03.17- THE SEVEN DOOMS.

THE SEVEN DOOMS.

FIRST DOOM.

ECCLESIASTICAL BABYLON.

“MYSTERY

Revelation 17:1-18.

“And there came one of the ’Seven Angels’ which had the ’Seven Vials,’ and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither: I will chew unto thee the Judgment of the ’GREAT WHORE’ that sitteth upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a ’WOMAN’ sit upon a ’SCARLET COLORED BEAST,’ full of names of blasphemy, having ’SEVEN HEADS’ and ’TEN HORNS.’ And the ’WOMAN’ was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a ’GOLDEN CUP’ in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the ’WOMAN’ drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the Angel’ said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the MYSTERY of the ’WOMAN,’ and of the BEAST that carrieth her, which hath the SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS. The BEAST that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the BOTTOMLESS PIT, and go into PERDITION: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the ’Book of Life’ from the foundation of the world, when they behold the BEAST that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The SEVEN HEADS are seven mountains, on which the ’WOMAN’ sitteth. And there (they, the mountains R. V.) are SEVEN KINGS: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the BEAST that was, and is not, even he is the EIGHTH, and is OF THE SEVENTH, and goeth into Perdition. And the TEN HORNS which thou sawest are TEN KINGS, which have received no kingdoms as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the BEAST. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the BEAST. These shall make war with the LAMB, and the LAMB shall overcome them: for he is LORD OF LORDS, and KING OF KINGS: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the WHORE sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the TEN HORNS which thou sawest upon the BEAST, these shall hate the WHORE, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the BEAST, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the WOMAN which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” That the ancient city of Babylon restored is to play an important part in the startling events of the last days of this Dispensation, is very clear. This is seen from what is said of it in Revelation 17:1-18 and Revelation 18:1-24. At first sight the two chapters, which contain some things in common, are difficult to reconcile, but when we get the “Key” the reconciliation is easy. Revelation 17:1-18 speaks of a “Woman,” and this “Woman” is called “MYSTERY,
Babylon the Great,
The Mother of Harlots
And
Abominations of the Earth.” The eighteenth chapter speaks of a “City,” a literal city, called “Babylon the Great.” That the “Woman” and the “City” do not symbolize the same thing is clear, for what is said of the “Woman” does not apply to a city, and what is said of the “City” does not apply to a woman. The “Woman” is destroyed by the “Ten Kings,” while the “Kings of the Earth” in Revelation 18:1-24, “bewail and lament” the destruction of the “City,” which is not destroyed by them, but by a mighty earthquake and fire. Again the “Woman” is destroyed Three and a Half Years BEFORE THE CITY; and the fact that the first verse of chapter eighteen says--“after these things,” that is after the destruction of the “Woman,” what happens to the “City” occurs, shows that the “Woman” and the “City” are not one and the same. The “Woman’s” name is “MYSTERY, Babylon the Great.”

“Mystery!” Where have we heard that word before, and in what connection? Paul calls the Church a “Mystery” because it was not known to the Old Testament Patriarchs and Prophets. Ephesians 3:1-21. That Christ was to have a “Bride” was first revealed to Paul (Ephesians 5:23-32), and the “Mystery” that Antichrist is to have a “bride” was first revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos. The name of Antichrist’s “bride” is “Babylon the Great.” Some one may ask why give to a “bride” the name of a “City”? The answer is that it is not unusual in the Scriptures. When the same angel that showed John in this chapter “Mystery, Babylon the Great,” came to him in Revelation 21:9-10 and said--“Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride--’The Lamb’s Wife’,” he showed John, instead of a woman, that great City, the “Holy Jerusalem” descending out of Heaven from God. Here we see that a “city” is called a “bride” because its inhabitants, and not the city itself, are the bride. “Mystery, Babylon the Great,” the “bride” of Antichrist, then, is not a literal city, but a “System,” a religious and apostate “System.” As the Church, the Bride of Christ, is composed of regenerated followers of Christ, so “Mystery, Babylon the Great,” the bride of Antichrist, will be composed of the followers of all False Religions. The river Euphrates, on which the city of Babylon was built, was one of the four branches into which the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden was divided, and Satan doubtless chose the site of Babylon as his headquarters from which to sally forth to tempt Adam and Eve. It was doubtless here that the Antediluvian Apostasy had its source that ended in the Flood. To this centre the “forces of Evil” gravitated after the Flood, and “Babel” was the result. This was the origin of nations, but the nations were not scattered abroad over the earth until Satan had implanted in them the “Virus” of a doctrine that has been the source of every false religion the world has ever known.

