River Euphrates: End time symbol?
This last Sunday at my non-denominational (yet predominantly premillennial) church, another typical
"doom and gloom" and end times speculative sermon was preached. The usual "evidences" were presented and there was not much that grabbed my attention. Except one thing. This is not an exact quote, but it went something like this...
"...and another thing, the River Euphrates is drying up! This is clearly in fulfilment of Revelation which says:
'And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.' (Rev 16:12)
This has never happened in history, with the one exception of king Cyrus in the time of Daniel. This is a clear indication that the 6th bowl of wrath has been poured out and that the battle of Armageddon is next! The way to Israel is being prepared for the great final battle, through this we know that the last days are probably only a few years ahead of us."
Now I have to admit, I hat not heard of this used as evidence for last days events, so I decided to do some research on the subject and see what answer a preterist Postmillennial could give in response.
First off, yes, the Euphrates River is drying up. In fact, it has been for many years, this fact has been used as a "proof" of the imminent last days by many end times speculators. for example:
http://www.heisnear.com/EuphratesRiverDryingUp.html
https://endtimestruth.com/tigris-and-euphrates-rivers-are-drying-up/
https://signsofthelastdays.org/catastrophic-drought-dams-drying-euphrates-river/
https://www.soulask.com/euphrates-is-drying-up-for-the-first-time-in-history-the-water-level-dropped-by-5-meters-what-the-revelation-of-john-says/
https://endtimeheadlines.org/2021/01/bible-expert-claims-turkey-is-unintentionally-paving-way-to-end-times-prophecy/
And on and on it goes.
What are we to make of this? Is this in fact a fulfillment of end times prophecy? Lets look at a few other facts and try to make a conclusion based off these and the inspired words of scripture.
First, lets talk about the dams. Dams have been built on the Euphrates river for may decades, and disputes have arisen from the people downstream because of the damage done by these large dams.
A nearly 3 mile long dam was completed in 1973, which resulted in conflict between Iraq (downstream) and Syria. This was settled by Soviet intervention. But this is not the only dam on the river. In fact, both Euphrates and the Tigris are heavily taxed by dams for both hydroelectric and irrigation needs. Most of the river is stopped in Turkey, which by some estimates, uses as much as 90% of the Euphrates and 50% of the Tigris. A quick look at this picture will show just how many dams are on these rivers:
Is this unique to the once "fertile crescent"? No, in fact, almost all of the worlds great rivers are experiencing rapid decline, almost always attributed to dams and other ecologically irresponsible practices. For example...
The Darling River
And even the rainforest fed Amazon River is drying up.
So what are we to make of this? Is this a sign of the end times? That of course depends on the presuppositions that you hold and the expectation you lean on for the future. It's always easy to look around at the scary and damaging things we see in the world and throw up our hands and say "the end is nigh!" However, there is another way to look that this. I believe that these rivers are experiencing the effects of mankind's rejection of God's law.
If man followed the divine command to "love his neighbor as himself" then the damming of rivers to the extent that regions downstream are rendered desperate, would not happen. Instead of the "looking out for #1" attitude that many of these unbelieving nations have, they could do great good if they adopted the principles of God's Holy law. Instead of expensive and damaging hydro-power, cheap and efficient nuclear power could be used. Modern water saving irrigation methods could reduce or eliminate the need to flood cropland. These rivers don't have to be dry, they could be flowing as they have been for thousands of years, but greed and selfishness of sinful man has caused this. We did this to ourselves, and God is letting us face the consequences of our sin.
We see how God designed agriculture in Exodus 23:11 - But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
The Sabbath year was given as a means to help the destitute and poor, and it was given to let the land rest and recover. Our modern agricultural methods deplete the resources until there is either nothing left, or chemical alternatives must be used. What good could be done if once every seven years the dams were all opened and the rivers were allowed to flow freely? Obviously this would need to be done with care and concern for those downstream. I have no doubt that this obstacle could be overcome with guidance from God's Word and a genuine concern for our neighbors, as well as the many amazing technologies at our disposal today.
