Holding Fast to Jesus' Name - PERGAMUM

 On various occasions, Jesus had made known that Satan rules this present wicked world, but because of Jesus' integrity, Satan had no hold on him.  (Matthew 4:8-11; John 14:30)   In our time powerful nations, notably "the king of the north" and "the king of the south," have struggled for world domination.  (Daniel 11:40) Patriotic fervor has been whipped up, and the cult of emperor worship has a modern-day counterpart in the waves of nationalism that has swept the earth.  Articles on neutrality in the Watchtower of November 1, 1939. and again of November 1, 1979, and September 1, 1086, have clearly stated the Bible's teaching on this issue, providing guidelines for those Christians who want to walk in the name of Jehovah and conquer the world, as Jesus courageously did. -MICAH 4:1, 3, 5; JOHN 16:33; 17:4, 6, 26.

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 n the faith.  In the United States, hundreds of children and teachers were dismissed from schools because the did not salute the flag, while in Germany the Witnesses were viciously persecuted for refusing to salute the swastika.  As already noted, Hitler's Nazis killed thousands of Jehovah's loyal servants because the 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-Taiwan.  The military rulers threw them into prison, where one of them died because of such harsh treatment. The other was later released, only to be shot in the back-a modern-day Antipas.  To this day, there are lands where worship of nationalistic symbols and 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 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 while stating:  "Our tradition  teaches tolerance; our philosophy teaches tolerance; our constitution practices tolerance; let us not dilute it."  Newspapers publicly  and favorable editorials resulting from this case informed the entire nation; then comprising close to one fifth of the earth's population, that there are Christians in that land who worship the true God Jehovah and that these stand loyally by Bible principles.

Next time Holding Fast to Jesus' Name -PERGAMUM -Corrupting Influences

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