The Way of the Kings of the East

 •  7 min. read  •  grade level: 12
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Among the awful judgments that will fall on this world toward the end of the great tribulation, we find the following: “The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared” (Rev. 16:1212And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. (Revelation 16:12)).
The latter clause of this verse might be more accurately rendered, “That the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared” (JND). It is noteworthy that there is a similar reference to the Euphrates river in Revelation 9:13-1413And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. (Revelation 9:13‑14), where we read that “the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
The Euphrates River
With a length of nearly 1800 miles, the Euphrates River is the longest river in western Asia, and it has been associated with the trade and commerce of great cities and empires for thousands of years. Originating in what is now Turkey, it courses through Syria and Iraq and eventually joins with another well-known ancient river, the Tigris, before emptying into the Persian Gulf. It is mentioned many times in the Word of God, all the way back to the Garden of Eden, for the Euphrates was one of the four branches into which the river of Eden parted (Gen. 2:10-1410And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10‑14)). The land called Mesopotamia was the land between these two rivers, often referred to as the “fertile crescent,” and generally acknowledged as that part of the world where civilization began.
The Euphrates River has always been the traditional boundary between the East and the West. It is true that both the Persian Empire and that of Alexander the Great extended beyond this point, but the eastern boundary of the Roman empire was always considered to be the Euphrates river, and it is largely with this empire, in its revived form, that prophecy in the Book of Revelation is occupied.
The reference in Revelation 16:1212And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. (Revelation 16:12) to the drying up of the Euphrates River, in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east, has been the subject of speculation among students of prophecy for many years. Does this verse mean that the river literally will dry up, or is the language symbolical? What role do the kings from the east play in the final scene of judgment? How will they interact with those who are part of the western confederacy, under the Roman beast? Will they be allies or enemies? Scripture does not answer these questions directly, but two recent developments in the world are worthy of notice in this respect.
First of all, there has been a remarkable drying up of the Euphrates River during the past five years, and this shows no sign of abating. The following quotation from the New York Times in July, 2009, sums it up: “Throughout the marshes, the reed gatherers, standing on land they once floated over, cry out to visitors in a passing boat. ‘Maaku mai!’ they shout, holding up their rusty sickles. ‘There is no water!’ The Euphrates is drying up. Strangled by the water policies of Iraq’s neighbors, Turkey and Syria, a two-year drought, and years of misuse by Iraq and its farmers, the river is significantly smaller than it was just a few years ago. Some officials worry that it could soon be half of what it is now.”
We would not place undue emphasis on this fact, as the problem is partially man-made. Turkey and Syria have constructed a number of dams on the river to serve their own needs, and Iraq itself has misused the water that has been flowing down to it. Nevertheless, it is clear that the rainfall has been far below normal for the past few years, and this has certainly contributed to the shortage of water.
Also, we must recognize that prophecy does not directly refer to events during the church period, and thus what we read in Revelation 16:1212And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. (Revelation 16:12) will not occur until the latter part of the great tribulation. However, God may, in His warnings to man, allow the stage to be set for these judgments to come, and we as believers can surely “see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:2525Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)), as we observe these developments. One thing is certain: God will eventually remove any barrier between the East and the West, to the end that all mankind will be involved in God’s judgments on this world — judgments that will center in the land of Israel.
There is another development, however, that is far more sinister and important — that of the military rise of China. For centuries China has generally stayed out of the interaction of world powers and has been content to pursue its own ends. It has been recognized as one of the world’s great powers because of its large population, but until recently has not participated largely in world affairs. As recently as the Second World War, it was devastated by attacks by Japan. In the years following 1945, it was divided by civil war, which culminated in victory for the communists in 1949, forcing Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government out to the island now called Taiwan.
However, during the past twenty years China has “come of age,” and several years ago it displaced Japan to become the largest economic power in Asia today. As a result of a large pool of relatively cheap labor and some reforms which favored private enterprise, its products are now shipped around the globe in huge container ships, resulting in a flow of cash to that country that is unprecedented. In keeping with her status as a major world power, China has initiated a remarkable increase in military spending. In the past China generally relied on its large army (still the largest in the world numerically), but now it has also begun to acquire modern weapons. Even though its defense budget is less than 25% of that of the U.S.A., yet it has increased that budget by an average of 12% per year for the past decade. As we may well expect, all this has caused concern and even alarm among some of China’s neighbors. China insists that all of this buildup is defensive, but the end result could be an arms race in Asia, as other countries try to counter the threat by increasing their military spending. Countries like Japan, Australia, South Korea and India are all now spending more on defense, with an emphasis on sea power. Despite China’s assertions that its intentions are peaceful, there is concern that the direction taken by an authoritarian state could change rapidly and radically. This in turn could cause others to react, for man has seldom developed military potential that he did not eventually use. All of the Asian nations within China’s sphere of influence could very well be among those referred to as “the kings from the rising of the sun.”
Armageddon
All of this is very much in line with what we read in Scripture concerning God’s purposes. It is clear from prophecy that He will bring the whole world together for judgment. “He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Rev. 16:1616And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16)). The western power (the revived Roman empire), the King of the North (probably a confederacy of Arab nations, perhaps supported by Russia), and the Russian power, all have their clear-cut places in the conflagration that will take place at the end of the tribulation. But the East will not be left out, for all will be gathered together at Armageddon. While China may see her increased military power as being necessary to safeguard her economic interests and protect her sovereignty claims, she has also made it clear that she is ready to use that power more aggressively if necessary. For example, China’s expanding economy has generated a rapid increase in her need for oil. If her access to oil is compromised, she may react rather strongly.
W. J. Prost