VERSE 1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven (Meta. tau/ta ei=don a;llon a;ggelon katabai,nonta evk tou/ ouvranou/ e;conta evxousi,an mega,lhn( kai. h` gh/ evfwti,sqh evk th/j do,xhj auvtou/ [prep meta "after" + pro.acc.nt.p. touto "these things" + aor.act.ind.1s. eidon "saw" + adj.acc.m.s. allos another (same kind) + noun acc.m.s. angelos angel + pres.act.part.acc.m.s. katabaino come down + prep ek from + art.w/noun abl.m.s. ouranos heaven], having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory [pres.act.part.acc.m.s. echo have + noun acc.f.s. exousia authority + adj.acc.f.s. megas great + conj kai + art.w/noun nom.f.s. ge earth + aor.pass.ind.3s. photizo illumine + prep ek from "with" + art.w/noun abl.f.s. doza glory + pro.gen.m.s. autos "his"]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 1

1. John with his angel-guide turns to yet another Babylon and her overthrow.
2. Clearly the evidence in this chapter points to the dominant economic power going into the Tribulation (cf. 9-19).
3. This chapter contains three main divisions: (a) the first angelic announcement of judgment on Babylon (vv. 1-3); (b) a voice from heaven predicting her fall (vv. 4-20); and (c) a second angelic announcement of her judgment (vv. 21-24).
4. An angel different from the "last plague" angel of chapter 17 enters the vision to describe and dramatize the downfall of the great commercial system of the Tribulation.
5. The words "after these things" in this instance indicates that which comes next in the sequence of visions John received.
6. "After these things" introduces in Revelation introduces something new (cf. 14:1,2), and denotes a new set of circumstances.
7. The Babylon of chapter 17 is a religious entity that is dependant upon national rulers (e.g., kings of the earth) for her world-wide evil.
8. The Babylon of this chapter is the primary economic pillar for the kings of the earth due to her unsurpassed economic prowess.
9. The nation that fits that role is the United States of America.
10. While both are designated "Babylon the Great" (17:5; 18:2) each is different and separate.
11. The Roman Catholic Church fits the data in chapter 17, while the USA fits the data here and in various OT chapters such as Jer. 50 and 51.
12. Both entities possess immense wealth.
13. The first system’s wealth is plundered as spoil while the wealth of the system in this chapter is contaminated and rendered unapproachable through fire (nuclear ruination).
14. More on the comparisons and contrasts as we move through the exegesis.
15. When all the scriptural evidence is amassed it will become clear that the Babylon of chapter 18 is a end-time nation with a leader, a racially mixed populace based on unprecedented immigration, a military-industrial complex, a location in the midst of the seas, and material affluency that is the envy of the world, along with other characteristics that point to the USA.
16. Major interaction with the merchants of the earth (e.g. trade; cf. 18:3, 11, 15, 23) and those connected with the sea (v. 17) characterize the Babylon of this chapter but is missing from chapter 17.
17. Chapter 18 attributes the sin of arrogance is missing from the previous chapter (v. 7).
18. The lamentation of specific outsiders, specifically those who traded with Babylon 2, at her fall is expected with a commercial entity (vv. 9-11).
19. The economic prosperity and luxury of this Babylon is indicative of what we see in the US (vv. 11-14, 19).
20. This Babylon is noted for her elite ruling class that consists of "merchants" (v. 23).
21. As will be seen in other scriptures the geographical location of the two Babylons of Revelation is different.
22. The angel who pronounces judgment is apparently different from the one who served as John’s guide in chapter 17.
23. His function is to announce the overthrow of economic Babylon.
24. This new angelic agent resembles those who descend from heaven to carry out specific missions as in 10:1 and 20:1.
25. His resemblance to the angel in 10:1 is especially close.
26. This angel carries the same message as the "second angel" of 14:8.
27. That angel announces the overthrow of "Babylon the great" which is the same Babylon as the one in our chapter (though it could be argued that it is the Babylon of chapter 17.).
28. The angel of Rev. 18:1 is granted "great authority" to match his assignment of announcing the fall of America.
29. This is apropos since the demise of America will be unprecedented among the great empires of human history.
30. What John saw in this instance will be manifest to the entire world at some point in the early part of the first half of the tribulation.
31. He will literally descend "from heaven" and carry out his assignment.
32. He will first gain the undivided attention of the whole world by illuminating the whole planet.
33. At some point early on in the Tribulation during the time of the first seal (rider on the white horse) the planet will be bathed in light and this angel will proceed to make an announcement.
34. Each of the three angelic pronouncements of 14:6-9 are intended to evangelize (gospel 1), announce America’s overthrow, and warn humanity not to take the mark of the beast.
35. Perhaps this announcement will come just before the destruction of America as is the case with the activity of the angel in verse 21.
36. The glory of this angel is such that it will illumine the entire world in preparation for the announcement that follows in verse 2 and 3.
37. The indictment against America is so stupendous demanding a corresponding manifestation of angelic glory, which is derived from the Creator.
38. Night will be turned to day and day will be superceded by the light this angel will emit.
39. This light is like the light that shown from Moses’ face after seeing the glory of God.

VERSE 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great (kai. e;kraxen evn ivscura/| fwnh/| le,gwn( :Epesen\ e;pesen Babulw.n h` mega,lh [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. krazo cry out + prep en "with" + adj.instr.f.s. ischuros strong + noun instr.f.s. phone voice + pres.act.part.nom.m.s. lego say + aor.act.ind.3s. pipto fall + aor.act.ind.3s. pipto fall + noun nom.f.s. Babulon + art.w/adj.nom.f.s. megas great])!

She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit (kai. evge,neto katoikhth,rion daimoni,wn kai. fulakh. panto.j pneu,matoj avkaqa,rtou [conj kai + aor.dep.ind.3s. ginomai become + noun nom.nt.s. katoiketerion habitat; 2x Eph.2:22 + noun gen.nt.p. daimonion demon + conj kai + noun nom.f.s. phulake prison + adj.gen.nt.s. pas every + noun gen.nt.s. pneuma spirit + adj.gen.nt.s. akathartos unclean], and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird [kai. fulakh. panto.j ovrne,ou avkaqa,rtou Îkai. fulakh. panto.j qhri,ou avkaqa,rtouÐ kai. memishme,nou [conj kai + noun nom.f.s. phulake prison + adj.gen.nt.s. pas every + noun gen.nt.s. orneon bird + adj.gen.nt.s. akathartos unclean + kai and + perf.pass.part.gen.nt.s. miseo hate "hated" or "hateful"]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 2

1. The "mighty voice" of this angel recalls the "loud voice" of the angels making the announcements in chapter 14.
2. The whole world will hear this announcement on the eve of the fall of the US.
3. The participle "saying" introduces the substance of the angel’s pronouncement.
4. The opening words of the announcement are identical with the announcement of 14:8.
5. Both echo Isa. 21:9 and Jer. 51:8 which deal with the overthrow of economic Babylon, not historical/ancient Babylon.
6. The twofold repetition of the proleptic aorist "fallen" expresses absolute certainty.
7. Again, these words echo the judgment against this end-time entity seen in various OT prophecies such as Isa. 13:19-22; Jer. 50:39; 51:1-58).
8. Ancient Babylon (head #3) fell in 539 BC to the Persians but it was not overthrown in a destructive fashion (cf. Dan. 6).
9. "Babylon" both here and in the previous chapter is in code.
10. This serves to obscure the truth from negative volition and is appropriate since neither of these two Babylons were known by their historical names until much later than John’s day.
11. What follow in opening words of impending doom is the reasons for her annihilation.
12. The "city" is to be destroyed because she "has become" something.
13. Economic Babylon is a place inhabited by demons or unclean spirits.
14. Demons have flocked to American due to a variety of reasons.
15. False religion abounds, the huge presence of Masonic and other type secret societies, then there is the current popularity of magic.
16. Once here the demons stay as indicated by the words "a prison of every unclean spirit."
17. Talk about diversity notice the attraction of the unclean for this place.
18. These fallen spirits are not here against their will as the use of the term "prison" might suggest.
19. The reference to "birds" is a reference to humans.
20. The twofold description of Americans as "unclean and hated" indicates a persistent spiritual state along with how God regards the lifestyle and habits of the population.
21. Again, "every" denotes diversity of STA evil permeating the culture.
22. We see corruption of all sorts in every walk of life.
23. Again, "prison" does not denote a place people cannot leave, but is culture that is addictive.
24. People in this country are beset by various addictions.
25. American love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil.

VERSE 3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality (o[ti evk tou/ oi;nou tou/ qumou/ th/j pornei,aj auvth/j pe,pwkan pa,nta ta. e;qnh [conj hoti for + prep ek from + art.w/noun abl.m.s. oinos wine + art.w/noun gen.m.s thumos "passion"; wrath + art.w/noun gen.f.s. porneia fornication + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + perf.act.ind.3p. pino drink + adj.nom.nt.p. pas all + art.w/noun nom.nt.p. ethnos nation], and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her [kai. oi` basilei/j th/j gh/j metV auvth/j evpo,rneusan [conj kai + art.w/noun + art.w/noun nom.m.p. basileus king/ruler + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth + prep meta with + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + aor.act.ind.3p. porneuo fornicate], and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality [kai. oi` e;mporoi th/j gh/j evk th/j duna,mewj tou/ strh,nouj auvth/j evplou,thsan [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.m.p. emporos one who travels for trade; merchant; 5x: Matt. 13:45; Rev. 18:3,11,15,23 + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth + prep ek + art.w/noun abl.f.s. dunamis strength; wealth + art.w/noun gen.nt.s. strenos luxury; sensuality; 1x in NT + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + aor.act.ind.3p. plouteo become rich; be rich])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 3