Babel, or Babylon, was built by Nimrod. Genesis 10:8-10. It was the seat of the first great Apostasy. Here the “Babylonian Cult” was invented. A system claiming to possess the highest wisdom and to reveal the divinest secrets. Before a member could be initiated he had to “confess” to the Priest. The Priest then had him in his power. This is the secret of the power of the Priests of the Roman Catholic Church today.

Once admitted into this order men were no longer Babylonians, Assyrians, or Egyptians, but members of a Mystical Brotherhood, over whom was placed a Pontiff or “High Priest,” whose word was law. The city of Babylon continued to be the seat of Satan until the fall of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires, when he shifted his Capital to Pergamos in Asia Minor, where it was in John’s day. Revelation 2:12-13. When Attalus, the Pontiff and King of Pergamos, died in B. C. 133, he bequeathed the Headship of the “Babylonian Priesthood” to Rome. When the Etruscans came to Italy from Lydia (the region of Pergamos), they brought with them the Babylonian religion and rites. They set up a Pontiff who was head of the Priesthood. Later the Romans accepted this Pontiff as their civil ruler. Julius Caesar was made Pontiff of the Etruscan Order in B. C. 74. In B. C. 63 he was made “Supreme Pontiff” of the “Babylonian Order,” thus becoming heir to the rights and titles of Attalus, Pontiff of Pergamos, who had made Rome his heir by will. Thus the first Roman Emperor became the Head of the “Babylonian Priesthood,” and Rome the successor of Babylon. The Emperors of Rome continued to exercise the office of “Supreme Pontiff” until A. D. 376, when the Emperor Gratian, for Christian reasons, refused it. The Bishop of the Church at Rome, Damasus, was elected to the position. He had been Bishop 12 years, having been made Bishop in A. D. 366, through the influence of the monks of Mt. Carmel, a college of Babylonian religion originally founded by the priests of Jezebel. So in A. D. 378 the Head of the “Babylonian Order” became the Ruler of the “Roman Church.” Thus Satan united Rome and Babylon
In One Religious System.

Soon after Damasus was made “supreme Pontiff” the “rites” of Babylon began to come to the front. The worship of the Virgin Mary was set up in A. D. 381. All the outstanding festivals of the Roman Catholic Church are of Babylonian origin. Easter is not a Christian name. It means “Ishtar,” one of the titles of the Babylonian Queen of Heaven, whose worship by the Children of Israel was such an abomination in the sight of God. The decree for the observance of Easter and Lent was given in A. D. 519. The “Rosary” is of Pagan origin. There is no warrant in the Word of God for the use of the “Sign of the Cross.” It had its origin in the mystic “Tau” of the Chaldeans and Egyptians. It came from the letter “T,” the initial name of “Tammuz,” and was used in the “Babylonian Mysteries” for the same magic purposes as the Romish church now employs it. Celibacy, the Tonsure, and the Order of Monks and Nuns, have no warrant or authority from Scripture. The Nuns are nothing more than an imitation of the “Vestal Virgins” of Pagan Rome. As to the word “Mystery,” the Papal Church has always shrouded herself in mystery. The mystery of “Baptismal Regeneration”; the mystery of “Miracle and Magic” whereby the simple memorials of the Lord’s Supper are changed by the mysterious word “Transubstantiation,” from simple bread and wine into the literal Body and Blood of Christ; the mystery of the “Holy Water”; the mystery of “Lights on the Altar,” the “Mystery Plays,” and other superstitious rites and ceremonies mumbled in a language that tends to mystery, and tends to confusion which is the meaning of the word Babylon.

