Revelation Chapter 18
Brother Shallieu’s thoughts on Verses 15-19 as taken from the “Keys of Revelation”
“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”
The “merchants of the earth” and the “kings of the earth” are the two classes to have materially benefited the most from their relationship to the Roman Church (Verses 9 and 11). Now, in the ongoing scene of Revelation 18, both classes share the same fears and have suffered similar losses. The chief customer of the merchants has just deceased, along with her costly tastes (Verse 19). The king and merchant classes stand afar off, fearfully weeping and wailing over her demise and saying, “Alas, alas, that great city” (Verses 9, 10, 15, and 16). And again, the destruction is said to occur in the “one hour” of power (Verses 10 and 19).
Tyre, Literal and Symbolic
Earlier in the Apocalypse the Lady Kingdom was pictured as Babylon the Great situated on the Euphrates, the river on which ships brought up their wealth of goods. The word “merchandise” (gomos) in the Greek signifies the lading or cargo of a ship (Verse 12). In Verses 15 through 19, the repeated use of nautical terms to describe Babylon as a great maritime power, together with the close parallelism, in many respects, to the experiences and symbolisms of mystic Tyre (Ezekiel 26 and 27), suggests that Tyre is another alias or synonym for mystic Babylon the Great.
Before the Christian era two different sites were called “Tyre,” and both were destroyed. (1) Ancient Tyre was on the mainland, and it took King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon thirteen years to conquer and destroy the city by siege. (2) Rebuilt as insular Tyre, an island one-half mile offshore from its former location, the city was conquered again three centuries later.
Insular Tyre, isolated from the seashore and fortified with an extremely high wall, appeared to be unassailable even by a greater rival maritime power. But in 332 B.C. Alexander the Great employed the unexpected stratagem of constructing an earthen causeway of great magnitude to establish a connection to the isle of Tyre from the mainland. This was accomplished by scraping the ruins and debris of the old city, destroyed by the King of Babylon, into the water of the bay as landfill (or “sea fill”). Alexander the Great then succeeded in breaching the high wall of insular Tyre, bringing it into submission.
The prophecy of Ezekiel 26:1–3,5–13 pertains to Nebuchadnezzar’s land siege and desolation of the old city, whereas Verses 4 and 14 remained to be fulfilled by Alexander three centuries later. Verse 15 represents a break in the narrative and diverts attention to the fate of the isle of Tyre; details more or less continue on through Ezekiel 27:1–9,26–36.
(For a more thorough examination of this prophecy found in Ezekiel Chapters 26 and 27 and its significance please see the, “Proclamation against Tyre and Sidon”)
The point is that both insular Tyre, located in the midst of the sea, and Babylon, situated on the Euphrates River, were taken in a manner least expected; and both were seen as centers of international commerce related to water transport. Spiritual Babylon (Revelation 17) is similarly seen as seated on many waters, deriving its support and revenues from a diversity of peoples, nations, and tongues. Mystic Babylon will also be surprised and taken in its hour of power.
The name “Tyre” is recorded forty-six times in the Hebrew Old Testament as tsor or tsr, which signifies rock. This definition calls to mind the proud boast of the Catholic Church (but later to its chagrin) that it is the rock against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. The true Rock is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4; Matt. 16:16–18), and in a broader sense the rock represents the true consortium of individual believers who recognize only the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the Church.
With the Catholic Church centered in Rome, the Living Bible expresses in particularly appropriate language the testimony of Revelation 18:15–19 as follows:
“And so, the merchants who have become wealthy by selling her these things shall stand at a distance, fearing danger to themselves, weeping and crying, “Alas, that great city, so beautiful—like a woman clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! In one moment, all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the shipowners and captains of the merchant ships and crews will stand a long way off, crying as they watch the smoke ascend, and saying, “Where in all the world is there another city such as this?” And they will throw dust on their heads in their sorrow and say, “Alas, alas, for that great city! She made us all rich from her great wealth. And now in a single hour all is gone. . ..”
Ashes of Grief
The merchants “cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing.” In Old Testament times evidence of genuine, deep grief and anguish of spirit was to wear sackcloth and to rub ashes in the hair. These actions would be outward signs of intense inner grief. In Verse 19 the merchants experience such emotion when they see “the smoke of her burning” (Verse 18), that is, when they see Babylon actually being consumed.
In contrast, Revelation 14:11 and 19:3 do not mention the burning but state that Babylon’s smoke will rise up forever and ever. The burning will cease when the false systems have been utterly destroyed, but the cloud of smoke will remain, signifying that the lesson of false religion will be kept in perpetual remembrance.
This principle is illustrated by the type of Queen Jezebel. When her own eunuchs pushed her out the window and dogs ate her remains, as prophesied by the Prophet Elijah, all that was left were her palms, feet, and skull (2 Kings 9:30–37). “Palms” represent Papacy’s foul deeds, “feet” picture the system’s conduct, and the “skull” would be Papacy’s identity—all of which will be remembered. But there was no body—and hence, throughout eternity, never again will this false religion revive or be resurrected.”
We move on to Verse 20 in our next post.
Brother Shallieu’s thoughts on Verses 15-19 as taken from the “Keys of Revelation”
“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”
The “merchants of the earth” and the “kings of the earth” are the two classes to have materially benefited the most from their relationship to the Roman Church (Verses 9 and 11). Now, in the ongoing scene of Revelation 18, both classes share the same fears and have suffered similar losses. The chief customer of the merchants has just deceased, along with her costly tastes (Verse 19). The king and merchant classes stand afar off, fearfully weeping and wailing over her demise and saying, “Alas, alas, that great city” (Verses 9, 10, 15, and 16). And again, the destruction is said to occur in the “one hour” of power (Verses 10 and 19).
Tyre, Literal and Symbolic
Earlier in the Apocalypse the Lady Kingdom was pictured as Babylon the Great situated on the Euphrates, the river on which ships brought up their wealth of goods. The word “merchandise” (gomos) in the Greek signifies the lading or cargo of a ship (Verse 12). In Verses 15 through 19, the repeated use of nautical terms to describe Babylon as a great maritime power, together with the close parallelism, in many respects, to the experiences and symbolisms of mystic Tyre (Ezekiel 26 and 27), suggests that Tyre is another alias or synonym for mystic Babylon the Great.
Before the Christian era two different sites were called “Tyre,” and both were destroyed. (1) Ancient Tyre was on the mainland, and it took King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon thirteen years to conquer and destroy the city by siege. (2) Rebuilt as insular Tyre, an island one-half mile offshore from its former location, the city was conquered again three centuries later.
Insular Tyre, isolated from the seashore and fortified with an extremely high wall, appeared to be unassailable even by a greater rival maritime power. But in 332 B.C. Alexander the Great employed the unexpected stratagem of constructing an earthen causeway of great magnitude to establish a connection to the isle of Tyre from the mainland. This was accomplished by scraping the ruins and debris of the old city, destroyed by the King of Babylon, into the water of the bay as landfill (or “sea fill”). Alexander the Great then succeeded in breaching the high wall of insular Tyre, bringing it into submission.
The prophecy of Ezekiel 26:1–3,5–13 pertains to Nebuchadnezzar’s land siege and desolation of the old city, whereas Verses 4 and 14 remained to be fulfilled by Alexander three centuries later. Verse 15 represents a break in the narrative and diverts attention to the fate of the isle of Tyre; details more or less continue on through Ezekiel 27:1–9,26–36.
(For a more thorough examination of this prophecy found in Ezekiel Chapters 26 and 27 and its significance please see the, “Proclamation against Tyre and Sidon”)
The point is that both insular Tyre, located in the midst of the sea, and Babylon, situated on the Euphrates River, were taken in a manner least expected; and both were seen as centers of international commerce related to water transport. Spiritual Babylon (Revelation 17) is similarly seen as seated on many waters, deriving its support and revenues from a diversity of peoples, nations, and tongues. Mystic Babylon will also be surprised and taken in its hour of power.
The name “Tyre” is recorded forty-six times in the Hebrew Old Testament as tsor or tsr, which signifies rock. This definition calls to mind the proud boast of the Catholic Church (but later to its chagrin) that it is the rock against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. The true Rock is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4; Matt. 16:16–18), and in a broader sense the rock represents the true consortium of individual believers who recognize only the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the Church.
With the Catholic Church centered in Rome, the Living Bible expresses in particularly appropriate language the testimony of Revelation 18:15–19 as follows:
“And so, the merchants who have become wealthy by selling her these things shall stand at a distance, fearing danger to themselves, weeping and crying, “Alas, that great city, so beautiful—like a woman clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! In one moment, all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the shipowners and captains of the merchant ships and crews will stand a long way off, crying as they watch the smoke ascend, and saying, “Where in all the world is there another city such as this?” And they will throw dust on their heads in their sorrow and say, “Alas, alas, for that great city! She made us all rich from her great wealth. And now in a single hour all is gone. . ..”
Ashes of Grief
The merchants “cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing.” In Old Testament times evidence of genuine, deep grief and anguish of spirit was to wear sackcloth and to rub ashes in the hair. These actions would be outward signs of intense inner grief. In Verse 19 the merchants experience such emotion when they see “the smoke of her burning” (Verse 18), that is, when they see Babylon actually being consumed.
In contrast, Revelation 14:11 and 19:3 do not mention the burning but state that Babylon’s smoke will rise up forever and ever. The burning will cease when the false systems have been utterly destroyed, but the cloud of smoke will remain, signifying that the lesson of false religion will be kept in perpetual remembrance.
This principle is illustrated by the type of Queen Jezebel. When her own eunuchs pushed her out the window and dogs ate her remains, as prophesied by the Prophet Elijah, all that was left were her palms, feet, and skull (2 Kings 9:30–37). “Palms” represent Papacy’s foul deeds, “feet” picture the system’s conduct, and the “skull” would be Papacy’s identity—all of which will be remembered. But there was no body—and hence, throughout eternity, never again will this false religion revive or be resurrected.”
We move on to Verse 20 in our next post.
