Is the harlot in this passage a literal woman or a system?
The harlot in this passage is a system, not a literal woman. She represents spiritual adultery, where religious organizations mix paganism with New Testament Christianity, prostituting the truth of God's Word. This system has adulterated the things of God and will be judged.
Les explains that the whore is not a woman of the street or a woman of the evening. Instead, it is a system that has adulterated the things of God. Spiritual adultery occurs when religious organizations take from the pagan world and mix it with New Testament Christianity. Any time paganism is mixed with Christianity, it prostitutes the truth of the Word of God. The kings of the earth committed fornication with this system, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality. God will judge it. He also notes that Scripture often uses a woman in a bad light, giving examples, but this is not a put-down.