The Fight for Freedom to Preach World-wide

“The king granted the Jews . . . to stand for their life.”—Esther 8:11, AS.

1. What prophecies indicate a fight for freedom to preach world-wide?

JEHOVAH God commands that this good news shall be preached in all the world. (Matt. 24:14) Jesus warned: “You will be hated by all the nations on account of my name.” (Matt. 24:9, NW) David declared: “Why do the nations rage, . . . and the rulers take counsel together, against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” (Ps. 2:1-3, AS) This means a fight to preach world-wide.

2. Our fight for freedom to preach has what ancient parallel?

² This world-wide fight today finds a parallel in ancient times. In the fifth century B.C. the Persian Empire was the world power. It was ruled over by Ahasuerus, who is commonly known in history as Xerxes. God’s people were in captivity and scattered throughout that world. The wicked prime minister, Haman, sought to destroy all of God’s people throughout the empire. (Esther 3:6) He tricked the king into signing an unchangeable decree of death for them. Jehovah then used the king’s new wife, Esther. At the instance of Mordecai she intervened. A request was made for relief from the death sentence that had been ordered by the king. The king granted Esther’s request. He did not change the decree, but he ordered that all the Jews in each of the provinces and in every city should stand and fight for their lives. (Esther 8:11, 12) Jehovah’s people gathered together in all the cities and provinces. They fought throughout that empire for their lives.—Esther 9:16.

3, 4. (a) Why is it so vital that we fight for freedom to preach? (b) Who is the chief enemy of our freedom to preach, and what tactics does he use?

³ Are not the modern-day witnesses of Jehovah in the same position as those ancient servants of God? Yes, exactly! We must fight world-wide for our lives. Since our lives are at stake we fight for freedom to preach. Jehovah has commanded us to preach the good news. Our lives depend on faithfully preaching it! In fact, necessity to do it is laid upon all of us. Woe is to every last one of us if we do not publicly and fearlessly declare the good news. (1 Cor. 9:16; Ezek. 3:20) Jehovah has stated: “If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die,’ and you say nothing to warn the wicked man from his way, that wicked man shall die for his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.” (Ezek. 33:8, AT) The only way we can expect to save ourselves is to preach and to declare the good news for the salvation of others.—1 Tim. 4:16.

⁴ The Devil is the invisible ruler of this present evil system of things. (2 Cor. 4:4) Does not Satan know the Scriptures? Surely he does! Did he not quote them to Jesus? (Matt. 4:6) He knows that the only way he can destroy Jehovah’s witnesses, according to Ezekiel 33:8, 9, is to force us to stop preaching in all the nations as commanded by Jehovah. He knows that if we do we shall suffer death. To attempt to stop us he, therefore, frames mischief by law against us throughout the world. Jehovah’s revealed Word shows that we must, therefore, fight for freedom. Let us call it “The Fight for Freedom to Preach World-wide”!

5, 6. (a) Who is freedom’s Author and whom does he use to set us free? (b) How only can we keep free, and what example did Jesus set for us in this regard?

⁵ Where does our freedom come from? Is it from the nations of this world and their rulers? No! Jehovah God is the author of freedom. With us there is liberty and freedom. As it is written at 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NW): “Now Jehovah is the spirit; and where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom.” We have been set free by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Therefore if the Son sets you free, you will be actually free.” (John 8:31, 32, 36, NW) We are blessed with that treasured liberty. But we must fight to hold it. It is knowing and talking the truth accurately that keeps us free.

⁶ Who was the first to possess this freedom? Jesus was the first to claim it. He was persecuted. He had to fight for his right to preach. He did this by carrying on without any protection from the Roman government. He declared the God-given right to preach. He gave this freedom to others. (Gal. 5:1) Did he claim any guarantee as a citizen? No, he had no Roman citizenship. His citizenship was in heaven. He claimed the fundamental freedom to preach given by God. Was he afraid because he did not have any protection from Caesar’s government? No! He declared his freedom with a boldness that was frightening. He showed his confidence in the power of Jehovah, the Giver of freedom. He said: “And do not become fearful of those who kill the body but can not kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”—Matt. 10:28, NW.

7, 8. Why should persecution not surprise us? Instead, how should it affect us?

⁷ Does this not show us that Jesus expected to be persecuted by the rulers because of his claiming the freedom given by Jehovah God? Yes! And Jesus also knew that the persecution would not spend itself on him or end with his death. He knew that every one of his followers would be persecuted even as he had been. Did he indicate that it would be confined to only a few nations? No! He showed that this persecution would come from all, every nation! He gave the reason. It would be because we bear his name. Jesus said: “If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also; . . . But they will do all these things against you on account of my name.”—John 15:20, 21, NW; Matt. 24:9.

