Herbert W Armstrong

   Just what is the connection between conditions and problems in the governments and the nations around the world and the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why should I, a minister of Jesus Christ, be concerned about meetings with heads of state and the problems of their governments?

   If people really understood just what is the gospel of Jesus Christ, they would understand its vital relation to the conditions in the governments of this world's nations.

   Now, it may sound shocking and unbelievable, but very few comparatively know what is the gospel of Jesus Christ? It was not preached to the world for 18 and one-half centuries, believe it or not. Now, that statement, I know, leaves most listeners quite a little perplexed. Why, they all ask, haven't they preached Christ to the world all through these 18 1/2 centuries? Haven't they preached and pleaded with people to accept Christ, to believe on Christ? Haven't they called themselves by his name? That is, Christians. Why of course, they have. But they have not preached Christ's gospel. The all-important message that God sent to mankind by Him. They did not believe what Christ said, what he preached.

   Now, when I show you just what is that gospel? You will wonder why you haven't heard it, except on the World Tomorrow program or those of you who have heard it on the World Tomorrow or read it in the Plain Truth magazine.

   So even though I spoke to some extent that is on this very subject a couple of weeks ago, I want to carry on further just now into the astonishing gospel for it certainly did astonish those who heard it more than 1900 years ago when Jesus was on earth in person. Not only that, it angered the chief rulers among the Jews in Palestine at that time so that they sought to put him to death because of it.

   Why did they crucify Jesus? Why did they cry out to crucify him? It was for no reason at all except the message that he brought, the things that he said, a gospel that has not been preached for 18 and one-half centuries.

   Now, first, once again, what was the gospel that Jesus Christ preached? Well, let me read it to you right out of the Bible. I'd like to have you read it with your own eyes and your own Bible turn to Mark one and verse one. The book of Mark in the New Testament. First chapter, first verse (Mark 1:1): the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now verses 14 and 15 (Mark 1:14-15). Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. What gospel? The gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand repent ye and believe the gospel. Believe, what believe the gospel.

   Now, at that particular place, he didn't say believe on himself. They say today, believe on Christ. Well, surely that's important, that's necessary, but also it's necessary to believe that message, that gospel. And that's what Jesus said in this particular place. To believe the very word gospel means good news. The gospel then was news. The people had not heard it before. It was news for the future and it was an announcement that had never been made before. It was the most important announcement ever made to mankind in the history of this world. And yet men tried to stamp it out. Not only did they want to put Christ to death for proclaiming it. They also martyred his apostles after him because they proclaimed it. That is all except possibly the apostle John and believe it or not, my own life has been threatened more than once for proclaiming that gospel.

   Well, let me tell you, we do appreciate the right of the freedom of speech here in the United States of America. And that we can get it out to all the world from here. Christ's Gospel then was the news and it was good news of the Kingdom of God.

   Now, what is a kingdom? Well, a kingdom is a government and the kingdom is people. A kingdom is a nation or an empire and its government. And it includes the people in it who are ruled and it includes the people who are doing the ruling and governments are ruled by laws. The kingdom of God is God's government and God rules by laws. That's what angers the people. People do not want to obey God's laws. They don't want to obey God and yet those laws are the way and the only way that will cause peace and happiness and prosperity and abundance. They are the way to everything you want, everything I want, everything everybody really wants. We all want peace. We don't want to be disturbed by being harmed. We don't want to have fears and worries. We would like to have the comforts of life. We would like to have an interesting life. Always something to look forward to. Always something that's interesting and we don't want to have to suffer pain and suffering and anguish and things like that. Well, God's law is the way to all of these things we want.

   Now, it's true that the Kingdom of God is not of this world, of this time, of this society, now, of this age, but it is vitally concerned with the governments and the nations in the world today because God's government is coming to correct the evils in today's society, which the governments of this world have not been able to stamp out or abolish. The Kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned with world peace, which it is coming to bring the Kingdom of God.

   The purpose of it is to bring peace to this world and to bring happiness and to bring eternal life, which the heads of state and the heads of governments are striving for at least, maybe not eternal life, but they certainly are striving for peace and things of that kind. But they have not been able to achieve it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned with all the problems that the heads of state and governments today have to grapple with because it is concerned with the causes of those problems and evils which do violate the law of God and also with the causes that would bring and in the Kingdom of God will bring universal happiness and peace and joy, prosperity and abundance to all a real utopia.

