Publishing Good News of Something Better

“Wake up, wake up, put on your strength, O Zion!”​—ISAIAH 52:1.

1. (a) In what way have the world’s news media failed? (b) What does the wisest news Source make known?

THIS clarion call sounded forth early in our 20th century. And why? Because the time had come to publish good news of better things for mankind. Do we read this good news in the world’s newspapers? No, for the media prefer to report worldly sensationalism or to publicize the escalation of vice and immorality. However, they can point to no solution. Today, many fear destruction in a blazing holocaust, triggered by the exploding of doomsday nuclear devices of man’s own making. But Someone far wiser than mortal man informs us that when the end of the world comes it will be from a far different Source. It will be by God’s own execution of judgment on wicked men and wicked nations. (Psalm 110:5, 6) This news Source tells also of a marvelous millennium of reconstruction to follow, when our earth, and mankind upon it, will be brought to a state of glorious perfection. That, truly, is good news!​—Revelation 20:6; Psalm 72:16, 18, 19; Romans 8:21.

2. What urgent cry now goes forth, and how must it be answered?

² ‘Wake up, wake up!’ cries Isaiah. Why this urgency? Well, striking fulfillments of Bible prophecy from the year 1914 onward show that God’s Kingdom by Christ Jesus, “a city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem,” is now ruling in the heavens. The representatives on earth of Zion, God’s heavenly organization, must awaken to zealous activity. They must publish this good news in the strength that God gives to those obeying him as ruler.​—Hebrews 12:22; Acts 5:32.

3. Whom does Isaiah address, and with what invitation?

³ Isaiah continues: “Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For no more will there come again into you the uncircumcised and unclean one. Shake yourself free from the dust, rise up, take a seat, O Jerusalem. Loosen for yourself the bands on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”​—Isaiah 52:1, 2.

4. How has the prophecy had 20th-century fulfillment?

⁴ This prophecy has had a thrilling 20th-century fulfillment! During the Great War of 1914-18, anointed Christians became captives spiritually, and some, including officers of the Watch Tower Society, were thrown into literal jails. But in 1919 there came release. As representing the heavenly Zion, these Christians then put on “garments” that are beautiful from God’s standpoint​—their identification as servants of the Sovereign Lord of the universe. They separated themselves from moral and spiritual uncleanness.​—Compare 2 Corinthians 6:17, where the apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:11.

5. How have God’s people heeded Isaiah’s call and Jesus’ example?

⁵ Thus God’s own people got completely free from false religious teachings and practices. Copying the example that Jesus set while on earth, they also declared themselves to be “no part of this world,” including its corrupt politics and escalating violence. (John 18:36; Revelation 18:2, 4) But in rising from their downtrodden state to an approved standing before God, they had to follow in their Master’s steps in an even more positive way, as we shall now see.​—1 Peter 2:21.

“Your God Has Become King!”

6. Whose “feet” now bring good news, and for what purpose does he now arrive?

⁶ Listen closely to the prophet’s further words: “How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, the one publishing peace, the one bringing good news of something better, the one publishing salvation, the one saying to Zion: ‘Your God has become king!’” (Isaiah 52:7) This Messenger of peace is none other than the King Jesus Christ. While on earth he was anointed with God’s spirit to declare good news to poor, crushed ones. But now, with the fulfilling of “the appointed times of the nations” in 1914, he “arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him,” to take up his kingship and to judge the nations and people of earth.​—Luke 4:18; 21:24; Matthew 25:31, 32.

7. What news does the Messenger bring?

⁷ Envision this Messenger as, figuratively, he leaps from mountain to mountain, eager to publish good news of better things to those seeking after God. How comely his “feet”! They are swift in carrying him on his errand of peace. Zealously, he proclaims salvation to the once-captive “daughter of Zion,” the released remnant of spiritual Israel’s 144,000, and after this to an unnumbered ‘great crowd out of all nations.’​—Revelation 7:4, 9, 10.

8. What stirring proclamation is now made, and why?

⁸ The publishing of peace and good news focuses on the stirring proclamation: “Your God has become king!” Who is this God, and how does he become King? He is the God whose name is despised and seldom mentioned among the religions of Christendom, the Sovereign Lord JEHOVAH. He is the One who declares in the preceding verses of Isaiah 52:5, 6: “Constantly, all day long, my name was being treated with disrespect. For that reason my people will know my name.” His matchless name must now be vindicated because his hour for judging the nations has arrived. These, too, must come to fear him as “King of the nations.”​—Jeremiah 10:7; Revelation 14:7.

9. (a) What are the relative positions of “our Lord” and “his Christ”? (b) For what may all praisers of God be thankful?

⁹ This great King is the Lord concerning whom loud voices in heaven have been saying with regard to events from and after 1914: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.” To this, other worshipers of God add words of heartfelt praise: “We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king. But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came.” In this day of the Kingdom, Christ Jesus rules as Consort-King with his Father, the Lord Jehovah, whose righteous judgment he renders.​—Revelation 11:15, 17, 18; 12:10; John 5:30.

10. In quoting Joel 2:32 and Isaiah 52:7, what did Paul indicate?

¹⁰ This Messenger-King is not alone in publishing peace. The apostle Paul explains why, quoting Joel 2:32 as follows: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” Then Paul asks a series of questions and climaxes these with a reference to Isaiah 52:7, saying: “How will they call on him in whom they have not put faith? How, in turn, will they put faith in him of whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach? How, in turn, will they preach unless they have been sent forth? Just as it is written: ‘How comely are the feet of those who declare good news of good things!’”​—Romans 10:13-15.

