You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
23 And[kai] the light[phos] of a candle[luchnos] shall
shine[phaino] no more[ou me] at all[eti] in[en] thee;[soi] and[kai] the voice[phone] of the
bridegroom[numphios] and[kai] of the bride[numphe] shall
be heard[akouo] no more[ou me] at all[eti] in[en] thee:[soi] for[hoti] thy[sou] merchants[emporos] were[en] the great men[megistanes] of the earth;[ge] for[hoti] by[en] thy[sou] sorceries[pharmakeia] were
[planao] all[pas] nations[ethnos] deceived.[planao] KJV-Interlinear
23 and the
light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the
bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants
were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your
sorcery. NASB
Babylon will be so thoroughly destroyed that it will never, ever rise again, Isa 13:19-22; 14:22-23; Jer 50:13,39; 51:37.
The 'you' in this passage, refers to Babylon, the total plan of Satan and man.
It will be lights out, and even social interactions between men and women will come to a halt.
The merchants of Babylon, is a reference to all of those who will have promoted its philosophies and practices. And they will account for all of the great men of the world. All of those who have had a hand in commanding the world, its politics, its business, its celebrityship.
And, the same being completely deceived by the lies, of all that Babylon stands for.
But in society, there are no innocents. People are deceived because they want the benefits of the lustful offerings of the world - the free ride, the something for nothing promises. People are deceived because they want the power or wealth or control offered by the lustful opportunities of the world.
People are deceived because they reject or ignore or are indifferent toward truth, in preference for the lies of the world. And, they make a conscious decision to pursue lies rather than truth.
One of the many problems with any Bible study, is that people always assume that the information being taught, is in reference to someone else, and never themselves. And so we look around the world and see everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, everyone virtually ignoring Christ and truth, everyone believing that they are right and everyone else is wrong.
With truth excluded, then people will naturally trend toward the philosophies and beliefs that Satan has laid out, ie., socialism vs. freedom, alternate lifestyles vs. traditional marriage and family relationships, compromised principles vs. integrity, politics vs. statesmanship.
And in the end, the entirety of society will cease to function, being the last thing to fail in history.
And the failure lies not with that last generation who will populate the world in the Tribulation, it will be the spiritual failure of the generations that lead up to that last generation.
So, look around yourself, and look in the mirror, and then prepare for the last verse of this chapter, which is the most significant verse of them all.
