As in Bible times, so today many of the individuals who killed God's witnesses may be long dead. But the organization that caused their martydom is still very muc alive and bloodguilty. It is Satan's earthly organzation, his earthly seed . Prominent therein Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion. She described as being "drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood if the witnesses of Jesus." Yes, in her was founddd the bloof of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth." (Revelation 12:5, 16; 18:24; Ephesiana 4:11; 1 Corinthians 12:28) What a load of bloodguitiness! As long as Babylon the Great exists, the blood of her victims will cry out for justice.- REVELATION 1:2.
John himself witnessed martudom in the first century as the cruel Serpent and his earthly seed waged waron the growing congregation of anointed Christians, John had seen our Lord and had survived through the slayings if Stephen, of his own brother James, and of Peter, Paul, and other close associates. (John 19:26, 27; 21:15, 18, 19; Acts 7:59, 60; 8:2 ; 12:2; 2 Timothy 1:1; 4:6, 7) In 64 C,E. Roman emperor Nerro had made a scapegoat of the Christians, accusing the of burning the city to counteract a rumor that he was the guilty one. The historian Tacitus reports: "They [Christians] died my methods of mockery, some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and then torn by dogas, some were [impaled], some were burned as torches by light at night." A further wave of persecution under Emperor Domitan (81-96.) Had resulted in John's bein exiled to the island of Patmos. As Jesus said. "If they had persecuted me, they will persecuted you also." JOHN 15:20; MATTHEW 10:22.
By the fourth century C.E., that old serpent, Satan the Devil, had brought forth his masterpiece of deception, the apostate religion of Christendom-a Babylonish system hidden under a "Christian" veneer.. It is the principal part of the seed of the Serpent and has developed into a multitude of conflictin sects. Like unfaithful Judah of old.
Christedom carries a heavybloodguilt, having been deeply involved on both sides in World Wars I and II . Some political rulers in Christiandom even used these wars as a pretext for slaughterinb anointed servants of God. Reporting on Hitler's persecution, a review of Friedich Zipfel' book Kirchenkampf in Deutschland (fight of the churches in Germany) Stated: One third of them [ the Witnesses were killed, either by execution, other volent acts, hunger, sickness or slave labor. The severity of this subjection was without precedent and was the result of uncompromising faith that could not be harmonized with National Socialistice ideology." Truly, it can be said of Christiandom, including its priesthood: "In your skirts there have been found the bloodmarks of the souls of the innocent poor ones" - JEREMIAH 2:34.
Since 1935 faithful youn men of the great crowd have borned the brunt of persecution in many lands. (Revelation7:9) Even as World War II ended in Europe, in just one town 14 young Witnesses of Jehovah were executed by hanging. Their crime? Refusal "to learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4) More recently, young men in the Orient and Africa have been beaten to death or executed by firing squad over the same issue. These young martyrs, worthy supporters of Jesus' anointed brothers will surely have a resurrection into the promised new earth.- 2 Peter 3:13; comare 110:3; Psalm 110:3; Matthew 25:34-40; Luk 20:37, 38.
Next time: Slaughtered Souls Rewarded- A White Robe
From the jw.org publishers
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