Romans 13 in The Watchtower
(1950-1961)

   A Call to Praise w50 3/1 68
    5 So, in the light of Psalm 148, the nations have failed in their highest duty. More than ever it is now clear that the rulers are not the “higher powers” “ordained of God”, and there is no truth to their claim to rule “by the grace of God”. According to the facts they certainly do not rule “for the glory of God” nor as his administrative servants or ministers. (Rom. 13:1-4) The best interests of the people are not served, either, for, true to Jesus’ prediction for these very days, we find “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”.—Luke 21:26.

    More and More Pioneers of Good Newsw 50 4/1 106
    16 Today a like deliverance is taking place for thousands, yes, and for probably millions before the final count at Armageddon. This great multitude are those delivered from bondage to the present evil world. To them the higher powers of this world are as destroyed already; they recognize only Jehovah God and his Son Christ Jesus as “The Higher Powers”. (Rom. 13:1)

    A Mind Freed for Godly Combat w50 6/1 166
    18 In this prophetic drama Gideon pictured Christ Jesus and the remnant of anointed body-members. During and immediately after World War I the true Christians were in a position similar to Gideon’s at the time of the angel’s visit. Like the Israelites in the promised land, they were located in a position to serve God, and did some sowing of the seed of truth, but were unable to bring their Christian fruitage to full harvest. They had been contaminated with some of the religions practices of the modern Baal-worshipers around them, and thus blinded did not frame the message in just the straightforward and uncompromising way that it should have been presented. They looked upon the rulers of the world as the “higher powers” mentioned in Romans 13, were afflicted by a degree of creature worship and fear of man, and did not preach as openly and boldly as they should have. Oppressive worldlings exercised harsh control over them, held them in mental restraint, and jailed many. They were not free for godly combat.

    A Victory Dedicated to Jehovah's Honor w50 6/15 180-1
    9 The modern-day Midianites and their allies, the visible agents of Satan that rule over and oppress the peoples of earth, and especially seek to crush those who serve Jehovah, claim to be the “higher powers” mentioned at Romans 13:1. But the antitypical three hundred, the anointed remnant of Christ’s body-members under the command of the Greater Gideon Christ Jesus, dispute that claim. On August 5, 1928, in a resolution entitled “Declaration Against Satan and for Jehovah”, which was adopted by 12,000 witnesses assembled in Detroit, Michigan, and which was later printed in several languages and distributed by the millions, the statement was made: “Henceforth our battle cry shall be, THE SWORD OF JEHOVAH AND OF HIS ANOINTED! The whole tenor of this Declaration and the public talk “Ruler for the People” that accompanied it, both of which were at that time broadcast over a chain of more than 100 radio stations, in America and Canada, was that Satan was the god of this world and national leaders were his representatives and no earthly nation had Jehovah as its God. The truth that Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, and not worldly politicians, are the Higher Powers of Romans 13:1 was made clearer and given wider publicity from and after 1929, especially by the June 1 and June 15 Watchtowers of that year.
    10 The apostles did not view worldly politicians as the “higher powers”, else they would never have said to them: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29; 4:19) Nor did Jesus, who exposed and spoiled the “principalities and powers” of commerce and politics and false religion, and invisible demon powers as well. (Matt. 4:8-10; 6:19-21; 19:23, 24; 21:12, 13; 23:1-33; Luke 13:31, 32; John 8:44; 18:36; 19:10, 11; Col. 2:14-17) To early Christians the power of such men became as dead as the firstborn of Egypt at the time of the tenth plague, which pictured the death of worldly rulers as the “higher powers”. The deadness of the antitypical firstborn (”the beginning [or chief] of his strength”) shows up when Jehovah’s witnesses say before worldly courts and authorities: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”—Deut. 21:17.
    11 Hence it was with this truth about the true ‘higher powers” that Jehovah’s witnesses attacked the modern-day Midianites, from and after 1928, and with it they snapped the bonds that once improperly tied them in subjection to world rulers even in matters of worship, when they thought such rulers were “ordained of God”. The knowledge that God and Christ are the Higher Powers put to rout and destroyed the power of worldly authorities over Christians relative to the worship of Jehovah. Since appreciating this truth they boldly shout their battle-cry: “The sword of Jehovah and of his Anointed!”

    Haman's "Pride Goes Before Destruction" w50 6/15 191
The fact that Xerxes (Ahasuerus) at times was influenced to the harm of and then again for the good of God’s people would indicate that he represented regal power in the abstract; picturing either the “Higher Powers”, Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, or the “god of this world” Satan the Devil, depending upon how he was being influenced.—Rom. 13:1-4; 2 Cor. 4:4.

