Euphrates drying up, what will happen? However the order of the bowl judgements seems not to fit in our understanding

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Scott Downey

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Rev16

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up​

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. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings [g]of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, [h]Armageddon.

**********************************************************************************
But before this, is written this in 1 -11.
And maybe since it is still drying up it is the beginning of the process.
Which means the world is soon to experience that great tribulation Jesus taught.
*********************************************************************************

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the [a]bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, [c]O Lord,
The One who is and who [d]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
[e]For it is their just due.”

7 And I heard [f]another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
 

marks

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And maybe since it is still drying up it is the beginning of the process.
Which means the world is soon to experience that great tribulation Jesus taught.
I'd have to say, it happens when it happens. This seems to come around every few years.

Much love!
 

Randy Kluth

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Great rivers form natural boundaries. The Euphrates is an important river separating eastern nations from some Middle Eastern nations, like Israel.

I don't think the Euphrates River poses a significant barrier to a military mobilization from the East in the modern world. But it is a sign of the approach of Armageddon when the political and natural barriers to this mobilization come down. It appears to be happening now in a number of ways.

I don't think the Bowl Judgments are synonymous with the "Great Tribulation," as you define it. The 3.5 year reign of Antichrist will definitely be shown indications of God's unhappiness with this system, and I do think these curses will be directed at the Beast Empire, and are not universal in the exhaustive sense.

That is, weapons will be used that can kill "every creature" in the sea within the scope of their destruction. For example, a nuclear weapon can destroy all life within the radius of its explosion.

It does not mean that every creature in all the oceans will die. Amillennialists probably think that Armageddon will mean the complete destruction of the old earth, but I don't think so. I think these judgments will prepare this old earth for new tenants. :)
 

Jay Ross

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Hello

The bowl judgements are best understood if we consider that John was walking from the distant future backwards through time to wards this present time.

In fact, looking at what is prophesied in the seventh bowl judgement, I can confidently place this prophecy as predominately taking place during the 20th century. During the 20th century, there were two great periods of turmoil, in WW1 and WW2 where sadly "seismos " is wrongly translated as earthquake instead of "turmoil" and the described confirmation signs suck as "Babylon being remembered once more" occur in 1926 and Jerusalem being partitioned into three occurring in 1948, and islands, i.e., nations, moving away from each other, and people hiding in caves, i.e., bomb shelters, men/people blasphemed God because of the horrendous bombardments that were occurring during WW2.

The sixth bowl judgement is presently still unfolding before us now. The Euphrates River is a metaphor for idol worship because of the idol worship that occurred in the lands around this river because of Nimrod, since idol worship has been predominately replace in this region with Islamic worship. The three frog like spirits that cause signs and wonders on 9/11/71 was seen all around the world to begin the process of drawing all of the kings of the earth to assemble at Armageddon to be judged for their part in the 2,300 years of trampling God's Sanctuary and his earthly hosts, i.e., Israel. It is my understanding that we will see the completion of the Sixth Bowl Judgement in around 20 years' time, when heavenly hosts of Satan, the beasts and the little horn, to name few of the heavenly hosts that will also be judged at the time of Armageddon, and they will be imprisoned in a pit for many years to await the time of their punishment. (Isaiah 24:21-22)

Then there will be a period of 1,000 years of relative peace upon the earth with the establishment of God's Everlasting Kingdom on the earth until the pit will be opened for a little while period and the 5th, 4th 3rd, 2nd and the 1st bowl judgements will occur in that order.

The Islamic religion in the middle east has predominately replaced all of the idol worship that was taking place along the Euphrates River and as such the many idolatrous worship practices have been replaced by the Islamic worship practices.

It is my understanding that Christianity had been well and truly established along the River Euphrates up and until the time that Islam became the dominate religion of that area under the threat of the peoples' lives.

People are searching for logical physical sign/confirmation of the River Euphrates drying up but have generally missed the spiritual implications of the Euphrates drying up which has been occurring since the time that Christianity spread throughout the whole known earth since the disciples initially received the great commission to go out into the whole earth to make disciples of all people.

Shalom
 

Davy

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Rev16

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up​

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. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings [g]of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, [h]Armageddon.