All this was a “Mystery” in John’s day, because the “Papal Church” had not as yet developed; though the “Mystery of Iniquity” was already at work (2 Thessalonians 2:7), but it is no longer a “Mystery” for it is now easy to identify the “Woman”--“Mystery, Babylon the Great,” which John described, as the “Papal Church.” In Revelation 17:4 we read that the “Woman” “was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a ’Golden Cup’ in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornications.”

Now who does not know that scarlet and purple are the colors of the Papacy? Of the different articles of attire specified for the Pope to wear when he is installed into office five are scarlet. A vest covered with pearls, and a mitre, adorned with gold and precious stones was also to be worn. How completely this answers the description of the Woman’s dress as she sits upon the Scarlet Colored Beast.

We are also told that the Woman was “drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus.” While this refers more particularly to the martyrs of the time of Antichrist, yet who does not know, who has studied the history of the Christian Church for the past nineteen centuries, that this is true of the Papal Church during those centuries? One has only to read the history of the persecutions of the early Christians and more particularly the story of the “Inquisition” in Papal lands, to see that the Papal Church has been “drunk” with the blood of the Saints. The fact that the Woman sits on a “Scarlet Colored Beast” reveals the fact that at that time the Beast (Antichrist) will support the Woman in her ecclesiastical pretensions, or in other words, the Woman, as a “State Church,” will control and rule the State, and her long dream of world-wide Ecclesiastical Supremacy will at last be realized, for John tells us that “the waters which thou sawest, where the ’Whore’ sitteth, are Peoples, and Multitudes, and Nations and Tongues.” That means that after the “True Church” (the Bride of Christ) is taken out of the world the “False” or “Papal Church” (the bride of Antichrist) will remain, and the professing body of Christians (having the “form of Godliness without the power”) left behind, will largely enter the Papal Church, and it will become the Universal Church. But this will continue for only a short time for the “Ten Kings” of the “Federated Kingdom,” finding their power curtailed by the “Papal System” will “hate The Whore,” and strip her of her gorgeous apparel, confiscate her wealth (eat her flesh) and burn her churches and cathedrals with fire. Revelation 17:16. This will occur at the time the worship of the Beast is set up, for Antichrist in his jealous hate will not permit any worship that does not centre in himself. The Beast upon which the Woman sits is ’introduced to show from whom the Woman (the Papal Church) gets her power and sup-port after the True Church has been “caught out,” and also to show that the Beast (Antichrist) and the Woman (the Papal Church) are not one and the same, but separate. Therefore the Papacy is not Antichrist. For a description of the “Scarlet Colored Beast” see the description of the “Beast out of the Sea” of Revelation 13:1-10. From this foreview of the Papacy we see that the Papal Church is not a dying “System.” That she is to be revived and become a “Universal Church,” and in doing so is to commit fornication with the kings of the earth, and that she shall again be “drunk with the blood” of the martyrs of the Tribulation Period. The meaning of Revelation 17:1-18 is no longer a Mystery; the prophetic portrait of the Woman there given corresponds too closely with the history of the Papal Church to be a mere coincidence.

SECOND DOOM COMMERCIAL BABYLON.

Revelation 18:1-24.

“And after these things (the destruction of “Mystical Babylon”) I saw ANOTHER ANGEL come down from Heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying BABYLON THE GREAT IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 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. For her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she re-warded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much 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 no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 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 judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. 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. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all-thyme wood, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and SOULS OF MEN. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 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 nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships (travellers), and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried (wept) 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. Rejoice over her, thou Heaven, and ye Holy Apostles, and Prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a Mighty Angel took up a STONE like a GREAT MILLSTONE, and cast it into the sea, saying, THUS WITH VIOLENCE SHALL THAT GREAT CITY BABYLON BE THROWN DOWN, AND SHALL BE FOUND NO MORE AT ALL. And the voice of Harpers, and Musicians, and of Pipers and Trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 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 sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of Prophets, and of Saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” This chapter begins with the words “after these things.” What things? The things recorded in Revelation 17:1-18, the destruction of “Mystical Babylon.”

