Revelation 17:15

And he said unto me... — Better, And he (i.e., the angel mentioned in Revelation 17:1) saith, &c. The waters on which the harlot sits are explained as “multitudes.” We have thus a key to the imagery employed here and elsewhere (Revelation 13:1). The wild beast and the harlot both draw much of their power from the people. The easily-moved passions or the fickle crowd, its generous, unreasoning impulses, are used by subtle and seductive enemies. “Men never so much need to be theocratic as when they are most democratic,” said De Tocqueville. They need to recognise God as their King, then, most when their new discovered strength is likely to be made the tool of unscrupulous ambition.