    The Real Feast of Ingathering Under Way w50 7/1 200-1
    14 On the atonement day in the fiftieth year the jubilee trumpet was sounded throughout the land. The sounding of that trumpet meant liberty for the people. Today the jubilee trumpet is sounding throughout the world. This means liberty for the prisoners held in ignorance and superstition in the Devil’s organization and its religious prison-houses, and, by the Lord’s grace, a great multitude of these are finding their way to the free organization of Jehovah, where they can find liberty and peace. No longer do they look to men as the higher powers whom they must serve and obey. (Rom. 13:1) Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are the higher powers that all the consecrated believers look to, and in them they find rest and security. “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound [like a trumpet announcing Jehovah’s King]: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” — Ps. 89:15.

    "The Increase of His Government" w50 8/15 243
    JEHOVAH God is now crowning his glorious purpose with success. At the very time that mankind came into need because of the invasion of selfishness, error and death, Jehovah made it his purpose to set up a righteous government over the whole earth for mankind’s deliverance. The setting up of such a government is his right. It is, in fact, his responsibility, and he has not failed that responsibility. “For there is no authority except from God.” (Rom. 13:1, Rev. Stan. Ver.) Because it is a government from him and is his means for ruling his creatures on earth it is called a “Theocracy”, for that name means God’s dominion or rule. His government in the heavens is now born and is ready to take over earth’s rule, regardless of the combined opposition of men who fight against God. Earth and the people’s way of existence are soon due for a wonderful transformation. This denotes a new world of God’s creation.

    Living According to Superior Knowledge w50 9/1 283
    4 The “appointed times of the Gentiles” expired in 1914, but the Gentile governments still continue as going concerns, wrathful against God’s established kingdom. “Caesar” still holds the reins of earthly government, and totalitarian governments are more powerful than ever. We need to know from the Bible that the “superior authorities” to whom Christian souls must be subject are Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, if we want to escape divine wrath. We need to be taught how our first duties are to God, obeying Him as Ruler in preference to men, and then giving to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar.—Rom. 13:1-4 and Matt. 22:21, NW.

    Subjection to the Higher Powers w50 11/15 439

    Execution of Judgment upon Opposers w50 11/15 449

    "Preach the Word" w50 12/1 494

    "Put Off Every Weight" w51 1/1 21
    When God’s witnesses perceived that Jehovah and Christ were the true “higher powers” to whom Christians must be subject, another heavy and grievous weight was lifted from the shoulders of his people. (Rom. 13:1) No longer did corrupt politicians wrongly occupy that position in the minds of God’s servants, and when such politicians pompously demand that the witnesses of Jehovah halt their preaching God’s servants answer back: “Whether it is righteous in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your decision. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” (Acts 4:19, 20; 5:29, NW) Nor do they become involved in politics.—Matt. 4:8-10; John 6:15; Jas. 4:4.

    Announcements w51 4/1 224
    Law-abiding, orderly men and women heed the commands of the Supreme Authority of the Universe and his King and thus come under “subjection to the superior authorities”. (Rom. 13:1, NW) Their command governing the personal conduct and worship of all creatures desiring life is set forth in these words, ‘Love Jehovah your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.’

    "Subjection to the Superior Authorities" w51 5/1 275

    Do You Have Hearing Ears? w52 5/15 294
    Among the false stories that the false shepherds tell their flocks, the financiers, the politicians and the common people, are the following: that the political rulers are the “higher powers” of Romans 13:1-4; that the United Nations organization is man’s only hope; that it is up to the people to bring in the kingdom of God by means of moral-uplift schemes; that man has an immortal soul; that all good church members will go to heaven at death; that their deity is a mysterious trinity. All of which tickles the ears of the listeners.

    Subjection to Superior Authorities w52 6/15 373

    'Let Each One Watch How He Builds' w52 7/15 426
    However, coming from apostate religious systems these brought with them many beliefs and practices which were, in fact, just so much wood material, hay and stubble. Among such were the beliefs that it was necessary to develop a beautiful character to get to heaven and that that was a Christian’s chief duty; the notion that Christians must appear sanctimonious and pious, evincing more concern over what men thought than over what God thought; false teachings such as that the political powers of this wicked world were the “higher powers” of Romans 13:1 who must be obeyed even though they contradicted God’s expressed commandments; that a pile of stone in Egypt constituted a witness to Jehovah (Isa. 19:19, 20); that one imperfect man living in our day was repeatedly foretold in Bible prophecy; etc.


