View source for The Watchtower

{{Short description|Jehovah's Witnesses religious magazine}}
{{About|the religious magazine|the structure|Watchtower|other uses|Watchtower (disambiguation)}}
{{primary sources|date=June 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox magazine
| title = The Watchtower
| image_file = WatchtowerMagazine_logo.png
| image_size = 300px
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = 
| editor = 
| editor_title = 
| previous_editor = 
| staff_writer = 
| circulation = ''Public Edition'': 21.7 million (2024)<br />''Study Edition'': 13.8 million (2018)
| category = Religious
| frequency = ''Public Edition'': annually<br />''Study Edition'': monthly
| company = [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]
| publisher = [[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania]]
| firstdate = {{start date and age|1879|7}} (as ''Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence'')
| country = [[United States]]
| based = [[Warwick, New York]], United States
| language = ''Public Edition'': 444 languages (2024)<br />''Study Edition'': 463 languages (2024)
| website = {{URL| www.jw.org/en/library/magazines|The Watchtower}}
| issn = 2325-5838
}}
'''''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom''''', more commonly known as ''The Watchtower'', is an illustrated religious [[magazine]], published by the [[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania]]. [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] distribute ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'', along with its companion magazine, ''[[Awake!]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008041|magazine= The Watchtower|title= The New Study Edition of ''The Watchtower''|date= January 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Holden|first= A.|title= Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement|url= https://archive.org/details/jehovahswitnesse00andr|url-access= registration|publisher= Routledge|year= 2002|page= [https://archive.org/details/jehovahswitnesse00andr/page/67 67] }}</ref>

The Watch Tower Society reports a circulation of 21.7 million per issue for ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'' in 444 languages, with one new issue produced annually.<ref name="circulation1">{{cite magazine |year=2024 |title=Contents |url=https://d34ji3l0qn3w2t.cloudfront.net/66688fd9-f6ff-4934-a668-7402f4958869/3/wp_E_202407.pdf |magazine=The Watchtower |publisher=Watch Tower Society |page=2 |volume=145 |issue=1}}</ref> ''The Watchtower—Study Edition'', used at congregation meetings, is published monthly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/w20080115/The-New-Study-Edition-of-The-Watchtower/ |title=The New Study Edition of The Watchtower|access-date=5 July 2024|publisher=JW.ORG }}</ref>
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== History ==
[[File:Watchtower - july 1879.jpg|thumb|200px|''Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence'', July 1879]]
[[File:Zion'sWatchTower Oct1,1907.jpg|thumb|200px|''Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence'', October 1, 1907]]

The magazine was started by [[Charles Taze Russell]] in July 1879 under the title '''''Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence'''''. According to its first issue, the magazine's original 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."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine= Zion's Watch Tower|date= July 1, 1879|title= Prospectus|page= 3}}</ref>

In 1909 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 movement|Bible Student]] groups. On October 15, 1931, the magazine was renamed ''The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence''; on January 1, 1939, ''The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Kingdom''; from March 1, 1939 until the present, its full name has been ''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Watchtower Publications Index|year=2008}}</ref>

== Content ==
Articles are submitted by writing committees from worldwide branch offices, which are then checked by editors and translated into the languages of publication; all involved are volunteers.<ref>{{cite book|title=1994 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|publisher=Watch Tower Society|page=29}}</ref> Women are permitted to write articles that are not of a doctrinal nature.<ref>{{cite book|title=Branch Organization Manual|publisher=Watch Tower Society|pages=24–1|quote=Those used as writers must be dedicated, baptized brothers or sisters in good standing with their local congregations and who have writing ability. ... Some articles will deal with spiritual matters, and these should be written by brothers.}}</ref> The names of the authors (except in first-person life stories), and other publishing staff are not provided. ''The Watchtower'' is overseen by the Writing Committee of the [[Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses#Committees|Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|date=April 15, 2013|page=30|title=Do Not Tire Out}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|title='Upon the Watchtower I Am Standing'|date=March 1, 1987|page=15|quote=Each article in both ''The Watchtower'' and ''Awake!'' and every page, including the artwork, is scrutinized by selected members of the Governing Body before it is printed.}}</ref>

