IS THE END NEAR?

4. A GLOBAL PREACHING WORK Another part of the sign of the end foretold that an unprecedented work would be under way:  "this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14)  This preaching campaign would differ significantly from most religious proselytizing carried out over the centuries. During the last days, a specific message would be emphasized, "this good news of the Kingdom."  Do you know of any religious group that highlights that particular message?  And even if some  seem to be preaching such a message are they a local group, or have they spread this good news to "all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations"?

The Web site www.jw.org focuses on "this good news of the Kingdom."  The site features literature explaining that message in over 700 languages. Do you know of any other initiative that emphasizes the Kingdom good news to such a global extent? Long before the Internet was available, Jehovah's Witnesses had gained a reputation for their efforts to spread the good news about God's Kingdom.  Since 1939, the cover of each issue of The Watchtower magazine has displayed the word "Announcing Jehovah's Witnesses has been  "almost unparalleled in its intensity and scope." This witnessing emphasizes the good news that very soon "the end will come" through the action of God's Kingdom.

A PIVOTAL POINT IN WORLD HISTORY   Have you noticed that all four of the Bible's warning signals described in this article have been evident during your lifetime?  For over one hundred years, this magazine had been providing its readers with information about world events to help them personally verify that we are nearing the end. Of course, some skeptics disagree, asserting that fact and statistics  are subjective and can be manipulated.  They also claim that since worldwide  communication continues to increase, world conditions  only appear to be worsening. Nonetheless, there is ever-increasing evidence that we are at the conclusion of a unique period in the history of humanity. 

Some experts feel that we are approaching major changes to this earth. For example, in 2014, the Science and security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warned the United Nations Security Council about major threats to the existence of mankind. Those scientists testified: "A careful review of these threats  leads us to conclude that the risk of civilization-threatening technological catastrophe remains high."  Many people are increasingly  convinced that  we have reached a pivotal point in world history.  The publishers of this magazine and many of its readers have no doubt that this unique period  really is the last days and that the end is near. But rather than dreading the future, you can be happy about the outcome.  Why is that so?  Because you can survive the end!

Next time: MANY WILL SURVIVE THE END YOU CAN TOO 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015