Chapter XIV: Front Matter (14)

“Alienists the country over are sounding a solemn note of warning to the American people over the alarming rush in which we live. According to Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, federal pure food and drugs expert, nearly every man and woman at some time in their lives border on insanity. That view is also indorsed by the famous Dr. William A. White, head of the United States government hospital for the insane, who backs up the stand taken recently by Dr. Owen Copp, new head of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. Because of the terrible ravages of drink and drugs, particularly in the United States, thousands of people are rendered so extremely nervous that they are always on the verge of going crazy. The rush and worry of modern life he gives as the causes.”—Z. ’11‐228.

And is become the habitation of devils.—“The _New York World_ publishes an interview with Bishop Fallows, of the Reformed Episcopal Church, as follows: ‘Telepathy is an established fact. In recent years great strides have been made in the explanation of psychic phenomena and in the years to come the science of communication with the dead will be made a part of the curriculum of great educational institutions. I have called the new science “Immortalism” because it depends for its existence upon the immortality of the soul, in which we all believe, and the preservation of identity beyond the grave.’ Bishop Fallows will be recognized by many as one of the ministers who have recently been taking a great interest in Faith Healing clinics. We have already pointed out that to our understanding these cures are effected by hypnotic influences and that hypnotism is but another form of Spiritism. We believe that through this channel the fallen angels (‘wicked spirits,’ Eph. 6:12) are seeking to break down the human will; and that the results, shortly, will be direful in the extreme, leading to spirit control and every evil work.”—Z. ’09‐355; Ecc. 9:5; 1 Pet. 3:19; Jude 6; Jer. 51:37‐41; Rev. 16:14; Isa. 13:19‐22; 34:14.

And the hold of every foul spirit.—Rev. Wm. Sunday has exceptional opportunity for learning, and in his public discourses repeatedly “scores the ministers because they have no faith. He condemns their neglect of Bible study. He says the theological seminaries are turning out infidels. He refers to the large amount of saloon property that belongs to church members. He enumerates all kinds of worldly doings which go on in these denominations. He would have us believe that the moral standard of thousands high in the churches is so low as to almost stagger reason. Now if what Mr. Sunday says about the denominations is true they are not fit places for good, respectable people, to say nothing of true Christians. In fact, if they are only half as bad as he says, then every faithful child of God ought to get out of them as quickly as he can. If they are but one‐ quarter as bad as Mr. Sunday tells, then the only safety on the part of one who wishes to retain his faith is to get out of such spiritual pest‐ holes.”—Z. ’15‐207.

And a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.—“How true it is, that the most execrable of society seek and wear the garb of Christian profession and ceremonialism, in some of the various quarters (sects) of Babylon. Of all the defaulters, and deceivers of men and of women, how many are professedly members of Christ’s Church! and how many even use their profession as a cloak under which to forward evil schemes! It is well known that a majority of even the most brutal criminals executed die in the Roman Catholic communion. Babylon has contained both the best and the worst, both the cream and the dregs, of the population of the civilized world.” (C. 162.) A parliamentary report of the status of society in England and Wales in 1873 showed that there were then no Jewish criminals, 1 of every 20,000 infidels was a criminal, 1 of every 666 Dissenters was a criminal, 1 of every 72 Church of England, and 1 of every 40 Roman Catholics. (C. 163.) “The great system in which the ‘fowl of heaven’ delight to roost, and which they have grievously befouled (Luke 13:18, 19), and which has in fact become ‘a cage of every unclean and hateful bird,’ is to be hewn down, and shall deceive the world no longer.”—C. 187; Isa. 34:11; Jer. 50:39; Zeph. 2:14.

18:3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.—“The stimulating power is not the spirit of a sound mind, but the delusion of a false doctrine; as the Prophet declares, they are ‘drunken,’ but not with wine. (Isa. 29:9‐13.) The people in general have lost their taste and appreciation for the water of life, the _Truth_; and false teachers warn them against it as poison. The wine of false doctrines now being manufactured at all the Theological Seminaries is the wine of evolution and higher criticism, which does not satisfy the thirst, but increases the confusion of mind. Even Babylon’s notables are dissatisfied, famished.—See Amos 8:11.”—Z. ’01‐349.

And the kings of the earth.—The governments of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Russia, Spain, Portugal, etc.

Have committed fornication with her.—Joined themselves to the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Greek Catholic Churches.

And the merchants of the earth.—Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Presiding Elders, Reverends, etc.—Rev. 18:11, 15; Isa. 47:15; 23:8; Ezek. 27:36.

Are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.—Supplied partly in cash and partly in left‐overs from church fairs, suppers, etc.

18:4. And I heard another voice from heaven.—The WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, the corporate body which Pastor Russell personally organized to conduct the Harvest work (Rev. 8:3; 14:18). This voice has been exerted continuously since 1884. “Our thought is that it is the Lord who calls His people out of Babylon; the call to to be recognized especially as a Voice from Heaven. Apparently, the Voice is Present Truth.”—Z. ’14‐180.

