Revelation 14 is a summary covering some amount of time, with messages from three different angels and finally climaxing with the 2nd coming of the King of kings.
The 2nd of the three angels (the fall of Babylon, Revelation 14:8) is described in detail in Revelation 18 and occurs before the penalty for receiving the mark (the 3rd angel). This will be our focus.
Babylon is the spiritual city of Satan. Satan's city is made up of his sons, subjects, citizens, servants, those who follow him, worship him, obey his commandments, those who sold him their soul. These are the elite of the world, the puppet-masters pulling the strings and controlling all governments, they are the powers that be. Babylon also hosts the dregs of society and everything between.
Babylon, the whore, prostitutes herself by buying and selling mens' souls. Her required payment is worshiping Satan, which is spiritual immorality. Instead of joining (becoming one) with the spirit of YHWH, her clients join themselves to Satan. They sell their souls to the devil for the promise of power, influence, wealth and pleasure - fame and fortune - sex, drugs and rock and roll. Some extract a high price, others literally throw away their lives for temporary pleasure (the pleasure of sin for a season).
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
The citizens of Babylon, proudly displaying their new mark of the beast as a sign of acceptance and conformity, will probably be smug in their decision. Unlike those weird anti-mark conspiracy "refuseniks" who won't be able to buy or sell, Satan's children are promised that they can buy and sell because they accepted the mark. They won't be locked down or locked out of the market.
This shows that the mark of the beast is issued and received BEFORE the fall of Babylon. After the fall, there is no more buying or selling so its promise would be empty. (see below).
But that smugness won't last. Babylon will be destroyed along with all its wealth. No money will survive, meaning those with the mark of the beast ALSO will not be able to buy or sell. AND they will suffer the seven last plagues. AND they won't go to heaven. Revelation 15 and 16.
Because Babylon is spiritual, not physical, everybody (or many?) seem to survive it's destruction. We know the merchants survive because they see the destruction of Babylon and mourn it. They still have merchandise to sell, but nobody buys anything.
We know the citizens (some?) survive because they later suffer the plagues (Revelation 16:2) but still, they don't buy or sell from the merchants (Revelation 18:11). NO ONE will be buying from the merchants.
What causes the destruction of Babylon and what is it?
Since Babylon is spiritual, not physical, it can't be war or a nuclear bomb, even though there may be some of those.
And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was ENLIGHTENED with his glory. And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen... Revelation 18:1-2
I propose that it is a spiritual, not physical, "enlightenment" (eyes opened) that causes the city's destruction. The jig is up. The fraud is recognized. The curtain is drawn away to expose a defeated, hating enemy demon, Satan.
All the wealth and power of Babylon is exposed as fake. All the pleasures are seen as transient. All the drugs and pandemics are exposed as fake. All the governments and their puppet-masters and their "elections" are exposed as fake.
Babylon falls, not because of physical destruction but by exposure as a fraud. When a ponzi scheme is discovered, it collapses quickly. Babylon is the worlds greatest, longest running ponzi scheme, deceiving the very elect if possible. When it crashes, Babylon will truly have fallen.
Fake money - wealth, bread - material goods
Fake healing - health, bodily protection - physical
Fake government - wisdom, fame, power - mental
Satan tried to recruit the Messiah into his kingdom of Babylon with these three very same lies, his three fakes. (1) Turn stones into bread (material wealth), (2) jump off the pinnacle (bodily protection), (3) worship Satan in return for fame, power and government (see Matthew 4 and Luke 4)
