The Narrow Path Ministries

Here is something from volume II of my book (The Antichrist and the Second Coming: A Preterist Examination). I wrote something on harlot Babylon a few weeks ago. See here http://www.theos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3774 Here is some more.

One way you can tell if an interpretation is on the mark is if it is able to make a mundane passage come to life. The merchandise of Babylon is just such a passage. First, you can apply it to any great city if you try, but why is this merchandise being listed? For the most part it is very luxurious, not the more common sort of merchandise that keeps a literal city going. Anyway, If futurists (or anyone else) have something that they think fits better then lets see it.

THE MERCHANDISE OF BABYLON
Revelation 18:12-13 presents us with the merchandise of Babylon. For the most part this merchandise falls into two general categories: Verse 12 lists the commodities used in the furnishings of the Temple and the most sacred attire of the high priest. Verse 13 lists commodities used in the Temple sacrifices and offerings.

REVELATION 18:11-13
11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
12. “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
13. “and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.”

The first question that comes to mind is, Why is John providing so much detail about Babylon’s merchandise? How does it add to the narrative? This list of items is an example—the most extensive in Revelation—of physical referents being intertwined in a symbol to aid in the identification of that symbol. As I have mentioned, Babylon was not a literal city (not even Jerusalem). It is a symbol of a community of people—God’s unfaithful old covenant community. This community was centered in the Temple at Jerusalem and thus is being represented by images associated with the Temple and the priesthood. If Babylon were simply a literal city, this list of items would add little to the narrative; these items could be found in any great city.35 If, on the other hand, Babylon is a symbol of unfaithful Israel and her Temple, suddenly this merchandise makes perfect sense. As Carrington notes, “The long list of merchandise in 18:11-13 is surely a catalogue of materials for building the Temple, and stores for maintaining it.”36

Revelation 18 is not an “economic critique of Rome.”37 The luxurious “merchandise” of Babylon is a list of the merchandise of the Temple—a place where the best of everything was the norm. John goes into such detail on it to make sure the reader makes this important connection. Ford notes the following on the parallels between the merchandise of harlot Babylon and the merchandise of Temple:

The second lament is sung by the merchants. These people were not dissociated from the temple in Jerusalem, for merchants were employed both in the building of Herod’s temple and in its maintenance. According to B. Mazar [The Mountain of the Lord, (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1975)] items of worship were purchased at the shops. Most commentators suggest that the text is influenced by Ezek 27:12-24, the oracle against Tyre. However, while there is some association, the wares cited differ considerably; those cited below appear to be more in keeping with those which would be used for the temple and its services. Of the items which are listed in Rev 18, gold and silver, precious stones, fine linen, purple, silk (for vestments) scarlet, precious wood, bronze, iron (cf. Deut 8:9), marble cinnamon (as an ingredient of the sacred anointing oil), spices, incense, ointment, frankincense, wine, oil fine meal (Gr. Semidalis, used frequently in Leviticus for fine flour offering), corn, beasts, sheep are all found in use in the temple. Ivory and probably pearls were found in Herod’s temple. Although horses and chariots do seem to be incongruous, the Greek word for chariot is rhedē, a four-wheel chariot, a fairly rare word which appears to come from the Latin name. The author may be insinuating that Roman ways were introduced into the sacred city.38

The four wheeled chariots (or carriages as Aune translates them)39 may allude to the wealthy aristocracy that had arisen around the current and former high priests. Old Testament scholar Iain Provan does not think horses and chariots are incongruous with a Jewish identification of harlot Babylon. To the contrary, he sees a connection with Deuteronomy 17:16 and its prohibition against a king of Israel multiplying “horses for himself.” Provan connects the horses and chariots of harlot Babylon with Solomon gathering horses and chariots (1 Kgs. 4:26; 10:26-29) just before his apostasy. This resulted in his kingdom being taken from him (1 Kings 11:1-13; cf. Matt. 21:43).40

THE MERCHANDISE USED IN THE FURNISHINGS OF THE TEMPLE
AND THE VESTMENTS OF THE HIGH PRIEST
The items listed in Revelation 18:12 are the following: gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, every kind of citron wood, precious wood, bronze, iron and marble.

