The Admonition.

The Admonition.“Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”Rev. 16:15.“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,”2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples:“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your[pg 287]Lord doth come,”Matt. 24:42. Says Paul:“Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thess. 5:1-6.Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the multitude, Christ's coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing pronounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of God will be expecting Christ's advent, while others will be taken by surprise:“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,”Heb. 9:28.“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and[pg 288]godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:11-13.Those who keep their garments, are those who have not“defiled”them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy;“for the fine linen”in which they are to be arrayed“is the righteousness of saints,”19:8. To be destitute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says:“I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,”3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ's appearing.The Success of the Spirits.“And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”Rev. 16:16.Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its bloody slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of God will marshal for the final[pg 289]conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:The Seventh Vial.“And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.”Rev. 16:17-21.The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of passion; which may be the commencement of that“great battle,”for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.[pg 290]An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the“time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,”when God's“people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book,”Dan. 12:1.“It is done,”is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:“The great city”is“Babylon,”(14:8); which“reigneth over the kings of the earth,”(17:8); and which John had seen sitting“upon many waters,”17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.“The cities of the nations,”must symbolize other hierarchies, analogous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized[pg 291]establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.“Great Babylon”then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven,“God hath remembered her iniquities,”18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ's coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the“mountains”and“islands”on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral“earthquake”which is to overwhelm them. This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all“removed out of their places,”(6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of God's wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of God's people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together“to meet the Lord in the[pg 292]air,”1 Thess. 4:17. To them the Lord has said,“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,”Ps. 91:5-9.The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of God's wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah:“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord[pg 293]shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth,”Isa. 28:17-22.This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev. 19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of God's wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of“Armageddon,”—the“battle of that great day of God Almighty,”16:14.The Judgment of the Harlot.“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”Rev. 17:1, 2.The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.[pg 294]The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;—very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one“that sitteth upon many waters.”Ancient Babylon was thus addressed:“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”Jer. 51:13. She is also described as“The well-favoredharlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,”Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God's wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,—the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast.“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns.[pg 295]And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.”Rev. 17:3-6.“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”Rev. 17:7-14.“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great[pg 296]city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:15-18.That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of“Babylon,”on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand:“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,”Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.“The scarlet-colored beast”on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw“rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,”13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by“a great red dragon,”which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to[pg 297]its subversion by the northern barbarians,—viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the“five”first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had“fallen,”v. 10. One then was:—Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus“the beast was;”and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an“eight”form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reäppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the“ten horns;”and which, according to the angel, are“ten kings,”which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in“one,”or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under[pg 298]this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):—they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.The“names of blasphemy”which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman[pg 299]hierarchy,—sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her,—the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.The Roman hierarchy was not, however,alwaysto retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time tofallfrom the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited[pg 300]and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:The Fall of Babylon.“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”Rev. 18:1-3.This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter:“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,”14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.Theepochof this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev. 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both[pg 301]descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries“with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,”while the other cries“mighty with a strong voice.”Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel's utterance in the tenth.As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings“again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”(10:11), it follows that thetimethen symbolized must be at an epochanteriorto the end of the world. A corresponding reason—namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction—proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation[pg 302]must also be at anepochhaving a considerable period between it and the end.It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and“the earth was lightened with his glory,”it did not symbolize aliteralbut amorallight,—the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moraldarkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize anepoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when thedarknessof ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of thelightof truth and knowledge.These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnightdarknessof thedark agesbegan to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with[pg 303]which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast;—she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event.—Jer. 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected[pg 304]their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says:“My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater.I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me.I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that theAntichristof whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome wasthe Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry,“Babylon is fallen!”In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the“Babylonish Captivity of the Church,”in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says,“Theyseized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their[pg 305]own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany,“Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.”—Ency. Am., v. 3. p. 76.All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the[pg 306]French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals“fled from the city on the wings of terror;”but those who remained“were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.”Finally, however,“with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.”—Life of Pius VI.His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonishwomanbecame unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,”Isa. 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal[pg 307]of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:The Voice From Heaven.“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”—Rev. 18:4-8.So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of[pg 308]God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev. 14:9,—which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name“Protestant,”was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah:“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:[pg 309]howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said:“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,”Isa. 48:20.“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,”Isa. 52:11.Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah:“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,”Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon:“Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:9.The Destruction of Babylon.“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and[pg 310]silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite's desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, 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 the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.”Rev. 18:9-20.“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!”Rev. 18:20.“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.”Rev. 18:21-24.[pg 311]The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood,—her divorce from the secular arm,—and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.Her final destruction is, however, to beentire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to beutterlyburned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be[pg 312]inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues,—who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense,—particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D'Aubigné, by“the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,”which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.[pg 313]Tetzel, one of Rome's travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for“a quarter of a florin”they might“receive letters of indulgence,”by means of which they might“introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”Hist. Ref., pp. 56, 242.He also said“Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.”“At the very instant,”said he,“that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.”This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

