The first interpretive key is the descriptive identification of Babylon in 17:1 as “the great harlot who sits on many waters.” The allusion to a harlot has caused many to identify Babylon as a false religious system. The frequently recurring allusion to harlotry (17:1, 2, 4, 15, 16; 18:3, 7) is an echo of the Old Testament prophets, who used the term to describe the infidelity of man to God, especially in connection with idolatry. The first chapter of Isaiah