    A Witness Replies to a Clergyman w52 9/1 541-2
    “Jehovah’s witnesses are un-American, you charge, calculating to stir up popular feeling thereby. It has ever been the practice of those with a religious grudge to settle to steer true Christians into difficulties with the State. Please see John 19:12; Acts 17:5-7. The witnesses are good citizens. Some have lived in this town for 35 years and are respected by all that know them. They obey all right laws of the State. But, when the demands of God and of the State conflict, what then? They obey God. The powers ordained of God mentioned in Romans 13:1-4 are not the political powers of this world, but rather the authorities within the organization of the true church. Your misunderstanding on this point has led you to recognize such gangsters as Hitler and Mussolini and caused Baptist to kill Baptist in two world wars.

    "All the Gods of the Nations Are Idols" w52 11/15 676
    It is an old trick of selfish political chieftains to delude their peoples into believing that God and Christ are sectarian or political divinities standing by ready to bless their various schemes. Their followers, through clergy influence, treat these leaders as the “higher powers” or “superior authorities”. (Rom. 13:1, NW) But the Bible clearly brands this as a fraud and shows the people have thus been made “slaves to those who by nature are not gods” and thus restrained from obtaining God’s true provision for everlasting life, “the salvation that is in union with Christ Jesus.”—Gal. 4:8; 2 Tim. 2:10, NW.

    In Union with Love w52 11/15 700
    17 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” (Isa. 60:1, 3, AS) Ah! Zion, glorious city of light, the only city of its kind, built on the pattern of love! What an unspeakable privilege to be in union with Zion’s “superior authorities”, who themselves are the source of its light! What a joy to be in union with its King Christ Jesus, who has the victor’s title, “King of kings and Lord of lords”! (Rom. 13:1; Rev. 21:23; 19:16, NW)

    Modern Idolatry Foreshadowed w52 12/1 715
    These earnest church workers, while professing to believe the Bible, are not interested in any of its prophecies that show that God’s kingdom is at hand. They ally themselves with the modernists and evolutionists in their support of the governments of this world as the “higher powers”, mentioned at Romans 13:1-3, as though the beastly totalitarian governments and the corrupt democracies were ordained by God. In keeping with the picture, we find that the womenfolk are the strongest supporters of these religious organizations.

    Doing the Work Approved by God w53 4/1 212
    13 Even if the apostle Paul were living today he could not have done better in describing the works of Christendom. Not only among the common laity of the many religious denominations does one observe a constant downward drift in loose conduct, uncleanness and fornication, but also among her clergy class spiritual delinquency is manifest. Her great religious leaders have openly played the harlot with the political, military and commercial rulers of the world. This they have done by backing up anti-Christ schemes for world domination (schemes like the League of Nations and the United Nations); by signing working agreements and concordats with ruthless, worldly dictators (Hitler, Mussolini); and by swearing oaths of allegiance to wicked rulers of this world (to red Communist bosses behind the Iron Curtain) as if such profane men were the “higher powers” whom Christians must obey.—Rom. 13:1; Rev. 17:1, 2.

    1926 Ushers In a Time of Great Happiness w54 6/1 347
    Unitedly let us therefore continue to subject ourselves to this divine Authority, for the growing praise of Jehovah’s name.—Rom. 13:1, NW.

    "A Right Kind of Minister" w55 2/1 86
    THE term minister (Greek: diákonos) as used in the Greek Scriptures means, literally, a servant. (1 Tim. 4:6, NW) It here refers to one who is a public servant of Jehovah, and is ordained by him, after having first taken the step of dedicating himself by a solemn agreement to do the will of God. Such a minister, in order to prove worthy of the name and retain divine favor, will faithfully strive to carry out whatever commands and commissions are laid upon him by the “superior authorities.” Such a minister will also, of necessity, prove to be a close footstep follower of Jesus Christ, the foremost minister of God, and, like him, will recognize the prior obligation to be a preacher of the good news of Jehovah’s established kingdom by Christ. Thus, like Jesus, he will prove to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses, witnessing to the truth.—Rom. 13:1; John 18:37, NW; Isa. 43:10, AS.