1. The conjunction "for" denotes the reason for the overthrow of economic Babylon: this woman has prostituted herself among the nations affecting adversely both national populations and the earth’s rulers.
2. Like the great harlot of chapter 17 this woman has played the harlot and as a result aroused divine wrath.
3. The noun thumos translated "passion" in the phrase "the wine of the passion of her immorality" could be translated "wrath."
4. Since this noun signifies a strong emotion it probably is best to leave it "passion" rather than taking it as divine wrath.
5. Wine is used here of that which makes the nations drunk.
6. Basically it is the stimulant that has the nations hooked on American largess (foreign aid and a host of other monetary gimmicks) and all the ills associated with international aid (e.g., the carrot and stick approach).
7. This exact same phrase is used by the angel in Rev. 14:8 announcing the reason for the fall of America.
8. American foreign policy is immoral.
9. It isn’t that we engage in commerce with the nations, it is our manipulation of their internal affairs that constitutes immorality.
10. Organizations like the World Bank, the IMF, etc., that is working to weaken national independence and self-sufficiency.
11. American tax dollars are at work undermining national independence.
12. Everywhere one turns there is the American dollar intoxicating the nations.
13. National leaders around the world have willingly fornicated with economic Babylon rather than maintaining their independence.
14. Those who refuse to play the game are targeted for regime change.
15. If a ruler plays along with the US then he and his country receives various financial perks (read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man).
16. The most brutal regimes have benefited from American largess (Soviet Russia, Communist China, etc., etc.).
17. If American enticements are refused then that nation is a target.
18. The three categories of humanity specified in this verse are nations, kings and merchants.
19. Populations signified by the term "nations" are said to be made drunk "with the wine of the wrath of her immorality."
20. In the previous chapter the RCC makes populations drunk with Catholic dogma (cf. 17:2 "made drunk with the wine of her immorality").
21. She is this self-proclaimed queen who dispenses wine from the cup in her hand representing her evil doctrine (cf. 17:4).
22. The RCC engages in a kind of internationalism being a religious entity.
23. The USA engages in political and economic internationalism seeking to establish a NWO.
24. The second category referenced in this verse is "the kings of the earth" who are supposed to protect their nations against all forms of aggression.
25. Mostly they fail and "commit acts of fornication" with the US.
26. In so doing they betray the people they are responsible for.
27. Just like the rulers in chapter 17 there results an illicit relationship.
28. Both women pretend to be virtuous.
29. Both are immoral and both will be judged for their immorality.
30. The third category "merchants" is absent from the previous chapter.
31. Both women are wealthy but the two have achieved their wealth differently.
32. The merchants in this verse refers to foreign merchants rather than American businessmen.
33. These merchants will be especially distraught when America is overthrown (see vv. 11 and 15).
34. The merchants of economic Babylon are mentioned in verse 23 as being "the mighty men of the earth."
35. This great "city" as it is called in this chapter has a counterpart in the ancient kingdom of Tyre.
36. In fact, the Phoenicians of Tyre are renown for their trading prowess and the city-state located on the island of Tyre just off the coast engaged in economic internationalism.
37. Isa. 23 is the prophecy of the demise of this commercial empire and her demise.
38. Her situation parallels that of the US in certain aspects.
39. Many "have become rich through the strength of her luxuriousness."
40. The noun translated "sensualtity" appears only here in the NT.
41. The idea is that of self-indulgence with accompanying arrogance.
42. With great wealth often comes impudence and unruliness arising from superabundance.
43. The cognate verb streniao occurs 2x at Rev. 18:7 and 9.
44. It means to live in an indulgence fashion with all the corresponding vices.
45. So it is "her sensuality" in the form of super wealth that has made these foreign merchants wealthy and dependant.

 

Second Pronouncement

(vv. 4-20)

VERSE 4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying (Kai. h;kousa a;llhn fwnh.n evk tou/ ouvranou/ le,gousan [conj kai + aor.act.ind.1s. akouo hear + adj.acc.f.s. allos another + noun acc.f.s. phone voice + prep ek from + art.w/noun abl.m.s. ouranos heaven; see also 10:4; 11:12; 14:2, 13 for "voice from heaven" + pres.act.part.acc.f.s. lego say], "Come out of her, my people [VExe,lqate o` lao,j mou evx auvth/j [aor.act.imper.2p exerchomai come out + art.w/noun nom.m.s. laos people + pro.gen.m.s. ego "My" + prep ek from + pro.abl.f.s. aute her], so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues [i[na mh. sugkoinwnh,shte tai/j a`marti,aij auvth/j( kai. evk tw/n plhgw/n auvth/j i[na mh. la,bhte [conj hina so that; to express purpose + neg me + aor.act.subj.2p. sugkoinoneo share together in + art.w/noun loc.f.p. hamartia sin + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + conj kai + prep ek + art.w/noun abl.f.p. plege plague + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + conj hina "lest" w/the negative me + neg me + aor.act.subj. 2p. lambano receive];

ANALYSIS: VERSE 4

1. The extended proclamation of the fall of America extends through verse 20.
2. It follows the introductory proclamation of an angel who secures the attention of humanity.
3. This heavenly announcement falls into three parts: a call for believers to exit America (vv. 4-8); the lamenting of kings, merchants and all who make their living on the high seas (9-19); and heavenly celebration (v. 20).
4. This voice is the voice of God, hence the words "My people."
5. In verse 5 God refers to Himself in the 3^rd person but this is consistent with the long prophetic explanation that follows.
6. The aorist imperative "come out" is seen in OT prophecies regarding economic Babylon of the last days (cf. Jer. 50:8, 16, 28; 51:6,9,45; Zech 2:7).
7. The Jews were not told nor did they in fact leave ancient Babylon on the eve of her overthrow by the Persians.
8. At the end of the 70 year captivity they were free to leave under the decree of Cyrus the Great.
9. However in the prophecies dealing with Babylon in the citations in point 6 the Jews most definitely are enjoined to exit prophetic Babylon or be caught up in her destruction.
10. Here they are told to exit or be caught up in the judgment decreed upon Babylon with all its horrors.
11. From Jeremiah we learn that others besides the Jews will heed this call to exit America (Jer. 50:16).
12. Gentile Americans who believe in Christ will need to heed this summons as well.
13. What a dramatic turn of events to hear the voice of God from heaven with a message for believers living in the USA!!
14. On other rare occasions God has spoken from heaven to an audience.
15. Examples: at Jesus’ baptism God declared the hypostatic union as valid (Matt. 3:17//Mk. 1:11//Lk.3:22) and later at His transfiguration (Matt. 17:5).
16. This is a call to separate geographically from a distinct place.
17. Believers cannot readily separate from the kingdom of the Beast during the time when all are required to be numbered and tracked.
18. Those who refuse are targets of martyrdom
19. This refutes the notion that Babylon is the kingdom of the Beast.
20. Only other example we have of prophetic separation from a locale is the Jews who are to flee to pre-specified places when the Antichrist stands in the Temple of God and declares himself God (Matt. 24:15ff.).
21. For America this means reverse immigration.
22. This Babylon is noted for its mixed or mingled peoples (cf. Jer. 51:44 "…And the nations will no longer stream to him. Even the wall (defensive network) of Babylon has fallen down!").
23. The summons to exit the US comes fairly early on in the Tribulation.
24. Actually there is a pair of reports that precede the nuclear annihilation of the US (cf. Jer. 51:46).
25. Could it be that this series of heavenly pronouncements constitutes one of these reports and the other is the angelic announcement in Rev. 14:8?
26. Attached to the call is the reason why God’s people should separated physically from the America.
27. The words "with her sins" are an associative instrumental preceded by the verb "participate in" or literally "fellowship with."
28. The fellowship factor here has to do with suffering the consequences of America’s sins.
29. Obviously those who leave the US would have sinned while living in the USA and would have been guilty of the particular sins characteristic of American culture such as monetary greed and arrogance.
30. But here they can side step the wrath divine justice requires by simply leaving the nuclear death zone.
31. Grace provides an escape path for the righteous as it did for Lot.
32. He as a believer sinned big time while he resided in Sodom.
33. For the speaker to place the plagues in the future after having spoken of the "city’s" destruction are no problem, because this is an intercalation which ignores the chronological consideration.
34. The plagues that come upon on those who refuse to heed the call to separate be they believer or unbeliever are detailed in verse 8.
35. These plagues are the punishment falling on those who happen to be in the US when it is attacked and destroyed "in one hour of one day."
36. These plagues are all compatible with nuclear radiation and poisioning.
37. An nuclear attack squares with the language that those outside the continental United States will keep their distance out of fear associated with Babylon’s burning (cf. vv.10, 15, 17).

Tower of Babel Allusion (v.5)

VERSE 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven (o[ti evkollh,qhsan auvth/j ai` a`marti,ai a;cri tou/ ouvranou/ [conj hoti + aor.pass.ind.3p. kollao glue together, join together; "piled up" + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + art.w/noun nom.f.p. hamartia sin + prep achri until, as far as + art.w/noun gen.m.s. ouranos heaven], and God has remembered her iniquities [kai. evmnhmo,neusen o` qeo.j ta. avdikh,mata auvth/j [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. mnemoneuo remember + art.w/noun nom.m.s. theos God + art.w/noun acc.nt.p. adikema crime, injustice; 3x: Acts 18:14; 24:20; Rev.18:5 + pro.gen.f.s. aute her]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 5

1. God assigns an additional reason for the overthrow of Babylon (aka USA).
2. The language is an allusion to the Tower of Babel based on the aorist passive indicative verb kollao which means "glue together."
3. The passive form means "cleave to," "to join one to another in a mass."
4. The idea is that the sins of America affix themselves one to another until the invisible "structure" reaches heaven.
5. The noun kola means "glue."
6. The allusion is to the tower of Babel where the dark side that took control of America began in the ancient secret societies, which overshadow American culture and foreign policy (Gen. 11:3-4).
7. The phrase "as high as heaven" or "as far as heaven" (cf. Jer. 51:9) pictures a stack of bricks corresponding to sins.
8. Like the aorist "have piled up," the aorist "has remembered" is also proleptic.
9. God cannot overlook the crimes (adikema) of Babylon.
10. This noun "iniquities" refers to STA activity from a legal standpoint (cf. Acts 18:14; 24:20).
11. The massive misdeeds or injustices or crimes of America demand punishment by the Judge who sits in the heavens.
12. When the last sins are added to the imaginary structure God will make the punishment fit the collective criminality.
13. These crimes attach themselves to the memory of God who only forgets where there is repentance (ex. Assyrians under Jonah).
14. Nineveh was about to be punished for her collective sins over a number of generations but she repented and her status in the world continued for another century plus.

Double Discipline (v.6)

VERSE 6 "Pay her back even as she has paid (avpo,dote auvth/| w`j kai. auvth. avpe,dwken [aor.act.imper.2p. apodidomi give back; award + pro.dat.f.s. aute her + conj hos as + pro.dat.f.s. aute "she" + aor.act.ind.3s. apodidomi pay back], and give back to her double according to her deeds [kai. diplw,sate ta. dipla/ kata. ta. e;rga auvth/j [conj kai + aor.act.imper.2p. apodidomi pay back + art.w/adj.acc.nt.p. diplous twofold; double + prep kata according to + art.w/noun acc.nt.p. ergon deed, work]; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her [evn tw/| pothri,w| w-| evke,rasen kera,sate auvth/| diplou/n [prep en + art.w/noun loc.nt.s. poterion cup + rel.pro.dat.nt.s. ho which + aor.act.ind.3s. kerannumi mix + aor.act.imper.2p. kerannumi mix + pro.dat.f.s. aute her + adj.acc.nt.s. diplous a double]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 6

1. The announcement continues with words directed to the administrators of divine retribution against economic Babylon.
2. There is no way to determine who the destroyers of Babylon are from the information in this chapter.
3. Even assuming that the fire which destroys her and renders her unapproachable is nuclear we are still not certain as to whom it might be even though there is a nation that stands at the top of the world’s nuclear powers.
4. From Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 we can ascertain who the second person plural is in the three aorist imperatives "Repay" (twice) and "mix" found in this verse.
5. God is directing someone to execute His guilty verdict.
6. The imperative apodidomi (pay back/give back) echoes Jer. 50:15, 29; 51:24, 56 dealing with this selfsame entity.
7. God speaks to His chosen ones who are to carry out this horrendous attack on the citizens of America.
8. The nation behind this is Russia and her neighbors (cf. Isa. 13:5; Jer. 50:3, 14, 26, 29, 41-42; 51:11, 27 (kingdoms Cyrus went to war against bordering Russia), 56).
9. In Daniel seven it is the Bear who rises up on one side and is admonished by the three ribs to destroy much flesh thus fulfilling the removal of the eagle’s wings on the Anglo lion (Dan. 7:4-5).
10. Furthermore Russia is the rider on the red horse which takes peace from the earth under the second seal judgment towards the middle or end of the first half of the tribulation (Rev. 6:3-4).
11. The rider on the white horse (pretended righteousness) is America with its particular brand of conquest (Rev. 6:2).
12. The violence and misery perpetrated upon the inhabitants of the earth due for American foreign policy will be paid back as apart of divine retribution.
13. America is up for double discipline based on what she has dispensed in the cup which she has mixed.
14. This concoction is first and foremost her foreign policy combining economic incentives with military adventurism.
15. The carrot and stick approach is seen in our dealings with the nations.
16. Double discipline is the form of nuclear annihilation and the total ban on human occupation of this continent even on into the millennium.
17. Double discipline is based on the principal "to whom much is given, much is required."
18. America has abused its freedoms and prosperity.
19. The nation has been hijacked by her "merchants" (cf. v.23).
20. The cup analogy echoes Jer. 51:7 "Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are going mad."

