

This is, after all, a more _costly_, as well as more comely attire, than that of the mother of harlots. (Ps. xlv. 13, 14.)--”And he saith.”--That is, say some, the angel, (ch. xvii. 1, 7; or ch. xviii. 1;) but we are rather to view him as the same who brings all these messages from Christ to the apostle, (ch. i. 1.) The angel p.r.o.nounces those ”blessed who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”--In the beginning of the New Testament dispensation, the invitation was to a _dinner_. (Matt. xxii.

4.) The day will have been far spent at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when Jews and Gentiles are called to this supper. It will be the last _great feast_ of the church militant. But who shall live to partake of the banquet? The angel gives his solemn attestation to ”these sayings.”