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The
Dried-up Euphrates By Jon R Welker "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was driedup, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." Revelation 16:12 Recently, in the last SHEPHERDSFIELD Chat (April, 2003 issue), I referenced the loosing of the angels bound at the Euphrates; and in the meaning of Euphrates as ‘a breaking forth’, we see that there are principalities and powers in that area which will “break forth” upon that region and the world.There is a connection in the sequence of the events of Revelation 9:11, from the blowing of that 6th Trumpet and what we see unfolding before us now.I am intrigued by the events surrounding the Iraqi war (Operation Iraqi Freedom) as they are progressing, yet cautious to try to write about the future too quickly. Yet I am moved
to place an interesting thought before our readers for consideration.Since
the 6th Trumpet’s blowing links with the “loosing of the four angels”
(“unseen rulers”) bound at the Euphrates [see 4/03
Shepherdsfield Chat], wouldn’t it be an irony that as a result of
operation Iraqi Freedom, the good intentions of the U.S.-led coalition
brought about the “freeing” (Operation Iraqi Freedom) or “loosing”
the angels (“unseen principalities”) in the Euphrates area? Already the
Iraqi Shiites (the majority of the population of Iraq) are moving to quickly
fill the power vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam Hussein, and some fear
their desire to establish an Islamic Republic patterned after that of
their next-door neighbor, the Shiite dominated Iran. Paradoxically, the
instituting of majority rule by the U.S. could bring about an Islamic
theocracy, not democracyAlready thousands of well organized Shiites have
been demonstrating against the United States, with banners which read:
“No to America, No to Israel, Yes to Islam.”Such a “loosing” of Islamic
passions may well continue to “swell” and overflow from the Euphrates
area, bringing about more destruction through the increased power, influence
and anger of Islamic extremists. The U.S. has now freed (“loosed”) Afghanistan and Iraq, yet
the history of such liberation is far from reassuring. We have but to consider Russia, Somalia, Bosnia,
and the events presently in Afghanistan, to have much to ponder. Have the “angels” bound in that area been “loosed”
to go forth conquering and to destroy? Remember the Revelation 9:11 (911) passage?! “And the fifth angel sounded, and
I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the
key of the bottomless pit. And
he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit,
as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened
by reason of the smoke of the pit. ...And
they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose
name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his
name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two
woes more hereafter.” Revelation 9:1-2, 11-12 As a result of that woe, verse 12, we are told
of the 4 angels bound at the Euphrates.
Isn’t that at least intriguing?
First, a star (angel; “The...stars are the angels...” Rev. 1:20
) falls from heaven to
open the bottomless pit (but read the rest of Rev. 9).
Then the king of the Pit is identified with the destroyer, Revelation
9:11. As a result of the events on September 11,
2001 (911) and the attack on the Twin Towers in the United States, forces
were placed in motion which have led to the declaration of war on terrorism. This caused the United States to invade Afghanistan
and then Iraq – “one woe is past” (Rev. 9:12), however(!) – “...behold, there
come two woes more hereafter”! Then
we are told of the “loosing” of “four angels which are bound in
the great river Euphrates” (vs. 14).
I could go on with this intriguing thought, but I admonish you:
just keep on watching! Meanwhile, Arab and Muslim
passions are intensifying in their hatred and distrust of the Americans
and their allies. Again, I want to remind you that if this is the time
of the “loosing” of the angels bound at the Euphrates, then we are into
a development that will continue to unfold and intensify. We know that God’s Word is interconnected.
The 6th Trumpet refers to the
loosing of the angels bound at the Euphrates.
There also were 7 Seals and 7 Vials, or Bowls, of Wrath. So now let us consider the connection of the
6th Trumpet to the 6th Vial, or Bowl, of Wrath.
The Bowls of Wrath are actually the consummation or conclusion
of the intensity that is built up to that point in time.
Therefore, it should be noted that the 6th Vial also mentions the Euphrates just as it was referenced
by the blowing of the 6th Trumpet. That
lets us behold the harmony of God’s Plan. “And I heard a great voice out of
the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go your ways, and pour out the
vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.’ The statements regarding the other Vials are often shorter than
this one, but this message, the 6th, is directly linked not
only to the Euphrates, but with Armageddon! “And
the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’ Pay attention that in the
6th Vial, reference is made to “the thief” coming. “…I
come as a thief. Blessed is he
that watcheth, and keepeth his garments….”
