Herbert W Armstrong

   Well, greetings friends, this is Herbert W. Armstrong with the good news of the World Tomorrow. It's about time we began to focus our attention on the next world-shaking event that is prophesied that is going to affect the United States directly.

   I don't have a crystal ball. I don't believe in crystal balls. I wouldn't attach any importance to it if I had one. But my friends, what is prophesied in your Bible, I do know, and that I know because it is the sure word of prophecy and it is absolutely certain.

   And listen, what I do know is that the next thing in the overall plan to working out the purpose of God Almighty here below, is something that is going to shake this United States as it's never been shaken before. The greatest punishment that has ever been meted out to any nation in the history of this world is going to happen to the United States.

   It's the very next tremendous world-shaking event, and conditions are fast building up to it right now. It's the most tremendous national punishment that God has ever meted out to a nation.

   Why does God ever punish a nation? God says in your New Testament in Hebrews, that God punishes every son whom He loves. He's speaking of those of us that are human that become begotten sons of his. And if we are not punished by God, if we are without chastisement, he says, we're not even his sons. He calls us by something else. In other words, we're totally illegitimate, we're not his sons at all.

   Now, God punishes those he loves. God says that, contrary to a lot of wacky modern psychology, that if we spare the rod, we spoil the child. Of course, that's getting a little old-fashioned today. A lot of psychologists know more than God. So they think, oh, what weeping and mashing of teeth, there's going to be some day when there's such a sad waking up and when they learn a few things, now, God is going to punish our people because we are his people.

   God is going to punish us to teach us some lessons, to save us from ourselves. And for no other reason, God is not going to punish the United States because he hates the United States because he's angry at the United States or anything of the kind because we are his chosen people. God is in some respects more concerned about us than any other people or any other nation.

   Not that we're his favorites. God Almighty has no favorites. God doesn't love us any more than he loves the people in the Communist Nations or people of other colors or other races or anything of the kind. God loves us all alike and equally, but we are his chosen people and were chosen for certain service for certain things we have refused to perform and we are the people, my friends, to whom pertain all of the promises, all of the covenants of God. And God is especially concerned about us, not that he loves us more than others, but he is very vitally concerned.

   Now, let me tell you something else. Prophecy has to do with the purpose God is working out. God is working out that purpose through our nations and our peoples. And the Bible is concerned only with our people and our nations and with other nations only as they come into contact with our nations in such a way as to affect the working out of that purpose of God Almighty here below.

   Now, who are we in prophecy? Where do you find us mentioned in prophecy? Once again, I say, my friends, if you don't understand that you have not even got the first kindergarten ABC beginning of an understanding of Bible prophecy, prophecy cannot be opened up to you. It will just be mystic, it will be closed, it will befuddle your mind. You'll never understand it until you understand the one key that will open it up. Where are the United States? Where are the British people? Where are the democracies of Northwestern Europe are mentioned in the prophecies of your Bible.

    One-third of the Bible is prophecy and a lot of the rest of it has to do with our people and God's relationship with us and the relationship we're having and ought to have with God.

   Now, if you don't know that, right in for our booklet are very attractive and yet very much condensed booklet, an attractive two-color booklet, "United States in Prophecy." There is no charge, no price on it whatsoever. I'll be very happy to mail you a copy, read it and study your Bible with it and look in your Bible and see where the United States is mentioned there, and you'll find it's mentioned more often with the British, of course, than any other nations on the face of the earth today.

   In other words, and you'll have to read this booklet for the proof, and I want to tell you it is the most convincingly, the most conclusively proved truth in your Bible. The most convincingly proved thing in prophecy that you can find. It is the greatest proof that the Bible is the inspired word of the Eternal God. Because listen, God Almighty made promises way, way, way back there many, many centuries before the time Christ in the days of Abraham, and that was 430 years before the time of Moses and the bringing of the Children of Israel out of Egypt and making them a nation at Mount Sinai. 430 years before that, God Almighty made a promise or a set of promises rather to Abraham. And he promised not only that all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abraham's seed, which one seed was to be Christ. Not only the spiritual promises that come through Christ of eternal life of salvation and everything that comes spiritually through Christ, but also to Abraham God Almighty made another set of material promises.

