34. Upon what does the seventh angel pour out his bowl, and what proclamation issues “out of the sanctuary from the throne”?

³⁴ “And the seventh one poured out his bowl upon the air. At this a loud voice issued out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying: ‘It has come to pass!’”​—Revelation 16:17.

35. (a) What is “the air” of Revelation 16:17? (b) In pouring out his bowl upon the air, what does the seventh angel express?

³⁵ “The air” is the final life-sustaining medium to be plagued. But this is not the literal air. There is nothing about the literal air that makes it deserving of Jehovah’s adverse judgments, any more than the literal earth, sea, freshwater sources, or sun deserve to suffer judgments at Jehovah’s hand. Rather, this is “the air” Paul was discussing when he called Satan “the ruler of the authority of the air.” (Ephesians 2:2) It is the satanic “air” breathed by the world today, the spirit, or general mental inclination, that characterizes his whole wicked system of things, the satanic thinking that permeates every aspect of life outside Jehovah’s organization. So in pouring out his bowl upon the air, the seventh angel expresses God’s wrath against Satan, his organization, and everything that motivates mankind to support Satan in defying Jehovah’s sovereignty.

36. (a) What do the seven plagues constitute? (b) What is indicated by Jehovah’s proclamation: “It has come to pass!”?

³⁶ This and the previous six plagues give the sum total of Jehovah’s judgments against Satan and his system. They are a declaration of doom for Satan and his seed. When this final bowl is poured out, Jehovah himself proclaims: “It has come to pass!” There is nothing else to say. When the contents of the bowls of God’s anger have been publicized to Jehovah’s satisfaction, there will be no delay in his executing the judgments proclaimed by these messages.

37. How does John describe what takes place after the pouring out of the seventh bowl of the anger of God?

³⁷ John continues: “And lightnings and voices and thunders occurred, and a great earthquake occurred such as had not occurred since men came to be on the earth, so extensive an earthquake, so great. And the great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon the Great was remembered in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of the anger of his wrath. Also, every island fled, and mountains were not found. And a great hail with every stone about the weight of a talent descended out of heaven upon the men, and the men blasphemed God due to the plague of hail, because the plague of it was unusually great.”​—Revelation 16:18-21.

38. What is symbolized by (a) the “great earthquake”? (b) the fact that “the great city,” Babylon the Great, is split into “three parts”? (c) the fact that “every island fled, and mountains were not found”? (d) “the plague of hail”?

³⁸ Once again, Jehovah acts unmistakably toward mankind, this being signaled by “lightnings and voices and thunders.” (Compare Revelation 4:5; 8:5.) Mankind will be shaken in a way that has never happened before, as if by a devastating earthquake. (Compare Isaiah 13:13; Joel 3:16.) This blockbuster shaking will shatter “the great city,” Babylon the Great, so that it splits into “three parts”​—symbolic of its collapse into unredeemable ruin. Also, “the cities of the nations” will fall. “Every island” and “mountains”​—institutions and organizations that seem so permanent in this system—​will go. “A great hail,” much greater than that which afflicted Egypt during the seventh plague, with each hailstone weighing about a talent, will pummel mankind painfully.d (Exodus 9:22-26) This punishing downpour of congealed waters likely pictures unusually heavy verbal expressions of Jehovah’s judgments, signaling that the end of this system of things has arrived at last! Jehovah could well use literal hail too in his destructive work.​—Job 38:22, 23.

39. Despite the pouring out of the seven plagues, what course of action will most of humankind take?

³⁹ Thus, Satan’s world will meet up with Jehovah’s righteous judgment. To the end, most of humankind will continue to defy and blaspheme God. As with Pharaoh of old, their hearts will not be softened by the repeated plagues or by the final death-dealing culmination of those plagues. (Exodus 11:9, 10) There will be no last-minute, large-scale change of heart. With their dying breath, they will rail against the God who declares: “They will have to know that I am Jehovah.” (Ezekiel 38:23) Nevertheless, the sovereignty of Jehovah God the Almighty will have been vindicated.

