Martin Pröbstle
What does the Greek word pharmakeia mean in Revelation 18:23?
There is an idea circulating that Revelation 18:23 predicts our time because the Greek word pharmakeia appears in this verse. There it is said to Babylon, “For by your sorcery [pharmakeia] all the nations were deceived.”1
This is said to be a prophetic reference to the coronavirus crisis and the role of the pharmaceutical companies with their vaccines. Anyone can immediately recognize the similarity to the root word pharma-, which we use in many words today.2 In fact, the ancient Greek words starting with pharma- have a range of meaning, and pharmakeia can definitely mean “medicine” and “remedies” in certain contexts.3 But does pharmakeia in Revelation 18:23 really refer to the pharmaceutical industry and coronavirus vaccination, as some promulgate? The short answer: pharmakeia in Revelation 18:23 refers to sorcery—that is, occult practices and magic—not pharmaceutical drugs. The following arguments justify this statement:
The Textual Context of Revelation 18
We know how problematic it is to ignore the context and original intent of the text. When we take biblical statements out of their context, even with the intent to “apply” them, we distort their message. There is the saying “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text,” for anything you want to prove.4 We must be especially careful not to take Bible verses out of context.
Revelation 18 is about the fall of Babylon, which is metaphorically described here predominantly as a city, but also as a woman (see Rev 17). Three groups of clients of the “Harlot Babylon” have their say and mourn the destruction of the city in cries of woe: the kings of the earth (Rev 18:9–10), the merchants (Rev 18:11–17a), and the seamen (Rev 18:17b–19). This is followed by the speech of a strong angel (Rev 18:21–24). First, the latter notes that the festive and everyday life of the city, exemplified in music, industry, food production, lights, and weddings, will no longer be present. His final justification of the fall of Babylon states, “For by your sorcery [pharmakeia] all the nations were deceived” (Rev 18:23).
Remarkably, this is the only activity of Babylon mentioned in the angel’s speech, although elsewhere in Revelation quite a few are stated. Thus, the focus is especially on the deception—and on pharmakeia as a means for it. This must therefore be something that defines Babylon; it is not a secondary activity.
The Greek verb planaō means “lead astray, mislead, deceive”5 and primarily denotes the distortion of divine truth, the seduction to spiritual immorality and idolatry (cf. Rev 2:20). In the book of Revelation, this eschatological deception occurs through miraculous signs (Rev 13:13–14; 16:14; 19:20). Pharmakeia therefore has to do with the use of miraculous signs to deceive.
Babylon’s seducing of the nations is also likened to fornication. “All nations” have drunk of the “wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Rev 14:8; 18:3). Fornication is here a picture of spiritual harlotry (Rev 17:2, 4; 18:3, 9; cf. 2:14, 20) that corrupts the whole earth (Rev 19:2; cf. 11:18). This refers to false spiritual teachings with which Babylon seduces its allies. The metaphor of seduction and fornication is already used in the messages to the seven churches (Rev 2:14–15, 20–22) and goes back to the prophetic imagery of the Old Testament, which refers to idolatry as fornication (so, e.g., in Jer 3; Ezek 16; 23; Hos 2–3).
Pharmakeia is thus connected with miraculous signs and spiritual fornication, with false worship and idolatry. Thus the meaning of “sorcery,” which has to do with signs and deception, is appropriate. Revelation 18:23 is not about medicinal remedies, the pharmaceutical industry, or the like. Rather, the angel explains that Babylon’s judgment is the result of her self-glorification and the universal effect of her idolatrous and deceptive claim to dominion over the world, the realization of which will be accompanied by disastrous demonic activity at the time of the end.
The Pharma Group in the Book of Revelation
Words of the root pharma- occur four times in Revelation: in addition to pharmakeia (Rev 18:23), the plural nouns pharmakōn (“sorceries,” Rev 9:21) and pharmakoi (“sorcerers,” Rev 21:8; 22:15) appear.
Revelation 9:21 says that at the time of the sixth trumpet people did not repent “of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Here, pharmakōn is used alongside terms pertaining to the Ten Commandments—murder, fornication, theft—and the verse preceding adds to this the worship of demons and idols (Rev 9:20).
