Christians Are Not Authorized by God to Participate Politics

Sometimes we Jehovah’s Witnesses are asked, “Why won’t you vote in political elections? Aren’t you interested in voting into office a good man?”

The truth is, there are no men who can match the righteousness of our ruling king, the glorified Jesus Christ, who has proved himself loyal to all the righteous decrees of God, and who was completely — perfectly — absent any struggle that might have inclined him to lying, greed, or cowardice. So, until this perfectly qualified Ruler takes unhindered control of the world of mankind, we his followers expect to suffer. Our relief comes when Jesus strikes the earth with the rod of his mouth, and the wicked are put to death at command from him (q.v. Isaiah 11:4, 5).

You may be asking, “We may expect to suffer?” Yes, and accept it joyfully, too! The Bible at Hebrews 10:34 says this about persecuted Christians in Judea: “You accepted joyfully the plundering of your belongings, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession.” That verse but echoes what Jesus himself said at Matthew 5:11-13: “Happy are those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake, since the Kingdom of the heavens belongs to them. Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against you for my sake. Rejoice and be overjoyed, since your reward is great in the heavens, for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you.”

No, it does not please us whenever we witness that our Heavenly Father is being made sad because He is seeing His people harmed and His name blasphemed. That is something we wish that God did not have to let happen. But it is not our will that counts here; it is our heavenly Father’s will that counts (compare Luke 22:41, 42). And Jehovah’s name and sovereignty are being vindicated when we endure under hardship and prove the Devil a liar. We can certainly rejoice and be overjoyed that our being strengthened by holy spirit to endure persecution is a share we have in sanctifying God's name and proving the Devil a liar against God.

Politics is a fight against flesh and blood. A Christian’s fight is not against flesh and blood, just as we read at Ephesians 6:12: “We have a struggle not against blood and flesh but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” Yes, our struggle is against superhuman persons invisible, in the spirit realm, namely, against Satan and his demon angels. Until they are dealt with by Jesus Christ, human effort (political, manmade governments) will continue, and continue to fail, too: we will continue to witness the terrible absence of real peace and happiness for the entire human family.

Christians may not even express wrath and reviling speech against any person. We may rebuke the wicked, and try to reprove them with the Scriptures; however, for as long as we have breath, we can express our confidence that the God of the Bible will protect His namesake people as a whole; moreover, any individual servant of God who is harmed will not suffer irreversible harm. It pleases God to allow us His earthly servants to prove our love for Him, to show forth our indomitable faith, courage, and loyalty--yes! prove such things even though it may involve some of us being martyred. How do we know that is what God expects of any of us followers of Christ? Consider the following Bible verses:

1 Peter 2:19-21: “For it is agreeable when someone endures hardship and suffers unjustly because of conscience toward God. For what merit is there if you are beaten for sinning and you endure it? But if you endure suffering because of doing good, this is an agreeable thing to God.”

1 Peter 3:17: “For it is better to suffer because you are doing good, if it is God’s will to allow it.”

Revelation 2:10: “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison . . . Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

As was pointed out above, nowhere in the teachings of the “New Testament” (Christian Greek Scriptures) do we read that Christians are authorized by God to take up a political struggle against men. We will try to conceal ourselves from their attacks, of course (cf. Matthew 10:23), but wicked men will be permitted to persecute us until Jesus Christ brings about our relief at the time when armies of angels under the command of Jesus Christ will annihilate our enemies. That very thing is promised us in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10: “This takes into account that it is righteous on God’s part to repay tribulation to those who make tribulation for you. But you who suffer tribulation will be given relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance on those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength, at the time when he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones and to be regarded in that day with wonder among all those who exercised faith, because the witness we gave met with faith among you.”

Do we read anywhere in the Scriptures that Christians may form — or even seek to inform — a polity (a manmade government) for assurance of “human rights”? No. Politics is a thing of the world, but Jesus has commanded us to be no part of the world. Our future is assured not through political struggles, but through blessing from Jehovah. He has a blessed Kingdom government in the hands of His Son, Jesus Christ. That government will be an everlasting government for us, one that will never disappoint us the way manmade governments do.

This faith in God's heavenly Kingdom government is not the possession of all men; indeed, by far the majority of men lack this faith. And faithless men are easily manipulated by Satanic propaganda to oppose true Christians and hate them. Jesus prayed about the matter to his heavenly Father, and stated: “I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world” (John 17:14). And Jesus has addressed us on the subject several times. For example, we read this: “I have said these things to you so that by means of me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33).

Yes, Jesus conquered the world because he did not let his faith and hope become ruined out of fear of men. It is the same for us, too! Already we have conquered the world if we do not let our faith, hope, and love for God and neighbor become ruined out of fear of men. “Because everyone who has been born from God conquers the world. And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith” (1 John 5:4).

Men without faith cannot excite us with dire warnings that if we do not vote the right man into office, then our peace and security will be lost. That is not true. Jesus' words to us his disciples can never become untrue. We will continue to have the peace Jesus gives us: "I leave you peace; I give you my peace. I do not give it to you the way that the world gives it. Do not let your hearts be troubled nor let them shrink out of fear" (John 14:27).