Revelation 18:24

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) And in her was found . . .—It is not by seductiveness only that her guilt is measured: her hands are defiled with blood: the blood of prophets, who had witnessed against her: of saints, whose holy lives were a protest against her sins, and so hateful to her; and “of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Comp. Revelation 17:6, and Note there.) It is not meant that literally all the blood shed by violence had been shed by Rome, or any other single city of which Babylon is type: all that is meant is that Babylon, the world city, is founded on those principles, the logical outcome of which is violence, bloodshed, and hostility to the highest right: those who die by her hands, few or many, are the evidence that the whole tendency of her power is against holiness and truth. In the earthly view, we are guilty of the acts we do: in the heavenly view, we are guilty of all that the spirit and sin of our conduct tends to do. The spirit of transgression is seen in one act as well as in many, and as it is the attitude of the spirit that God looks upon, so in a single act may be gathered up the transgression of the whole law. (Comp. Revelation 17:6, and Note there; see also James 2:10). It is the fatal failure to perceive this which leads man to make light of sin, and to undervalue the Cross of Christ.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:20-24 That which is matter of rejoicing to the servants of God on earth, is matter of rejoicing to the angels in heaven. The apostles, who are honoured and daily worshipped at Rome in an idolatrous manner, will rejoice in her fall. The fall of Babylon was an act of God's justice. And because it was a final ruin, this enemy should never molest them any more; of this they were assured by a sign. Let us take warning from the things which brought others to destruction, and let us set our affections on things above, when we consider the changeable nature of earthly things.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And in her - When she came to be destroyed, and her real character was seen.

Was found the blood of prophets - Of the public teachers of the true religion. On the word "prophets" see the notes on Revelation 18:20.

And of saints - Of the holy. See the notes on Revelation 18:20.

And of all that were slain upon the earth - So numerous have been the slain, so constant and bloody have been the persecutions there, that it may be said that all the blood ever shed has been poured out there. Compare the notes on Matthew 23:35. No one can doubt the propriety of this representation with respect to pagan and papal Rome.

In regard to the general meaning and application of this chapter the following remarks may be made:

(1) It refers to papal Rome, and is designed to describe the final overthrow of that formidable anti-Christian power. The whole course of the interpretation of the previous chapters demands such an application, and the chapter itself naturally suggests it.

(2) if it be asked why so much of this imagery is derived from the condition of a maritime power, or pertains to commerce, since both Babylon and Rome were at some distance from the sea, and neither could with propriety be regarded as seaport towns, it may be replied:

(a) that the main idea in the mind of John was that of a rich and magnificent city;

(b) that all the things enumerated were doubtless found, in fact, in both Babylon and Rome;

(c) that though not properly seaport towns, they were situated on rivers that opened into seas, and were therefore not unfavorably situated for commerce; and,

(d) that, in fact, they traded with all parts of the earth.

The leading idea is that of a great and luxurious city, and this is filled up and decorated with images of what is commonly found in large commercial towns. We are not, therefore, to look for a literal application of this, and it is not necessary to attempt to find all these things, in fact, in the city referred to. Much of the description may be for the mere sake of keeping, or ornament.

(3) if this refers to Rome, as is supposed, then, in accordance with the previous representations, it shows that the destruction of the papal power is to be complete and final. The image which John had in his eye as illustrating that was undoubtedly ancient Babylon as prophetically described in Isaiah 13-14, and the destruction of the power here referred to is to be as complete as was the destruction described there. It would not be absolutely necessary in the fulfillment of this to suppose that Rome itself is to become a heap of ruins like Babylon, whatever may be true on that point, but that the papal power, as such, is to be so utterly destroyed that the ruins of desolate Babylon would properly represent it.

(4) if this interpretation is correct, then the Reformation was in entire accordance with what God would have his people do, and was demanded by solemn duty to him. Thus, in Revelation 18:4, his people are expressly commanded to "come out of her, that they might not be partakers of her sins, nor of her plagues." If it had been the design of the Reformers to perform a work that should be in all respects a fulfilling of the command of God, they could have done nothing that would have more literally met the divine requirement. Indeed, the church has never performed a duty more manifestly in accordance with the divine will, and more indispensable for its own purity, prosperity, and safety, than the act of separating entirely and forever from papal Rome.

continued...

