Beginning with the first trumpet, Cahn points to a recurring pattern woven throughout Revelation: destruction involving one-third of the earth, trees, seas and waters. Cahn notes that John was a first-century man describing a vision without the vocabulary of modern warfare. “Interesting because a nuclear missile would look like a burning torch at night,” Cahn says. Cahn connects this passage with Revelation 16, where the Euphrates dries up to prepare the way for the “kings of the east.” “The Euphrates River has been flowing for thousands of years,” Cahn says, before pointing to reports of its modern decline.