PEACE... OR END OF CIVILIZATION
Plain Truth Magazine
October 1965
Volume: Vol XXX, No.10
Issue:
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PEACE... OR END OF CIVILIZATION
William H Ellis  

Suddenly the U.N. is faced with a new, mighty crisis — how to keep the flames of war in Asia from spreading. Even Pope Paul VI has felt compelled to call upon world leaders to find a way to peace.

   POPE PAUL VI has spoken out to world leaders. Stop the "fresh flames of discord" while there is STILL TIME!
   "A war," he has warned, "would be an irreversible and fatal occurrence. It would not be the end of difficulties, but THE END OF CIVILIZATION."
   So desperate is the present world situation, the Pontiff decided to make an unprecedented trip to plead for world peace before the United Nations. All the world has taken notice.

"It is Time to Choose!"

   World leaders are frankly frightened!
   To underscore the Roman Pontiff's recent statement, are these words of President Lyndon B. Johnson:
   "We may well be living in the time foretold many years ago when it was said: 'I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: Therefore choose life, that both you and thy seed may live.' "
   "This generation," said Mr. Johnson in April, "must choose: Destroy or build, kill or aid, hate or understand."

"THIS Generation..."

   These sobering words are the frank statements of the foremost figure of modern religion, and of the elected leader of the foremost nation in the free world.
   Both the Pope and the President are frightened by the horrible prospect that faces mankind!
   No previous generation has ever before faced the decisions placed before the leaders of THIS GENERATION!
   Total destruction of the world's entire population has not been possible at any time in world history until this generation — the time in which you are living today!
   The Encyclopedia Britannica admits, "... in August 1955... there was a general conviction among the governments that both sides in the cold war had sufficient retaliatory power to make hydrogen bomb war SUICIDAL!"
   A new word has been added to the grisly vocabulary of war — Cosmocide! Suicide is self-murder. Genocide is murder of a whole race of peoples. COSMOCIDE IS MURDER OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE WORLD!
   Since 1955, the United States and the USSR have been joined in the nuclear race by Britain, France and recently, Red China! Each nation has begun to pile bomb upon bomb — waiting, prepared for the next World War!
   Late President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, warned a hushed United Nations assembly in 1961, "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind!"
   "Today," he said, "every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable.... The mere existence of modern weapons — 10 MILLION TIMES more powerful than any that the world has ever seen, and only minutes away from any target on earth — is a source of horror and distrust..."
   Such is the terrifying state of world affairs!
   This is the world YOU LIVE IN!
   It is a world engaged in a deadly game of "Russian roulette" with awesome nuclear weapons. A world where a nuclear pistol is leveled at the head of every living man, woman and child on the face of the earth!
   "Together," said Mr. Kennedy grimly, "we shall save our planet — or together we shall perish in its flames!"

Not Predictions of Alarmists!

   What President Kennedy told the United Nations in 1961 is more true today than ever before. His prophecy of possible world annihilation was not the ranting of a fanatic, but is the day-to-day reality of the world in which you live. It is the news you see on your television set, that you read in your daily newspapers, that you hear over your radio.
   Dr. W.H. Pickering, Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory for California Institute of Technology and head of the lunar probe rocket program, put it this way: "HALF AN HOUR TO ANNIHILATION...! In half an hour the East and the West could destroy civilization."
   In the words of Professor Charles A. Seipmann of New York University, "All of us are under the symptoms of death... We do not have an assured life expectancy beyond 1000 BREATHS — which is the time it takes for one of the guided missiles to get from point A to point B at any place on the face of the earth...!"
   The idea that man could end the world tomorrow is not the empty cry of a street corner prophet clad in a stained toga and sandals — not the partisan words scrawled on the placards of pacifists. It is the sober warning of world leaders who are aware of man's new power and realize it is OUT OF CONTROL!
   Which of these world-famous men would you label a fanatic, an extremist? NONE! Yet ALL speak of the END OF THIS WORLD — the end of human civilization!

Who Will YOU BELIEVE?

   The files of our News Bureau here at Ambassador College literally bulge with the testimony of great men — leaders in their field — who warn of the ominous disaster which faces mankind.
   You need to realize you are living in the final hours of human life on this earth — UNLESS Jesus Christ intervenes!
   These are the simple facts — they would be absolutely true whether or not you read them in The PLAIN TRUTH magazine, whether or not you heard them over The WORLD TOMORROW Broadcast.
   These statements have not been invented by Ambassador College as a tool to grind a "religious axe."
   You need to ask yourself — "How long can man continue this arms race, manufacturing new weapons, threatening nuclear war before some madman presses the red button which will mean the beginning of the end?"
   Dr. M.S. Livingston of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the President of the Federation of American Scientists said, "It appears unlikely that the world will avoid a nuclear holocaust if another 15 years pass without arms control agreements."
   French President Charles de Gaulle told the U.S. Congress in 1960... the great powers are facing their "last moment" for making a start on nuclear disarmament. Failure to disarm, he said, would doom mankind!
   Dean Acheson, former Secretary of State, said "I assure you that I know nothing which is classified, but I know enough of what is going on to assure you that, in 15 years from today, this world is going to be too dangerous to live in."
   All of these men predict the possibility of the END OF THIS WORLD within the space of THIS GENERATION!
   Can you believe them?
   Sir Philip Noel-Baker, British authority on world disarmament told assembled U.S. Congressmen, "I believe that within 10 years we will all be dead and the earth will be an incinerated relic."
   "I believe so too..." said Charles O. Porter, Congressman from Oregon.
   Do you BELIEVE it?

