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. 

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

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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. 

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

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

 In these last days, many governments have demanded what amounts to worship from their subjects, insisting that the State must be exalted above God or any other loyalty. (2 Timothy 3:1; compare Luke 20:25; John 19:15) Since 1914 it has become common for nations to conscript their youth in order for them to fight, or be ready to fight, the kind of total warfare that so bloodied the pages of modern history. During the Lord's day, the nations have also produced, as a substitute for God's Kingdom, the image of the beast-the League of Nations, and it successor the Unted Nations. What blasphemy to proclaim, as recent popes have done, that this man-made body is the nation's sole hope for peace! (what a load of bologna! there has never been any true peace in this country) It staunchly opposes God's Kingdom (the real and only hope for us all.) Those who worship the wild beast become spiritually unclean, ulcerated, just as the Egyptians who opposed Jehovah in Moses' day were plagued by literal sores and ulcers. - EXODUS 9:10, 11. 

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

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

 The first angel goes into action! "And the first one went off and poured out his bowl into the earth. And a hurtful and malignant ulcer came to be upon the men that had the mark of the wild beast and that were worshiping its image." (Revelation 16:2) As in the case of the first trumpet blast, "the earth here symbolizes the stable-looking political system that Satan began to build here on earth back in Nimrod's time, over 4,000 years ago. - REVELATION 8:7. 

Next time: Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Jehovah's Wrath Against "the Earth" - Continue

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Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish

 JOHN has already introduced the angels commissioned to pour out the seven bowls. He tells us that "these are the last ones, because by means of them the anger of God is brought to a finish." (Revelation 15:1; 16:1) These plagues, revealing Jehovah's sanctions for wickedness in the earth, must be poured out to a finality. When they are over, God's judgments will have been executed. Satan's world will be no more! What do these plagues portend for mankind and the rulers of the present wicked system? How can Christians avoid being plagued along with this doomed world? Vital questions, these, and now they are to be answered. All who long for the triumph of righteousness will have keen interest in what John next sees. 

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

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Chapter Thirty-One/Jehovah's Works-Great and Wonderful -The Bowls and the Trumpet Blasts - Conclusion

 The final three trumpet blasts were different, for they were called woes. (Revelation 8:13; 9:12) The first two of these consisted particularly of the locusts and the armies of cavalry, while the third introduced the birth of Jehovah's Kingdom. (Revelation 9:1-21; 11:15-19) As we shall see, the final three bowls of his wrath also cover some of these aspects, but they war are somewhat different from the three woes. Let us now pay close attention to the dramatic disclosures that result from the pouring out of the bowls of Jehovah's anger. 

Next time: Chapter Thirty-Two/God's Anger Brought to a Finish

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Chapter Thirty-One/Jehovah's Works-Great and Powerful - The Bowls and the Trumpet Blasts

 The bowls of Jehovah's anger reveals features of the world scene as Jehovah views them and warn of judgments that Jehovah will execute. The angels pour out the bowls through the agency of the congregation of anointed Christians on earth, the ones singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. While proclaiming the Kingdom as good news, the John class have boldly revealed the contents of these bowls of anger. (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 14:6, 7) Thus, their twofold message has been peaceful in proclaiming liberty to mankind but warlike in warning of "the day of vengeance on the part of our God." - ISAIAH 61:1, 2.

The targets of the first four bowls of God's anger correspond to those of the first four trumpet blasts, that is, the earth, the sea, the rivers and fountains of water, and the heavenly sources of light. (Revelation 8:1-12) But the trumpet blasts announce plagues on "a third," whereas a entirety in afflicted by the pouring out of the bowls of God's anger. Thus, while Christendom, as "as a third," has received first attention during the Lord's day, not one part of Satan's system has been exempted from being plagued by Jehovah's vexatious judgment messages and the sorrows they bring.

Next time: Chapter Thirty-One/Jehovah's Works-Great and Wonderful-The Bowls and the Trumpet Blasts - Conclusion

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Chapter Thirty-One/Jehovah's Works-Great and Powerful - Jehovah is His Sanctuary - Conclusion

 The awesome command thunders forth: "And I heard a loud voice out of the sanctuary say to the seven angels: 'Go and pour out the seven bowls of the anger of God into the earth." (Revelation 16:10) Who issues this command? It must be Jehovah himself, since the radiance of his glory and power prevented anyone else from entering the sanctuary. Jehovah came to his spiritual temple for judgment in 1918.  (Malachi 3:1-5) It must, then, have been shortly after that date that he gave the command to pour out the bowls of the anger of God. In fact, the judgments contained in the symbolic bowls started to be proclaimed with intensity in 1922. And their proclamation is increasing to a crescendo today. 

Next time: Chapter Thirty-One/Jehovah's Works-Great and Wonderful - The Bowls and the Trumpet Blasts

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