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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 18:9 - 18:14
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The description of the desolation:
v. 9. 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,
v. 10. 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.
v. 11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more;
v. 12. 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,
v. 13. and cinnamon, and odors, 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.
v. 14. 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.
So the judgment of the Lord, which was spoken of in chap. 17:16-17, has already gone forth, as is here pictured with intense dramatic power: And there will cry and wail over her the kings of the earth that have committed fornication with her and lived a wanton life, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Woe and alas, the great city, Babylon the mighty city! For in one hour thy doom has come. So the same rulers and kings that have been the instruments of God in bringing about the punishment of Anti-Christ's kingdom were also the companions of the great harlot in her sins. They themselves have kindled the fire of Rome's destruction, but when they see the smoke of her burning, they are terrified and prefer to remain at a safe distance, since their conscience tells them of their guilt. Time and again the lament of the mighty of the earth has arisen in the last four hundred years when the power of Anti-Christ had received a severe setback. The great and mighty city that has bidden defiance to all enemies has been conquered, her real power being broken forever. The doom of one mightier than she has fallen upon her, and she will never regain her original prestige.
But the doom of the papal power strikes another class of men still worse: And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because their merchandise no one buys any more, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls; and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet goods, and all kinds of citron wood and all manner of ivory vessels and all manner of vessels of most costly wood and of brass and of iron and of marble, and cinnamon and balsam and spices and myrrh and frankincense, and wine and oil and the finest flour and wheat, and cattle and sheep, and some horses and wagons and slaves, and the souls of men; and the fruit of thy soul's desire has gone away from thee, and all the luxurious and splendid things have been lost from thee, and men shall find them no more. There is a deliberate irony in the long enumeration of things which have delighted the heart of the great Roman harlot, which she has made the object of her desires, which her merchants, her vassals, the men that trafficked in these things to their own enrichment, now bewail as lost forever. For the possession of many of these things is in itself not wrong; it has become a sin only in the case of the Church of Anti-Christ on account of the sinful uses to which these things have been put. The pomp, the lavish display of glory which Rome affects wherever she gains a foothold, requires such costly and luxurious things; whenever, therefore, this power is taken from her, it means a loss to the scheming members of the hierarchy and other sycophants that grow rich and live in luxury under the fostering care of their spiritual mother, the Church of Rome. But the climax is reached in the traffic in souls which is carried on in that Church, in taking away the simple doctrine of faith in Christ's salvation and supplanting it with man-made doctrines, especially that of salvation by works, and in the delusion which places thousands of young men and women into monasteries and nunneries every year, all in the vain hope that they will thereby merit heaven and its glory.