 

Further Instructions to the Destroyers

(v.7)

VERSE 7 "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously (o[sa evdo,xasen auvth.n kai. evstrhni,asen [pro.acc.nt.p. hosos as much as (measuring degree) + aor.act.ind.3s. doxazo glorify + pro.acc.f.s. aute herself + conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. streniao indulge; "lived sensuously"; 2x: Rev. 18:7,9; cp noun strenos "sensuality"; means to live in a self indulgent fashion], to the same degree give her torment and mourning [tosou/ton do,te auvth/| basanismo.n kai. pe,nqoj [demonst.pro. acc.m.s. tosoutos so much; to the degree that + aor.act.imper.2p. didomi give + pro.dat.f.s. aute her + noun acc.m.s. basanismos torture ; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT AS A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning (o[ti evn th/| kardi,a| auvth/j le,gei o[ti Ka,qhmai basi,lissa kai. ch,ra ouvk eivmi, kai. pe,nqoj ouv mh. i;dw [conj hoti for + prep en in + art.w/noun loc.f.s. kardia heart + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + pres.act.ind.3s. lego say + conj hoti acting as quotation mark + pres.dep.ind.1s. kathemai sit + noun nom.f.s. basilissa queen + conj kai + adj.nom.f.s. cheros widow + neg. ouk not + pres.act.ind.1s. eimi am + conj kai + noun acc.nt.s. penthos sorrow, mourning + neg ou not + neg me + aor.act.ind.1s. eidon see]).'

ANALYSIS: VERSE 7

1. God is the speaker and He continues His directive to Babylon’s destroyers.
2. Here God furnishes a reason why Babylon must be destroyed.
3. America has glorified herself and has become wanton.
4. To the degree she has "glorified herself and lived wantonly" so to that degree she is to suffer physical and soulish anguish under the 5^th cycle.
5. "Torment" or "torture" is the physical sufferings of post-rapture Americans while "mourning" refers to their mental anguish/torture.
6. All the self-congratulations and excessive living Americans have experienced will find its counterpart in that final day of her history.
7. America’s corporate mindset is that of extreme pride and arrogance.
8. At the time of her destruction God reads the corporate soul/heart and it amounts to extreme arrogance as seen in the quotation from Isa. 47:8 "Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, who dwells securely, who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children."
9. The overthrow of prophetic and economic Babylon (USA) is presented in Isa. 47:1-15 from the vantage point of a debutante/princess who feels secure in her privileged status only to find herself a POW drug off into anonymity.
10. Isa. 47 is not prophetic of the overthrow of ancient Babylon but the language fits other descriptions of political Babylon such as Isa. 13 and Jer. 50 and 51.
11. These chapters (and others) deal with an entity that in no way matches the manner in which Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon exited the historical limelight (see Daniel 6).
12. Yet this economic and political entity during her heyday sits at the apex of the political/economic heap (see Isa. 47:5b "For you will be no more called the queen of kingdoms." And compare Jer. 51:25 "Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD, "and I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and I will make you a burnt out mountain."
13. The scrutinizer of motives has detected a self-centeredness that tantamount to self-deification.
14. Meditations of the heart are open to Him, so He knows that America’s soul/heart is one of self-glorification and pride.
15. We as Americans think way to highly of ourselves, and we think that God thinks/judges just like we do.
16. We suffer a messianic complex.
17. Speaking to Babylon’s tormentors God instructs them to inflict "torment and mourning" to the degree America the Great has reveled in self-glorification and luxury.
18. Here we see the principal of matching the punishment with the crime.
19. Interestingly the guilt will have taken many decades but the punishment will run its course in a matter of days or weeks, that is, until the last American perishes.
20. The torment and mourning will be experienced only by those who are alive and remain when the nuclear assault emanating from Russia begins.
21. These Americans (minus those who either died or were raptured or who migrate back to their homelands) will suffer temporarily for the sins of their fathers as well as their own sins.
22. Her internal boast is a modification of Isa. 47:8.
23. "I sit as a queen" speaks to America’s privileged status.
24. There is nothing wrong with being a queen as long as pride does not rule the soul and self-indulgence and self-absorption is the result.
25. Such overweening presumption draws the wrath of heaven on this queen’s head.
26. America’s boast of security further demonstrates her disorientation to God and the lessons of history.
27. The words "and am not a widow" refers to that fact that America has remained safe from foreign conquest.
28. She has not experienced the devastation that has regularly come upon other nations.
29. The boast is one of invincibleness.
30. America’s military and political planners seek to control everything so as to be safe (weather, space, cyberspace, energy, etc.).
31. So the "widow" part has to do with loss of military protection even as a husband protects a wife.
32. And "will not see sorrow" refers specifically to the sorrow associated with widowhood (military unable to protect the nation) and loss of children (citizens).
33. These two things will come upon America in one hour of one day (Isa. 47:9; Rev. 18:10, 17 19).
34. There is an often unspoken sentiment that this country is secure from external conquest as seen in the emphatic negative of "and will never see mourning."
35. The type of mourning here envisaged is the mourning associated with loss of nationhood.
36. Obviously this nation has mourned, as the case of John Kennedy illustrates.

Arrogance a Reason for US Destruction (v.8)

VERSE 8 "For this reason in one day her plagues will come (dia. tou/to evn mia/| h`me,ra| h[xousin ai` plhgai. auvth/j [prep dia for this reason w/pro.acc.nt.s. touto this + prep en in + adj.loc.f.s. mia one + noun loc.f.s. hemera day + fut.act.ind.3p. heko happen; "will come" + art.w/noun nom.f.p plege plague + pro.gen.f.s. aute her], pestilence and mourning and famine [qa,natoj kai. pe,nqoj kai. limo,j [noun nom.m.s. thanatos death; "pestilence" as in deadly disease + conj kai + noun nom.m.s. penthos mourning + conj kai + noun nom.m.s. hunger; "famine"], and she will be burned up with fire [kai. evn puri. katakauqh,setai [conj kai + prep en in; "with" + noun instr.nt.s. pur fire + fut.pass.ind.3s. katakaio burn up]; for the Lord God who judges her is strong [o[ti ivscuro.j ku,rioj o` qeo.j o` kri,naj auvth,n [conj hoti for (causal) + adj.nom.m.s. ischuros strong (inherent) + noun nom.m.s. kurios lord + art.w/noun nom.m.s. theos God + art.w/aor.act.part.nom.m.s. krino judge]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 8

1. Arrogance is a major contributor to the intensity of Babylon’s arrogance.
2. The phase "in one day" is to be taken literally as in a 24 hour day or a specific date on the calendar like 911.
3. It connects with the phrase "in one hour" as in verses 10, 16, and 19.
4. A sudden overwhelming catastrophe such as an all-out surprise nuclear attack would fulfill this phraseology.
5. The words "For this reason" looks back to the boast quoted from Isa. 47:7-9.
6. The positioning of the words "in one day" emphasizes how quickly American will experience the thing she avoided from her birth.
7. The three interconnected plagues satisfy nuclear exposure as a result of many missiles from the land of the north (cf. Jer. 50:9,14; 51:11).
8. This all will come upon a nation and a people that "dwell by many waters." (Jer. 51:13).
9. The overthrow is not gradual but swift and decisive.
10. The first plague is literally "death."
11. Most Americans will die outright because they are concentrated in cities (Jer. 50:32 "The arrogant individual will stumble and fall with no one to raise him up; and I will set fire to his cities, and it will devour all his environs."; 51:43 "Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a lane in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes.").
12. "Mourning" is the psychological effect upon a dying nation.
13. "Famine" of "hunger" refers to those who linger for some time after the fateful day as food supplies will be scarce and nuclear poisoning will make it impossible to keep food in the stomach.
14. "She will be burned up with fire"
15. "Death" stands over against the arrogant scorn of the prospect of widowhood, "sorrow" is in response to her reveling, and "famine" is in response to her abundance.
16. The causal conjunction "for" or "because" introduces the reason for the total annihilation of the population of America.
17. The adjective "strong" stands at the head of a clause to emphasize what it is that bring this unprecedented destruction to pass.
18. It is the strength of the Lord God who judges her.
19. His power is without challenge and so He is able to bring to pass the destruction of "the strong city" (cf. Rev. 18:10).
20. None compares to Him in power and ability to unleash this devastation and still keep the human race from extinction.
21. The words "who judges her" are a constant reminder that the Lord God is the final arbitrator in the affairs of the international community.
22. These words are an allusion to Jer. 50:34 where the strength of Babylon’s Judge is the subject.

Reaction of World Leaders (vv. 9-10)

VERSE 9 "And the kings of the earth (Kai.. oi` basilei/j th/j gh/j [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.m.p. basileus king, ruler + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth], who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her [oi` metV auvth/j porneu,santej kai. strhnia,santej [art.nom.m.p. ho "who" + prep meta with + pro.gen.f.s. aute her + aor.act.part.nom.m.p. porneuo fornicate + conj kai + aor.act.part.nom.m.p. streniao live luxuriously, indulge; "sensuously"; both participles connected with kai share the same def.art.], will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning [klau,sousin kai. ko,yontai evpV auvth.n o[tan ble,pwsin to.n kapno.n th/j purw,sewj auvth/j [fut.act.ind.3p. klaio weep + conj kai + fut.act.ind.3p. kopto mourn; strong expression for grief + adv hotan when + pres.act.subj.3p. blepo see + art.w/noun acc.m.s. kapnos vapors, smoke + art.w/noun gen.f.s. purosis burning + pro.gen.f.s. aute her]),

VERSE 10 "standing at a distance for fear of her torment (avpo. makro,qen e`sthko,tej dia. to.n fo,bon tou/ basanismou/ auvth/j [prep apo from + adj./adv. makrothen express location from a distance + prep dia because + art.w/noun nom.m.s. phobos fear + art.w/noun gen.m.s. basanismos torture, torment], saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city [le,gontej( Ouvai. ouvai,( h` po,lij h` mega,lh( Babulw.n h` po,lij h` ivscura, [pres.act.part.nom.m.p. lego say + double particle ouai woe + art.w/noun nom.f.s. polis city + art.w/adj.nom.f.s. megas great + noun nom.f.s. Babulon Babylon + art.w/noun nom.f.s. polis city + art./adj.nom.f.s. ischuros strong, mighty !

