When will the current preaching work end? That is a question from a reader published in the August 2025 Watchtower. The answer is considered to be “new light,” so-called, as the Watchtower explains:
Jesus stated: “This good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) The Greek word translated “end” in this verse, as well as in verses 6 and 13, is teʹlos. It refers to the final end of Satan’s world at Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14, 16) Thus, we will continue to preach the good news until just before that final end. This adjusts our earlier understanding. Previously, we understood that we would stop preaching the good news when the great tribulation began with the destruction of Babylon the Great.
It appears that the Watchtower’s adjusted understanding is based entirely upon the meaning of the Greek word teʹlos. While there is no question about the translation being correct—teʹlos surely means “end”—there is some question as to what Jesus meant would come to an end. The Watchtower is cocksure Christ meant “the final end of Satan’s world at Armageddon.”
However, from my years of research into these matters, there is good reason to believe Jesus was referring to the end of something else. The context should determine the meaning. For example, in the verse preceding (13), Jesus said, “But the one who has endured to the end will be saved.”
Does that “end” refer to “the final end of Satan’s world at Armageddon”? No, it does not. And the Watchtower ought to be compelled to acknowledge that fact, since quite recently they have come to understand and accept what the Scriptures plainly reveal regarding all of the chosen ones being in heaven and among the spirit army under Christ’s command at the battle of Armageddon. So their enduring to the end means the end of their earthly course, to quote a phrase in the Watchtower theocratic lexicon.
So, what did Jesus mean when he said, “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come”?
Before answering that question, consider an alternative rendering in the gospel according to Mark. He recorded Jesus saying: “Also, in all the nations, the good news has to be preached first.” Now, Bible students are faced with another question. “First,” before what?
Jesus provided the answer. Consider the entire context: “As for you, look out for yourselves. People will hand you over to local courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues and be put on the stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them. Also, in all the nations, the good news has to be preached first. And when they are taking you to hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand about what to say; but whatever is given you in that hour, say this, for you are not the ones speaking, but the holy spirit is. Furthermore, brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father a child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all people on account of my name. But the one who has endured to the end will be saved.”
If we are honest, we will acknowledge that nothing Jesus foretold has befallen Christians in the modern era. Have you been beaten in the synagogue—the forerunner of the modern Kingdom Hall? Do you know of any brothers who have been handed over to the authorities by their family and put to death? Have you heard of any instance where anointed Christians were brought before governors and kings with no attorney to represent them to give them a witness wholly inspired by God’s holy spirit? And lastly, are Jehovah’s Witnesses really hated by all people on account of the name of Jesus?
Again, if we are honest with ourselves, we will acknowledge that Jehovah’s Witnesses are hated on account of the name of Jehovah, not the name of Jesus. Furthermore, nothing Christ foretold has been fulfilled except the preaching of the good news, which must be preached first before the persecution begins.
Since it is apparent that the words of Christ, which will not pass away unfulfilled, have not been fulfilled, let us be bold and ask the appropriate questions. If the conclusion of the system began in 1914, as Jehovah’s Witnesses are required to believe, why have we not seen any of the things Christ outlined above? After all, did not the Lord say, “Likewise also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”
Since we have not seen “all these things,” I challenge the reader to ask the most important question of all: Have we seen any of “these things”? Have you seen World War One? Did you personally witness the ravages of the Spanish Flu in 1918? Be honest, now. And if we are honest in our assessment of reality, we will admit that we have not seen any of the things Jesus foretold, again, with the exception of the ongoing preaching of the good news, which Jesus said must be done first.
This means that we are facing the things Jesus foretold. World war, famine, and pestilence are ahead of us, not in the distant past, as the Watchtower teaches. This means that the time of the end has not begun, nor has the Kingdom been established. And no, Satan and his angels have not been hurled down. And most profoundly, the presence of Christ has not begun, nor will the Lord be invisible when he comes alongside the chosen.
Can you imagine if anointed brothers and sisters were to give the startling witness that they have seen Jesus and conversed with him? Do not suppose that all will favorably receive their witness. But the visible manifestation of Christ to the chosen will be the scenario that will bring about their being beaten in the synagogues, betrayed by their former brothers, made to stand before governors and kings, and hated by all peoples on account of Jesus’ name.
Now we are in a position to understand what Jesus meant when he said the good news will be preached, and then the end will come. The “end” is not the end of Satan’s world, but the end of Christianity—the end of the Christian system. It will be the time of the end. And the time of the end is not a decades-long period. Is not the existence of a Christian society and earthly organization—indeed, a publishing company such as the Watchtower—for the express purpose of accomplishing the worldwide preaching and disciple-making work? However, once that purpose has been achieved to God’s satisfaction, that is the end of the organization that Christ is using to accomplish God’s will. Then what? The harvest and the final witness. Albeit, the final witness should not be confused with the preaching of the good news.
Do you really think Jehovah’s Witnesses will be standing on a street corner with a literature cart after the global system has collapsed? Just look back a couple of years to the phony COVID pandemic. JWs were barricaded in their homes. There was not one witness on the street. Not one door was knocked upon. Not a single return visit or Bible study was conducted in person.
Consider what some might regard as an obscure prophecy in the 24th chapter of Isaiah. Jehovah describes the desolate condition of the land of his people. Except, the “land” is not ancient Israel. It is the spiritual estate of a people known today as Jehovah’s organization. To establish this fact, read the concluding words of the 24th chapter:
“In that day Jehovah will turn his attention to the army of the heights above and to the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they will be gathered together like prisoners gathered into a pit, and they will be shut up in the dungeon; after many days they will be given attention. The full moon will be abashed, and the shining sun will be ashamed, for Jehovah of armies has become King in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious before the elders of his people.”
“The army in the heights above” is a reference to Satan and his army of demon angels. Their being gathered like prisoners and put in a pit parallels what is revealed in the last book of the Bible regarding Satan being locked in an abyss for 1,000 years.
Embarrassingly, the Watchtower proclaims that Jehovah began as King in heavenly Zion in 1914. To reconcile that with the obvious contradiction, the seers have concocted an absurd doctrine that has Jehovah becoming King on multiple occasions, just as they have claimed that Jesus arrived in 1914 but is coming again. No wonder their full moon will be abashed and their shining sun of enlightenment will be ashamed.
With the end of the matter in mind, now consider verses 11-13: “They cry out for wine in the streets. All rejoicing has disappeared; the joy of the land has gone. The city is left in ruins; the gate has been crushed to a heap of rubble. For this is how it will be in the land, among the peoples: As when an olive tree is beaten, like the gleaning when the grape harvest comes to an end.”
Jesus taught using illustrations because he learned from his Father. Given the context, the grape harvest coming to an end represents the end of the preaching and disciple-making work, culminating with the harvest, which Jesus explained is the conclusion of the system of things—otherwise known as the time of the end. The city left in ruins symbolizes the collapse of the Watchtower organization.
Given the fact that the Watchtower has led Jehovah’s Witness to expect the preaching work to go on and on even during the terrifying crash of the system—when mankind comes face-to-face with extinction requiring divine intervention to cut short the tribulation—and for the Governing Body to issue “life-saving instructions” to the flock during that bleak period, the question posed in prophecy is directed to those who make such boasts: “Something appalling and horrible has occurred in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, and the priests dominate by their own authority. And my own people love it that way. But what will you do when the end comes?” — Jeremiah 5:30-31
