Mat 8:29, Rev 18:7, 10, 15, 20:10 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 29. What have we to do with thee . This might have been translated with great propriety, What hast thou to do with us? The meaning is, "Why dost thou trouble, or disturb us?" See ; . Son of God . The title, Son of God , is often given to Christ. Men are sometimes called sons, or children of God, to denote their piety and adoption into his family, . But the title given, to Christ denotes his superiority to the prophets, ( ) to Moses the founder of the Jewish economy, ( ) it denotes his peculiar and near relation to the Father, as evinced by his resurrection, ( ) it denotes his peculiar relation to God from his miraculous conception, ( ) and is equivalent to a declaration that he is Divine, or equal to the Father, . Art thou come hither to torment us , etc. By the time here mentioned is meant the day of judgment. The Bible reveals the doctrine that evil spirits are not now bound as they will be after that day; that they are permitted to tempt and afflict men; but that in the day of judgment they also will be condemned to everlasting punishment with all the wicked, . These spirits seemed to be apprized of that, and alarmed lest the day that they had feared had come. They besought him, therefore, not to send them out of that country; not to consign them then to hell, but to put off the day of their final punishment. Mark and Luke say that Jesus inquired the name of the principal demoniac, and that he called his name Legion, for they were many . The name legion was given to a division in the Roman army. It did not always denote the same number; but, in the time of Christ, it consisted of six thousand--three thousand foot and three thousand horsemen. It came, therefore, to signify a large number , without specifying the exact amount.

Matthew 8:29

Verse 29. What have we to do with thee. This might have been translated with great propriety, What hast thou to do with us? The meaning is, "Why dost thou trouble, or disturb us?" See 2Sam 16:10; 2Kgs 9:18, Ezr 4:3.

Son of God. The title, Son of God, is often given to Christ. Men are sometimes called sons, or children of God, to denote their piety and adoption into his family, 1Jn 3:1. But the title given, to Christ denotes his superiority to the prophets, (Heb 1:1) to Moses the founder of the Jewish economy, (Heb 3:6) it denotes his peculiar and near relation to the Father, as evinced by his resurrection, (Ps 2:7, Acts 13:33) it denotes his peculiar relation to God from his miraculous conception, (Lk 1:35) and is equivalent to a declaration that he is Divine, or equal to the Father, Jn 10:36.

Art thou come hither to torment us, etc. By the time here mentioned is meant the day of judgment. The Bible reveals the doctrine that evil spirits are not now bound as they will be after that day; that they are permitted to tempt and afflict men; but that in the day of judgment they also will be condemned to everlasting punishment with all the wicked, 2Pet 2:4, Jude 1:6. These spirits seemed to be apprized of that, and alarmed lest the day that they had feared had come. They besought him, therefore, not to send them out of that country; not to consign them then to hell, but to put off the day of their final punishment. Mark and Luke say that Jesus inquired the name of the principal demoniac, and that he called his name Legion, for they were many. The name legion was given to a division in the Roman army. It did not always denote the same number; but, in the time of Christ, it consisted of six thousand--three thousand foot and three thousand horsemen. It came, therefore, to signify a large number, without specifying the exact amount.

Revelation of John 18:7

Verse 7. How much she hath glorified herself. Been proud, boastful, arrogant. This was true of ancient Babylon that she was proud and haughty; and it has been no less true of mystical Babylon--Papal Rome.

And lived deliciously. By as much as she has lived in luxury and dissoluteness, so let her suffer now. The word used here and rendered lived deliciously--εστρηνιασε is derived from the noun-- στρηνος--which is used in Rev 18:3, and rendered delicacies. Rev 18:3. It means "to live strenuously, rudely," as in English, "to live hard;" and then to revel, to live in luxury, riot, dissoluteness. No one can doubt the propriety of this as descriptive of ancient Babylon, and as little can its propriety be doubted as applied to Papal Rome.

So much torment and sorrow give her. Let her punishment correspond with her sins. This is expressing substantially the same idea which occurs in the previous verse.

For she saith in her heart. This is the estimate which she forms of herself.

I sit a queen. Indicative of pride, and of an asserted claim to rule.

And am no widow. Am not in the condition of a widow--a state of depression, sorrow, and mourning. All this indicates security and self-confidence, a description in every way applicable to Papal Rome.

And shall see no sorrow. This is indicative of a state where there was nothing feared, notwithstanding all the indications which existed of approaching calamity. In this state we may expect to find Papal Rome, even when its last judgments are about to come upon it; in this state it has usually been; in this state it is now, notwithstanding all the indications that are abroad in the world that its power is waning, and that the period of its fall approaches.

(a) "sit a queen" Isa 47:7-11, Zeph 2:15

Revelation of John 18:10

Verse 10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment. Not daring to approach, to attempt to rescue and save her. They who had so long contributed to the support of the Papal power, and who had in turn been upheld by that, would not now even attempt to rescue her, but would stand by and see her destroyed--unable to render relief.