⁸ The mistreatment we receive is no surprise to us. It is not as though it were unexpected. (1 Pet. 4:12) Does it discourage us? No, it really encourages us. It proves to us that we are the ones worthy to bear his name. Jesus also mentioned our persecution as a sign of the approaching end of this wicked system of things. So we lift up our heads and rejoice. Persecution is a sure sign that our complete deliverance from the present evil system of things is rapidly approaching. “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28, NW) This gives us courage to push on in “the fight for freedom to preach world-wide.”

FIGHTING WITHOUT GUARANTEE AGAINST PERSECUTION

9, 10. (a) In spite of persecution and lack of legal guarantees what course did the apostles pursue? (b) What was their position regarding the right to preach?

⁹ Did the early followers such as the apostles and disciples give up the fight to preach the gospel world-wide because they did not have a license or guarantee against persecution from Caesar? Only one apostle was a Roman citizen. That was Paul. The others were Jews living under military occupation by Rome without any rights of Roman citizenship. They all kept on preaching boldly, as did Jesus, even though their rights were not guaranteed by Caesar. Paul’s rights as a Roman citizen did not stop his persecution. Apparently he was persecuted more than some of the other apostles. They all had to fight for freedom to preach. The apostles could not be stopped by the absence of a license or guarantee from Caesar. They continued preaching. Many even gave up their lives for the good news.

¹⁰ They fought for freedom to preach the Word of God. Because they claimed the Jehovah-given freedom the early apostles were mobbed, arrested, persecuted, imprisoned and whipped with lashes. (Acts 4:3; 5:17-27) The false religionists could not bear to hear their cutting and piercing message. The apostles were accused of turning the world upside down. (Acts 17:6) They were commanded by the high priest not to preach any more in the name of Jesus. Peter and the apostles declared their bill of rights, their God-given freedom! They said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” (Acts 5:29, NW) The hatred of their preaching and freedom did not stop in courts. When they won their cases before the judges and were discharged they were followed by the mob that attended the trial. Their persecutors beat them. (Acts 5:40) Did not justice done in the law courts drive the enemy mad?

11, 12. (a) Who suffered, and how, because of fighting for freedom to preach? (b) Of what legal instrument did Paul make use in his fight for freedom to preach?

¹¹ What else happened because of the bold fight of the early church to preserve their freedom? It is commonly known that, after Jesus, Stephen was the first Christian martyr. He was forcibly brought by a mob to the Sanhedrin. There he gave an eloquent public witness. He was seized by the mob. They then dragged him to the edge of the city. They threw him out of town! There he was stoned to death outside the city limits. Saul (later to become the apostle Paul) was present and conspired with the killers of Stephen. (Acts 6:11–8:1) Do not forget, also, that King Herod had James beheaded with the sword.—Acts 12:2, AT.

¹² The apostle Paul himself was stoned. They mobbed him and dragged him outside the city limits of Lystra. They left him there, thinking they had killed him. (Acts 14:8-19) The prosperity of the missionary work of Paul and Silas stirred up another mob of false religionists in Philippi. They mobbed them, had them arrested, placed in jail and locked in stocks. An earthquake in the middle of the night released them. (Acts 16:16-26) The frightened authorities wanted those Jehovah’s witnesses to leave the city secretly. Did Paul and Silas accept the compromise? No! They made them dispose of the case openly. Paul claimed his Roman citizenship. This astonished his accusers. His boldness of speech frightened them. (Acts 16:37, 38) Did not Paul use his citizenship to fight to preach? When before Festus he unhesitatingly appealed to Caesar, a right which the Jews did not have. (Acts 25:10-12) Paul could not have appealed his case to Caesar and gone to Rome for a hearing had he not been a Roman citizen.

13, 14. What was Paul’s record as a fighter for freedom to preach, and what advice did he leave for us to follow?

¹³ Paul fought for freedom to preach the good news world-wide. He was ever ready with an answer. He was always vigilant in fighting for freedom to preach world-wide. He wrote: “It is altogether right for me to think this regarding all of you, on account of my having you in my heart, all of you being sharers with me in the undeserved kindness both in my prison bonds and in the defending and legally establishing of the good news.” (Phil. 1:7, NW) He fought for the right to preach with boldness, even when in chains. (Eph. 6:19, 20) Even Paul, while a prisoner in Rome awaiting trial before Caesar, did not fail to preach. While under constant guard of a soldier for two years in Rome he preached the good news. He preached to great numbers that came to see him, and this he did “with the greatest freeness of speech, without hindrance.”—Acts 28:30, 31, NW.

