Global Publishing of Good News
GOD’S Kingdom rules! This is the very best of news. That is why in 1989 over 3,700,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world enthusiastically proclaimed the “good news” prophesied by Jesus and the “glad tidings” declared by the angel in John’s vision. (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 14:6) As the apostle Paul said: “Into all the earth their sound went out, and to the extremities of the inhabited earth their utterances.” (Romans 10:18) And individuals of virtually every nation and tribe and tongue and people gladly responded to their call to “fear God and give him glory.”—Revelation 14:7.
No More Life Insurance
One such was a man in England who made his living from the uncertainty of life. Ken was an insurance salesman, and when he called on a household of Jehovah’s Witnesses, they asked him: “Would you like to live in a world where life insurance would be unnecessary?” What did they mean? That according to the Bible, under God’s Kingdom many things that make life so uncertain now, including sickness and death, will be no more.
Is such a thing possible? Yes, God himself has promised it. For example, the Bible says: “God himself will be with them [mankind]. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) What will bring about such a change? God’s Kingdom. According to God’s Word, this will shortly “crush and put an end to all these [modern-day political] kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.
Scriptures like these were brought to the attention of hundreds of millions of people by Jehovah’s Witnesses during their global preaching campaign. Many, like Ken, came to realize that this is not just wishful thinking. The evidence is conclusive. These divine promises are trustworthy and will soon be fulfilled.
A Changed Set of Values
Those who listen to Jehovah’s Witnesses as they echo the joyous proclamation of the angel come to realize that fearing God and giving him glory involves more than just believing in the Bible’s promises. It changes their whole outlook and relieves many of the frustrations of life.
Rafael and his wife found this to be true. They live in Argentina, and when they got married more than 40 years ago, they made it their main goal in life to work hard and save for a secure future. However, 21 years later, all they had to show for their hard work was a small home that constantly needed repairing. They did not feel any more secure than when they were first married.
Then they heard the good news from Jehovah’s Witnesses and learned of a better kind of wealth and a better kind of security. Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, spoke of this when he said: “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”—Matthew 6:19, 20.
While the Bible does not teach us to be impractical as far as material wealth goes, it does urge us not to put our hope in such things. (Ecclesiastes 7:12) Rather, we should work to gain spiritual riches by studying the Bible, learning God’s will, and making the doing of that will the first thing in our lives. (Matthew 6:33) Rafael and his wife started to amass this spiritual wealth, and they now feel truly rich, not because of their financial situation, but because of their relationship with God. (Revelation 3:17, 18) The message of God’s Kingdom was very good news for them.
A Mended Marriage
The good news has real power to accomplish good. For example, John, who lives in England, was not interested in the Bible, but his wife and children were. So they began attending meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses while John went drinking with his friends. As a result, he got involved in heavy drinking, smoking, and, eventually, immorality. Finally, he left his wife to live with another woman.
Divorce proceedings got started. But John was surprised to see that his wife—who had learned Christian conduct from her study of the good news—still treated him considerately. John could not understand why. Three weeks before the divorce was final, the Christian conduct of John’s wife had its effect. He expressed genuine remorse for his conduct, and the divorce proceedings were terminated. John now looked into the good news for himself and studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Now he too is a Christian and, with his wife, is telling others of the good news of the Kingdom.
In these days of crumbling family values, many need the help that the Bible-based good news has to offer. One of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Peru was seated next to an army colonel during an airplane flight. They got into a conversation and the colonel started pouring out his family troubles, including the fact that his wife was addicted to drugs and was about to leave him for a younger man. The Witness tactfully showed him that the Bible gives good, solid advice on family matters and that it had helped him personally to solve his own family problems.—Ephesians 5:21–6:4.
The colonel thanked the Witness for his comforting words and subscribed for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines so that he could further his knowledge of the good news. Then, when the Witness was leaving the plane, a young couple hurried to catch up with him and asked to talk with him. “We were sitting right in front of you,” they said, “and we heard your conversation with the gentleman. We would like to subscribe for those magazines too.” They also wanted to learn the good news that can improve lives.
A Changed Life
Further, the Bible-based good news changes people. As the apostle Paul said: “The word of God is alive and exerts power.” (Hebrews 4:12) This was true in the case of a young man in Macedonia, Greece. He was startled to learn that, according to the Bible, God’s name is Jehovah. So he asked a friend to get him in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses as soon as possible. Two discussions were arranged with the Witnesses, each of which lasted about four hours. The young man then embarked on a regular study of the Bible, the first of which lasted until two o’clock in the morning!
From that first study, the young man rapidly conformed his life to Bible standards. He attended meetings for worship with Jehovah’s Witnesses and came to love the Creator very much. And Jehovah in turn blessed him. The first week of his Bible study, he cut his long hair. The second week, he stopped going to cafés and discos to seek out exciting companions. The third week, he threw away his last cigarette. After studying for two months, he began to join with the Witnesses in telling others the good news of the Kingdom. Yes, he was glad that Jehovah’s Witnesses had brought the good news to his part of the earth.
The Good News in Prison
Even prison bars are no barrier to the good news. In Spain a young man named José is serving a long prison sentence because of armed robbery and other criminal acts. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses were able to tell him the good news, and the Bible’s message completely changed his outlook. Jehovah ‘imparted power’ to him.—Philippians 4:13.
José says he may well spend the rest of his life in this system of things behind bars because of his former conduct. But he has been baptized and is now a Christian. His wife is firmly supportive of him, and she is trying to give their young son a Christian upbringing. Meanwhile, José shares the good news with fellow prisoners, people hard to reach by those who live outside the prison walls. Now his cell mate is also a baptized Christian.
These are just a few examples to show the results of the global preaching campaign of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Truly, the good news declared by the invisible angel has been echoed by Jehovah’s Witnesses “as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.”
It is the best of news, and it is mankind’s only hope. We urge you to heed it. Like Ken and John in England, like Rafael and his wife in Argentina, like José in Spain, and like myriads of others, we join the angel in urging all to “fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.”—Revelation 14:7.