The Watchtower
 |
|
| Categories | Religious |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | Public Edition 62 million bimonthly Study Edition 15 million monthly |
| Publisher | Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania |
| First issue | July 1, 1879 (as Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence) |
| Company | Jehovah's Witnesses |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Warwick, New York, United States |
| Language | 302 languages |
| Website | www.jw.org |
| ISSN | 2325-5838 |
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom is an illustrated religious magazine, published monthly in 302 languages by Jehovah's Witnesses via the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Along with its companion magazine, Awake!, Jehovah's Witnesses distribute The Watchtower—Public Edition in their door-to-door ministry.
The Watchtower—Public Edition is the most widely circulated magazine in the world, with an average circulation of approximately 62 million copies bimonthly, as of 2017.The Watchtower—Study Edition is used at congregation meetings, with an average monthly circulation of around 15 million.
The publication was started by Charles Taze Russell on July 1, 1879 under the title Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. According to its first issue, the magazine's purpose was to draw attention to Russell's belief that people of the time were "living 'in the last days' 'the day of the Lord'—'the end' of the Gospel age," and that "the dawn of the 'new' age, are facts not only discernible by the close student of the Word, led by the spirit, but the outward signs recognizable by the world bear the same testimony."
In 1908 the name was changed to The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. In 1920, the Watch Tower Society reprinted all issues from 1879–1919 in seven volumes, known as the Watchtower Reprints, which have since been reprinted by various Bible Student groups. On 15 October 1931, the magazine was renamed The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence; in January 1939, The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Kingdom; from March 1939 until the present, its full name has been The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom.
The stated purpose of The Watchtower is to draw attention to the kingdom of God, which Jehovah's Witnesses believe is a real government that will soon replace all earthly governments. According to the magazine's mission statement:
THIS MAGAZINE, The Watchtower, honors Jehovah God, the Ruler of the universe. It comforts people with the good news that God's heavenly Kingdom will soon end all wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise. It promotes faith in Jesus Christ, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling as King of God's Kingdom. This magazine has been published continuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority.
...
Wikipedia