¹⁴ Likely Paul was in prison more often than any other apostle. He was beaten with stripes to an excess and often near death. Did he ever let any of these things turn him back? No! These and many other dangers he met and overcame in his fight for freedom to preach world-wide. (2 Cor. 11:21-27) Did he leave us any advice to follow? Note his words to Timothy. By means of these he tells us all to be fighters for freedom to preach: “Contend for victory in the right contest of the faith.”—1 Tim. 6:12, NW.

15. Who are our real enemies, and what is our only weapon of attack?

¹⁵ Paul definitely identified our real enemies. Were they said to be flesh and blood? No! He showed that they cannot be reached by carnal weapons of this evil world. Who are they? They are the unseen demons that control and rule this old world with their leader the Devil. (John 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:12) We do not, therefore, become excited or fearful when we see the hordes of alienated mankind against us. We see clearly that the weapons of warfare of this old world do no good in the world-wide fight for freedom to preach. The only weapon that we can use in the fight is the two-edged sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. Is it not mighty for pulling down the strongholds of error and power in this world? It is the most powerful of all weapons of warfare. (Eph. 6:17) The apostle Paul wrote: “For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and their marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12, NW) That is a fact! Never forget it!

IDENTIFIED BY PERSECUTION

16. By following Jesus, in what respect shall we be like him, and in what way?

¹⁶ What proof have we that Jehovah God is using us to fulfill prophecy uttered by Jesus? The uncontradicted evidence is that we are being persecuted as was Jesus, and for the same reason! He uses our persecution to identify definitely the time where we now are. (Matt. 24:9) He identified his job when before Pilate: “For this purpose I have been born and for this purpose I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37, NW) We follow in his footsteps with the same assignment from Jehovah, to bear witness to the truth! As a result we are persecuted world-wide. We are hated world-wide for the sake of his name.

17, 18. (a) What record did Jehovah’s witnesses make in the fight for freedom to preach from 1933 to 1945? (b) Since then what has been their experience in Communist-dominated lands?

¹⁷ It is a familiar story about the fight for freedom fought by Jehovah’s witnesses to preach in Nazi- and Fascist-dominated lands from 1933 to 1945. Thousands were thrown into the concentration camps. Many were tortured and killed. Countless numbers died because of their loyalty to Jehovah God. They could have lived had they chosen to renounce the name of Jehovah God. Every well-informed person knows of the intense persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses in the United States and Canada during 1933 to 1945. Witness the court cases by the thousands and the mobs by the hundreds! More than seventy countries at one time or another during the past forty years have made restrictive decrees and have persecuted Jehovah’s witnesses.

¹⁸ Did the fall of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and Japan at the end of World War II stop our persecution? No, it did not! In lands taken over by the Communist rulers in eastern Europe we have been banned because of our refusal to stop preaching. Jehovah’s witnesses have been thrown into dungeons and concentration camps by the thousands. Look at what has happened in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia and other countries. Thousands are in prison and forced labor camps! Today in all communistic countries Jehovah’s witnesses are stalked and pursued like wild beasts by hunters, the secret police. Restrictive bans are imposed to prohibit the preaching of the gospel completely in those communistic lands. Our brothers there have been jailed and given mock trials. Many have been killed.

19. In what way do the arrests of Jehovah’s witnesses differ from those of the clergy?

¹⁹ No other religious organization on the earth has been persecuted for the name of Jehovah God, for which also the name Jesus stands. True, some religious clergymen have been jailed in these Communist lands. But these were not for righteousness’ sake. (1 Pet. 3:14) They were imprisoned because of political reasons. They were not imprisoned because of witnessing for Jehovah God or for bearing the name of Jesus. Today the Catholic and Protestant churches are still free to hold open church services in places such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and in other Communist countries. In these countries Jehovah’s witnesses cannot worship God openly.

20. (a) During the past two years in what other lands particularly have Jehovah’s witnesses suffered violent persecution? (b) What have the Yearbook reports of the past nine years shown?

²⁰ In other lands persecution continues. Do you know that recently, January, 1954, a ban was imposed against Jehovah’s witnesses by the legislature of Quebec, Canada? It provided for treatment of the witnesses of Jehovah similar to that ordered by Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany. This was done at the instance of Quebec’s Catholic Premier Duplessis. Do not forget that the ban against Jehovah’s witnesses continues in the Dominican Republic, in Argentina and in other countries. Let us call to mind the mobbings and ambush-shooting of our brothers at assemblies in the Philippines during the last two years. Consider the multitude of other cases of persecution world-wide that appears in the reports in each Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the last nine years. Look at the democratic countries of Europe: Italy, France, Switzerland and the Scandinavian lands! In fact, in every part of the world, Africa, Asia and the isles of the sea, a hard and good fight has been fought for freedom to preach. We, by Jehovah’s help, will hold to this freedom world-wide. While it is a fight in many courts of the land and it means persecution to Jehovah’s faithful servants, we cling to this glorious treasure of service, preaching world-wide.

