The battle to control Iraq and Syria's water supplies intensified in recent weeks, as the crisis in the Middle East continues to deepen. The Islamic terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham), which has made rapid advances in recent weeks and now controls large swathes of both countries, is continuing its advance towards Baghdad. The group hopes to carve out an Islamic caliphate that will stretch across the entire region, from Iraq in the east to Libya in the west and beyond. Over a million Iraqis have fled the fighting so far, as terrorists take control of key cities located along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. ISIS now controls at least four dams located along those rivers. Who controls those rivers will now ultimately decide who controls the entire region. ISIS and Turkey, where the source of the Euphrates is located, are both vying for control...

Quote: “It is not clear at the time of writing whether ISIS will launch a military attack on Baghdad, or even if it could take the heavily armed city in a pitched battle. But it may not need to. Iraq is ancient Mesopotamia, the once-fertile floodplain of the Tigris and Euphrates that cradled the first human civilisation. The rivers remain crucial to the farming on which most Iraqis depend, according to a report by the International Centre for Agricultural Research on the Dry Areas, which was once based in Aleppo, Syria, but has now decamped to Amman in Jordan to avoid fighting. ISIS now controls several major dams on the rivers, for instance at Haditha and Samarra. It also holds one 30 kilometres north of Mosul that was built on fragile rock and poses a risk of collapse. It holds at least 8 billion cubic metres of water. In 2003, there were fears Iraqi troops might destroy the dam to wipe out invading forces. US military engineers calculated that the resulting wave would obliterate Mosul and even hit Baghdad.

Last month Turkey also interrupted the flow of the Euphrates river, much to the anger of the ISIS rebels.

Quote: “The Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS), which controls Raqqa province, were also angered by Turkey's control of the river. It issued a statement criticising the Turkish government for "cutting water to Al-Sham [Levant] prefectures."

The apostle John was given a vision of what would take place in the last days immediately prior to the Second Coming of Christ. The Bible states in Revelation 16:12, “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”. And again in Revelation 9:14-16, “And 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 in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.”

Quote: “Young Iraqis have been flocking to recruitment centres at the weekend to join the counter-offensive against ISIS. According to official records, some two million young men have volunteered in the past seven days.

It's very interesting days we are living in. The sheer numbers now involved in this Sunni-Shia conflict in the Middle East, as well as the battle for control over the Euphrates, shows us just how close we may be to the end times prophesied in the Bible. But Revelation is not a book of doom and gloom. Yes, it contains some very sombre news for Satan and this world system. But it also has good news too. It shows us that Jesus Christ is coming back soon. As Christians, we need not be afraid of these things. We have courage in the midst of crisis. For as the prophet Elisha revealed to his servant, there are more with us than there are with them (2^nd Kings 6:17). The whole of the heavenly host stands behind the true believer in Christ. And as the book of Revelation proves, Satan is a defeated enemy. Of course he is coming down having great wrath, but only because he knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12). Praise God that our Saviour is coming down too. Is He your Saviour? Have you trusted in Him for salvation? He gave His life for you on the cross of Calvary. He bore God's punishment for your sins when He died on the cross of Calvary. And He is coming back for all those who have trusted in Him. Don't wait until it's too late. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today!

Revelation 22:10
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Source Middle East Monitor, New Scientist, Sky