Just a thought…
Since I was a kid, the commonly accepted understanding was that China would be the source of the vast army which would invade the Middle East. However, in light of current events involving Islam, this understanding may not have been correct.
“And 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
In Revelation 1:1 we read,
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John”
The Greek word in KJV and NKJV for ‘signified’ is sēmainō which primarily means ‘to give a sign, to signify, indicate’. In other words, to use ‘symbolism’ to describe the events. As suggested by Dr. Harry Ironside of Moody Bible Institute, there are two thoughts regarding the drying up of the Euphrates River:
“The way of the kings of the East is to be prepared by the drying up of the great river that was once the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. I am inclined to believe that this symbolizes the complete destruction of the Turkish power, which has acted as a buffer between the East and West for so long. Others think it refers to the actual drying up of the river itself, that river which was one of the four that of old went forth from Eden.”
The origin of the Euphrates River is in Turkey, runs through Syria, Iraq to the Persian Gulf.
I’m thinking both may be partially correct; that this involves Turkey and a crossing of the Euphrates River. Drawing a longitudinal line on a map from the headwaters of the Euphrates River in Turkey does put Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Iraq on the ‘East’ side of the line. Just a thought.
1. http://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/harry_ironside/The_Lamp_Of_Prophecy/03.htm