Precious metals were used throughout the Temple. Josephus gives the following description of the precious metals used for the doors of the inner court of the Temple: “Of the gates, nine were completely overlaid with gold and silver, as were the posts and lintels, but the one outside the sanctuary was of Corinthian bronze and far more valuable than those overlaid with silver plates and set in gold.”51 Gold was everywhere in the sanctuary; even the spikes to keep the birds away were covered with gold! (Josephus, The Jewish War 5, 5, 6). In describing the dress of harlot Babylon in Revelation 17:4, the phrase “adorned with gold” is literally “gilded with gold”52—an apt description of the Temple. Much of what wasn’t precious metal was beautiful marble.

Herod built the Temple with blue, yellow, and white marble, the sections not in a straight line, but alternately projecting and receding. He wanted to cover it with gold overlay but was advised by the rabbis not to do so because it looked better as it was, having the appearance of a surging sea. It was said that he who had never seen the Temple of Herod had never truly seen a beautiful structure.53

I have already mentioned the gold, fine linen, purple and scarlet that were used in the high priest’s holiest garments (this attire also containing precious stones) as well as in the furnishings of the Temple. As we are repeatedly reminded (Rev, 17:4; 18:12, 16), this is the attire of the harlot-city. Beale writes the following on this connection.

The LXX repeatedly describes the high priest’s garments and part of the sanctuary as adorned with “gold, purple, scarlet, linen, and [precious] stones.” This combination of words has already been used to describe the Babylonian harlot’s attire in Rev. 17:4 and 18:16 (though ‘pearls’ is omitted from the LXX lists and ‘linen’ does not occur in Rev. 17:4 . . .). Three of the twelve commodities not included in Ezek. 27:12-24 but mentioned in Rev. 18:12-13 (“linen, purple, scarlet” appear in the LXX’s descriptions of the priest’s garments (though they do also appear in Ezek. 27:7 and in Targ. Ezek. 27:16-24). In this light, it appears likely that the repeated OT portrayal of the priest’s attire has influenced the selection of items from 18:12-13 that are now applied to the harlot.
Also relevant is the description in Ezek. 16:13 of God’s adornment of Israel (“you were adorned with gold and silver , your clothing was fine linen and silk . . . you ate fine flour and oil”), who then sinned and “trusted in her beauty and played the harlot” (v 15). The nation whom God chose to be a kingdom of priests and who God adorned for that function prostituted itself.54 brackets in original

THE MERCHANDISE USED IN THE SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS OF THE TEMPLE
Revelation 18:13 consists of items used in the sacrifices and offerings of the Temple: cinnamon, incense, fragrant oil, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep.

The incense of the Temple included cinnamon and frankincense (cf. Ex. 30:34). Wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep were all used in the Temple services. These are the components of what Sanders refers to as the ideal sacrifice: “Sacrifices were conceived as meals, or better, banquets, The full and ideal sacrificial offering consisted of meat, cereal, oil and wine (Num. 15.1-10; Antiquities of the Jews. 3.23f.).”55 The following from the Mishnah shows the use of this merchandise in the offerings for the Temple. I have underlined the items that are listed Babylon’s merchandise.

MENAHOT 12:3 A-C [He who says,] “Lo, I pledge myself [to bring] a meal offering made of barley.” [in any case] must bring one made of wheat. [He who says, “Lo, I pledge myself to bring a meal offering made] of meal,” must bring one made of fine flour. [He who says, “lo, I pledge myself to bring a meal offering] without wine and frankincense,” must bring one with oil and frankincense . . . 13:4 A-B [He who says,] “Lo, I pledge myself [to bring] gold” [for the upkeep of the Temple] should not [bring] less than a golden denar. [He who says, “Lo, I pledge myself to bring] silver” should not [bring] less than a denar of silver . . . 13:6 D [He who says, “I expressly said that I should offer a beast] of the cattle but I do not know what I expressly said” must bring a bullock, a calf, a ram, a goat, and a lamb.56 brackets in original

The word translated as cattle in Revelation 18:13 (Gr. ktēnos) refers to domestic animals, especially of the flocks and herds. The animals mentioned above to be used as Temple offerings (a bullock, calf, ram, goat and lamb) all fit into this category.

