"GLAD TIDINGS " FROM THE APOCALYPSE

Heralds of Glad Tidings

An often cited Scriptural basis for the public ministry of Jehovah's Witnesses is Jesus' statement:"This good news of the kingdom will be heralded in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) And what is "this good news of the kingdom? Many Witnesses would answer by quoting verses from Revelation chapters 20 and 21 that refer to the Thousand Year Reign of Christ and his kingdom government and the human society, where death, mourning and pain will be "no more." -Revelation 20:6; 21:1, 4.

As heralds of these glad tidings, Jehovah's Witnesses are really the mouthpiece of a symbolic heavenly messenger whose messenger is also described in Revelation. "I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people." (Revelation 14:6) The "everlasting good news" includes the announcement that "the kingdom [or, rulership] of the world" has "become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" and that Jehovah's "appointed time" has come "to bring to ruin those ruining the earth." (Revelation 11:15, 17, 18. Is that not truly good news?

Next time: What Revelation Holds for Us

Watchtower, 1999