100 Years Old and Stronger Than Ever!
100 YEARS
THE Watch Tower Society is still under ban or restriction in some countries where true religious freedom does not exist. Does that mean that the good news of God’s Kingdom government is not being preached in those nations? When the Christian apostles were banned by the Jewish clergy, how did they react? They said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men. And we are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.”—Acts 5:29, 32.
Therein lies a vital point. Jehovah’s Witnesses have prospered and are now stronger than ever, even where restricted, thanks to the guidance and protection of God’s holy spirit. Certainly, as a neutral and peace-loving people, they appear also to be the most vulnerable. They have no political influence or allies to defend them. Then how have they been able to survive and prosper?
The God of the Bible answers. “‘Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success, and any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” “‘Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,’ Jehovah of armies has said.”—Isaiah 54:17; Zechariah 4:6.
100 Years Old and Stronger Than Ever
By the end of 1918 there were just a few thousand active Witnesses around the world, and their Bible literature was being published in some 17 languages. As we have seen, from 1933 to 1945 the Watch Tower Society went through another difficult period of persecution in many countries. Even in the United States, where freedom of worship is protected by law, Jehovah’s Witnesses have legally defended their right to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom. (Philippians 1:7) In the Supreme Court of the United States they won 21 decisions favorable to their worship and principles. After World War II ended, there were 141,606 Witnesses active in 68 lands compared with 71,509 at the outbreak of the war. In 1945 a total of 186,137 people attended the annual Memorial celebration of Christ’s death.
How do the Witnesses fare 39 years later? There are now more than 2,670,000 Witnesses preaching in 205 countries and some 190 languages. The Memorial attendance for 1984 was about 7,000,000. That is greater than the population of the majority of the nations of the world!
Do Jehovah’s Witnesses take credit for this? No. While they accept the responsibility of preaching the good news of the Kingdom, they recognize that ‘God keeps making it grow.’—1 Corinthians 3:6, 7.