Bearing-True-Witness.pdf

Imagine that you are one of the apostles
standing on the Mount of Olives. Jesus appears before you. Just as he is about to ascend to heaven, he says: “You will receive
power when the holy spirit arrives upon you,
and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and
to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts
1:8) How would you react?
Perhaps you would feel overwhelmed by
the enormity of the task. You may wonder, ‘How can we—a small band of disciples—possibly bear witness to “the most distant part of the earth”?’ You may recall the
warning Jesus gave on the night before his
death: “A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will
persecute you also; if they have observed
my word, they will observe yours also. But
they will do all these things against you on
account of my name, because they do not
know him that sent me.” (John 15:20, 21)
Reflecting on those words, you might ask
yourself, ‘How can I bear thorough witness
in the face of such opposition and persecution?’
Today, we face similar questions. Our
commission as Jehovah’s Witnesses likewise requires that we bear thorough witness
to “the most distant part of the earth,” to
“people of all the nations.” (Matt. 28:19, 20)
How can this work be accomplished, especially in view of the foretold opposition?
Acts of Apostles gives us a thrilling account of how the apostles and their fellow
Christians in the first century C.E. were able,
with Jehovah’s help, to fulfill their assignment. The publication that you are now reading is designed to help you examine that
record and feel the excitement of the fastmoving events recorded therein. You will be
amazed at the number of parallels that exist
between God’s servants of the first century
and his people today. You will see that these
parallels involve not only the work we do but
also the way we are organized to do that
work. Reflecting on these similarities will no
doubt fortify your belief that Jehovah God is
continuing to direct the earthly part of his organization.
It is our hope and prayer that examining
the book of Acts will strengthen your confidence that Jehovah will help you and that
the power of his holy spirit will sustain you.
May you thereby be encouraged to continue
“bearing thorough witness” about God’s
Kingdom and helping others get on the path
to salvation.—Acts 28:23; 1 Tim. 4:16.