For in one hour your judgment has come (o[ti mia/| w[ra| h=lqen h` kri,sij sou [conj hoti because + adj.loc.f.s. mia one + noun loc.f.s. hora hour + aor.act.ind.3s. erchomai come + art.w/noun nom.f.s. krisis judgment + pro.gen.f.s. su you; "your"]).'

ANALYSIS: VERSES 9-10

1. At this juncture in the divine speech there is a shift from the call to believers to exit Babylon, to the lament of national leaders ("kings of the earth") in verses 9 and 10, followed by the lament of her importers of goods ("merchants of the earth") in verses 11-13 and again in verses 15-17a, and finally the lament of those who are seafarers in verses 17b-19.
2. Verse 14 interrupts the laments with a word to the city-state of Babylon.
3. National leaders around the world, with some notable exceptions wail openly.
4. Obviously Babylon’s destroyers are not in view here, as they will have great cause for celebration (cf. Jer. 51:14).
5. The leaders who express great consternation are those who have "committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously" with America.
6. Their anguish will commence "when they see the smoke of her burning."
7. America’s fall will be devastating to foreign economies, especially those that are tied to the dollar, the reserve currency of the world.
8. The kings of the earth would not include Russia as it has separated itself from the IMF, the World Bank an other western economic entanglements.
9. All Russia has to fear is nuclear fall-out.
10. The kings of the earth include the leaders in league with the Beast.
11. As a sidebar, how could these ten kings stand at a distance if Babylon is the EU as some interpreters suggest?
12. Furthermore it makes no sense for these ten kings to lament the overthrow of the Babylon of chapter 17 since they in concert with the Beast destroy the RCC!
13. So much for the idea that the Babylon of chapters 17 and 18 are one and the same.
14. The ruler of America at the time of her visitation is mentioned in Jer. 50:18, 43; Jer. 51:31.
15. The political immorality the leaders of the world have engaged in with America is their acceptance of financial largess with all its strings (monetary, military, etc.).
16. The individuals who are "kings" betray the best interests of their own peoples.
17. These individuals benefit personally from this illicit relationship.
18. Some are no more than American puppets.
19. We grant economic benefits in exchange for various favors.
20. With the fall of America the rug is pulled out from under them.
21. They are not weeping out of any particular love they have for this particular woman but because the source of much of their wealth and power is removed.
22. With the exception of Great Britain the mourning is not do to real affection (cf. Jer. 50:12 "Your mother will be greatly ashamed, she who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least of the nations. A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.").
23. There is debate over the word translated "least" in Jer. 50:12.
24. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to refer to the once mighty America as "least" once it ceases to exist.
25. Another usage of this Hebrew noun (fem.sing.abs. acharith) is to what is "behind" as well as to "future things."
26. The seeming contradiction between the idea of what lies behind and what lies ahead is resolved (sic) by the notion of a latter day nation.
27. It comes late in human history but is great up until it is no more.
28. The idea is likened to a rower who backs into the future so to speak.
29. A better rendering here is "last" or "later."
30. America compared to the nations and peoples elsewhere is a fairly recent development being some 230 years of age.
31. "The smoke of her burning" recalls the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19:28).
32. But here the nature of the burning compels humanity to keep their distance.
33. The fear of the kings and all others is in regards to the specific nature of Babylon’s "torment."
34. The noun used here for "torment" occurs only in Revelation (9:5; 14:11; 18:7, 10, 15).
35. What the world leaders fear for themselves and their people is the nuclear contamination that quickly swirls around the globe bringing on the 4^th horseman of the 4^th seal killing one out of every four persons on planet earth.
36. These leaders have much to fear, but the thing all should fear most is falling into the hands of a living God!
37. There words are not so much intended as derisive as simply here as a statement of fact.
38. They rightly acknowledge that America was "that great city, that mighty city-state."
39. They recognize and state the blatantly obvious, that Babylon is destroyed "in one hour," but more surprisingly that her fall was a judgment.
40. These are not terms moderns generally speak in when a deadly event overtakes people.
41. There are examples of unbelievers mouthing the divine viewpoint, albeit rarely, but usually in the face of the spectacular.
42. Example: when the magicians of Egypt acknowledged that the gnat plague was "the finger of God" (Ex. 8:19).
43. Only when they could not mimic this plague did they so confess before Pharaoh.
44. In Revelation we see hardened humanity begrudgingly acknowledge the impending "wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:16) and we note others blaspheming the source of their miseries (16:21).
45. Even these evil unbelieving rulers acknowledge the fall of America as "your judgment."
46. It is like someone speaking truth over a corpse.

Reason for the Lament of the Foreign Merchants

(vv. 11-13)

VERSE 11 "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more (Kai. oi` e;mporoi th/j gh/j klai,ousin kai. penqou/sin evpV auvth,n( o[ti to.n go,mon auvtw/n ouvdei.j avgora,zei ouvke,ti [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.m.p. emporos merchant + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth + pres.act.ind.3p. klaio weep + conj kai + pres.act.ind.3p. pentheo mourn + prep epi over + pro.acc.f.s. aute her + conj hoti because + adj.nom.m.s. oudeis no one + pres.act.ind.3s. agorazo purchase + art.w/noun acc.m.s. gomos cargo, freight + pro.gen.m.p. autos "their" + adv ouketi no more]—

ANALYSIS: VERSE 11

1. America’s sudden removal from the scene results in an economic tsunami of unprecedented proportions.
2. When the commercial giant Tyre fell it sent similar reverberations throughout the Middle East (cf. Ezek. 26-27; Isa. 23).
3. In fact the language of lament with respect to kings, merchants and seafarers is strikingly similar to what we see in Rev. 18:9-19.
4. Here we have the beginning of the section detailing the lament of the foreign merchants.
5. God anticipates their reaction to overthrow of American commercialism.
6. The Voice from heaven draws everyone’s attention to the nature of the reaction so that when it comes to pass all will be able to see the veracity of Scripture in they want to.
7. Unsurprisingly the foreign business interests bemoan the loss of profits and markets.
8. They also grieve the loss of so formidable trading partner.
9. With the fall of America all markets dry up.
10. This fulfills the third seal the rider on the black horse or economic depression for many who were supported by imports to the US.
11. It is silly to imagine the lament of the merchants occurring at the very end of the tribulation since by that time commerce between nations and over the seas is for all intents and purposes non-existent.
12. The doubling of the "woe" expresses extreme consternation.
13. Amazingly they are distressed over economic collapse rather than their spiritual lives.
14. This is typical of those whose life is consumed with gain and loss.
15. The phrase "no one buys their cargoes any more" points to total disruption in world commerce.

A Listing of Foreign Imports

(vv. 12-13)

VERSE 12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls (go,mon crusou/ kai. avrgu,rou kai. li,qou timi,ou kai. margaritw/n [noun acc.m.s. gomos cargo; 3x: Acts 21:3; Rev. 18:11,12 + noun gen.m.s. chrusos gold + conj kai + noun gen.m.s arguros silver + conj kai + noun gen.m.s. lithos stone, gem + adj.gen.m.s. timios precious + conj kai + noun gen.m.p. margarites pearl] and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet [conj kai + adj.gen.nt.s. bussinos fine linen + conj kai + noun gen.f.s. porphura strictly, a species of shellfish yielding costly purple dye; of purple cloth + conj kai + adj.gen.nt.s. sirikos strictly pertaining to Seres, the people of China, made of silk + conj kai + adj.gen.nt.s. scarlet, crimson, red; dyed w the female scale insect which clings to oak leaves, dried and crushed to prepare a red dye; cf. Rev. 17:4] , and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble [conj kai + adj.acc.m.s. pas every + noun acc.nt.s. zulon wood + adj.acc.nt.s thuinos from the citron tree; an outrageously expensive wood in Bible times; men liked citrus wood tables + conj kai + adj.acc.nt.s. pas every + noun acc.nt.s. skeuos vessel + adj.acc.nt.s. elephantinos ivory + conj kai + noun acc.nt.s skeuos vessel, article + prep ek from + noun gen.nt.s zulon wood + adj.gen.nt.s. timios costly, precious + conj kai + noun gen.m.s. chalkos bronze (alloy of copper and tin) + conj kai + noun gen.m.s. sideros iron + conj kai + noun gen.m.s. marmaros marble; 1x]),

VERSE 13 and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense (kai. kinna,mwmon kai. a;mwmon kai. qumia,mata kai. mu,ron kai. li,banon [conj kai + noun acc.nt.s. kinnamomon cinnamon + conj kai + amomon a spice plant native to India, used in ointment + conj kai + noun acc.nt.p. thumiama incense + conj kai + noun acc.m.s. libanos frankincense] and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep [conj kai + noun acc.m.s. oinos wine + conj kai + noun acc.nt.s elaion olive oil + conj kai + noun acc.f.s. semidalis fine flour; best of the best + conj kai + noun acc.m.s. sitos wheat + conj kai + noun acc.nt.p. ktenos strictly speaking animal kept for personal use such as riding; e.g., horse "cattle"; cf. Lk. 10:34; Acts 23:24; 1Cor.15:39; Rev. 18:13 + conj kai + noun acc.nt.p. probaton sheep], and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and [even] human lives [conj kai + noun gen.m.p. hippos horse + conj kai + noun gen.f.p. hrede chariot + conj kai + noun gen.nt.p. soma body, living body; human trafficking! + conj kai-ascensive "even" + noun acc.f.p. psuche soul + noun gen.m.p. anthropos man]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 12 and 13