Saying, Come out of her.—“This call applies not only to those in Babylon the Great, but to those in other denominations—mother and daughters. Be not of those who cannot see the errors of Babylon and who, consequently, are not of the called ones. The object of the call to come out is not for people merely to withdraw from a nominal church. No one is called out of Babylon until he sees her true condition. This call to associate with Christ, with Messiah, is given by the Lord through the Prophet when He says, ‘Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice.’ (Psa. 50:5.) They were to be gathered, not to the Roman or other systems, but to the Lord, to become one with Him.” (Z. ’12‐277.) “The Lord’s call out of Babylon is not in audible one—He merely calls us by the principles of righteousness. He lifts the curtain before the eyes of understanding of His consecrated ones and thus lets them see some of the errors, some of the falsities in which they and others of Babylon are involved—dishonoring the holy name—blaspheming the holy name by misrepresentation of the Divine character and Plan. This is and should be call enough for those who are of the Lord’s Spirit, for those who love the Lord and the honor of His name more than they love houses or lands or parents or children or any other creature or thing—yea, more than they love their own lives. Such are sure to respond and to come out of Babylon; others who remain, in spite of seeing the light, fail to be overcomers of the highest class—fail therefore to be in the elect Bride class, and must be counted in with the Great Company, which will come through great tribulation, and will get out of Babylon only when she has been cast as a great millstone into the midst of the sea—in the time of anarchous trouble with which this Age will close.” (Z. ’06‐343.)

“Baptists think their preachers have no authority. But the Baptists cannot do anything without the consent of the preachers. The preachers hold a power that God did not repose there. God never authorized any men to go and ordain another man to preach the Gospel. God does the ordaining; and it is for the church to decide, according to its best judgment, whom the Lord ordains or calls as a pastor. The people in the Methodist church have almost no liberty, except the privilege of giving money. The bishops control the presiding elders, and under them the presiding elders control the preachers; and so it is all the way down to the class leaders. They have their head or chief amongst them. They have a human head. The General Conference is the highest authority. So the Presbyterian church has a head in the way of a General Assembly which has the deciding of matters.

“On one occasion I was called upon by a minister of the Reformed church. He wanted to know how I managed my church. I said to him, ‘Brother ——, I have no church.’ He said, ‘You know what I mean.’ I answered, ‘I want you to know what I mean, too. We claim that there is only one Church. If you belong to that Church, you belong to our Church.’ He looked at me in surprise. Then he said, ‘You have an organization; how many members are there?’ I replied, ‘I cannot tell; we do not keep any membership rolls.’ ‘You do not keep any list of the membership?’ ‘No. We do not keep any list; their names are written in Heaven.’ He asked, ‘How do you have your election?’ I said, ‘We announce an election; and any or all of God’s people, who are consecrated and are accustomed to meet with this company, or congregation, may have the privilege of expressing their judgment of who would be the Lord’s preference for elders and deacons of the congregation.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘that is simplicity itself.’ I then added, ‘We pay no salaries; there is nothing to make people quarrel. We never take up a collection.’ ‘How do you get the money?’ he asked. I replied, ‘Now, Dr. ——, if I tell you what is the simplest truth you will hardly be able to believe it. When people get interested in this way, they find no basket placed under their nose. But they see there are expenses. They say to themselves, “This hall costs something, and I see that free lunch is served between meetings, for those living at some distance. How can I get a little money into this thing?” ’ He looked at me as if he thought, ‘What do you take me for—a greenhorn?’ I said, ‘Now, Dr. ——, I am telling you the plain truth. They do ask me this very question, “How can I get a little money into this cause?” ’ ” (Pastor Russell _Question Meeting_. Gen. 19:15, 22; Isa. 48:20; 52:11; Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45; Matt. 24:16.)

“The present work of gathering the Lord’s saints out of Babylon is represented under various symbolic descriptions,—it is the gathering of the wheat from the tares into the barn (Matt. 13:30): it is the gathering of the good fish into baskets and the casting of the unsuitable fish caught in the Gospel net back into the sea (Matt. 13:47‐49); it is the gathering of His jewels (Mal. 3:17); it is the midnight cry to the virgins, which separates the wise from the foolish (Matt. 25:6); and it is the gathering of the ‘Elect’ from all the non‐elect of Christendom, from the four winds—from every quarter.” (Matt. 24:31.) (D. 600.) “Lot’s wife, after starting to flee as directed, ‘looked back;’ coveting the things behind: and so with some now fleeing from Babylon to the mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord; they are more in sympathy with the things behind than with the things before. Only those will run the race to the finish who set their affections on the things above, and not on the things beneath.” (D. 608.)

“Those who thus flee to the Lord will neither be consumed by fear and dread, nor swallowed up by the projects and false theories—science falsely so called—with which this day abounds. And, withal, they may be in the devouring fire [trouble], witnesses for God and His Plan, and teachers of the people—pointers to the glorious outcome of Jehovah’s Plan, lifting up a standard for the people.—Isa. 62:10.” (B. 31.) “The tables of the various sects of Christendom were started as tables of the Lord, and adorned to some extent with food from His storehouse, the Word. But the great Adversary placed upon these tables errors, delusions, doctrines of devils, which have blemished them as a whole; wherefore it is appropriate now to apply to them the words of the Scriptures, ‘Come out from amongst them and be ye separate; touch not the unclean thing.’ ” (Z. ’07‐91.) “Our friends, like Abraham’s friends, would persuade us of the folly of leaving Babylon, its comforts and associations: they assure us that our opportunities for greatness, etc., will be distinctly lessened by the course of obedience which we take. Nevertheless we, like Abram, go forth taking all of our possessions with us, great or small—nothing must be left behind to be a treasure in Babylon and to attract our hearts thither again. All things must be brought with us so that not our own lives and talents only, but our influence upon others, must all be made to count.” (Z. ’01‐231) “As to missionary activities (Matt. 23:15), what advantage can accrue to the heathen from giving them the false doctrines of the Adversary? The few who may be reached will have the more to unlearn when the Times of Restitution begin.”—F. 641.