21. What Christian group alone fulfills Matthew 24:9, and how do they feel about it?

²¹ Surely this testimony from many lands, standing high as the mountains, proves persecution continues. What Christian group is identified by the modern-day world-wide fulfillment of the words of Jesus? Here is the proof as plain as it can possibly be made. The facts speak for themselves. It is not necessary for more to be said to prove it. It is indisputable. Who is this group? You, the faithful witnesses of Jehovah. You are the ones identified by Jesus. You are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake in all the nations. (Matt. 24:9; 2 Cor. 1:7; Col. 1:24) Are you sad? No! You are happy to be such a favored people! (Jas. 1:12) Peter said: “Indeed, who is the man that will harm you if you become zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are happy.”—1 Pet. 3:13, 14, NW.

22. Circumstances indicate that we do what in our world-wide fight for freedom to preach?

²² This world-wide persecution puts us to a variety of tests. It forces us to use every possible method in the fight for freedom to preach world-wide. Our method of fighting must of necessity vary in different countries. This is so because our fight must be legal. The procedure established by laws for legally fighting in all of the nations of the world differ. It is impossible for all the procedure to be the same everywhere.

23, 24. (a) How is the fight for freedom to preach carried on in such democratic lands as the United States and the British Commonwealth of Nations? (b) Where such recourse is not available how is it carried on?

²³ Democratic countries such as the United States, the British Commonwealth of Nations, and some countries of Europe, are liberal in giving us procedure to fight with. They permit us to appeal to “Caesar” by defending ourselves in the courts. In such countries do we make use of the courts? Yes! We freely and unhesitatingly appeal to the courts for the defense of the right to preach. Jehovah has used the judges to help us legally establish the good news. They have stacked up a great heap of victories. These stand up as a bastion. Cases by the hundreds and by the thousands have been piled high as a mountain in the world-wide fight for freedom to preach. They stand as a mighty bulwark.

²⁴ Other nations do not allow appeals to the courts to protect our preaching. We must appeal to “Caesar,” namely, to the head of the state, such as the prime minister, president or premier. This we do. We claim our rights and argue before them as did Moses before Pharaoh. When the authority to protect and defend the right to preach is placed by “Caesar” in the hands of some state, provincial, city or local officials we freely appeal to such officials. We petition to all of them to make orders to protect our rights to do our work. Have we not time and again appealed to authorities to lift bans in some countries? Remember the mountain of cablegrams sent to Adolph Hitler! Witness the petitions to lift the ban and for a Bill of Rights in Canada! Recall the large petitions to Congress against the Roman Catholic boycott of radio stations in the United States broadcasting programs of Jehovah’s witnesses. We have petitioned the authorities to make orders permitting the importation of literature. We have in many countries appealed to the officials to allow missionaries sent from the Society’s headquarters to enter the country and preach there. We have never neglected any opportunity to fight legally for the world-wide right to preach.

Never Fighting Illegally or Quitting World-wide Preaching

1. What will we do and what will we not do in our fight for freedom to preach?

JEHOVAH’S witnesses never resort to any illegal or unlawful means in the fight for freedom to preach world-wide. Do we, His witnesses, take the law into our own hands? No! We do not gang up on the government officials. We do not force our way through the Iron Curtain! We do not harm officials, and we do not arm ourselves to oppose them. We do not advocate the overthrow of government by force or violence through men or groups of men. This is true even when that government oppresses our God-given work of preaching the good news of the Kingdom. We make use only of those instruments of fighting that are available according to the law of the particular country. Suppose the law of a country does not have any procedure wherewith we can fight legally. We then do not attempt to make the government over or change it or rebel against it.

2. What course of action may be pursued in certain lands, why, and who determines such policy?

² In some countries the governments are so unstable, or the opposition to the truth is so great, that it is unwise to preach publicly or openly. In such countries the courts cannot be resorted to and the officials will not protect our rights. We know that commotion or trouble there may result in a speedy ban. The reason is that there is Catholic control or totalitarian government. In some countries it is only by the favor of the officials that the work is permitted to be carried on from house to house. Street preaching is prohibited. In such a situation the right to preach on the streets is not insisted upon. The Society determines this. This policy is never fixed by the local brothers. To demand the right to do street work in such places would merely force the speedy imposition of a ban. It may cause the officials to stop the door-to-door preaching of the good news. In such countries we pray “concerning kings and all those who are in high station, in order that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion and seriousness.”—1 Tim. 2:1, 2, NW.