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

24. Applied by Christ (Mt 23:35) to apostate Jerusalem, which proves that not merely the literal city Rome, and the Church of Rome (though the chief representative of the apostasy), but the WHOLE of the faithless Church of both the Old and New Testament is meant by Babylon the harlot; just as the whole Church (Old and New Testament) is meant by "the woman" (Re 12:1). As to literal city, Aringhus in Bengel says, Pagan Rome was the "general shambles" for slaying the sheep of Jesus. Fred. Seyler in Bengel calculates that papal Rome, between A.D. 1540 and 1580, slew more than nine hundred thousand Protestants. Three reasons for the harlot's downfall are given: (1) The worldly greatness of her merchants, which was due to unholy traffic in spiritual things. (2) Her sorceries, or juggling tricks, in which the false prophet that ministers to the beast in its last form shall exceed her; compare "sorcerers" (Re 21:8; 22:15), specially mentioned among those doomed to the lake of fire. (3) Her persecution of (Old Testament) "prophets" and (New Testament) "saints."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In the rubbish of Rome, when destroyed, will be found the blood of all those holy servants of God, whether ministers of the gospel, or professors of it, who ever since the year 606, when the pope came first to his power, have been put to death for the testimony of Christ, and a faithful adherence to the purity of doctrine by him delivered, the purity of worship by him prescribed and directed, or the purity of discipline by his direction set up. As it is storied, that upon the dissolution of abbeys, and monasteries, and nunneries here in England, there were found in holes of walls, and ponds, the skulls and bones of many infants, the supposed bastards of those fathers: so, though men cannot or will not see it now, yet when the papacy shall have its period, men shall understand, that no prophet nor righteous man hath violently been put to death for the truth out of Rome, that is, out of the jurisdiction and influence of Rome; but though it may be they have been no professed papists that have been the cause or instruments of their death, yet they have done it as influenced from that bloody city; and the principles have been perfectly popish and antichristian which madly hurried them on to such cruelties. It was one of Luthers reasons why he would have none put to death for heresy, (as they call it), because he would have this particular character reserved for that antichristian synagogue.—But ah, Lord Jesus! When shall these things be? Or who shall live when the wise providence of God shall effect them, to join with the whole church, both triumphant and militant, in the song which we have prophesied of upon this occasion in the next chapter.

It is not for us to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power, Acts 1:7.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,.... Such as before mentioned, in Revelation 18:20 this is another reason of her destruction, besides her luxury and idolatry, namely, her shedding the blood of the saints, with which she is said to be drunk, and therefore blood is now given her to drink, Revelation 17:6 for she will now be found guilty of slaying the witnesses, who are meant by the prophets and saints, that have been from the beginning of the apostasy:

and of all that were slain upon the earth: not only of those that have been slain in the city of Rome, but of all those that have been slain throughout the empire; they being slain by her order, or with her consent, and she conniving at it, encouraging it, and therefore will be justly chargeable with it all; see Matthew 23:31 the Ethiopic version adds, "for the name of Christ".

Geneva Study Bible

And in her was found the {15} blood of prophets, {16} and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

(15) That is shed by bloody massacres, and calling for vengeance.

(16) That is, proved and found out, as if God had appointed a just inquiry concerning the impiety, unnaturalness and injustice of these men.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Revelation 18:24. Again, as at Revelation 18:20, the change of style (here from an apostrophe to a description) and spirit (Revelation 17:6) marks an insertion by the final editor, unless the verse originally lay after Revelation 18:3. The triple rhythm corresponds to that of Revelation 18:20. Rome has now succeeded Jerusalem (Matthew 23:35, etc.) as the arch-enemy of the faithful. The climax of her iniquities is couched in terms of the primitive Semitic idea (Genesis 4:10) that exposed and discovered blood is a cry for vengeance [2Ma 8:3 f.]; blood violently shed wails till it is appeased by the punishment of the murderers. By a natural hyperbole, Rome is held responsible for the murders, judicial and otherwise, of saints and prophets and the slain of Israel in general—substituted here for the “apostles” of Revelation 18:20, probably to include the Jews killed in the recent war as well as pre-Christian martyrs like the Maccabees of whom Augustine finely says: nondum quidem erat mortuus Christus, sed martyres eos fecit moriturus Christus (Hebrews 1:11 to Hebrews 12:1). Rome here is the last and worst exponent of persecution. Her collapse is attributed to their blood drawing down God’s utter retribution. “My blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say” (Jeremiah 51:35, imprecating successfully the divine revenge, Jeremiah 51:36; Jeremiah 51:49). As Chrysostom called Psalms 109. a prophecy in the shape of a curse, this vehement, sensitive oracle against Rome’s insolence and cruelty may be termed a curse in the form of a prophecy. A similar idea underlay the view of certain pious people who, according to Josephus (cf. Eus. H. E. ii. 23. 20–21), considered the fall of Jerusalem a retribution for the foul murder of James the Just nearly ten years before.