   Now, down through time, God has sent his servants before kings and heads of government. You know, God caused Moses to be reared from babyhood in a king's palace so that he was trained in the techniques of government so that he could lead God's people out of Egypt and form them into a new nation that was God's nation, but they were mortal humans filled with human nature like you and I are. So, they didn't follow in God's laws very long, which they had promised to do, but they didn't do.

   Now, God sent Elijah before kings. God was concerned about the problems in their kingdoms and how they were doing things that did violate God's laws and bringing unhappiness on the people. Jeremiah was sent before the rulers of the nations of his day. God sent Daniel before the head of the state of the world's very first empire. And the prophecies in the book of Daniel were inspired. Daniel was inspired to write them as a vital part of Christ's gospel of the Kingdom of God and they concern government and governments.

   Now, God had caused the king Nebuchadnezzar to have a dream way back 600 years before Christ. In that dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a huge metallic statue. I've talked to you about it on this program before he sent Daniel to the king to interpret the meaning of it. Now, let me read you just a little of it. I'm not going to go over it in detail as I have before again, this time. But if you will notice the second chapter of Daniel and verse 36 (Daniel 2:36), where Daniel had told the king what he had dreamed, I won't go into the details. He says this is the dream and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

   Now, he had said that he himself didn't have any way of understanding things like this. But he said, there is a God in heaven that is making known to the king, what is going to happen in the latter days? And that's in the time you and I are living in now. And this concerns our time in the 20th century A.D. Now, this was the interpretation Daniel said thou O king or the king of kings for the God of heaven have given you a kingdom. Did you know that the Eternal God is the ruler over the whole vast universe that God is concerned with governments and with the people in those kingdoms and those governments. The gospel is concerned with government, my friend. It is the gospel or the good news of the Kingdom of God and that's God's government. He said the God of heaven has given you a kingdom and power and strength and so on. And then in verse 39 (Daniel 2:39), and after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee. And then another third kingdom of brass, which is referring to the brass of the image that he had dreamed about and which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron for as much as iron, break in pieces and subdue all things and as iron that breaks all of these shall it break in pieces and bruise then finally, we come to it in verse 44 (Daniel 2:44). And in the days of these kings, that's the governments of this world. And it's getting right down to a government that is forming over in Europe right now my friends. In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, notice the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that is the Kingdom of God that will never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people and it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. That's the governments of this world now and it shall stand forever and it's going to bring happiness and peace and salvation to all of the peoples in the world.

   Now, that was written as a prophecy some 600 years before Christ, a prophetic announcement of the Kingdom of God. But of course, it wasn't proclaimed as the message to the world at that time, Daniel wrote it in a book and it was never really preached to the whole world until in our time now because the early apostles, well, they just didn't have the kind of population in the world than that we do now. They pretty well reached the known world at that time. But all in the intervening years, it has not been preached.

   God revealed more about the Kingdom of God by a dream that Daniel himself had. In it Daniel saw four wild animals which represented the same four Gentile world empires that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldean Empire had seen in his dream, the Chaldean Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greco-Macedonian Empire. And finally, the Roman Empire. Then notice now finally, what is recorded here in this seventh chapter of Daniel, it is in Daniel seven and verse 18 (Daniel 7:18). And then I'll read verse 27.

   Finally, he said, but the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. In other words, God is going to set up a kingdom and now it shows what Christians have to do with it. Christians who are saints who are real Christians, they are going to rule. And later you see in the New Testament, how Christ said they're going to rule under him. He will be the King, he'll be the King of kings in that kingdom. But saints are going to be rulers under him, to rule the world and to bring it peace and happiness and joy.

   Now, verse 27 (Daniel 7:27), and the kingdom, the Dominion and the greatness of that kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey Him, which means God. Now the saints are the true Christians, but just what is the Bible description of who is a true Christian. I want to give you that because a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about who is a Christian. Doesn't that mean everyone who joined the church? No, not by any means in the ninth verse of the eighth chapter of Romans, that's Romans chapter eight and verse nine (Romans 8:9), ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, there are terms and conditions by which you can receive the Holy Spirit of God, you weren't born with it, my friends. And unless you have really repented, unless you've gone through a real experience. And you've come to really believe and believe this gospel and believe, of course, also in Jesus Christ and on Christ, the Holy Spirit can never come. But those are the twin conditions unless the spirit of God dwell in you.

   Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He is not a Christian, not really a Christian unless he has and has received the Holy Spirit of God. Now a real Christian then are those who now are obedient to God's laws, to the laws that will govern the Kingdom of God over all mankind when that kingdom is set up and they are the way to peace. They are the laws of God. They are the ways of righteousness and of holiness. They are the ways of God and not the ways of human nature.

   Now, why was Jesus Christ born for that matter? Why were you born? Why was I born? Chances are you don't know. Most of you have never heard. You have never been taught. They don't teach it in school if there is any purpose. Is there any reason why human beings were put here on this earth or did we just happen? Maybe we weren't even put here. Most people don't believe we were. Well, we have a booklet on that. Why were you BORN? I suggest you write in for it. I think it's the most important booklet we have. Why were you BORN? What's the purpose of human life? Most people just don't know.

   But there is a far greater connection than you realize between the purpose for which you were born and put here and why Jesus Christ was born. There's a reason there's a very close connection between the reason why he was born and the reason why you were born. Now next, I'd like to turn back to the ninth chapter of the book of Isaiah. In the Old Testament. Here is a prophecy beginning with verse six (Isaiah 9:6).

   For unto us," it says, and is speaking to Israel of all time here unto us. That's the kingdom of Israel. A child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders, talking about government, the government shall be upon his shoulder, and who is the son? His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, of the increase of his government and of peace, there shall be no end upon the throne of David, the ancient king of Israel, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the Eternal of hosts shall perform this.

   Now, will you compare that with a New Testament passage, the first chapter of Luke. And I've read this a number of times before, but just listen to it again. I want you to get it in connection with the other things that I'm saying on this particular program. Now, it was an angel that was speaking to Mary who was to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:30-33). He said, fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth the Son shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. That is the Son of the creator God, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, which is in Jerusalem and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end, all that about a government, about a kingdom.

   Now, if you will notice in Luke 4:43. And you begin to notice there what gospel Jesus preached, and he was saying to the people, I must preach the Kingdom of God in other cities also for therefore, as I said, now, the eighth chapter in the first verse of Luke (Luke 8:1), in the New Testament, and it came to pass afterward that they went throughout every city and village proclaiming and showing the glad tidings, which means good news or gospel of the Kingdom of God. And the 12 were with him. The 12 would have become the original apostles next in the 19th chapter of Luke and beginning with verse 11 (Luke 19:11). And as they heard these things, Jesus added and spoke a parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because listen, because they thought the Kingdom of God should immediately appear. It wasn't to appear immediately at that time over 1900 years ago, he said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he went on showing that he was the one who had to go to heaven to have the kingdom given to him. And then that in due time, he would return.

   Now, what gospel did Jesus command his disciples then to proclaim, notice it in Luke the ninth chapter. And the first verse (Luke 9:1), then Jesus called his 12 disciples together and he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach, what? the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He commanded them to go out and commanded his own ministers to preach the Kingdom of God.

   Now in the 10th chapter (Luke 10:1), you read, after these things, the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whether he himself would come. Now in verse nine (Luke 10:9), he said unto them, you go and say unto the people, the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God. Now, what about the apostle Paul? Did he preach a different gospel to the Gentiles? Well, just real quickly turn over to the 28th chapter of the book of Acts (Acts 28:23). Here, Paul went in, in the 23rd verse, they had appointed him a day. Now, these were mostly Jews, I think at this particular place, many came to him and to his lodging. And when he expounded and testified, the Kingdom of God persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets from morning until evening. The Kingdom of God.

   Now drop down to verse 29 (Acts 28:29). And when he had said these things, the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves. Now, he turned to the Gentiles only and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came unto him preaching. Now to Gentiles preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

   When Jesus first announced the great news of the Kingdom of God, the people were astonished. Well, just notice now back in Matthew the seventh chapter and verse 28 (Matthew 7:28), how they were astonished at his gospel because it is an astonishing gospel. It came to pass. When Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. Even those who believed on Jesus the same way that millions who believe on him today and I accept him and receive him and all that kind of thing. As they say, they rejected his message, his gospel. They believed he was the Christ. They believed he was the Messiah, they believed on him, but they did not believe him. They didn't believe his message and my friends, that message was not proclaimed for 18 1/2 centuries after the very first century apostles. Turn now to Matthew 24. And no, first, I'd like to have you notice in John, the eighth chapter of John. And beginning with verse 30 (John 8:30), as Jesus spoke, these words, many believed on him and there are many to believe on him today. Then said Jesus to those Jews, which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.