3, 4. (a) Where it is not legal to go from door to door, how is the preaching work carried on? (b) What reasons and Scriptural support are there for pursuing such a course?

³ In some countries it is not legal to work openly from door to door with the literature. In order to avoid contest with the authorities and total banning, the Society may direct that the witnessing be confined to oral preaching with the Bible. People of good will are thus identified or marked. They are later called back on and given the opportunity to receive the publications revealing God’s Word. This is at a convenient time. This is in the privacy of their homes and out of view of the enemy. Is it not much wiser that public distribution of the literature be avoided in some countries, especially when to insist on open distribution means a speedy end of the freedom to do the work? The asking of the question proves an affirmative answer to it!

⁴ There are sound Scriptural reasons for altering the methods of work in different countries. We are not sent into the world to go to jail. We do not choose to be dead martyrs. Our purpose is to get the message preached. To do so we must be free and be alive. (Eccl. 9:10) To get the gospel preached world-wide we should, therefore, remember that Jesus said we are “sheep amidst wolves.” It is obvious that we cannot preach in Spain or Argentina as we now do in the United States. We must, therefore, exercise extreme theocratic tact, proving ourselves “cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16, NW) The spirit of a sound mind dictates that to do otherwise would be folly. The proverb says: “A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.” (Prov. 27:12, RS) A common expression is appropriate: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” What good would it do to fight a losing battle in some countries for wide-open preaching? Suppose that, as a result of the fight, no witness work at all was allowed. Everything was banned. Then what? That would not keep the work going. Can we not do better by acting a little less conspicuous in the preaching of the gospel in such nations? (2 Tim. 1:7) Such a course will keep the work going in those countries. That is what we want, to keep the work open so that our brothers and the people of good will can be supplied and fed with spiritual food from the headquarters of the Society.

5. What course do Jehovah’s witnesses pursue when a nation completely bans their work?

⁵ What happens when a nation completely bans our work? The direct supply lines for spiritual food from the earthly headquarters are cut off! But—Jehovah’s witnesses are still in the country. They cannot stop preaching. (Jer. 26:14, 15) The ban merely prevents their public or open preaching. They cannot carry on their work legally aboveground. Consequently by oppressive decrees they are driven underground to continue their preaching. They follow the same course taken by the Christians at Rome. There they and their preaching were driven to the catacombs.

PREACHING FEARLESS DESPITE OPPOSITION

6. What do the facts show regarding the effect of bans on the preaching work, and why is this so?

⁶ The facts of record reveal that bans do not stop the preaching. Rather, they show that, sometimes, preaching underground flourishes better than above ground. The hotter the persecution the quicker the seeds of truth come up where there is “good soil.” They grow fast and spread widely in such hot climates. It is as impossible to ban people of good will from rising up and coming into the truth as it is to try to effectively command a blade of grass not to come up out of the ground. It cannot be done! Our brothers, in such countries where there are bans, do not leave or quit like the unfaithful fleeing prophet Uriah did. (Jer. 26:21) They are like Jeremiah. He was under a ban and faced death threats. (Jer. 26:8) He refused to flee the land. He was thrown into a dungeon. (Jer. 38:6) Jehovah delivered him. (Jer. 38:10-13) As with Jeremiah, the truth is like fire in the bones of modern witnesses in such lands. (Jer. 20:9) Can it be stopped? No! It cannot be stifled! It just has to come out! Regardless of the consequences of a ban they cannot stop preaching. It is ordered by Jehovah God. To preach means life. To stop means death.

7. In view of what promises whom only should we fear?

⁷ We all have the promise of Jehovah. He will keep it! It is that Jehovah will continue to cover all of us under the shadow of his hand and wings. (Isa. 51:16; Ps. 17:8) This promise holds true in communistic lands as well as in democratic nations. He will deliver every one who calls upon the name of Jehovah. (Joel 2:32; Prov. 18:10) Is there need, therefore, for us to fear communistic dictators or big politicians or the rulers of any nation? The answer is, No! Never! Fear only Jehovah the Almighty God. “Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof. Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (Isa. 8:12, 13, AS) We can depend on the safety of obedience to this command of God regardless of whether the government of the land wherein we dwell is liberal or oppressive.

