Revelation 17:15 Commentary and Bible Study

Having explained the beast on which she sits, the angel now returns to the description of the woman in verse 1. She sits upon a beast, but she also sits upon many waters. Both are symbols of her influence. The beast represents the world powers which she uses to exert her control. The many waters are all the peoples of the world who she tries to draw away from God. Here we have the same picture that Jeremiah gives: ‘O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness’ (Jeremiah 51:13). Babylon represents the kingdom of this world and all the pleasures that it offers men to entice them away from God. The many waters are the peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues around the whole earth, over which she holds sway.