1. What does one of the seven angels reveal to John?

JEHOVAH’S righteous anger must be poured out to completion, seven bowls of it! When the sixth angel emptied his bowl at the location of ancient Babylon, it fittingly symbolized the plaguing of Babylon the Great as events move swiftly toward the final war of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:1, 12, 16) Likely, it is this same angel that now reveals why and how Jehovah executes his righteous judgments. John is struck with wonderment at what he next hears and sees: “And one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying: ‘Come, I will show you the judgment upon the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, whereas those who inhabit the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’”​—Revelation 17:1, 2.

2. What evidence is there that “the great harlot” (a) is not ancient Rome? (b) is not big business? (c) is a religious entity?

² “The great harlot”! Why so shocking a designation? Who is she? Some have identified this symbolic harlot with ancient Rome. But Rome was a political power. This harlot commits fornication with the kings of the earth, and this evidently includes the kings of Rome. Besides, after her destruction, “the kings of the earth” are said to mourn her passing. Therefore, she cannot be a political power. (Revelation 18:9, 10) Additionally, since she is mourned also by the world’s merchants, she could not picture big business. (Revelation 18:15, 16) We read, however, that ‘by her spiritistic practice all the nations were misled.’ (Revelation 18:23) This makes it clear that the great harlot must be a worldwide religious entity.

3. (a) Why must the great harlot symbolize more than the Roman Catholic Church or even all of Christendom? (b) What Babylonish doctrines are to be found in most Oriental religions as well as in the sects of Christendom? (c) What did Roman Catholic cardinal John Henry Newman admit regarding the origin of many of Christendom’s doctrines, ceremonies, and practices? (See footnote.)

³ Which religious entity? Is she the Roman Catholic Church, as some have maintained? Or is she all of Christendom? No, she must be even larger than these if she is to mislead all the nations. She is, in fact, the entire world empire of false religion. Her origin in the mysteries of Babylon is shown in that many Babylonish doctrines and practices are common to religions around the earth. For example, belief in the inherent immortality of the human soul, in a hell of torment, and in a trinity of gods is to be found in most Oriental religions as well as in the sects of Christendom. False religion, spawned more than 4,000 years ago in the ancient city of Babylon, has developed into the modern monstrosity that is called, appropriately, Babylon the Great.a Why, though, is she described by the repugnant term “the great harlot”?

4. (a) In what ways did ancient Israel commit fornication? (b) In what outstanding way has Babylon the Great committed fornication?

⁴ Babylon (or Babel, meaning “Confusion”) came to its peak of greatness in Nebuchadnezzar’s time. It was a religio-political state with more than a thousand temples and chapels. Its priesthood exercised great power. Though Babylon has long since ceased to exist as a world power, religious Babylon the Great lives on, and after the ancient pattern, she still seeks to influence and mold political affairs. But does God approve of religion in politics? In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel was said to prostitute herself when she got involved with false worship and when, instead of trusting in Jehovah, she made alliances with the nations. (Jeremiah 3:6, 8, 9; Ezekiel 16:28-30) Babylon the Great also commits fornication. Outstandingly, she has done whatever she deems expedient in order to gain influence and power over the ruling kings of the earth.​—1 Timothy 4:1.

5. (a) What limelight do religious clergymen enjoy? (b) Why is a desire for worldly prominence a direct contradiction of the words of Jesus Christ?

⁵ Today, religious leaders frequently campaign for high government office, and in some lands, they share in government, even holding cabinet posts. In 1988 two well-known Protestant clergymen ran for the office of president of the United States. Leaders in Babylon the Great love the limelight; their photos are often to be seen in the public press as they consort with prominent politicians. In contrast, Jesus shunned political involvement and said of his disciples: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.”​—John 6:15; 17:16; Matthew 4:8-10; see also James 4:4.