1. Verse 11 ends with a causal clause "for no one buys their cargoes/merchandise any more" followed by two verses detailing primarily a listing of luxury items common on the manifests of ships in Bible times.
2. The noun translated "cargoes" (acc.m.s. gemos w/def.art. ton gemon) comes from the verb gemo meaning "be full."
3. This noun is used of ship’s cargoes (Acts 21:3).
4. Most of the items listed here appear in the description of Tyre in Ezek. 26 and 27 (espec. 27:12-24) where 15 items from the list of 28 items here in verses 12 and 13 (28 uses of kai link the separate items of export to Babylon the great).
5. These are all items which the world holds dear.
6. The range of items include (1) precious minerals (metals and gems); (2) fabrics; (3) expensive household furnishings; (4) precious foodstuffs and ointments (6) livestock; (7) transportation [1 item]; human trafficking.
7. This list is contemporaneous with John’s day but is used prophetically of the kind of things imported to America right up to the time of her fall.
8. So the list has a kind of timeless quality about it.
9. Items in the first category, gold and silver and precious stones (gems) and pearls are found in OT lists.
10. Job indicates that pearl is precious stone (28:18).
11. These things are shipped to America as jewelry or to be used in jewelry.
12. In John’s time the highest grade pearls came from the Persian Gulf; today the highest grade is the South Seas pearl.
13. Fine linen begins the second category which came from Egyptian flax, but some came from Spain.
14. Purple (Ezek. 27:16) and scarlet (Jer. 4:30) and silk (Ezek. 16:10) are among the items of luxury in Jerusalem
15. "Purple" was the dye extracted from a shellfish one drop at a time was synonymous with the ultimate in luxury.
16. Purple clothing was the craze in ancient Rome.
17. The dye was much more expensive than the materials it was applied to.
18. There were clothing dying industries in Miletus and Thyatira (cf. Acts 16:14), Laodicea, and Hierapolis, located in the province of Asia.
19. Silk came from China, the name being derived from the Indian or Chinese people (hoi Seres).
20. Scarlet dye came from a female insect that was found on oak leaves.
21. The third category of items marks a change from the genitive case to the accusative case no longer dependant on the noun "cargoes."
22. These accusatives are direct objects of "buys" or "purchases" in verse 11.
23. Thyine wood is a sweet-smelling North African citrus tree valued because of its coloration used in costly doors and tables.
24. Its coloration was like that of a peacock’s tail, the stripes of a tiger or the spots of a leapord..
25. The price paid for one large dining table was said to have been the price of an estate!
26. As the feminine mark of extravagance were pearls, that of men was their mania for citrus wood tables.
27. Ivory was one of the signature items of Tyre (Ezek. 27:15).
28. It was made into furniture (chairs, beds), dice, scabbards, and even chariots.
29. Ivory replace wood among the very rich in images of gods and table legs.
30. The last set of items in verse 12 are preceded by the preposition ek ("from") where the phrase runs "and every article made from…"
31. "Very costly wood" included any number of woods which are clearly visible in furnishing in many American homes.
32. Corinthian bronze was material used in expensive works of art and is mentioned in connection with Tyre as well (Ezek. 27:13).
33. Spain and Pontus were also sources of this metal.
34. Iron ore was imported as well.
35. Rome imported marble from Africa, Egypt, and Greece.
36. Marble is imported to America from all over the world and some of it is very pricey.
37. The reign of Augustus marked a splurge of this material in Roman buildings.
38. Verse 13 lists four categories of commodities.
39. Cinnamon is a name of Phoenician origin made from the bark of a tree in East Asia or South China.
40. Among the Romans it was used for incense, medicine, perfume, and as an additive to wine.
41. "Spice" (amomon here is from a fragrant shrub from the hot climate of India and Africa.
42. It main use was as an aromatic balsam for the hair.
43. The ingredients used to make "incense" (thumiamata) were expensive aromatic spices and gums.
44. It was used to produce a perfumed smoke for religious ceremonies as well as perfuming the homes and funerals of the rich.
45. The term translated "perfume" (muron) was imported from Yemen and Somolia at great expense (Prov. 7:17; SOS 3:6; 4:6, 14; cp. Lk. 1:10, 11; Rev. 5:8; 8:3,4; 18:13).
46. It was one of the most expensive and desirable perfumes of the ancient world.
47. It was made up of a number of ingredients not just myrrh (cf. Matt. 26:7,12; Lk. 7:37,38,48; Jn. 11:2,3,5; cp. Smyrna = Myrrh).
48. "Frankincense" (libanos; Matt. 2:11; Rev.8:3,5; 18:13; SOS 3:6; 4:6,14) was a fragrant gum imported from South Arabia (cf. Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20).
49. It was used as a perfume for the body, as one of the ingredients of incense (Ex. 30:34-37), and as an additive to wine at banquets.
50. The first item in the food category is "wine."
51. In first century Rome wealthy landowners quit planting grain and corn and cultivated vines.
52. Africa and Spain were the chief sources of "olive oil" whereas today it mostly is imported from Italy.
53. "Fine flour" refers to the finest grade of wheaten flour.
54. Rome imported this flour from Alexandria.
55. There was an Armada of ships bringing wheat from the bread basket of the Roman world, Egypt.
56. "Cattle" were imported primarily as working animals and not for beef.
57. Likewise "sheep" were raised for their wool.
58. With the next animal category the text switches back to the genitive case in the mention of "horses."
59. Merchants bought horses from Africa, Spain, Cappadocia as well as Armenia.
60. The breeding of horses was for racing.
61. "Chariots" were wheeled carriages used for a variety of uses.
62. "Chariots" correspond to vehicles such as passenger cars imported by the millions to the US from various nations like Japan, Europe, etc.
63. The final item on the list is not two separate items, but one item, referred to with two expressions, joined by the kai-ascensive ("even") which is seen frequently in the NT Greek.
64. The translation "and slaves" is literally "and bodies."
65. This is followed by "even human lives" which literally is the "souls of men."
66. There is a world-wide trafficking in human beings.
67. Of course in Roman times slaves were shipped and sold like cattle.
68. America finally ended the slave trade from Africa with the Civil War.
69. But this does not answer the shipping of humans to America at the time of her fall.
70. The answer is the illicit activity in human trafficking for prostitution which by the way is a perverse vice of the rich.

Intro To Lament of the Merchants (v.14)

VERSE 14 "The fruit you long for has gone from you (kai. h` ovpw,ra sou th/j evpiqumi,aj th/j yuch/j avph/lqen avpo. sou/ [conj kai + art.w/noun nom.f.s. spora ripe fruit; hapax + pro.gen.2s. su "your" + art.w/noun gen.f.s. epithumia strong desire; longing; lust + art.w/noun gen.f.s. psuche soul + aor.act.ind.3s. aperchomai leave, go away + prep apo + pro.abl.s. su you], and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you [kai. pa,nta ta. lipara. kai. ta. lampra. avpw,leto avpo. sou/ [conj kai + adj.nom.nt.p. pas all + art.w/adj.nom.nt.p. liparos costly + conj kai + art.w/adj.nom.nt.p. lampros shining, bright + aor.mid.ind.3s. apollumi perish; pass away + prep apo + pro.gen.m.s. su] and men will no longer find them [kai. ouvke,ti ouv mh. auvta. eu`rh,sousin [conj kai + adv ouketi no longer + neg. ou + neg me + pro.acc.nt.p. autos "them" + fut.act.ind.3p. heurisko find]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 14

1. This verse has as its speaker God who reports the fact that Babylon will cease to enjoy the imports she so much craved during her run as the leading commercial nation.
2. The literal translation of this verse runs as follows: "and your ripe autumn fruit of the lust of your soul has departed from you, and all the costly and shiny things have perished from you, and they will in no way find them any longer."
3. God is the Speaker and Babylon is the one taunted.
4. The noun translated "fruit" is not the standard NT word (karpos).
5. It occurs only here and refers to produce at it optimum state of juiciness.
6. Both genitives "the lust of your soul" are subjective genitives indicating the fruit (e.g. merchandise) is the object of the lust and lusting is carried out by the soul (cf. 1Pet. 2:11 "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.").
7. The departure of this deeply desired fruit is the result of the nuclear attack.
8. The merchandise is described by two adjectives: "luxurious and splendid."
9. The idea is that these things can be costly and these things are shiny.
10. These things will be denied to the citizens of Babylon not because they are evil in and of themselves, but because these things were desired by the citizens of Babylon above all else.
11. In other words, these things are the object of idolatrous affection.
12. The doubled double negative (ouketi…ou me) is as emphatic as the Greek language can get to show that once these things are gone there is absolutely no chance they will return to American ports.
13. Note how the person changes abruptly once again, this time to an impersonal third person ("and men will no longer find them").
14. So God will fulfill Jer. 51:36 "Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am going to plead your case and exact vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry."
15. Most of the items in the list are definitely not things people cannot do without.
16. Non-essentials become more important than surviving spiritually and politically.

Lament of the Merchants (vv. 15-17a)

VERSE 15 "The merchants of these things, who became rich from her (oi` e;mporoi tou,twn oi` plouth,santej avpV auvth/j [art.w/noun nom.m.p. emporos merchant + pro.gen.nt.p. touto "these things" + art.w/aor.act.part.nom.m.p. plouteo be rich; become rich + prep apo + pro.abl.f.s. aute "her"], will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning [avpo. makro,qen sth,sontai dia. to.n fo,bon tou/ basanismou/ auvth/j klai,ontej kai. penqou/ntek [prep apo from + adv makrothen from a distance + fut.mid.ind.3p. histemi stand + prep dia because + art.w/noun acc.m.s. phobos fear + art.w/noun gen.m.s. basanismos torture, torment + pro.gen.f.s. aute "her" + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. klaio weep + conj kai + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. pentheo grieve, be sad, mourn]),

ANALYSIS: VERSE 15

1. Finally we come to the divine prediction on the eve of destruction in respect to the lament of foreign merchants.
2. The antecedent of "these things" is the listed items of verse 12-13 and their summarization in "the luxurious and splendid things" of verse 14.
3. The prospering of the merchants is from their exports to Babylon (cf. 18:3).
4. Their position "at a distance" is the same as the "kings" in verse 10 and of the seafarers in verse 17.
5. The divine description now reverts back to the future tense, ("will stand") as God predicts the soon to be lamentation of foreign business leaders whose prosperity is tied to their imports to the USA.
6. They distance themselves from the scene of destruction because they fear nuclear radiation.
7. The same two participles that are used of the sorrow of the kings is used of the lament of the merchants (cf. v.11).

Their Dirge (vv. 16-17a)

VERSE 16 "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 (le,gontej( Ouvai. ouvai,( h` po,lij h` mega,lh( h` peribeblhme,nh bu,ssinon kai. porfurou/n kai. ko,kkinon kai. kecruswme,nh ÎevnÐ crusi,w| kai. li,qw| timi,w| kai. margari,th| [pres.act.part.nom.m.p. lego say + particle ouai doubled + art.w/noun nom.f.s. polis city + art.w/adj.nom.f.s. megas great + art.w/perf.mid.part.s. periballo clothe + adj.acc.nt.s. bussinos fine linen + conj kai + adj.acc.nt.s. porphurous purple (fabric) + conj kai + adj.acc.nt.s kokkinos scarlet, red + conj kai + perf.pass.part.nom.f.s. chrussoo make of gold; "adorned" + loc.nt.s. chrusion gold + conj kai + loc.m.s. lithos stone + adj.loc.m.s. timios precious + conj kai + loc.m.s. margarites pearl]!

VERSE 17a for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste (o[ti mia/| w[ra| hvrhmw,qh o` tosou/toj plou/toj [conj hoti for + adj.loc.f.s. mia one + noun loc.f.s. hora hour + aor.pass.ind.3s. eremoo become desolate, depopulated, be ruined; "has been laid waste" + art.w/noun nom.m.s. ploutos wealth + demonst.adj tosoutos so much; "such"]) !'

