The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

Thy scattered sons are gathering home,
The fig tree buds again;
A little while and David's Son
On David's throne shall reign.
Then sing aloud, O Pilgrim Church,
Brief conflict yet remains;
And then Immanuel descends
To bind thy foe in chains.
Chapter 40: Rev. 18:1-24
The Decline and Final Overthrow of Babylon
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power;
and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have
drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the
abundance of her delicacies."--Rev. 18:1-3.
This chapter portrays the rejection and destruction of the great Mother of Harlots, the
system generally known as the Papal hierarchy. The destruction of the beast and the false
prophet, both of which are comprehended in the Babylon symbol in its largest sense, is
described in chapter 19, and occurs as we shall see after the Church is glorified.
The statement, "after these things," we understand to mean after St. John saw the vision
recorded in chapter 17, and after he had the explanation by the symbolic angel. The vision
of this chapter, portraying the judgment upon Babylon, is introduced to St. John by
"another" angel, whom he saw come down from heaven, having great authority. The effect
of the advent of this angel was to illuminate the earth with a halo of light, which evidently
proceeded from his person. All of this of course is symbolical.
The angel's descent from heaven, together with his proclamation of the fall of Babylon the
Great, etc., is seemingly, like other uses of this symbolism in the Revelation, the
representation of a great movement or religious awakening among men. The effulgence
proceeding from his person, illuminating the earth, seems to describe the light of Truth
being proclaimed in organized society, and having the effect of exposing the apostate
character of the "Mother of Harlots." This is implied in the loud cry of the angel, "Fallen!
Fallen! is Babylon the Great! and is become a habitation of demons, and a haunt of every
unclean and hated bird." These words teach, not her destruction, but her fall in the sense of
her utter rejection as a system. The symbolism is evidently taken from the description of
ancient Babylon, after its fall. (Isa. 13:21,22; 14:23.) As ancient Babylon after her overthrow
became the abode of wild beasts, and her abandoned houses were filled with doleful