My people.—“We would not be understood as including all Christians as ‘Babylonians.’ Quite to the contrary. As the Lord recognizes some in Babylon as true to Him and addresses them now, saying, ‘Come out of her, _My people_’ (Rev. 18:4), so do we; and we rejoice to believe that there are today thousands who have not bowed the knee to the Baal of our day—Mammon, Pride and Ambition. Those who will not come out until Babylon falls and they come through the ‘great tribulation’ (Rev. 7:9‐14) shall not be accounted worthy to share the Kingdom. Compare Rev. 2:26; 3:21; Matt. 10:37; Mark 8:34, 35; Luke 14:26, 27.” (See Micah 2:10; Jer. 12:7‐11; 23:33‐40; Jer. 11:14, 15; Prov. 19:27; Matt. 14:28, 29; Hos. 4:6; Isa. 27:12.) “The begetting of spiritual children of God, through the Word of His grace, and their being to some extent cherished, nourished and brought forward by these human sectarian tare systems, is well illustrated by certain insects, the young of which are injected into the backs of their enemies, and there warmed, nourished and developed, up to the time of their complete birth and deliverance, which means, usually, the death of the insect which temporarily carried them about.” (F. 656.) Now the point of deliverance has been reached.

That ye be not partakers of her sins.—“If you fail to obey the Lord through fear of earthly loss, it will prove that these things are more precious to you than His favor, and He will treat you as He treats the hypocrites; you will have a share in their experiences.” (Z. ’14‐180.) “We do not know but that they may go to the extreme in our day—to kill socially, to kill ecclesiastically, perhaps to kill physically. Nearly all the persecutions that have come to God’s people have come from professed Christians, fellow‐believers. ‘Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My Name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.’ (Isaiah 66:5.)”—Z. ’14‐181; Num. 16:26.

And that ye receive not of her plagues.—See Rev. 16:1‐21.

18:5. For her sins [have reached] CLEAVED TOGETHER unto Heaven.—Ezekiel has touched on this!—Jer. 51:9; Gen. 11:3, 4; Luke 10:11.

And God hath remembered her iniquities.—By seven plagues; the seven volumes of _Studies in the Scriptures_.—Rev. 16:1‐21. See also bottom of this page.

18:6. Reward her even as she rewarded [you].—A diligent attempt has been made in this direction. Anything overlooked will be inserted in the next edition.—Psa. 137:8; Jer. 50:15, 29; 51:24.

[And] double unto her double according to her works.—Make a double exposition (explaining Revelation and Ezekiel) that will show her up just as she is.

In [the] HER cup which she hath filled.—The Scriptures which she has twisted, distorted and misapplied. “The cup which she has used as a means of seduction shall now be changed into the instrument of her punishment.”—Cook.

Fill to her double.—Greek, “the double.” (Isa. 61:7.) Give her enough light on Ezekiel and Revelation to show her the exit.—Isa. 21:7‐10.

18:7. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously.—And to what lengths has not Papacy gone in this direction, with the Protestant sects doing their best to keep the pace!

So much torment and sorrow.—Mourning for the dead, Greek.—Amos. 8:10.

Give her.—“I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord. The Lord hath opened His armoury [Ezekiel and Revelation] and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans ... the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of His Temple.... Recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her.”—Jer. 50:24‐29.

For she saith in her heart.—Babylon really believes her prosperity will continue forever. They “shall _believe_ the lie.”—2 Thes. 2:11.

I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.—See Isa. 47:8, 9; D. 43; Zeph. 2:15.

18:8. Therefore.—“Because she will violently struggle for life and power.”—D. 39.

Shall her plagues.—Death, mourning, famine and fire.

Come in one day.—The year of 1918. See Rev. 3:14; 11:11.

Death.—“By the hand of her enemies.”

And mourning.—For the loss of her people.—Rev. 18:7.

And famine.—Literal and symbolic. (Amos. 8:11). “As we call to mind the long train of evils by which Babylon has oppressed and worn out the saints of the most High (the true Zion), and how it is written that God will avenge His own Elect, and that speedily; that, according to their deeds, He will repay recompense to His enemies; that He will render unto Babylon a recompense (Luke 18:7, 8; Isa. 59:18; Jer. 51:6), we begin to realize that some fearful calamity awaits her. The horrible decrees of Papacy,—the reproach and reward of which Protestantism also is incurring by her present compromising association with her,—for the burning, butchering, banishing, imprisoning and torturing of the saints in every conceivable way, executed with such fiendish cruelty in the days of her power by the arm of the State, whose power she demanded and received, await full measure of just retribution.”—D. 39.

And she shall be utterly burned with fire.—Completely destroyed in the anarchy to follow.—Rev. 17:16; Gen. 38:24; Ezek. 16:41; Lev. 20:14; 21:9.

For strong is GOD the Lord [God] who [judgeth] JUDGED her.—“Compare Rev. 17:17, where the event is expressly declared to have been overruled by God.” (Cook.) “And I will punish Bel in Babylon [the God of Babylon,—the Pope]; and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up [he shall repudiate in his extremity the ‘great swelling words’ and blasphemous titles which he has long appropriated to himself—that he is the ‘infallible vicar,’ ‘vice‐gerent of Christ,’ ‘another God on earth,’ etc.], and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him. Yea, the wall of Babylon [the civil power that once defended it, and that in a measure does so still] shall fall.... Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire [shall be destroyed]; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire [to prop and save the walls of Babylon], and they shall be weary.—Jer. 51:44, 58.”—D. 40. The people are already getting weary of supporting murderous governments.