11. How have many today shown that they have ‘comely feet’?

¹¹ So others, too, have ‘comely feet.’ These ones have heeded the good news proclaimed by God’s Messenger. In turn, they also have become publishers of good news​—an army of Kingdom preachers. Today they number some two and a half million, being made up of men, women and children out of all nations of mankind! How privileged you are if you are one of these, preaching “good news of something better”! And precious are your literal feet if they regularly carry you from house to house as you publish salvation! For in this way you are having a part in the fulfillment of Psalm 19:4, which Paul quotes at Romans 10:18, saying: “Into all the earth their sound went out, and to the extremities of the inhabited earth their utterances.”​—See also Psalm 99:1-3; 148:12, 13.

God’s Organization in Action!

12. (a) This is the most important time for what? (b) What outstanding truths were made known in 1925?

¹² Yes, “your God has become king!” So now is the time of all times to exalt the name of the living God, Jehovah, and to magnify him as Sovereign Lord. In the 1920’s the remnant of God’s anointed servants were most grateful that light concerning God’s Kingdom continually “flashed up for the righteous.” And a milestone was reached with publication of The Watchtower of March 1, 1925. Its leading article, entitled “Birth of the Nation,” made plain the prophecies showing that God’s promised Kingdom had been born in the heavens in 1914, that the Messianic King had hurled the Devil and his angels down to the earth, and that there must be war to a finish between God’s organization and Satan’s organization.​—Psalm 97:11; Revelation 12:1-12.

13. (a) What progress did God’s people make up until 1938? (b) What timely development took place in 1938?

¹³ As this spiritual warfare advanced, those serving with Jehovah’s organization were refreshed by continuing flashes of Bible understanding, and their numbers grew until, in 1938, as many as 50,769 reported Kingdom service during an international testimony period. The rapid growth called for better organization, and Jehovah provided that right on time! The two issues of The Watchtower for June 1 and 15, 1938, took as their study theme: “Organization.” These were followed in July and August by a four-part series on “His War.” A truly theocratic arrangement was brought in among Jehovah’s Witnesses, and this strengthened them for intensified spiritual warfare. As Isaiah’s prophecy, at Isa chapter 60 verses 17 and 22, had indicated, the improved condition among God’s people would stimulate a speeding up of Jehovah’s Kingdom work.

14. (a) What in modern times paralleled Solomon’s building program? (b) In view of this, what question is asked?

¹⁴ These Watchtower articles on “Organization” drew a parallel between Solomon’s reign of the 11th century B.C.E. and that of the enthroned Jesus, commencing in 1914 C.E. Solomon started his building program in the fourth year of his reign. It took 7 years to construct the temple, and a further 13 years to complete the king’s house. Similarly, the Lord Jesus Christ appears to have carried out a construction work especially related to the restoration of true worship and the building up of the spiritual “house of God” during the period 1918-38. (1 Peter 4:17) The final Watchtower on “Organization” concluded with this comment:

“The Scriptures show that, after the twenty years of Solomon’s building program as above set out, he engaged in a nationwide building program. (1 Ki. 9:10, 17-23; 2 Chron. 8:1-10) Then came the queen of Sheba ‘from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.’ (Matt. 12:42; 1 Ki. 10:1-10; 2 Chron. 9:1-9, 12) This suggests the question: What is in the immediate future for the people of Jehovah on earth? With full confidence we will wait, and we shall see.”

Well, what do we see now, some 46 years later?

A Marvelous Expansion!

15. (a) What modern-day “queen of Sheba” has appeared? (b) What organizational arrangements have served this class, and how?

¹⁵ “From the uttermost parts of the earth” the modern-day “queen of Sheba” class, the Lord’s “other sheep,” have been coming in their multitudes to listen to the wisdom of the enthroned King, Jesus Christ. He is indeed “something more than Solomon.” Through “the faithful and discreet slave”​—that group of anointed Christians that the Master has organized and commissioned here on earth—​he has been dispensing a banquet of rich spiritual food. (Matthew 12:42; 24:45-47) And even while World War II was raging at its height, this “slave” moved to publish the good news still more extensively. In 1943 the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead opened its doors at South Lansing, New York, U.S.A. Qualified ministers were trained to be missionaries, and every six months some one hundred graduates were sent forth to the ends of the earth.

16. (a) What does the accompanying chart show as to expansion since 1943? (b) What developments have taken place in the past ten years?

¹⁶ Has Jehovah prospered the organized activity of his witnesses? The chart on page 11, showing the average number of Kingdom publishers reporting service to Jehovah at ten-year intervals since 1943, supplies the answer. The progress over the most recent ten-year period is of especial interest to us now. These were years of testing and sifting, as some disgruntled apostates left the organization. But they have also been wonderful years of worldwide building and reorganization, and of strengthening the brothers for the work ahead. For there is no question that there must be a further ingathering of the “sheep” before “the cities actually crash in ruins.”​—Isaiah 6:11; compare Luke 22:31, 32; Matthew 25:31-33.

17. Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide now have cause for joy?

¹⁷ During 1983 the Kingdom work took on a marvelous momentum. Around the earth, country after country began to report new peaks of publishers in the field. The box set out above indicates something of the joy the brothers are experiencing as Jehovah gives this increase. There was a tremendous growth during the spring and summer months, so that the world field has now reached a thrilling all-time peak of 2,652,323 publishers​—an increase of 174,715 over the 1982 peak—​in 205 different lands. We praise Jah for this blessing!​—Malachi 3:10; Deuteronomy 28:12, 13.

