CHAPTER 18
Revelation 18:1-3 After these things I saw another angel descending out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illuminated by his glory. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great; and it has become a dwelling place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird; for from the wine 1 of the fury of her fornication all the nations have been drunk 1 , and the kings of the earth committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich by the power of her luxury. And I saw, he says, another angel having great authority .
He says that this one is the illuminated and enlightens the earth by his glory . “Babylon,” he says, “ has fallen .” He proclaims against her the sentence of God. He says that she is destined to suffer these things, and she became a dwelling-place of demons . For the demons hate mankind and are bloodthirsty; wherever they find places where the blood of men has been shed, whether in wars or by other deaths, they take pleasure in the occurrence and make their abodes there. And since most shall be destroyed in the city, as he said earlier, the place becomes from now a dwelling of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit and every unclean beast ; for such creatures flee from company with men, and, occupying the wildernesses, preserve themselves from those who would ambush them and from the hunt of those who pursue. Such things, Isaiah the prophet likewise says concerning Babylon. He says also: “There will the sirens 2 rest and there the demons dance; and there the one-horned centaurs will dwell and they will breed those scaly creatures in their houses.” (Isa. 13:21-22)
For from of the fury of her fornication all the nations have been drunk . By "fornication" here he means their greed and love of money; for such is the manner of prostitutes. For those in the aforesaid city have indeed grown wealthy by all the nations , and after conquering them they ordained that they should pay tribute. And the kings say that the inhabitants of it have become partners and sharers of its love of money, and the merchants who trade there, it is said, grew rich from its wealth, that is, from its arrogance and unbridled, lavish and degenerate way of life, loading and disposing all kinds of cargo there.
Revelation 18:4-8 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, in case you take part in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues; for her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her even as she rendered, and double to her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mingled give her to drink double 3 . How much she has glorified herself and lived delicately, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.’ 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 who judges her.”
When the divine angels seized the city of the Sodomites to execute judgment upon its inhabitants and the neighboring towns, and more precisely, as seems in the writings of the holy Cyril 4 , when the Son of God and the Holy Spirit moved there, “since the Father judges no one” according to the Scripture, “but has given all judgment to the Son,” (Jn. 5:22) the Holy Spirit being present with him, clearly and essentially as the vivifying spirit, then they say to the godly Lot: "Save yourself, preserve your own soul; do not look back nor remain anywhere in the plain; flee to the mountain, in case you be taken up with them." (Gen. 19:7)
This is also what the Revelation now teaches us: since it is not possible in so great and populous a city as Rome that there should not also be slaves of Christ in it, he says to them, " Come out of her, my people, in case you take part in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues ." For to share in her sins and plagues is to share with them; for the plagues are because of them.
For he says her sins have reached to heaven ; as if to say that they even defiled the intervening air with their sins.
Therefore he says that God, having been very patient, has now risen for retribution. He therefore tells her to render sins double , although through the all-wise Moses God commanded us that “one should not exact vengeance twice for the same thing.” (see Deut. 32.41; Nahum 1:9) How then does he himself repay twice? Double [διπλᾶ] does not mean double in the numerical sense, but that, being loving toward mankind and good, and far less inclined to punish to the extent deserved, God considers that he has repaid twice even when he gives back a portion; and not only twice, but sevenfold. And knowing this the prophet said, “Return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach which they reproached you with, O Lord.” (Ps. 78:12) From the petition for sevenfold vengeance he is asking God concerning the deserved punishment of the enemies, instead of which, he says, having been glorified and having squandered the providence of this present life, he has not fulfilled the divine will. Render to her .
For he says, “I will never be widowed of ruling”; for this is the widow , the one desolate of the ruler. I will see no evil. Therefore, because of her loftiness, all evil will come upon her at once; for he says God is strong and will be prevented by no one from bringing judgment and punishment upon her; may it be that by the grace of the one who called us into his knowledge and hope in Christ he would make us all free; to whom be glory for the ages. Amen.
[Tenth Discourse]
Further discourse concerning the Revelation about Rome; for it concerns a very great upheaval and, being foreign in character, is fittingly expressed in the account. What then does he say?
