Day 162

“THE SIXTH ANGEL SOUNDED HIS TRUMPET, AND I HEARD A VOICE FROM THE FOUR HORNS OF THE GOLDEN ALTAR WHICH IS BEFORE GOD, SAYING TO THE SIXTH ANGEL WHO HAD THE TRUMPET, “RELEASE THE FOUR ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND BY THE GREAT RIVER EUPHRATES.” REV. 9:13,14.

Our planet is known as the blue planet, due to its extensive reserves of water. Unfortunately, 98% of this water is in the oceans, only two percent is accessible as freshwater. 90% of the freshwater supply is either frozen at the poles or remains under the ground. 

AS I teach in year 8 Geography, the availability of freshwater supplies is one of the defining keys to a nation’s success. As the earth’s population increases, wars over scarce water supplies will increasingly be fought.

In the Bible lands, fresh water has always been in short supply. In such a place, the abundance of fresh water in the Euphrates River was a guarantee of power and wealth for those who controlled it. In this passage, the river symbolizes the great power and resources of the final opposition to God in this world. God’s people, in ancient times, were located in a land with only one major source of fresh water, the Sea of Galilee. They had to rely, therefore, on heaven to provide water when they needed it.

There are strong parallels between the sixth trumpet and two other scenes in the Book of Revelation. In Rev 7:1-4 there are four angels, a form of restraint, and the comment “I heard the number.” So the two-hundred million-strong army of Rev 9:16-17 is in contrast with God’s end-time people, the 144,000. There is also a strong parallel to the sixth plague, where you also have the river Euphrates, military language, and a demonic hoard (Rev 16:13-16). So the sixth trumpet portrays the gathering of satan’s end-time army for the Battle of Armageddon.

There are many scenes of war in the Book of Revelation. But the book is less interested in the affairs of nations than it is in the progress of the gospel on this earth. The war that truly matters to God is the battle going on in our minds every day. As we approach the end, even the smallest decisions of life have eternal consequences.