Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Darkness and Gnawing Pain

 The kingdom of this wild beast has been in spiritual darkness ever since its beginning.  (Compare Matthew8:12; Ephesians 6:11, 12.) The fifth bowl brings intensified public announcement of this darkness. It even dramatizes it, in that this bowl of God's anger is poured out upon the very throne of the symbolic wild beast. "And the kingdom became darkened, and they began to gnaw their tongues for their pain, but they blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and for their ulcers, and they did not repent of their works." - REVELATION 16:10b, 11. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - The Throne of the Wild Beast - Conclusion

How is this relationship between Satan and the nations maintained? When Satan tempted Jesus, he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a vision and offered "all this authority and the glory of them." But there was a condition-Jesus first had to perform an act of worship before Satan.  (Luke 4:5-7) Can we imagine that the governments of this world received their authority at a lesser price? Not at all. According to the Bible, Satan is the god of this system of things, so that, whether the nations are aware of it or not, they serve him. (2 Corinthians 4:3, 4) This situation is revealed in the makeup of the present world system, which is built on narrow nationalism, hatred, and self-interest. It is organized the way Satan wants it-to keep mankind under his control. The corruption in government, the lust for power, the lying diplomacy, the armaments race-these reflect Satan's debased personality. The world subscribes to Satan's unrighteous standards, thus making him its god. The throne of the wild beast will be overthrown when that beast suffers extinction and the Seed of God's woman finally abysses Satan himself. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - The Throne of the Wild Beast

 Upon what does the next angel pour his bowl? "And the fifth one poured out his bowl upon the throne of the wild beast." (Revelation 16:10a) "The wild beast" is Satan's governmental system. It does not have a literal throne, any more than the wild beast itself is literal. Mention of a throne, however, shows that the wild beast has exercised royal authority over mankind; this is in harmony with the fact that each of the beast's heads bears a royal diadem. In fact, "the throne of the wild beast" is the foundation, or a source, of that authority. The Bible reveals the true situation of the royal authority of the wild beast when it says that "the dragon gave to the beast its power and its throne and its authority. " (Revelation 13:1, 2;1 John5:19) Thus, the pouring out of the bowl upon the throne of the wild beast involves a proclamation revealing the true role that Satan has played and still plays in supporting and promoting the wild beast. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Scorching Men With Fire - Conclusion

 After the first world war, the rulers of this world formed a 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. Communism continued to expand. Rather than improve mankind's lot, the sunlike 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 Musolini, Hitler, and Stalin as dictators become responsible directly and indirectly, for deaths of tens of millions, including many of their 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, are those horrendous nuclear weapons are capable of incinerating all mankind. In these 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 is name. (Psalm83:4, 17, 18; Matthew 6:9, 10) Mankind, however, as a whole turned a deaf ear to this solution. Many who reject the Kingdom also blaspheme the name of God, even as Pharaoh did when he refused to acknowledge Jeehovah'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 oppressive human rulership. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - 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 as brightly as the sun in the 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 to 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 sunlike 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? 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Giving Them Blood to Drink -Conclusion

 In Moses' day, when the Nile River was turned into blood, the Egyptians were able to keep alive by seeking other sources of water.  (Exodus 7:4) Today, though, during the spiritual plague, there is nowhere in Satan's world that people can find life-giving waters. The pouring of this third bowl involves proclaiming that the world's "rivers and fountains of the waters" are as blood, bringing spiritual death to all who imbibe them. Unless people turn to Jehovah, they reap his adverse judgment. - Compare EZEKIEL 33:11. 

"The angel over the waters," that is, the angel who pours this bowl into the waters, magnifies Jehovah as the Universal Judge, who righteous decisions are absolute. Therefore, he says of this judgment: "They deserve it." Doubtless, the angel personally witnessed much of the bloodshed and cruelty fomented over thousands of years by the false teachings and philosophies of this wicked world. Hence, he knows that Jehovah's judicial decision is right. Even God's "altar" speaks out. At Revelation 6:9, 10, the souls of those who were martyred are said to be at the base of "the altar" adds powerful testimony as to the justice and righteousness of Jehovah's decisions. Certainly, it is fitting that those who have shed and misused so much blood should themselves be forced-fed with blood, in symbol of Jehovah's sentencing them to death. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Giving Them Blood to Drink - Continue

 Some tainted "waters" have led men to become bloodguilty, for example, in encouraging them to shed blood on a monumental scale in the wars of this century, which have now taken more than a hundred million lives. Particularly in Christendom, where the two world wars erupted, have men been "in a hurry to shed blood," and this has included the blood of God's own witnesses. (Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 2:34) Mankind has also incurred bloodguilt by its misuse of huge quantities of blood for transfusions, in violation of Jehovah's righteous laws. (Genesis9:3-5; Leviticus 17:14; Acts 15:28, 29) On this account, they have already reaped sorrow by the proliferation, through blood transfusions, of AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases. Full retribution for all bloodguilt will come shortly when transgressors pay the supreme penalty being trampled in "the winepress of the anger of God." - REVELATION 14:19, 20. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Giving Them Blood to Drink

 The third bowl of God's anger, like the third trumpet blast, has an effect on freshwater sources: "And the third one poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters. And they became as blood. And I heard the angel over the waters say: 'You, the One who is and who was, the loyal One, are righteous, because you have rendered these decisions, because you poured out the blood of holy ones and of prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserved it.' and I heard the altar say: Yes, Jehovah God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judicial decisions.' " - REVELATIONS 16:4-7. 

These "rivers and the fountains of waters" picture the so-called fresh sources of guidance and wisdom accepted by this world, such as the political, economic, scientific, educational, social, and religious philosophies that guide human actions and decisions. Rather than look to Jehovah, the Fountain of life, for life-giving truth, men have 'hewn out for themselves broken cisterns' and drunk deeply of the wisdom of this world [that] is foolishness with God." - JEREMIAH2:13; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:19; 2:6; 3:19; PSALM 36:9. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - The Sea Becomes Blood

 The second bowl of God's anger must now be poured out. What will it mean for mankind? John tells us: "And the second one poured out his bowl into the sea. And it became as blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, yes, the things in the sea." (Revelation 16:3) Like the second trumpet blast, this bowl is directed against "the sea"-the seething, rebellious mass of humanity alienated from Jehovah. (Isaiah 57:20, 21; Revelation 8:8, 9) In Jehovah's eyes, this "sea" is like blood, unfit for creatures to live in. That is why Christian must be no part of the world. (John 17:14) The pouring out of the second bowl of God's anger reveals that all of mankind who inhabit this sea are dead in Jehovah's eyes. By reason of community responsibility, mankind is guilty of gross shedding of innocent blood. When Jehovah's day of anger arrives, they will literally die at the hands of his executional forces. - REVELATION 19:17, 18; Compare EPHESIANS 2:1; COLOSSIANS 2:13. 

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Jehovah's Wrath Against "the Earth" - Conclusion

 The contents of this bowl strongly emphasize the choice that lies before humans. They must suffer either the world's disapproval or Jehovah's indignation. Mankind has been put under compulsion to accept the mark of the wild beast, with the intent that "nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name." (Revelation 13:16, 17) But there is a price to pay for this! Jehovah regards those who accept the mark as being stricken with "a hurtful and malignant ulcer." Since 1922 they have marked in public as having rejected the living God. Their political schemes have no success, and they suffer anguish. Spiritually, they are unclean. Unless they repent, this "hurtful" illness will be terminated, for it is now Jehovah's day of judgment. There is no neutral ground between being a part of the world's system of things and serving Jehovah on the side of his Christ. - LUKE 11:23; compare James 4:4. 

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