Can The U.N. Save Us?

   What can save this world from extinction?
   Will the U.N. eventually bring about arms control, perhaps even disarmament?
   Former Canadian Foreign Minister Lester B. Pearson, said, "The United Nations as it is at present is of no value for security purposes... In the long run, arms alone have never guaranteed peace in the past, and arms alone will never guarantee peace in the future." How much time did Mr. Pearson give to work out something better? "... we had better do it IN THE NEXT FIVE OR TEN YEARS!"
   Will man's governments abolish wars?
   General Thomas White, U.S.A.F. (ret) admitted "Little in the past suggests that wars can be abolished. It has been said that in the 3,640 years of recorded history only 292 years have been free from the clash of arms."
   Commenting on the ability of men to find alternatives to nuclear war, General White continued... "many knowledgeable and intelligent people believe there are none!"
   Viewing the events of the past, historian Samuel Eliot Morison gave this empty advice, "We have to get used to living in crisis after crisis, hoping for the best but expecting the worst!"

Can Science Save Us?

   Since the United Nations — bickering and bankrupt — is powerless in the face of ultimate nuclear disaster, where can man hope for help?
   Can the very scientists who spawned the thermonuclear bombs stop their snowballing threat to man's existence?
   Albert Einstein said, "There is no defense in science against the weapons which can destroy civilization."
   Dr. Herbert F. York, Chief of Defense Department Research under President Eisenhower, said there is virtually no possibility of developing any defense system against nuclear missile attack... "It is our considered professional opinion that this dilemma HAS NO TECHNICAL SOLUTION. The clearly predictable course of the arms race is a steady open spiral down toward oblivion."
   J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist on the A-bomb, warned that in the next war, "none of us can count on having enough living to bury our dead." He spoke of the next war as an inevitability!
   Since scientists of all nations agree that it is impossible for them to stop "the spiral down toward oblivion" what then are leading scientists doing?
   Many are building the fantastic weapons of tomorrow!
   Here is a list of advanced concepts for important weapons of the near future:
   1) SUPERMISSILES with giant hydrogen warheads which are able to maneuver in space to avoid anti-missiles.
   2) SLEEPING MISSILES placed as mines in enemy waterways.
   3) SEA MISSILES could be launched by remote control from silos beneath the ocean floor.
   4) GIGATON BOMBS with power enough to destroy cities from an altitude of 250 miles.
   5) NEUTRON BOMBS which kill without property destruction.
   6) TRILLITON H-BOMBS able to destroy whole continents.
   7) DEATH-RAY WEAPONS using the principle of concentrated light rays which can cut through steel, called "LASERS."
   8) ANTI-MATTER WEAPONS a thousand times more powerful than any existing H-bombs.
   9) CONTROL OF WEATHER — the ability to cause every weather condition from fog to earthquakes and from hurricanes to tornados.
   10) THE "DOOMSDAY" MACHINES with enough thermonuclear power to destroy whole nations.
   These weapons are already being considered according to a recent issue of the U.S. News and World Report.

Can Civil Defense Save Us?

   Can preparations for civilian defense insure the survival of the human race in this age of total war with weapons of total destruction?
   "Civil defense officials have written off your chance of survival in a nuclear air raid on the city (New York). 'FORGET IT,' is their succinct reply to questions about what would happen to New Yorkers if an H-Bomb fell here," reported the New York World-Telegram and Sun on March 30, 1965.
   "Where does the city stand today in civil defense preparations?" the World-Telegram continued, "The object is to provide places for 13 million people to hide — that is the peak daytime population of the city — and enough supplies to keep them alive for two weeks until the fallout danger has passed."
   But civil officials are unable to keep pace with the plans of science for the more terrifying weapons of the future. By the time New York's facilities are built they will be woefully obsolete!

Where Can You Hide?

