He spoke to God face to face. God does not have a physical face, but the Bible explains what the idiom meant. As a man speaketh unto his friend. The face of God speaks of His Spirit. God's Spirit moved upon the face of the waters.
Waters speak of multitudes of people.
The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. God does not switch symbols in His Word. Waters mean peoples. We behold God's glory and are changed into the same image. A few verses before this we read of Moses and his face veiled.