“Keep on the Watch”

IN ANCIENT times, gatekeepers served at city and temple entrances and, in some instances, at the doorways of private homes. Besides ensuring that the gates were closed at night, gatekeepers also served as watchmen. This was a very responsible assignment, for the safety of the city depended on their calling out to warn the people of any impending danger.

Jesus Christ was acquainted with the role of gatekeepers, also called doorkeepers. On one occasion, he likened his disciples to doorkeepers and encouraged them to keep on the watch with respect to the conclusion of the Jewish system of things. He said: “Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is. It is like a man traveling abroad that left his house and . . . commanded the doorkeeper to keep on the watch. Therefore keep on the watch, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming.”​—Mark 13:33-35.

Likewise, for over 125 years now, this journal, The Watchtower, has passed on Jesus’ encouragement to “keep on the watch.” How? As stated on page 2 of this magazine, “It keeps watch on world events as these fulfill Bible prophecy. It comforts all peoples with the good news that God’s Kingdom will soon destroy those who oppress their fellowmen and that it will turn the earth into a paradise.” With a worldwide circulation of more than 26,000,000 copies in 150 languages, The Watchtower is the most widely distributed religious magazine in the world. By means of it, Jehovah’s Witnesses, like the ancient gatekeepers, are urging people everywhere to “keep awake” spiritually because the Master, Jesus Christ, is about to return and execute judgment on this system of things.​—Mark 13:26, 37.