If “Mystical Babylon” was destroyed in the previous chapter then she cannot appear in this chapter, and the “City” here described must be a literal city called Babylon, and as there is no city of that name on the earth today, nor has been since the ancient city of Babylon was destroyed, it must refer to some future city of Babylon. That the two chapters refer to different things is further verified by the fact that they are announced by different angels. The events of Revelation 17:1-18 are announced by one of the “Vial” Angels, while those of the eighteenth are announced by “another” angel; probably the “Second Angel Messenger,” who by way of anticipation, announced in Revelation 14:8, the “Fall of Babylon,” that is there called--“That Great City.” The ancient city of Babylon from the days of Nimrod (Genesis 10:10), grew in size and importance century after century until it reached its greatest glory in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar B. C. 604-562. As described by Herodotus it was an exact square of 15 miles on a side, or 60 miles around, and was surrounded by a brick wall 87 feet thick, and 350 feet high, though probably that is a mistake, 100 feet being nearer the height. On the wall were 250 towers, and the top of the wall was wide enough to allow 6 chariots to drive abreast. Outside this wall was a vast ditch surrounding the city, kept filled with water from the river Euphrates; and inside the wall, and not far from it, was another wall, not much inferior, but narrower, extending around the city.

Twenty-five magnificent avenues, 150 feet wide, ran across the city from North to South, and the same number crossed them at right angles from East to West, making 676 great squares, each nearly three-fifths of a mile on a side, and the city was divided into two equal parts by the river Euphrates, that flowed diagonally through it, and whose banks, within the city, were walled up, and pierced with brazen gates, with steps leading down to the river. At the ends of the main avenues, on each side of the city, were gates, whose leaves were of brass, and that shone as they were opened or closed in the rising or setting sun, like “leaves of flame.” The Euphrates within the city was spanned by a bridge, at each end of which was a palace, and these palaces were connected by a subterranean passageway, or tube, underneath the bed of the river, in which at different points were located sumptuous banqueting rooms constructed entirely of brass.

Near one of these palaces stood the “Tower of Bel,” or Babel, consisting of 8 towers, each 75 feet high, rising one upon the other, with an outside winding stairway to its summit, which towers, with the Chapel on the top, made a height of 660 feet. This Chapel contained the most expensive furniture of any place of worship in the world. One golden image alone, 45 feet high, was valued at $17,500,000, and the whole of the sacred utensils were reckoned to be worth $200,000,000.

Babylon also contained one of the “Seven Wonders” of the world, the famous Hanging Gardens.

These Gardens were 400 feet square, and were raised in terraces one above the other to the height of 350 feet, and were reached by stairways 10 feet wide. The top of each terrace was covered with large stones, on which was laid a bed of rushes, then a thick layer of asphalt, next two courses of brick, cemented together, and finally plates of lead to prevent leakage; the whole was then covered with earth and planted with shrubbery and large trees. The whole had the appearance from a distance of a forest-covered mountain, which would be a remarkable sight in the level plain of the Euphrates. These Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar simply to please his wife, who came from the mountainous country of Media, and who was thus made contented with her surroundings. The rest of the city was, in its glory and magnificence, in keeping with these palaces, towers, and “Hanging Gardens.” The character of its inhabitants and of its official life is seen in the description of “Belshazzar’s Feast” in Daniel 5:1-31.

Babylon was probably the most magnificent city the world has ever seen and its fall reveals what a city may become when it forsakes God and He sends His judgment upon it. It is so intimately connected with the history of God’s people that the Scriptures have much to say about it. A large part of the Book of Daniel and of the prophecy of Jeremiah relate to it, and it is mentioned in 11 other books of the Old Testament, and in 4 of the New Testament. And that the Book of Revelation is a continuation of the Book of Daniel is further proven by the fact that the city of Babylon is again spoken of in it, and its prominence in the affairs of the world at the “End Time” disclosed, and its final destruction foretold. THE CITY OF BABYLON TO BE REBUILT. That the ancient city of Babylon was destroyed there can be no question, but when we affirm that it is to be rebuilt and again destroyed we are met with two objections.