**********************************************************************************
But before this, is written this in 1 -11.
And maybe since it is still drying up it is the beginning of the process.
Which means the world is soon to experience that great tribulation Jesus taught.
*********************************************************************************

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the [a]bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, [c]O Lord,
The One who is and who [d]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
[e]For it is their just due.”

7 And I heard [f]another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

The river Euphrates represented Israel's most northern border from its enemies. The drying up of the river is more symbolic than literal. And if it does happen literally also, the real Message is what its drying up represents as written there in God's Word...


Rev 9:14-16
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
KJV


That is a spiritual matter, that army crossing the border Euphrates represents Satan's servants on earth with their final takeover of all nations and peoples on earth. That army of horsemen is about the locust army of the Book of Joel, and those locusts mentioned earlier on the 5th trumpet. The difference with this 6th Trumpet - 2nd Woe period is this is the START of the "great tribulation" time when false-Messiah sets up his false-idol worship in Jerusalem with his host.

Therefore, with the 6th Vial being poured out, go back to Revelation 9 with the sounding of the 6th Trumpet when those four angels at Euphrates are loosed, and that spiritual Euphrates border is opened.

And the Vials 1-6 are mostly spiritual, not literal. Recall in Rev.17 that Jesus showed the "sea" or "waters" of Rev.13:1 represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. So when a Vial is poured out into the "sea", it is about peoples and nations being in deception by false messiah.

The main 'show' is about DECEPTION for the end by the false-Messiah. That's what most of the Vials are about. In Rev.9 God is using the locusts and stinging being caused by what comes out of their MOUTHS, which means WORDS to cause DECEPTION. Lord Jesus' first warning in His Olivet discourse about the END was to not allow any man to deceive us.
 
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Spiritual Israelite

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Rev16

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up​

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. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings [g]of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, [h]Armageddon.

**********************************************************************************
But before this, is written this in 1 -11.
And maybe since it is still drying up it is the beginning of the process.
Which means the world is soon to experience that great tribulation Jesus taught.
*********************************************************************************

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the [a]bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, [c]O Lord,
The One who is and who [d]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
[e]For it is their just due.”

7 And I heard [f]another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
The reference to the Euphrates River in Revelation is symbolic, just like the references to Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, Mount Zion, Armageddon, Gog and Magog. Taking all of that literally makes a complete mess of the book and results in contradictions with other scripture.
 
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JohnDB

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I'd have to say, it happens when it happens. This seems to come around every few years.

Much love!
Actually,
The Euphrates River has been dry for some time. Around in the 1990's the last bits of water were dammed and siphoned off. It wasn't fit to drink due to pollution anyway. They have been using the water for drinking and industrial purposes.

The disused riverbed has had weeds growing in it. I think a few trees now.

I know...I was shocked about the information a couple years ago.

And yes, it's one of those obvious signs that people discount....just like they did with Jesus's arrival. Not saying that the end is tomorrow....so go to church and enjoy it. No need to stock a pantry full of pallets of beanie weenies....but having some long term grocery items in your pantry AND drinking water isn't exactly a horrible idea either. Because we don't know. And war kills a lot of people by starvation and dehydration instead of by munitions. (Contrary to popular beliefs)
 

tailgator

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I've read in revelation 11,that it will not rain for 3.5 years.After that 3.5 years ,the beast that ascends from.the abyss will attack Jerusalem killing the two witnesses.
I would think after those 3.5 years the Euphrates would be pretty dry.Syria,Iraq and Iran would be pretty thirsty and ready for war seeing they depend much on that river.
 