THE SLAVES OF BABYLON
The last two items that are mentioned in harlot Babylon’s list of merchandise are translated by the NKJV as the “bodies and souls of men.” (Rev. 18:13). This translation does not adequately convey the impact of this culmination of Babylon’s merchandise. The Greek word “body” (Gr. sōma) was a Greek idiom for a slave. Thus, “bodies” is better translated as “slaves” here (as it is in the NASB). Thayer writes the following on this: “Since according to ancient law in the case of slave the body was the chief thing taken into account, it is a usage of later Grk. to call slaves simply sōmata [bodies]; once so in the N.T.: Rev. 18:13 where the Vulg. correctly translates by mancipia (A.V. slaves).”57
The Revised Standard Version (translating kai epexegetically)58 gives a much better rendering of the appalling end of the list of Babylon’s merchandise, “ . . . and slaves, that is, human souls” (Rev. 18:13 RSV). The Phillips Modern English translation is better still, “. . . [and] slaves, the very souls of men” (Rev. 18:13 PME). In the merchandise of Tyre, slaves are mentioned early in the list (Ezek. 27:13); there is nothing particularly noteworthy about an ancient city having slaves. The slaves of harlot Babylon, on the other hand, form the climax of its merchandise. The slaves of this “city” were the very souls of men. Jesus had accused the Jewish leadership of enslaving men’s souls by preventing them from entering the kingdom of God.

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in . . . Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Matthew 23:13, 15

In Galatians 4:24-26 Paul speaks of how those under the old covenant were enslaved; in contrast, those under new covenant are free. This gets back to the parallel between the two women/cities of Galatians 4:21-31 and the two women/cities of Revelation. Just as the other woman in Galatians was “in bondage with her children” (Gal. 4:25), so harlot Babylon has her slaves—the very souls of men.

Endnotes:
35. Aune applies the merchandise of Revelation 18:12-13 to Rome (David Aune, Revelation 17-22, 998-1003). I find the comparisons uninspiring. How was Rome about to fall—never to rise again—in John’s day? Any damage that Rome experienced in the civil wars of AD 68-69 gave rise to the need for more merchandise and trade (for the rebuilding), not less. It was the lucrative trade of Jerusalem and the Temple that would be lost to the merchants at AD 70. Rome would not fall for centuries.
36. Philip Carrington, The Meaning of Revelation, 287.
37. See Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies in the book of Revelation, (New York: T. & T. Clark, 1993), 338-383. He has a chapter entitled “The Economic Critique of Rome in Revelation 18.”
38. J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation, 304-305.
39. David Aune, Revelation 17-22, 969
40. Iain Provan, “Foul Spirits, Fornication and Finance: Revelation 18 from an Old Testament Perspective” Journal or the Study of the New Testament 64 (1996), 87-88, 95.

51. Josephus, The Jewish War 5, 5, 3, trans. Gaalya Cornfeld, 356.
52. Kenneth Gentry, Jr., Navigating the Book of Revelation, 145-146.
53. Judah Nadich, The Legends of the Rabbis, vol. 1: Jewish Legends of the Second Commonwealth (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1994), 106.
54. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 912. In Ezekiel 16 harlot Jerusalem is portrayed as being dressed in the furnishings of the tabernacle—her “food” consisting of items used in the offerings (vv. 10-13). This parallels harlot Babylon being dressed in the furnishings of the Temple and garments of the high priest (Rev. 17:4; 18:16)—her “merchandise” consisting of these items as well as those used in the offerings/sacrifices (Rev. 18:12-13).
It should be noted that Beale is an idealist so he sees harlot Babylon in many cities through out history, not just Jerusalem. Beale’ position is a form of idealism that he calls a “transtemporal approach.” He thus does not restrict the meaning of the harlot to unfaithful Israel. He writes the following about his approach.

No specific prophesied historical events are discerned in the book [of Revelation], except for the final coming of Christ to deliver and judge and to establish the final form of the kingdom in a consummated new creation—though there are a few exceptions to this rule [he cites the messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 as being exceptions to this]. The Apocalypse symbolically portrays events throughout history . . . The majority of the symbols in the book are transtemporal in the sense that they are applicable to events throughout the “church age” (The Book of Revelation, 48).

