“A Better World Is Near”

Shreveport will be one of the thousands of communities around the globe that will receive a powerful message of hope this November as Jehovah’s Witnesses embark upon a special campaign focusing attention on the Bible’s hope for a better world.

The goal of the campaign is to distribute a special edition of The Watchtower magazine containing the cover series, “A Better World Is Near.” More than 36 million printed copies of the magazine are expected to be distributed in some 230 languages to communities in 240 lands around the globe. In addition, the digital publication is available on various platforms in nearly 400 languages.

“People are longing to hear a positive message, and this is the best news possible,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “A better world is not just a dream, it’s inevitable. In fact, it is the central theme of the entire Bible.”

The magazine addresses the age-old “doomsday” question “Is this world going to end?” with a comforting answer that may surprise many readers. While various religions have predicted the “end of the world,” the magazine reveals the Bible’s clear message: The earth is here forever and will never end! However, the magazine also explains the powerful truth that wickedness will soon be gone, quoting the Bible book of Psalms where it promises that the “lawless one” will be no more. (Psalm 37:10, Rotherham translation)

This positive message has been the hope of millions around the world who have prayed for ‘God’s Kingdom to come,’ a familiar refrain of many Christians taught by Jesus in what some refer to as the Lord’s Prayer.

David and Loretta Williams, of Shreveport, have benefited greatly from the positive message of the Bible. The husband and wife, along with 12 members of their family, contracted COVID-19. As the family battled the virus, Loretta’s condition escalated, necessitating that she be admitted to the hospital and placed on a ventilator.

Now off the ventilator and with a long recovery still ahead, Loretta shared that at the most crucial point in her illness, she found comfort through prayer and the message of hope found in the Bible.

“A calmness came over me. The Bible verses I remembered brought me peace,” said Loretta. “I know my hope helped keep me alive. I was by myself in the hospital, but I did not feel alone.”

Reflecting on how the Bible helped him cope through their battle against the virus, David recalled, “It helped me to not be stressed. It has helped us see that with complete reliance on Jehovah God, we can endure anything.”

The Watchtower has been carrying a similar message about God’s Kingdom for more than 100 years and remains the most widely translated and circulated magazine in the world. The 2021 number two edition is available for free online at jw.org, where anyone can request a free printed copy by scrolling down on the homepage to “Request a Visit.”

Click below for a direct link to the online version of the magazine:

https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-no2-2021-may-jun/