In Revelation 21:8 and 22:15, John includes sorcery among the sins of those who suffer the second death and do not enter the new Jerusalem. In both places pharmakoi are mentioned in a list of people with wrongful behavior, in immediate relation to explicit transgressors of the Ten Commandments: murderers, the sexually immoral, idolaters, and liars (Rev 21:8; 22:15).6
In these three catalogs of vices and evildoers (Rev 9:21; 21:8; 22:15), the meaning of sorcery fits best for the pharma word. Because of its use of supernatural, non-divine powers, sorcery is associated within the book of Revelation with idolatry and spiritual immorality, just as it appears in these lists. Translating the pharma words in the semantic field of “medicine, remedy,” however, appears to be rather meaningless contextually.
Pharmakeia in the New Testament
Pharmakeia occurs in only one other place in the New Testament: in a list of fifteen vices in Galatians 5:20.7 After three words for sexual sins come two words that describe primarily religious transgressions, idolatry and pharmakeia, before eight words targeting sins that have their primary effect in social relationships and two words concerning intemperance or a dissolute lifestyle. Pharmakeia is thus mentioned together with idolatry, as is the case with pharmakōn and pharmakoi in the book of Revelation (9:21; 21:8; 22:15). The translation of “sorcery” is therefore much more appropriate than “poison mixing” or “medicine making.”
For “sorcery” there is also another Greek word group that starts with mag-, which is known to us from the terms “magic” and “magician.” In the entire Greek Bible, mageia (“sorcery,” Acts 8:11) and mageuō (“to practice sorcery,” Acts 8:9) occur only once each; magos (“sorcerer”) occurs somewhat more often (Matt 2:1, 7, 16; Acts 13:6, 8 and a few times in Daniel). But why does Revelation 18:23 not use mageia, which distinctly means sorcery alone? Some think that this is because pharmakeia in fact means something other than sorcery. It seems, however, that pharmakeia is used because the pharma group, in contrast to the mag group, is also associated elsewhere with fornication (Rev 9:21; 21:8; 22:15), which fits the metaphor “harlot Babylon,” and because it evokes precisely the Old Testament associations that one wants to posit in the book of Revelation. Mageia cannot provide either and therefore does not fit in this verse.
Pharmakeia in the Old Testament
Also contributing to the range of meanings of a biblical Greek term is its use in the Septuagint, which, as the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (with a few additional Greek writings), is often referred to as the Bible of the first Christians. In the Septuagint, pharmakeia occurs eight times (Exod 7:11, 22; 8:3, 14 [ET 7, 18]; Isa 47:9, 12; Wisdom of Solomon 12:4; 18:13). It always denotes sorcery, never poison or medicinal remedies.
The Hebrew words, which pharmakeia translates, are lat (“magic spell, enchantment,” Exod 7:11, 22; 8:3, 14 [ET 7, 18]; cf. the meaning “secrecy” in Judg 4:21; Ruth 3:7; 1 Sam 18:22; 24:5), its alternative form lahat (“enchantment,” Exod 7:11), and keshef (“sorcery,” Isa 47:9, 12). While lat and lahat occur only in the indicated verses, keshef occurs also in three other texts, always with the meaning “sorcery” and in connection with divination and fornication (2 Kgs 9:22; Mic 5:11 [ET 12]; Nah 3:4).9 Thus, the meanings of these Hebrew words likewise do not suggest a connection to medicinal remedies.
In the Septuagint, three other related terms appear, all of which refer to magic or poison, though one term also refers positively to medicine. The noun pharmakon occurs twelve times, designating physicians (Tobit 2:10), medicine (Tobit 6:4, 7; 11:8, 11; Sirach 6:16; 38:4), or magical potion (2 Kgs 9:22 [LXX 4 Kgs 9:22]; Mic 5:11 [ET 12]; Nah 3:4 [twice]), and poison (Wisdom of Solomon 1:14). The verb pharmakeuō occurs three times and refers to practicing magic (2 Chr 33:6), being mixed with poison (Ps 58:6 [ET 58:5; LXX 57:6], and poisoning oneself (2 Maccabees 10:13). The noun pharmakos occurs thirteen times, always referring to mixers of magical potions, sorcerers, or magicians (Exod 7:11; 9:11 [twice]; 22:17 [ET 18]; Deut 18:10; Ps 58:6 [ET 58:5; LXX 57:6]; Mal 3:5; Jer 27:9 [LXX 34:9]; Dan [OG] 2:2, 27; 5:7, 8; Dan [Theod.] 2:2). In sum, while of the four pharma-terms in the Greek Old Testament only pharmakon is found to also include the positive aspect of medicinal remedies, the term pharmakeia exclusively signifies sorcery.