   Now, what did he say there? If you continue in my word? His word are the things. He said, his word is the gospel. If you continue in this gospel, then you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.

   Now later Jesus said verse 37 (John 8:37), I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me to those who believed on him. He said this, because my word has no place in you. The things he was saying his gospel, they would not accept, I speak that which I have seen with my Father. God the Father sent Jesus as a messenger bearing the message, which is the good news of the coming government of God that is to rule all nations of the earth. That's the only hope of mankind today. My friends, I know of many world famous scientists who say the only hope of the world now is a single world government that governs all the nations of the earth and has all of the military power.

   Now let's continue on here in verse 40 (John 8:40), just dropping down a couple of verses. But now you seek to kill me. A man that has told you the truth. They didn't like what he told them. They didn't like the gospel, which I have heard of God, which God had sent him with. Then in verse 42, I proceeded and came forth from God, neither came I of myself but he sent me. And in verse 44 (John 8:44). And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. They hated that gospel and they sought to kill him. And finally, the Romans did and they then put him to death.

   Now Jesus said that they would preach in his name, that they would preach that he is the Messiah of the Christ. But that they would deceive all the nations in Matthew 24. Notice it. Now, Matthew 24 beginning with verse four (Matthew 24:4), Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying that I am the Christ and shall deceive many. They will come in his name. My friends, you can check through every place in the Bible that it mentions those who come in the name of Christ and in every case, they are coming as his representative, they're not coming, taking his name and saying that that's their name. No, no, they are coming posing as or else being as they might really be the ministers of Christ and saying that Jesus is the Christ. There have been a very few who have claimed they themselves were Christ and not many. This says many and the many have come as the ministers of Christ. But it says they claim he is the Christ, they preach Christ, they say believe on Christ and yet they're deceiving the many.

   Now, how could they do that? Well, I've just shown you those people believed on Christ. Now he said, the end will come when this gospel is preached. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. That's verse 13 and verse 14 of Matthew 24 (Matthew 24:13-14). And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come? His disciple has asked him, one will be the end of this age or the end of the world, which means at this age. And he talked about wars. But he said, that's not the end. He goes on and he does not tell him what will be the sign of the end till he comes to the place where he says this Gospel of the Kingdom. And when you hear that preached, now, you know, you're coming to the end. My friends, if it had been priest all through these 18 1/2 centuries, he couldn't have said that could he, it couldn't have been the sign at the end of the age. And that's the sign that Jesus Christ gave. You need to know what is the true gospel. And I have a booklet, What is the True Gospel? What is the true gospel that Jesus preached? Did Paul preach a different gospel to the Gentiles here at last is made plain the truth about the Kingdom of God. What is the True Gospel? Now that will go into it in a way that I've not been able to the air.

   And then here is another booklet, Just what do you mean the Kingdom of God? Now, one is what is the True Gospel, this other booklet is what is The Kingdom Of God? What do you mean the Kingdom of God? Is it the church? And a lot of people think the church is the Kingdom of God. Is it something that is set up in the hearts of men? Is it the British Empire? A few people who thought it was the British Empire? Is it the good within you or is it the millennium? Now, each of these is widely taught and yet not one of them is right. The shocking truth is made plain, this handsome booklet, a nice attractive booklet. It would fit in your pocket. The Kingdom of God. What do you mean the Kingdom of God? The other booklet and it's free. There's no price whatsoever. This goes out as a free service in the public interest.

   Then I mentioned a while ago this booklet, What do you mean Born Again? Let me mention that once again. That's the most important booklet I have ever written. But you can read that at one sitting, but it is a very important booklet. What do you mean Born Again? There's never going to be a request for money. There's nothing to join. No one's going to call on you. It's free, there's no price. We're glad to give it to you as a public service.

   You just send your request to me, Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 in Pasadena, California. That's Herbert W Armstrong box 111 in Pasadena, California. Be sure to tell us the call letters of the station to which you're listening. So, until next Sunday and tomorrow and daily on most of these stations, this is Herbert W Armstrong 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 request along with the calls of this station to, Herbert W Armstrong Box 111 Pasadena, California 91123. That's Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 Pasadena, California 91123.