Brakelite

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The reference to the Euphrates River in Revelation is symbolic, just like the references to Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, Mount Zion, Armageddon, Gog and Magog. Taking all of that literally makes a complete mess of the book and results in contradictions with other scripture.
As you said. The river is symbolic. Babylon is symbolic. Whatt did the river mean to Babylon when the city was intact? It was a source of revenue and life. It was a vehicle by which Babylon traded. It was integral to the survival of the city.
Now spiritual Babylon the Great will also need the support of a river of sustenance in order to survive. The support of the kings and queens and rulers of this world. (The best the woman rides on is another metaphor or symbol of the kings of the earth, government structures and legislative support). Scripture says however that river will dry up. The sustenance and support will cease. And then the kings of the earth turn against her, and destroy her
 
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Spiritual Israelite

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As you said. The river is symbolic. Babylon is symbolic. Whatt did the river mean to Babylon when the city was intact? It was a source of revenue and life. It was a vehicle by which Babylon traded. It was integral to the survival of the city.
Now spiritual Babylon the Great will also need the support of a river of sustenance in order to survive. The support of the kings and queens and rulers of this world. (The best the woman rides on is another metaphor or symbol of the kings of the earth, government structures and legislative support). Scripture says however that river will dry up. The sustenance and support will cease. And then the kings of the earth turn against her, and destroy her
What I didn't mention in that post is that while those entities are symbolic, I don't believe they symbolically represent earthly entities. It might be better for me to say that I see those as being spiritual entities. I believe they represent spiritual entities that are given names of earthly entities. So, for example, I don't see Babylon is symbolically representing earthly Jerusalem or Rome or the papacy or anything like that. I see it as the spiritual opposite of New Jerusalem, which also does not specifically represent any earthly entity.
 

tailgator

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Rev16

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up​

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. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings [g]of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, [h]Armageddon.

**********************************************************************************
But before this, is written this in 1 -11.
And maybe since it is still drying up it is the beginning of the process.
Which means the world is soon to experience that great tribulation Jesus taught.
*********************************************************************************

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the [a]bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, [c]O Lord,
The One who is and who [d]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
[e]For it is their just due.”

7 And I heard [f]another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
It happens after 3.5 year drought seen in revelation 11.After 3.5 year drought caused by the two witnesses,the beast ascends from the abyss and kills them.

Muslims are taught in the Hadith to go to war with Dajall after 3 year drought.Dajall is a false prophet in the Hadith.
 

MA2444

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It does not mean that every creature in all the oceans will die. Amillennialists probably think that Armageddon will mean the complete destruction of the old earth, but I don't think so. I think these judgments will prepare this old earth for new tenants. :)

Every remodel job starts with the demolition of the existing first.
 
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Randy Kluth

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Every remodel job starts with the demolition of the existing first.
Yea, I don't know how God's going to do it, but it will be a "new world," whatever that means? I don't personally believe that God is going to re-do the original creation, but it is called a "new creation." So we'll see?
 

MA2444

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Yea, I don't know how God's going to do it, but it will be a "new world," whatever that means? I don't personally believe that God is going to re-do the original creation, but it is called a "new creation." So we'll see?

Well looking at the over arching theme of the bible, I would say that He plans to return it to the same condition as it was before the fall in Eden. There will still be enough people that cities will be needed though, that makes sense. I bet everyone hets a home alloted to them depending on family size and so forth like they did in the OT. Many will grow their own food and live rural and some others will live in the cities and have as their jobs the administration of the law, and police and everything that is really essential that a town council would take care of. Those people will have to get their food from the farms that are close to the city? Something like that I think.

And the rest of the unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled. Israel will get it's proper borders all the way to the Euphrates river and...the meek inherit the earth (The administration duties).

That's my best guess.
 

Randy Kluth

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Well looking at the over arching theme of the bible, I would say that He plans to return it to the same condition as it was before the fall in Eden. There will still be enough people that cities will be needed though, that makes sense. I bet everyone hets a home alloted to them depending on family size and so forth like they did in the OT. Many will grow their own food and live rural and some others will live in the cities and have as their jobs the administration of the law, and police and everything that is really essential that a town council would take care of. Those people will have to get their food from the farms that are close to the city? Something like that I think.

And the rest of the unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled. Israel will get it's proper borders all the way to the Euphrates river and...the meek inherit the earth (The administration duties).

That's my best guess.
Yea, I grew up with some kind of idea that is completely unrelated to who we are now--floating energy balls, or perhaps genderless angelic beings. But if God made us the way we are right now, I'm not sure He is going to move too far away from that. It may be sort of like spending your whole life as a stem and leaves and then one day finding yourself a flower. ;)
 
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