At 1,739 miles (2,800 km) in length, the Euphrates is the longest river in Western Asia.

Originating in Turkey, the river is the lifeline for Syria and Iraq. Along with the Tigris River, the two define what is known as the Mespotamia basin. This is the area of the world, where Abraham was born and where the nation of Babylon was founded.

Partially because of this, the Euphrates is the most mentioned river in the Bible.

The first reference is actually found in the book of Genesis where the Euphrates and the Tigris are described as two of the four rivers that broke off from the main river the flowed out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:14).

The other two mentioned were the Pishon and Gihon. While, they have since been lost to history, recent satellite scans have uncovered the remains of a dry river bed that once flowed through Saudia Arabia thousands of years ago. The river, which at points was three miles wide, fits the Bible’s description of the Pishon.

But certainly, the most controversial mention of the Euphrates is found in the Book of Revelation. This is the Apostle John’s vision of events that will take place in the end times.

It is tied to the judgements associated with the pouring out of the seven bowls of wrath in Revelation 16.

In the passage describing the sixth bowl, the Apostle John saw an angel causing the Euphrates to dry up.

This would then allow the kings of the East to bring in their armies leading to Armageddon, the final end times battle:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

Har-Magedon (Armageddon)

¹³ And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; ¹⁴ for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the entire world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Revelation 16:12-13 NASV)

This strange prophecy was front and center in a recent Daily Mail article entitled, Dying river in the ‘cradle of civilization’ sparks fears biblical prophecy could be coming true.

The Mail’s Science and Technology editor, Stacey Liberatore, writes that a “recent report has warned that the river could disappear by 2040 due to declining water levels and droughts driven by climate change.” 

According to the report, satellite imaging reveals that since 2003, the shrinking Euphrates has lost the equivalent of 34 cubic miles of water. University of California Hydrologist, Jay Famiglietti, said that the decline has been particularly acute since 2007.

‘Meanwhile, demand for freshwater continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws,’ Famiglietti added.

The problem is compounded by increasing water demands for both agricultural, industrial and electrical usage. Conservation efforts have been complicated by the competing political goals of the three nations the Euphrates flows through.

Based on the current rate of shrinkage, the Euphrates could be gone within 14 years. If that occurs this could become an significant marker in the end times timeline.