Middle East Water Shortages

“As the region, which is home to over 350 million people, begins to recover from a series of deadly heatwaves…  the World Resources Institute (WRI) claims water shortages were a key factor in the 2011 Syria civil war. ‘Drought and water shortages in Syria likely contributed to the unrest that stoked the country’s 2011 civil war. Dwindling water resources and chronic mismanagement forced 1.5 million people… to lose their livelihoods and leave their land, move to urban areas, and magnify Syria’s general destabilisation’” (The Guardian, August 27, 2015). “14 of the world’s 33 most water-stressed countries [are] in the Middle East and north Africa region” (ibid.). ISIS is also working to take control of major Middle East dams to control the water supply (The Independent, June 3, 2015).

Bible prophecy reveals that an end-time Arab federation—the “king of the south”—will emerge in the Middle East and will eventually fight against the European “beast” power (Daniel 11:40-43). Water issues could be one of the catalysts for the rise of this Arab power. Drought and subsequent water shortages may contribute to the Euphrates River drying up to make way for armies of the “kings of the east” to fight Christ in the Holy Land (Revelation 16:12-16). For more about these sobering end-time prophecies, be sure to read Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled!