CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 1. And after these things I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened by his glory. 2. And he cried mightily with a great voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the anger of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6. Render unto her as she hath rendered unto you; and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. 7. As much as she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall not see sorrow. 8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God that judgeth her. 9. And the kings of the earth shall bewail her, and shall lament for her, who have committed whoredom and lived deliciously with her, when they see the smoke of her burning: 10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. II. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn for her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more, 12. The merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones and of pearls, and fine linen and purple, and silk and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13. And cinnamon and incense, and perfume and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and carriages, and bodies and souls of men. 14. And the fruits of the desire of thy soul have departed from thee, and all things fat and splendid have departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off, for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16. And saying, Alas, alas, the great city, that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; for in one hour are so great riches laid waste. 17. And every shipmaster, and every one employed upon ships, and sailors, and as many as navigate the sea, stood afar off, 18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19. And they cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were made rich by her costliness; for in one hour are they made desolate. 20. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath judged your judgment upon her. 21. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be 22. And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no artificer of any art shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of the mill shall be heard no more at all 23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorcery were all the Contents of the whole Chapter. The Roman Catholic religion continued that on account of adulterations and profanations of the truths of the Word, and hence of the church, it will perish (vers. 1-8). The highest in the eccle- siastical order there, their character and their mourning (vers. 9, 10). The inferiors in that order (vers. 11-16). The laity and the common people, who are under obe- dience to them (vers. 17-19). The joy of the angels over its removal (vers. 20). Its destruction in the spiritual world on account of its having no acknowledgment of, inquiry after, enlightenment in, or reception of truth, and hence no conjunction of truth and good, which makes the church Contents of each Verse. "After these things I saw," sig- nifies a continuation respecting the Roman Catholic religion. cried mightily with a great voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen," signifies that he made it known, that by the Lord's Divine power all who have been in that religion and at the same time in the love of ruling from it, are destroyed in the spiritual world, and are cast into many hells. "And is become the habitation of demons," signifies that their hells are those of the lusts of ruling from the fire of the love of self, and of the lusts of profaning the truths of heaven from the spurious zeal of that love. "And the hold of every unclean spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird," signifies that the evils of will and hence of act, and the falsities of thought and hence of design, of those who are in those hells, are diabolical, because they are turned away from the Lord to themselves. "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the anger of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her," signifies that they have put forth wicked dogmas, which are adulterations and profanations of the good and truth of the Word, and have imbued with them all that have been born and brought up in the kingdoms under their domination. "And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies," signifies the greater and less in rank in that hierarchy, who through dominion over holy things strive for Divine majesty and more than regal glory, and continually aim to establish it by the multiplication of monasteries and of possessions under them, and by the treasures which without end they gather together and heap up from the world, and thus procure to themselves corporeal and natural enjoyments from the celestial and spiritual dominion attributed to them. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues," signifies exhortation from the Lord to all, as well those who are in that religion as those who are not in it, to beware of conjunction with it by acknowledgment and affection, lest as to their souls they should be conjoined to its |