1. Revelation 18:22 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is significant about the removal of “a craftsman of any craft”?

Revelation 18:22 (ESV)

22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,

A successful civilization needs craftsmen (carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, bricklayers, electricians, etc.) to survive and thrive. (Think of the trades involved in building the ships of Revelation 18:17 or the shops implied in Revelation 18:11–13.) A fallen city/civilization needs ample tradesmen to rebuild her economy and infrastructure. But in this Babylon not a craftsman will be found; no one will begin her reconstruction, ever.