In their resistance to God, earth’s rulers by nature give in to enticements to find their sense of well being in creaturely things, be it power or wealth or fame, etc. More, they also entice their people to find their happiness elsewhere than from God (e.g., in benevolence of the state, economic prosperity, scientific advance in medicine). The angel will provide more detail on their alignment with the prostitute in Revelation 17:10–14.
2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”