God's Anger Brought to a Finish - The Throne of the Wold Beast

Upon what does the next angel pour out his bowl?  "And the fifth one poured out his bowl upon the throne of the wold 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 wild beast's horns bears a royal  diadem.  In fact, "the throne of the wild beast" is the foundation, or 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 with great authority." (Revelation 13:1, 2; 1 John 5:19) Thus, the pouring out of the bowl  upon the throne of the wild beast involves a proclamation revealing the true rold that Satan has played and still plays in supportinng and promoting the wild beast.

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 the world receive 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 build 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 ract - 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. - GENESIS 3:15; REVELATION 19:20, 21; 20:1-3.

Next time: God's Anger Brought to a Finish - Darkness and Gnawing Pain

From the jw.org publications