Yes—the significance is that the Greek word behind 'sorceries' is pharmakia, which Les Feldick teaches points to drugs and a future drug culture.
Les Feldick explains that the KJV word 'sorceries' in Revelation 9:21 and 18:23 comes from the Greek pharmakia, the same root as 'pharmacy.' He therefore sees these verses as describing a world saturated with drugs. The context shows that even after staggering judgments, people refuse to repent of their murders, sorceries, immorality, and thefts.
Revelation 9:21 — This verse directly lists 'sorceries' among the sins from which people do not repent, providing the key context for the question.
Revelation 18:23 — This verse connects Babylon's 'sorceries' to the deception of all nations, showing the word's prophetic significance.
The King James Bible uses the word 'sorceries' in two key places in Revelation. In Revelation 9:21, it says, 'Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.' In Revelation 18:23, Babylon is judged, and the verse reads, 'And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.' The biblical text itself does not explain the root of the word 'sorceries'; it simply places this sin alongside murder, immorality, and theft, and links it to worldwide deception.
Les Feldick emphasizes that the word translated 'sorceries' in the King James Version comes from the Greek word pharmakia. In Clip 1, he points out that pharmakia is the source of the English word 'pharmacy,' and pharmacy is about drugs. So when Revelation 9:21 lists murders, sorceries, immorality, and thefts, he understands it as describing a world literally saturated with a drug culture. In Clip 2, he applies the same connection to Revelation 18:23, reading the verse as 'for by thy drugs were all nations deceived.' He also notes in Clip 4 that even after terrible judgments, the survivors will not 'repent' or 'change their mind' about their murders, sorceries, fornication, and thefts. Les describes how this drug culture produces theft, murder, and gross immorality, and it continues to grow until the Lord returns (Clip 3).
Les Feldick identifies the Greek word translated 'sorceries' as pharmakia. He notes that the English word 'pharmacy' comes from this same root, and pharmacy has to do with drugs. Therefore, when Revelation 9:21 and 18:23 use 'sorceries,' Les reads them as referring to drugs rather than only to magical practices.
Les Feldick explains that people on drugs have to steal to support their habit. In the process of stealing, they may murder whoever gets in their way. Along with that, they fall into gross immorality of all sorts. Les says this will continue to mushroom until the whole world lives under that kind of environment.
According to Revelation 9:21, even after a large percentage of the earth's population is gone, the survivors still do not repent of their murders, sorceries, immorality, or thefts. Les Feldick emphasizes that they do not change their mind about these things. He applies this to the end times, showing that the drug culture remains unrepentant through the judgments.
Les Feldick also shows that 'sorcery' can refer to genuine satanic power in other biblical contexts. He uses the example of Simon in Acts 8, who had bewitched the people of Samaria with his sorceries for a long time. Les stresses that this was not a trick or a gimmick; it was Satanic power. This helps show that the word 'sorcery' has a range of meanings, but in Revelation's end-times setting, Les sees pharmakia pointing specifically to drugs.
What Happens When God's Wrath Replaces Grace — Revelation 9 & 11
for 20 years that I think this is the ancient language for probably even tanks. Look at the language. "...breastplates of fire, jafts of brimstone, and the heads of the horses were the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone." Well, now we know that modern warfare has nuclear shells even for artillery and for tank guns and so forth.
The Greek Word Pharmakia
Les explains that the word translated 'sorceries' in Revelation 9:21 is Greek pharmakia, the root of 'pharmacy,' meaning drugs, so the end-times world will be saturated with a drug culture.
Babylon's Sorceries as Drugs
Les applies pharmakia to Revelation 18:23, teaching that Babylon's sorceries deceive the nations—i.e., by thy drugs were all nations deceived.
Drug Culture's Downward Spiral
Les describes how people on drugs steal to support their habit, murder whoever gets in the way, and slide into gross immorality.
No Repentance from Sorceries
Les notes that even after terrible judgments, survivors still refuse to change their minds about murders, sorceries/drugs, immorality, and thefts.
The Mark of the Beast & the Unholy Trinity Explained
We're talking about spiritual. And you see, spiritual adultery is when religions, organizations, take that from the pagan world and mix it with New Testament Christianity. That is spiritual adultery. Any time you mix paganism with Christianity, that's prostituting the truth of the Word of God. All right, so this whore, as the word is used, is not a woman of the street or a woman of the evening.
Sorcery as Satanic Power
Les uses Simon's sorceries in Acts 8 to show the term can mean genuine satanic power, not just a drug reference, helping define the word's range.
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality — Romans 1
Verse 24, "...Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts, or the desires of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves." Well there was nothing to restrain them, because they were now under nothing more than idolatry. And idolatry has no moral code.
Revelation 9:21: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
This is the key verse where the KJV lists 'sorceries' among the sins from which people refuse to repent.
Revelation 18:23: And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
This verse shows the worldwide deceptive power attributed to Babylon's sorceries.
Acts 8:11: And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Les uses this verse to show that the same English word can also refer to real satanic power, as in Simon's case.
It is pharmakia. Les Feldick points out that pharmakia gives us the English word 'pharmacy,' and pharmacy is about drugs, so he reads 'sorceries' as drugs in the end-times context.
Yes, according to Les. He says the KJV's 'sorceries' is the Greek pharmakia, and the same word underlies 'pharmacy'; therefore it refers to drugs. In that context, people will not repent of murders, drugs, immorality, or thefts.
No. Revelation 9:21 says that even after a large part of the earth's population is gone, the survivors still do not repent of their murders, sorceries, immorality, and thefts. Les emphasizes that they do not 'change their mind' about these things.
Watch the Teaching: What Happens When God's Wrath Replaces Grace — Revelation 9 & 11