Revelation Chapter 18
— THE KINGS —
VERSE 9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning…”
AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH: — not necessarily crowned kings, but those in the political seats of the mighty (heads of government).
WHO COMMITTED IMMORALITY: — who had cooperative agreements with Babylon.
AND LIVED LUXURIOUSLY WITH HER: — because their cooperation brought them temporal advantages.
WILL WEEP AND LAMENT: Lamenting here is Strong’s # 2875 and denotes a powerful emotional reaction. This is not just crying over spilled milk. It is more like weeping, wailing, and gnashing of the teeth. These kings are SORELY disappointed. (Contrast Rev 18:11)
Ever since 1914, the political establishment has had the problem of finding a stable system of government to replace the old church-state arrangement. This is the “malignant sore” of the first plague (See Revelation Chapter 16, Part 2).
OVER HER: — over their lost cooperative advantages with her.
WHEN THEY SEE THE SMOKE OF HER BURNING: (Compare Rev 14:11) “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” The burning (SLOW BURN) began in 1914. The kings were too busy with the war (WWI) to know that God had lit the fire which would eventually consume her. Once the war was over, the smoke of her burning (the evidence that her destruction had begun) began to be noticed.
VERSE 10 … standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’”
STANDING AT A DISTANCE BECAUSE OF THE FEAR OF HER TORMENT:
Is this not the way of all flesh?
The disciples stood at a distance as Jesus was dragged to judgment. Here the kings disassociate themselves from their former partner because their former partner has an element of shame in the world’s eyes. While some people say they are religious, they hesitate to talk about their religion. This is not a sign of commitment and support! The kings FEAR her torment; — they fear that it might contaminate themselves.
SAYING, WOE, WOE, THE GREAT CITY BABYLON, THE STRONG CITY: This shows their fear and their priorities. If she who was so strong for a millennium is now undergoing judgment (“BABYLON ARRAIGNED”), exposure, weakness, loss, torment, and mourning, how can the kings feel secure?
Note their stressed word: the STRONG (or Great) city. Kings respect power and fear its loss. Two “woes” indicate incomplete destruction.
FOR IN ONE HOUR: — in one very unusual and unique period in history.
YOUR JUDGMENT HAS COME: Note that they address her personally: “YOUR judgment . . .” They still talk with each other. They may be talking over old times: they may be planning for the future. But they do their talking clandestinely — “at a distance.” This demonstrates that she yet exists.
— THE MERCHANTS —
VERSE 11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
AND THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH: This is the second group affected by the SLOW BURN of Babylon. Merchants are probably capitalists — people whose product is money — usually gained through usury or by being “arrangers” of contracts, market-openings, trade agreements, etc. Capitalists have money in great amounts. We are not talking about normal rich investors here.
Capitalists are not much different from kings except that kings control politics while capitalists control economics.
WEEP AND MOURN OVER HER: Note the contrast of this to Verse 9. While the kings weep and lament (NAS) — lament being an emotional physical reaction — the merchants weep and mourn (Strong’s # 3996) — a word which means mourning in the sense of longing (like a wistful looking back.) It is apparently more of a blow to the political kings than to the economic kings to have lost the old order. During this century, capitalists have had much more success in finding alternatives (though less stable) to the old economic order than kings have had in finding alternatives to the old political order.
BECAUSE NO ONE BUYS THEIR CARGOES ANY MORE: The old trading empires of Babylon were shattered in 1914. The subsequent rise of communism shattered it even more. The instability of currencies and commodities has been a century-long plague.
It is important to note here that “no one buys their cargoes” is their claim. They have indeed, lost the OLD markets, but have made great success in finding new ones. Before 1914, capitalists lent their monies to kings. But after 1914, the kings were a bad risk. Therefore, capitalism started to lend money to the “little man.”
When Nixon opened China to trade, who went with him?
It was David Rockefeller — a capitalist’s capitalist!
Did he go to sell China on marketing Coca-Cola?
NO! He went to introduce CREDIT to the billion people who live there. Here he and his kind can make new vast fortunes. In mourning the old cargoes lost, they have found wonderful new ones!
VERSE 12 AND 13 “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.”
These verses are perplexing to the interpreter. Many who see the merchants as the clergy have attempted to apply a spiritual symbolism to each of these items. A comparison with Verse 16, however, suggests that these are not symbols of spiritual things, but symbols of wealth, splendor, and luxury in which greater Babylon trafficked.
Based on this comparison, it seems logical that Verses 12 and 13 are merely making a point that capitalists went near and far (these items are from distant lands) to make profits by arranging the trade of everything from gold to the bodies (slavery) and souls (minds) of men. Nothing was exempt from their greedy trade. No place was too distant for profit. Now (as mentioned above), they tantalize the common man with luxuries which he can have with only “modest interest.”
Nixon and Rockefeller were in China to intoxicate the Chinese with an easy way to have what they desire but cannot afford.
We continue with Verse 14 in our next post.