''The Watchtower'' is the official means of sharing [[Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs|Jehovah's Witness beliefs]],<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|date=December 15, 1971|page=755|title=A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation|quote=The official magazine of Jehovah's Christian witnesses is ''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom''.}}</ref> and includes articles relating to biblical prophecies, [[Christianity|Christian]] conduct and morals, and the [[history of religion]] and the Bible. It is intended 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:<ref>{{cite magazine|date=January 1, 2013|journal=The Watchtower|page=2|title=Contents page}}</ref>

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

Previously, each issue of the ''Watchtower'' contained study articles and other regular features and was distributed to the general public. In 2008, content was divided into a ''Public Edition'' distributed to non-Witnesses and a ''Study Edition'', which contains "pointed information prepared especially for Jehovah's Witnesses".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=July 2007|page=1|title=Exciting Changes for The Watchtower|quote=This edition can also contain pointed information prepared especially for Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible students who are making spiritual progress.}}</ref>

===''Public Edition''===
The ''Public Edition'' of ''The Watchtower'' contains biblical articles relating to a theme shown on the cover. In January 2013, ''The Watchtower&mdash;Public Edition'' was reduced from 32 to 16 pages, with greater focus on the official Jehovah's Witnesses website. Initially issued monthly, as of January 2016 the ''Public Edition'' was published every two months, and was further reduced to three issues per year as of January 2018. In 2022, publication was reduced to one new issue per year.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Watch Tower Society|title=Announcements and Reminders|page=1|date=July 2021}}; {{citation|publisher=Watch Tower Society|title=Announcements and Reminders|page=2|date=July 2022}}.</ref>

===''Study Edition''===
The ''Study Edition'' contains study articles written for the [[Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses#Weekend meeting|''Watchtower'' Study]], as well as other intra-organizational information directed to current and prospective members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jw.org/en/publications/|title=Jehovah's Witnesses—Featured Items|access-date=2009-01-14}}</ref>

Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide discuss the same article each week at the ''Watchtower'' Study. At this meeting, each paragraph is read aloud by a designated reader; the study conductor then asks questions printed at the bottom of the page for each paragraph and calls on members of the congregation to answer the questions based on the printed information. They are encouraged to put the information in their own words and to "draw attention to scripture application, supporting arguments, or practical application of the material."<ref>{{cite magazine|date=December 1998|title=Overseers Taking the Lead—The Watchtower Study Conductor|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|page=8}}</ref>

A separate ''Simplified'' version of the ''Study Edition'' was introduced in July 2011<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|language=en |url=http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/5c/ws_E_20110715.pdf|date=July 15, 2011|title=Introduction letter|page=3}}</ref> but was discontinued in 2019.<ref>According to the ''Watch Tower Publications Index'', the ''Simplified'' and ''Study'' editions were "merged", leaving only the ''Study Edition''.</ref>

== Distribution ==
The magazine is printed in nineteen countries.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005807|magazine=The Watchtower|title=Contributions That Warm God's Heart|date=November 1, 2005|page=27}}</ref> {{As of|2024||post=,}} each issue of the ''Public Edition'' has an average circulation of 21.7 million copies in 444 languages.<ref name="circulation1" /> The monthly production of the ''Study Edition'' is not stated in the English edition; in January 2018 the Russian edition stated a circulation of 13.8 million.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine|url= https://download-a.akamaihd.net/files/media_magazines/9a/w_U_201801.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171011130835/https://download-a.akamaihd.net/files/media_magazines/9a/w_U_201801.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2017-10-11|magazine=The Watchtower|date= January 2018|page= 2|title= Contents page|language= ru
|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref> The ''Study Edition'' is published in 463 languages.<ref>"Study Articles for April 8 to May 4". ''The Watchtower''. February 2024. in: ''JW Library'' (app). "Search languages (463): Abbey: [...] Zulu: ''INqabayokulinda''".</ref>