The doom-song is followed by an outburst of celestial triumph (Revelation 19:1-8) in answer to Revelation 18:20. The conclusion as well as the commencement of the victory (Revelation 12:12 f.) is hymned in heaven. The stern, exultant anthem, which is morally superior to the delight voiced by En. xlvii. 4, forms an overture to the final movement of the Apocalypse, as well as (like Revelation 7:9 f., Revelation 14:1-5) a relief to the sombre context. 8 b is a prosaic editorial gloss, probably due to the liturgical use of the book, and the last clause of 10 (ἡ γὰρ … προφητείας) might be the same (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:56), as many editors think, were it not for the genuinely Johannine ring of the words. In any case it is an after-thought, probably (so Baljon, Barth, etc.) added by the author himself, in order to bring out here what is brought out in Revelation 22:9 by the explicit mention of the prophets, since ἐχ. τ. μ. Ἰησοῦ alone would mean Christians in general. The presence of 9b–10 here, however, is not motived as at Revelation 22:8-9, where it comes in naturally at the finalê of the revelations and after a distinct allusion (Revelation 22:1) to the revealing angel. Here the angel of the second λέγει (at least) has not been mentioned since Revelation 17:1; Revelation 17:7; Revelation 17:15, and no reason at all is given for the superstitious impulse to worship. The passage is certainly Johannine, but probably misplaced (like Revelation 18:14, etc.). Can it have originally lain at the end of 17., where the hierophant angel is speaking (cf. also Revelation 17:17, words of God and Revelation 19:9 b)? Such technical dislocations and derangements are common enough in primitive literature (cf. my Historical New Testament, pp. xxxix. 676, 690). The passage must have been shifted to its present site either by accident or more probably by a scribe who saw that the similar assurance in Revelation 21:5, Revelation 22:6 related primarily to future bliss rather than to judgment; perhaps he also took the first λέγει not as a divine saying (cf. Revelation 21:5) but as angelic (Revelation 22:6, cf. Revelation 1:10-11; Revelation 1:19, and note on Revelation 22:10), and sought to harmonise the same order as in Revelation 14:13 (command to write, beatitude, asseverance). Otherwise 1–10 is a unity as it stands. The change of situation in 1–3, 4–10 does not prove any combination of sources; it is simply another of the inconsequences and transitions characteristic of the whole book. The marriage-idea of 7, 8 is a proleptic hint which is not developed till later (21), while the supper (9) is only mentioned to be dropped—unless the grim vision of 17–21 (for which cf. Gressmann’s Ursprung d. Isr.-jüd. Eschatologie, 136 f.) is meant to be a foil to it (so Sabatier and Schön).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. And in her] St John passes from recording the angel’s denunciation to the impression made on his own mind by the judgement he witnessed.

of all that were slain upon the earth] Cf. Jeremiah 51:49, where however, if the A. V. be right, the sense is rather different. “The slain of all the earth” here seem to mean “the slain of (the spiritual) Israel,” there, the allies of Babylon who share in her fall.

Bengel's Gnomen

Revelation 18:24. Ἐν αὐτῇ, in her) The angel speaks this also; and yet he does not say, in thee, but, in her (comp. Matthew 23:37), namely, in the deceiver of the nations, who is now so overthrown, that she does not hear the last part of this address.—πάντων τῶν ἐσφαγμένων, of all, who have been slain) Aringhus, T. i. of the work above quoted, f. 125, shows, that all the theatres of the Roman empire were marked by the slaughter of Christians; and he also says, f. 132, that Rome alone became as it were the GENERAL SHAMBLES for slaying the sheep of Christ. Pagan Rome shed much blood, papal Rome not less. From A. 1518 to 1548, more than fifteen millions of Protestants were put to death through the instrumentality of the Inquisition, according to the opinion of some, as is related in my Germ. Exeg. on this passage. This vast number is even doubled from A. 1550 to 1580, in Hoe on Ap. xvii. qu. 234. Neither of these calculations is probable. More than 900,000 are calculated to have been slain from A. 1540, or 1550, to 1580, by Fred. Seyler, in his Rome Drunken, pp. 339, 340. The true number, whatever it is, is stupendous.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. At first sight it seems difficult to understand that these words are spoken not only of Babylon, but of the faithless portion of the Church, symbolized by the harlot. But we must remember

(1) that he who is guilty in respect of one commandment, is guilty of the whole Law;

(2) similar words are addressed by Jeremiah to Judah (Jeremiah 2:34): "Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents" (see on Revelation 17:1). Auberlen remarks, "Wherever true, faithful Christians are neglected and oppressed by the rulers of the Church, from avowed or secret antipathy to God's truth; where a false theology and science robs youth of its faith; where a pastor neglects, and keeps at a distance, the true living Christians in his flock, on account of the signum crucis which they bear; wherever we refuse or are ashamed to bear the reproach of Jesus Christ, our heavenly Master, even as he bore it, there we commit murder against the saints of God." Here is concluded the pronouncement of the judgment of Babylon; which may be said to answer the prayer in Revelation 6:10; and which forms the conclusion of the revelation commencing at Revelation 17.



Revelation 18:24