Revelation Chapter 18
Brother Shallieu’s thoughts on Verse 8
“Therefore, shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”
Immediately there comes to attention a listing in the reverse order of what might be expected: “death, and mourning, and famine.” Normally, death might be seen as the logical culmination of this sequence. But, on second thought, the order as given is the reality or norm in many instances. First, the notable or loved one deceases; next a funeral service is held followed by the burial, both of which are associated with a period of weeping and mourning; then follows a void or vacuum in the lives of close relatives and friends left behind in the land of the living.
When Catholic and Protestant systems cease to function and the tare element is burned (cease to exist as professed Christians, thus burnt up), there will exist on the part of the populace a general aversion to all standard forms of ceremonial worship. Those former communicants of orthodoxy, the common people who survive, will not mourn that which they themselves have come to despise. The mourners will be those who were enriched and who specially profited in earthly affluence, goods, and power through an unholy alliance and too close an affiliation with the worldly Church; they will sorrow for their loss of revenue and former manner of livelihood.
When a city is utterly destroyed in fulfillment of prophecy, the ensuing void—that is, the desolation and ruins of the site—is commonly described as the haunt and habitation of wild beasts. “Babylon shall become heaps [mounds of ruins covered by the sands of time], a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant” (Jer. 51:37).
Moreover, the Scriptures indicate that with the fall of mystic Babylon, the world’s wealth will become worthless; silver and gold will be figuratively cast into the streets (Ezek. 7:19; Zeph. 1:18). Money will become worthless, for stores will be depleted of food and wares; there will be nothing to purchase. Farmers will not sow seed or plant crops only to have them plundered. Therefore, the famine, as well as the mourning, will be sudden.
The fall of literal Babylon was so sudden that at the very time Daniel was interpreting the handwriting on the wall, a runner was on his way to King Belshazzar’s palace to report that a breach had been made in the city by the enemy. That very night—while the king was banqueting and making sport of the Lord’s temple vessels—the messenger arrived with news of the invasion. Belshazzar was slain before morning.
Armageddon and Marriage of Lamb
Babylon’s plagues—death, mourning, and famine—shall come “in one day.” These three plagues are not the same as the earlier seven (message) plagues (The messages given in the Studies in the Scriptures series as believed by Brother Shallieu and other brethren). The seven plagues occur not in “one day” but over a longer period of time. Furthermore, the mourning and the famine take place after Babylon’s demise, while the seven plagues and the drying up of the river Euphrates precede her destruction.
The term “one day” in Verse 8 is synonymous with the “one hour” of Revelation 17:12 and 18:10,17,19. The emphasis is on the suddenness and the completeness of the destruction more than on the time element. The (three) plagues in Revelation 18 begin with and follow Babylon’s death.
“She shall be utterly burned with fire.” For example, if an individual is slain and considered not fit for burial, the corpse cannot be left to lie around indefinitely to decay and stink. For the common good, the dead victim is finally and completely disposed of and the air is purified—by fire. With mystic Babylon such utter destruction signifies there will be no revival or recurrence. The harlot system will collapse never to rise again.
“For strong is the Lord God who judges [hath judged—Verse 2] her.” Babylon is Satan’s masterpiece of deception. Therefore, the One who would destroy the harlot must contend with the Adversary and be stronger and mightier than he. It is prophesied that the god of this world, Satan, will, with all the power at his command, resist every attempt to overthrow his empire among men (2 Thess. 2:9). This future judgment is expressed here as an already accomplished fact. Verses 9 through 20 continue in this same vein.
We move on to Verse 9 in our next post.