1. That all the Old Testament prophecies in reference to its destruction have been literally fulfilled, and that it cannot be rebuilt.

2. As there is no city of Babylon now in existence the references in the Book of Revelation to the destruction of such a city must be symbolical and not refer to a literal city.

Let us take up the first objection. For a description of Babylon and her destruction we must turn to Isaiah, Isaiah 13:1-22 and Isaiah 14:1-32 and Jeremiah, Jeremiah 50:1-46 and Jeremiah 51:1-64. In these two prophecies we find much that has not as yet been fulfilled in regard to the city of Babylon. The city of Babylon was captured in B. C. 541 by Cyrus, who was mentioned “by name” in prophecy 125 years before he was born. Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:4, B. C. 712. So quietly and quickly was the city taken on the night of Belshazzar’s Feast by draining the river that flowed through the city, and entering by the river bed, and the gates that surmounted its banks, that the Babylonian guards had forgotten to lock that night, that some of the inhabitants did not know until the “third” day that the king had been slain and the city taken. There was no destruction of the city at that time.

Some years after it revolted against Darius Hystaspis, and after a fruitless siege of nearly 20 months was taken by strategy. This was in B. C. 516. About B. C. 478 Xerxes, on his return from Greece plundered and injured, if he did not destroy, the great “Temple of Bel.” In B. C. 331 Alexander the Great approached the city which was then so powerful and flourishing that he made preparation for bringing all his forces into action in case it should offer resistance, but the citizens threw open the gates and received him with acclamations. After sacrificing to “Bel,” he gave out that he would rebuild the vast Temple of that god, and for weeks he kept 10,000 men employed in clearing away the ruins from the foundations, doubtless intending to revive the glory of Babylon and make it his capital, when his purpose was defeated by his sudden death of marsh-fever and intemperance in his thirty-third year.

During the subsequent wars of his generals Babylon suffered much and finally came under the power of Seleucus, who, prompted by ambition to build a Capital for himself, founded Seleucia in its neighborhood about B. C. 293. This rival city gradually drew off the inhabitants of Babylon, so that Strabo, who died in A. D. 25, speaks of the latter as being to a great extent deserted. Nevertheless the Jews left from the Captivity still resided there in large numbers, and in A. D. 60 we find the Apostle Peter working among them, for it was from Babylon that Peter wrote his Epistle (1 Peter 5:13), addressed “to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.”

About the middle of the 5th century Theodoret speaks of Babylon as being inhabited only by Jews, who had still three Jewish Universities, and in the last year of the same century the “Babylonian Talmud” was issued, and recognized as authoritative by the Jews of the whole world. In A. D. 917 Ibu Hankel mentions Babylon as an insignificant village, but still in existence. About A. D. 1100 it seems to have again grown into a town of some importance, for it was then known as the “Two Mosques.” Shortly afterwards it was enlarged and fortified and received the name of Hillah, or “Rest.” In A. D. 1898 Hillah contained about 10,000 inhabitants, and was surrounded by fertile lands, and abundant date groves stretched along the banks of the Euphrates. Certainly it has never been true that “neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.” Isaiah 13:20. Nor can it be said of Babylon--“Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.” Jeremiah 51:43. Nor can it be said--“And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 51:26), for many towns and cities have been built from the ruins of Babylon, among them Four Capital Cities, Seleucia, built by the Greeks; Ctesiphon, by the Parthians; Al Maiden, by the Persians; and Kufa, by the Caliphs. Hillah was entirely constructed from the debris, and even in the houses of Bag-dad, Babylonian stamped bricks may be frequently noticed. But Isaiah is still more specific for he locates the Time when his prophecy will be fulfilled. He calls it the “Day of the Lord.” Isaiah 13:9. That is the Millennium. And he locates it at the beginning of the Millennium, or during the events that usher in the Millennium, for he says--

“The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” Isaiah 13:10 (Luke 21:25-27).

