28. What happens when the third angel blows his trumpet?

²⁸ “And the third angel blew his trumpet. And a great star burning as a lamp fell from heaven, and it fell upon a third of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third of the waters turned into wormwood, and many of the men died from the waters, because these had been made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10, 11)

31. (a) When did the clergy of Christendom fall from a “heavenly” position? (b) How have the waters served up by the clergy turned into “wormwood,” and with what result to many?

³¹ When the clergy of Christendom apostatized from true Christianity, they fell from the lofty “heavenly” position described by Paul at Ephesians 2:6, 7. Instead of offering fresh waters of truth, they served up “wormwood,” bitter lies such as hellfire, purgatory, the Trinity, and predestination; also, they led the nations into war, failing to build them up as moral servants of God. The result? Spiritual poisoning of those who believed the lies. Their case was similar to that of the unfaithful Israelites of Jeremiah’s day, to whom Jehovah said: “Here I am making them eat wormwood, and I will give them poisoned water to drink. For from the prophets of Jerusalem apostasy has gone forth to all the land.”​—Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15.

Because of the preaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses, great numbers of people have come to realize that many doctrines taught by the clergy are spiritual poison​—“wormwood.”