What does Revelation 18:23 mean?

Earlier verses depicted the doom of Babylon as a giant millstone being thrown into the ocean (Revelation 18:21). Its ruin in the end times will be total, sudden, and inescapable. These verses continue to emphasize the total destruction of this city by noting all of the activities which will cease.

By the time of the tribulation, the city—and possibly the associated government—of Babylon is seen worldwide as a bright, shining city. After its fall, the lights will go out. The lights will never come on again in Babylon.

Also, there will never be another wedding in Babylon. Although the city's merchants were known throughout the world for their successful enterprises, they will never again produce any goods or strike a deal. They will never swindle buyers again. Their "cash registers" will go silent and stay silent when God rains judgment upon their wicked city.

This verse implies that Babylon was a city of sorcery. The Greek word for "sorcery" is pharmakeia, from which we derive the word "pharmacy." Most likely, the "sorcery" of end-times Babylon will include drug production and trafficking. Substances such as illicit drugs control and enslave people, making them easier to manipulate. The beast's city of Babylon will likely be a bastion of drug addicts and dealers. All versions of "sorcery" will be ended when God destroys Babylon.