8. What is our determination because of what assurance?

⁸ We shall not give up our fight for freedom to preach, even in the face of death. We shall rely upon Jehovah God at all times. There is no danger or trouble too great for him to preserve us in or deliver us from. We know his record. We remember what Jehovah, the Almighty God, our Father, says: “‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name—you are mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be scorched, or through the flame, it will not burn you; for I the LORD [Jehovah] am your God, I the Holy One of Israel am your savior. Egypt I give as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you; because you are precious in my sight, honored and loved by me, lands I give in exchange for you, and peoples instead of you. Fear not, for I am with you.’ . . . ‘and you are my witnesses,’ is the oracle of the LORD. ‘I am God from of old, and from now onward the same. There is none that can deliver out of my hand; when I work, who can reverse it?’”—Isa. 43:1-5, 12, 13, AT.

9. In what do we place our confidence, as shown by what prophetic drama?

⁹ Have we as Christians, followers of Christ Jesus, a navy, an army or an atom-bomb stockpile? No! We want none! We need none! Our protection is stated by Zephaniah, who wrote: “Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.” (Zeph. 3:17, AS) All we need to do for our protection is simple to state. It is to do what the faithful Israelites of old did in some of their battles. They merely sang the praises of Jehovah. They used no weapons of warfare. When the mightily armed allied forces of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir came against Judah, Jehovah had Jehoshaphat set singers before the army to give praise in holy array. Do not you know the outcome? Surely! It was one of the greatest military defeats in history! (2 Chronicles 20) Jehovah also fought the battle for King Asa. He, not the Israelites, destroyed the Ethiopian army of one million. (2 Chron. 14:9-15) It was not Gideon’s superior strength that defeated Midian. The mere handful of three hundred was many times outnumbered. By the direction of Jehovah they threw terror into the host of Midian. All they did was to break their pitchers and let their light shine, blow their trumpets, and shout, ‘for Jehovah and for Gideon.’—Judges 7.

10. Why can it be said that the Word of Jehovah is powerful?

¹⁰ We sing the song by telling the praises of Jehovah. By preaching we open wide the gate of liberty for people of good will to flow in to the cities of refuge. (Josh. 21:13, 21, 32, 38; Isa. 26:2) His word contains hope for freedom and liberation for those who know him. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.” (Joel 2:32, AS) The Word of Jehovah which we declare is powerful. It builds up what should be built up, but it tears down that which should be torn down. Paul said: “For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things.” (2 Cor. 10:4, NW) Remember it was the Word of Jehovah that brought about the flood of Noah’s day. It is the same Word that will bring about the destruction of the present evil world at the battle of Armageddon. It is also the same Word that brings into existence the new heavens and new earth in which “righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Pet. 3:5-7, 13, NW) It was by the Word of God that the preaching by Noah was done. Just as the cataclysm of Armageddon comes about by the Word of God, so also the preaching, which must be finished before the battle starts, will be done by the Word of God. (2 Pet. 3:9, 10; Matt. 24:14) So, too, by the Word of God we, his witnesses, shall stick faithfully to our assignment of proclaiming liberty to the captives.—Isa. 61:1, 2.

PROCLAIMING FREEDOM

11, 12. What pertinency did Leviticus 25:10 have in ancient times, in the United States in 1776, and what in our day?

¹¹ When America in 1776 declared her independence from the British Empire the bell in the tower of the Statehouse at Philadelphia in the British colony of Pennsylvania rang out for freedom. The toll of that bell was heard around the earth through the events that followed. On that bell were forged the words: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof.” These historic words were quoted from the greatest book of freedom, the Word of God, the Bible. Jehovah God used these words in his law for Israel when he provided for the jubilee year. That was the year for returning every man to his home and freeing him from debt. That was a hallowed year of freedom. The nation was to “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—Lev. 25:10.

¹² The hopes that sprang into the hearts of those that heard that ring of freedom by the “Liberty Bell” at Philadelphia caused multitudes to take heart, make great sacrifices and fight a revolution that produced freedom and independence. After more than a century and a half the inhabitants of the “land of liberty” see liberty dwindling. Its future life is threatened not only in America but throughout the whole world. In this time of emergency Jehovah God has struck a mighty blow upon the great Bell of freedom, the Word of God. The great message of freedom rings out! We, his witnesses, hear the sound. We make extreme sacrifices in behalf of freedom. We are proclaiming “liberty throughout all the land.” It is not done only in one land; but throughout the entire world we sound the trumpet of liberty. The message is that God’s government is man’s only hope or permanent guarantee of liberty and blessings of everlasting life. We, his witnesses, in clarion-clear tones preach freedom world-wide. We declare a message of liberation to the prisoners who are bound by the religious errors of this world of Satan the Devil. We, his witnesses, have proclaimed liberty throughout the land.

