Continue with Holding Fast To Jesus' Name

Yes, "the throne of Satan" is right there in Pergamum. "And yet," Jesus continues, "you keep holding fast my name, adn you did not deny your faith in me even inthe days of Antipas, my witness, the faithful one, who was killed by your side, where Satan is dwelling." (Revelation 2:13b) What soul-stirring commendation! No doubt the martyrdom of Antipas resulted from his refusal to go along with demonistic practices and the worship of The Roman emperor. N ot long after John received this prophecy, Pliny the Younger, personal legate to Emperor Trajan of Rome, wrote Trajan and explained his procedure for handling persons accused of being Christians -a procedure that the emperor approved. Those who denied being Christians were released when, as Pliny said, "they had repeated after me and invocation to the gods, offered incense and wine to your [Trajan's]image. . .and, in addition, cursed Christ." Any found to be Christians were executed. Even though faced by such danger, the Christians in Pergamum did not deny their faith. They 'held fast to Jesus' name' in that they continue to honor his high position as Jehovah's Vindicator and appointed Judge. Loyally, they followed in Jesus' footsteps as Kingdom witnesses.

On various occasions, Jesus had made known that Satan rules this present wicked world, but because of Jesus' integrity, Satan had not hold on him. (Matthew 4:8-11; John 14:30) In this 20th century, powerful nations, notably "the king of the north" and "the king of the south," have been struggling for world domination. (Daniel 11:40) Patriotic fervor has been whipped up, and the cult of emperor worship has a modern-day couterpart in the wave of nationalism that has swept the earth. Articles on neutratlity in The Watchtower of November 1, 1939, and again of November 1, 1979, and September 1, 1986, have clearly stated the Bible's teaching on this issue, providing guidelilnes for those Christians who want to walk inthe name of Jehovah and conquer the world, as Jesus so courageously did.-Micah 4:1, 3, 5; John 16:33; 17:4. 6,26; 18:36, 37; Acts 5:29.

Such counsel has been urgently needed. In the face of unreasoning patriotic fervor, Jehovah's Witnesses, both anointed ones and their companions, have had to stand firm in the faith. In the United States, hundreds of children and teachers were dismissed from schools because they did not salute the national flag, while in Germany the Witnesses were viciously persecuted for refusing to salute the swastika. As alredy noted, Hitler's Nazis killed thousands of Jehovah's loyal servants because they refused to share in such nationalistic idolatry. In the 1930's,during Japan's heyday of Shinto emperor worship, two pioneer ministers sowed much Kingdom seed in Japanese-occupied Taiwan. The military rulers threw them into prison wehre one of them died because of the harsh treatment. The other was later released, on to be shot in the back-a modern-day Antipas. To this day, there are lands where worship of nationalistic symbols ans exclusive devotion to the state are demanded. Many youthful Witnesses have been imprisoned, and not a few executed, because of their courageous stand as Christian neutrals. If you are a youth who faces such issues, study God's Word daily so that you may "have faith to the preserving alive of the soul," with everlasting life in view. -Hebrews 10:39-11:1; Matthew 10:28-31.

Youngsters in school have faced similar issues. In 1985, in the state of Kerala, India, three young children of Jehovah's Witnesses refused to compromise their Bible-based faith, declining to sing the national anthem. They stood respectfully while others sang, but they were nonetheless expelled from school. Their father appealed this action right up to the Supreme Court of India, where the two judges decided in favor of the children, courageously stating: " Our tradition teached tolerance; our philosophy.