The Fall of Babylon This chapter speaks about the fall of Babylon, the bride of the beast : 1 - Proclaiming the fall of Babylon (1- 3). 2 - Calling out to the believers for abandoning Babylon (4-8). 3 - Those who lamented for Babylon: a) The kings of the earth (9-10). b) The merchants of the earth (11-16). c) The mediators (17-20). 4 - Confirmation of its fall (21-24). 1 - PROCLAIMING THE FALL OF BABYLON “After these things,” means after seeing the harlot, Babylon, or the people who deviated and followed the Antichrist together with their leaders, the abducting wolves who obstinate God. After that he returns to talk again about that woman who sits on the beast, who is marked by the art of seduction and deception. This talk is symbolic and metaphoric. It reveals a certain spiritual thought, concerning the angel of the kingdom of the Antichrist and the decline of his work. It is wrong to take what is mentioned in this chapter verbally, for this will lead to losing the aim of the book and distortion of its sublime meaning. “I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory!” [1]. We cannot say that in the days of the Antichrist an angel actually appears and shouts calling for what we are going to hear next. But it is an indication of the interest of heaven even those of high ranks and of great authority to see the destruction of Babylon, the great city. Probably he means by this angel, Isaiah the prophet who had previously proclaimed, by the heavenly spirit of prophecy, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods, has broken to the ground. Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you” (Isa. 21:9,10). Thus what the God of the Church and Lord of hosts proclaims was heard by the prophet Isaiah. And now the Apostle hears it pronounced by a heavenly angel from a high hierarchy, shouting with what the Lord Himself had said. “And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury’” [2-3]. It has become a ruin... it has fallen, either in this life or will fall in the life to come. He presents to us a painful picture of that arrogant city and of what has become of her, as she became a ruin in which no human resides. It is only a dwelling place of demons. No clean spirit would accept it, but becomes a prison for every foul spirit and every unclean and hated bird. This is the end of every evil, and the end of the Antichrist's kingdom. And what he says here about the Antichrist and his bride, would happen to every 6 man, who behaves in arrogance, getting drunk by the wine of spiritual adultery. For as the believers are called heavenly Jerusalem, and enjoy heavenly things while they are still on earth, those who are stubborn in every generation are called Babylon. They are stricken by destruction and become ruins, dwelled only by Satan who finds rest in the desolate souls, where he sends all his satanic tools. Those waste souls also become lifeless, fruitless and the dwelling place of the unclean hated birds, which are rejected by the living souls among whom they find no place. Isaiah the prophet had already thus prophesied of Babylon (13:21,22), and said the same meaning about Adom (34:10-15). She is desolate, although she is known for making others drunk, and offers them pleasure and abundant fruit of her richness. 2 -CALLING OUT TO THE BELIEVERS FOR ABANDONING HER “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities’” [4-5]. After God had revealed the end of the wicked by one way or another, He began to warn His people not to participate with them in their evil. Coming out bears two meanings: 1) Spiritual withdrawal, i.e. rejection of their principles and behaviors under any circumstance. Thus God says, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). 2) The actual material withdrawal as much as possible; in the same manner as the two prophets will ask the Church in the world to escape to the mountains and wlderness, that the weak might not collide with, and stumble over the Antichrist and his followers. “Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix for her double” [6]. By saying, “Render to her,” he does not mean that the Church will rage a material war against her; but that the believer might refuse the thoughts of the wicked. When the Church rejects the thoughts of Babylon by escaping from her, spiritually and materially, this will condemn her twofold, as the Church will establish her guilt, and witness against her on the Day of Judgment. Paying her back twice could be due to her committing a twofold sin. 1) Because she seeks her personal glory and not the glory of God. 2) Because she seeks the earthly delights and worldly pleasures, and does not search for the eternal joy. For this the Holy Bible says: “In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen and am no widow, and will not see sorrow. Therefore, her plagues will come in one day - death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her’” [7-8]. As if he is saying, that what she is punished with is the normal outcome of her deeds. In the same way she glorifies herself, the Lord abandons her, thus she goes back to deathlike state, grief, hunger and corruption. The Church Fathers perceived that and experienced it. For in the period when St. Augustine lived glorifying himself, he was a nobody and dead. He did not have joy, 7 satisfaction or comfort, as he says, [Yes... every time I keep away from You I fall in privation and