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The Smoke Of Her Burning

In Chapter 10 the angel instructs John to the effect that;

Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. (KJV)

In the text at our current position we see the kings of the earth, the merchants and the seamasters all lament the destruction of the great city of Babylon the Great.

-- Click To Expand/Collapse Bible Verses -- Rev ch18v11-24
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Rev 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 shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (KJV)

In picture here is the complete destruction of the city - with the collapse of the world's governmental, economic and transportation systems from the wrath of God. The parties listed mourn the great loss of precious things that they will no longer both enjoy and trade with. Up to verse 18 we merely note that these kings, merchants and shipmasters remove themselves a long way off from the burning and torment of the city. Even with such a love of money, better a poor yet alive man than a rich dead one. The vast gain of all this commerce indicates the sheer vastness of the economy in the last days, much more so than was present across the empire of Rome in John's day - the picture here is completely global - a good indicator of the present time.

The instruction to John from the angel (see top) shows that with this passage he indeed has once more prophesied before peoples, nations, tongues and kings . Though it were not a prophecy to the world of John's day, he must have felt the risk in sending out this section of the book of prophecy to the churches in the midst of persecution from Rome. The angel of the church "told him of it before" and John did as he was told following his meeting the angel as once again in this scene. This is that prophecy - and it made John sick to his stomach to send it - it made his belly bitter.

Verses 20 onwards show the moment when the kingdoms of the world become that of our God and of His Christ. All corporations are similarly to be destroyed - cast like a millstone into the sea, coincidence perhaps in representing the pressing of the wine fat upon all octals into the four beasts of the right hand, like the grinding of a millstone under the cycling of the ultrafilter by the Holy Spirit.

There is no longer any place for human activity in service to mammon. Only the servants of God and Jesus Christ continue alive to His coming. There is no activity of religion, no truth to be found (as a candle) no ministration of the saints (no marriage found) at all.

Those that circulate the blood of the great city (the blood of corporations is mammon) i.e. the merchants of the city were as the chief men of the earth - by her sorceries the world was deceived. I take this to mean that her "boards of directors" ruling the church in the place of God, employing the image in fornication with government using the devil's devices, both addicted and confused the whole world (every nation) into accepting the 666 system of the image as if it were permitted even as to God's people. By her the whole world was deceived.

In her was found the blood of the saints, prophets and all slain on the earth. Jesus said "the time comes when he that kills you thinks he does God service". It is she who has persecuted the remnant of Israel - the body of Christ.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (KJV)

So, the enemy of the remnant is actually this satanically authored system - the worldly natural setting of this economic collapse belies the true spiritual evil that authored it. The city as both the work and worker of satan's deception and his strong violence against the saints is shown summed up in the last verse of the eighteenth chapter.


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