Old Testament Allusions Evoked by Pharmakeia
The book of Revelation is full of allusions and echoes of the Old Testament. Therefore, when examining its language and symbolism, it is necessary to carefully consider which possible Old Testament backgrounds are evident. In the main part of the book (Rev 8–18), one recognizes an “Exodus-from-Egypt”/“Fall-of-Babylon” motif.10 The term pharma- keia alludes ingeniously to the plagues in Egypt and to the fall of ancient Babylon: the magical arts of the magicians of Egypt (Exod 7:11, 22; 8:14 [ET 18]) had nothing to do with remedies or pharmaceuticals; only the blood/water miracle could perhaps be associated with poison.11
Isaiah 47 prophesies the fall of ancient Babylon. In verse 9, “the multitude of your sorceries [pharmakeia]” parallels “the great abundance of your enchantments.” Sorcery is here associated with magical spells, not with poison or remedies. This meaning is also seen regarding the sorcerers in the royal courts of the surrounding nations (Jer 27:3).
Revelation 18:23 is also particularly reminiscent of Nahum 3:4, where the harlot Nineveh is called “the mistress of sorceries [plural of pharmakon],” “who sells nations through her harlotries, and families through her sorceries [plural of pharmakon].” Nineveh as a prostitute and sorceress refers to more than just the cruel oppression of Judah and other peoples of the ancient Near East. Fornication and sorcery describe Nineveh’s seduction and forcing her will on others, and the two metaphors also include the idea of idolatry.12 “The result is a seductive and fornicating being that is in league with demonic forces and brings death to all who follow it.”13 Jezebel was already known for this, introducing Baal and Asherah worship, and therefore Jehu accuses her of magical-mantic practices (“The harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many,” 2 Kgs 9:22). God always opposes sorcery (Deut 18:10–12) and those who practice it (Exod 22:17 [ET 18]; Lev 20:6, 27). God promises to remove all pagan worship, along with the occult, from His people (Mic 5:12–14 [ET 13–15]).
The Usage of Pharmakeia in Greek Literature
In Greco-Roman times, the art of medicine was highly respected and often practiced at an astounding level.14 There is an abundance of information about medicinal and herbal treatments in ancient times. An even greater amount is likely to have been lost. The sources we have, however, reveal to us more of a rich diversity than a homogeneous system of ancient medicine. For example, the field of ancient medicine included drugs, herbs, and plants and their accompanying procedures (ancient pharmacology),15 anatomical discoveries and surgery, magical remedies, spells, and chants, to name a few. Such variety is also reflected in the variety of meanings that the specific vocabulary of the pharma word group can have.
While in the Bible pharmakeia means exclusively “sorcery,” in extrabiblical Greek it can also refer to the administration of poison16 or to the use of drugs in magical practices.17 Their ingestion was thought to induce hallucinations and visions and to establish contact with the spirit world. In some cases, pharmakeia may also mean medicines.18 Therefore, the semantic range of pharmakeia in the extant Greek literature is wider than in biblical Greek. The related term pharmakon refers to “any substance (including magical talismans) thought to be able to alter the body for good or ill. The word encompasses both drugs and poisons.”19 It can also indicate remedies in contexts where healing is involved; for example, Homer uses it to cover both healing drugs for external applications,20 magical potions,21 and poison.22 Other pharma words have similar connotations.23
In summary, the range of meanings of the Greek pharma word group includes poison, drugs, and remedies, in addition to sorcery and magic. As might be expected, it is the context that decisively determines the meaning of the specific pharma word.