   And I put that on the air and it's in this booklet and we've published it in the Plain Truth. We've tried to make this knowledge available if you want it. It's the most astounding knowledge that you have ever found. It is shocking. It's astounding and it's wonderful too. It's very wonderful knowledge. God made promises to Abraham that if his people would become the greatest single nation on earth. And another great commonwealth of nations.

   My friends, in the days after Solomon, the son of David died in the days of Solomon's son, Rehoboam, Israel rejected Rehoboam from being king, and then the tribe of Judah seceded from the nation Israel and formed a separate nation called the kingdom of Judah in order to retain their king that had been rejected by the nation. And then two of the other tribes went over with Judah, and there were two different nations and one was called the nation of Judah, the kingdom of Judah. The other was called the kingdom of Israel or the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

   The Jewish people are the descendants of the house of Judah. They came to be called Jews from their national name Judah. But the people of the 10 tribe nation of Israel were never called Jews any place in your Bible. You know, you've been taught to believe that Jew and Israel are just two different names for the same thing. Oh, no, the Bible never deals in redundant repetitions. Israel is one nation. Judah was an altogether different nation in the very first place in your Bible.

   The word Jews occurs is in II Kings 16:6 where the Jews were at war against Israel and Israel was at war against the Jews, believe it or not. That's rather astounding to most people who don't know that. Now, my friends, the people of Israel were driven out into a national slavery and captivity uprooted from their homes and their cities 131 years before Judah was rooted out and taken to Babylon and lost sight of, and they were called the lost 10 tribes. And there's a reason why they've been known as the lost tribes. And that reason is because God gave them a sign that would identify them as his people and would identify him as their God and they changed what God gave them and they lost that identifying sign.

   But the people of Judah always kept it. And therefore the world thinks that the people of Judah because they have that tail-tagged, identifying tag or sign on them. The world thinks that the people of Judah or the Jewish people today and the Jews are not all of Judah. They're the only ones that we know and recognize that they are all there is of Israel. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of the others of Judah that never came back to Palestine after the captivity of the Babylon. And they did not go back to this sign that God had given them. And so they have not been identified and the world doesn't even know where they are. And yet they are the actual descendants of Judah also, actually, they are Jewish people, but they're not known as such. And we're not known as Israelites, but my friends, the people of the vanguard, the great nation, the populist nation of Israel migrated northwest across Europe into Northwestern Europe and the British Isles and came over finally here, many of us to the United States. We are that people and my friends, we are the ones that God has given that great birthright promise to. We are the ones the United States is that promise great nation, the greatest nation, this world has ever known.

   That promise was withheld for exactly 2,520 years from the time of Israel's captivity until the year of 1800 A.D. And from that year, we began to spurt to greatness and national wealth such as no nations have ever attained before with such speed and in such a manner. And the wealth that we have, the material prosperity that we have, the dominance the power has all come because Abraham obeyed God and kept his laws, his statutes, his commandments. When a lot of people today are trying to tell you that God didn't have any laws or any judgments or statutes until 430 years later in the days of Moses, you turn back to Genesis 26, verse five (Genesis 26:5), I believe it is, and you will find why Abraham got these very promises that are fulfilled in us today.

   Listen, my friends, if the Bible was not the inspired word of God, could any man have written that and brought it to pass? It came to pass. Even though we would have the strategic gates, the commerce has been by sea right up until this very time of the end. And we have the strategic sea gates of our enemies. That's one thing that was promised. Every last detail that God promised Abraham has been fulfilled in us.

   Yes, it's Genesis 26, verse five (Genesis 26:5), where the promise was being fulfilled here to Isaac again because it was to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob because that Abraham obeyed my voice. Kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws. So said God Almighty, there were his laws, his commandments 430 years before the old covenant or before the Mosaic dispensation or the Levitical priesthood ever started?

