We are first introduced to the Whore of Babylon in chapter 14 verse 8 “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.” The judgement against Babylon is similar to the judgement against the Church of Thyatira (Revelation 2).

The announcement of judgement here in chapter 14 is interesting for two reasons:

1. We have never encountered her before this. A description of her and her judgement occurs in chapter 18.
2. The annoucement of judgement occurs before the warning against taking the Mark of the Beast.

These strongly suggest that the Whore exists and is present at the time of the Mark of the Beast, and yet, in the rollout of the Mark in chapter 13, is not mentioned directly.

While the judgement comes on the Whore because of gross sexual immorality, it is not the cause of the collapse. The fall of Babylon, is an economic collapse. It is caused by the 10 kings without a kingdom, who deceive the world with their pharmakeia (pharmacy). Revelation 18:23 says:

All this will happen
because your merchants
were the rulers of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery.

We see that the great merchants are the kings without a kingdom from chapter 17, and they belong to the Whore, but they hate the Whore. In an act of betrayal, they support the Whore’s enemies, and use the Whore’s power to deceive the nations with sorcery (pharmakeia/pharmacy).

The Whore and these great merchants pushed these pharmaceuticals onto the world, and in so doing deceived the nations.

Immediately following the announcement of the judgement in chapter 14, we have a strong warning against taking the Mark of the Beast. The Whore pushes the pharmaceuticals onto the world at the same time the world is being warned against taking the Mark. We see in Revelation 19 that the Mark was a deception (vs 20). Thus the pharmaceutical pushed onto the world, and the Mark of the Beast, are declared to be deceptions. This is consistent with the adverse reactions from the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 16. The temporal association and common language indicate that the Mark is a pharmaceutical deception pushed onto the world, and promoted by the Earth Beast via the Image Beast.

Some might counter and say that the pharmakeia of Revelation 18:23 is actual sorcery involving magic and demons. I don’t consider that a reasonable view. Magic is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 8:9 & 11); differently from pharmakeia. Magic and sorcery as we regard them today, is not what major corporations do. Pharmacy on the other hand, is bread and butter.

The basic root of much pharmacy today is not significantly different than eons past. They believe that plants and animals have certain properties to protect us, give us strength, or heal us. Much pharmacy today is achieved off the back of unborn children. Only a few years ago, President Trump tried to ban medical research from new abortions. In countering, Harvard Medical School Dean wrote a massive op-ed in which he cited that “abortions are the work-horse of medical research”, and opposed banning abortions for medical research. So it can be argued that modern pharmacy is a form of sorcery, however, even in the time of John, pharmacy primarily revolved around herbs, ointments, and medicines.

While the economic collapse is deliberately caused by these merchants, or whether it was an unintented by-product of some other action, the root started with a pharmeceutical deception. It is interesting to note that the World Economic Forum (a place where leaders of large corporations and political leaders come together to discuss plans for global change), has repeatedly said that they want to use the COVID-19 pandemic to cause an ‘economic reset’. They called it the ‘COVID-19 The Great Reset’.

The Great Reset intends to destroy the USA, and western nations, via an income equality reset. It was summed up by Klaus Schwab, the WEF Chairman, “you’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy.” He has proudly claimed to have infiltrated cabinets all over the world. The WEF lists hundreds, if not thousands of business, cultural, and political leaders on its website. Digital currencies (CBDC) are part of the WEF ‘great reset’ plan.

Note that the merchants, the 10 kings, destroy the whore through a pharmaceutical deception that brings about an economic collapse. This whore, must be a major economic power; it imports goods from all over the world, things that the rest of the world struggle to afford.

Other merchants, weep when they see the economic collapse, because no one buys their goods any more. Revelation 18:11, 15-19

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer…The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying,

Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;
for in a single hour
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out, “Who was like the great city?” They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth;
for in a single hour she was destroyed.

This economic collapse has major ramifications not just to the Whore, but to merchants around the world.

There are two particularly interesting things Revelation 18 tells us about this economic collapse and the Whore:

1. In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all those slaughtered on the earth.
2. they traded in the bodies and souls of people.

I do not think for one moment that the Whore is literally responsible for all those slaughtered on the earth. However, I do believe it is possible that the Whore is responsible for many wars. Jesus said that the Pharisees, by claiming to be the sons of those who killed the prophets, were responsible for the death of the prophets themselves (Luke 11:47-48). It can be speculated that because the whore, was a whore and did not keep herself pure, brought peoples from all backgrounds into her, and those people, hating truth and light, are guilty of the deaths of the saints and all those who have died on the earth. These “immigrants” proudly claim their heritage and hatred of Christianity, and are therefore guilty of the sins their fathers committed.

Alternatively, the whore is directly responsible for killing large numbers of saints, and other people, and the Bible merely uses the “all” as a point to drive home of the shear volume.

Interestingly, the whore was not condemned for trading of the bodies and souls of men, but it is only a lament from the merchants from other nations who brought them to the shores of the whore. It is a lament from merchants that their business of transporting people to the whore also collapses. Whether this refers to an actual slave trade, or large swaths of immigrants paying for passage to get to the whore and live a luxurious lifestyle, it is unclear. I suspect the latter, only for the reason that the Whore is not condemned for it. However, I am open to the idea that the Whore participated in the trade. The only modern twist this might mean, is the extent to which people are the product of various apps, and social media. You are the product if you have a Facebook account, they sell you and your family and friends to merchants and anyone who wants your purchasing power. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, TikTock, Snapchat, etc. You are the product.

The whore is condemned for sexual perversion. The kings of the earth are condemned for their sexual perversion that they committed with her.

The Whore believes she is powerful and will never fall. And it is for that reason that the plagues come very quickly (Rev 18:8), death, and grief and famine.

The destruction of the Whore is not completed until the 7th bowl (Revelation 16:17-21). The Battle of Armageddon appears to come first, however, the destruction of the Whore and the evidences of her collapse I believe are more likely beginning to show at the 1st bowl as adverse reactions from the Mark are beginning to be felt.

If the USA is the Whore, it may be that the perception that she is unwilling, or unable, to defend Israel, that prompts the battle of Armageddon. There is question what the battle of Armageddon is, or where it is; but that’s another post.