Beale sees harlot Babylon as “the prevailing economic- religious system in alliance with the state and its related authorities and existing throughout the ages” (The Book of Revelation, 850). Personally, I strongly disagree with this shotgun interpretive approach. God did not send the seven churches a vague outline of the struggle between good and evil that would happen over millennia; he sent them a very specific message of events that were about to happen (Rev. 1:1, 3; 13:18; 17:8; 22:6-12). Having said that, Beale is a topnotch scholar and his connections between Revelation and the OT are some of the very best. I thus find his work to be extremely helpful in this area. You just need to read him with discretion (as you need to do with all commentators).
55. E. P., Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 BCE-66CE, 104.
56. The Mishnah: A New Translation, trans. Jacob Neusner (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988), 760-763.
57. Joseph Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1889), 611.
58. Ian Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John, 261

REVELATION 18:11-13
11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
12. “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
13. “and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.”






The Historicist perspective on this , by R.L. Jones "The Revelation Decoded" Rev 18.12 (Part of commentary)

You can see in the dress and rituals of Babylon many applications of these words, in their fleshly arrangements. The purple and the scarlet , the silk and the linen , the pearls
and the jewels, displays of wealth and mammon Papacy has procured over the hundreds of years of her existence, from the people and from the kings and kingdoms she has intercoursed with.

Hi Steve,

How was the Papacy destroyed in one hour? The merchants are mourning the loss of a lucrative market. What is this talking about? A lot of people got rich off the Temple. When it was destroyed the merchants that supplied its needs mourned their loss.

Hi Steve,

How was the Papacy destroyed in one hour? The merchants are mourning the loss of a lucrative market. What is this talking about? A lot of people got rich off the Temple. When it was destroyed the merchants that supplied its needs mourned their loss.






Duncan,
A lot of people and kings and kingdoms got rich or richer playing ball within the Papacy/Statism unholy union over the church age, so this system will fall suddenly at some point in the future before Christ returns triumphantly.

Steve (7150),

The problem with saying Babylon will fall in the future (the far distant future from when Revelation was written) is that it totally blows off the time indicators that Revelation repeatedly gives.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TIME INDICATORS IN REVELATION
One last element that is important for the interpretation of Revelation is paying attention to the time indicators the book gives. Revelation repeatedly says that the time for its prophecies was at hand when the book was written. It is only the preterist position (that Revelation is not talking about the end of the world but rather the end of the old covenant order) that is consistent with the time indicators the book repeatedly gives.
Revelation was written around AD 65 toward the end of the sixth ruler’s (Nero) reign (Rev. 17:10). When Nero died in AD 68 it plunged the Roman Empire into darkness and confusion (cf. Rev. 16:10-11). The point of the nearness of the events in Revelation is made at the beginning of the book:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place . . . Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand.
Revelation 1:1, 3

The same point is made in the middle of the book: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15). The nearness of the events of Revelation is similarly emphasized at the end of the book:

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. “Behold I am coming quickly” . . . “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand.”
Revelation 22:6-7, 10

Notice that the time for the fulfillment of the prophetic portions of Revelation (not just the first three chapters) was at hand when John wrote. This helps to explain the following rather strange statement:

10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Rev. 22:10-11).

God is not encouraging people to do wrong! He is emphasizing the point that the time for these events is so near that there is hardly enough time for a person to change their ways (whether they are good or bad).

Gentry writes the following about Revelation’s repeated reminders of the nearness of the events in it:

First, John emphasizes the nearness of his prophecy by strategic placement of the time references: He places his boldest time statements in both the introduction and conclusion to Revelation. Remarkably, many recent commentators have missed it literally coming and going. The statement of expectancy is found two times in the first three verses: Revelation 1:1, 3. The same idea is found four times in his concluding remarks: Revelation 22:6, 7, 12, 20. John seems carefully to bracket his entire work to avoid any confusion. Significantly, these statements occur in the more historical and didactic section of Revelation, before and after the major dramatic-symbolic visions . . . .

Second, his temporal expectation receives frequent repetition. His anticipation appears six times in the opening and closing sections of Revelation, at least three times in the letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2:16; 3:10, 11), and at least twice more as significant notices in the body of Revelation (6:17; 10:6b). According to the unambiguous statement of the text, the events were “at hand.” John was telling the seven historical churches (1:4, 11; 2:8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 22:16) in his era to expect the events of his prophecy at any moment. He continually repeats the point for emphasis.

Kenneth Gentry, The Beast of Revelation rev. ed. (Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision 2002), 24.