ANALYSIS: VERSE 16

1. The dirge of the merchants combines the harlot image of 17:4 with the city image of chapter 18.
2. This dirge begins and ends (v. 17a) the same way as that of the kings in v.10.
3. Only in the middle do the two dirges differ, with appreciation of the Babylon’s opulence and splendor substituting for the kings’/rulers’ admiration of her strength.
4. Each of these two groups lament the disaster from its own self-interest.
5. The items used to depict Babylon’s wealth are items worn as clothing ("fine linen, and purple and scarlet) and as accessorizing ("adorned in gold and precious stones and pearls").
6. The list of items is the same as that of the harlot in chapter 17 with the addition of "fine linen."
7. All of these items six items occur in the list of merchandise in v.. 12-13.
8. The first clause of verse 17 concludes the funeral dirge of the merchants.
9. The "for" gives the reason for the woes expressed in v.16.
10. The words "in one hour" tell the brevity of the process of America’s destruction as in verse 10.
11. The proleptic aorist "has been laid waste" anticipates the future desolation also spoken of in verse 19.
12. The verb "laid waste" is also found in 17:16 of the destruction of the RCC and again in 18:19 of the lament of the mariners.

Lament of the Mariners (vv. 17v-19)

VERSE 17b And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor (Kai. pa/j kubernh,thj kai. pa/j o` evpi. to,pon ple,wn kai. nau/tai [conj kai + adj.nom.m.s. pas every + noun nom.m.s. kubernetes captain; 2x: Acts 27:11, pilot + conj kai + adj.nom.m.s. pas every + prep epi upon+ art.w/noun acc.m.s. topos place + pres.act.part.nom.m.s. pleo sail, travel by sea; four words = "passenger" + conj kai + noun nom.m.p. nautes sailor], and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance [kai. o[soi th.n qa,lassan evrga,zontai( avpo. makro,qen e;sthsan [conj kai even+ pro.nom.m.p. hosos as much as/many as + art.w/noun acc.f.s. thalassa sea + pres.dep.part.3p. ergazomai work; earn a living + prep apo from + adv makrothen from a distance + aor.act.ind.2p. histemi stand]),

VERSE 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city (kai. e;krazon ble,pontej to.n kapno.n th/j purw,sewj auvth/j le,gontej( Ti,j o`moi,a th/| po,lei th/| mega,lh| [conj kai + imperf.act.ind.3s. krazo cry out + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. blepo see + art.w/noun acc.m.s. kapnos smoke + art.w/noun gen.f.s. purosis burning + pro.gen.f.s. aute "her" + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. lego say + interrog.pro.nom.f.s. tis what + adj.nom.f.s. homoios like + art.w/noun dat.f.s. polis city + art.w/adj.dat.f.s. megas great])?'

VERSE 19 "And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying (kai. e;balon cou/n evpi. ta.j kefala.j auvtw/n kai. e;krazon klai,ontej kai. penqou/ntej le,gontej [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3p. ballo cast, throw + noun acc.m.s. chous dust + prep epi upon + art.w/noun acc.f.p. kephale head + pro.gen.m.p. autos "their" + conj kai + imperf.act.ind.3p. krazo cry out + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. klaio weep + conj kai + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. pentheo mourn + pres.act.part.nom.m.p. lego say], 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste [Ouvai. ouvai,( h` po,lij h` mega,lh( evn h-| evplou,thsan pa,ntej oi` e;contej ta. ploi/a evn th/| qala,ssh| evk th/j timio,thtoj auvth/j( o[ti mia/| w[ra| hvrhmw,qh [double particle ouai woe + art.w/noun nom.f.s polis city + art.w/adj.nom.f.s megas great + prep en + pro.loc.f.s. he which + aor.act.ind.3p. plouteo be rich, become rich + adj.nom.m.p. pas all + art.w/pres.act.part.nom.m.p. echo have + art.w/noun acc.nt.p. ploion vessel; ship + prep en + art.w/noun loc.f.s. thalassa sea + prep ek + art.w/noun gen.f.s. timiotes valuable merchandise; costly things; "wealth" + pro.gen.f.s. autos "her" + conj hoti for + adj.loc.f.s. mia one + noun loc.f.s. hora hour + aor.pass.ind.3s. eremoo be laid waste, be ruined])!'

ANALYSIS: VERSES 17b-19

1. The balance of verse 17 introduces us to yet a third group of international mourners, the mariners or merchant marine as they are called, who fly the flags of many countries.
2. This service industry will be devastated when America goes up in smoke.
3. Again, we should see the logic in placing the destruction of America rather early on in the Tribulation since business worldwide will have been shut down by the latter part of the tribulation considering the nature of the trumpet and bowl judgments.
4. The merchant marine will suffer massive layoffs when American bound products stack up in foreign docks.
5. Furthermore it will not be safe to approach the coastline of the US following the attack.
6. This lament does not suit such cities as Rome or Babylon on the Euphrates, but rather it supports a nation that resides by "many waters." (cf. Jer. 51:13).
7. A comparable ancient kingdom was Tyre and when it came under foreign attack similar lamenting took place around the Med. (cf. Isa. 23:1ff.).
8. Imagine current prophecy students who believer we are living in the Rapture Generation who do not even consider the US when approaching this chapter!
9. There are three categories of persons when considering seafarers.
10. First there is the ship’s captain as per the Greek noun kubernetes only here and in Acts 27:11.
11. Next there are passengers presented here in a fairly elaborate idiom: "everyone who sails to a place."
12. Compare: "those sailing to the places down along Asia" in Acts 27:2.
13. The term nautai ("sailors") is in reference to those who make their living on board a ship (e.g. merchant marine).
14. The expression literally rendered is "sailors even as many as work the sea."
15. Like the national leaders (v.10) and the merchants (v.15), those who travel keep their distance from burning America as well for obvious reasons.
16. If this were any other type of burning people would come near to render assistance or to see if there was an opportunity to profit!
17. Here all keep their distance because the land is contaminated with radiation.
18. The change in tenses where the past tense occurs in vv. 17-19 replacing future tenses in vv. 8-9 and the present tense in v.11 is probably due to the animated nature of the description.
19. Two times there is mention of "the smoke of her burning" in verse 9 and here in verse 18.
20. The "city’s" grandeur is once again a cause for awe (cf. vv. 10, 16).
21. The immediate occasion of the dirge of the seafarers is their "seeing the smoke of her burning."
22. The columns of smoke taken high into the earth’s atmosphere are literally seen around the world causing deep emotional pain on this particular class of humanity.
23. Like the implied answer to the question asked in Rev. 13:4 "Who is like the beast?"; the implied answer here in "no city."
24. Clearly those who do the lamenting and the reason for their lament signals that the entity destroyed is without peer when it comes to trafficking in products on the high seas.
25. Those who make their living at sea are very distraught when they witness the total destruction of their principal client.
26. The community of mariners express their grief in a the most demonstrative fashion of the three groups mentioned in this chapter.
27. Casting dust on the head is an OT act symbolizing grief (Josh. 7:6; 1Sam. 4:12; 2Sam. 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12; Lam. 2:10).
28. This is what people did when the seafaring giant Tyre fell (Ezek. 27:30).
29. Along with this, they kept in crying out (imperfect tense) weeping and mourning (both present participles) like the merchants in verse 15.
30. The double "woe" begins their lament as in vv. 10 and 16, and a nominative absolute "the great city" follows.
31. They bewail the loss of the "city" by which those who have ships at sea became rich.
32. Babylon’s economy is the basis for the livelihood of mariners around the world and so they lament the loss of that livelihood.
33. America’s spending power and its sudden elimination from the world economy sends this class of laborer into extreme economic distress.
34. The mariners express their distress in almost identical terms as that of the merchants in v. 17a.
35. Both the merchants and the merchant marine bemoan the loss of markets.
36. Instead they should be concerned over their immortal souls considering the days that are thrust upon them.

Celebration in Heaven (v. 20)

VERSE 20 "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets (Euvfrai,nou evpV auvth/|( ouvrane, kai. oi` a[gioi kai. oi` avpo,stoloi kai. oi` profh/tai [pres.act.imper.2s. euphraino celebrate; "Rejoice" + prep epi over + pro.dat.f.s. aute "her" + noun voc.m.s. ouranos heaven + conj kai + art.w/adj.voc.m.p. hagios saint + conj kai + art.w/noun voc.m.p. apostolos apostle + conj kai + art.w/noun voc.m.p. prophetes prophet], because God has pronounced judgment for you against her [o[ti e;krinen o` qeo.j to. kri,ma u`mw/n evx auvth/j [conj hoti for + aor.act.ind.3s. krino judge; "pronounced" + art.w/noun nom.m.s. theos God + art.w/noun acc.nt.s. krima judgment, verdict, sentence + pro.gen.m.p. su "you" + prep ek + pro.abl.f.s. aute "her"])."

ANALYSIS: VERSE 20

1. The "voice from heaven" (v.4) summons "heaven" (vocative singular) to begin celebrating the end of Babylon the great.
2. The verb translated "rejoice" (euphraino) in the imperative means "make merry" and is the "party-verb" in the Greek (cf. Lk. 12:19; Lk. 15:23.24,29,32 (return of the prodigal); 16:19 (daily excess of the rich man); Acts 2:26; 7:41; Rom. 15:10; 2Cor. 2:2; Gal. 4:27; Rev. 11:10 (world-wide celebration of the death of the two witnesses); 12:12; 18:20).
3. Quite literally the compound verb means "to shine good."
4. The involvement of heaven in the celebration of America’s fall is noted as well in Jer. 51:48 where the prophetic reference reads: "Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers will come to her from the north, declares the LORD."
5. Another occurrence in Revelation where this verb is used in connection with heavenly celebration based on something that has just transpired on earth is 12:12.
6. In that context we have mention of Satan’s third fall when he is banished from heaven and confined to the earth waiting for his fourth fall when he is cast into the pit of hell (cf. Rev. 20:1ff.).
7. The third fall of Satan occurs right at the midpoint of the tribulation and based on our calculations this takes place shortly before the destruction of America.
8. The very thing that engenders great sorrow for some who dwell on the earth receives an opposite emotional outburst on the part of all who reside in heaven at the moment of America’s fall.
9. Those adjusted to the truth of Bible doctrine often react quite the opposite of those who are devoid of divine viewpoint.
10. Jer. 51:48 clearly indicates that this celebration is not confined to heaven above but to those who are on the earth as well.
11. Believers on earth will rejoice in the fulfillment of prophecy even though they remain in the danger zone (cf. Jer. 50:5, 28-29; 51:10; 51:25).
12. "Saints" is a term for all believers whether in heaven or on earth.
13. Saints as a term does not refer necessarily to those believers who are adjusted to the truth of BD (cf. Rev. 11:18
14. So there is a variety of responses to America’s overthrow on the part of earth-dwellers, but there is only one unified response in the third heaven!
15. The title "saints" occurs 13x in Revelation (Rev. 5:8; 8:3,4; 11:18; 13:7,10; 14:12; 16:6; 17:6; 18:20,24; 19:8; 20:9).
16. The noun "apostles" occurs also in 2:2 and 21:14 in Revelation.
17. The context in those two verses is in favor of its technical use which refers to those men who witnesses Christ’s resurrection and who was chosen to be part of the original roster of "the twelve."
18. All the apostles are in heaven and all will be there in their resurrection bodies when this summons is issued.
19. The prophets include all so designated as both Old and New Testament prophets are in heaven during the tribulation.
20. The only other prophets are tribulational prophets (cf. 18:24).
21. The reason cited for the celebration to make merry is based on the sentence issued against Babylon by the Judge of heaven and earth, God Almighty.
22. The idea behind Greek expression translated "pronounced judgment" which combines the aorist indicative of krino (to judge) followed by the articular noun krima carries the meaning of "sentence executed."
23. The noun with the definite article occurs in a parallel but different context in 17:1 where the RCC’s judgment is announced.
24. The resultant judgment arising from the perfect essence of God (e.g., He is righteous and has all the facts) is on behalf of God’s people as seen in the genitive pronoun translated "for you."
25. The prepositional phrase translated "against her" has ek followed by the abl/gen.pl pronoun aute ("her").
26. In other words Babylon supplies the source of the evidence for the judgment.