Unfortunately for Christians, because its much easier to wail and despair about the end times, rather than work up biblical solutions and labor to see them implemented, we see very little concern about reversing the problems of the day. Instead, Christians are huddling in the corner, pietistically muttering "come quickly Lord Jesus" while they muster up within them the hope of a rapture. Why try to solve the problems of the poor or love our neighbors when its all going to burn anyway? Such is the state of the Western Church.
But lets get back to the River Euphrates and the supposed "sign" that the 6th bowl has been poured out.
An important phrase is used in the last part of the Revelation passage: "that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." According to the prophecy prognosticators, The Euphrates is dried up so that the armies of the east can cross over and begin the battle of Armageddon. Let's think about this critically for a moment. Are we really to believe that any river presents much of an obstacle to modern armies? What army in modern times would require a river to be dry so that they could cross it? Never mind the fact that all these rivers have many, many bridges across them.
This problem has been perceived by some modern prophecy interpreters and thus they are relegated to using the description in Revelation symbolically (https://worldeventsandthebible.com/bible-questions/why-does-euphrates-river-dry-up-revelation). So much for interpreting things "literally."
Also, consider another thing, many claim (as the preacher of last Sundays sermon did) that the Euphrates River has "never" gone dry before! First of all, this is a fantastic claim that presupposes we know everything in our history. Now of course, if something isn't recorded in history, we can't make assumptions that something has happened, but we also can't assume it didn't. We don't have secular historical records of a man being eaten by a whale, only to be puked up three days later. We don't have records of a donkey speaking like a man. Yet, we believe anyway. Still, I would grant that if there were no historical records of the Euphrates going dry, it would be somewhat compelling. However, we do have historical records revealing that Euphrates has been dry at least three other times in history.
In a geological textbook authored by Nicholas Ambraseys, he describes events in AD 499 that dried the Euphrates for 3 days, again in AD 529 when it ceased flowing for an entire day, and again in AD 810 when the river actually flowed backwards for three days! All of these events seem to be tied to earthquakes in the region. Thus, the claim that the river has never gone dry is simply false.
As a preterist, I consider the events described in Revelation as being fulfilled in the first century, namely in AD 70 with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Old Covenant system. Therefore it is quite simple for me to imagine that the eastern army that General Titus brought to bear against Jerusalem would have benefitted greatly from the Euphrates river being dry. After all, a large army of foot soldiers and horsemen would take a lot of time to cross such a substantial river. Instead, somehow, these armies gathered to Titus in record speeds, and the fury of Rome descended upon Jerusalem with surprising effect. We know many earthquakes occurred during this era, several of which are described in Acts. Pompeii experienced a massive earthquake in AD 62. Could it be that an earthquake ceased the flowing of the Euphrates so that the armies of God's wrath could cross at unprecedented speeds? I believe so. The apostasy and idolatry of the once faithful Jerusalem would be quickly and completely destroyed.
Thus, I think the fact that the Euphrates is going dry, actually has nothing to do with the "end times". The river is going dry, but it is simply one of many. It is going dry not by miraculous signs from God, but because of man's sinful selfishness and rejection of God's Law. The river is not going dry to accommodate the crossing of an army. This is not the only period in history where the river has stopped flowing. The drying of the Euphrates actually fits nicely into an AD 70 fulfilment.
Hopefully this helps to equip others when they encounter argumentation such as this. Please do not abandon the love that we must have for others, especially brothers in the faith. We will encounter disagreements, but this is not license to beat them over the head with their misunderstandings. Approach with humility and care as we are commanded to do by Christ. We are Postmil, we must have patience, we have time on our side.
For an excellent sermon regarding the events of the 6th bowl of Revelation, I highly recommend Phillip Kaysers work found HERE.
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