The Watchtower Society has long-established habits of half-truths,
misquotations, and deception. The subject of the flag-salute is
no exception.
The first half truth involves long discussions about flags without
explaining where they came from. Basically, flags were a practical
necessity used to assemble soldiers for battle. Imagine yourself
amidst hundreds of thousands of men - there's noise, dust, smoke
and confusion - you were told to attack the enemies' west flank
immediately together with your tribe, but you can't find them.
You then look up and see a banner held on a pole. The banner
may have more than one color or some simple symbol on it, that's
easy to see from a distance. You see it and now know where to go.
This function of flags continued for thousands of years - even
the American flag originated as a practical tool of battle.
All of which brings us to the next question, did faithful Israelites
use flags? --- Yes, indeed! Read the book of Numbers (chapter 2
for example) and you find tribal groups assembled by a "signal",
an "ensign", a "banner", or "standard". Fred Franz tried to hide
this fact by translating de'gel as "three tribe division" - even
tho the words "three tribe" do not appear in the Bible text
(they're in brackets, accordingly). Other scriptures that use
de'gel really stretch this unlikely translation, as when a single
tribe is being led out by it's "three tribe division" (??? how
about being led by the BANNER OF ITS DIVISION??!!)
Even the Insight on the Scriptures book admits that armies might
use a signal or pole, altho it refrains from telling us what
might be flying from that pole!
And how did faithful, idol-avoiding Israelites view such "banners"?
Well, suppose an Amalekite grabbed your standard and stomped on it!
Would that be a disgrace?
Would it be dishonorable?
If you were in charge of it, would you be ashamed? or punished?
or humiliated? yep!
Would men be fighting and dying under this "banner"?
Might they fight to keep it out of enemy hands, in effect dying
for it?
So, would it be treated, in practical terms as a sacred object,
like it or not?
So, Freddie and his pals kept those nasty national symbols outta
their New World bible. With so many folks getting tortured or
killed for refusing the flag salute, I guess they felt motivated
to cover it up.
Like so much else.....
metatron