So, pharmakeia in extrabiblical Greek can take the meaning of “medicine” in certain contexts. However, considering the immediate context in Revelation 18, the New Testament use of pharmakeia, and the Old Testament background and allusions, the meaning of “medicine” or the like in Revelation 18:23 must be ruled out.
Some may fall into the lexical fallacy and claim that for pharmakeia the meaning “medicine” cannot be ruled out one hundred percent for all places and therefore it could refer also in Revelation 18:23 to pharmaceutical companies and their products. However, as important as establishing the semantic field of a word is, the immediate context remains primary and central for its meaning. The fact that one meaning of a word cannot be ruled out for all its occurrences does not imply that this one meaning cannot be ruled out for a particular occurrence. And the evidence given so far precludes pharmakeia from meaning “medicine” in Revelation 18:23.
Further Thoughts on Pharmakeia
At this point, we will briefly discuss some statements that are brought forward to support the argument that Revelation 18:23 speaks of remedies and the role of the pharmaceutical industry during the coronavirus crisis.
It is often cited that Strong’s Dictionary gives “medication” as the first definition for pharmakeia.24 Strong created his dictionary in 1890 to provide a simple translation aid for word roots to readers who cannot read biblical languages. Much has happened in linguistics since then. Nowadays there are much better dictionaries that also consider all occurrences of the word in and outside the Bible as well as their contexts. These translate pharmakeia in all biblical places with “sorcery.” The principle is that words must be interpreted both according to their grammatical relationship in the sentence and according to the context of the passage in which they occur.25 For us, it follows that one cannot simply pick one meaning out of many given somewhere and apply it to a particular occurrence of that word without considering translation principles.
Some believe that the context of a prophecy is not understood until it is fulfilled. One should therefore consider the current coronavirus crisis, in which end-time Babylon is supposedly beginning to crystallize, as a canvas for interpreting Revelation 18:23. But this puts the cart before the horse. Whoever believes that to interpret pharmakeia correctly because Revelation 18:23 is being fulfilled today, one must already know what the text prophesies, even before he or she interprets the text, is engaging more in eisegesis than exegesis—more is read into the Bible than out of it.26
The idea that occultism and healing were not infrequently linked in the pagan nations must not lead one to understand “sorcery” in Revelation 18:23 to include healing and, of course, to assume that “healing” then includes the modern medicinal drug industry. Moreover, it seems there is a certain negative bias against modern pharmaceutical products manifesting itself here. However, it does not seem fair from today’s point of view to understand all pharmacology and pharmaceuticals as well as natural remedies (these were also called pharmakon) as the means employed by Babylon or as harmful drugs or poisons.
But does pharmakeia not contain pharmacy after all? We have seen that John chose the word pharmakeia because of the biblical context of sorcery, and not because of our modern associations with similar terms. We need to avoid the misuse of subsequent meaning and must not read twenty-first century meanings of words into the ancient words of the Bible without considering their original context. We do not use Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary to interpret Greek words. For example, no one would understand the Greek “Hades” (e.g., Matt 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 6:8) as the deity of the underworld or the realm of the living dead, as the term is commonly defined today.27 In linguistics there is the term “false friend” to describe an expression (in our case, pharmakeia) that has a similar form to an expression in a person’s native language (pharmacy), but a different meaning.
Conclusion
The best translation of pharmakeia in Revelation 18:23 is “sorcery.” All common Bible translations render the word correctly. Even the specialized dictionaries suggest the translation “sorcery” without exception.28 If one wants to explain the application of this text to end-time Babylon, pharmakeia suggests a connection between ancient sorcery and modern spiritualism, which undoubtedly have much in common.29
The focus of the discussion about pharmakeia, however, is not so much about pharmaceutical companies or sorcery as it is about biblical interpretation. Therefore, let us use and consider our basic and time-tested principles of biblical hermeneutics! We use and apply these principles of studying the context, language, and historical background in connection with other texts, and we do well when we apply these principles in the interpretation of Revelation 18:23 also.
All biblical quotations are from the NKJV.
Back to referenceE.g., “pharmacology” (the science of drugs or the properties and reactions of drugs), “pharmacologist” (specialist in the science of medications), “pharmacy” (drugstore or health science in relation to medicinal drugs), “pharmacist” (health care professional licensed to engage in pharmacy), “pharma” or “pharmaceutical company” (company that manufactures medicinal drugs), and “pharmaceutical representatives” (representative for medicinal drugs).
