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Publishing The WatchtowerJehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom
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was printed in German. But it was not until 1897 that the Watch Tower appeared again in German and continued to be published on a consistent basis. By 1916 it was being printed in seven languages—Dano-Norwegian, English, Finnish, French, German, Polish, and Swedish. When the preaching of the good news took on greater momentum in 1922, the number of languages in which the magazine was published was increased to 16. As of 1993, however, it was being regularly produced in 112 languages—those used by a large proportion of earth’s population. This included not only languages such as English, Spanish, and Japanese, in which millions of copies per issue were printed, but also Palauan, Tuvaluan, and others in which only a few hundred were being distributed.
For many years The Watchtower was viewed as a magazine largely for the “little flock” of consecrated Christians. Its circulation was somewhat limited; by 1916 only 45,000 copies were being printed. But beginning in 1935, repeated emphasis was placed on encouraging “the Jonadabs,” or “great crowd,” to obtain and read The Watchtower regularly. In 1939, when the cover of the magazine began to highlight the Kingdom, subscriptions for The Watchtower were offered to the public during a four-month international subscription campaign. As a result, the subscription list rose to 120,000. The following year The Watchtower was being regularly offered to people on the streets. Circulation increased rapidly. By early 1993 the printing per issue in all languages was 16,400,000.
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Awake!—A Magazine With Broad Public AppealJehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom
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the world became embroiled in World War II. The consolation that the magazine offered, however, was the sort that appeals only to those who have genuine love for truth.
As of the issue of August 22, 1946, the title Awake! was adopted. Emphasis was placed on awakening people to the significance of world events. The magazine used conventional news sources, but it also had its own correspondents around the globe. The balanced, practical in-depth articles in Awake! that discuss a wide range of subjects encourage readers to give consideration to this magazine’s most important message, namely, that world events fulfill Bible prophecy, which shows that we live in the last days and that soon God’s Kingdom will bring eternal benefits to those who learn and do God’s will. This magazine has been an effective instrument in the global proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom of God and a bridge to deeper study material as set forth in The Watchtower and bound books.
By early 1993, Awake! was being printed in 67 languages, 13,240,000 copies per issue.
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