UHỌNMHỌN-ỌTA 25

“Mẹn Dẹ Mun Ọne Ẹzọ Nan Bu Siza!”

Pọl da ha tẹmhọn ebi ọle rẹọ i arẹmiẹn a kpokpo ọle

1, 2. (a) Idia nela Pọl da ka egbe ọle re? (b) Inọnta nela zegbere ranmhude nin Pọl rẹ dọ gui man Siza?

“Odalo Aga Ibhohiẹn . . . Ọle Mẹn Da Mundia” (Acts 25:1-12)

3, 4. (a) Bezẹle nin ibhokhan Ju da yọle nan mun Pọl vae bhi Jerusalẹm? Be ọle rẹ miuhọnmhọn bhi obọ uu yẹ? (b) Be Jehova rẹ rẹkpa eguọmhandia nesọle yẹ ẹlẹnan beji ọle rẹ rẹkpa Pọl?

³ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

⁴ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

5. Be Fẹstọs rẹ ne Pọl lu emhin yẹ?

⁵ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

6, 7. Bezẹle nin Pọl da mun ọne ẹmhọn bu Siza? Be imhan luẹ bhi ijiẹmhin nọnsọle?

⁶ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

⁷ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

People in a courtroom, reacting to a verdict. A brother, his lawyers, and several Witnesses in attendance are solemn. Non-Witnesses are happy and congratulating the legal team who argued the case against the brother. — We appeal unfavorable legal decisions

“Mẹn Bha Mhọn Akan-ehọ” (Acts 25:13–26:23)

8, 9. Bezẹle nin Agripa nin Ojiẹ da vae bhi Sizaria?

⁸ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

APPEALING ON BEHALF OF TRUE WORSHIP IN MODERN TIMES

Jehovah’s Witnesses have at times appealed to high courts in hopes of removing obstacles to the preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom. Here are two examples.

On March 28, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state court decisions and exonerated a group of Witnesses who had been arrested for distributing Bible literature in Griffin, Georgia, U.S.A. This was the first of many appeals made to that high court regarding the right of the Witnesses to preach the good news.a

Another case involved a Witness in Greece named Minos Kokkinakis. Over a period of 48 years, he was arrested more than 60 times for “proselytism.” On 18 occasions, he faced prosecution in court. He spent years in prison and in exile on remote islands in the Aegean Sea. After his last conviction in 1986, Brother Kokkinakis lost his appeals to the higher courts of Greece. He then sought relief through the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). On May 25, 1993, that Court ruled that Greece had violated Brother Kokkinakis’ freedom of religion.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have appealed to the ECHR for relief in dozens of cases, prevailing in most of them. No other organization, religious or otherwise, has had such success in defending basic human rights before the ECHR.

Do others benefit from the legal victories of Jehovah’s Witnesses? Scholar Charles C. Haynes wrote: “We all owe the Jehovah’s Witnesses a debt of gratitude. No matter how many times they’re insulted, run out of town or even physically attacked, they keep on fighting for their (and thus our) freedom of religion. And when they win, we all win.”

a See the account of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision regarding free speech, which was published in Awake! January 8, 2003, pages 3-11.

⁹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

10, 11. Be Pọl lu nin ọle rẹ rẹman ghe ọle mun ekpẹn nin Agripa? Be sunu bhi iẹnlẹn nọnsi Pọl nin ọle taman ọnojie?

¹⁰ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

¹¹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

12, 13. (a) Be Pọl rẹ tẹmhọn ebi ọle rẹ kiẹn Kristiẹn yẹ? (b) Be Pọl re ọle ta ẹghe nin ọle rẹ yọle ghe, egbe ọle “[ọle] gheghe kuan”?

¹² Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

¹³ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

14, 15. Be Pọl tayẹ rẹji emhin nin ọle fidenọ bhi iẹnlẹn nọnsọle?

¹⁴ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

¹⁵ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

16. Ahamiẹn mhan tẹmhọn ebi mhan rẹọ i man ene ribhi ihe bi ene bhuohiẹn, be imhan ha rẹ re egbe khọkhọ Pọl yẹ?

¹⁶ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

“Uwẹ Dẹ Fi Mẹn Ọkhọle Denọ Nin Mẹn Dọ Kiẹn Kristiẹn” (Acts 26:24-32)

17. Be Fẹstọs rẹ lu emhin yẹ beji ọle họn ọta nin Pọl tale? Be ẹbho ne bunbun ẹlẹnan rẹ lu emhin yẹ nọn yẹ diabe uwedẹ nin Fẹstọs rẹ lu emhin?

¹⁷ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

18. Be Pọl rẹ wanniẹn Fẹstọs yẹ? Be Agripa ghe ọne ewanniẹn nọnsi Pọl yẹ?

¹⁸ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

19. Be Fẹstọs bi Agripa ki tayẹ rẹji Pọl?

¹⁹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

20. Bezẹle nọn da yi emhin esili nin Pọl rẹ guẹzọ nọnsọle bhi odalo ene gbẹloghe?

²⁰ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

21. Ahamiẹn mhan tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua sade a kpokpo mhan, be ha sabọ nabhọre?

²¹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

ROMAN PROCURATOR PORCIUS FESTUS

Our only firsthand information about Porcius Festus comes from Acts of Apostles and the writings of Flavius Josephus. Festus succeeded Felix as procurator of Judea in about 58 C.E. and evidently died in office after governing for just two or three years.

For the most part, Festus appears to have been a prudent and capable procurator, in contrast with his predecessor, Felix, and his successor, Albinus. At the beginning of Festus’ time in office, Judea was plagued by bandits. According to Josephus, “Festus . . . made it his business to correct those that made disturbances in the country. So he caught the greatest part of the robbers, and destroyed a great many of them.” During his tenure, the Jews built a wall to prevent King Agrippa from observing what took place in the temple area. Festus initially ordered them to dismantle it. At the Jews’ request, however, he later allowed them to present the matter to the Roman Emperor Nero.

Festus appears to have taken a firm stand against criminals and insurgents. But in his desire to maintain good relations with the Jews, he was willing to set aside justice—at least in his dealings with the apostle Paul.

KING HEROD AGRIPPA II

The Agrippa referred to in Acts chapter 25 was King Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great and son of the Herod who had attacked the Jerusalem congregation 14 years earlier. (Acts 12:1) Agrippa was the last of the Herodian princes.

At the death of his father in 44 C.E., 17-year-old Agrippa was in Rome, where he was being educated at the court of Roman Emperor Claudius. The emperor’s advisers considered Agrippa too young to inherit his father’s domain; thus, a Roman governor was appointed instead. Even so, according to Flavius Josephus, while Agrippa was still in Rome, he intervened for the Jews and represented their interests.

In about 50 C.E., Claudius assigned Agrippa kingship over Chalcis and in 53 C.E., over Ituraea, Trachonitis, and Abilene. Agrippa was also given oversight of Jerusalem’s temple, with authority to appoint the Jewish high priests. Claudius’ successor Nero extended Agrippa’s realm to include parts of Galilee and Perea. At the time of his meeting Paul, Agrippa was in Caesarea with his sister Bernice, who had left her husband, the king of Cilicia.—Acts 25:13.

In 66 C.E., when Agrippa’s efforts failed to calm the Jewish rebellion against Rome, he himself became a target of the rebels, and he was left no choice but to join the Romans. After the Jewish revolt was crushed, a new emperor, Vespasian, gave Agrippa further territories as a reward.