Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. . . . Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.—Rev. 2:10.

In Jesus’ messages to the congregations in Smyrna and Philadelphia, he told Christians there not to be afraid to suffer persecution, since their faithfulness would be rewarded. (Rev. 3:10) We must expect persecution and be willing to endure it. (Matt. 24:9, 13; 2 Cor. 12:10) The book of Revelation informs us that God’s people would be persecuted in our day—“the Lord’s day.” (Rev. 1:10Revelation chapter 12 mentions that war breaks out in heaven immediately following the birth of God’s Kingdom. Michael—the glorified Jesus Christ—and his armies fight against Satan and the demons. (Rev. 12:7, 8) As a result, those enemies of God are defeated and cast down to the vicinity of the earth, bringing untold suffering to the earth and its inhabitants.—Rev. 12:9, 12w22.05 5 ¶12-13

Do you see what the Watchtower did there? Jesus’ letters to the seven congregations were intended as warnings and encouraging messages to be understood before the coming of Christ —before the Lord’s day begins. That is why Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer,” meaning in the future.

Do you know any JW who has been put in prison or executed for their faith? I knew a couple of brothers who did prison time for refusing to join the military. But that was long ago, and I am not even convinced that qualifies as persecution. The Watchtower then did not allow a conscript to choose alternative service. Now, it is permitted. So, all of that suffering and “persecution” could have been avoided had the Watchtower been more reasonable. Of course, there are many countries, primarily Islamic, that have banned Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as other sects. A few JWs are in prison in Russia.

For the most part, governments protect the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses. That was especially true in the United States during the 1930s and 40s, when patriotism, saluting the flag, and neutrality were hot issues. The Watchtower didn’t help the cause when Jehovah’s Witnesses drove around in “sound cars,” with Judge Rutherford bellowing through loudspeakers, essentially making themselves a public nuisance. And what about the “information marches,” when dozens or hundreds of JWs marched down the streets with placards denouncing the Catholic Church as a “racket and a snare.” Even so, in the face of all of that needless confrontation and provocation, the federal government protected the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

When Jesus said the Devil would keep throwing some of us into prison, shouldn’t we expect the Devil to keep throwing some of us into prison? If the Lord’s day has been ongoing for these past 110 years, why don’t we see JWs being thrown in jail now? Why is it some faraway third-world place?

Even with all of the persecution that went on in America back in the Rutherford era, which was mostly in small-town America, I do not think any of Jehovah’s Witnesses were put to death. I knew of one JW in Texas who was strung up by an angry mob, but the rope broke. But Jesus said, “Prove yourself faithful even to death.” Do you know of even one JW who has been executed for their faith? Are we to imagine Jesus was speaking about dying a natural death? Of course not. Thousands of first-century Christians were put to death. And that was before Satan was hurled down to the earth and went off to wage war with the remaining ones.

Here is something I have recently come to appreciate: Peter, James, and John were the only three disciples who witnessed the transfiguration. And the transfiguration was a foregleam of the parousia. Peter, James and John were all executed. Paul also saw Christ in his glory, a preview of the parousia, which is why Paul said he was as one who was born prematurely since he saw Christ as the remaining ones will see him when he is manifest during the parousia. That is when they will truly be born again. By the way, Paul was also executed. Since Satan was supposedly hurled down to the earth in 1914, and an invisible parousia is supposedly ongoing, why has not one Christian been executed in the United States?

It is particularly obscene when you have the leadership of the Watchtower living like kings, cloistered in their granite castle, flying around the world first class, hobnobbing with the high rollers on Wall Street, and talking about being persecuted. Really?

I believe Jesus’ words—“Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer”—apply most aptly right now. We are about to experience a globe-rocking crash of the system. The protections afforded by nations such as the United States will be abolished. It is no secret that the tyrants especially want to do away with the First Amendment of the Constitution. That is the law of the land that protects Jehovah’s Witnesses—freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, all that stuff. I suspect the Bible will be declared a book that promotes hate since it condemns the perversity and depravity that the Marxists glorify and promote. And those who defend the word of God will become enemies of the state. It can happen very quickly.

Revelation says: “So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her offspring, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness concerning Jesus.” Hold that thought…

The apostle Paul foretold that God would allow an operation of Satan to exert a deluding influence over Christians to deceive them into imagining the Kingdom has come and the Devil has been hurled down. Since there is no evidence that the Devil is waging an all-out war against the anointed offspring of the “woman,” the Watchtower’s 1914 doctrine is shown to be “the lie” that Jehovah allows to go to those who know the truth to test their love of the truth when Christ comes, and the Devil is thrown down.

Ordinary people wish to be allowed to live their lives to the full, have a job, raise a family, or whatever, and not have to worry about crime, war, financial collapse, or being poisoned by their government. For the most part, God has provided a peaceful and secure environment through the superior authorities that he has put in place. However, when Satan and the demons come down in a red-hot rage, all of that will be over. “The heavens will pass away with a roar” when Christ comes upon this world like a thief at night.

In case you were not paying attention, Iran blasted Israel with a barrage of missiles the other day. They rolled their launchers out during the day to allow the orbiting satellites to see them. They gave the Israelis a few hours to prepare for the attack, which only targeted military installations and a couple of offshore gas rigs. However, the attack demonstrated that Israel is defenseless. There is no defense against hypersonic missiles. Even though the Zionists have boasted that the attack was ineffective, and apparently, only one person died, the madmen must still respond. And now, the world is waiting for Israel’s response. If it is measured, a global catastrophe may be avoided for now, just like nuclear war was avoided a couple of weeks ago. If, however, Israel goes ballistic, literally, then Iran will too. The Iranians have enough missiles to fire 100 every hour for about a week. Tehran has already notified the nations that they will not just target Israel. They will take out all of the oil refineries ringing the Persian Gulf. They will blow up the global financial system. Think $500-$1,000-a barrel oil. And those mighty aircraft carriers and warships that are symbols of America’s power projected around the world? They will become like sitting ducks on a tranquil pond.

If Israel plays it cool, then we can expect another hotspot somewhere in the world to explode. It is just time. Human sanity no longer seems to be a factor. Enraged demons don’t care about any of the things people care about.

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