Revelation 18:6

Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.

Render unto her even as she rendered ... The ultimate accountability of men, all people, for the evil that they do is inherent in this. We are ashamed of the commentators who view the sentiments of these verses as unchristian. It is they themselves who are sub-Christian, having fallen in some way with Satan's primeval lie that there is no penalty of sin. God told Eve of the penalty; but Satan said, "Thou shalt not surely die"; and it was a lie. Barclay pointed out that this is not an instruction to men."[31] It is the operation of the divine principle that, "Vengeance belongeth unto me, saith the Lord; I will repay" (Romans 12:19). God will surely punish sin unless it is repented of and forgiven.

Render unto her double according to her works ... Does this mean she is to be punished more than she deserves? "The last clause shows clearly that she receives just the amount that she deserves.[32] This verse reflects Jeremiah 50:29, where, "The archers arrayed against Babylon are told to recompense her according to her work."[33]

Who is to do all this to Babylon? Many think that they are the ones mentioned in Revelation 17:16,17, the more so since God puts into their minds the consent to do his will.[34] We agree with this. It is the "ten kings" who shall rise up long after the sixth and seventh heads of the beast are gone, in the times of the eighth beast, who shall execute the wrath of God upon Babylon, showing conclusively that the "Babylon the great" of this passage cannot possibly be literal Rome.

According to her works ... Christians should never forget this clause which sounds repeatedly like a refrain throughout the New Testament. The popular doctrine of salvation by "faith alone" is not a repeal of this principle, even if some think it is.

In the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double ... This is a repetition, for emphasis, of the first clause of this verse.

[31] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 153.

[32] James D. Strauss, op. cit., p. 224.

[33] Martin Rist, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII (New York-Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 497.

[34] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 518.