18. The report on baptisms should stimulate us to do what?

¹⁸ How heartwarming it has been, also, to see increasing numbers symbolizing their dedication to Jehovah by water baptism! At the “Kingdom Unity” District Conventions of 1983, many new ones were thus brought into Christian unity in God’s organization. A total of 161,896 persons were baptized during 1983, a 17-percent increase over the previous year. May Jehovah grant us good ‘fishing and hunting’ again during 1984! (Jeremiah 16:16) And as we find deserving ones, let us feed them through skillful use of God’s Word, along with those two fine books You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth and United in Worship of the Only True God.​—Matthew 10:7, 11.

19. What does the 1983 Memorial report indicate?

¹⁹ Most thrilling of all is the report on the Memorial, held on the evening of March 29, 1983, in some 46,235 congregations around the earth. Only 9,292 persons indicated their heavenly hope by partaking of the emblems, showing that the “other sheep” made up the vast majority of the 6,767,707 in attendance​—an increase of 514,920 over the 1982 figure. What a grand company of meek persons are showing an interest in Jehovah’s Kingdom purposes!

20. What attention should we now pay to new associates, as well as inactive persons, and why?

²⁰ Under inspiration of God’s spirit, King David declared: “But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37:11; see also Matthew 5:5.) Let Jehovah’s Witnesses everywhere be diligent in building up meek ones who are coming into association with them, such as Memorial attenders, and also give loving spiritual help to former associates who may have fallen into inactivity. Their lives are precious to Jehovah. (Matthew 18:14) To find salvation through the great tribulation, these must now ‘wash their robes, making them white in the blood of the Lamb,’ and keep them white. May the “great crowd” continue to grow in numbers as more and more meek ones awaken to identify themselves as dedicated servants of Jehovah and to share joyfully with his people in ‘publishing good news of something better.’​—Revelation 7:9, 14.

[Box on page 12]

The following are typical of scores of 1983 year reports received from Watch Tower branches:

▪ Canada: The year has been one of many peaks, including 77,003 publishers, a 13-percent increase over last year’s average.

▪ Chile: In August our new all-time peak of publishers was 21,344, a 25-percent increase; we had 70,522 attending the Memorial.

▪ El Salvador: From January to August there has been a series of new publisher peaks, up to 12,008 reporting, a 25-percent increase, and 44,967 attended the Memorial.

▪ Ireland: We climbed to a new peak of 2,215 publishers in August; the 127 baptized is a 17-percent increase.

▪ Israel: Our all-time peak of 297 publishers in April was a 14-percent increase.

▪ Philippines: Following the district conventions of 1982, the number of publishers jumped from 60,000 to over 70,000.

▪ Sri Lanka: We reported five consecutive publisher peaks, with an all-time peak of 764 in May​—a 14-percent increase.

▪ An African country under ban: The fine Memorial attendance of 25,430 is about two and a half times the average number of publishers.

[Graph on page 11]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Kingdom Increase at Ten-Year Intervals

Average Number of Publishers Reporting

1943 109,794

1953 468,106 Increase: 358,312

1963 956,648 Increase: 488,542

1973 956,648 Increase: 488,542

1983 2,501,722 Increase: 845,049

Watchmen, Raise Your Voice!

“Listen! Your own watchmen have raised their voice.”​—ISAIAH 52:8.

1, 2. (a) In connection with Isaiah 52:8, what question arises? (b) What confession does one clergyman make?

WHO are the watchmen here mentioned? Are they the watchmen of Christendom’s religions? Well, what are the clergy of Christendom saying today about the Kingdom of God? The following example may help us answer that question.

² An honored “Reverend Doctor” of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, made the following complaint:

“During the past sixteen years [1963-78] I can recollect only two occasions on which I have heard sermons specifically devoted to the theme of the kingdom of God. . . . I find this silence rather surprising because it is universally agreed by New Testament scholars that the central theme of the gospels and of the teaching of Jesus was the kingdom of God. . . . Why do people not preach about the kingdom of God? I suppose that one obvious answer is simply, ‘Because we were not taught how to do it.’”

3. How do the words of Isaiah 56:10, 11 have an application today?

³ Obviously, clergymen who fail to preach the Kingdom of God have not grasped the real import of the good news. They have not heeded Isaiah’s call to awake. They are not able to publish good news of something better, for they know nothing better than the creeds and formalism of worldly religion. They are ‘blind watchmen,’ of whom an apt description is given at Isaiah 56:10, 11, Authorized Version.

4. (a) How do the watchmen of Isaiah 52:8 contrast with modern-day clergymen? (b) Why should we be thankful to our Grand Instructor?

⁴ “We were not taught how to do it.” That is the reason the “Reverend Doctor” supplies for not preaching the Kingdom of God. But, happily, there are watchmen who preach the Kingdom of God today, and they are able to do this convincingly, for the reason that they have been and are being taught. They are the ones God’s prophet refers to when he writes: “Jehovah is a God of judgment. Happy are all those keeping in expectation of him. . . . Your Grand Instructor will no longer hide himself, and your eyes must become eyes seeing your Grand Instructor. And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying: ‘This is the way. Walk in it, you people,’ in case you people should go to the right or in case you should go to the left.”​—Isaiah 30:18, 20, 21.

5. (a) What organizational arrangements has Jehovah made for his people? (b) In what respects, with regard to the Kingdom, do Jehovah’s Witnesses today resemble Jesus and his apostles?