 

Final Angelic Announcement of Judgment on Babylon

(vv. 21-24)

VERSE 21 Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying (Kai. h=ren ei-j a;ggeloj ivscuro.j li,qon w`j mu,linon me,gan kai. e;balen eivj th.n qa,lassan le,gwn [conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. airo take/pick/lift up + adj.nom.m.s. eis one + noun nom.m.s. angelos angel + adj.nom.m.s. ischuros strong + noun acc.m.s. lithos stone + conj hos like + adj.acc.m.s. mulinos millstone; 1x + adj.acc.m.s. megas great + conj kai + aor.act.ind.3s. ballo throw + prep eis into + art.w/noun acc.f.s. thalassa sea + pres.act.part.nom.m.s. lego say], "So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer [Ou[twj o`rmh,mati blhqh,setai Babulw.n h` mega,lh po,lij kai. ouv mh. eu`reqh/| e;ti [adv houto in this way, so + noun dat.nt.s. hormema sudden violence; rush from verb homao "to rush"; 1x + fut.pass.ind.3s. ballo throw, cast down + noun nom.f.s. Babulon Babylon + art.w/adj.nom.f.s. megale great + noun nom.f.s. polis city + conj kai + neg ou + neg me + aor.pass.subj.3s heurisko find + adv eti still; with neg = "no longer]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 21

1. Following the divine address to saints, attackers, kings, merchants, mariners and celebrants, the subject returns to the destruction of the city again.
2. The text returns to the time frame of verses 4-8 which predicts the city’s destruction.
3. This is accomplished by an angel who presents the destruction of economic Babylon by a symbolic act followed by oral discourse.
4. Translation: "And one strong angel lifted a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea saying, "In this fashion with a rush will be cast down Babylon the great city, and she will in no way be found any longer."
5. The third voice now participates in the preview of the actual destruction of the USA.
6. He is described as "one strong angel" who announces the overthrow of America.
7. Angels specifically said to be strong are seen here and at 5:2 and 10:1.
8. This angel without any prior announcement picks up a stone of very large proportions resembling that of a "great millstone."
9. This is definitely not a small millstone such as that found in Matt. 24:41.
10. Large millstones varied in size but typically the ones pulled by animals were around five feet in diameter and foot thick and weighing thousands of pounds.
11. Here the stone the angel picks up is "like a great millstone."
12. Probably one could find an example of a millstone in ancient times that was quite large.
13. In any case the angel does not pick up a large millstone but a stone that resembles a millstone.
14. After picking it up, the angel throws it into the ocean, graphically illustrating the sudden doom of America as well as demonstrating the permanency of the destruction.
15. Obviously the stone in question would be thrown into an deep basin beneath the sea.
16. A prime candidate to this stone would be the Statue of Liberty along with its base.
17. The woman on the base is Lady Liberty a prime symbol of America.
18. Masonry was in charge of the ceremony which made this landmark the principle symbol of the uniqueness of the new nation.
19. The nation of France gave the statue to the people of the United States in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.
20. The Statue was intended to celebrate the 100^th anniversary (1876) of the Revolution.
21. The Statue was assembled in 1886 tens years late.
22. The American people built the pedestal (made of granite) and the French supplied the Statue (31 tons of copper rising 151 feet above the base; total weight is 27,000 tons; copper sheeting is 3/32 of an inch thick; winds of 25 mph cause the Statue to sway 3 inches).
23. In 1982 there was a 82 million dollar restoration of the Statue.
24. In 1984 the UN designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site.
25. The French designer Bartholdi incorporated many symbolic features into his colossus.
26. The 25 windows represent gemstones found on the earth and the heaven’s rays shining over the earth.
27. The seven rays of the crown represent the seven seas and the seven continents.
28. On October 28, 1886 the Statue was inaugurated and President Grover Cleveland accepted her on behalf of the United States.
29. On October 28, 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke these words on the Statue’s 50 anniversary: "We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."
30. David Copperfield made the Statue of Libety disappear (see this on YouTube).
31. This image is intended to reflect all that America is about (e.g., freedom and democracy).
32. The Statute facing east is a connected to immigration and it was here at Ellis Island that many were processed in order to become American citizens as noted in the inscription: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift up my lamp beside the golden door."
33. The hidden meaning (occult) of the Statue is that of a idol that holds the torch of the illuminated ones, the Elite..
34. The crown represents the Sun as was so represented by the ancients.
35. The Brotherhood is via this symbol telling us that we own this country and you are too stupid to see it!
36. This Statue is a representation of the goddess Isis, et al.
37. She holds the "Torch of Enlightenment."
38. French freemasons were involved in this project and a mirror image of this Statue stands on an island in the River Seine in Paris.
39. After 911 the Statue was reopened on August 3, 2004 but access it greatly limited to tourism.
40. This seems to be the most significant stone-like structure that meets the general description in this verse and it would certainly generate public attention versus a non descript stone.
41. The pedestal is the focus of the verse, but what sits on it is the outward symbol of Americanism.
42. It has the added feature that it is irreplaceable and considering where the angel throws it irrecoverable.
43. Salt water will rapidly degrade its metallic makeup rendering it not worth the trouble to try and retrieve it.
44. Following the violent destructive act against a national treasure the angel speaks to the symbolic significance.
45. The symbolic act reflects Jer. 51:63-64.
46. Prophets portrayed symbolically from time to time the events over which they prophesied (Isa. 20; Jer. 13; Ezek. 4; Acts 21:11).
47. Without warning and without recourse America will likewise face sudden destruction and oblivion from a nation among the nations.
48. What is left is the ruins and the landmass.
49. Otherwise all human habitation is removed.
50. The hapax noun translated "violence" speaks to a sudden onslaught.
51. This onslaught will result in the complete annihilation of "Babylon the great city" from the community of nations.
52. Nor will her disappearance be followed by a reemergence as noted in the words "she will in no fashion be found any longer."
53. The emphatic double negative ou me followed by the adverb of negation "no longer" seals the permanence.
54. This is a total vanishing as when a large object sinks below the surface of the sea never to be seen again.
55. So begins the account of America’s internal cessation in verses 21-23.
56. Verses 19-20 describe America’s demise from the standpoint of those on the outside.

"The Day the Music Stopped" (v.22)

VERSE 22 "And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer (kai. fwnh. kiqarw|dw/n kai. mousikw/n kai. auvlhtw/n kai. salpistw/n ouv mh. avkousqh/| evn soi. e;ti [conj kai + noun nom.f.s. phone voice, sound + noun gen.m.p. kitharodos harpist + conj kai + adj.gen.m.p. mousikos; lx; general for musician + conj kai + noun gen.m.p. auleton flute player + conj kai + noun gen.m.p. salpistes trumpeter + neg ou + neg me + aor.pass.subj.3s. akouo hear + prep en in + pro.loc.s. su + adv eti still; "any longer"]; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer [kai. pa/j tecni,thj pa,shj te,cnhj ouv mh. eu`reqh/| evn soi. e;ti( kai. fwnh. mu,lou ouv mh. avkousqh/| evn soi. e;ti [conj kai + adj.nom.m.s. pas any; "no" + noun nom.m.s. technites workman, artisan; architect as in Heb. 11;10 + adj.gen.f.s. pas any + noun gen.f.s. techne craft, skill, trade + neg ou + neg me + aor.pass.subj.3s. heurisko find + prep en + pro.loc.s. su + adj eti still + conj kai + noun nom.f.s. phone sound + noun gen.m.s. mulos mill as in Matt. 24:41 + neg nou + neg me + aor.pass.ind.3s. akouo hear + prep en + pro.gen.s. su + adv eti still]);

ANALYSIS: VERSE 22

1. Following the angel’s explanation for casting the Statue of Liberty into the Atlantic he proceeds to detail the cessation of the internal civilization of America.
2. On that fateful day the music will stop as the song "American Pie" memorialized when Buddy Holly and company perished in a plane crash.
3. America is the music capital of the world as Tyre was in her day.
4. "Harpists" represent those who play stringed instruments, "musicians" represents all categories of musical artists, "flute-players" represents wind-instruments, and "trumpeters" those who play the trumpet or some variation thereof.
5. The repeated double negative says these things will never be heard again in the continental US.
6. The sixfold use ou me...eti in verses 21-23 highlights the fact that human activity of all kinds will cease once and for all in what was the USA.
7. All those who make their living at some trade or craft cease to exist as all human activity ceases in "the great city."
8. The words "in you" are addressed to the totality of the civilization, making it even more pointed (cf. vv. 11-13).
9. "The sound of the mill (stone)" refers to the cessation of noise from industrial/factory output.
10. The grinding of millstones had a distinctive sound, but here it is used prophetically of the noise generated by men and machines.
11. This too will cease in one hour of one day.

Blackout of the Electrical Gird and Observance of Marriage

And Two Reasons for America’s Demise (v.23)

VERSE 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer (kai. fw/j lu,cnou ouv mh. fa,nh| evn soi. e;ti [conj kai + noun nom.nt.s. phos light + noun gen.m.s. luchnos lamp other than a candle; cf. 21:23; 22:5 + neg ou + neg me + aor.act.subj.3s. phaino shine + prep en + pro.loc.s. su + adv eti yet, still, longer]; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer [kai. fwnh. numfi,ou kai. nu,mfhj ouv mh. avkousqh/| evn soi. e;ti [conj kai + noun nom.f.s. phone voice + noun gen.m.s. numphios bridegroom + conj kai + noun gen.f.s. numphe bride + neg ou + neg me + aor.act.subj.3s. akouo hear + adv eti still]; for your merchants were the great men of the earth [o[ti oi` e;mporoi, sou h=san oi` megista/nej th/j gh/j [conj hoti for (reason) + art.w/noun nom.m.p. emporos merchant + pro.gen.s. su + imperf.act.ind.3p. eimi "were" + art.w/noun nom.m.p. megistan very important person; 3x: Matt. 6:21; Rev. 6:15; 18:23 + art.w/noun gen.f.s ge earth], because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery [o[ti evn th/| farmakei,a| sou evplanh,qhsan pa,nta ta. e;qnh [conj hoti for + prep en in or by + art.w/noun instr.f.s. pharmakeia drugs of any kind; also of casting spells + pro.gen.s. su "your" + aor.pass.ind.3p. planao lead astray, deceive + adj.nom.nt.p. pas all + art.w/noun nom.nt.p. ethnos nation]).