18:9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication [and lived deliciously] with her.—In the illicit unions of Church and State the advantage, from a worldly viewpoint, has been on the side of the Church. She has compelled the State to cleanse her filthy linen while she proceeded to pollute another lot. Far from living deliciously, the horns have really hated the harlot for her impudent, shameless conduct.

Shall [bewail her], WAIL and lament for her.—Not because they loved her, but because she was useful to them in keeping the people in ignorance and subjection.—Jer. 50:46; Ezek. 26:15 to 27:36.

When they shall see the smoke of her burning.—When they witness her confusion and signs of imminent destruction as portrayed in the seventh plague—“the handwriting on the wall.”—Dan. 5:1‐9; Rev. 18:18; 19:3.

18:10. Standing afar off for fear of her torment.—Realizing that this is a question of interpretation of the Scriptures and not wishing to get entangled in it any more than absolutely necessary.—Jer. 51:30‐33.

Saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city.—Alas, that great religious system that was always eager to affiliate with us and give a religious coloring to even wholesale murder by enticing its young men to enlist under our banners!

For in one hour is thy judgment come.—In the one year 1917‐1918.—Rev. 17:12.

18:11. And the merchants of the earth.—Salesmen of religious goods—Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and smaller fry.—Ezek. 27:36; Isa. 23:8; 47:15; Rev. 18:3, 15, 23.

Shall weep and mourn over her.—Saying, in substance, “What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”—Luke 16:3.

For no man buyeth their merchandise any more.—“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols [all sectarian denominations] out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets [the clergy] and the unclean spirit [their false doctrines] to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass that when any [former clergyman] shall yet prophesy [try to still further mislead the people into giving him reverence and coin], then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth [so enraged will they be when they realize how they have been deceived respecting fears of hell or assurances of Heaven for themselves and other descendants of monkeys, which the preachers have taught them they are]. And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets [clergy] shall be ashamed every one of his vision [of the creeds], when he hath prophesied [preached]; neither shall they wear a rough garment [distinctive clothing—collars fastened on backwards, in harmony with their conceptions of religious things, and ties and clothing in mourning to suit] to deceive: But he shall say I am no prophet [no preacher of the gospel at all], I am an husbandman [a farmer]; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. [Ezekiel 34:1‐31 shows how poorly they kept the cattle]. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds [marks of rough usage] in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends [by my parishioners].”—Zech. 13:2‐6.

18:12. The merchandise of gold.—Truths respecting the Divine nature. There was a time when the nominal church had the custody of these truths, but that privilege passed in 1878.

And of silver.—Truths respecting the Great Company.

And precious stones.—Truths respecting the Lord’s jewels.—Mal. 3:17.

And of pearls.—Truths respecting the things purchased by the Lord’s death.—Matt. 13:45, 46.

And fine linen.—Truths respecting the righteousness of the Lord’s saints.—Rev. 19:8; Rom. 8:4; 2 Pet. 1:9.

And purple.—Truths respecting the Church’s expectation of coming royalty.—Rev. 5:10; 20:4; Luke 12:32; 22:29, 30; James 2:5; Mark 10:23; 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26, 27; Psa. 2:8‐12; 49:14; Rom. 8:19; 16:20.

And silk.—Truths respecting the most beautiful of all the fabrics of the loom—grand, beautiful characters made so by the wisdom and mercy of God out of men and women that to start with were only poor worms of earth.

And scarlet.—Truths respecting the Ransom‐sacrifice of our Lord. (1 Tim. 2:6; Rom. 14:9; Rom. 5:18, 19; John 1:29; 1 John 2:2.) All these truths have passed away from Babylon, but the errors must go, too.

And all thyine wood.—Errors respecting man’s inherent immortality. Thyine wood is a sweet‐smelling wood; wood is a symbol of human traditions. The sweetest of all human theories is the declaration that when a man dies he is not dead at all. (1 Cor. 3:12.) Very shortly men will begin to come back from the dead, “the last first” (Matt. 19:30; 20:16); and stories that they have been in some fabulous hell or in Heaven will be at a considerable discount.

And all manner vessels of ivory.—Stories of death‐bed repentance and dreams, used to decorate unscriptural doctrines. Ivory was and is used in the harness of horses. It was also used to decorate beds. (Amos 6:4.) Horses symbolize teachings, and beds symbolize creed‐beds. The application fits, whichever way the symbol is applied.—Jer. 23:28.

And all manner vessels of most precious wood.—Errors that appeal to the heart of the natural man.—1 Cor. 3:12.

And of brass.—Copper; errors respecting the nature of man, created perfect and to be re‐created in the same likeness.—Gen. 1:31; Rev. 21:5.

And Iron, [And marble].—Errors respecting the “iron rule” and when it is to be exercised.—Dan. 2:40; Rev. 2:27.

18:13. And cinnamon, and spice, and odours, and ointments.—Errors respecting the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. These principal spices represent things which go to make up the anointing which we receive to become priests and kings with Christ.

EXODUS 30:23 EXODUS 31:3 ISAIAH 11:2 Holy Anointing Oil Bezaleel Christ Olive oil, _an hin_ Filled with the Spirit of Lord Spirit of God. resting upon Him. Myrrh, 500 Wisdom Wisdom Cinnamon, 250 Understanding Understanding Calamus, 250 Knowledge Knowledge Cassia, 500 Workmanship Counsel and might

“In the above parallel we find knowledge parallel with calamus and understanding with cinnamon, and of each a like quantity is prescribed. We have the understanding of all the knowledge received of God.”—Z. ’07‐349.

And frankincense.—Errors respecting the kind of praise proper to offer. Much of the hymn‐book theology is bad.