⁵ Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught concerning God’s Kingdom, not in the theological seminaries of Christendom’s sects, but in the Theocratic Ministry School and other weekly meetings in their Kingdom Halls. They are trained in preaching the Kingdom effectively from house to house and in conducting Bible studies with teachable people who want to learn about the Kingdom. This instruction comes from Jehovah through his organization, which he addresses, saying: “All your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.” Jehovah’s Witnesses know what the Kingdom is all about, and that it will bring blessings as yet untold to mankind here on earth. Like Jesus and his apostles they pray for God’s Kingdom to come and they zealously preach the Kingdom hope.​—Isaiah 54:13; Matthew 4:17; 6:10; 10:7; 12:21; 24:14.

Watchmen, Cry Out!

6. (a) Who make up the watchman class today, and what service do they perform? (b) What warning does the watchman now sound, using what instrument?

⁶ In a number of scriptures, God’s prophets mention watchmen. In ancient times these kept a constant lookout, ready to sound the warning concerning any enemy intrusion. At Isaiah 21:8 one of these reports: “Upon the watchtower, O Jehovah, I am standing constantly by day, and at my guardpost I am stationed all the nights.” Today a watchman class, the anointed “faithful and discreet slave” representing the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth, performs such a service. This watchman observes how events are developing on earth in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, sounds the warning of an impending “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning” and publishes “good news of something better.” The Watchtower, with its worldwide circulation of 10,200,000 copies each issue, is one of the instruments the watchman uses in publishing this good news.​—Matthew 24:14, 21, 45-47; Isaiah 52:7.

7. Who serve in support of the “watchmen,” and why is their help needed?

⁷ The watchman “slave” class has much loyal support in publishing the good news. As the previous article indicated, in reporting on Memorial attendance for 1983, the remaining ones of the anointed “slave” on earth now number only a few more than 9,000. They need help in getting the preaching work accomplished effectively. And this help has been forthcoming! Millions of companions are flocking to their side, and these, too, raise their voices along with the “watchmen” described at Isaiah 52:8. In a very real sense, these blend their voices with those of the “watchmen” in heralding the good news.

8. (a) What does the chart on pages 16 and 17 show as to Kingdom expansion? (b) What is the situation in places where the Kingdom work is restricted?

⁸ Turn to pages 16 and 17 of this magazine and you will see that, on a global scale, Jehovah is blessing these watchmen and their loyal associates. They “have raised their voice” to the extent that a grand increase in publishers is being enjoyed everywhere. This is to be expected now that Christ Jesus rules in his Father’s Kingdom, for does not Isaiah 9:6, 7 say of this “Prince of Peace”: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end”? (AV) As the chart shows, there are sections of the earth, including some with quite large populations, where restrictions on the Kingdom-preaching work are heavy. The Witnesses in these places do what they can with help from Jehovah’s spirit. (Zechariah 4:6) Governmental authorities that oppose, and communities that support such, will carry heavy bloodguilt when the great tribulation strikes.​—Compare Ezekiel 3:17-19.

Pioneer Proclaimers of Good News

9. (a) Referring to the chart, what comment do you have on pioneer increase? (b) What joyful reports have Watch Tower branches sent?

⁹ The global chart also gives the pioneer increase throughout the earth during 1983. This is truly astounding! As shown by the sampling of reports below, Watch Tower branches worldwide are rejoicing at the numbers who are coming forward to share in auxiliary, regular and (where needed) special-pioneer service:

Barbados: The number of auxiliary pioneers in April was 292 in 1981, 529 in 1982 and 740 in 1983.

Belgium: Regular-pioneer applications increased 30 percent in 1983.

Chile: The average number of auxiliary pioneers was 987​—a 40-percent increase.

Ivory Coast: The number of regular pioneers went up 15 percent over last year.

Portugal: Truly astonishing was April’s peak of 3,064 auxiliary pioneers, a 140-percent increase over the previous peak.

Sweden: An all-time peak of 796 regular pioneers reported.

Thailand: In April, 23 percent of our 821 publishers reported as pioneers.

Venezuela: More than 200 started regular-pioneer work in 1983.

10. What shows that persecution cannot silence the watchmen?

¹⁰ Countries where the Kingdom work is greatly restricted also report an increase in publishers and pioneers. An African country where persecutions were most vicious some 15 years ago reached peaks of 616 regular and 207 auxiliary pioneers during the 1983 service year. And on the same continent, in a land where 75 brothers are imprisoned, the number of publishers increased 35 percent over the previous year’s average, while April’s auxiliary pioneers numbered 151 percent more than the previous peak. The “watchmen” and their companions insist on raising their voice!

11. How does pioneer activity benefit the congregation, as well as the entire world field?

¹¹ All this zealous pioneer activity is stimulating the Kingdom work marvelously. For example, it results in more thorough territory coverage and in many more hours spent in publishing the good news. In 1983 the total time spent worldwide in proclaiming the Kingdom added up to 436,720,991 hours, a remarkable 13.5-percent increase! More studies are started​—many of them by auxiliary pioneers—​and more interested people are led into association with God’s organization.

12. What personal benefits does pioneering bring?

¹² Pioneering also brings personal benefits. During a month of auxiliary pioneering, a publisher becomes so much more effective and fluent in speaking the Kingdom message to others! There is great joy, too, in associating with others in this service and in seeing magazine placements, return visits and studies increase. Many have enjoyed these occasional months of auxiliary pioneering so much that they have made the necessary adjustments to become regular pioneers. Others auxiliary pioneer on a regular basis.

