In Revelation who is the harlot? What does the word waters mean? What is BABYLON?
Revelation is Jesus revealing himself! People read revelation searching for clues of the future. Seek Jesus! Who is he in the book! How does he manifest!? What is he telling the Church?
If you understand this answer you will find a powerful key to read and understand the message of the Book. If you understand this answer there will be nothing I can tell that will satisfy your desire for knowledge, that will answer with "correct" responses!
Revelation in chapter 1 says “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,” Revelation 1:1 ESV
The revelation of Jesus Christ and the things that must soon take place. The words "must soon take place" was directed to John and his contemporaneous brothers and sisters in the first century. Nowadays we all have the impression when we read Apocalpsis that it is talking about the future. It seems for most of readers that is always talking about future events and can't be related to the past or the present.
I will just answer your questions with Revelation verses and try to get your attention to a bigger picture.
Who's the harlot, the great prostitute?
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations." And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth."” Revelation 17:1-2, 5, 18 ESV
The great prostitute is a city called Babylon.
What does waters mean?
“And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” Revelation 17:15 ESV
In the book of Revelation there are revelaions of two cities, Babylon and the New Jerusalem.
As there were and there are geographical Babylon and geographical Jerusalem there is a "spiritual" Babylon and the New Jerusalem. Babylon in Revelation is not a physical city with GPS neither the New Jerusalem.
Clearly in the Scriptures the New Jerusalem is not a literal city. The New Jerusalem is the wife of the Lamb. It is very simple to understand this. The Church is the bride of Jesus! Jesus has just one bride. The bride has made herself ready. In the cross Jesus died for His bride and clothed her in righteousness and holiness.
Let us understand something! We can't think of the revelations of this book being shared in the light of days and years and even centuries. John sometimes was transported to heaven where there is no time boundaries and limitations. He could be seing "events" like the death of Jesus and suddenly he could be seing eternity at no calendar perspective.
“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
In other words, Jesus is not bigamous! Jesus had only one bride and wife! The church is His bride and wife! Jesus is not married to the church and at the same married to a city! The New Jerusalem is the only Wife Jesus always had!
“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,”
Revelation 21:9-10 ESV
Just one last question and answer: Where is in the Bible that the New Jerusalem is clearly described as the Church?
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”
Hebrews 12:22-23 ESV.
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