   Oh, my friends, some people need to read their Bibles a little bit and blow the dust off of them. Why the most overwhelming fulfillment of prophecy, my friends, in your Bible is the fulfillment of the promises that God made to Abraham that are permitting you to enjoy this very radio set you're listening to and hearing my voice now, that are permitting us to have the prosperity that we have. We have things here in the United States that all of our common people have that the people of other parts of the world have never dreamed of.

   My friends, we have all of this because God is faithful to keep his word, his promises. He promised it to Abraham. It didn't come through our merits or our goodness or anything we have done. God said to his people back here in Leviticus 26, "If you will hearken to my voice, if you will keep my commandments and do them." Let me read it to you, Leviticus 26 (Leviticus 26:1-8). "You shall make you no idols nor graven image to bow down unto it. I am the Eternal your God. You shall keep my Sabbath and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Eternal. If you walk in my statues and keep my commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in due season and the land shall yield her increase and the trees of the field will yield their fruit. Your threshing shall reach to the vintage, crops the year round. I will give you peace in the land. You shall lie down. None shall make you afraid. Finally says if we're invaded, we'd chase our enemies, they'll fall before us. Five of us could chase 100, 100 of us could put 10,000 of our enemies to flight. We would be prosperous. We would become wealthy. We would dominate the world. God determines the outcome of wars."

   God said he would see if we obeyed him, we could always come out victor if we were invaded in the war, of course, to obey him, we wouldn't invade any other nation. But listen, He said (Leviticus 26:14-18), "If you will not hearken unto me to do all of these commandments, I'll even appoint over you terror and consumption, the burning ague you that shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. You will eat your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it, because we'd be invaded. Or Israel would, this was to ancient Israel and they are our forefathers because they would be invaded and conquered if they did not obey him, and you shall be slain before your enemies. They that hate, you shall reign over you. And I will punish you seven times more for your sins." And that's four times mentioned a seven times punishment. Bible students who understand know that that seven times is the duration of 2,520 years. And we know that that very promise of the great material prosperity and of dominating over other nations even in war was withheld until after the year of 1800 A.D. And from that time on, we became great. First, the British Commonwealth of nations, the greatest company or commonwealth of nations that this world has ever known. And then finally, as they hit their peak and began to go down, the United States has come up and we're at the very zenith of our prosperity right now, the greatest nation that this world has ever known, that's where we are today.

   Now, what have we done? We didn't deserve any of it. What have we done? Oh, I tell you my friends, our land is dotted with churches and we make mention of the Eternal, our God in many, many prayers. But God says we don't put our heart in our prayers. God says we don't obey him. God says we're a stiff-necked and rebellious people that are going our own way, the way this seems right in our eyes. We think we're pretty good. We call ourselves a Christian nation. We do the thing that we think is right. But it's the thing that God says is going to wind up in death. And God knows that the way we're living and the things we're doing are not right ways. They are not the ways that are good for us. And consequently, because we're going that way because we are not recognizing our God. He has let us win two phases of World War, World War I, World War II. He's giving us right now, still another chance. And our last chance if we don't wake up.

   We've been doing the things that are evil and the things that are bad for us. We try to slit one another's throats. We try to drive sharp bargains and beat one another. We rob, we cheat, we steal here among ourselves in the United States. We have more crime, we have more divorce, we have more of all of those things than any other people on the face of this earth. That's a fact. And your census records and the statistics prove it. Well, it's about time for us to wake up.

   Now, listen, God punished our forefathers. Ancient Israel. He gave them plenty of time. He talked to them, he fled with them. He sent his prophets, they stoned the prophets, they killed him. God waited another generation and he talked to them again. Let me read you a little of that in the 20th chapter of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 20:10-14). God says here, "wherefore I cause them," this is ancient Israel back in the days of Moses, "I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover, also, I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them that they might know that I am the Eternal that doth sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness, they walked not in my statutes, they despised my judgments which if a man do, he shall even live in them. My Sabbath, they greatly polluted. And then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness to consume them. But I wrought for my name's sake."

