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Jerusalem Babylon Many Waters
Revelation 17:1-5
“Then one of the seven angels … said to me, ‘Come, I will
show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon
many waters … and on her forehead was written a name of mystery:
“Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth’s
abominations’ ”
Why does John use the metaphor “many waters?” What does it
mean ?
It is a common mistake to read into the Book of Revelation
modern perceptions.
To see what John meant we need to look at it from John’s
perspective, a first century Jewish Christian.
Another mistake is to look at this book from a worldly
perspective, a book about power, military and political might.
John is more concerned about spiritual truths than worldly
ideas. It is a book more about spiritual holiness and its
opposite sin, than about worldly power, dominance, and
subjection. John is a spiritual not worldly writer. He is an
evangelist who is more concerned about the things of God, than
about worldly things.
The many waters represents all the nations. The Jews rightly
understood themselves as God’s chosen people. It is through
them, through Jerusalem, the mother city, that God’s graces flow
out to all mankind. All the nations were dependent on
God’s chosen people.
Zechariah
14:8-9
“On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half
of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea;
it shall continue in summer as in winter.
And the Lord will become king over all the earth”
Jerusalem, from a Jewish perspective, was called to spread the
wisdom and graces that came from God. The Israelites were
chosen by God to bring the good news to the world, that Yahweh
is the One True God.
The area around Jerusalem was just as arid as any desert. On
a daily basis the Israelites realized their dependence on God
and water. So, it was natural for the writers of Sacred
Scripture to use water to represent the blessings and life that
flow from God.
This map below of Jerusalem is found in the Jewish
Encyclopedia.
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