And wine.—Errors respecting our privilege of draining the Lord’s cup of sorrow now, that we may drink the cup of joy with Him hereafter.—Matt. 20:22; 26:27.

And oil.—Errors with reference to the anointing of the Royal Priesthood.—Psa. 133:1‐3; 1 Pet. 2:5.

And fine flour.—Errors as to why the true wheat are so repeatedly crushed, broken and sifted—until “nothing of earth is seen.”

And wheat.—Errors as to who are the true wheat. A sister on her first service of Truth literature at a church door was asked by the pastor, “What are you doing around here?” Startled, the Sister replied, “I am looking for the wheat.” The pastor replied, with some anger, “Go away! There is no wheat here.”

And beasts.—Cattle; errors as to the nature of sacrifices with which the Lord is pleased.—Psa. 66:15.

And sheep.—Errors as to how to care for the true sheep.

And horses.—Errors as to the kind of doctrines to employ.—Rev. 9:17‐19.

And chariots.—Errors in multiplying organizations not authorized in the Scriptures and not in harmony therewith.

And slaves.—Errors respecting what it means to be a servant of the Lord.—Luke 16:13; 2 Tim. 2:24; Matt. 10:24, 25; 23:11.

And souls of men.—Errors respecting what is the soul.—Ezek. 18:4; Isa. 53:12.

18:14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after.—Love of ease, money and praise of men.

Are departed from thee.—Replaced by the conditions affecting the common people. “Every valley [lowly and depressed one] shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill [highly exalted one] shall be made low: and the crooked [doctrines] shall be made straight, and the rough places [where the iron heel of oppression has made a hard path for the weary multitudes to follow] shall be made plain.”—Isa. 40:4.

And all things which were dainty and goodly.—Stained glass windows, soft carpets and upholstery, church suppers, etc.

[Are departed] PERISHED from thee, and [thou shalt] THEY SHALL find them no more at all.—The future of the clergy is that in the Millennial Age they will have to work for a living, like everybody else! Isn’t it awful to contemplate? It means an expense of 65c for an alarm clock in every preacher’s house in Christendom!

18:15. The merchants of these things.—The salesmen of these goods, the clergy.—Rev. 18:3, 11; Ezek. 27:36; Isa. 23:8; 47:15.

Which were made rich by her.—Who have hitherto made a good living in the profession of the ministry.

Shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing.—Over their lost jobs.

18:16. [And] saying, Alas, alas, that great city.—Babylon, mother and daughters.

That was clothed in fine linen.—Seemed to the worshipers of the beast and his image very righteous.

And purple.—Seemed to be already reigning on the earth.

And scarlet.—Seemed to have been faithful to the blood shed on Calvary.

And decked with gold.—Seemed to have been the repository of Truth Divine.

And precious stones.—Seemed to have included in her membership all the Lord’s jewels.

And pearls.—Seemed to be the sure heir of all that the Lord purchased by His death.

18:17. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.—In one short year, 1917‐1918, the vast and complicated system of sectarianism reaches its zenith of power, only to be suddenly dashed into oblivion.—Rev. 18:10.

And every shipmaster.—Pilot (sky pilot), Greek.—Ezek. 27:27.

And [all the company in ships] EVERY ONE WHO SAILETH BY THE PLACE.—All the passengers.—Ezek. 27:29.

And sailors.—Mission workers.

And as many as trade by sea.—As many as work the sea, Greek. Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, and others who work solely among the masses not under religious restraint.

Stood afar off.—Realized that the old doctrines and the schemes for raising money would never work again.

18:18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning.—Her confusion and destruction by the Lord.

Saying, What city is like unto this great city.—With its millions of adherents, all professedly interested in mission work.

18:19. And they cast dust on their [heads] HEAD.—Did a certain amount of mud‐slinging.—Ezek. 27:30; Lam. 2:10.

And cried, weeping and wailing.—And gnashing their teeth, too, no doubt.

Saying, Alas, [alas] that great city.—That wonderful religio‐political combination.

Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea.—All preachers who were strong enough and clever enough to manage people’s churches, independent of the sects. Many such “independent” churches have large memberships.

By reason of her costliness.—By reason of the amount of money that can be raised in and for such institutions.

For in one hour is she made desolate.—“To them the fall of Babylon at first is astounding, a perplexity, but will work no real injury, because the reign of Babylon over the earth will be superseded by the reign of the New Jerusalem—the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.”—Pastor Russell; Rev. 18:8; 3:14; 11:11.

18:20. Rejoice over her, thou Heaven.—New powers of spiritual control, Christ and His Bride, appointed to take her place.—Jer. 51:48; Phil. 3:20; Rev. 11:19.

And ye [holy] SAINTS AND Apostles.—You who have suffered at her hands.—Matt. 23:34, 35; Rev. 13:15; 18:24.

And Prophets.—The faithful teachers of the Christian church, and also the Prophets of old, who foresaw Mystic Babylon’s rise and fall, and knew that it stood between them and the fulfilment of their hopes. “Daniel, who was thinking specially of Israel, and of the fulfilment of God’s promises to the fathers, perceived that all that he had heard could not occur in 2300 literal days, especially when Gabriel said to him, ‘But shut thou up the vision, for it will be fulfilled after many days.’ And though he knew not how long each symbolic day would be, he was made sick at heart by the thought of so many evils as were coming upon God’s people—though he saw not the change of that name from fleshly to spiritual Israel. We read, ‘And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days.’ ”—C. 105.

