314. In the spiritual sense, "to commit adultery" means to adulterate the goods of the Word and to falsify its truths. That "to commit adultery" means this also, has been hitherto unknown, because the spiritual sense of the Word has been hitherto concealed. That such is the meaning in the Word of "to commit adultery," "to adulterate," and "to commit whoredom" is evident from the following passages:
Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek if ye can find a man that executeth judgment, and seeketh the truth. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery (Jer. 5:1, 7).
In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible stubbornness in adulterating and walking in a lie (Jer. 23:14).
They have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed whoredom, and have spoken My Word falsely (Jer. 29:23).
They committed whoredom, because they have left Jehovah (Hos. 4:10).
I will cut off the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, to go a whoring after them (Lev. 20:6).
A covenant shall not be made with the inhabitants of the land, lest they go a whoring after their gods (Ex. 34:16).
Because Babylon adulterates and falsifies the Word more than others, she is called the great harlot, and it is said of her in the Apocalypse:
Babylon hath given all nations to drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication (Apoc. 14:8).
The angel said, I will show unto thee the judgment of the great harlot; with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom (Apoc. 17:1, 2).
For He hath judged the great harlot that corrupted the earth with her whoredom (Apoc. 19:2).
Because the Jewish nation had falsified the Word, it was called by the Lord:
An adulterous generation (Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38); And the seed of the adulterer (Isa. 57:3).
There are many other passages where "adulteries" and "whoredoms" mean adulterations and falsifications of the Word (as in Jer. 3:6, 8; 13:27; Ezek. 16:15, 16, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33; 23:2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 16, 17; Hos. 5:3; 6:10; Nahum 3:4).