Rev 18:9-14 | PNT | STEP | And the kings of the earth . . . shall bewail her . There will be mourners. Those who have sinned with her, or profited by her will bewail her fall.

Revelation of John 18:9-14

And the kings of the earth . . . shall bewail her. There will be mourners. Those who have sinned with her, or profited by her will bewail her fall. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment. The picture represents these mourners looking from a great distance, afraid to approach nearer.

For in one hour is thy judgment come. It has come suddenly. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her. All who had made gain in any way from the sins or the luxury of Babylon shall mourn. There follows, then, an enumeration of the articles in which there was traffic. And bodies, and souls of men. The Greek reads, "the bodies and souls of men". The first seems to refer to the traffic in slaves, a common traffic until modern times and sanctioned by the Papacy. The latter expression seems to me to refer to a spiritual traffic. What is the whole system of masses for the dead, paid for out of the money drawn from mourning relatives, but a traffic in the souls of men? The fruits that thy soul lusted after. These things for which Babylon so lusted are all gone from her forever.