For God hath avenged you on her.—This vengeance of God for the wrongs done to His saints in all ages began in 1878 (Rev. 6:10, 11), and closes with the full end of the Harvest. When the last member of the Great Company class is delivered the system will utterly perish.

18:21. And a mighty angel.—The common people.

Took up a stone like a great millstone.—Temporarily lifted ecclesiasticism to great heights.

And.—Experiencing a sudden conviction of their error in so doing, and of the truly devilish character of the system.

Cast it into the sea.—Overwhelmed it in a flood of anarchy. When this occurs there will be a “great hissing noise” (2 Pet. 3:10, Diaglott), indicating that the millstone will be warm, wrathy, at the moment of disappearance. The effect of throwing a hot stone into water is to disintegrate it completely.—Jer. 51:61‐64; Ex. 15:5; Neh. 9:11.

Saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, [And shall be found no more at all.]—“The masses of the people, no longer ignorantly stupid as during the Dark Ages, will awaken to the true situation, and will execute upon Babylon the Great—already repudiated by the Lord—the judgment foretold. She shall be cast like a great millstone into the sea, never to rise again. The sea represents the masses of the people, especially a restless opposition class.” (Z. ’13‐343.) “The fact is the world has outgrown the redhot and peppery dishes that suited the last generation, and it is quite beyond the power of a very few solemn gentlemen to produce a reaction.”—D. 110; Jer. 51:64.

18:22. And there shall be no more found in her the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters.—Those able to make melody and harmony out of the Scriptures.—Isa. 24:8; Ezek. 26:13.

IT shall be heard no more at all in thee.—Even now Ecclesiasticism is entirely unable to supply any explanation of either Ezekiel or Revelation, or to understand the one that is supplied.

And no craftsman, [of whatsoever craft he be,] shall be found any more in thee; [And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee].—God is the great craftsman. “We are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master‐builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”—1 Cor. 3:9, 10.

18:23. [And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee;] And the voice of the Bridegroom and of the Bride.—Christ and His true Church.—Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11.

Shall be heard no more at all in thee.—Neither Christ nor His saintly ones have had anything to say in the affairs of the nominal church since 1878; nor have they wished to have. “The rejection of Babylon (‘Christendom’), in 1878, was the rejection of the mass of professors—the ‘host,’ as it is termed by Daniel, to distinguish it from the Sanctuary or Temple class.”—C. 180.

For thy merchants were the great men of the earth.—They said so, themselves. They have attempted to direct everything from prize fights up. Rev. Rainsford even tried to run a beer saloon, but was not able to make it a coin‐producer for the church and gave it up.—Isa. 23:8; 47:15; Rev. 18:3, 11, 15; Ezek. 27:21, 36.

For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.—“Consider, again, why Babylon is so named. Evidently, because of her many errors of doctrine, which, mixed with a few elements of Divine Truth, make great confusion, and because of the mixed company brought together by the mixed truths and errors. This sin of holding and teaching error at the sacrifice of truth is one of which every sect of the church nominal is guilty, without exception. Where is the sect in which you can obey the Master’s words and let your light shine? We know of none.”—C. 181; Rev. 17:2; 2 Ki. 9:22.

18:24. And in her was found the blood of Prophets.—They are accounted as having slain the Prophets because they refuse to heed them, and to that extent caused them to lay down their lives needlessly!—Rev. 16:6; 17:6.

And of saints.—They are accounted as having slain the saints because they have given no heed to their warnings, and to that extent caused them to die in vain.—Jer. 51:49.

And of all that were slain upon the earth.—The great European war, and other wars, are justly laid at the door of the system that has perpetuated the doctrines of Divine right of clergy and kings; and it is for this reason that God has decreed her sins must be wiped out first with symbolical blood (Rev. 14:20), and afterwards with literal blood in the red sea of anarchy.—Ex. 14:21‐28; Isa. 63:1‐6.

The Traveler Inquires The Way To Heaven

Whom Should We Believe—God Or The Clergy?

Revelation 19—The Overthrow Of Satan’s Empire

19:1. [And] after these things.—After the saints are glorified and present ecclesiastical systems are destroyed.

I heard AS IT WERE a great voice of much people.—The Great Company.—Rev. 7:10.

In heaven.—The only heavenly‐minded ones remaining on earth.

Saying, Alleluia; Salvation.—Deliverance from the Papacy and other sects has come at last.

[And glory, and honor,] and power [unto the Lord] OF our God.—It has been accomplished not by human power, but by the Wisdom and Power of God.—Rev. 7:12.

19:2. For true and righteous are Thy judgments.—“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”—1 John 1:5; Rev. 15:3; 16:7.

For He hath judged the great whore.—Has executed the judgments long foretold.

Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication.—Her illicit union with worldly governments.

And hath avenged the blood of [His] HER servants at her hand.—The millions who have perished in the Great War have been the servants of Babylon. The direct cause of their slaughter is the doctrine of the Divine right of the clergy. These have maintained the kings of Europe on their thrones, falsely telling them they are ruling as part of Christ’s Kingdom. This position has led to the death of all these millions, and their blood will be required at Babylon’s hand.

19:3. And again they said, Alleluia.—The more they think it over, the happier they will become.

And her smoke.—The evidences of her destruction; the remembrance.—Isa. 34:10; Rev. 14:11; 18:9, 18.

Rose up for ever and ever.—Will be recorded in secular history, even as it is recorded in “the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”—1 Pet. 1:23.

19:4. And the [four and] twenty FOUR elders.—The prophecies.—Rev. 4:4, 10.

And the four beasts.—Infinite Power, Justice, Wisdom and Love.—Rev. 4:7.

