People online worry that the Euphrates River drying up could signal the end of times (Image: Esri)
The water levels of the Euphrates River, situated in the so-called “cradle of civilisation”, are falling at an alarming rate, fuelling fears of a Biblical end-of-times prophecy coming to pass.
The dwindling Euphrates — the longest river in Western Asia, flowing through Turkey, Syria and Iraq — runs through one of the Bible’s most significant regions, the Fertile Crescent. The river features prominently in the Book of Revelation, a prophecy that has stirred considerable concern online, as it foretells the end times and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 16:12 states: “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.” Many interpret this as a warning that once the Euphrates runs dry, a vast army from the East will march across the river basin towards the Battle of Armageddon.
This passage marks the second Biblical prediction of the Euphrates drying up, the first appearing in Jeremiah 50:38, in which God declared: “A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror.”
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What is the Biblical ‘second prophecy’
The second prophecy in Revelation forms part of the seven bowl judgements, which symbolise the conclusion of the seven-year tribulation and are so catastrophic that “no human being would be saved.” End-times believers are growing increasingly agitated over the river’s decline, with many convinced the ancient prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes.
According to a 2013 NASA report, both the Tigris and Euphrates river basins — the waters of Babylon — shed a staggering 117 million acre feet (34 cubic miles) of freshwater between 2003 and 2009. This volume of water loss is roughly comparable to that of the Dead Sea, with the vast majority (60%) attributed to groundwater being pumped from underground reservoirs.
In ancient times, these two mighty rivers enabled farming communities to thrive, yet today they are steadily drying up amid a deepening crisis. For those who hold firm to Biblical end-times prophecy, such a development could see that prophecy fulfilled within the coming decades.
Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources has cautioned that without immediate intervention, the Euphrates River could completely dry up by 2040, with dwindling water levels further worsened by climate change-driven droughts.
A report estimated that the Euphrates River will dry up by 2040 (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
What dangers does the Euphrates pose to humans?
Falling water levels and deteriorating water quality are also triggering a host of additional problems, including famine and disease.
“Diarrhea, chicken pox, measles, typhoid fever, and cholera are currently spreading across Iraq because of the water crisis, and the government no longer provides vaccines to its citizens,” Naseer Baqar, climate activist and field coordinator at Tigris River Protectors Association in Iraq, told BJM.
According to the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), water levels in the Euphrates have now dropped to one of the lowest points ever recorded.
As the river continues to dry up, people online are questioning whether this signals the end of times or is simply further evidence of climate change taking its toll on the planet.