The Admonition.“Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”Rev. 16:15.“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,”2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples:“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your[pg 287]Lord doth come,”Matt. 24:42. Says Paul:“Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thess. 5:1-6.Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the multitude, Christ's coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing pronounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of God will be expecting Christ's advent, while others will be taken by surprise:“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,”Heb. 9:28.“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and[pg 288]godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:11-13.Those who keep their garments, are those who have not“defiled”them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy;“for the fine linen”in which they are to be arrayed“is the righteousness of saints,”19:8. To be destitute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says:“I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,”3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ's appearing.The Success of the Spirits.“And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”Rev. 16:16.Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its bloody slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of God will marshal for the final[pg 289]conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:The Seventh Vial.“And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.”Rev. 16:17-21.The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of passion; which may be the commencement of that“great battle,”for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.[pg 290]An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the“time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,”when God's“people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book,”Dan. 12:1.“It is done,”is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:“The great city”is“Babylon,”(14:8); which“reigneth over the kings of the earth,”(17:8); and which John had seen sitting“upon many waters,”17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.“The cities of the nations,”must symbolize other hierarchies, analogous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized[pg 291]establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.“Great Babylon”then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven,“God hath remembered her iniquities,”18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ's coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the“mountains”and“islands”on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral“earthquake”which is to overwhelm them. This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all“removed out of their places,”(6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of God's wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of God's people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together“to meet the Lord in the[pg 292]air,”1 Thess. 4:17. To them the Lord has said,“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,”Ps. 91:5-9.The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of God's wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah:“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord[pg 293]shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth,”Isa. 28:17-22.This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev. 19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of God's wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of“Armageddon,”—the“battle of that great day of God Almighty,”16:14.The Judgment of the Harlot.“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”Rev. 17:1, 2.The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.[pg 294]The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;—very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one“that sitteth upon many waters.”Ancient Babylon was thus addressed:“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”Jer. 51:13. She is also described as“The well-favoredharlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,”Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God's wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,—the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast.“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns.[pg 295]And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.”Rev. 17:3-6.“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”Rev. 17:7-14.“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great[pg 296]city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:15-18.That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of“Babylon,”on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand:“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,”Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.“The scarlet-colored beast”on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw“rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,”13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by“a great red dragon,”which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to[pg 297]its subversion by the northern barbarians,—viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the“five”first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had“fallen,”v. 10. One then was:—Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus“the beast was;”and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an“eight”form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reäppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the“ten horns;”and which, according to the angel, are“ten kings,”which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in“one,”or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under[pg 298]this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):—they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.The“names of blasphemy”which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman[pg 299]hierarchy,—sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her,—the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.The Roman hierarchy was not, however,alwaysto retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time tofallfrom the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited[pg 300]and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:The Fall of Babylon.“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”Rev. 18:1-3.This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter:“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,”14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.Theepochof this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev. 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both[pg 301]descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries“with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,”while the other cries“mighty with a strong voice.”Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel's utterance in the tenth.As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings“again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”(10:11), it follows that thetimethen symbolized must be at an epochanteriorto the end of the world. A corresponding reason—namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction—proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation[pg 302]must also be at anepochhaving a considerable period between it and the end.It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and“the earth was lightened with his glory,”it did not symbolize aliteralbut amorallight,—the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moraldarkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize anepoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when thedarknessof ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of thelightof truth and knowledge.These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnightdarknessof thedark agesbegan to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with[pg 303]which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast;—she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event.—Jer. 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected[pg 304]their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says:“My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater.I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me.I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that theAntichristof whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome wasthe Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry,“Babylon is fallen!”In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the“Babylonish Captivity of the Church,”in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says,“Theyseized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their[pg 305]own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany,“Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.”—Ency. Am., v. 3. p. 76.All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the[pg 306]French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals“fled from the city on the wings of terror;”but those who remained“were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.”Finally, however,“with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.”—Life of Pius VI.His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonishwomanbecame unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,”Isa. 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal[pg 307]of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:The Voice From Heaven.“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”—Rev. 18:4-8.So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of[pg 308]God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev. 14:9,—which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name“Protestant,”was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah:“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:[pg 309]howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said:“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,”Isa. 48:20.“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,”Isa. 52:11.Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah:“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,”Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon:“Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:9.The Destruction of Babylon.“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and[pg 310]silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite's desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, 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 the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.”Rev. 18:9-20.“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!”Rev. 18:20.“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.”Rev. 18:21-24.[pg 311]The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood,—her divorce from the secular arm,—and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.Her final destruction is, however, to beentire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to beutterlyburned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be[pg 312]inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues,—who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense,—particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D'Aubigné, by“the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,”which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.[pg 313]Tetzel, one of Rome's travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for“a quarter of a florin”they might“receive letters of indulgence,”by means of which they might“introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”Hist. Ref., pp. 56, 242.He also said“Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.”“At the very instant,”said he,“that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.”This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