13. To keep free from Satan what example of Jesus must we follow?

¹³ By singing the praises of Jehovah we proclaim the real Deliverer of the prisoners, Jehovah God. We say to the prisoners, “Go forth.” (Isa. 49:9) Jehovah guarantees that they do not go back into captivity of the Devil, where Adam placed mankind. (Ezek. 39:28, 29) The great Deliverer and Warrior, Christ Jesus, took a course opposite to that taken by Adam. He made no deal with the Devil, as did Adam. He declared that Satan “has no hold on me.” (John 14:30, NW) By our faithfully following in the steps of Jesus, Satan has no hold on us, and he will never get one of the faithful liberated prisoners or people of good will, either.

14. What twofold work are we carrying on in line with what judgments of Jehovah?

¹⁴ We carry tidings of peace to those of good will toward God. We utter a message of death and destruction to those who hate Jehovah. (Jer. 49:14) As ambassadors we are sent forth by Jesus to separate the people, as sheep are divided from goats. (Matt. 25:31) Jehovah stands ready to reward those of sheeplike qualities and execute his judgment against those who act like goats. The fire of his zeal will accomplish this. (Zeph. 3:8) We of the New World society have Jehovah as our God. Truly, “blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Ps. 33:12, AS) But this is the warning: “That nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.”—Isa. 60:12, AS; Ps. 145:20.

15. How do the scope and nature of our warfare and weapons compare with that waged by the Jews in Esther’s day?

¹⁵ Let us return now to the report in the book of Esther about the fight of the captive Jews under the ancient empire of Persia. That world power had dominion of almost all of the then-known world. Truly, those ancient servants of Jehovah were fighting world-wide. As it was in their day so it is in our day. Their fight prophetically pictures the world-wide fight of Jehovah’s witnesses to preach today. (1 Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4) The only difference in their fight and our fight is in the weapons used. They used carnal weapons. We do not fight with such. We, as Christian fighters for the right to preach world-wide, are armed only with the spirit of Jehovah God and his sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. (Eph. 6:17) In addition to this Jehovah has given us a defensive armor. Paul describes it. In part, it is (1) the breastplate of righteousness, (2) the shield of faith and (3) the helmet of salvation. He warns us to be awake in the use of it. He instructs us also to preach “with all freeness of speech to make known the sacred secret of the good news, for which I am acting as an ambassador in chains, that I may speak in connection with it with boldness as I ought to speak.”—Eph. 6:14-17, 19, 20, NW.

16, 17. (a) Back there what was the result of the Jews’ fighting for their lives? (b) What has been the result of our fight for freedom to preach world-wide, and by what power has it been accomplished?

¹⁶ The Jews in ancient Persia gained a great victory. What happened? After the decree of the king that the Jews should fight to save their lives was speedily circulated by couriers on horses throughout the land, a strange thing happened. The account states concerning the Jews that “no one could stand before them; for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples. Moreover all the princes of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and they who did the king’s business aided the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. Likewise in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday, and many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.”—Esther 9:2, 3; 8:17, AT.

¹⁷ Are we, the modern-day servants of Jehovah, experiencing a similar feast and prosperity in our fight for freedom to preach world-wide? Look at the increase of our numbers: 1934: 41,000; 1940: 90,000; 1944: 110,000; 1946: 158,000; 1948: 230,000; 1950: 328,000; 1953: 500,000. We have multiplied twelve times in twenty years! See! And all this increase amidst world-wide persecution! Does not this prove that the fear of Jehovah has fallen upon these people and the fear of man has left them? Truly it is exactly as Zechariah prophesied: “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zech. 8:23, AS) The preaching world-wide to date is a great work. It is being done by the power of no man or group of men. It is Jehovah’s spirit and the power of his Word that have accomplished this great world-wide harvest of preaching. (1 Cor. 3:7) Zechariah wrote: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.”—Zech. 4:6, AS.

THE REWARD FOR NOT COMPROMISING

18. In keeping with Paul’s example what is the determination of Jehovah’s people regarding the struggle to preach world-wide?

¹⁸ Will the struggle for freedom to preach world-wide stop? No! It must continue. Whether we be in democratic lands where much freedom is granted, whether we be in countries where preaching is restricted, or whether we be in countries ruled by dictators who allow no freedom but jail all witnesses caught, the fight for freedom to preach world-wide must go on. The apostle Paul set the example for us to follow. He preached in prison and carried on his fight for freedom to preach from there. (Acts 28:30, 31) So, today we also when not at liberty to go from door to door must preach as prisoners in chains. There is no stopping in dictator countries. There is no silencing of us, his witnesses, even in Communist prisons or the prisons of others. We shall continue to preach both out of prison and in prison, and that we shall do with boldness. Remember what Paul wrote the Philippians. “In harmony with my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be ashamed in any respect, but that in all freeness of speech Christ will, as always before, so now be magnified by means of my body, whether through life or through death.”—Phil. 1:20, NW.

