Rev 18:7
"How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so
much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and
am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
This was a fulfillment of a prophesy
made in the book of Isaiah: Is. 47:7 "And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for
ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst
remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art
given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am,
and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the
loss of children."
Israel under Judaism had glorified
herself:
1. Lk. 18:11 "The Pharisee stood
and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."
2. Matt. 23:2 "Saying, The scribes
and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid
you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say,
and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and
lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of
their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they
make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6
And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even
Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the
earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye
called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ."
3. Matt. 23:23 "Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye
blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup
and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter,
that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all
uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in
the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood
of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye
are the children of them which killed the prophets."
4. Mk. 7:5 "Then the Pharisees and
scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the
elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto
them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This
people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of
men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye
may keep your own tradition."
Israel had lived "deliciously." That
is she had lived in natural riches under Judaism. James spoke of this in the
following passage: 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your
miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your
garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust
of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were
fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the
hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept
back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the
earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience
for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient;
stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
"She saith in her heart, I sit a queen,
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
As the bride of the God of heaven under the
covenant of the law, Israel considered herself a queen and that it wouldn't
matter what she did that judgment would not come upon her. She didn't believe
that the kingdom would be taken from her, though the Lord told her that it
would.
Rev 18:8
"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning,
and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord
God who judgeth her."
The judgment of Mystery Babylon, which
we have previously identified as Israel under Judaism, was to come in "one
day." Furthermore, it is said to come in "one hour" in verse 10. That which
comes in "one day" or in "one hour" is a quick judgment and not of long
duration:
1. Is. 47:9 "But these two things
shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood:
they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy
sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments."
2. Is. 66:8 "Who hath heard such a
thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one
day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she
brought forth her children."
3. Zec. 3:9 "For behold the stone
that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I
will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the
iniquity of that land in one day."
4. Zec. 14:7 "But it shall be one
day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to
pass, that at evening time it shall be light. 8 And it shall be in that
day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the
former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter
shall it be."
5. Rev. 17:12 "And the ten horns
which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
Her plagues are said to be four: death,
mourning, famine, and utterly burned with fire.
Death is defined as a separation:
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead
also." There are at least five deaths taught in the word of God: corporeal
death; second death; dead in trespasses and sin; dead to sin; and death to
fellowship. The death that took place on Jerusalem under Judaism certainly
involved the corporeal death of many that resided there. However, the whole
system of Judaism places the participants under the death of fellowship to the
true worship of God.
Mourning is usually associated with
death, or impending death, or loss of fellowship, or impending punishment or
judgment. Certainly with the siege of Jerusalem came death, impending death,
and loss of fellowship with God under the law covenant, and impending punishment
and judgment from God.
Famine implies a hunger with the
absence of food. The siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army brought forth a
famine within the walls of Jerusalem and subsequent death by starvation of many
who resided within Jerusalem. Furthermore, Judaism places the participants
under a famine of hearing the truth.
To be utterly burned with fire
indicates a total destruction. When the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, the
perverted law service as practices by the inhabitants of Jerusalem was utterly
burned with fire. Due to the destruction of Jerusalem, the animal sacrifices
ceased. The high priesthood ended. The genealogical records were destroyed.
This made it impossible for anyone to prove what tribe he or she was from and
thus it makes it impossible for anyone to make a lawful claim to be a priest or
to be a descendant of David. The only genealogy left is that set forth in
Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3. Thus the claim of the Jews that Christ is
yet to come, could never be proved by the genealogical records. While the basic
principle of Judaism continues on through her harlot daughters, yet as she
existed before the siege of Jerusalem is forever destroyed.
Rev 18:9, 10 "And the kings of the
earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall
bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."
Please reference the notes on Rev.
17:1, 2. The following is an excerpt from those notes: The term, "kings of
the earth," appears nine times in the book of Revelations and very obviously the
first and last time it appears it is referring to those who the Lord has made
kings and priests unto God. That is, it has reference to God's born again
people. If we are to be consistent in our interpretation then the other seven
times it must have reference to God's born again people. With this
understanding, we conclude that God's people sometimes commit spiritual
fornication with Mystery Babylon
and her harlot daughters. It appears most of them commit spiritual fornication
or idolatry through ignorance.
"Who
have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her." Spiritual
fornication usually refers to idolatry. A child of God who worships idols
commits spiritual fornication. For instance, the worship of a false Christ is
idolatry and subsequently is spiritual fornication. Most children of God today,
through ignorance, are worshipping false Christs. They are committing spiritual
fornication. Those who live "deliciously" are the ones who are "reaping the
natural rewards of their association with Mystery Babylon. They receive from
men the honor of their positions in her kingdom or associations with her
service.
"Shall bewail her, and lament for
her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning." The wailing and
lamenting is for a selfish reason. They saw the loss of their positions and
honor and the political fallout of that loss with the destruction of Jerusalem
and her established religious system known as Judaism. Often wailing and
lamenting are not directed to the one who is lost, but rather to the
consequences of the one who feels the loss.
"Standing afar off for the fear of
her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for
in one hour is thy judgment come." First, "the fear of her torment" raises
the fear of their potential torment due to the judgment of God against Jerusalem
and Judaism. In other words, if God judged
Jerusalem, then God could judge
them with the same judgment.
Second, they had not repented of their
opinion of "Mystery Babylon." They continued to think of her as a great and
mighty city. They were greatly deceived.
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