Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7: The Finished MysteryRussell, C. T. (Charles Taze)
Religion
Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7: The Finished Mystery
Russell, C. T. (Charles Taze)
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.; Jehovah's witnesses -- Controversial literature
Saying, [Babylon is fallen,] is fallen, [that] BABYLON, THE great
[city].—Chapters 7 and 9 of Volume II are particularly devoted to this
theme. “The name Babylon originally signified God’s gate‐way; but
afterward, in derision, it came to mean _mixture_ or _confusion_. In the
book of Revelation this name is applied specifically to the church
nominal, which, from being the gate‐way to glory, became a gate‐way to
error and confusion, a miserable mixture composed chiefly of tares,
hypocrites,—a confused mass of worldly profession in which the Lord’s
jewels are buried, and their true beauty and luster hidden.” (C. 153.)
“The name Babylon was applied, not only to the capital city of the
Babylonian empire, but also to the empire itself. Babylon, the capital,
was the most magnificent, and probably the largest, city of the ancient
world. It was built in the ‘form of a square on both sides of the
Euphrates river; and, for protection against invaders, it was surrounded
by a deep moat filled with water and inclosed within a vast system of
double walls, from thirty‐two to eighty‐five feet thick, and from seventy‐
five to three hundred feet high. On the summit were low towers, said to
have been two hundred and fifty in number, placed along the outer and
inner edges of the wall, tower facing tower; and in these walls were a
hundred brazen gates, twenty‐five on each side, corresponding to the
number of streets which intersected each other at right angles. The city
was adorned with splendid palaces and temples and the spoils of
conquest.’ ” (D. 23; Jer. 51:8; Rev. 18:2.) “This use of the aorist—in the
sense of the ‘prophetic preterite’—expresses the certainty of the fall:
see chapters 10:7; 11:18; 18:2; and see on chapter 15:1. The language is
taken from Isa. 21:9, the verb denoting the violent fall and overthrow of
kingdoms—see Ezek. 30:6; and see on chapter 17:10. With the fall of
Babylon, the capital of the ungodly world‐kingdom, the Old Testament
connects the redemption of the people of God.—Isa. 13:19; 47:1; Jer.
51:1‐10.”—Cook.
Because [she made all nations drink of] ALL NATIONS HAVE FALLEN THROUGH
the wine of the wrath of her fornication.—“The ruin of all the nations of
earth is here attributed directly to the fact that ‘Babylon made all the
peoples drunk with the wine [spirit, influence] of her
fornication’—worldly affiliation.”—C. 164, 104; Jer. 51:7; Rev. 2:20;
17:2, 5; 18:3; 19:2.
14:9. And [the] ANOTHER, A third angel followed them.—Volume III of the
_Scripture Studies_ followed I and II.
Saying with a loud voice.—Proclaiming clearly, in chapters 2, 4 and 6.
If any man worship the beast.—The Papacy.
And his image.—The Evangelical‐Alliance‐Spiritism combination.—Rev. 13:11,
13, 14, 15; 14:11; 15:2; 16:2, 13; 19:20; 20:10; Matt. 24:24.
And receive his mark In his forehead, or in his hand.—See Rev. 13:16, 17.
14:10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.—The Message
of Present Truth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account