19, 20. (a) What would have followed had Joseph, the three Hebrews and Daniel compromised? (b) And what if the early Christians and true Christians today had done so?

¹⁹ Suppose those imprisoned for faithfulness had compromised and turned back. What would have happened? Joseph in ancient times would have lost the privilege of being used by Jehovah in Egypt to save from starvation his father, Jacob, together with his large family. The three Hebrews would have lost the distinction of having the angel of Jehovah walk with them and protect them in the fiery furnace. Jeremiah would have lost the honor of proclaiming the judgments of Jehovah against a wicked city. And Daniel would never have stopped the mouths of lions. This host of witnesses did not turn back. They were not cowards. Paul describes for us their faith and courage, in Hebrews, chapter eleven.

²⁰ Had Peter and Paul and the other apostles compromised and turned back they would have lost the blessing of expanding the early Christian congregation and of writing the Greek Scriptures. Also, the modern-day witnesses, unjustly imprisoned in many nations, would have lost their blessed privilege of opening up the work and rebuilding it in many totalitarian lands where the preaching was banned. They would not be enjoying the sight of the great ingathering of the great multitude of people of good will today. “For God gave us not a spirit of cowardice, but that of power and of love and of soundness of mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7, NW) Concerning those who turn back, the Revelator says: “But as for the cowards and those without faith . . . their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This means the second death.” (Rev. 21:8, NW) Thank Jehovah God that those faithful before us and those faithful among us here now have not, as cowards, fled the field of fighting for freedom to preach world-wide.

21, 22. (a) What is Jehovah’s main purpose in permitting us to fight and suffer for freedom to preach? (b) What further purpose is served thereby in keeping with Ezekiel’s prophecy?

²¹ It is clear that Jehovah is permitting us to suffer and fight for freedom to preach world-wide for very good purposes. The main purpose is to vindicate his great and holy name and his Word. Another purpose is to select the right kind of people, obedient and courageous people, and with these he wants to populate the earth and have them live in the new world. (Matt. 5:5, 10; Rev. 2:10) There Jehovah will exterminate those that do not deserve living in the new world.

²² Still another purpose served by our fight for freedom is to lead the enemy on to Armageddon. Jehovah is using us, his witnesses, therefore, by our fighting for freedom to preach world-wide, as bait for the Devil, named Gog in the book of Ezekiel. In that book of prophecy it is pointed out that Gog will be led on to assault us, Jehovah’s people. Jehovah shows in that prophecy how Gog, the Devil, will cause his forces, seen and unseen, to move against Jehovah’s witnesses from every part of the earth. Jehovah declares that he will turn Gog, the Devil, about and put hooks in his jaws. Jehovah reveals that the visible and invisible forces of Gog will fall “upon the mountains of Israel,” or Jehovah’s organization. (Ezek. 38:4; 39:1, 2) Then Satan and his entire organization and all the people supporting the Devil will be destroyed. Their dead bodies will be thrown out for the ravenous birds and the wild beasts to feed upon. (Ezek. 39:4-7) Jehovah finally declares: “And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezek. 39:7, AS) Let us not take ourselves out of the fight. May Jehovah continue to bless you as you keep on waging the “fight for freedom to preach world-wide.” “Praise ye Jehovah. Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, . . . Praise ye Jehovah.”—Ps. 112:1; 113:1, AS.

European Assemblies in 1955

At the conclusion of the international assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in Yankee Stadium in New York city in 1953 announcement was made of a series of international assemblies to be held in Canada and the United States and Europe during 1955. Already many thousands outside Europe have indicated their intention of attending one or more of the European assemblies. Not only from the United States but from South America and Africa and other continents delegates will come, to make these assemblies truly international.

The locations and dates of the assemblies are as follows: London, England, July 27-31; Paris, France, August 3-7; Rome, Italy, August 5-7; Nuremberg, Germany, August 10-14; Stockholm, Sweden, August 17-21; and The Hague, Netherlands, August 17-21. Many of the delegates from other lands will attend, not just one, but two or three of these assemblies, and some will even cover the entire series by spending some time at each of the assemblies.

At Yankee Stadium representatives from 97 countries attended and on the last day their numbers rocketed to more than 165,000! It was a tremendous witness not only to New York but to the nation and the world. It was a spectacle that is still remembered and commented on. Why not make the coming European assemblies equally noteworthy for their international flavor, showing the New World society knows no national barriers? Jehovah will surely bless those making the effort to attend. Will you be among the tens of thousands present?