Alas, alas, that great city Babylon. The language of lamentation that so great and so mighty a city should fall.

For in one hour is thy judgment come. Barnes on "Re 18:8". The general sentiment here is, that in the final ruin of Papal Rome, the kings and governments that had sustained her, and had been sustained by her, would see the source of their power taken away, but that they would not, or could not, attempt her rescue. There have been not a few indications already that this will ultimately occur, and that the Papal power will be left to fall, without any attempt on the part of those governments which have been so long in alliance with it to sustain or restore it.

(b) "one hour" Rev 18:17,19

Revelation of John 18:15

Verse 15. The merchants of these things. Who trafficked in these things, and who supplied the city with them, Rev 18:11.

Which were made rich by her. By traffic with her.

Shall stand afar off. Rev 18:10.

For fear of her torment. Struck with terror by her torment, so that they did not dare to approach her, Rev 18:10.

Revelation of John 20:10

Verse 10. And the devil that deceived them. Rev 20:3,8.

Was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. In Rev 19:20, it is said of the beast and the false prophet that they were "cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone." Satan, on the other hand, instead of being doomed at once to that final ruin, was confined for a season in a dark abyss, Rev 20:1-3. As the final punishment, however, he is appropriately represented as consigned to the same doom as the beast mad the false prophet, that those great enemies of God that had been associated and combined in deceiving the nations, might share the same appropriate punishment in the end. Compare Rev 16:13-14.

Where the beast and the false prophet are. Barnes on "Re 19:20".

And shall be tormented day and night for ever. Compare Barnes on "Re 14:11". All the great enemies of the church are destroyed, and henceforward there is to be no array of hostile forces; no combination of malignant powers against the kingdom of God. The gospel triumphs; the way is prepared for the final consummation.

(d.)--Condition of things in the period referred to in Rev 20:9-10.

(1.) There will be, after the release of Satan, and of course at the close of the millennial period properly so called, a state of things which may be well represented by the invasion of a country by hostile, formidable forces. This, as shown in the exposition, need not be supposed to be literal; but it is implied that there will be decided hostility against the true religion. It may be an organization and consolidation, so to speak, of infidel principles, or a decided worldly spirit, or some prevalent form of error, or some new form of depravity that shall be developed by the circumstances of that age. What it will be it is impossible now to determine; but, as shown above, (b, 4,) it is by no means improbable that this will occur even at the close of the millennium.

(2.) There will be a decided defeat of these forces thus combined, as if fire should come down from heaven to destroy an invading army. The mode in which this will be done is not indeed stated, for there is no necessity of understanding the statement in Rev 20:9 literally, any more than the other parts of the chapter. The fair inference, however, is that it will be by a manifest Divine agency; that it will be sudden, and that the destruction will be entire. We have no reason, therefore, to suppose that the outbreak will be of long continuance, or that it will very materially disturb the settled order of human affairs on the earth--any more than a formidable invasion of a country does, when the invading army is suddenly cut off by some terrible judgment from heaven.

(3.) This overthrow of the enemies of God and of the church will be final. Satan will be "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented day and night for ever." The beast and the false prophet are already there, (Rev 19:20;) that is, they will have ceased long since, even before the beginning of the millennial period, (Rev 19:20, compared with 20:1-3,) to have opposed the progress of truth in the world, and their power will have been brought to an end. Satan now, the last enemy, win be doomed to the same hopeless woe; and all the enemies that have ever opposed the church --in all forms of Paganism, Mohammedanism, Popery, and delusion-will be destroyed for ever. The world then will have peace; the church will have rest; the great triumph will have been achieved.

(4.) It is possible that there will be a long period of continued prosperity and peace between the events stated in Rev 20:9-10, and the final judgment, as described in Rev 20:11-15. If so, however, the purpose of the book did not require that that should be described at length, and it must be admitted that the most obvious interpretation of the New Testament would not be favourable to such a supposition. Compare Lk 17:26-30, 1Thes 5:2-3, 2Pet 3:3-4, Lk 18:8. The great glory of the world will be the millennial period; when religion shall have the ascendency, and the race shall have reached its highest point of progress on earth, and the blessings of liberty, intelligence, peace, and piety, shall have during that period been spread over the globe. In that long duration, who can estimate the numbers that shall be redeemed and saved? That period passed, the great purpose contemplated by the creation of the earth--the glory of God in the redemption of a fallen race, and in setting up a kingdom of righteousness in a world of apostasy, will have been accomplished, and there will be no reason why the final judgment should not then occur. "The work of redemption will now be finished. The end for which the means of grace have been instituted shall be obtained. All the effect which was intended to be accomplished by them shall now be accomplished. All the great wheels of Providence have gone round --all things are ripe for Christ's coming to judgment."--President Edwards, History of Redemption.

(b) "lake of fire" Rev 19:20