18:22"And the sound of the harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;
"And the SOUND of the harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you ANY LONGER;
In Ecclesiastics 8:14-15, the wise one, Solomon, claims there isn't much more to life than to eat, drink, and be merry. 'To be merry' usually includes music as this portion of the verse suggests. So when the music stops, we could say that the desire to live has ceased. This is what Isaiah 24:1-8-13 is talking about.
Note that the harp seems to be one of God's favorite instruments. Those who refused to take the mark of the beast are standing in the sea of glass holding the harps of God (Revelation 15:2). In spite of what Solomon said, Paul in Romans 14:13-17-23 says that the 'kingdom of God' is not eating or drinking but rather RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, and JOY in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps these instruments and musicians are symbolic of these spiritual life attributes.
and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you ANY LONGER; and
With the global economy totally destroyed and with no obvious market for your crafts, why work to produce goods ANY LONGER? Or this is another way of saying the desire to live is gone.
and the SOUND of a mill will not be heard in you ANY LONGER;
The world is so stunned by the collapse of the global economy that the inhabitants are just silent. Again, why prepare food for the future, milling, when the desire to live is gone?
Sadly, there will be many so-called Christians who, too, are standing silently at this time. They and their churches and synagogues had become so attached to the economy (or government representing Babylon, the harlot) to take care of them that they had forgotten WHO is the BREAD of LIFE (John 6:41-51-59). From all outward appearances, these so-called Christians were active in their churches and even displayed the ability to perform awesome miracles. Yet they insisted on playing with the harlot, and ultimately because they had not come out from Babylon (verse 4), Jesus had to say He didn't know who they are (Matthew 7:21-29).