13. What encouragement may we draw from the two experiences from Pakistan?

¹³ The Muslim territory of Pakistan is reported to be rather difficult to work. And yet this report comes from that country:

One brother having auxiliary pioneered regularly for the last 30 months stated: “It seems now the imdadi (Urdu word for auxiliary) pioneering is stuck to me very firmly, and I feel I shall have great difficulty if ever I wanted to get away from it. It has become part of life and daily routine to spend at least two hours witnessing to others.”

“At least two hours” daily in Kingdom service​—that is all that auxiliary pioneering requires. Could you do that? It might make you healthier and happier, as this further experience from Pakistan suggests:

Another brother who retired from secular work at the age of 58 and since then has joined the ranks of auxiliary pioneers has this to say: “I have been a Witness for the last 28 years, but never before have I enjoyed and appreciated my being a Witness as much as during the last eight months of my auxiliary pioneering regularly. In answer to a question from my former colleagues why I look sihatmand (healthier, Urdu) and khush (happier, Urdu) after my retirement, I tell them that it is serving the true God, Jehovah, more fully that gives me joy and satisfaction and makes me look sihatmand and khush.”

Would you not like to be sihatmand and khush, too? Then use to the full your opportunities for auxiliary pioneering!

Reaching Out for Pioneer Blessings

14. Referring to the chart on pages 20-23, what publisher and pioneer progress is to be noted, and in how many territories?

¹⁴ Let us turn to the 1983 Service Year Report of Jehovah’s Witnesses Worldwide as it appears on pages 20-23 of this magazine. These four pages show us much more than mere figures. They testify to the magnificent effort that Kingdom publishers in 205 lands or territories have made to preach the good news. Run your finger down the column headed “Average Pioneer Publishers” and see what a fine contribution so many countries have made in this service. And the pioneers have had loyal support, too, from the congregation publishers, who have entered into the same spirit of zealous service, even though the contribution of some may be compared to ‘the widow’s mite.’​—Mark 12:41-44.

15. How may families be blessed when contributing to the pioneer effort?

¹⁵ Families that build their lives around pioneer service are indeed blessed. Some families have made it a goal to be a pioneer family and have achieved that goal, sharing as a family in some part-time work that ‘keeps the home fires burning.’ Other families team up to support one family member in regular pioneer work, and the pioneer spirit that is thus introduced into the family benefits everyone.

16. (a) How may parents show interest in their children’s spiritual progress? (b) In reviewing Jesus’ early life, what fine example do we find?

¹⁶ All who attended the recent “Kingdom Unity” District Convention heard a fine talk on setting goals. Having the best interest of their children at heart, parents can train young ones to have worthwhile goals in life. (Proverbs 22:6) One of these can be pioneer service. Remember the training that Jesus himself received in his younger years. By the age of 12 he had been so well schooled in the Scriptures that he could reason with the teachers in the temple. (Luke 2:46, 47) He did not reach out for a secular career, such as in law or medicine. Rather he learned to work with his hands as a carpenter, all the while equipping himself spiritually for the work that awaited him. (Mark 6:3; John 7:46) While at school, children of Jehovah’s Witnesses today can likewise work toward worthwhile goals. Parents can encourage them in this.

17. In contrast to worldly youths, what confidence may young self-sacrificing pioneers have?

¹⁷ It is reported that many college graduates today are unemployed. But often well-trained Christian youths who go straight from high school into pioneer service find that suitable part-time employment turns up just when needed. Jehovah is able to bless and provide for those who rely on him while they keep “seeking first the kingdom” in a spirit of self-sacrifice.​—Matthew 6:19-21, 31-33; Proverbs 3:5, 6; Malachi 3:10.

18. How did a discussion of pioneer service benefit a Filipino congregation?

¹⁸ Some in the congregation may comment, ‘Why all this talk about pioneering? It is really beyond many of us.’ But joyful pioneers can make such a fine contribution to the spirit of the congregation and to the expansion of the work locally! The Watchtower of November 15, 1982, featured a study article entitled “The Spirit of the Christian Ministry.” The question on paragraph 7 read: “What question should each Christian minister ask himself?” This directed attention to a question within the paragraph, reading: “Can I really justify before Jehovah the fact that I am not a pioneer?” Commenting on this paragraph at a Watchtower Study in the Philippines, three of those present, of various ages, stated, one after the other, that meditation on this question had prompted them to become pioneers. They were roundly applauded by the congregation.

19. How can those unable to pioneer make a valuable contribution in the congregation?

¹⁹ True, there are those dedicated Witnesses who, before Jehovah, are not in a position to pioneer. The majority in our congregations may be such. Even so, these can make a valuable contribution to a pioneer spirit in the congregation. Elders and family heads can encourage young ones to make pioneering their goal. The entire congregation can give wholehearted support to those who already are pioneers. On appropriate occasions, such as at Memorial season, at the visit of the circuit overseer or during school vacation, there are many who can make the effort to share in auxiliary pioneering. Have faith that Jehovah will strengthen you as you make the effort. “According to your faith let it happen to you.” (Matthew 9:29) But if poor health, responsibilities or other things stand in the way even of auxiliary pioneering, maintain a positive attitude. Devote what time you can to publishing “good news of something better” and support and encourage those who do pioneer.

20. (a) To what world situation should we be awake constantly? (b) What, then, should be our attitude toward the work of salvation?