    Postwar Revival of the Witnesses w55 5/1 266
    Courageously and vigorously Jehovah’s surviving remnant of anointed witnesses took hold of the task of restoring true worship, genuine Christianity, which had been overshadowed by Babylonish false religious thinking from the time the last of Jesus’ apostles died, about A.D. 100. The collective system of Christendom’s apostate clergy, as the “man of lawlessness,” had long kept the peoples in gross darkness. Though Jehovah’s people from the 1870’s to 1918 had gradually changed over much of their basic religious thinking from the corrupt teachings of the Babylonish religion of apostate nominal churches, yet to a great degree they still were held in restraint by tainted bonds of false conceptions and practices inherited from the pagan traditions adopted by Christendom. For example, up to and including their 1918 troubles these witnesses of the Most High God still trusted excessively in so-called “character development,” indulged in considerable creature worship, accepted earthly political governments as the “superior authorities” ordained of God (Rom. 13:1, NW), and thus were held in fear of man, particularly civil rulers. Also they celebrated some pagan holidays, such as Christmas, they used the symbol of the cross as a sign of Christian devotion, the name of Jehovah they had in the background, and organizationally they continued to practice the democratic style of local congregational government. Generally, everyone did what was considered right in his own eyes. The gathering together of the anointed ones under the Watch Tower Society from many parts of the earth in those days resulted in a loose association of Christians longing for still greater restorations.

    An Era of Prophesied Happiness Begins w55 6/15 367-8
    Now by 1928 the congregational service organizations of Jehovah’s people had developed to the point where they accepted Sunday as the most suitable day to participate in the house-to-house preaching of Jehovah’s kingdom. In years past Sunday volunteer service had been regularly undertaken for free delivery of “Bible Students tracts” Sunday mornings under doors of homes and in front of church entrances. But regular Sunday preaching verbally at the doors of the people had not been a practice. Immediately legal opposition was raised to this enlarged Sunday work when, in 1928, the first arrests were made in South Amboy, New Jersey, of preaching- on-Sunday witnesses of Jehovah. That opened the decade-long ‘battle of New Jersey,’ which soon spread to Connecticut, Pennsylvania and other states where Catholic Action groups tried to frame mischief by every legal means possible to put a stop to the growing public witness work of the Watch Tower Society. Timely was the new light of truth on the subject of the “higher powers” published in The Watch Tower for June 1 and June 15, 1929, showing clearly that Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are the true “superior authorities” that must be obeyed. (Rom. 13:1, NW) This new understanding put fire into the witnesses to stand their ground against the onslaught of court battles involving their freedom of worship.

    Making All Mankind One Under Their Creator w56 4/1 203
    27 So in justice and in love Jehovah God has set before us the heart-warming hope that all mankind will be made one under their Creator and his Christ. Not only has he purposed it and foretold it in the Holy Bible, but, as we have seen, he has the righteous means to make it come true. Just how his Son Jesus Christ will be the one by whom this oneness under God the Creator and Father will be realized we read: “When [Jesus] found himself in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake. For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:8-11, NW) Besides that, in verse 1, chapter 13, of Romans 13:1 we read: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God.” Yes, “power belongs to God.” (Ps. 62:11, RS) So one future day all the universe must be unified under the all-powerful Ruler of all creation, Jehovah God the Creator. He creates the one government that all creatures in heaven and in earth must bow to, acknowledge and obey. He has already appointed the ruler for that government. It is his once sacrificed Son Jesus Christ, who has now been glorified in heaven, with full power and authority to rule. All persons alive in heaven and earth must line up under him, whether they are angels or men, and all sensible persons who love everlasting life will wisely do so.

