Rev 18:4-8 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven . He does not say whether this was the voice of an angel, but the idea seems rather to be that it is the voice of God. Come out of her, my people . The reasons for this, as immediately stated, are two: (a) that they might not participate in her sins; and (b) that they might not be involved in the ruin that would come upon her. The language seems to be derived from such passages in the Old Testament as the following: , "Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing." , "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity." , "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord." Compare . That ye be not partakers of her sins . For the meaning of this expression, . It is implied here that by remaining in Babylon they would lend their sanction to its sins by their presence, and would, in all probability, become contaminated by the influence around them. This is an universal truth in regard to iniquity, and hence it is the duty of those who would be pure to come out from the world, and to separate themselves from all the associations of evil. And that ye receive not of her plagues . Of the punishment that was to come upon her--as they must certainly do if they remained in her. The judgment of God that was to come upon the guilty city would make no discrimination among those who were found there; and if they would escape these woes, they must make their escape from her. As applicable to Papal Rome, in view of her impending ruin, this means (a) that there might be found in her some who were the true people of God; (b) that it was their duty to separate wholly from her--a command that will not only justify the Reformation, but which would have made a longer continuance in communion with the Papacy, when her wickedness was fully seen, an act of guilt before God; (c) that they who remain in such a communion cannot but be regarded as partaking of her sin; and (d) that if they remain, they must expect to be involved in the calamities that will come upon her. There never was any duty plainer than that of withdrawing from Papal Rome; there never has been any act attended with more happy consequences than that by which the Protestant world separated itself for ever from the sins and the plagues of the Papacy. (f) "Come out of her"

Revelation of John 18:4-8

Verse 4. And I heard another voice from heaven. He does not say whether this was the voice of an angel, but the idea seems rather to be that it is the voice of God.

Come out of her, my people. The reasons for this, as immediately stated, are two:

(a) that they might not participate in her sins; and

(b) that they might not be involved in the ruin that would come upon her. The language seems to be derived from such passages in the Old Testament as the following: Isa 48:20, "Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing." Jer 51:6, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity." Jer 51:45, "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord." Compare Jer 1:8.

That ye be not partakers of her sins. For the meaning of this expression, 1Timm 5:22. It is implied here that by remaining in Babylon they would lend their sanction to its sins by their presence, and would, in all probability, become contaminated by the influence around them. This is an universal truth in regard to iniquity, and hence it is the duty of those who would be pure to come out from the world, and to separate themselves from all the associations of evil.

And that ye receive not of her plagues. Of the punishment that was to come upon her--as they must certainly do if they remained in her. The judgment of God that was to come upon the guilty city would make no discrimination among those who were found there; and if they would escape these woes, they must make their escape from her. As applicable to Papal Rome, in view of her impending ruin, this means

(a) that there might be found in her some who were the true people of God;

(b) that it was their duty to separate wholly from her--a command that will not only justify the Reformation, but which would have made a longer continuance in communion with the Papacy, when her wickedness was fully seen, an act of guilt before God;

(d) that if they remain, they must expect to be involved in the calamities that will come upon her. There never was any duty plainer than that of withdrawing from Papal Rome; there never has been any act attended with more happy consequences than that by which the Protestant world separated itself for ever from the sins and the plagues of the Papacy.

(f) "Come out of her" Isa 48:20, 52:11, Jer 50:8, 51:6,45, 2Cor 6:17 Verse 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven. So in Jer 51:9, speaking of Babylon, it is said, "For her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies." The meaning is not that the sins of this mystical Babylon were like a mass or pile so high as to reach to heaven, but that it had become so prominent as to attract the attention of God. Compare Gen 4:10, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." See also Gen 18:20.

And God hath remembered, her iniquities. He had seemed to forget them, or not to notice them, but now he acted as if they had come to his recollection. Rev 16:19.

(g) "reached unto heaven" (h) "remembered" Rev 16:19 Verse 6. Reward her even as she rewarded you. It is not said to whom this command is addressed, but it would seem to be to those who had been persecuted and wronged. Applied to mystical Babylon--Papal Rome --it would seem to be a call on the nations that had been so long under her sway, and among whom, from time to time, so much blood had been shed by her, to arise now in their might, and to inflict deserved vengeance. Rev 17:16-17.

And double unto her double according to her works. That is, bring upon her double the amount of calamity which she has brought upon others; take ample vengeance upon her. Compare, for similar language, Isa 40:2, "She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Isa 61:7, "For your shame ye shall have double."

In the cup which she hath filled. To bring wrath on others. Barnes on "Re 14:8".

Fill to her double. Let her drink abundantly of the wine of the wrath of God--double that which she has dealt out to others. That is, either let the quantity administered to her be doubled, or let the ingredients in the cup be doubled in intensity.

(i) "Reward her" Ps 137:8, Jer 50:15,29 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 Verse 8. Therefore. In consequence of her pride, arrogance, and luxury, and of the calamities that she has brought upon others.

Shall her plagues come in one day. They shall come in a time when she is living in ease and security; and they shall come at the same time-- so that all these terrible judgments shall seem to be poured upon her at once.

Death. This expression and those which follow are designed to denote the same thing under different images. The general meaning is, that there would be utter and final destruction. It would be as if death should come and cut off the inhabitants,

And mourning. As there would be where many were cut off by death.

And famine. As if famine raged within the walls of a besieged city, or spread over a land.