   Civilian Defense can't save this world's entire population from the war which is coming.
   The New York Times reports, "Congress, however, has been at best lukewarm insofar as provision of funds for shelters is concerned... The major reasons for this lack of concern Washington observers are convinced are two. One is PSYCHOLOGICAL: People do not wish to face up to the... results of nuclear war... The other reason is that Congress has not been persuaded that a comprehensive civil-defense program that would actually save millions of lives has been worked out." (March 23, 1965)
   "Actually," explained Mr. McNamara, [U.S. Secretary of Defense] "the only way to win a full-scale nuclear war is to prevent it."
   Ex-President Eisenhower said, "With both sides of this divided world in possession of unbelievably destructive weapons, mankind approaches a state when mutual annihilation becomes a possibility. No other fact of today's world equals this in importance — it colors everything we say, plan and do."
   Does the knowledge that this world is on the brink of self-annihilation — COSMOCIDE — color everything you say, plan and do?
   What are your plans for the next 5, 10, 15, or 20 years?
   If you are a teenager — do you expect to grow old in peace and safety surrounded by your grandchildren?
   If you are just beginning college this autumn, do you suppose that the knowledge you will be given will enable you to avert World War III?
   Are you a businessman? Do you plan to collect your pension, find a' retirement home in the proposed "great society" and live your next 40 years in security?
   Are you a housewife — a mother? Do you expect to see your children or your grandchildren graduate from college and establish families and careers?
   How does the knowledge of the times in which you live affect your life?
   How are you preparing for the gloomy predictions of Presidents, statesmen, scientists, newsmen, military men, and historians?
   Do you believe them when they say we are rapidly approaching THE END OF THIS WORLD?
   Dr. Leonard Duhl, psychiatrist for the National Institute of Mental Health said, "Most people employ protective mechanisms for blotting out of their minds the menace of world crisis...."
   Dr. Jerome Frank, psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins reported, "Some of us find intellectual escape hatches. A tomahawk could leave you just as dead as an H-bomb; therefore why worry about the bomb? Since the world began, people have been predicting its end and it never happened; so why think so now?"
   Can you escape the threat of nuclear war simply by ignoring it? Do you suppose that if it is ignored it will go away?
   Don't deceive yourself!
   Samuel Rayburn, late Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States said, "Frankly, I must say that our Christian civilization stands in the greatest danger since Christ walked the shores of Galilee 20 centuries ago. Somebody, I fear, may be reckless enough to drop the first hydrogen bomb. But when that happens, nobody has won. EVERYBODY HAS LOST!"

Jesus Christ Prophesied

   Twenty centuries ago Jesus Christ spoke of the times of world crisis at the end of this age! He spoke plainly of World War!
   God Almighty provided accurate news reporting of Christ's important statements — the record is found in your Bible.
   Matthew reported that the disciples asked Christ about the END OF THIS WORLD — the crisis now facing mankind. Jesus said: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be, AND EXCEPT THOSE DAYS SHOULD BE SHORTENED, THERE SHOULD NO FLESH BE SAVED...!" (Matt. 24:20-22)
   The days of TOTAL DESTRUCTION have arrived! The time when man can destroy all human life on earth is here! We are living in the days — the very generation — Jesus Christ spoke about!
   You can't HIDE from the prophecy of Jesus Christ!
   If you won't hear the testimony of world leaders — you MUST hear the words of God's own Son.
   But will you believe HIM?

There Is A Way of Escape

   The question is sometimes asked, "Saved? Why should I want to be SAVED? Saved from WHAT?
   Saved from WHAT?
   If you aren't hiding from the facts of the world in which you live, you know "FROM WHAT." Presidents, scientists and statesmen know — and their words are the heart and core of world news since 1955!
   Notice what Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, this generation [the generation with power to destroy all life] shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away!" (Matt. 24:34)
   "When ye shall see all these things, know that it [the end of this world] is near, even at the doors." (Verse 33)
   Believe Jesus Christ!
   Believe what He said!
   Over and beyond the desolation of the near future, Jesus promised a happy, peaceful World Tomorrow. The message that human life was not doomed to extinction was the very GOOD NEWS — the Gospel — Jesus brought from heaven.
   He said, "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: BUT FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE THOSE DAYS SHALL BE SHORTENED!" (Matt. 24:22)
   There is good news for the future — but what about right now? The answer is in the free booklet, 1975 In Prophecy. Read it immediately if you have not already done so.
   And be sure to start the tuition-free Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. Lesson One will answer your question, "Why study the Bible in the SPACE AGE?"
   There is no Bible study course like it — it deals with the vital significance of today's world news.
   It will give you the point-by-point sequence of events that will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ to save this world from the flames of nuclear war!
   The only textbook you need is your own Bible. This Correspondence Course is already being sent free of charge to over 75,000 students worldwide. Address your request to Correspondence Course Department in care of our Regional Office in your area (see inside front cover for addresses).
   If you believe what world leaders are saying about the END OF THIS WORLD and if you will believe your own Bible and the words of Jesus Christ — do something about it Now! Hiding from the reality of the world around you will not make the specter of disaster go away!

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Plain Truth MagazineOctober 1965Vol XXX, No.10