   Verse 17 (Ezekiel 20:17-20), "Nevertheless, mine eye spared them from destroying them. Neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their children in the wilderness, 'walking not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Eternal, your God walk in my statutes, keep my judgments and do them, hallow my Sabbaths and they shall be a sign between you and me that you shall know that I am the Eternal your God.'" And you go back to the origin of the eternal everlasting covenant that God made with Israel in Exodus 31 verses 12 to 18 (Exodus 31:12-18). And he said it would be a sign by which they would know God, the God that does sanctify them, that is set them apart as his people. In other words, identify them as the very people of God. Now, finally, he says here in verse 23 (Ezekiel 20:23-24), "I lifted up my hand under them also in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the heathen and disperse them through the countries because they had not executed my judgments but had despised my statutes and had polluted my Sabbaths and their eyes were after their father's idols."

   You know what they did, my friends? At the very time that Israel nations, back at the very time when they called Jeroboam and made him their king. I mentioned a while ago that Israel rejected her king and that the people that later became known as the Jewish people, Judah split off, seceded and formed a separate nation. Well, now here's the account of that. It's beginning in I Kings, the 12th chapter (I Kings 11:43). Well, just the verse ahead of it, "Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David with his father and Rehoboam, his son reigned in his stead. Now the 12th chapter (I Kings 12:1-4), Rehoboam went to seek him and all Israel were come to seek him to make him king. And it came to pass that when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat was yet in Egypt heard of it for he was fled from the presence of King Solomon and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt that they sent and called him and Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and they speak to Rehoboam saying, 'thy father made our yoke grievous.' You know, they didn't like taxes any better than we do today. And Solomon had overtaxed the people. A lot of us gripe and grumble about taxes even now. Our people gripe and grumble. We don't like taxes."

   Well, they didn't in ancient Israel, we're the same people. They are our forefathers. We're their Children. Listen, they came and they said, "thy father made our yoke grievous and now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke, which he put upon us lighter and will serve thee, lighten our taxes." Well, he spoke first to the old men. They advised him that he better heed the people. And then he spoke to the young men and he listened to the young men listen verse 13 (I Kings 12:13-20). And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him and he spake to them after the counsel of the young men saying, "my father made your yoke heavy and I'll add to your yoke. My father also chastised you with whips. I will chastise you with scorpions." Well, so all Israel saw when Israel saw that the king hearken not unto them. The people answered the king saying, "what portion have we in David? Neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jesse to your tents. O Israel now see to your own house, David." So Israel departed unto their tents and as for the Children of Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. So Israel rebelled against the house of David under this day.

   And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again that they sent and called him under the congregation and they made him king over all Israel. And there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah, only. Later, Levi and Benjamin went into the kingdom of Judah and there were the three tribes in Judah. Well, now right here, my friends was a division in the birthright Scepter. The material national promises that pertain only to this world. This time, this life material national promises of great wealth, great prosperity and peace and all that sort of thing. If we obey God, those promises went now into the house of Israel because they were passed on to the sons of Joseph.

   Now the scepter promise that had to do with the king, the Scepter and Christ, who was to be the final King of all the world, the King of kings and of salvation to him through him. And of the spiritual promises, those promises went to Judah (Genesis 49:10). "The Scepter shall not depart from Judah." You read. But let me see, II Chronicles, I believe about the fifth chapter, is the first chapter in the fifth verse, whichever it is the birthright was Joseph's and it was passed on to the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. And the British people are Ephraim, the great commonwealth of nations and the United States is the great single nation, Manasseh.

   Now, listen, the easiest way to get around anything you don't want to receive is to snare at it, to ridicule it and to laugh it, to scorn. Now, a lot of people will laugh to scorn. What I just said to you. Not one of them has ever been able to write me one line, refuting it. I've had hundreds of letters of people trying to refute it. They always assume that we believe something we don't, they take a false proof of some kind and refute that not one of them has ever taken the real reasons, the real proof that we are Israel today in the United States and refuted one iota of it. So before you try to write in and tell me how wrong I am my friend. You better get this booklet and see if you can find something wrong in that. Now, you better read that booklet The United States in Prophecy and know who we are. We are mentioned more often in prophecy than any other people.