Revelation 16:15 THE
NUMBER OF MAN AND BEAST It shouldn’t come as a surprise for those who are students of
God’s Word that these things are all connected: the 6th seal, the 6th Trumpet and the 6th Vial, and obviously the
6th angel. And remember
that the number 6 is the number of man.
It’s the number of the man in the image of God, as Jesus was the
perfection and completion of humanity; but it’s also the number of the
beast, because on the 6th day, God created both man and beast (Gen. 1:25-26). And that’s the choice given to us. Are we going to be men in the flowering of
humanity as was Jesus, or are we going to let the bestial nature rule
us? We are also told to compute the number of the
Beast’s name, that is 666: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a
man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
Revelation 13:18 So,
we have the 6th Trumpet and 6th
Vial mentioning the river Euphrates.
The 6th Trumpet
talks about the loosing of the angels bound there, and the 6th Vial talks about the “drying up” of the
River so that “the kings of the east” can come forth, in order that the
final consummation of the ages can take place at “Armageddon.” But inserted just before that “Armageddon”
word is the statement, “…I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth….” REFUSING
THE LORD'S GENTLE CARE I want to again quote a
few comments out of THE
LORD'S DAY
book regarding the 6th Vial: The 6th Bowl is poured out on the great river Euphrates.
The 6th Trumpet released the 4 angels bound in the Euphrates
and, as a result, the armies...eventually go forth, as the waters overflow
the banks of that river. (pg.
308) Now,
turn to Isaiah 8:6-7: “Forasmuch as this people refuseth
the waters of Shiloah that go softly,” The New English Bible and others, render “the
river” as Euphrates. The New English Bible says: “Therefore the Lord will bring against it
the strong flooding waters of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria.” The
Taylor translation
reads: “Therefore I will overwhelm My people
with Euphrates’ mighty flood; the king of Assyria and all his mighty armies
will rage against them.” Isaiah
8:8-9: Or,
as J.B. Phillips states: “Prepare
for war and lose your nerve.” Do you see the connection?
They refuse to receive of His gentle care or His softly flowing
water or river, because they trust or turn to the king of Assyria.
But God says, “Therefore I’m going to bring the flooding waters
of that great river (Euphrates) upon you.
Prepare for war and lose your nerve.
Prepare for war and lose your nerve.”
Here let me quote from THE LORD'S DAY: The
pouring out of the 6th Bowl dries up the waters of the Euphrates, indicating
the later developments turning back those armies to their destruction.
But before this turning back is accomplished, there will have been
a gathering together of the armies of the East, as well as all armies,
unto Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). Although the city of Megiddo (meaning ‘to pour
in and clasp’), to which the expression “Armageddon” refers, was situated
on the edge of the wide plain where many great battles were fought in
ancient times, the label on the end-time gathering there is primarily
symbolic. “Armageddon” is a symbolic appel-lation picturing
the intensity of the final conflict of the ages. The 6th Bowl
has primarily to do with the last stages of this final great conflict. The “drying up” of the river Euphrates therefore,
is the complete overcoming of the armies of certain eastern nations which
are under the banner of the Beast. The
preparing of the way for the kings of the East means the preparing of
the way or road for their destruction.
This is brought about by the “drying up” or the turning back of
their armies in confusion and defeat.
