Scorching Men With Fire

11. What is the target of the fourth bowl of the anger of God, and what takes place when it is poured out?

¹¹ 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.

12. What is this world’s “sun,” and what is granted to this symbolic sun?

¹² 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 who 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?

13. In what way have sunlike rulers of this world “scorched” mankind?

¹³ After the first world war, the rulers of this world formed the 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 Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin as dictators became responsible directly and indirectly for the deaths of tens of millions, including many of their own 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, whose horrendous nuclear weapons are capable of incinerating all mankind. In these last 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.

14. What have Jehovah’s Witnesses consistently taught to be the only solution to mankind’s problems, with what response by mankind as a whole?

¹⁴ 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 his name. (Psalm 83:4, 17, 18; Matthew 6:9, 10) Mankind, however, has 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 Jehovah’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.

[Box on page 225]

“Upon the Sun”

As the “sun” of human rulership has “scorched” mankind during the Lord’s day, the John class, with statements such as the following, has drawn attention to what is happening:

“Today Hitler and Mussolini, the arbitrary dictators, threaten the peace of the whole world, and they are fully supported in their destruction of freedom by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy.”​—Fascism or Freedom, 1939, page 12.

“Throughout history the policy followed by human dictators has been, Rule or ruin! But the regulation now to be applied to all the earth by God’s installed King, Jesus Christ, is, Be ruled or be ruined.”​—When All Nations Unite Under God’s Kingdom, 1961, page 23.

“Since 1945 more than 25 million persons have been killed in some 150 wars fought around the globe.”​—The Watchtower, January 15, 1980, page 6.

“The nations around the world . . . care little about international responsibility or rules of conduct. To reach their ends, some nations feel fully justified in using any means that they consider necessary​—massacres, assassinations, hijackings, bombings, and so on . . . How long will the nations put up with one another in such senseless and irresponsible conduct?”​—The Watchtower, February 15, 1985, page 4.