The ''Public Edition'' is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses in the course of their public ministry including door-to-door canvassing, approaching people in public places, given informally to acquaintances and professionals, or left as reading material in waiting areas.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Question Box|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=March 1988|page=4|quote=Perhaps some back issues of the magazines could be distributed free when visiting nursing homes and hospitals. They could be left at Laundromats or in the lobbies of residential buildings where our work is restricted. However, good judgment should be exercised as to how many and how often magazines are left at one place.}}</ref> The ''Study Edition'' is generally distributed only to members but is made available to members of the public attending the study of ''The Watchtower'' at congregation meetings.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=July 2007|page=1|title=Exciting Changes for ''The Watchtower''!}}</ref>

The magazine has been made available in various [[accessibility|accessible]] formats. Selected articles were provided in Braille since 1960<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Awake!|publisher=Watch Tower Society|date=April 8, 1977|page=19|title=They Read with Their Fingers}}</ref> with the full magazine available in 1979.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|pages=2&ndash;4|date=August 1979|title=Announcements|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref> It has also been made available in various audio formats since 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|page=2|date=October 1987|title="The Watchtower" on Cassette}}</ref> Jehovah's Witnesses' official website provides content from ''The Watchtower'' in various digital formats.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Good News on the Internet|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=November 1997|page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Announcements|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=June 2008|page=3|quote=Since January 2008, audio files of ''The Watchtower'' and ''Awake!'' in English and Spanish have been made available at the Web site www.jw.org.}}</ref>

===Cost===

Until March 1990, ''The Watchtower'' was available for a small charge that varied over time and in different countries. For example, in the United States, the suggested donation per issue was $0.05 in 1950,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|date=May 15, 1950|page=4|title=Publication details}}</ref> gradually increasing to $0.25 in 1989.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|page=2|date=October 1989|title=Announcements}}</ref> On January 17, 1990, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled against [[Jimmy Swaggart]] that sales of religious literature were subject to taxation,<ref>Swaggart Ministries v. California Board of Equalization, 493 U.S. 378 (1990)</ref> which introduced ambiguity into the formerly tax-free practice of suggesting a specific amount in exchange for the magazines. The Watch Tower Society supported Swaggart in the case, arguing that the perceived sale of religious literature should be exempt from taxation.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses)|author=Edmond C. Gruss|publisher=Xulon Press|year=2003|pages=72&ndash;73}}</ref>

From March 1, 1990, the magazines were made available at no cost, on a freewill donation basis in the [[United States]], with the stated purpose of simplifying their Bible educational work and distinguishing themselves from those who commercialize religion.<ref name=OKM>{{cite magazine|magazine=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=May 1990|page=7|title=Use Our Literature Wisely|quote=At the end of February 1990, it was explained that magazines and literature will be provided to publishers and to the interested public on a complete donation basis, that is, without asking or suggesting that a specific contribution be made as a precondition to receiving an item.}}</ref> An article in the May 1990 issue of ''Our Kingdom Ministry''&mdash;a newsletter provided to members&mdash;stated that "there are growing pressures against all religious elements" and went on to say that their main concern was to move ahead in the worldwide preaching work, "without hindrance."<ref name="OKM" />

The sale of Jehovah's Witnesses' literature was gradually phased out in other countries, and ''The Watchtower'' has been distributed free of charge worldwide since January 2000, its printing being funded by voluntary donations from Jehovah's Witnesses and members of the public.<ref>{{cite book|title=2001 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|page=18|quote=Another factor in reaching more people with the good news has been the simplified literature distribution arrangement. ... The voluntary donation arrangement is explained to people, but no charge is made for the literature. As of January 2000, that arrangement was extended to all lands where it was not already in operation.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Jehovah's Witnesses publications]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/ ''The Watchtower'' and ''Awake!'' Magazines]
* [http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/ ''Watch Tower'' Reprints (1879&ndash;1916)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719174217/http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/ |date=2010-07-19 }}
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