(pg. 308) …Having seen the armies of the Beast turned back (the drying up of the river Euphrates) and military oper-ations on land and full-scale war against Israel terminated, there remains only the last agonizing phase of the atomic holocaust which rages throughout the 7 Bowls of Wrath. Armageddon, which symbolically denotes the climax of the East-West conflict during the 6 Bowls of Wrath, will then be over. The land of Israel will have been washed by the blood of foreigners who had previously shed Jewish blood. Massive bloodshed would be over on the Day of Atonement, although the aerial nuclear war will continue. (pg. 309) Isn’t it interesting that the reason given to us, to the world and to the United Nations, for this war was because of the concern for Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction; and in particular, nuclear? But I know that the Scripture in Revelation 16 also says: “…I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth….” What is about to happen
is “coming as a thief,” like Jesus’ coming at the very beginning of the
Tribulation. “…Blessed
is he that watcheth….” Malachi
3:17: “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when
I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him.” Luke
12:39: “And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what
hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered
his house to be broken through.” There are events to be
unfolding which we need to be very careful in considering and evaluating,
because they lead to this final conflict of the ages – Armageddon! Let me again quote from THE
LORD'S DAY: “Lo,
I come as a thief….” It is also written that the Day of the Lord
comes as a thief (I Thess.
5:2), so both the Lord Jesus and His Day come as a thief. The Lord’s coming is synchronous with the blowing of the 7th Trumpet. His
coming is first as a thief to break through the household of the Church
(Lk. 12:39) and remove the “jewels” (Mal. 3:17),
the 144,000 Firstfruits group (Rev. 14:1) translated at
the beginning of the Great Tribulation….
When the 144,000 company of the most choice of the saints disappears,
the 42-month Day of the Lord has begun and the 7th Trumpet has started to
sound its notes…. …Then the pace shall quicken in the gathering of the nations to the final conflict. (pg. 309) This
conflict is “beckoning” to other peoples and nations to gather them for
the Great Day of God Almighty. ...It
will be the Great Day of God Almighty because of the greatness of His
manifestation in spiritual power and glory through His saints upon the
earth. It also will be great because of the enormity of His might which
shall be unleashed in the awesome firepower of the atom.
It is the great Day of God Almighty because the great God and Savior
will exercise His Almighty Power in putting down the impudence and haughtiness
of man. The Day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon each one that is lifted
up by man, that he might be brought low. The Lord alone shall be exalted
in that day (Isa. 2:11-12, 19-21). Blessed is he who watches so that his spirit
may keep the garments of the soul and the outer physical
body. …When The 7th Bowl is poured out into the air, a mighty voice comes from the Throne in the Temple of Heaven saying, “It is done” or “It is come into being,” because the 7th Bowl is synonymous with the visible return of the Lord. The first “It is finished” signified Christ’s victory over Satan and all evil on Calvary. The second “It is accomplished” is a demonstrated victory of His Body of Christians in completely dispossessing Satan and his followers. It is His personal return that causes the final wrath to be poured out, as He comes to tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [El Shaddai] (Rev. 19:15). He is to be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who willfully do not know God and on them who knowingly will not conform to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Thess. 1:7-8, Isa. 64:1-3), for the fires of nuclear war will still be raging sporadically as He returns to put an end to man’s insanity – lest all flesh would be destroyed (Matt. 24:22). All 7 Bowls will be poured out within 14 days. (pgs. 309-310) Talk about “shock and awe”!
That’s awesome!! This is a time that you do well at least to
heed the idea, “Blessed is he that watcheth.” Can you really believe that a military victory
in Iraq is going to put an end to the age-old hatred between Arabs and
Jews, Christians and Muslims? How
many nations will get gathered together there?
However long it may take to get them there, they will be
gathered! Events may take twists
and turns, but things are building to that final Great Day of God Almighty! The “Day of the Lord” comes as
a thief, and He comes as a thief. And
so, there is a connection between the 6th Trumpet which starts the
process, and the building up of and intensifying of events until the 6th Bowl is poured out.
In other words, the Bowl has been filling up, like the hot oil
that we’ve seen depicted in movies of the old battles in the Middle Ages.
Again, it is an intensifying and then the pouring out.
“Because you refuse the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, My gentle
care, I’m going to turn you over to the Assyrians and that great River,
the destructive waters of the Euphrates, to be destroyed.” God’s going to deal with the haughtiness and
arrogance of man. There is a lot
of that being exhibited now in the trust put into “high-tech” weaponry. But keep your focus on God, not on the armies
of man. His Word declares: “Some
trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the Name of
the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7 Man’s
weapons and armies won’t be able to save you in the Day of the Lord. Nothing will – except your trust in, and obedience
to, Jesus Christ. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth….” Keep Watching! |