Back to referenceSee the section “The Usage of Pharmakeia in Greek Literature.”
Back to referenceThe saying is often attributed to D. A. Carson; see D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1984), 117.
Back to referenceFrederick W. Danker et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 821–822.
Back to referenceThe sequence of the individual categories are somewhat different. Cf. “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers [pharmakoi], idolaters, and all liars …” (Rev 21:8) and “Dogs and sorcerers [pharmakoi] and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie …” (Rev 22:15). “Dogs” parallels the “abominable” and probably refers to sexual perversion or cult prostitution in pagan temples and worship (in Deut 23:18–19 [ET vv. 17–18] the term “dogs” [Heb. kelev] is used in parallel with harlot [Heb. zonah] in v. 19 [ET v. 18] but also to “consecrated one, cult prostitute” [Heb. kadesh] in v. 18 [ET v. 17]).
Back to referenceBesides Galatians 5:20, pharmakeia additionally appears as a variant reading in Revelation 9:21. A variant reading is a different version of a text in one or more Greek manuscripts. In a textual tradition of Revelation 9:21 that is first attested in the Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century), the plural form is pharmakeiōn (from the singular pharmakeia), while the plural form pharmakōn (from the singular pharmakon) is attested as early as the third century (e.g., Papyrus 47 [third century], Codex Sinaiticus [fourth century], and Codex Ephraemi [fifth century]). Pharmakōn is probably the original reading because it is attested in older manuscripts and because it is more likely that pharmakōn, which occurs only in this passage in the New Testament, was changed to pharmakeiōn, which is also found in its singular form in Revelation 18:23 and Galatians 5:20. See Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the New Testament (Stuttgart: United Bible Societies, 1971), 742.
Back to referenceSee Johan Lust, Erik Eynikel, and Katrin Hauspie, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2003), 643; Joanne K. Kuemmerlin-McLean, “Magic: Old Testament,” in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 4:468–471.
Back to referenceSee David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, 9 vols. (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 1993–2014), 4:471.
Back to referenceKenneth A. Strand, “‘Victorious-Introduction’ Scenes,” in Symposium on Revelation, vol. 1, Introductory and Exegetical Studies, ed. Frank B. Holbrook, Daniel and Revelation Committee Series 6 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1992), 66–67.
Back to referenceThe magicians of Egypt make serpents out of their rods (Exod 7:11), turn water into blood (Exod 7:22), and cannot bring forth a gnat (Exod 8:14 [ET v. 18]).
Back to referenceKlaas Spronk, Nahum, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1997), 122–123, writes, “‘Harlotry and sorceries’ . . . represent two different aspects of evil power. Harlotry denotes the ability to seduce others, sorcery denotes the possibility to forcing one’s will upon the other. The first can be related to Nineveh as an attractive city, the second to the idea so often expressed in Assyrian texts that they had the mightiest gods on their side. One could think of the many curses added to the vassal treaties mentioning all kinds of supernatural sanctions on breaking the treaty.” So also Duane L. Christensen, Nahum, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 343; and Heinz-Josef Fabry, Nahum, Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament (Freiburg: Herder, 2006), 191–194 (p. 193: “Assyrische Propaganda und Wortgeklingel ist immer schon verkappte Verführung zum Götzendienst”).
Back to referenceA. Berlejung, “Erinnerungen an Assyrien in Nahum 2,4–3,19,” in Die unwiderstehliche Wahrheit: Studien zur alttestamentlichen Prophetie, Festschrift für Arndt Meinhold, ed. Rüdiger Lux and Ernst-Joachim Waschke, Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 23 (Leipzig 2006), 339–340 (translation by Martin Pröbstle).