It is a basic rule of biblical hermeneutics that one should first investigate the meaning a book held for its original audience before looking for secondary applications. While it is true that everything after Revelation 3 was prophetic (with the exception of the first five verses of chapter 12, which show Jesus’ ascension), the time for the fulfillment of those prophecies was “at hand” when Revelation was written (Rev. 22:10).

The same point is made in the middle of the book: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15). The nearness of the events of Revelation is similarly emphasized at the end of the book:







Duncan,
The "so called" original audience had already been warned by Jesus in three Olivet Discourses in the synoptics in plainly stated language that Jerusalem would fall. This "Revelation of Jesus Christ" to be an unveiling would have to be about something not known to qualify as an unveiling. When Jesus uses the phrase "coming" it may be symbolic of judgment and it may have been at different times in the church age. Rev 16 may have referenced the time been around 1917 when Communism was born with the Bolshevik Revolution and was one of the three unclean spirits, as was paganism & Islam. The drying of the Euphrates may have been the defeat of the Turks in 1917.

Steve,

The Turks?? Why would God send the churches of Asia a letter referring to the Turks? You know most of historicism is from a European perspective. It would be interesting to see some historicism from an African or South American perspective. It would invlove different events. Anyway, historicism is just projeting history onto the book of Revelation. AS for the Olivet Discourse. It is interesting that the gospel of John is the one gospel that does not have it. This has led some to say that Reveltion is John's discussion of the Olivet Discourse. Here is more from volume II.

CHAPTER 6: THE SEALS
The seals of Revelation’s scroll are like a musical overture; they give an overview of what is to come in the rest of work. Notice that the seals parallel the Olivet Discourse, especially as found in Mark. The following chart is based on one by Ian Boxall.52

First seal: coming of Antichrist, Rev. 6:1-2------coming of deceivers, Mark 13:5-6; the abomination of desolation, v.14

Second Seal: peace is taken, Rev. 6:3-4----------wars and rumors of war, Mark 13:7

Third Seal: scarcity of food, Rev 6:5-6-------------famines, Mark 13:8

Fourth Seal: famine and pestilence-----------------famine and pestilence, Luke 21:11
Rev. 6:7-8 NASB

Fifth Seal: souls of martyrs, Rev. 6:9-11------------martyrdom, Mark 13:9-13

Sixth Seal: darkening of sun and moon, -------------darkening of sun and moon, falling of
falling of stars on day of the Lord, -------------------stars at the Second Coming, Mark 13:24-27
Rev. 6:12-17

It was those in Judea who would need to flee the events spoken of in the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:14-19). That these events would be directed at the generation that rejected Jesus (Mark 13:29-30; cf. Matt. 21:33-45) is another indication that Revelation is dealing with the judgments that would be coming on first-century Israel. Consider the four judgments of the fourth seal; they would be by way of the “sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth” (Rev. 6:8 NASB). This mirrors Ezekiel 14:12-23 and the plagues that God said he would bring on Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness: “. . . I [will] send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it” (Ezek. 14:21).

The first six seals take one all the way up to the day of the Lord (Rev. 6:12-17). Variations on this theme of the events leading up to the day of the Lord continue in the rest of Revelation (e.g., Rev. 10:1-7; 11:15-19; 14:14-20; 16:17-21, etc.). A common sequence employed, is for the narrative to bring one to the day of the Lord, and then present an interlude, which is then followed by another series of events that again bring one to the day of the Lord. These repetitions (or recapitulations) involve a backing up of the narrative and then covering some of the same ground, often from a different perspective—sometimes with an intensification of events.

Steve,

The Turks?? Why would God send the churches of Asia a letter referring to the Turks? You know most of historicism is from a Europena perspective. It would be interesting to see some historicism from an African or South American perspective. It would invlove different events. Anyway historicism is just projeting history onto the book of Revelation. AS for the Olivet Discourse. It is interesting that the gospel of John is the one gospel that does not have it. This has led some to say that Reveltion is John's discussion of the Olivet Discourse. Here is more from volume




Duncan,
I don't think i said the letter referred just to the Turks or just to the Communists but to the events over the whole church age. Any prophetic letter has to be given or written to someone. All the books in the bible where given to someone or some group but that does'nt mean it pertained only to them. I think it's safe to say God knew others would read these letters including Revelation. I am aware that John did'nt write an Olivet Discourse and perhaps the early chapters may be about the destruction of Jerusalem.