The Throne of the Wild Beast

15. (a) Upon what is the fifth bowl poured out? (b) What is “the throne of the wild beast,” and what is involved in the pouring out of the bowl upon it?

¹⁵ Upon what does the next angel pour out 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 horns bears a royal diadem. In fact, “the throne of the wild beast” is the foundation, or source, of that authority.b 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 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 role that Satan has played and still plays in supporting and promoting the wild beast.

16. (a) Whom do the nations serve, whether they are aware of it or not? Explain. (b) How does the world reflect Satan’s personality? (c) When will the throne of the wild beast be overthrown?

¹⁶ 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)c 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.​—Genesis 3:15; Revelation 19:20, 21; 20:1-3.

Darkness and Gnawing Pain

17. (a) How does the pouring out of the fifth bowl relate to the spiritual darkness that has always enveloped the kingdom of the wild beast? (b) How do people react to the pouring out of the fifth bowl of God’s anger?

¹⁷ The kingdom of this wild beast has been in spiritual darkness ever since its beginning. (Compare Matthew 8:12; 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 its 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.

18. What correspondency is there between the fifth trumpet blast and the fifth bowl of God’s anger?

¹⁸ The fifth trumpet blast is not exactly the same as the fifth bowl of God’s anger, since the trumpet blast heralded a plague of locusts. But notice that at the release of that plague of locusts, there was a darkening of the sun and the air. (Revelation 9:2-5) And at Exodus 10:14, 15, we read concerning the locusts with which Jehovah plagued Egypt: “They were very burdensome. Before them there had never turned up in this way locusts like them, and there will never turn up any in this way after them. And they went covering the visible surface of the entire land, and the land grew dark.” Yes, darkness! Today, the world’s spiritual darkness has become all too evident as a result of the sounding of the fifth trumpet and the pouring out of the fifth bowl of God’s anger. The stinging message proclaimed by the modern-day locust swarm brings torment and pain to those wicked ones who “have loved the darkness rather than the light.”​—John 3:19.

19. In harmony with Revelation 16:10, 11, what does the public exposure of Satan as the god of this system of things cause?

¹⁹ As world ruler, Satan has caused much unhappiness and suffering. Famine, wars, violence, crime, drug abuse, immorality, sexually transmitted diseases, dishonesty, religious hypocrisy​—these and more are the hallmarks of Satan’s system of things. (Compare Galatians 5:19-21.) Even so, the public exposure of Satan as the god of this system of things caused pain and embarrassment to those who live by his standards. “They began to gnaw their tongues for their pain,” especially in Christendom. Many resent that the truth exposes their lifestyle. Some find it threatening, and they persecute those who publish it. They reject God’s Kingdom and revile Jehovah’s holy name. Their religiously diseased, ulcerous condition is laid bare, so that they blaspheme the God of heaven. No, they do “not repent of their works.” So we cannot expect a mass conversion before the end of this system of things.​—Isaiah 32:6.

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“Upon the Throne of the Wild Beast”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have exposed the throne of the wild beast and publicized Jehovah’s condemnation of it with statements such as these:

“The rulers and political guides of the nations are influenced by malicious superhuman forces that are irresistibly driving them on in a suicidal march to the decisive conflict of Armageddon.”​—After Armageddon—​God’s New World, 1953, page 8.

“The ‘wild beast’ of untheocratic human government got its power, authority and throne from the Dragon. So it must hew to the party line, the Dragon line.”​—After Armageddon—​God’s New World, 1953, page 15.

“The Gentile nations can locate their own selves only on . . . the side of God’s Chief Adversary, Satan the Devil.”​—Resolution adopted at the “Divine Victory” International Convention, 1973.