Scorching Men With Fire

The fourth bowl of the anger of God has the sun as its target. John tells us: "And the fourth one poured out his bowl upon the sun; and to the sun it was granted to scorch the men with fire. And the men were scorched with great heat, but they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give glory to him." - Revelation 16:8, 9.

Today, at the conclusion of the system of things, Jesus' spiritual brothers "shine brightly as the sun in their kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:40, 43) Jesus himself is "the sun of righteousness." (Malachi 4:2) Mankind, though, has its own "sun," its own rulers who try to shine in opposition to God's Kingdom. The fourth trumpet blast proclaimed that the 'sun, moon and stars' in Christendom's heavens are really sources of darkness, not light. (Revelation 8:12) The fourth bowl of God's anger now shows that the world's "sun" would get unbearably hot. Those looked to as sun-like leaders would "scorch" mankind. This would be granted to the symbolic sun. In other words, Jehovah would allow this as part of his fiery judgment on mankind. In what way has this scorching taken place?

After the first world war, the rulers of this world forned the League of Nations in an effort to solve the problem of world security, but this failed. So other experimental types of rulership were tried, such as Fascism and Nazism. Commmunism continued to expand. Rather than improve mankind's lot, the sun-like rulers in these systems began to 'scorch mankind with great heat.' Local wars in Spain, Ethiopia and Manchuria led up to the second world war. Modern history records that Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin as dictators become responsible directly and indirectly for the deaths of tens of millions, including many of their own nationals. More recently, international or civil conflicts have "scorched" the people of countries such as Vietnam, Kampuchea, Iran, Lebanon and Ireland, as well as countries in Latin America and Africa. Add to this the ongoing struggle between the superpowers, whose horrendous nuclear weapons are capable of incinerating all mankind. In these last days, humanity has surely been exposed to a scorching "sun," its unrighteous rulers. The pouring out of the fourth bowl of God's anger has pinpointed these historic facts, and God's people have proclaimed them throughout the earth.

Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently taught that the only solution to mankind's baffling problems is God's Kingdom, through which Jehovah purposes to sanctify his name. (Psalm 83:4, 17, 18; Matthew 6:9, 10) Mankind, however, has as a whole turned a deaf ear to this solution. Many who reject the Kingsom also blaspheme the name of God, even as Pharaoh did when he refused to acknowledge Jehovah's sovereignty. (Exodus 1:8-10; 5:2) Having no interest in the Messianic Kingdom, these opposers choose to suffer under their own torrid "sun" of oppresive human rulership.

Next time: The Throne Of The Wild Beast