²⁰ We live today in a violent and immoral world. Jehovah is about to execute judgment, even as he did in ancient times. (Genesis 6:11; 18:20; Luke 17:26-30) These truly are “the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13) Let us share, as we have opportunity, in the grand work of publishing salvation to those who may yet come out of the old system to take their stand on the side of Jehovah’s Kingdom. We are thankful that Jehovah has blessed his work so richly during the past year. During 1984, may we join again with the Kingdom watchmen everywhere in raising our voices to Jehovah’s praise.​—Isaiah 62:6.

[Box on page 24]

For many, the step into regular-pioneer service has also meant entering a richer life. A regular pioneer in Nigeria had this to say:

“As a full-time pioneer, I have realized so many blessings and I must count some of them: (1) I can now read fluently as a result of constant preaching. (2) Though I have not been to school, I can conduct home Bible studies with ease. (3) As an elder, I have been able to conduct the Watchtower Study and the Theocratic Ministry School successfully. (4) During Kingdom Ministry Schools I was able to understand everything discussed in English. (5) If anybody wants to sabotage my preaching by using intellectual speech, I can make him understand that I am up to the task through my response. All of this has made me draw the conclusion that the pioneer work is a gift to me from Jehovah.”

[Chart on page 16, 17]

Kingdom Expansion 1983 Service Year

“Into all the earth their sound went out.”​—Romans 10:18; Acts 1:8.

This chart shows the increase in monthly average figures worldwide

North America

Publishers: 690,979; increase: 6%

Pioneers: 58,381; increase: 16%

Europe

Publishers: 601,918; increase: 5%

Pioneers: 38,978; increase: 17%

Latin America

(Including Caribbean Islands)

Publishers: 472,816; increase: 11%

Pioneers: 35,450; increase: 23%

Asia

Publishers: 122,726; increase: 12%

Pioneers: 34,586; increase: 24%

Pacific Islands

Publishers: 117,816; increase: 8%

Pioneers: 11,386; increase: 24%

Africa

Publishers: 266,375; increase: 6%

Pioneers: 21,690; increase: 17%

Restricted Countries

Publishers: 229,092; increase: 4%

Pioneers: 5,627; increase: 20%

[Chart on page 20-23]

1983 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORLDWIDE

(See bound volume)

In Unison Keep Crying Out Joyfully

“Become cheerful, cry out joyfully in unison.”​—ISAIAH 52:9.

1. Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses now cry out “in unison”?

IN UNISON! The dictionary defines this phrase to mean “in perfect agreement: so as to harmonize exactly.” Jehovah’s Witnesses serve in unison because they have the mind of Christ, and are united in magnifying Jehovah’s name. Because of Jehovah’s blessing upon them, even the symbolic land in which they dwell is cheerful, every feature of it crying out joyfully. All of this is in line with the apostle Paul’s prayerful words: “Now may the God who supplies endurance and comfort grant you to have among yourselves the same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”​—Romans 15:5, 6; John 17:4, 6, 20, 21.

2. (a) According to 1 Corinthians 1:10 and Ephesians 4:4-6, why do the watchmen see “eye into eye”? (b) Who also echo the joyful cry, and how?

² ‘Glorify God!’ That is what Jehovah’s unified “watchmen” are doing today. Thus they fulfill the prophecy: “In unison they keep crying out joyfully; for it will be eye into eye that they will see when Jehovah gathers back Zion.” (Isaiah 52:8) They see “eye into eye,” because they are “fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10; see also Ephesians 4:4-6.) And now, as the “great crowd” echoes the ‘joyful cry,’ the global shout rises to a crescendo.​—Revelation 7:9, 10, 15.

3. How has Jehovah’s organization on earth reflected the joy of the heavenly hosts?

³ God’s heavenly organization, including “myriads of myriads” of holy angels, raises its “voice” in giving praise to Jehovah as the grand Creator, and to “the Lamb,” Jesus Christ. (Revelation 5:11, 12; 4:11) Likewise, God’s people on earth today are organized for joyful sacred service. Even the symbolic land in which they dwell is “cheerful.” Says the prophet: “Become cheerful, cry out joyfully in unison, you devastated places of Jerusalem, for Jehovah has comforted his people; he has repurchased Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 52:9) Jehovah has brought “his people,” the earthly representatives of “Jerusalem above,” his heavenly organization, back from the devastation they experienced during World War I, and their “crying out joyfully” in full unison has resulted in global expansion that continues to this day!​—Galatians 4:26, 27; Isaiah 52:8.

4. In what way has Jehovah “bared his holy arm” already, giving us what confidence for the future?

⁴ Next the prophecy says: “Jehovah has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth must see the salvation of our God.” Jehovah truly acted on behalf of his people in the early part of those “last days,” and shortly, at Har–Magedon, he will again ‘bare his holy arm,’ bringing salvation to his organized people. At that time, ‘many nations will have to know that he is Jehovah.’​—Isaiah 52:10; 12:2; Ezekiel 38:23.

5, 6. (a) Why is it urgent to get God’s work accomplished? (b) How has the organization acted with a view to giving a wider witness?

⁵ Jehovah’s day of execution is at hand! “There is a hurrying of it very much.” (Zephaniah 1:14) In the meantime, the “good news of something better” must be published abroad throughout all the earth. (Isaiah 52:7) To get the work accomplished, Jehovah’s organization uses a number of legal corporations, such as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, and these supervise the work of the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in some 94 branches throughout the earth. During the past five years, there has been a great expansion of the printing and other facilities at these branches, so that the Society is in better position than ever before to ‘publish peace and salvation.’

