REVELATION 17:2 COMMENTARY
REVELATION 17:2
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. And they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom.(Rev. 17:2, DRCB)
Na siyang pinakiapiran ng mga hari as lupa, at ang mga nananahan as lupa ay nalasing as alak ng kaniyang pakikiapid. (Rev. 17:2, TCB)
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(Rev. 17:2, KJB)
Here in Revelation 17:2, it is said that the kings of the earth have "committed fornication" with the entity called the "great harlot". – This “fornication” has been in the form of ‘spiritual adultery and idolatry” towards God. The “fornication” includes ‘idolatrous worship’. The “great harlot” has enticed kings of the earth to worship idols of gold, silver, brass, plaster, and wood, as well as images of saints. [1]
In regard to the making and worship of idols, here is what God Himself said to Moses on Mount Sinai . . .
"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. (5) Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:" (Exodus 20:4-5, DRCB)
Huwag kang gagawa para as iyo ng larawang inanyuan o ng kawangis man ng anomang anyong nasa itaas as langit, o ng nasa ibaba as lupa, o ng nasa tubig as ilalim ng lupa: 5 Huwag mong yuyukuran sila, o paglingkuran man sila; sapagka’t akong Panginoon mong Dios, ay Dios na mapanibughuin, na aking dinadalaw ang katampalasanan ng mga magulang as mga anak, hanggang as ikatlo at ikaapat na salin ng lahi ng mga napopoot as akin .” (Exodus 20:4-5, TCB)
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." (Exodus 20:4-5, KJB)
Please note in Revelation 17:2a that the “Great Harlot’ has seduced and has great influence [spiritual rule] over many kings of the earth. The following quote helps to explain “spiritual idolatry” as seen in the eyes of God….
[BEGIN QUOTE] - The symbolism of spiritual adultery is not ordinarily used of heathen nations who know not God, but always of people who outwardly carry the name of God [Christian] while actually worshiping and serving other gods. The concept of spiritual adultery is frequently used in describing the apostasy of Israel (cf. Ezek. 16 and 23; all of Hosea). Characteristically, the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the husband of Israel (cf. Isa. 54:1-8; Jer. 3:14; 31:32). In the New Testament the church is viewed as a virgin destined to be joined to her husband in the future (2 Cor. 11:2), but she is warned against spiritual adultery (James 4:4). [END QUOTE] [2]
Revelation 17:2b, goes on to say . . .
“. . . . and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication”…
This means that the inhabitants of the earth have been drawn into her ‘adulterous and idolatrous worship and practices’ …like men with wine, many inhabitants of earth have become blindly intoxicated with the idolatrous worship and false doctrines offered to them by the “great whore”. [3]
[1] BIBLE HUB, Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Revelation 17:2, Accessed August 8, 2024, Web: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/17-2.htm[2] Walvoord, John F., “The Destruction of Ecclesiastical Babylon”, Accessed August 10, 2024, Web: https://walvoord.com/article/275[3] BIBLE HUB, Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Revelation 17:2, Accessed August 8, 2024, Web: https://biblehub.com/commentarie