Revelation 18:9-19 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication with her and reveled with her, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning; standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, they will say: “Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the mighty city, for in one hour your judgment has come.” And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargoes anymore; no longer will one find among their cargoes gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every citron wood and every vessel of ivory and every costly vessel of wood and of bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and myrrh and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and horses and chariots and bodies and souls of men. The fruit for which your soul lusted has gone from you, and all the bright and splendid things have perished from you, and they will never again find them 5 . The merchants who became rich by her will stand afar off because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning and crying: “Woe, woe, the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls, for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste.” And every shipmaster and everyone who sails to a place 6 , and all sailors, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood far off and cried when they saw the smoke 7 of her burning, saying: “What city is like the great city?” And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying: “Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth; for in one hour she has been laid waste.”
How in various ways and vividly he wove the lament over it and the height of mourning. And since almost everything is clear, if anything alone seems difficult, having noted it in passing let us proceed to the rest.
And he says horses and chariots and bodies . The word "chariots" is a Latin term; for with the Romans holding sway it is not inappropriate for the divine evangelist to have used a Latin word. The Scripture has put it into Greek. For in Latin the chariot is called rheda [ῥεδιον], and they put a general plural ending in the case; and one ought according to the Romans to say rhedioroum [ῥεδιοροὺμ], as having Hellenized it he wrote a Greek ending, having said rhedōn [ῥέδων], so that the said thing may be such. And he says horses and chariots and bodies , like also horses suitable for chariots, and bodies, that is, cavalry and made for riders.
Revelation 18:20-24 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment for you against her. And a mighty 8 angel took up a millstone like a huge stone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Therefore with violence Babylon the great shall be thrown down, and it shall never be found again. And the voice of harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters shall never be heard in you again, and every craftsman and skillful worker shall never be found in you again, and the sound of a mill shall never be heard in you again, and the light of a lamp shall never shine in you again, and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall never be heard in you again; for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived, and in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
The merchants and the kings of the earth and all who were enriched by the city standing and prospering will weep over it; but let the heavens rejoice, that is, the angels in heaven and the souls of the righteous, some because vengeance has been executed by God, others as sharing in the joy of those avenged. Again, through the discussion in the narrative he lifts up the passion of spiritual Babylon; since these things are clear, it is not necessary to have them dwell among those who confess.
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Translator’s notes for chapter 18.
1. For this reading, there are two differences between the oldest Oecumenius manuscript reading and the common reading found the Greek NT. Manuscript 203 is the closest to the most common reading, for it translates into English the same but the Greek is slightly different. The oldest manuscript reading omits “of the wine” [τοῦ οἴνου], and reads “has fallen” [πέπτωκε], instead of “made drunk” [πέπωκαν]. Oecumenius manuscript 203 reads [πεπώκασι]. I have decided to go with the reading from Oecumenius manuscript 203. But in the comments on the text below, Oecumenius omits “of the wine”, but does not read “have fallen” but the correct “have drunk”.
2. Jerome of Stridon, in his commentary on Isaiah says this about “sirens”, “The Hebrew word Thennim are called Sirens, which we interpret as either demons, or certain monsters, or certainly great dragons, which have crests and can fly.” The Sirens are mythical creatures of ancient Greek mythology, dangerous bird-women (or later creatures with a fish tail) who lured sailors with their enchanting song and music, leading their ships to shipwreck on rocky coasts. Initially they were birds with women's heads. Over time, especially in post-classical art, they were identified with mermaids (with a fish tail).
3. Oecumenius omits “as much as she has filled herself with.”
4. Cyril of Alexandria Adoration in Spirit and Truth 1 (PG 68:169-76).
5. The oldest Oecumenius manuscript reads “and they will nevermore find her [αὐτήν],” while the common reading in the Greek NT reads “and they will nevermore find them [αuτά].” Manuscripts 203 and 240 has the common reading, which I have adopted here, because that actually fits the context better, and was probably what Oecumenius originally used.
6. The common reading is “who sails to a place [τόπον].” The oldest Oecumenius manuscript reads “who sails on the river [τὸν ποταμὸν].” Manuscripts 203 and 240 has the common reading.
7. The common readings reads “they saw the smoke [τὸν καπνὸν].” The oldest Oecumenius manuscript and other witnesses read “they saw the anguish [τὸν τόπον].” I chose to use the common reading here because it is in Oecumenius manuscripts 203 and 240, which support the common reading.
8. The oldest Oecumenius manuscript reads, “And an angel took up a mighty millstone.” Oecumenius manuscripts 203 and 240 agrees with the common reading, “And a mighty angel took up a millstone.” The only difference is that the oldest manuscript modifies the stone instead of the angel. The oldest manuscript uses ἰσχuρόν, while the correct rendering is ἰσχυρὸς. I chose to use the correct re4adibng found in Oecumenius manuscripts 203 and 240.