Back to referenceFor an in-depth treatment of ancient medicine, see Vivian Nutton, Ancient Medicine, 2nd ed., Sciences of Antiquity (London: Routledge, 2013); Laura M. Zucconi, Ancient Medicine: From Mesopotamia to Rome (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2019); the chapters “On Healing and the Human Body,” in Georgia A. Irby, ed., A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome, Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World (Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 2016), 343–515, esp. Molly Jones-Lewis on “Pharmacy” (pp. 402–417); and Paul T. Keyser and John Scarborough, eds., Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). For a comprehensive dictionary on ancient medicine, see Karl-Heinz Leven, ed., Antike Medizin: ein Lexikon (Munich: Beck, 2005). For the early Christian reception of Greek medicine and the development of Christian medical treatment in the first five centuries, see Gary B. Ferngren, Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2009).
Back to referenceMost impressive is Galen’s theory of drugs as established in his treatises On the Properties of Simples and On the Composition of Drugs, covering thousands of pages.
Back to referenceE.g., Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 15.47; and Polybios, Histories 6.13.4.
Back to referenceE.g., Plato, Laws 933a.b. Plato includes under the category pharmakeia practices like trickery (manganeiais), incantations (epōdais), and binding spells (katadesesi). See Kimberly B. Stratton, “Magic, Magician,” The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, 5 vols. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006–2009), 3:767.
Back to referenceE.g., Xenophon, Memorabilia 4.2.17.
Back to referenceJones-Lewis, “Pharmacy,” in Irby, 403. See also Nutton, 98.
Back to referenceHomer, Iliad 4.190–191; 5.401; 11.846; 13.392; and Homer, Odyssey 4.230; 10.287, 302; 11.741; 22.94.
Back to referenceHomer, Odyssey 10.290, 317, 392.
Back to referenceIbid. 1.261; 2.329.
Back to referenceFor the meaning of pharmakon and other related words to pharmakeia, see Danker et al., 1050; and Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 1917.
Back to referenceIn which order a Greek specialized dictionary offers the particular translations of a word has less to do with the preference for translation than with syntactic and semantic considerations and the conceptual arrangement of a lexical article. Such considerations are part of the scientific field of lexicography. In Strong’s Dictionary, however, the translation alternatives are “arranged in the alphabetical order of the leading terms” as the Authorized English Version of 1873 renders them; see James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek New Testament With Their Renderings in the Authorized English Version (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1890), 5. In the entry for pharmakeia, Strong gives as etymology and root meaning “medication (‘pharmacy’), i.e. (by extens.) magic (lit. or fig.),” and then lists the ASV translations for the term: “sorcery, witchcraft” (ibid., 75).
Back to referenceStrong, 3, also points out the primacy of context for the meaning of a specific word usage in his preface, when he categorizes his dictionary as “brief and simple,” written for readers “who do not care at all times to consult a more copious and elaborate Lexicon,” deliberately omitting “grammatical, archaeological, or exegetical details.”
Back to referenceIt is not uncommon to use statements by Ellen G. White about the health message to show how significant the subject of health is supposed to be in the end times. Some deduce that the health message should be found in the book of Revelation, and the term pharmakeia in 18:23 is then considered a viable candidate for this. However, her statements do not play a role in the interpretation of Revelation 18:23. She once quotes verses 23 and 24 and introduces this with the words: “Take each verse of this chapter, and read it carefully, especially the last two” (Ellen G. White, Ms 92a, 1898, para. 13). But at no point does White explain this text or the terms pharmakeia or “sorceries” (KJV).
Back to referenceSee, e.g., Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, s.v. “Hades,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hades (accessed February 28, 2022); and Wikipedia, s.v. “Hades,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades (accessed February 28, 2022).
Back to referenceSee, e.g., Danker et al., 1049: “sorcery, magic”; “pharmakeia,” in Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider, eds., Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990–1993), 3:417: “sorcery, magic”; Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 544: “magic spells“; and “pharmakeia,” in James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997): “sorcery, witchcraft, black magic.”
Back to referenceIn an article on the “Burning of the Magical Books” in Ephesus (Acts 19:19), Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, May 18, 1882, para. 8–9, relates ancient sorcery to modern spiritualism: “The system of magic or sorcery then extant was in reality the same as that which is now known as modern Spiritualism. Many were deceived in Paul’s day by this Satanic delusion, and many are deceived today by the same power. . . . Witchcraft and sorcery are practiced in this Christian age and Christian nation, even more boldly than by the old-time magicians.”
Back to reference