⁶ During the past year, a large addition was built on to the Society’s factory at Watchtower Farms, New York State, where the Bethel Home is also being enlarged. A huge offset magazine press has been installed, with a capacity for printing at least 400,000 magazines a day. Many of the Society’s older M.A.N. letterpresses have been dismantled and rebuilt as two-unit offset presses. These are being used now in Watch Tower branches throughout the world, as well as at Brooklyn and Watchtower Farms. Expansion is taking place earth wide. For example, the branch in Germany is now operating its second high-speed offset rotary press, and the Japan branch is about to start production with its third offset rotary press, capable of producing 60,000 magazines per hour.

Magazines to the Fore!

7. What progress was there in placing subscriptions during 1983?

⁷ Why all this expansion in the field of theocratic printing? It is because of the zealous activity of all of you brothers in the field. During the past year you obtained a splendid total of 1,756,153 subscriptions for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines, a 28-percent increase over the previous year.

8. How has recognizing the value of our magazines brought results?

⁸ A circuit overseer in the United States wrote that the special four-page insert on magazine activity, published in Our Kingdom Ministry of April 1983, “had a telling effect on all of us.” He said it was common for a car group to return from service having obtained four or five subscriptions. One pioneer Witness overcame her former negativeness and obtained nine subscriptions in one week. The Japan branch reported that new subscriptions for May and June totaled 70,115​—compared to 49,016 in the previous two-month campaign—​even with a yearly subscription price of 1,800 yen ($7.50, U.S.)! But the value of our magazines, spiritually, cannot be measured in money, not even in silver or gold. (Proverbs 8:10, 11) May we continue to show zeal in offering subscriptions during 1984!

9. How might increased magazine distribution be achieved?

⁹ However, what of our general magazine distribution during 1983? It was good, but this is the one feature of our service that has not increased. What can we do about this? Again, deep appreciation for the contents of our magazines should stimulate us to carry them and offer them on every occasion, especially on our weekly Magazine Day. We say “weekly” Magazine Day, for so many of our brothers around the earth are enjoying such regular participation. Branches as far apart as Kenya and Hong Kong have requested that second and fourth Saturday for magazine activity be omitted from the Society’s calendar, as this could result in halving the magazine distribution in their territories. By all means, let everyone share in this joyful service on the second and fourth Saturdays, but why not advance now to the further goal of every Saturday for magazine service​—from house to house, in the streets and markets and on magazine routes!​—Ecclesiastes 11:1.

10. What benefit did one magazine bring an Awake! reader?

¹⁰ So often it is just one magazine that sparks interest, with the final result that another “sheep” is added to the “fold” of the “fine shepherd.” (John 10:14, 16) The following experience illustrates the point:

One day a Kingdom publisher in Réunion was passing the home of a confirmed drunkard when the man called him over. “Monsieur, I have stopped drinking,” he said with joy. Since in Réunion many people go to a hospital to be detoxified, the Witness asked him, “Which hospital did you go to?” The man replied, “I didn’t go to a hospital; I read the Awake! [July 8, 1982, on alcoholism] and I stopped drinking.” For two months, at the time of writing, the Witness has been conducting a Bible study with this family in the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. One magazine could accomplish just that!

This leads into another topic:

Home Bible Studies on the Increase!

11. What impact has the Live Forever book had on the world field?

¹¹ In June 1982, the Watch Tower Society released the illustrated study book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. By mid-September 1983, 14,663,229 copies of this book had been printed in the Society’s factories around the earth. It is now available in 55 languages. And what effect has this book had on the world field? A tremendous impact! The Watch Tower branch in Puerto Rico writes concerning the Spanish field there:

‘We received 30,000 Live Forever books in August, but these soon went, and then in October we received 30,000 more. February of 1983 saw us down to “0,” but in March and June we received a total of 40,000 more. We are again down to around 10,000, but we are expecting 35,000 more books soon.’

12. (a) How has appreciation been shown for this book? (b) Referring to the chart on pages 20-23, do you see countries where Bible studies exceed the number of publishers?

¹² In Lapland an elderly man, who is not a Witness himself, wrote the Watch Tower branch in Finland:

“I have read quite a number of religious books. I think, however, that your book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth is one of the best of them. I would like you to send me 11 copies of it so that I can give them to my friends.”

This book no doubt contributed to the big increase in home Bible studies during the 1983 service year. Around the earth, 1,797,112 studies were being conducted monthly with newly interested persons​—a 13.3-percent increase over the 1,586,293 studies in 1982.

13. How may the Live Forever book aid those who are not active Witnesses?

¹³ Do you want to learn how to cope with the problems of life? Then contact Jehovah’s Witnesses at one of their Kingdom Halls and request a Bible study in this Live Forever book. Have you been interested for some time in Bible prophecy as explained by Jehovah’s Witnesses, but at present you are not an active Witness? You, too, should study this book with one of the Witnesses.

14. How can all active Witnesses put the Live Forever book to good use?

¹⁴ Are you a Witness who does not yet conduct a Bible study with a newly interested person? Then why not arouse someone’s interest in this book​—through house-to-house calls or informal witnessing—​and suggest that you read the book together? It is so easy to do this by just reading the paragraphs and discussing them with the help of the questions and pictures that are provided. As Jesus himself said, when we accept the yoke of Christian discipleship we ‘find refreshment for our souls,’ and the joy we have is enhanced when we personally have a share in helping others to become disciples. (Matthew 11:29, 30; 28:19) And such studies will open the way for us to use, later, the faith-strengthening study material in our new pocket-size book, United in Worship of the Only True God.