ANALYSIS: VERSE 23

1. Streetlights to illumine thoroughfares in the evenings were nonexistent in first-century cities, even in Rome.
2. Processions and travel at night was by torchlight.
3. People had means for lighting their homes with oil lamps.
4. In the prophetic setting "the light of the lamp" is fueled by public electric grids whatever the power source (hydro driven generation; nuclear power plants or so-called fossil fuels).
5. The nuclear strike against the US will immediately result in no electricity.
6. All utilities will be shutdown.
7. At night the only light will be the fires raging throughout the land.
8. The familiar sight of lighted cities and homes will be no more.
9. This is yet another way to dramatize the destruction of America the great.
10. The words "and a voice of the bridegroom and a bride" recall the language of Jer. 7:34 where the prophet tells of coming 5^th cycle upon Jerusalem, but Jeremiah goes on to record the restoration of that very place and activity known as the wedding ceremony (cf. Jer. 33:10-11).
11. American culture will know no such renewal, because a big part of her judgment is no reoccupation of her land in perpetuity.
12. Not even Sodom and Gomorrah was so judged.
13. Marriage is a multi-billion dollar business in America.
14. Two occurrences of the conjunction hoti ("because") presents more Biblical evidence for America’s judgment.
15. America has witnessed the rising up of a elite business class who have wantonly exalted themselves and hijacked the nation.
16. The words "your merchants were the mighty men of the earth" alludes to Isa. 23:8 where this class of oligarchs dominated ancient Tyre (cf. Ezek. 27:21).
17. Here we have the first mention of America’s movers and shakers.
18. These individuals and their control of American financial and political activities is documented by a variety of researchers.
19. We know that they officially hijacked American credit in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the implementation of the income tax.
20. These robber barons are in some cases household names but others remain obscure.
21. They founded the CFR whose members dominate all administrations.
22. The foreign policy of the US is formulated in the CFR and other think tanks they fund.
23. They conspired in the early days to purchase some 25 of the leading newspapers around the country so as manipulate public opinion.
24. Ever since they have more of less achieved a stranglehold of the fourth estate.
25. Every aspect of American life is unduly influenced by these families which includes academia, big pharma, our involvement in the UN, the push for American integration into the NAU, public education via the NEA, manipulation of public sentiment into various wars, and the list goes on and on.
26. You can be assured that whoever they want as President become President.
27. These men are also mentioned prophetically in James 5:1ff.
28. These men are traitors to constitutional government as they are globalists or one-worlders.
29. If there is a primary reason for America’s fall it is to be found with these men and the fact the American public has been apathetic with respect to this criminal class.
30. They have had no aversion to trading with the world’s worst tyrants and murderers, and continue to do so to this very day.
31. They and their lackeys sit atop corporations, universities, big media, organized religion, intelligence agencies, and a host of public opinion molders to numerous to mention.
32. They are what is referred to as the shadow government.
33. They have many faces such as liberal, conservative, communistic, and fascist.
34. They seek to undermine family, marriage, nationalism, race and faith with such movements as feminism, gay rights and the like.
35. In modern times they never saw a war they didn’t like and they gain power and wealth at the expense of the many.
36. They too will be perish in the nuclear holocaust according to James 5.
37. Their nuclear bunkers will not protect them in the day of God’s wrath.
38. God will do to them what those who are entrusted with the laws of the land refuse to do.
39. We as a people and the world at large are cursed by association with these men.
40. The doctrines and policies sponsored by these men can be traced to the secret societies (or semi-secret) these men are members of.
41. The deception of the nations arises from the secret societies and the satanic counterfeit of a world free of war and the inhibitions of the old world (Ps. 2:3).
42. The evil that contaminates the nations can in great measure be laid at the feet of those individuals (families) who inhabit the richest nation in human history.
43. They have largely run amok unchecked by the laws of divine establishment (e.g. nationalism).
44. The deception is like a drug hence the term translated "sorcery.
45. In the Greek version of the OT (LXX) the noun pharmekia is found in Isa. 47:9 and 12 where Babylon (e.g. American) is the subject.
46. Both these verses constitute a mocking of Babylon by God on the eve of her destruction.
47. Isa. 77:13 explains what this sorcery consists of.
48. It is the American penchant for spreading propaganda justifying and defending her foreign policies.
49. This includes military adventurism in the name of spreading democracy and freedom.
50. In addition is includes our rationalization of massive foreign aid that in the end does little more than impoverish the nations it is sent to while enriching the leadership of foreign nations (e.g. the globalization of poverty).
51. Nations like individuals who rely on welfare lose their self-reliance and initiative.
52. Also in this mix is loans to nations via World Bank, the IMF and EXIM (Export-Import Bank).
53. The US is the major supporter of these financial institutions just as its super merchants are the founders of the UN.
54. All administrations support these evil institutions.
55. Apart from the Fed and the graduated income tax (communistic) these things would not exist.
56. A interesting verse in connection with this mode of expression in Nahum 3:4: "Because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the charming one, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations and families by her sorceries (plural form of the same noun in the LXX).
57. The prophecy of Nahum has Assyria as its frame of reference but many things in this obscure book directly parallels what we find in the Babylon prophecies.
58. Another way of putting it is that there are a host of things that are not fulfilled in the fall of Assyria/Nineveh (2^nd head of the scarlet beast).
59. Is this yet another hidden code for the US?
60. It would seem so (read prophecy).
61. Sorcery is linked to the use of mind-altering drugs.
62. Hence the term pharmekia.
63. It is used on other time in the NT in connection with occult practices that are one of a number of STA trends (cf. Gal. 5:22).
64. Jezebel was a practitioner of the occult (2Kgs. 9:22).
65. As stated above the evil that seduces and deceives the nations arises from the secret societies.
66. It is formulated into foreign policy that explains American foreign policy.
67. These tendencies go back to our founding.
68. The good things about America such as her Constitution and Bill of Rights have been subverted by involvement in the Masonic and arcane.
69. The Washington Monument is an obelisk which is a known phallic symbol (go figure).
70. DC is a city that reeks of occult or Masonic architecture.
71. Illustration: Bishop Pike a Civil War general and leading intellect of Masonry is honored by his statue standing opposite the Department of Justice.
72. Couple this with our Judeo-Christian heritage and our Constitution, American is schizophrenic.
73. Had the population of Christians loved BD we would have rooted out this evil by now.
74. But we have loved mammon/money more than God.
75. "Mammon" (Gk. mamonas) is a transliteration found in the AV of the Bible and it derives from the Syrian god of riches (Matt. 6:24; Lk. 16:9,11,13).
76. It is translated in the NAS as "wealth."
77. It is a derogatory term for wealth rather than a neutral term.
78. It is wealth that is substituted for God and so is a form of idolatry.
79. This is what keeps the unhappy population of America from "throwing out the money-changers" and their prostitutes in public office.
80. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1Tim. 6:10).
81. It corrupts religion, scientific endeavor, politics, business, et al.
82. Positive believers are to cultivate contentment and avoid the fsh via the details of life (Heb. 13:5 "Let you conduct be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I FORSAKE YOU.").
83. In the metaphorical cup of verse 6 by which the American whore has made drunk the nations (v. 3) is this "socercy" or propaganda in which she holds herself up as the best hope for mankind—as the great example of virtue among the nations (i.e. rider on the white horse).

Yet Another Reason for Babylon’s Destruction

(v. 24)

VERSE 24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth ( kai. evn auvth/| ai-ma profhtw/n kai. a`gi,wn eu`re,qh kai. pa,ntwn tw/n evsfagme,nwn evpi. th/j gh/j [conj kai + prep en + pro.loc.f.s. "her" + nom.nt.s. haima blood + noun gen.m.p. prophetes prophet + conj kai + adj.gen.m.p. hagios saint + conj kai + adj.gen.m.p. pas all + art.w/perf.pass.part.gen.m.p. sphazo slaughter, slay; murder + prep epi upon + art.w/noun gen.f.s. ge earth])."

1. The force of the second conjunction "because" (hoti) in verse 23 carries over into verse 24, presenting another reason for America’s fall, namely her blood guiltiness.
2. To emphasize the third reason in the angel’s address to America, the announcement switches from the second person to the third person.
3. The speaker uses the indirect mode of speech in presenting an additional reason for the impending judgment.
4. This is presented as a general self-evident fact.
5. Jerusalem had a long history in shedding righteous blood (Matt. 23:35; cf. Ezek. 24:6,9; Lk. 13:33).
6. The OT corroborates this part of the indictment as well (cf. Jer. 51:35, 36, 49; cp. Rev. 19:2).
7. Babylon #1 (the RCC) will be judged for this same crime (cf. Rev. 17:6).
8. Blood and injustice not avenged cries out from the earth against the perpetrators (cf. Gen. 18:20).
9. The destruction of America satisfies the requirement against a nation that has lots of blood on its hands and has not suffered the full measure required by divine justice.
10. The only other way a nation could satisfy God’s +R and J is if the nation repented of its evil and took refuge in grace like the Assyrians did under the preaching of Jonah.
11. "The prophets" are a subcategory with the broad category of "saints."
12. Both Babylons in Revelation are found guilty of slaughtering believers over the course of their respective histories (cf. Rev. 17:6).
13. This might at first glance seem to pose a problem since the gift of prophecy is no longer extant during the time of America’s history.
14. Who then might these "prophets" be that were murdered as a result of American perfidy?
15. Unless the term here is used in a non-technical sense of those who prophesied with respect to the last days and America’s role in perpetrating slaughter throughout the nations.
16. Actual prophets main exist once again in the Tribulation beyond that of the two witnesses.
17. The other entity that will be guilty of murdering saints is that of the Antichrist and the False Prophet (massive genocide as per the 5^th seal judgment).
18. God will exact punishment upon those individuals and nations that murdered those who would not take the mark.
19. The additional phrase "and of [or among] those who were slain on the earth" includes humanity beyond those who are "saints" or believers in Jesus Christ.
20. American international relations has resulted in the killing of millions upon millions of people via proxy as in the case of our support for communist regimes in Russia and China and elsewhere.
21. Covert and overt actions led to the rise and brutality of these regimes.
22. It is a part of the record for all who do the necessary research.
23. It is expunged from the official textbooks but it is not hidden from God.
24. America will pay with the loss of nationhood, citizens and eternal disapprobation!