The Admonition.“Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”Rev. 16:15.“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,”2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples:“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your[pg 287]Lord doth come,”Matt. 24:42. Says Paul:“Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thess. 5:1-6.Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the multitude, Christ's coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing pronounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of God will be expecting Christ's advent, while others will be taken by surprise:“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,”Heb. 9:28.“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and[pg 288]godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:11-13.Those who keep their garments, are those who have not“defiled”them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy;“for the fine linen”in which they are to be arrayed“is the righteousness of saints,”19:8. To be destitute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says:“I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,”3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ's appearing.The Success of the Spirits.“And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”Rev. 16:16.Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its bloody slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of God will marshal for the final[pg 289]conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:The Seventh Vial.“And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.”Rev. 16:17-21.The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of passion; which may be the commencement of that“great battle,”for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.[pg 290]An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the“time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,”when God's“people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book,”Dan. 12:1.“It is done,”is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:“The great city”is“Babylon,”(14:8); which“reigneth over the kings of the earth,”(17:8); and which John had seen sitting“upon many waters,”17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.“The cities of the nations,”must symbolize other hierarchies, analogous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized[pg 291]establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.“Great Babylon”then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven,“God hath remembered her iniquities,”18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ's coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the“mountains”and“islands”on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral“earthquake”which is to overwhelm them. This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all“removed out of their places,”(6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of God's wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of God's people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together“to meet the Lord in the[pg 292]air,”1 Thess. 4:17. To them the Lord has said,“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,”Ps. 91:5-9.The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of God's wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah:“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord[pg 293]shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth,”Isa. 28:17-22.This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev. 19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of God's wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of“Armageddon,”—the“battle of that great day of God Almighty,”16:14.The Judgment of the Harlot.“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”Rev. 17:1, 2.The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.[pg 294]The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;—very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one“that sitteth upon many waters.”Ancient Babylon was thus addressed:“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”Jer. 51:13. She is also described as“The well-favoredharlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,”Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God's wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,—the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast.“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns.[pg 295]And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.”Rev. 17:3-6.“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”Rev. 17:7-14.“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great[pg 296]city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:15-18.That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of“Babylon,”on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand:“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,”Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.“The scarlet-colored beast”on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw“rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,”13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by“a great red dragon,”which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to[pg 297]its subversion by the northern barbarians,—viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the“five”first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had“fallen,”v. 10. One then was:—Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus“the beast was;”and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an“eight”form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reäppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the“ten horns;”and which, according to the angel, are“ten kings,”which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in“one,”or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under[pg 298]this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):—they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.The“names of blasphemy”which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman[pg 299]hierarchy,—sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her,—the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.The Roman hierarchy was not, however,alwaysto retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time tofallfrom the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited[pg 300]and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:The Fall of Babylon.“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”Rev. 18:1-3.This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter:“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,”14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.Theepochof this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev. 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both[pg 301]descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries“with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,”while the other cries“mighty with a strong voice.”Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel's utterance in the tenth.As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings“again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”(10:11), it follows that thetimethen symbolized must be at an epochanteriorto the end of the world. A corresponding reason—namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction—proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation[pg 302]must also be at anepochhaving a considerable period between it and the end.It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and“the earth was lightened with his glory,”it did not symbolize aliteralbut amorallight,—the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moraldarkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize anepoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when thedarknessof ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of thelightof truth and knowledge.These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnightdarknessof thedark agesbegan to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with[pg 303]which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast;—she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event.—Jer. 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected[pg 304]their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says:“My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater.I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me.I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that theAntichristof whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome wasthe Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry,“Babylon is fallen!”In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the“Babylonish Captivity of the Church,”in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says,“Theyseized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their[pg 305]own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany,“Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.”—Ency. Am., v. 3. p. 76.All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the[pg 306]French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals“fled from the city on the wings of terror;”but those who remained“were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.”Finally, however,“with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.”—Life of Pius VI.His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonishwomanbecame unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,”Isa. 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal[pg 307]of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:The Voice From Heaven.“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”—Rev. 18:4-8.So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of[pg 308]God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev. 14:9,—which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name“Protestant,”was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah:“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:[pg 309]howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said:“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,”Isa. 48:20.“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,”Isa. 52:11.Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah:“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,”Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon:“Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:9.The Destruction of Babylon.“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and[pg 310]silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite's desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, 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 the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.”Rev. 18:9-20.“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!”Rev. 18:20.“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.”Rev. 18:21-24.[pg 311]The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood,—her divorce from the secular arm,—and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.Her final destruction is, however, to beentire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to beutterlyburned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be[pg 312]inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues,—who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense,—particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D'Aubigné, by“the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,”which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.[pg 313]Tetzel, one of Rome's travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for“a quarter of a florin”they might“receive letters of indulgence,”by means of which they might“introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”Hist. Ref., pp. 56, 242.He also said“Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.”“At the very instant,”said he,“that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.”This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

The Admonition.“Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”Rev. 16:15.“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,”2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples:“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your[pg 287]Lord doth come,”Matt. 24:42. Says Paul:“Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thess. 5:1-6.Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the multitude, Christ's coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing pronounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of God will be expecting Christ's advent, while others will be taken by surprise:“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,”Heb. 9:28.“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and[pg 288]godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:11-13.Those who keep their garments, are those who have not“defiled”them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy;“for the fine linen”in which they are to be arrayed“is the righteousness of saints,”19:8. To be destitute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says:“I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,”3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ's appearing.

“Behold, I come like a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”Rev. 16:15.

“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,”2 Pet. 3:10. The Saviour said to his disciples:“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your[pg 287]Lord doth come,”Matt. 24:42. Says Paul:“Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh, ... and they shall not escape; but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thess. 5:1-6.

Thus will the day of the Lord come, as a thief, on those who are careless and indifferent to its approach; but it will not thus overtake those who watch, and keep their garments. Because so many will be deceived by the strange performances of the spirits of demons, and their miracles so delude the multitude, Christ's coming will be to them sudden and unexpected. Therefore the greater necessity for watchfulness. While this is a predicted means for lulling the world to sleep, it is given to the Christian as an indication of the near coming of Christ, whose advent synchronizes with the outpouring of the seventh vial. The blessing pronounced on those who watch, is an intimation that the people of God will be expecting Christ's advent, while others will be taken by surprise:“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,”Heb. 9:28.“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and[pg 288]godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:11-13.

