Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 16:19

Revelation 16:19. And the great city was divided into three parts. In these words we have the third particular of the seven. The sentence of Daniel 5:28 may be in the Seer's mind, ‘Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.' If this reference be correct, it will confirm the view (1) that Cyrus is the type from which ‘the kings from the sunrising' mentioned in Revelation 16:12 is taken; and (2) that these kings are messengers of Christ, and deliverers of His Church as Cyrus was. The city is divided into ‘three' parts, not so much from any thought of the three unclean spirits as from the idea of St. John that a whole consists of three parts (but comp. also Ezekiel 5:1-5; Ezekiel 5:12). The meaning is that the city was broken up and overthrown. The question of the identification of this ‘great city' is more difficult. It is commonly understood to be Babylon, the emblem and centre of the world power. But in chap. Revelation 11:8 mention has already been made of Jerusalem as ‘the great city,' and it is not easy to see how we can now interpret the name in a different manner. Besides this, Jerusalem was thought of in chap. Revelation 11:8 as the city of ‘the Jews' rather than as the metropolis of God's kingdom, the idea of the place where Jesus was crucified being afterwards extended by the mention of Sodom and Egypt (comp. on chaps. Revelation 11:8 and Revelation 18:24). The ‘great city' would therefore seem to be Jerusalem viewed in a less extensive sense than in chap. 11, as the principle and essence of what St. John in his Gospel calls ‘the world.'

The cities of the nations fell. This is the fourth particular of the seven. The reference may be to Micah 5:11; Micah 5:14. There, no doubt, it is the cities of Israel in which, rather than in Himself, the people had trusted that God promises in mercy to take away. But what is a merciful chastisement to Israel is a judgment on ‘the nations,' and the destroying of their only refuge. Every city they had built for themselves ‘falls,' and they are left houseless and defenceless.

And Babylon the great came up, etc. We have now the fifth particular of the seven. ‘Babylon the great' is not essentially distinct from ‘the great city' of the first clause of the verse, yet it is not exactly the same. We have already seen that the latter is degenerate Jerusalem viewed in a less extensive sense than in chap. 11. Now it is viewed in its widest meaning, as embracing not only the essence and principle of ‘the world' once exhibited among ‘the Jews,' but that principle as it appears in the Gentile not less than in the Jew. As in chap. Revelation 11:8 ‘the great city' expanded until it embraced Sodom and Egypt, so here in like manner it expands into ‘Babylon the great.' As such it must drink of the cup of God's anger blazing out in His wrath.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 16:19

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