Queen of Many Waters

In the last post, Desert, Torrent and Sea, we looked at a puzzling portrait of a woman who had taken refuge in the desert from a beastly assailant who pursued her.

In Revelation 17, we meet another woman, a glittering prostitute who ‘sits on many waters’ (v.1). This description echoes Jeremiah’s description of Babylon, the city surrounded by rivers and canals (Jeremiah 51:13) and shows her to be a formidable force. In the symbolism of Revelation, ‘sitting on many waters’ means that she has influence over ‘many peoples, multitudes, nations and languages’ (17:15). This presents her as a parody of the Church which is also comprised of people from many languages and nations.


But this woman is a false bride, a harlot who seduces the whole world by her political power and economic clout, her deception and hollow promises. She is a queen of evil and corruption; she and the beast she rides on are the epitome of worldliness without God. They are agents and partners of the dragon who is continually assaulting the righteous woman in the desert.

Living in the desert means resisting the superficial allure of the ‘many waters’, the enticements of the world that would draw us away from our first love. But the dragon, the seductress queen and the beast stalk us even in the desert. The warfare continues relentlessly, and all God’s people are in the midst of it, but we are assured that God will bring us through.

That is why the church can sing. The sea and its chaotic evil power, the river and its torrential hostility, the glitter and temptations of the woman of many waters cannot destroy the people of God. Those who keep God’s commands and hold to the testimony of Jesus are more than conquerors through him who loves us.

Image Sources
Gulfoss River, Iceland - authors collection
Fountains - Bellagio water Show, Las Vegas