Those who keep their garments, are those who have not“defiled”them with sin, (3:4); they will walk with Christ in white, being worthy;“for the fine linen”in which they are to be arrayed“is the righteousness of saints,”19:8. To be destitute of this, is to be unclothed; and hence the Saviour says:“I counsel thee to buy of me ... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,”3:18. The intimation is clear, that to be deceived by the unclean spirits, is to lose those robes of righteousness, and to be found naked at Christ's appearing.

The Success of the Spirits.“And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”Rev. 16:16.Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its bloody slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of God will marshal for the final[pg 289]conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:

“And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”Rev. 16:16.

Before the coming of the Lord, and as a preparation for that event, the nations are to be thus gathered. Armageddon is the name of a valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo, famous for its bloody slaughters. It fitly symbolizes the final gathering of the nations. The enemies of God will marshal for the final[pg 289]conflict. The powers of darkness will fancy themselves on the verge of victory; and then will be poured out:

The Seventh Vial.“And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.”Rev. 16:17-21.The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of passion; which may be the commencement of that“great battle,”for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.[pg 290]An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the“time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,”when God's“people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book,”Dan. 12:1.“It is done,”is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:“The great city”is“Babylon,”(14:8); which“reigneth over the kings of the earth,”(17:8); and which John had seen sitting“upon many waters,”17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.“The cities of the nations,”must symbolize other hierarchies, analogous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized[pg 291]establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.“Great Babylon”then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven,“God hath remembered her iniquities,”18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ's coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the“mountains”and“islands”on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral“earthquake”which is to overwhelm them. This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all“removed out of their places,”(6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of God's wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of God's people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together“to meet the Lord in the[pg 292]air,”1 Thess. 4:17. To them the Lord has said,“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,”Ps. 91:5-9.The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of God's wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah:“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord[pg 293]shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth,”Isa. 28:17-22.This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev. 19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of God's wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of“Armageddon,”—the“battle of that great day of God Almighty,”16:14.

“And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came a loud voice from the temple [of heaven], from the throne, saying, It is done! And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake. And the great city became three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. And every island fled, and the mountains were no more. And vast hail, weighing a talent, fell from heaven on men; and men reviled God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.”Rev. 16:17-21.

The atmosphere is not limited, like a river, or portion of the earth, to a given locality, but encircles the globe. Consequently the effect of the vial poured out on the air, would be universal, and not local like the effects of the previous vials. The air is the region of storms. These symbolize the expression of conflicting opinions, and violent outbursts of passion; which may be the commencement of that“great battle,”for the preparation of which the unclean spirits went forth under the sixth vial, to gather the people, and which terminates by the slaying of the remnant with the sword of the Lord, 19:21.

An earthquake is a symbol of a political revolution. As this is to be greater than all preceding ones, it must extend to all nations. It is during the earthquake, that the cities fall and the mountains and islands flee away. This commotion evidently synchronizes with the“time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,”when God's“people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book,”Dan. 12:1.

“It is done,”is a declaration indicating the completion of the work symbolized. It marks the termination of the events of the seventh vial, which are described in the verses following:

“The great city”is“Babylon,”(14:8); which“reigneth over the kings of the earth,”(17:8); and which John had seen sitting“upon many waters,”17:1. This was doubtless seen when he saw the waters of the symbolic Euphrates being dried up, 16:12. Babylon, being a symbol of the Roman hierarchy, its triple division indicates a like division of the church of Rome, not geographical, but under different leaders, previous to its destruction.

“The cities of the nations,”must symbolize other hierarchies, analogous to that of Rome, of which there are the Greek church, in Russia and Greece, the Arminian and Syrian churches, and other corrupt nationalized[pg 291]establishments. All such will become disconnected, like Babylon, with the governments by which they are sustained.

“Great Babylon”then comes into remembrance to drink the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath. Because her sins have reached unto heaven,“God hath remembered her iniquities,”18:5. This synchronizes with her destruction, symbolized in Rev. 18:8-23. As the Papacy continues till Christ's coming (Dan. 7:21, and 2 Thess. 2:3-8), this epoch must synchronize with that event, when he comes to receive his chosen ones.

With the destruction of Babylon, occurs the subversion of all national authority. As ecclesiastical hierarchies are symbolized by cities, the“mountains”and“islands”on which they are situated must symbolize the larger and smaller governments; and their removal from their places, their subversion in the great moral“earthquake”which is to overwhelm them. This synchronizes with the sixth seal, when they are all“removed out of their places,”(6:14); and it leaves the inhabitants of earth in a state of anarchy. It is at this time that the kings and great men of the earth become aware that the great day of God's wrath is come, 6:15-17. With this time of trouble, comes the deliverance of God's people, (Dan. 12:1); who shall be caught up together“to meet the Lord in the[pg 292]air,”1 Thess. 4:17. To them the Lord has said,“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,”Ps. 91:5-9.

The removal of the saints leaves the wicked exposed to the vengeance of God's wrath, of which a terrific hail-storm on their defenceless heads, is an expressive symbol. The Lord said, by Isaiah:“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord[pg 293]shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth,”Isa. 28:17-22.

This must synchronize with the final conflict, (symbolized in Rev. 19:19-21): also with the casting of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of God's wrath (14:19), and terminates the battle of“Armageddon,”—the“battle of that great day of God Almighty,”16:14.