Surely nothing like this happened when Babylon was taken by Cyrus. In the description of the destruction of the city of Babylon given in Revelation 18:1-24, we read that her judgment will come in one hour (Revelation 18:10), and that in one hour she shall be made desolate (Revelation 18:19), and as an illustration of the suddenness and completeness of her destruction, a mighty angel took up a stone like a Great Millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying--“Thus with Violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.” Revelation 18:21.

We are also told in the same chapter that she is to be destroyed by FIRE (Revelation 18:8-9; Revelation 18:18), and this is in exact harmony with the words of Isaiah 13:19.

“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah;” and the Prophet Jeremiah makes the same statement. Jeremiah 50:40. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not protracted through many centuries, their glory disappeared in a few hours (Genesis 19:24-28), and as ancient Babylon was not thus destroyed, the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah cannot be fulfilled unless there is to be a future Babylon that shall be thus destroyed. In Revelation 16:17-19, we are told that Babylon shall be destroyed by an Earthquake, attended with most vivid and incessant lightning and awful thunder. It would appear then, that as Sodom and Gomorrah were first set on fire and then swallowed up by an earthquake, that the rebuilt city of Babylon will be set on fire, and as the site of ancient Babylon is underlaid with Bitumen (Asphalt), that an earthquake will break up the crust of the earth, and precipitate the burning city into a “Lake of Fire,” and the city like a “Millstone” (Revelation 18:21) sink below the surface of the earth as into the sea, and be swallowed up so that it will be impossible to ever take of her stones for building

purposes, and the land shall become a Wilderness where no man shall ever dwell. The fact that in her will be found the blood of the Prophets, and Holy Apostles and Saints (Revelation 18:20, Revelation 18:24), shows that the Papal Church is not in view in this eighteenth chapter, for there was no Papal Church in Old Testament times, or in the days of the Apostles. It is the ancient as well as the revived City of Babylon that is meant. For in Old Testament days the blood of the Prophets was shed by the “Babylonish System” of false religions as visualized in the City of Babylon. So that it can truthfully be said that the blood of Prophets and Apostles of all ages has been shed by her. THE EPHAH OF COMMERCE.

There is a remarkable Prophetic Vision recorded by the Prophet Zechariah, that has mystified the Commentators. “Then the Angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an EPHAH that goeth forth. He said moreover: This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a ’Talent of Lead’: and this is a WOMAN that sitteth in the midst of the EPHAH. And he said, This is WICKEDNESS. And he cast it (her down R. V.) into the midst of the EPHAH: and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out TWO WOMEN, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a Stork: and they lifted up the EPHAH between the earth, and the heaven. Then said I to the Angel that talketh with me, Whither do these bear the EPHAH? And he said unto me, To build it (her R. V.) an house in the LAND OF SHINAR: and (when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place R. V.).” Zechariah 5:5-11. The “EPHAH” which the Prophet saw go forth, is the largest of Hebrew dry measures, and is often used as a symbol of Commerce, and its “resemblance,” or going forth through all the earth, doubtless refers to UNIVERSAL COMMERCIALISM. In this “Ephah” sat a “WOMAN” who was called “WICKEDNESS.” This “WOMAN” attempted to rise but the Angel thrust her back, and replaced the lid made of a “Talent of Lead.” Then “Two Women,” with the wings of a Stork, came, and lifted the “Ephah” high in the air and carried it with the swiftness of the wind to the “LAND OF SHINAR” to build it (her R. V.) a HOUSE. Now the “LAND OF SHINAR” was the place where they built the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), on whose site ancient BABYLON was located. As this vision of the Prophet occurred many years after the Fall of ancient Babylon, the HOUSE that is to be built for this “Ephah,” or the “WOMAN” who was transported in it, must be built in some future City of Babylon. As we have seen the “Ephah” stands for COMMERCE, and as the occupant of the “Ephah” is called “WICKEDNESS,” it reveals the fact that the “Commercialism” of the time of the Vision’s fulfilment will be characterized by all manner of dishonest schemes and methods. And the fact that the “WOMAN” is thrust back into
the “Ephah” and covered with a “Talent of Lead,” indicates that those dishonest schemes and methods are to be kept out of sight. The further fact that the “Ephah” is borne to the “LAND OF SHINAR” by two “Stork Winged Women” is not without significance. The Stork, according to the Mosaic Law, is an unclean bird. The name “Chasid” by which it was known, signified the “PIOUS BIRD,” and may well stand for the pursuit of wealth under the guise of religion. That will doubtless be a characteristic of those Babylonian days. This vision of the “Ephah” by the Prophet Zechariah is still further confirmatory proof that the ancient City of Babylon is to be rebuilt and become the COMMERCIAL CENTRE OF THE WORLD. Every influence political and commercial will favor this, and as the “Stork Winged Women” will be favored by the “wings of the wind,” the tendency of Commercialism to that part of the world, when the time comes to carry the “Ephah” to the “Land of Shinar,” we can readily see that it will not take long, with the wealth of the world at the command of the Capitalists of that day, to re-build Babylon and make it the great Commercial Centre of the world. Once however Commerce is firmly established in Babylon, the occupant of the “Ephah”--“WICKEDNESS,” will lift the lid and reveal herself, and no one will be able to buy or sell but he who has the “MARK OF THE BEAST.” As to the probability of the ancient city of Babylon being rebuilt we have only to consider the events that in recent years have been happening in that part of the world looking to just such a thing. In the Department of War of France, at Paris, there is to be seen the records of valuable surveys and maps made by order of Napoleon I, in Babylonia, and among them is a plan for a New City of Babylon, thus showing that the vast schemes of Napoleon comprehended the Rebuilding of the Ancient City of Babylon, and the making it his Capital, as his ambition was to conquer the whole of Europe and Asia, and he recognized to that end the strategical position of ancient Babylon as a governmental and commercial centre.

