The suddenness of Babylon's demise is a solemn lesson that things can change swiftly and God may call to account at his bar of justice in a moment. In language of graphic simplicity, John pictures the traders who have profited from Babylon no longer having a place to do their trading. Despite all her great claims, she will be brought to utter desolation. The sound of music, and trade and the allurement of bright lights will be gone. Like the eerie spectacle of the Titanic on the ocean floor as a camera slowly passes over her carbuncled remains, so the glory of Babylon will be gone.
Prostitution is tawdry.
We recoil at it because it cheapens and commercializes something sacred. The exchange of money adds insult and offence to something beautiful and covenantal. It brings something heavenly to the level of the gutter. But now, in this chapter, the whore has been destroyed and her lovers are upset. From the traffic of her bed they had made a rich life for themselves.