Question:
Doesn’t it sound very inconsistent to tell someone that in Revelation 9:14 (the sixth trumpet), the River Euphrates represents Turkey, and then when it comes to Revelation 16:12 (the sixth plague), we say it means something else? What reason may account for that change in interpreting the same symbol differently?
Answer:
In a word, context.
In Revelation 9, the River Euphrates is determined as the Ottoman Empire, located in the country of the Euphrates, because the context of the chapter covering the fifth and sixth trumpets determines it so. While in Revelation 16, the context of the fifth plague has spotlighted the Papacy, and thus the River Euphrates—the waters upon which the whore, spiritual Babylon, sits—is not literal but spiritual, representing the support of the Papacy and its being “dried up.” (See Revelation 17:15, 16; Daniel 11:45).
When studying the Scriptures, one must not forget the rules of interpretation. Rule #1: Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible. Rule #10: Figures sometimes have two or more different significations.