corruption. How miserable am I. I never realized that my richness is in You, I, the non-existent1.] He also says,2 [You who is the Way, the Truth and the Life... You who disperses darkness, evil, deviation from the truth and death. You are the Light without which, everyone lives in deep darkness. You are the Way without which, we are but lead to deviation. You are the Truth without which, death will devour all.] St. Augustine3 also says on various occasions, that confession has two aspects. We confess our sins and weakness, thus God is glorified; and we acknowledge the glory of God and His deeds with us and by this we realize how feeble we are. Both are inseparable. As for the one who glorifies himself, he disgraces God, and vice-versa. This is the first sin in which the devil has fallen, that is arrogance and selfglorification. It is by this sin that he fought against Adam, and let him fall together with his children. He also fought with the same sin against our Lord Jesus to whom is the true glory. Yet while He and the Father are One, He accepted the cross and the pains, giving up His glories, to take them from the Father's hand, that humanity in turn might receive it through His person. As for the second sin, it is the sin of living in luxury (sensuality); bodily enjoyment and earthly delights. It is worth for the soul to know that she is a widow, and that her Bridegroom is in heaven, thus refuses earthly pleasures for heavenly happiness. But whoever says that she is a queen and has the right to enjoy the luxuries of the world as she pleases, ignoring the heavenly joy; is dead while she lives. The Bible says rebuking, “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who dwell securely. Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know loss of children.’ But these two things shall come on you in a moment, in one day... The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness... Therefore evil shall come upon you. You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you. You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know” (Isa.47:8- 11). And also says, “But she who lives in pleasure is dead even while she lives” (1 Tim 5: 6). 3 - THOSE WHO LAMENTED FOR BABYLON: a) The kings of the earth “And 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, 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’” [9-10]. It is a metaphoric symbolic picture. For in fact, on the same day of the destruction of Babylon, those who lived in her luxury will perish with her. Here he depicts in what state they will be. They thought she was strong and well-established, and suddenly it fell 1 Divine Love p. 171. 2 Divine Love p. 168. 3 Review his homilies on the New Testament and on the Psalms. 8 in one hour. She too depended on them. She attracted them by her pleasures and sensuality, to conquer and victor through them. Yet now they stand powerless and without authority, like frustrated children. Both depended on each other, and both fell together, for a blind cannot lead a blind; both will fall in a ditch. The time of judgment is near, and many people will stand staring at those who deceived, and seduced them. As those wicked deceivers seem very weak in their eyes. However, the deceived ones will not lament for the wicked but for themselves, because they followed them and became partners in the same painful destiny. b) The merchants of the earth: “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore” [11]. This group is different from the first group. The first was deceived by lusts and desires, while those were deceived by the love of silver. They became rich in this world by using evil ways and delusion. They thought, by that they could last forever on earth, getting richer day by day. Yet in one moment, in the twinkling of an eye their merchandise became stagnant and nobody bought it any more. Those also weep over themselves and not over their wealth, lament because they came out penniless. The book of Revelation enumerates the various trades that Babylon was promoting during the days of evil. But as St. Augustine says1, that all the commercial matters are not evil or good in themselves. They are good for those who are good and use them well; and evil for those who are evil and misuse them. Both the merchants and Babylon did evil, and both misused these matters. He starts with gold and ends by the human soul as a trade, giving gold more importance than the souls. What can be more evil ? 1) Beauty ornaments, “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet.” We have seen that she was ornamented by these things and delighted with them. She did not use them for charity but for deception and delusion. 2) Luxurious furniture “every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble” [12]. Ibn-el-Assal says that the citron wood is of different kinds of precious wood like ebony, jujube and sandal. 3) Materials for enjoyment of food, drink and aroma as, “and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep.” 4) Things for pride and glory as “horses and chariots.” 5) Then last of all what she considers as worthless, which is enslaving people, “and bodies and souls of men” [13]. All these trades became unassailable and the merchants lost everything. On the day of her destruction they stand amazed, how that commerce has vanished, wondering where the buying power of the wicked had gone. 1 Hom. Contemplations on selected verses of the New Testament. translated by the author. 