— THE KINGS —
VERSE 9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning…”
AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH: — not necessarily crowned kings, but those in the political seats of the mighty (heads of government).
WHO COMMITTED IMMORALITY: — who had cooperative agreements with Babylon.
AND LIVED LUXURIOUSLY WITH HER: — because their cooperation brought them temporal advantages.
WILL WEEP AND LAMENT: Lamenting here is Strong’s # 2875 and denotes a powerful emotional reaction. This is not just crying over spilled milk. It is more like weeping, wailing, and gnashing of the teeth. These kings are SORELY disappointed. (Contrast Rev 18:11)
Ever since 1914, the political establishment has had the problem of finding a stable system of government to replace the old church-state arrangement. This is the “malignant sore” of the first plague (See Revelation Chapter 16, Part 2).
OVER HER: — over their lost cooperative advantages with her.
WHEN THEY SEE THE SMOKE OF HER BURNING: (Compare Rev 14:11) “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” The burning (SLOW BURN) began in 1914. The kings were too busy with the war (WWI) to know that God had lit the fire which would eventually consume her. Once the war was over, the smoke of her burning (the evidence that her destruction had begun) began to be noticed.
VERSE 10 … standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’”
STANDING AT A DISTANCE BECAUSE OF THE FEAR OF HER TORMENT:
Is this not the way of all flesh?
The disciples stood at a distance as Jesus was dragged to judgment. Here the kings disassociate themselves from their former partner because their former partner has an element of shame in the world’s eyes. While some people say they are religious, they hesitate to talk about their religion. This is not a sign of commitment and support! The kings FEAR her torment; — they fear that it might contaminate themselves.
SAYING, WOE, WOE, THE GREAT CITY BABYLON, THE STRONG CITY: This shows their fear and their priorities. If she who was so strong for a millennium is now undergoing judgment (“BABYLON ARRAIGNED”), exposure, weakness, loss, torment, and mourning, how can the kings feel secure?
Note their stressed word: the STRONG (or Great) city. Kings respect power and fear its loss. Two “woes” indicate incomplete destruction.
FOR IN ONE HOUR: — in one very unusual and unique period in history.
YOUR JUDGMENT HAS COME: Note that they address her personally: “YOUR judgment . . .” They still talk with each other. They may be talking over old times: they may be planning for the future. But they do their talking clandestinely — “at a distance.” This demonstrates that she yet exists.
— THE MERCHANTS —
VERSE 11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
AND THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH: This is the second group affected by the SLOW BURN of Babylon. Merchants are probably capitalists — people whose product is money — usually gained through usury or by being “arrangers” of contracts, market-openings, trade agreements, etc. Capitalists have money in great amounts. We are not talking about normal rich investors here.
Capitalists are not much different from kings except that kings control politics while capitalists control economics.
WEEP AND MOURN OVER HER: Note the contrast of this to Verse 9. While the kings weep and lament (NAS) — lament being an emotional physical reaction — the merchants weep and mourn (Strong’s # 3996) — a word which means mourning in the sense of longing (like a wistful looking back.) It is apparently more of a blow to the political kings than to the economic kings to have lost the old order. During this century, capitalists have had much more success in finding alternatives (though less stable) to the old economic order than kings have had in finding alternatives to the old political order.
BECAUSE NO ONE BUYS THEIR CARGOES ANY MORE: The old trading empires of Babylon were shattered in 1914. The subsequent rise of communism shattered it even more. The instability of currencies and commodities has been a century-long plague.
It is important to note here that “no one buys their cargoes” is their claim. They have indeed, lost the OLD markets, but have made great success in finding new ones. Before 1914, capitalists lent their monies to kings. But after 1914, the kings were a bad risk. Therefore, capitalism started to lend money to the “little man.”
When Nixon opened China to trade, who went with him?
It was David Rockefeller — a capitalist’s capitalist!
Did he go to sell China on marketing Coca-Cola?
NO! He went to introduce CREDIT to the billion people who live there. Here he and his kind can make new vast fortunes. In mourning the old cargoes lost, they have found wonderful new ones!
VERSE 12 AND 13 “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.”
These verses are perplexing to the interpreter. Many who see the merchants as the clergy have attempted to apply a spiritual symbolism to each of these items. A comparison with Verse 16, however, suggests that these are not symbols of spiritual things, but symbols of wealth, splendor, and luxury in which greater Babylon trafficked.
Based on this comparison, it seems logical that Verses 12 and 13 are merely making a point that capitalists went near and far (these items are from distant lands) to make profits by arranging the trade of everything from gold to the bodies (slavery) and souls (minds) of men. Nothing was exempt from their greedy trade. No place was too distant for profit. Now (as mentioned above), they tantalize the common man with luxuries which he can have with only “modest interest.”
Nixon and Rockefeller were in China to intoxicate the Chinese with an easy way to have what they desire but cannot afford.
We continue with Verse 14 in our next post.