Fell down and worshipped God that sat on the Throne, saying Amen; Alleluia.—The God, the mighty One, here referred to is the Lord Jesus.—Rev. 5:3.

19:5. And [a voice] VOICES.—The Little Flock, beyond the veil.

Came out of the Throne.—They will be _in_ the Throne at that time.—Rev. 3:21.

Saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants.—Of the Great Company class.—Rev. 7:15; Psa. 134:1‐3.

[And] ye that fear Him, [both] small and great.—Your deliverance was wholly due to the Lord. We did what we could to help you, but it was as nothing. To the Lord belongs all the glory for your deliverance and ours.—Rev. 11:18.

19:6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude.—“In the Age to come, when God shall ‘pour out His Spirit upon all flesh,’ as during the present Age He pours it upon His ‘servants and handmaids,’ then indeed all will understand and appreciate the promises now being grasped by the ‘little flock’; and they will rejoice in the obedience and exaltation of the Church, saying, ‘Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to God, for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife hath made herself ready.’ They will rejoice in the glorification of the Church, through which blessings will then be flowing to them; and while they will realize that the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ inherited by the Anointed (Head and Body) are not for them, but have been fulfilled upon us, they will be blessed by the lesson illustrated in the Church; and while they run for the blessings then held out to them, they will profit by the example of the Church and glorify God on her behalf. But this knowledge will not bring covetousness; for under the new order of things their calling to perfect human nature will fully satisfy them, and will seem more desirable to them than a change of nature.”—A. 86.

And as the voice of many waters.—All mankind.—Rev. 17:15.

And as the voice of mighty thunderings.—An overwhelming and complete reaction in favor of the Truth. The “seven thunders” will then be thundering as never before.—Rev. 10:4; 8:5.

Saying, Alleluia: for [the Lord] God OUR LORD THE Omnipotent reigneth.—“Shows Himself to be king by subduing His enemies.” (Cook.) Thoroughly convinced of the greatness of the Lord’s power, as all men will be by the end of the Time of Trouble, they will be glad to entrust all their interests to His care.

19:7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him.—“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.”—Psa. 110:3.

For the Marriage of the Lamb is come.—The marriage of men and women is declared in the Scriptures to be a type of the marriage of Christ and His Church. (Eph. 5:22‐23.) It is a recognized principle that the antitype is greater than the sum of all the types. The death of Christ was greater than all the sacrifices throughout the Jewish Age. Now call to mind that the wedding day is the happiest of every human being. Think of all the happiness caused by all the weddings that have ever occurred, and know that the sum total is as nothing compared to the joy that will pervade the Universe when the festal day of eternity takes place, and Christ and His Bride are made one.

And His Wife.—“The Bride represents ‘all who have believed up to the commencement of the Millennium. These alone are the mystical Body of Christ. But after they are completed, at the Second Advent the earth will be peopled by the “nations of the saved” in flesh and blood,—a totally different party from the then glorified Bride.’ ”—Cook.

Hath made herself ready.—The witnessing to the world during the present Age is quite secondary and incidental to the Church’s more important work of making herself ready.—F. 608; T. 115; Matt. 22:1‐14; 25:1; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:2, 9; John 3:29; Cant., all; Psa. 45:10‐14; Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Lu. 12:36.

19:8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, BRIGHT AND clean and white.—“ ‘She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle work’ (Psa. 45:14)—in the simple white robe of her Lord’s own furnishing, the robe of His righteousness, upon which she will have wrought, with much carefulness, the beautiful adornments of the Christian graces. And great will be the rejoicing in Heaven and in earth at her abundant entrance into the King’s palace.—2 Pet. 1:5‐8, 11.”—C. 193.

For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.—Here and there throughout the Scriptures are keys which unlock its mysteries. (Rev. 3:18; Psa. 132:9.) This is the key to several otherwise obscure passages.

19:9. And he.—The faithful and wise Servant to whom the custody of all the things in His Storehouse was especially promised by the Lord of the Harvest.—Luke 12:42‐44; Rev. 3:14; 1:1.

Saith unto me, write.—To representatives of the John class, commissioned to write something of encouragement to the Church after he himself had ceased to write.

Blessed are they which are called unto the [marriage] supper of the Lamb.—The Marriage Supper (Lu. 14:15) will be like all the other feasts the Church has had, not of physical food, but of truths Divine. That will be the time when the Lord, the Head of the family, will explain to us every part of every verse in all His Holy Word. We shall have perfect memories then, in which to treasure every word He utters, and perfect bodies, too, in which to perform to the full all God’s holy will. We have the will to do it now. We have tried to understand His Word, and tried to help others to understand it; but the best we could do was far from perfect. The Lord, in His love and mercy, has accepted our best endeavors here as evidence of our worthiness for the perfect opportunities that await us. “Ultimately the full number purposed by the great Householder will have been called, accepted, and found worthy through Christ to have a place at that table—to share in that great Feast. (Matt. 22:1‐10.) At that feast, we are assured, will be a secondary company, not worthy to be of the Bride class. These may be figuratively styled the bridesmaids, the Great Company class; for after the account of the gathering of the Bride we have the Lord’s message to these subsequently delivered from Babylon, saying, ‘Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ You can imagine the honors and joys of that great banquet!”—Z. ’14‐74.

And he saith unto me, These MY TRUE SAYINGS, are the [true] sayings of God.—

“Ascend, beloved, to His joy;
Thy festal day has come;
To‐night the Lamb doth feast His own,
To‐night He with His Bride sits down,
To‐night puts on the spousal crown,
In the great Upper Room.”