The Judgment of the Harlot.“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”Rev. 17:1, 2.The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.[pg 294]The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;—very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one“that sitteth upon many waters.”Ancient Babylon was thus addressed:“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”Jer. 51:13. She is also described as“The well-favoredharlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,”Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God's wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,—the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:

“And one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and talked with me, saying, Come here; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot who sitteth on many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”Rev. 17:1, 2.

The Roman hierarchy had been frequently referred to in the preceding visions; but an institution, so interwoven with the history of the nations, required a more full and minute symbolization.

The subject of this vision is announced to the revelator, by one of the angels who had the seven vials;—very probably, the seventh. The harlot is identified as one“that sitteth upon many waters.”Ancient Babylon was thus addressed:“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”Jer. 51:13. She is also described as“The well-favoredharlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts,”Nahum 3:4. Therefore the harlot whose judgment is to be more minutely shown, is the city of the previous vision, which received the cup of the wine of God's wrath (16:19), and which probably was shown to John on the waters of the Euphrates, (16:12); for the reference indicates that she had been thus previously exhibited,—the waters on which she was seated, being the people, nations, &c., which sustained and defended her idolatries, 17:15. In the vision now to be shown John, the Roman hierarchy is symbolized by Babylon; but it is first exhibited as:

A Woman on a Scarlet-Colored Beast.“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns.[pg 295]And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.”Rev. 17:3-6.“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”Rev. 17:7-14.“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great[pg 296]city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:15-18.That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of“Babylon,”on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand:“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,”Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.“The scarlet-colored beast”on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw“rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,”13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by“a great red dragon,”which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to[pg 297]its subversion by the northern barbarians,—viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the“five”first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had“fallen,”v. 10. One then was:—Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus“the beast was;”and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an“eight”form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reäppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the“ten horns;”and which, according to the angel, are“ten kings,”which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in“one,”or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under[pg 298]this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):—they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.The“names of blasphemy”which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman[pg 299]hierarchy,—sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her,—the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.The Roman hierarchy was not, however,alwaysto retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time tofallfrom the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited[pg 300]and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:

“And he carried me away in spirit into a desert: and I saw a woman seated on a crimson-colored wild beast, full of names of reviling, having seven heads and ten horns.[pg 295]And the woman was arrayed in purple and crimson, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead a name was written, A SECRET: BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus; and when I saw her I wondered greatly.”Rev. 17:3-6.

“And the angel said to me, Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the secret of the woman, and of the wild beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The wild beast which thou didst see, was, and is not, and will ascend out of the abyss, and go into destruction; and those who dwell on the earth will wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) as they behold the wild beast that was and is not, and will be. And here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must remain a little while. And the wild beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. And the ten horns which thou didst see are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive power as kings, one hour, with the wild beast. These have one mind, and will give their power and strength to the wild beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”Rev. 17:7-14.

“And he saith to me, The waters which thou didst see, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou didst see, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to perform his purpose, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou didst see is the great[pg 296]city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”Rev. 17:15-18.

That the woman and city symbolize the same, is shown by the declaration that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth, v. 18. She is also thus indicated by the name of“Babylon,”on her forehead, and the golden cup in her hand:“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad,”Jer. 51:7. In like manner has the church of Rome intoxicated the nations.

“The scarlet-colored beast”on which the woman is seated, is evidently the same beast that John saw“rise out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns,”13:1. The Roman empire had been symbolized by“a great red dragon,”which also had seven heads and ten horns. In that vision, crowns were on the heads of the beast, (12:3); which indicated that Rome, during the period thus represented, existed under the forms of government symbolized by the heads. These heads, the angel affirms, are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, (v. 9); and also that they are seven kings (v. 10), or forms of government. Mountains also symbolize governments, (16:20); and as the heads and mountains are the same, they must alike symbolize the seven forms of government under which Rome existed previous to[pg 297]its subversion by the northern barbarians,—viz.: 1, the kingly; 2, consular; 3, dictatorial; 4, decemviral; 5, tribunitial; 6, pagan-imperial; and 7, Christian-imperial. At the time of the explanation of this vision to John, the“five”first-named forms had passed away; or, as the angel says, had“fallen,”v. 10. One then was:—Rome then existed under its pagan-imperial, or sixth head. The other, the Christian-imperial, had not then come; but after it came, and had continued for a time, the Roman empire was subverted by the irruptions of northern barbarians. Thus“the beast was;”and then, was not for a season. But afterwards it emerged again from the sea (13:1), under an“eight”form, which was of the previous seven, 17:11. When it reäppears, its crowns are not upon its heads, but encircle its horns, (13:1); indicating that those governments have the ascendency, which are symbolized by the“ten horns;”and which, according to the angel, are“ten kings,”which had not received their kingdom at the time of the vision, v. 12. These were to be kings in“one,”or the same hour with the beast, and must therefore be contemporary kingdoms, while the forms symbolized by the heads, are evidently successive. They constitute the government of Rome, in its eighth, or decem-regal form; and symbolize the ten kingdoms which arose after and out of the subversion of imperial Rome. Under[pg 298]this form, the beast goes into perdition, (v. 11):—they continue under various combinations, till the end of the world, when they will war with and be overcome by the Lamb (v. 14), in the great battle of Armageddon, 19:19-21.

The ten contemporary kingdoms have one mind, (v. 13): they perpetuate the kingdom of the beast, by adopting similar laws, pursuing the same line of policy, and assuming the same powers that the empire exercised.