15. What profound mark has the Enjoy Life brochure made?

¹⁵ During the past year, the 32-page picture brochure Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! has been another powerful instrument in the global teaching program of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The large African country of Zaire, where the new peak of 28,126 publishers is a 14-percent increase over the average for 1982, reports as follows:

The brochure Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! in our various local languages has had a profound effect on the preaching work. Many have commented that it is just the thing for their territory where people are illiterate or read poorly. Congregations rapidly distribute their stock. A Protestant church in Isiro requested supplies from the local congregation for use in their Sunday school. A Catholic priest in Medje drove for miles in his Land-Rover in an effort to obtain supplies for a local school. It is not uncommon to see travelers with their copy of this brochure in hand.

16. (a) What distribution has the brochure had? (b) In harmony with Ecclesiastes 11:6, how can young children use the brochure?

¹⁶ The Watch Tower factories preparing this publication have now printed more than 17,000,000 in 111 languages, and the demand throughout the earth is greater than ever. Many children have found this brochure to be a fine help in planting seeds of truth with school friends, leading to Bible studies with them.​—Ecclesiastes 11:6.

17. What experiences illustrate the teaching value of this brochure and its pictures?

¹⁷ A country where our work is banned sent this report:

A Witness sister using the Enjoy Life brochure to teach three young children had just completed a discussion of idols. After the study the children disappeared quickly into another room. They reappeared shortly, arms full of cut woodwork, crosses and various other articles. These were deposited on the table before the Witness. Surprised, she asked what that was for. The older girl replied, “We have just learned that we have to get rid of idols and images according to the Bible.”

The Ivory Coast sent this information:

A circuit overseer’s wife reports that she is able to use the brochure in handling various subjects, such as polygamy, free love, spiritism and prayer, just by referring to a few of the pointed and well-drawn pictures. Yes, as she says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

“Turn Away, Turn Away”

18. From what, principally, should Jehovah’s people “turn away”?

¹⁸ Not alone in Africa but throughout the earth, all those desirous of worshiping the true God, Jehovah, must turn away from Babylonish false religion and the immoral ways that such religion either spawns or permits. Says God’s prophet: “Turn away, turn away, get out of there, touch nothing unclean; get out from the midst of her, keep yourselves clean, you who are carrying the utensils of Jehovah.”​—Isaiah 52:11.

19. How should we react if apostates try to draw us away from our sacred service?

¹⁹ Since 1919, Jehovah’s people have been cleansed of Christendom’s religious falsehoods. Yet, from time to time, someone may return to idolatry and be disfellowshipped from the congregation. He may try to draw away those who carry “the utensils of Jehovah”​—the precious provisions that God makes for sacred service in house-to-house, magazine, Bible study and other Christian activity. But loyal Witnesses do not so much as “touch” such apostasy.​—2 Corinthians 6:17; 2 John 9-11.

20. What does God’s Word say about moral uncleanness, and how may we avoid it?

²⁰ However, there is other uncleanness that today claims many times more victims than does apostasy​—moral uncleanness. We need to be on guard against the world’s pressures to indulge in immorality! The apostle Paul warns that “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men . . . will inherit God’s kingdom,” and to the list of vices he adds also “uncleanness, loose conduct.” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:19-21) There is no place for immoral persons in the spiritual paradise that Jehovah has established among his people today, nor will there be a place for any such in the Kingdom or in the Paradise earth, now so close at hand. Let all of Jehovah’s clean people hold to their place in the spiritual paradise by following Paul’s pointed counsel: “Flee from fornication,” “flee from idolatry.”​—1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:14.

21. (a) In line with Isaiah 52:12, what confidence should we now have? (b) How can we show that we have ‘comely feet’?

²¹ When Jehovah’s anointed people were delivered from bondage to Babylonish religion, they experienced the impact of the words spoken by God’s prophet: “You people will get out in no panic, and you will go in no flight. For Jehovah will be going even before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 52:12) Today, the “great crowd” of the Lord’s “other sheep” rejoice also in this deliverance. All the 2,501,722 loyal publishers of the Kingdom have full confidence that Jehovah will continue to go before them, and that he will be their rear guard, right down to and through the decisive battle at Har–Magedon. (Revelation 16:13-16) Therefore, you witnesses of the true God, Jehovah, “become cheerful, cry out joyfully in unison”! Let your ‘comely feet’ carry you swiftly in publishing good news of something better, for “your God has become King!”​—Isaiah 52:7-9.

[Box on page 26]

In June, Korea reported a new peak of 6,656 subscriptions, 110 percent more than in the previous June. Kingdom publishers in Greenland obtained 510 new subscriptions for the year, a 71-percent increase over 1982

[Box on page 27]

Awake! is now published in additional languages as a quarterly magazine​—Arabic, Bicol, Croatian, Fijian, Hebrew, Hiri Motu, Icelandic, Kikamba, Kikuyu, Russian, Shona, Sinhalese, Turkish and Urdu, as well as in some other Oriental languages. Though subscriptions are not available, individual copies can be obtained through the congregations. These special editions have been most enthusiastically received

[Box on page 29]

A family moved from France to the island of Mooréa in French Polynesia to help the small congregation there. After some months, they are now reporting 4 pioneers, 5 publishers and 51 home Bible studies. It is said that on the nearby island of Raiatéa, every family has studied with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Worldwide, “the harvest is great.”​—Matthew 9:37.