Preaching the Good News in Many Languages
WHEN Jesus gave the sign that would mark the last days, one of its features was the earth-wide preaching of the good news of the Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14) To understand why this worldwide preaching in all nations in many languages did not happen before this generation, and why it can and is happening now, we must look back in history. As Webster’s dictionary points out, it was not until the 15th century, just over 500 years ago, that Gutenberg became the inventor of printing from movable type. From this beginning, man developed the means to reproduce the printed page in quantity for mass distribution.
It is good to remember that before the invention of the printing press, the Bible was a scarce item, as it had to be copied by hand. Hand copying was laborious and expensive. The invention of movable type and the printing press was a giant step forward in making it possible to print the Bible and Bible-based literature in all languages.
Since 1914 there have been tremendous forward strides in printing and publishing, with the offset press eventually taking over most of the work formerly done on letterpress machines.
In more recent years, the advent of the computer has again accelerated this process. Characters, accents, and other images could be drawn, scanned into a computer, and made available for quick use at the touch of a key on a computer keyboard. This has made it much easier to publish material for peoples of all languages around the world.
In 1979 the Watchtower Society started what it called the MEPS project. MEPS is the acronym for “Multilanguage Electronic Phototypesetting System.” Commercial companies were developing computers only for selected languages where there would be a profit on their investment. The Society’s commission is different. The Bible says that the good news is to be declared “to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.”—Revelation 14:6.
Through many of the Society’s 93 branch offices in all parts of the earth, research into language characteristics was done. A list of all the characters and accents needed to print literature in the languages covered by each branch had to be produced. Also needed were the rules of word division for each language. Each character and accent had to be drawn, scanned into a computer, and edited. This involved years of dedicated work. The result is that the Kingdom message can now be printed in more languages than ever before, and the number keeps on increasing.
In the beginning the Society designed and built their own computer hardware and software. Jehovah’s Witnesses came from around the world to assist with this project. There was an interchange of skills as well as of encouragement. (Romans 1:12) It was somewhat like a reversal of what occurred at the Tower of Babel. After specialized training, the equipment, together with the skilled workers, was sent to branches around the world. The result is a versatile publishing system used in over a hundred lands and islands of the sea, well equipped to produce the Society’s publications in about 200 languages thus far.
In these foretold last days, the good news of God’s Kingdom is indeed being preached in all nations and in many languages.