It is a fact that the whole country of Mesopotamia, Assyria and Babylonia, only needs a system of irrigation to make it again the most fertile country in the world, and steps have already been taken in that direction. In 1850 the British Government sent out a military officer with his command to survey and explore the river Euphrates at a cost of $150,000, and when the European war broke out, the great English Engineer who built the Assouam dam in Egypt, was engaged in making surveys in the Euphratean valley for the purpose of constructing a series of irrigation canals that would re-store the country and make it again the great grain producing country it once was. As a result towns and cities would spring up and railroads would be built. What is needed in that part of the world is a “Trans-European-Asiatic-Indian Air Line” that will connect Europe with India, and China. Such a line was the dream of ex-Emperor William of Germany. It was that desire that made him and Abdul Hamid, of Turkey, the closest of political friends, and he secured from Abdul Hamid a concession to build a railway from the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, by way of Aleppo, to the Tigris river, and from there to Bagdad, and from Bagdad via Babylon (via Babylon, mark that) to Koweit on the Persian Gulf, and most of the road has been built to Bagdad. With these facts in mind it can readily be seen that it is the purpose of European capitalists to revive the country of Babylonia and rebuild its cities, and when once the time comes the city of Babylon will be rebuilt almost in a night and on a scale of magnificence such as the world has never seen. The rapid growth of modern cities is one of the remarkable phenomena of the times. Since 1880 more than 500 cities have been built in America. Less than 100 years ago the site of the City of Chicago was but a swampy expanse at the mouth of the Chicago river. Now it has been transformed into a beautiful Metropolis, stretching 25 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan, with 5000 miles of streets, many of them beautiful boulevards 120 feet wide. In 1840 Chicago had only 4470 inhabitants, today the population is over 3,000,000. Once the Capitalists of the world are ready the revived City of Babylon will spring up in a few years. But I hear a protest. How you say can we be expecting Jesus to come at “any moment,” if the city of Babylon must be rebuilt before He can come? There is not a word in Scripture that says that Jesus cannot come and take away His Church until Babylon is rebuilt. The Church may be taken out of the world 25 or even 50 years before that.

