The Euphrates River is Drying Up!

The July 14, 2009 issue of The New York Times had a very interesting article, and one that relates to Biblical prophecy. Written by Campbell Robertson, the article is entitled “Iraq Suffers as the Euphrates River Dwindles”.

The report gives its location as Jubaish, Iraq. It begins by telling of “reed gatherers” who are standing on land they once floated over, crying out to visitors, “There is no water!”

There is no water due to the water policies of Turkey and Syria, a two-year drought and misuse of the water by Iraqi farmers. The great Euphrates River is half the size it was just a few years ago. Fear is that in another year it will be half the size it is now – a stream rather than a river, apparently.

This is interesting news. But what really caught my attention was what The New York Times proceeded to print. “The shrinking of the Euphrates, a river so crucial to the birth of civilization that the Book of Revelation prophesied its drying up as a sign of the end times, has decimated farms along its banks, has left fishermen impoverished and has depleted riverside towns as farmers flee to the cities looking for work.”

By the way, the underlining is not mine – it is part of the article appearing in the paper.

In case you are wondering, the passage in Revelation was left uncited, but is 16:12 – “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.”

It is safe to say that the Lord is preparing the world for the coming of Christ. That the drying up of the Euphrates is mentioned in Bible prophecy, and that we see it happening presently is no accident. Ever since the unbelievably exciting establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, the end-times prophecies of the Bible have been slowly but surely unfolding before our very eyes. The groundwork is being laid for the “taking up” of the church, mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (the word “rapture” is rapturo and is translated “caught up” in verse 17. Hence, the usual expression for this event is “the Rapture”). The Rapture is the next epochal event on the calendar of Bible prophecy.

It is after the Rapture that the complete fulfillment of the prophecies in Revelation will occur – right now what we witness are the preliminary stages. The foundation is being laid and after the Rapture – well, just hope you are not left behind. There will be a period of time called “Tribulation”, a period of man’s sinfulness given its full expression. Finally, and mercifully, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth to put an end to unrighteousness and begin a reign of righteousness.

Which brings me to the point of this entire article: are you ready for the Rapture? You can be by making sure you are in a right relationship with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And by the way – don’t put this decision off. One of the world’s great rivers is drying up. The New York Times recognizes it as a fulfillment of Bible predictions.

The Euphrates River is drying up!