The“names of blasphemy”which cover the beast, symbolize its arrogating the right to dictate in matters of faith and religious worship, and to punish those who dissent from its creed. The Roman hierarchy was supported by legal enactments against heretics in all of the ten kingdoms. Those who dissented from the church were delivered over to the power of the civil arm, which punished by imprisonment, confiscation of goods, bodily torture, and death. The exercise of such power, was a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ, and an assumption of authority over the legislation of God.

On this beast the woman is seated. As its rider, she guides it, and is sustained by it. She is its directing power; and while she is thus seated, there is no reference to crowns encircling either heads or horns. All rule for a time is subservient to her control. Thus were the ten kingdoms obedient to the Roman[pg 299]hierarchy,—sustaining, and being controlled by it. She crowned their kings, and dethroned them at her pleasure. The religion of the church was enforced by the sword of the state; and thus did the kings of the earth commit fornication with her,—the idolatries of the church being sanctioned by them.

The superb attire of the woman, and the costly gems with which she is decked, denote the wealth, luxury, and regal splendor of the hierarchy which she symbolizes. The cup, and its abominations in her hand, denote the false doctrines with which she would seduce the nations. Her names describe her nature, and identify her with Babylon; and her intoxication with blood, indicates her blood-thirsty, persecuting character, and the delight with which she would exult over the slaughter of the saints.

The Roman hierarchy was not, however,alwaysto retain her supremacy over the nations. She was in due time tofallfrom the position symbolized by the woman seated on the beast; and the kings of the earth were to hate and burn with fire, her whom they had recognized as their mistress, and to whose control they had submitted. The governments which have sustained her pretensions, were to cast her off contemptuously. This has been in progress of fulfilment from the days of Martin Luther, since which her control of the ten kingdoms has been only limited[pg 300]and partial. Many of her ecclesiastical estates have been confiscated, and she has been deprived of her prerogatives in many countries. There may, perhaps, be hereafter a more complete fulfilment of this prediction. It is symbolized in the following chapter, by:

The Fall of Babylon.“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”Rev. 18:1-3.This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter:“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,”14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.Theepochof this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev. 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both[pg 301]descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries“with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,”while the other cries“mighty with a strong voice.”Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel's utterance in the tenth.As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings“again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”(10:11), it follows that thetimethen symbolized must be at an epochanteriorto the end of the world. A corresponding reason—namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction—proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation[pg 302]must also be at anepochhaving a considerable period between it and the end.It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and“the earth was lightened with his glory,”it did not symbolize aliteralbut amorallight,—the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moraldarkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize anepoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when thedarknessof ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of thelightof truth and knowledge.These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnightdarknessof thedark agesbegan to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with[pg 303]which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast;—she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event.—Jer. 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected[pg 304]their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says:“My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater.I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me.I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that theAntichristof whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome wasthe Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry,“Babylon is fallen!”In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the“Babylonish Captivity of the Church,”in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says,“Theyseized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their[pg 305]own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany,“Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.”—Ency. Am., v. 3. p. 76.All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the[pg 306]French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals“fled from the city on the wings of terror;”but those who remained“were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.”Finally, however,“with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.”—Life of Pius VI.His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonishwomanbecame unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,”Isa. 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal[pg 307]of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:

“And after this, I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, She is fallen: Babylon the great is fallen, and is become a dwelling of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”Rev. 18:1-3.

This announcement of the fall of the city, synchronizes with the same symbolization in the 14th chapter:“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,”14:8. The angel, proclaiming her fall, doubtless symbolizes a body of men, who shall give utterance to corresponding declarations.

Theepochof this utterance is shown by the identity of this angel with that of Rev. 10:1-3. They thus correspond: They both[pg 301]descend from heaven: the one is a mighty angel, and the other has great power; the one is enveloped with a robe of cloud, his head is arched with the rainbow, his face is like the sun, and his feet like fire, and he stands on both earth and sea; the other is so glorified, and occupies a position so conspicuous, that the earth is enlightened with his glory; and the one cries“with a loud voice as when a lion roareth,”while the other cries“mighty with a strong voice.”Thus their position, manner and conspicuousness, are alike. What was uttered by the angel of the tenth chapter, is not revealed; but the fall of Babylon being announced in the eighteenth, it follows that it was the subject of the angel's utterance in the tenth.

As the messenger of the tenth chapter appears subsequent to the sixth, and before the seventh trumpet; and as, after this epoch, there were to be prophesyings“again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”(10:11), it follows that thetimethen symbolized must be at an epochanteriorto the end of the world. A corresponding reason—namely, the command to come out of Babylon, and the fulfilment of her plagues and sorrows, which are to intervene between the cry of the angel announcing her fall and the time of her actual destruction—proves that the mighty angel of the 18th of Revelation[pg 302]must also be at anepochhaving a considerable period between it and the end.

It follows, that when John saw the angel of the eighteenth chapter, and“the earth was lightened with his glory,”it did not symbolize aliteralbut amorallight,—the light of truth. And as the enlightening of the earth by its promulgation, pre-supposes a previous state of corresponding moraldarkness, it must, as in the tenth chapter, symbolize anepoch, prominent in the history of the world, as a time when thedarknessof ignorance, error and superstition, began rapidly to disappear before the spread of thelightof truth and knowledge.