9 Those merchants rebuke her when she sees them, and they get rebuked when they see her. That is how all get to suffer eternally. As he says, “And the fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all” [14]. He reflects on those wicked merchants who were trading, not in honesty as people working for God, but they roused the wicked to do evil, for their trade to flourish. Those will stand amazed saying; “Where are the fruits of your self desire? You have spent all your life to satisfy your desires. You have never deprived yourself of anything, no matter how expensive it is, for enjoyment, that you are burst with pleasures you want to fulfill. Yet I see you now empty of all you have bought. “The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping. and wailing and, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!’” [15-16]. The same scene brings to our minds what had happened in a simpler way, when Judas the betrayer met with the priests in the temple. He could not bear carrying the silver in his hands because he realized that he had lost everything. And they could not bear touching it, because it was the price of the innocent Lord. Both were in futile agony. This incident ended by Judas committing suicide and the extinction of the Jewish priesthood. But on the day of the eternal destruction, the one who stirs evil or accepts it will not be able to commit suicide, or escape from the eternal death by dying. It is an indescribable anguish when they reflect on their old behaviors and cry, mourning without hope. c) The mediators: “For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.” And every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance, and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate. ‘Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her’” [17-20]. That painful scene reveals the group of mediators who help people to do evil. Those will stand at a distance on the day of the eternal destruction, and whenever they see them they will mourn them more. This was shown by throwing dust on their heads, crying out, weeping, because what they thought was the source of their wealth and happiness, became the reason of their misery and destruction! The Result: God here reveals the unity of the believers, as members in the body of Christ. Also the strong fellowship between the Bridegroom and the bride, and that between the bride and the heavenly ones. Besides, heaven’s happiness and joy and ultimate unity. He emphasizes the difference between all that and estrangement, affliction and escape in the burning lake. All who enjoy earthly wealth stand apart, for nobody can tolerate the other! And as all see the Person of Jesus Christ - the true Righteousness - in every member of the Church, thus everyone of the wicked see his own sin in his fellow in the 10 eternal destruction, and consequently alienates from him and couldn’t bear him. And although weeping and mourning is common among them all, yet everyone stands alone crying. They are divided among themselves, and everyone is cursing the day in which he got to know Babylon, the stubborn. But the righteous are all together in joy without any no division. “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets,” who know that judgment is the work of the loving God, who grants eternity, and judges Babylon for her evil. 4 - THE AFFIRMATION OF THE FALL As God wants to affirm to us the certainty of her fall, the Apostle says: “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence, the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore’” [21]. This symbolic act which the angel did, had been done before by Jeremiah (Jer.51:63,64). And in the same manner the stone fell into the sea, also Pharaoh and his soldiers had fallen into the Red Sea (Exod.15:10). Yet her fall here was proclaimed at once with a powerful push. That is how the stubborn Babylon is thrown down into hell. As for the scene of destruction, we have seen it before occurring in a metaphoric manner, in the Old Testament. The destruction was shown in: 1. Removal of people infatuated with the love of amusement “The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore” (cf. Isa.14:11; Ezek.26:13). 2. The disappearance of craftsmen “And no craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore.” 3. The disappearance of work necessary for life. “And the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore” (cf. Jer. 25:10). 4. Total darkness, “And the light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore.” 5. Disappearance of joy and begetting children, “and the voice of bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer” (cf. Jer.7:34; 9;16). The reason of her destruction is this: “For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for deceived by your sorcery all the nations were, And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who were slain on the earth” [23,24]. This reveals to us that he did not mean by Babylon a certain city or a certain period, but all the stubborn who scorned the blood of the prophets and the saints and shed the blood of those who witnessed to God. It is a talk that tends to generalize rather than to focus only on the period of the Antichrist. This opinion is also adopted by the non-apostolic churches. 1 1 Erdman; The Revelation of John, p. 144.
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