19:10. And I fell at his feet to worship him.—“If there come to any of us a thought of doing homage to the Lord’s messengers or servants it would be our duty to fully recognize that God alone, however much He may use human instrumentalities in conveying His blessings, is to be honored and reverenced and appreciated as the Author and Giver of every good and perfect gift.—James 1:17.”—Z. ’07‐105; Rev. 22:8.

And he said unto me, See thou do it not.—But Satan said to the Lord, “All these things will I give thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matt. 4:9.) When Papacy did this, Satan was true to his promise. By resorting to worldly forms, customs and entertainments all the daughters have followed the example of the mother.

I am thy fellowservant.—“St. John in his humility forgets his own share in imparting the revelation; and the Angel in his humility brings this to light (Acts 10:25, 26).”—Cook; Acts 14:14, 15; Rev. 22:9; Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1.

And of [thy] THE brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.—“Whose servants we both are; of Whose prophetic Spirit we alike partake in this our common ministry; and therefore one of us may not worship the other.”—Cook.

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.—“All Christians, in every age, who can receive and understand prophecy, have this spirit.” (Cook; 1 Cor. 12:13.) However, “The design of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus. This is its great and ultimate end. The word prophecy here seems to be used in the large sense in which it is often employed in the New Testament—meaning to make known the divine will, and the primary reference here would seem to be to the preachers and teachers of the New Testament. The sense is, that their grand business is to bear testimony to the Saviour. They are all appointed for this, and therefore should regard themselves as ‘fellow‐servants.’ Thus understood, this passage has no direct reference to the prophecies of the Old Testament, and teaches nothing in regard to their design, though it is in fact undoubtedly true that their grand and leading object was to bear testimony to the future Messiah.”—Barnes; Rev. 12:17.

19:11. And I saw heaven opened.—The hidden things of God as recorded in the Seventh Volume of _Studies In The Scriptures_.—Rev. 11:19.

And behold a white horse.—Teachings which, however unpalatable to Churchianity, are nevertheless the truth.

And He that sat upon him was called Faithful.—“The faithful and true Witness.”—Rev. 3:14.

And True.—“He that is holy, He that is true.”—Rev. 3:7.

And in righteousness He doth judge and make war.—“While the Lord forbids His people to fight with carnal weapons, and while He declares Himself to be a God of peace, a God of order and of love, He also declares Himself to be a God of justice, and shows that sin shall not forever triumph in the world, but that it shall be punished. ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35.) And when He rises up to judgment against the nations, taking vengeance upon all the wicked, He declares Himself ‘a man of war’ and ‘mighty in battle,’ and having a ‘great army’ at His command.—Exod. 15:3; Psa. 24:8; 45:3; Isa. 11:4; Joel 2:11.”—D. 549.

19:12. His eyes were [as] a flame of fire.—The Lord’s Wisdom sees that the time has come for the destruction of present iniquitous systems.—Rev. 1:14.

And on His head were many crowns.—The right to rule all the kingdoms of the earth.—Ezek. 21:27.

And He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.—This new name is to be also the name of the Church, His Bride. Possibly it has not yet been revealed.—Rev. 2:17; 3:12.

19:13. And He was clothed with a vesture [dipped in] SPRINKLED WITH blood.—A reference to His faithfulness even unto death, and a hint to His Body what to expect shortly.

And His name [is] HATH BEEN called the Word of God.—In this picture He is represented as coming, not as the Messenger of the Covenant, but in _apokalupsis_, revealment as earth’s rightful King.—John 1:1; Rev. 1:2.

19:14. And the armies which were in heaven.—All the armies of Rev. 7:5‐8, the Little Flock, whether on this side of the veil or on the other.—Rev. 17:14.

Followed Him.—“The sheep follow Him: for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow.”—John 10:4, 5.

Upon white horses.—Teachings clean and pure.

Clothed in fine linen, white and clean.—“The righteousness of saints.”—Rev. 19:8.

19:15. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword.—“Our examination, in a preceding volume, of the great difference in character between the Kingdom of God and the beastly kingdoms of earth, prepares us to see also a difference in modes of warfare. The methods of conquest and breaking will be widely different from any which have ever before overthrown nations. He who now takes His great power to reign is shown in symbol as the One whose sword went forth out of His mouth, ‘that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron.’ That sword is the Truth (Eph. 6:17).”—B. 100; Isa. 11:4; 49:2; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:21; Hos. 6:5; Heb. 4:12.

That with it He should smite the nations.—“ ‘He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips [the force and spirit of His Truth] shall He slay the wicked.’ (Isa. 11:4; Psa. 98:1.) To no human generalship can the honors of the coming victory for truth and righteousness be ascribed. Wild will be the conflict of the angry nations, and world‐wide will be the battlefield and the distress of nations; and no human Alexander, Cæsar or Napoleon will be found to bring order out of the dreadful confusion. But in the end it will be known that the grand victory of justice and truth, and the punishment of iniquity with its just deserts, was brought about by the power of the King of kings and Lord of lords.”—D. 19.

And He shall rule them with a rod of iron.—“In this ‘Day of Jehovah,’ the ‘Day of Trouble,’ our Lord takes His great power (hitherto dormant) and reigns, and this it is that will cause the trouble, though the world will not so recognize it for some time. That the saints shall share in this work of breaking to pieces present kingdoms, there can be no doubt. It is written, ‘This honor have all His saints—to execute the judgments written, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron’—of strength. (Psa. 149:8, 9.) ‘He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they [the empires] be broken to shivers.’ ”—Rev. 2:26, 27; Psa. 2:8, 9; B. 100.