18:18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning.—Her confusion and destruction by the Lord. Saying, What city is like unto this great city.—With its millions of adherents, all professedly interested in mission work. 18:19. And they cast dust on their [heads] HEAD.—Did a certain amount of mud‐slinging.—Ezek. 27:30; Lam. 2:10. And cried, weeping and wailing.—And gnashing their teeth, too, no doubt. Saying, Alas, [alas] that great city.—That wonderful religio‐political combination. Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea.—All preachers who were strong enough and clever enough to manage people’s churches, independent of the sects. Many such “independent” churches have large memberships. By reason of her costliness.—By reason of the amount of money that can be raised in and for such institutions. For in one hour is she made desolate.—“To them the fall of Babylon at first is astounding, a perplexity, but will work no real injury, because the reign of Babylon over the earth will be superseded by the reign of the New Jerusalem—the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.”—Pastor Russell; Rev. 18:8; 3:14; 11:11. 18:20. Rejoice over her, thou Heaven.—New powers of spiritual control, Christ and His Bride, appointed to take her place.—Jer. 51:48; Phil. 3:20; Rev. 11:19. And ye [holy] SAINTS AND Apostles.—You who have suffered at her hands.—Matt. 23:34, 35; Rev. 13:15; 18:24. And Prophets.—The faithful teachers of the Christian church, and also the Prophets of old, who foresaw Mystic Babylon’s rise and fall, and knew that it stood between them and the fulfilment of their hopes. “Daniel, who was thinking specially of Israel, and of the fulfilment of God’s promises to the fathers, perceived that all that he had heard could not occur in 2300 literal days, especially when Gabriel said to him, ‘But shut thou up the vision, for it will be fulfilled after many days.’ And though he knew not how long each symbolic day would be, he was made sick at heart by the thought of so many evils as were coming upon God’s people—though he saw not the change of that name from fleshly to spiritual Israel. We read, ‘And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days.’ ”—C. 105. For God hath avenged you on her.—This vengeance of God for the wrongs done to His saints in all ages began in 1878 (Rev. 6:10, 11), and closes with the full end of the Harvest. When the last member of the Great Company class is delivered the system will utterly perish. 18:21. And a mighty angel.—The common people. Took up a stone like a great millstone.—Temporarily lifted ecclesiasticism to great heights. And.—Experiencing a sudden conviction of their error in so doing, and of the truly devilish character of the system.