These considerations point to the epoch of the REFORMATION, when the midnightdarknessof thedark agesbegan to be scattered before the uprising and onward progress of truth and knowledge. Then appeared a body of religious teachers, aided by the newly discovered art of printing, who so brought the Scriptures out from their obscurity, opposed the pretensions of the Papal hierarchy, and, by the clear teachings of the word, so secured the spread of gospel light and liberty, that they might appropriately be symbolized by an angel coming down from heaven, and enlightening the earth with his glory. The descent from heaven would symbolize the heavenly origin of the doctrines promulgated. His mighty power, and the strong voice with[pg 303]which he proclaimed his cry, would symbolize the greatness and earnestness of the movement, and the mighty results to be effected by it. This symbolization, twice given, could only be fulfilled by some great and mighty movement, like the Reformation.

The fall of Babylon is distinct from and anterior to its destruction, and must correspond with the fall of the woman from her position on the beast;—she is no longer to be the director of, and to be sustained by, the civil power. The cry of the angel, announcing her fall, as Mr. Elliot remarks, seems to be anticipative, and not retrospective. The denunciations of the Papacy by the reformers were of a character to fulfil this symbolization.

The year 1300, during the pontificate of Boniface VIII., may be regarded as marking the highest eminence to which the Papal power ever attained. From this period the dominion of the Roman Pontiffs appeared to be gradually undermined. Twenty-four years after this date, John Wickliffe was born, who, together with his followers, made more vigorous attacks upon Babylon itself. Some of these declared Rome to be mystical Babylon, and the Pope and church there to be Antichrist. These heralds announced the fall of mystical Babylon, as the ancient prophets had done that of literal Babylon, long before the event.—Jer. 51:7, 8. Antichrist and Babylon are identified in prophecy. In 1518, Luther first suspected[pg 304]their application to the Papacy; and, writing to his friend Link, on sending him a copy of the acts just published of the conference at Augsburg, he says:“My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater.I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me.I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured in believing that theAntichristof whom St. Paul speaks now reigns in the court of Rome.”

At first, Luther and his companions sought only the reformation of that church. They had no idea of dissolving their own connection with it. But when the thunders of the Vatican were hurled at them, and they found themselves excommunicated as heretics, they came to the conclusion that the church of Rome wasthe Babylon of the Apocalypse. Immediately upon this conviction, they began to cry,“Babylon is fallen!”

In 1520 appeared a famous book, by Luther, on the“Babylonish Captivity of the Church,”in which he attacked Rome with great skill and courage. In Switzerland and England the reformers considered themselves as fulfilling this message of the Apocalyptic angel. Elliot says,“Theyseized on this very prophecy for application; and, for the first time, upon grounds of evidence sound and tenable, concluded on the fact of progress having been made up to it, in the evolution of the great mundane drama, and on their[pg 305]own chronological place being already far advanced under the sixth trumpet, and in near expectancy of the seventh trumpet, of the Apocalyptic prophecy.”

These denunciations against Mystic Babylon, and protestations against all her idolatrous ceremonies and superstitious appendages, were given, by the great body of the reformers, within the very bounds of her empire. They resulted in her loss of power, and of control over the princes of Europe. In 1526, the other monarchs becoming jealous of the power of Charles V., Emperor of Germany,“Pope Clement VII. placed himself at the head of a league of the principal states of Italy against him; but their ill-directed efforts were productive of new misfortunes. Rome was taken by storm, by the troops of the constable, sacked, and the Pope himself made prisoner. Charles V. publicly disavowed the proceedings of the constable, went into mourning with his court, and carried his hypocrisy so far as to order prayers for the deliverance of the Pope. On restoring the holy father to liberty, he demanded a ransom of four hundred thousand crowns of gold, but was satisfied with a quarter of that sum.”—Ency. Am., v. 3. p. 76.

All the Protestant princes of Germany denied the assumptions of the Pope; and the powers of western and northern Europe, one after another, denied their allegiance to him. In 1798, Pius VI. was taken prisoner by the[pg 306]French, under Gen. Berthier, and died in exile. When Berthier entered Rome, many of the cardinals“fled from the city on the wings of terror;”but those who remained“were disposed still to uphold the authority of the Pontiff.”Finally, however,“with melancholy voice, they pronounced their absolute renunciation of the temporal government.”—Life of Pius VI.His successor resumed his position. But in 1848 Pius IX. fled from his own subjects, and was only restored by French arms. Thus gradually the Babylonishwomanbecame unseated, and fell from her position on the beast; and, instead of guiding and directing the civil power, now only exists by sufferance. As a city, also, her supremacy was gone. Being no longer the mistress of the nations, or the ruling city, the Papal See is in the condition of ancient Babylon when becoming a dependency of the Medes and Persians.

After the fall of ancient Babylon, it became gradually more and more deserted, until there was a literal fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces,”Isa. 13:21, 22. In like manner the apocalyptic Babylon, after her fall, and the withdrawal[pg 307]of Protestants from her communion, was to become the receptacle of corresponding spirits. Her members were to be more impious than before, and were to adhere more closely than ever to her idolatrous practices. The contrast between these and true Christians would also be more apparent from the separation which succeeds her fall, in obedience to:

The Voice From Heaven.“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”—Rev. 18:4-8.So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of[pg 308]God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev. 14:9,—which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name“Protestant,”was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah:“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:[pg 309]howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said:“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,”Isa. 48:20.“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,”Isa. 52:11.Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah:“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,”Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon:“Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:9.

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities! Reward her even as she rendered to you, and double to her according to her works, in the cup which she hath poured out, pour out double to her. By as much as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall see no mourning. On this account, her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”—Rev. 18:4-8.

