Revelation Chapter 18

Brother Shallieu gives another unique perspective of Verses 22 and 23

 “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; 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.”

The first grouping is that of music and musicians. The “voice of harpers” refers to those who are happy in the nominal Church; they play the Bible (make music) in their own way to the delight of themselves and others. Their joy can come from singing about and praising an activity or work rather than the Lord. All of these pipers, flute players, and noisemakers tell others how wonderful their sect is, but with many, God is not well pleased.

After the musical aspect comes the working feature—the craftsmen—and then the millstone activity. The “sound of a millstone” refers to the noise the stone makes when grinding the grain; symbolically, this refers to the preparation of spiritual food. Just as the literal millstone monotonously grinds the grain, so the spiritual food turned out is often monotonous and false. Activity in the theological seminaries and the Sunday schools will come to a halt “because thou suffer that woman Jezebel . . . to teach and to seduce my servants . . . to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (Rev. 2:20).

Worldly philosophy and politics are often preached, and very little of the Bible. In the nominal Church are choirs, organists, the incantation of the litany, colorful vestments, incense, ceremonies, etc.—which many find pleasing, relaxing, and entertaining. Verse 22 shows that all these will cease.

Although the portion of text regarding the millstone is wanting in the Sinaitic manuscript, the thought is scripturally correct. There appears to be creditable evidence that the original copyist, in transferring characters from a more ancient original, inadvertently skipped two complete lines. Such an omission can more readily occur when a word or clause is often repeated, as here with the expression “shall be heard no more at all in thee.” The clause concerning the sound of the millstone not being heard anymore is found in the Alexandrian Codex and also in a companion text in the Old Testament about unfaithful nominal Israel, a type of Christendom: “Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle” (Jer. 25:10).

“No craftsman . . . shall be found any more in thee.” “Craftsman” would include those who make images, icons, rosary beads, crucifixes, candles, and stained glass, as well as statuary, furniture, and fancy vestments. When such things are done away with, there will be no more employment in these areas. The building of churches and cathedrals has employed countless thousands.

“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee.” The “light of a candle” refers to the light of truth, based on Revelation 2:1,5, where Jesus is described as walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. The Master likened the true Christian to the light of a candle that should not be hidden under a bushel but placed where it will be seen (Matt. 5:14–16).

“The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee.” The “bridegroom” is Jesus, and the “bride,” of course, is the Church. The voice of both the bridegroom and the bride will cease in Babylon.

Is the Church the “bride” in the present Gospel Age?

No, she is an espoused virgin. Therefore, at the time of this vision’s fulfillment, the Church will be beyond the veil. This verse is another confirmation that the true Church will be off the earthly scene when Babylon meets its doom. The voice of a bride is the same both before and after marriage; she may be happier when married, but the voice is the same. In other words, in natural life a person talks with the same voice whether single or married. Verse 23 states that at the time of the fulfillment of the vision, the voices of the same personalities who are now the Bridegroom and the Bride, but who were formerly heard in Babylon, are no longer audible, the system having perished.

It is important to perceive the time slot of Verses 22 and 23; the events are viewed in the future prophetic past tense, as though the marriage of the Lamb had been consummated. Seen from this perspective, the context is a flashback to a former era.

Verses 22 and 23 provide a more sweeping description of events than those just subsequent to 1878. From a natural standpoint, the sound of music and gaiety, the sight of workmen and craftsmen employed in their skills, the sound of millstone activity at the mills, the lights and sounds of wedding festivity—all of these conditions have existed within the portals of Christendom both prior to and following 1878—and they still exist.

Even from a spiritual standpoint, the Lord’s voice is still heard in Babylon today. It is true that the Christian well informed about present dispensational truth realizes Babylon was spewed out of the Lord’s mouth in 1878; since that date Babylon has not in any sense been overruled as a golden cup in the hand of the Lord or as a channel of truth, as was the circumstance prior to 1878.

Yet this does not mean that at present Babylon has no light at all. Babylon possesses a certain degree of truth (Some of the “first principles doctrines”, the milk of the word), but that truth is mixed with considerable error (The Adversary knows full well the need for blending some truth with error, it is the only way to make it palatable). To be a light-bearer having the Lord’s approval is quite another matter, however.

Although the Lord no longer recognizes Babylon as a light-bearer, as a candle, and in no way sanctions or approves of the nominal Church in this role, yet THE WORLD considers Babylon as that candle; and furthermore, Babylon still assumes to be the world’s teacher and light-bearer. It considers its own decrees as echoing, in an authoritative manner, the voice of the Lord and the voice of his true Church. The nominal system will claim to be this voice right up to the time of its destruction.

Some may still question whether the voice of the Lord is heard in Babylon today. It is one thing for those in Babylon to hear the Master’s voice emanating from within the system, and quite another thing for the same ones to hear his voice from without penetrating to within Babylon’s walls, beckoning “Come out of her, MY PEOPLE” (Rev. 18:4).

Otherwise, how could there be a harvest, a separation of the wheat from the tares, preparatory to garnering the wheat into the Lord’s heavenly barn?

The reason the “great men of the earth” (those in Christendom underneath religious restraint) are its merchants (engaged as profit-sharing agents in the exchanging of commodities on behalf of the nominal Church) is because of Babylon’s sorceries, the magical arts the system employs in juggling Scripture to justify its role in earth’s affairs.

We move on to Verse 24 in our next post.