Revelation 18:21: And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

During the seventh and final Vial Plague of the Third Woe,¹ a mighty angel who is Jesus Christ² will destroy Modern Babylon completely.³ Babylon's demise was foreseen and described by Isaiah,⁴ Jeremiah,⁵ Joseph Smith,⁶ and others.⁷

John describes Modern Babylon as a stone like a great millstone⁸ that will be suddenly destroyed⁹ when the mighty angel casts it into the sea.¹⁰ The sea represents the bottomless pit, the abyss, and hell.¹¹ Zion is the opposite image of a small stone cut out of the mountain without hands that grows gradually until it fills the earth.¹²

The great city of Babylon shall be thrown down, future tense,¹³ with violence,¹⁴ not gently dropped into the sea with only the force of gravity to pull it downward.¹⁵ The image of violence against Babylon comes from Jeremiah 51,¹⁶ which includes a plague of hailstones that weigh one talent each.¹⁷ John describes this same violence as a great slaughter of wicked people with a sword that comes from the mouth of Christ in Revelation 19:15.¹⁸

The violent destruction of Modern Babylon will be so great that Babylon will not have power to rise again¹⁹ and shall be found no more at all.²⁰ The phrase no more at all is repeated six times in Revelation 18:21-23 to confirm the reality of Babylon's complete and final destruction.²¹ The symbolic number six (6) represents Babylon's imperfection²² and her utter ruin in every aspect of her existence.²³

Revelation 18:22: And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

When Modern Babylon falls, there will be six groups of people and items that shall be no more at all.²⁴ John identifies the first group or item in Revelation 18:21 as the great city itself, including all her citizens.²⁵

In Revelation 18:22, John identifies the second group or item using the world number four.²⁶ There will be four types of music that shall be no more at all, including: (1) the voice of harpers, as a symbol of joy among the Jews but sorrow among the Greeks,²⁷ (2) musicians, as a separate class of vocal performers,²⁸ (3) pipers, representing wind instruments usually played in times of mourning²⁹ and (4) trumpeters, whose instruments were used anciently for both war and worship.³⁰ This foursome represents every form of corrupt music.³¹ In addition, anything worldly that promotes the carnal pleasures of Modern Babylon shall be heard no more at all.³² In Zion, by contrast, music will always be found forever.³³

Craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, is the third group or item that shall not be found any more in Babylon.³⁴ The craftsmen of Babylon produce wicked and worldly products.³⁵ When Babylon falls no craftsmen will be left to produce such products.³⁶ Furthermore, Babylon cannot be rebuilt without craftsmen.³⁷ Without them there will be no honorable work that can lift and elevate her citizens from hell.³⁸ The citizens of Babylon will be cursed with idleness.³⁹

John's fourth group or item is the sound of a millstone [that] shall be heard no more at all in Babylon.⁴⁰ The destruction and desolation of Babylon shall be so complete that even daily household tasks will be nonexistent.⁴¹ The silence of the mills in every household means desolation and the end of life, not just livelihood.⁴²

Revelation 18:23: And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

John's fifth group or item is the light of a candle [that] shall shine no more at all because Babylon will be destroyed.⁴³ In addition, the citizens of Babylon will be in the spiritual darkness of hell.⁴⁴ The darkness of Babylon is opposite the light and glory of Zion.⁴⁵

The sixth group or item in John's list is the missing sound of the joyful voice of the bridegroom and of the bride.⁴⁶ Their voices of celebration shall be heard no more at all in Babylon.⁴⁷ Marriages cannot occur in a desolate place without inhabitants,⁴⁸ nor can marriages occur between and among the dead.⁴⁹ Marriage symbolizes the covenant relationship between Christ and his church,⁵⁰ which the citizens of Babylon reject.⁵¹ In fallen Babylon, there is no marriage relationship with Christ. This is foreshadowed by modern society's neglect, abuse and discrediting of the marriage covenant between mortal men and women.⁵²

After John lists the six groups or items that will be no more at all in Modern Babylon, he gives three reasons for their loss and destruction.⁵³ First, the destruction of Babylon comes at the hands of the merchants [who] were the great men of the earth.⁵⁴ They commercialized evil and wrongfully used their influence to mislead entire peoples, nations, kindreds, and tongues.⁵⁵ John identifies the merchants as great men because they control every aspect of Babylon's economy and worldly society⁵⁶ through corruption and their covetous influence.⁵⁷

Second, the same merchants use sorceries,⁵⁸ including artifice and seductions of every kind, to deceive and lead astray people and nations.⁵⁹ These deceptions lead to false worship and false institutions.⁶⁰ Their sorceries lead people to worship the riches, luxuries, and material goods of Modern Babylon.⁶¹ Their sorceries also include worship practices of the occult (dark magic).⁶² Modern Babylon's sorceries are like false advertisements that cause people to place great value on worthless and worldly goods that create a huge demand for items that have no redeeming value.

Revelation 18:24: And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

The third reason for Babylon's destruction is the murder of people who are not her citizens.⁶³ Thus, in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all others.⁶⁴ John mentions this same threesome in Revelation 18:20 as holy saints, apostles, and prophets that will be avenged when Modern Babylon falls.⁶⁵ John's words describe all the righteous martyrs that were slain upon the earth,⁶⁶ both past⁶⁷ and future.⁶⁸ The innocent blood of martyrs is a stain upon Babylon,⁶⁹ which justifies Babylon's complete ruin and destruction.⁷⁰ The full extent of her blood-stained character will be revealed when she is destroyed.⁷¹