In a world scarred by Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, and dozens of simmering conflicts, a global faith community is asking a bold question: “An End to War—How?”
Throughout September 2025, Jehovah’s Witnesses have launched a worldwide campaign centered on that question. The effort includes a special issue of The Watchtower magazine and a public talk scheduled in congregations across the globe on September 27–28.
The campaign does not come with political manifestos or military strategies. Instead, it points to a spiritual solution, and the timing could not be more striking.
Voices From Canada and Nigeria
In Canada, national spokesperson Carl Pelletier framed the magazine’s message as both urgent and hopeful:
“As war and violent conflict continue to affect millions worldwide, this magazine offers a Bible-based message of comfort and hope… why peace is not only possible, but guaranteed under the rule of God’s Kingdom.”
Across the Atlantic, Olusegun Eroyemi, a Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesman in Nigeria, underscored the campaign’s relevance in Africa and beyond:
“We live in a time where violent conflicts, even large-scale wars, are surging… We believe this magazine will bring hope… to anyone who is searching for peace.”
Eroyemi confirmed that the campaign will culminate in a free 30-minute public talk titled “An End to War—How?” delivered in Kingdom Halls worldwide this weekend. “There are no collections taken,” he stressed, highlighting the group’s practice of avoiding fundraising during services.
What the Magazine Says
The campaign revolves around The Watchtower No. 1, 2025, which carries six main articles: The Horror of War How War and Violent Conflict Affect Us All Can We End War and Violent Conflict? Why War and Violent Conflict Continue, How War and Violent Conflict Will End, Finding Peace Despite War and Violent Conflict. The core argument is clear: while human efforts have repeatedly failed, the Bible’s promise of God’s Kingdom offers a guarantee of lasting peace. The magazine quotes passages such as Psalm 46:9, portraying a future where God “makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.”
For Jehovah’s Witnesses, neutrality is central; they do not endorse one government over another but look to a divine solution.
A World on Fire
The timing of this campaign coincides with alarming global data. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) recorded 61 state-based conflicts in 2024, the highest number since modern record-keeping began.
Meanwhile, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported nearly 239,000 deaths from conflict in 2024, the highest in seven years.
From the war in Ukraine to clashes in Sudan and Myanmar, violent conflict is not retreating, it is spreading. Against that backdrop, the Witnesses’ message of hope resonates, even if it comes from a distinctly theological framework rather than a political one.
Why It Matters
Jehovah’s Witnesses are not offering a military roadmap or peace negotiation model. Instead, their campaign offers a different kind of intervention: pastoral comfort and a call to consider spiritual answers. Whether one accepts their biblical conclusion or not, the campaign does two things:
- 1. It shines a spotlight on the relentless human cost of war.
- 2. It reminds the public that billions still yearn, not just for ceasefires, but for permanent peace.
As Pelletier put it, the campaign invites people to think differently about what “the end of war” might actually look like.
Final Reflection
Peace has remained humanity’s most elusive goal. Political leaders draft treaties, generals plan strategies, and diplomats negotiate truces, but conflicts continue to erupt and claim lives.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have chosen this September to remind the world of a hope rooted not in politics, but in faith. Whether one agrees with their theology or not, the question they raise—Can war really end?—is one every person must face. And for millions touched by violence, even the act of asking that question offers a measure of comfort.
