Of late there have been issues and controversies over government regulating church services . Such as
Do not spend more than an hour in service
Do not serve communion Etc

And many have cited the Scripture below

Romans 13:1
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

The scripture above has to do with individual in their obligation to government in such thing as taxes . But not the church as an institution .

The church as an institution has only one authority which is the word of God and the Holy Spirit . It is error to give government such power to regulate how God should be worshiped . And Christians who support such in my opinion are traitors to the blood of christ

We have had many instances where government is against the preaching of the gospel and persecuted and killled Christians For their faith . And declare them enemy of the state .

Similarly we have other cases whereby a teenager gets converted to Christianity and experience persecution and some Christian traitors says to him “The bible says honor your father “

There has to be a line drawn to apply such scripture appropriately . You honor them with gift and respect but not when it comes to the issue of personal worship and personal salvation . We have to balance it with other scripture

Matthew 10:36-37
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.. T

Back to government issue . Through the ages the enemy of the church the devil has used government of the day to persecute the church .

Acts 5:40
40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

It is unscriptural for government to try to run spiritual affair . It is not their place . Any christian who support such is betraying not just the body but christ himself . As individual christian we obey laws and fulfill our dues to authorities but the church as a body is not subject to government control but the authority of Jesus .

What will you do if the government says all religion should merge as one . What will you do if the government say no more religious activity?

If they had subjected themselves to the Rule of God which they came from, they would have been the Ones who ruled through God.

But they are not of God, so everyone shall rule over them and they shall be subject to every ruler as you said Romans 13:1
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers."

It is the Law, the lesser shall always be subject to the Greater or as we say
"When the Greater Comes, the lesser stops"

JEHOVAH is using his only begotten Son to direct the affairs of his worshipers today, the son is using the faithful slave known as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses to speak to his followers globally.
God promised a time when his people will make the best use of what the nations invented to go about their spiritual routine! Isaiah 60:16
When pestilence strikes, God's people don't need to converge in a gathering to worship our God again, the internet is there now for us to use as a means of meeting together as our custom! Hebrew 10:24-25
So even if the world rulers say no more gathering, God's people are fully prepared for whatever is coming to happen in the LAST OF THE LAST DAYS!

Dtruthspeaker:
If they had subjected themselves to the Rule of God which they came from, they would have been the Ones who ruled through God.

May I know whom you refer to as “THEY”.