   Well, now the birthright was Joseph and it went into these two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh that headed this nation. And now the Scepter went to Judah and Christ came with the Jewish people because the scepter promise of Christ went to them. But the birthright was Joseph's and we have that promise. Now, I want you to listen. Here's the first thing Jeroboam did. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and he dwelt there in and he went from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, now shall the kingdom return to the house of David? He got afraid that the people would go back to Rehoboam, who was the real king on David's dynasty. And he said, if these people go up to sacrifice in the house of the Eternal at Jerusalem, now they had annual festivals that God gave his people, that he ordained forever and believe it or not. The New Testament True Church of the Apostles kept these festivals. The apostle Paul taught the Gentile Christians to drop their pagan days that were Christmas and New Year's and Easter and those days and to keep these festivals believe it or not. And that's a matter of documented history, evidence.

   Now, there are a lot of surprises my friends when we finally come to know the truth. Never has there been a people so deceived as we. Your Bible says that there would be the whole world deceived that the devil is a great deceiver and he has many ministers and we are deceived. It's about time we get our eyes open. Well, listen, he said, "if this people goes down there to sacrifice in the house of the Eternal of Jerusalem. Then shall the heart of the people turn again to their Lord? Even to Rehoboam the king of Judah and they'll kill me and they'll go again to Rehoboam the king of Judah." Whereupon the king took counsel and he made two calves of gold. He set the one in Dan and the other in Bethel. And he said here old people, "these are your gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt." In other words, this is what God looks like. Now, maybe you have a picture in your Bible, maybe you have a picture in your house. And people say, "well here, oh people, this is what Christ looks like." The Christ that died for you on the cross. Oh no, it isn't my friends. That is not what Christ looks like. You will find Christ's description in the very first chapter of the Book of Revelation in your Bible. And you've never seen a picture like that.

   Now, these golden calves were idols. And when you make a picture of God, that is not God, it's an idol. It's about time we got rid of them. So this thing became a sin and he made priests of the lowest of the people. And then Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month, like unto the Feast that is in Judah that he offered on the altar, the Feast that God gave them in the seventh month. He changed it to the eighth month. So he offered on the altar on the 15th day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart and ordained a feast of the children of Israel. My friends, he changed God's Sabbath from the seventh to the eighth day. And those people when they're next found in history were found observing that instead of God's Sabbath. And God says, as he said back there to them, "I said to their children in the wilderness, walk not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Eternal, your God walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them and hallow my Sabbaths and they shall be a sign between me and you that you shall know that I am the Eternal that does sanctify you." They lost God's sign my friends and they lost God. The Jews went back from their captivity and kept it. There's the most thrilling story in the world.

   Listen, God punished them with a captivity because of it. God is again going to punish us the same people as a duality in all prophecy and he's going to send the greatest punishment that has ever come to any nation on us. And that in the next 15 years or so, my friends in this living generation, if we don't wake up and repent.

   Listen every day. At the same time, my friends, the announcer will tell you the time you better know this. You better write in for that booklet, United States in Prophecy. You better begin to understand these prophecies. You can't understand prophecy if you don't have the keys that have kept it locked. And one of the great keys is where are our Western people of the Western world mentioned in Bible prophecy, the people of the United States and the and of Great Britain and of Northwestern Europe, it will open up the Bible so that you will really understand it and listen, you better also ask for the booklet on Faith for Salvation. That's another booklet, What kind of FAITH is required for Salvation by grace? Are you saved through faith? But that not of yourselves? It is the gift of God. Now, what kind of faith is that there's more than one kind of faith and most of you are trusting in a kind of faith that wouldn't save a jackrabbit or anything else. You've been deceived. This book will open your eyes, this little booklet, What kind of Faith? Now, there's no charge. It's free. If you tell me the call letters of the station to which you're listening and send your request, then to Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 Pasadena, California. So until tomorrow, then, goodbye friends.

   You have heard the World Tomorrow with Herbert W Armstrong, sponsored by the Worldwide Church of God. For literature offered on this program. Send your requests along with the call letters of this station to Herbert W Armstrong Box 111 Pasadena, California 91123. That's Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 Pasadena, California 91123.