So long as the true character of the apostate church was unperceived, she would contain many good, as well as a multitude of bad members. The voice from heaven, indicates an epoch when there should be a widely extended and marked separation between these two classes. Till the time of that separation should be indicated, the children of[pg 308]God would be justified in continuing members of her communion; but not subsequently. The condition of Babylon, at the time of her fall, indicates that the separation must take place in near connection with that event; and the cry must synchronize with that of the third angel in Rev. 14:9,—which symbolized a body of men who should insist on such a separation from the Papacy as that here symbolized.

After the discovery that the church of Rome was the Babylon of the Apocalypse, the reformers began to call on the people of God to desert her communion; and the formation of the reformed churches was the consequence. This was preached wherever the Reformation extended, and has been continued to the present time. The Protestant churches have proclaimed connection with Romanism, an obstacle to salvation; and have called on its Christian members to come out from her abominations. Even the name“Protestant,”was given because of their protestation against the corruptions of the Papal See.

After the fall of ancient Babylon, and before her destruction, the people were, in like manner, commanded to forsake her. Said Jeremiah:“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:[pg 309]howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:6, 8, 9. And Isaiah said:“Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob,”Isa. 48:20.“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,”Isa. 52:11.

Sins reaching to heaven, indicate great wickedness. Thus God said to Jonah:“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me,”Jonah 1:2. And he said of old Babylon:“Her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies,”Jer. 51:9.

The Destruction of Babylon.“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and[pg 310]silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite's desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, 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 the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.”Rev. 18:9-20.“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!”Rev. 18:20.“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.”Rev. 18:21-24.[pg 311]The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood,—her divorce from the secular arm,—and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.Her final destruction is, however, to beentire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to beutterlyburned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be[pg 312]inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues,—who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense,—particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D'Aubigné, by“the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,”which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.[pg 313]Tetzel, one of Rome's travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for“a quarter of a florin”they might“receive letters of indulgence,”by means of which they might“introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”Hist. Ref., pp. 56, 242.He also said“Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.”“At the very instant,”said he,“that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.”This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and wail for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off through the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come! And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and[pg 310]silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and crimson, and all thine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and fragrant ointment, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men. And the autumnal fruit of thine appetite's desire is departed from thee, and all things dainty and sumptuous are destroyed from thee, and thou wilt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were enriched by her, will stand afar off, through the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and crimson, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour such great wealth is destroyed. And every pilot, and every one sailing to any place, 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 the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! woe! the great city by which all who had ships on the sea, were made rich through her precious merchandise! for in one hour she is desolated.”Rev. 18:9-20.

“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her!”Rev. 18:20.

“And a strong angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and be no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, will be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of any art, will be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone will be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp will shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the nobles of the earth; for by thy sorcery all nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those slain on the earth.”Rev. 18:21-24.

The punishment of Babylon is proportioned to her wickedness, and is to be inflicted partially by the kings of the earth, and partially by other agencies. The kings were to hate, and burn her with fire, (17:16); and were also, when they should see the smoke of her burnings, to bewail and lament for her, 18:9. The former passage indicates their agency in her impoverishment, and has been fulfilled in the confiscation of her property in France and England, the spoliation of churches and religious houses, wherever the arms of Napoleon extended; the dethronement of the Pope, by Gen. Berthier, in 1798; the refusal of some of the powers to permit her to nominate, within their limits, the candidates for ecclesiastical preferment, &c. She is thus made to feel her widowhood,—her divorce from the secular arm,—and has mourned the loss of her most devoted children, who have forsaken her communion.

Her final destruction is, however, to beentire. She is totally to disappear, like the sinking of a millstone in the sea. She is to beutterlyburned with fire; but the lamentation of the kings over her burning, indicates that her destruction is to be completed by other instrumentality than theirs. Probably the multitude are to be incensed against her, and will so manifest their hatred that the governments will neither join in it, nor attempt to resist it, for fear that the same torment will be[pg 312]inflicted on them, 18:10. But her existence is terminated by the brightness of Christ's coming, 2 Thess. 2:8. Her destruction precedes that of the kings of the earth, who mourn her end. The merchants of the earth, the captains, sailors, &c., symbolize those who bear a relation to the hierarchy, analogous to that sustained by such to a great commercial emporium. They are those who have the control of her preferments, benefices and revenues,—who traffic in her indulgences, and thereby become themselves enriched. And these articles of traffic are symbolized by the merchandise which, after her destruction, no man would buy.

The commerce of this ecclesiastical city, has been immense,—particularly in indulgences. The sale of these was reduced to a system, says D'Aubigné, by“the celebrated and scandalous Tariff of Indulgences,”which went through more than forty editions. The least delicate ears would be offended by an enumeration of all the horrors it contains. Incest, if not detected, was to cost five groats; and six, if it was known. There was a stated price for murder, infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, &c. Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege and perjury, nine; murder, eight; and witchcraft, two ducats.

The penances of various kinds which were imposed as a punishment for sin, might also be compounded for money.

Tetzel, one of Rome's travelling merchants, told the people of Germany that for“a quarter of a florin”they might“receive letters of indulgence,”by means of which they might“introduce into paradise a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.”Hist. Ref., pp. 56, 242.

He also said“Indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. With twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory.”“At the very instant,”said he,“that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies, liberated to heaven.”This is but a specimen of her vile traffic.

Responding to the command, are heard the voices of much people in heaven,

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