    Questions from Readers w56 8/1 479-80
    Revelation 13:18 (NW) states: “Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.” What is meant by this number?—E. J., United States.
    The suggestion that this number refers to the pope of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is not Scriptural. It could not apply to the office of pope. It is the number of a beast. The Bible uses beasts to symbolize beastly human governments, as is the case in Daniel, chapter 7. In Revelation chapter 13 “wild beast” is used to symbolize Satan’s visible organization, so it is this organization whose number is said to be 666.
    From the first human political government at Babylon down to our day, governments by men have had three principal elements: religious, political and commercial. Now the number 666, three orders of six together, names or represents these three elements of Satan’s beastly visible organization. Why six? Because the Bible uses six to represent imperfection. Seven designates spiritual completeness or perfection, and six is short of that and therefore is incomplete or imperfect. The number 666 in the original language is denoted by three different alphabetic letters or symbols in the Greek text, namely, c (600), x (60) and V (6).
    Six symbolizes imperfection, which is abominable in God’s sight, and therefore reprehensible. Six hundred would attach to the most reprehensible element, which is false religion. It is the false religions of the world that hypocritically pose as worshiping God but actually misrepresent him and either lead people away from God or turn them against him by their falsehoods and blasphemies. Rather than looking to God and Christ and the heavenly kingdom, these religions love money and extol political substitutes for that kingdom. Moreover, it is the religious clergy that bitterly oppose the preaching of the good news of Christ’s kingdom by Jehovah’s witnesses, and stir the other two elements of Satan’s visible system to oppose also.
    The commercial element is more reprehensible than the political element, because it wields more power behind the scenes, whereas the political class are the willing, loud-talking tools in the public eye. Therefore the 60 well represents the commercial element and 6 the political element. All together the three elements make up Satan’s visible organization and the number 666 represents these combined elements that are imperfect and reprehensible in God’s sight.
The number suggests selfish gain because in olden times King Solomon’s annual revenue was 666 talents. Also, the dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol-image, which the three faithful Hebrews refused to salute and adore, were sixty cubits high and six cubits broad. And wicked Goliath, who fought against God’s nation Israel, had a brother giant with six digits on each hand and on each foot, and pictured Satan’s visible dictatorial organization that claims to be the “higher powers” instead of acknowledging Jehovah and Christ as such. So six represents a completeness only in man’s sight and falls short of the completeness or perfection that God designates by the number seven.—1 Ki. 10:14; Dan. 3:1; 1 Chron. 20:6; Rom. 13:1.
    Because six falls short of God’s perfect number seven, it is called a man’s number and attaches to the visible organization of men under Satan, the god of this world, and which organization is symbolized by the wild beast. So it is with this meaning in mind that this number of the wild beast is said to be “a man’s number.” It is not God’s perfect number of spiritual completeness.

    Pursuing My Purpose in Life w58 9/1 526
    In August, eight months later, I received a most unusual assignment—that of being confined behind prison walls due to my refusal to serve any other powers or “superior authorities” than those described at Romans 13:1. Gladly I accepted this assignment because it was in harmony with Mark 13:9 and Revelation 2:10

    Public Address: God's Kingdom Rules-Is the World's End Near? w58 10/15 629
    14 What, then, about God’s kingdom that Jesus Christ preached and that he taught his disciples to pray for? In the light of the Jewish experiment, is there any historical reason, not to speak of Bible prophecy, for believing and teaching that God’s kingdom will come through the politicians of Christendom, together with the help of the pope of Vatican City and the religious clergy of Protestantism? No! Can we reasonably think for one moment that the all-wise God, who foreknows all his works from long ago, has launched out on another experiment like that with the Jewish nation? No! God’s own Word answers No! The Son of God, Jesus Christ, answers No! But Christendom’s politicians, instructed and supported by the clergy, Catholic and Protestant, have decided that that is the way God’s kingdom should come and rule. So they have proceeded to govern on the theory of the divine right of kings or on the theory that, as the “higher powers” “ordained by God,” they represent God to every soul subject to them. Yet they sit on no “throne of Jehovah.”—Rom. 13:1.

    "Your Will Be Done on Earth" w60 1/1 28
    3 The king of the north and the king of the south were seated “at one table,” having mutual contacts and expressing friendliness. But their hearts were bent on mischief, if not toward each other, then certainly toward the promised, prayed-for kingdom of God. The two kings claimed to rule “by the grace of God” and to rule by divine right as the “higher powers” that were “ordained by God.” (Rom. 13:1, AV; Luther) The king of the south already held world empire, the greatest that the world had known till then. It resented the rising power of the new German Reich or Empire.

    When All Nations Unite Under God's Kingdom w61 10/15 618
    25 To go to a distant land and then to return by the means of travel of nineteen hundred years ago, not by jet plane, would require a long time. By this point of the illustration Jesus indicated that it would be a long time from then before God’s kingdom would be actually put in power over our earth. As pictured by the “man of noble birth” in this illustration, Jesus Christ, who was the Son of the King of eternity as well as the descendant of King David, had to go to a “distant land” to secure for himself kingly power. He had to go far beyond outer space and its planets and galaxies, namely, to heaven itself, to Jehovah God, who is the source of all ruling power. As it is written: “There is no authority except by God.” (Rom. 13:1) From God as the source of rulership Jesus Christ would receive kingly power for mankind’s benefit. Benefit, indeed, because the setting up of his kingdom over mankind in the name of Jehovah God means the restoration of Paradise to our earth.