And she shall be utterly burned with fire. As completely destroyed as if she were entirely burned up. The certain and complete destruction of that formidable Antichristian power is predicted under a great variety of emphatic images. See Rev 14:10-11, 16:17-21, 17:9,16. Perhaps in this so frequent reference to a final destruction of that formidable Antichristian power by fire, there may be more intended than merely a figurative representation of its final ruin. There is some degree of probability, at least, that Rome itself will be literally destroyed in this manner, and that it is in this way that God intends to put an end to the Papal power, by destroying that which has been so long the seat and the centre of this authority. The extended prevalence of this belief, and the grounds for it, may be seen from the following remarks:

(1.) It was an early opinion among the Jewish Rabbis that Rome would be thus destroyed. Vitringa, on the Apocalypse, cites some opinions of this kind; the Jewish expectation being founded, as he says, on the passage in Isa 34:9, as freedom was supposed to mean Rome. "This chapter," says Kimchi, "points out the future destruction of Rome, here called Bozra, for Bozra was a great city of the Edomites." This is, indeed, worthless as a proof or an interpretation of Scripture, for it is a wholly unfounded interpretation; it is of value only as showing that somehow the Jews entertained this opinion.

(2.) The same expectation was entertained among the early Christians. Thus Mr. Gibbon, (vol. i.p. 263, chap. xv.,) referring to the expectations of the glorious reign of the Messiah on the earth, (compare Barnes on "Re 14:8",) says, speaking of Rome as the mystic Babylon, and of its anticipated destruction: "A regular series was prepared [in the minds of Christians] of all the moral and physical evils which can afflict a flourishing nation; intestine discord, and the invasion of the fiercest barbarians from the unknown regions of the North; pestilence and famine, comets and eclipses, earthquakes and inundations. All these were only so many preparatory and alarming signs of the great catastrophe of Rome, when the company of the Scipios and Caesars should be consumed by a flame from heaven, and the city of the seven hills, with her palaces, her temples, and her triumphal arches, should be burned in a vast lake of fire and brimstone." So even Gregory the Great, one of the most illustrious of the Roman pontiffs, himself says, acknowledging his belief in the truth of the tradition-- Roma a Gentilibus non exterminabitur; sed tempestatibus, coruscis turbinibus, ac terrae motu, in se marcescet.--Dial, ii. 16.

(3.) Whatever may be thought of these opinions and expectations, there is some foundation for the opinion in the nature of the case.

(a) The region is adapted to this. "It is not AEtna, the Lipari volcanic islands, Vesuvius, that alone offer visible indications of the physical adaptedness of Italy for such a catastrophe. The great Appenine mountain-chain is mainly volcanic in its character, and the country of Rome more especially is as strikingly so almost as that of Sodom itself." Thus the mineralogist Ferber, in his Tour in Italy, says, "The road from Rome to Ostia is all volcanic ashes till within two miles of Ostia." "From Rome to Tivoli! went on fields and hills of volcanic ashes or tufa." "A volcanic hill in an amphitheatrical form includes a part of the plain over Albano, and a flat country of volcanic ashes and hills to Rome. The ground about Rome is generally of that nature," pp. 189, 191, 200, 234.

(b) Mr. Gibbon, with his usual accuracy, as if commenting on the Apocalypse, has referred to the physical adaptedness of the soil of Rome for such an overthrow. Speaking of the anticipation of the end of the world among the early Christians, he says, "In the opinion of a general conflagration, the faith of the Christian very happily coincided with the tradition of the East, the philosophy of the Stoics, and the analogy of nature; and even the country, which, from religious motives, had been chosen for the origin and principal scene of this conflagration, was the best adapted for that purpose by natural and physical causes; by its deep caverns, beds of sulphur, and numerous volcanoes, of which those of AEtna, of Vesuvius, and of Lipari, exhibit a very imperfect representation." vol. i. p. 263, chap. xv. As to the general state of Italy, in reference to volcanoes, the reader may consult, with advantage, Lyell's Geology, book ii. chap. ix.--xii. See also Murray's Encyolopaedia of Geography, book ii. chap. ii. Of the country around Rome it is said, in that work, among other things, "The country around Rome, and also the hills on which it is built, is composed of tertiary marls, clays, and sandstones, and intermixed with a preponderating quantity of granular and lithoidal volcanic tufas. The many lakes around Rome are formed by craters of ancient volcanoes." "On the road to Rome is the lake of Vico, formerly the lacus Cimini, which has all the appearance of a crater."

The following extract from a recent traveller will still further confirm this representation: "I behold everywhere--in Rome, near Rome, and through the whole region from Rome to Naples--the most astounding proofs, not merely of the possibility, but the probability, that the whole region of central Italy will one day be destroyed by such a catastrophe, [by earthquakes or volcanoes.] The soil of Rome is tufa, with a volcanic subterranean action going on. At Naples, the boiling sulphur is to be seen bubbling near the surface of the earth. When I drew a stick along the ground, the sulphurous smoke followed the indentation; and it would never surprise me to hear of the utter destruction of the southern peninsula of Italy. The entire country and district is volcanic. It is saturated with beds of sulphur and the substrata of destruction. It seems as certainly prepared for the flames, as the wood and coal on the hearth are prepared for the taper which shall kindle the fire to consume them. The Divine hand alone seems to me to hold the element of fire in check by a miracle as great as that which protected the cities of the plain, till the righteous Lot had made his escape to the mountains." --Townsend's Tour in Italy in 1850.

For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. That is, God has ample power to bring all these calamities upon her.

(b) "utterly burned" Rev 17:16 (c) "strong" Ps 62:11, Jer 50:34