of my name the sun of righteousness will certainly shine forth, with healing in its wings.” (Mal. 4:2) Contrariwise, the men who continue to look to the “sun” of this world, who are getting horribly scorched, become more and more blasphemous and angry against the name of God. They do not repent so as to give glory to him. The plague will continue on them until they are removed along with the world’s “sun” at the battle of Armageddon.

For a discussion of the remaining three plagues of Revelation, chapter 16, see succeeding issues of The Watchtower, or the book “Babylon the Great Has Fallen!” God’s Kingdom Rules! by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, New York.

God Has Been Good and Merciful to Me

As told by George D. Gangas

I WAS born on February 17, 1896, in an insignificant town of Asia Minor named New Ephesus (Turkish: Koushadasi). It was located about eight miles from ancient Ephesus, where some 1,900 years ago the apostle Paul preached and wrote his first letter to the Corinthians.

When I was about five or six years old, my father died. My mother was a devout, God-fearing woman. But she did not have access to the Bible and so did not know how to rear her children “in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah.” (Eph. 6:4) In fact, almost 95 percent of the Orthodox people did not have Bibles, nor did they ever see one. So, not having any guide to show me the right way to go, I pursued a careless life, bringing dishonor to God.

Nevertheless, in my early years I attended church and was a choir boy, singing hymns. From these hymns and from the religious education I received in school, I learned the church’s teaching about the twofold destiny of mankind: good people go straight to heaven at death; bad ones to hellfire. I still remember a hymn sung to Mary begging her to deliver us from eternal torment. That doctrine was embedded into my heart, and I was certain of the existence of such a place for the wicked. After all, the Orthodox Church taught it, and I believed that my church taught right doctrines, the word “orthodox” itself meaning “right opinion (orthos, right or true; doxa, opinion).”

Since I was a bad young man I knew for sure that someday I would land in hell to be burned forever. But here is the strange thing: although I knew I would go there someday, I would not reform. What I could not explain was, What satisfaction does God get by tormenting billions of people forever? I had learned that God is good, but I asked myself, Where was his goodness if he tormented people eternally?

When I was eleven years old I left New Ephesus and went to the island of Chios, where for three years I attended a business school. Then World War I broke out. I left Chios and went to Athens, where