Babylon the Great will be an immense city, the greatest in every respect the world has ever seen. It will be a typical city, the London, the Paris, the Berlin, the Petrograd, the New York, the Chicago of its day. It will be the greatest commercial city of the world. Its merchandise will be of gold and silver, and precious stones and pearls, of purple, and silk, and scarlet and costly wools. Its fashionable society will be clothed in the most costly raiment and decked with the most costly jewels. Their homes will be filled with the most costly furniture of precious woods, brass, iron and marble, with the richest of draperies, mats and rugs. They will use the most costly of perfumes, cinnamon, fragrant odors, ointments and frankincense. Their banquets will be supplied with the sweetest of wines, the richest of pastry, and the most delicious of meats. They will have horses and chariots and the swiftest of fast moving vehicles on earth and in the air. They will have their slaves, and they will traffic in the “souls of men.” That is women will sell their bodies, and men their souls, to gratify their lusts. The markets will be crowded with cattle, sheep and horses. The wharves will be piled with goods from all climes. The manufactories will turn out the richest of fabrics, and all that genius can invent for the comfort and convenience of men will be found on the market. It will be a city given over to pleasure and business. Business men and promoters will give their days and nights to scheming how to make money fast, and the pleasure loving will be constantly planning new pleasures. There will be riotous joy and ceaseless feasting. As it was in the days of Noah and of Lot, they will be marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, building and planting. The blood will run hot in their veins. Money will be their god, pleasure their high-priest, and unbridled passion the ritual of their worship.

It will be a city of music. Amid the noise and bustle of its commercial life will be heard the music of its pleasure resorts and theatres. There will be the sound of “harpers and musicians, of pipers and trumpeters” (Revelation 18:22). The world’s best singers and players will be there. Its theatres and places of music will be going day and night. In fact there will be no night, for the electric illumination of the city by night will make the night as bright and shadowless as the day, and its stores and places of business will never close, night or day, or Sunday, for the mad whirl of pleasure and the absorbing de-sire for riches will keep the wheels of business constantly moving. And all this will be easy because the “God of this World”--Satan, will possess the minds and bodies of men, for we read in verse 2, that Babylon at that time will be “the Habitation of Devils, and the Hold of Every Foul Spirit, and the Cage of Every Unclean and Hateful Bird.” The city will be the seat of the most imposing “OCCULTISM,” and mediums, and those desiring to communicate with the other world, will then go to Babylon, as men and women now go to Paris for fashions and sensuous pleasures. In that day demons, disembodied souls, and unclean spirits will find at Babylon the opportunity of their lives to materialize themselves in human bodies, and from the atmospheric heavens above, and from the Abyss below they will come in countless legions until Babylon shall be full of demon possessed men and women, and at the height of its glory, and just before its fall, Babylon will be ruled by SATAN HIMSELF, incarnate in the “Beast”--ANTICHRIST. But before its destruction God will mercifully deliver His own people, for a voice from heaven will cry-- “Come Out of Her, My People, That Ye be Not Partakers of Her Sins, and that Ye Receive Not of Her Plagues.” As Sodom and Gomorrah could not be destroyed until righteous Lot had escaped, so Babylon cannot be destroyed until all the righteous people in it have fled. The destruction of the city will be sudden and without warning. A fearful storm will sweep over the city. The lightning and thunder will be incessant. The city will be set on fire and a great Earthquake will shake it from centre to circumference. The tall office buildings, the “Hanging Gardens” and the great towers will totter and fall, the crust of the earth will crack and open, and the whole city with its inhabitants will sink like a “Millstone” (Revelation 18:21), into a lake of burning bitumen, and the smoke will ascend as of a burning fiery furnace, and the horror of the scene will be intensified by vast clouds of steam, generated by the waters of the Euphrates pouring into that lake of fiery asphalt, and when night comes on those clouds of steam will reflect the light of the burning city so it can be seen for miles in all directions in that level country. And the kings of the earth, and the merchants, and the shipmasters, and sailors, and all who have profited by her merchandise, will stand afar off and cry and wail because of her destruction, but the heavens will rejoice for God will have rewarded her Double according to her works, and BABYLON WILL BE NO MORE.