January 23, 1975  
January 23, 1975 - Brethren & Co-Workers Letter
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Herbert W Armstrong 

WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD
WORLD HEADQUARTERS
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91123

HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
President and Pastor

Bombay, India
January 23, 1975

Dear Inner Family of Co-Workers with Christ:

   Last night, here in Bombay, India, halfway around the world from Pasadena, we had the biggest and most successful "testimonial dinner" since this new phase of God's Work began.

   More than 400 distinguished leaders and wives attended. This large dinner was hosted by Judge Nagendra Singh of New Delhi, Judge of the World Court of International Justice at The Hague, Holland. Present were 15 justices of the High Court of Bombay, presidents of universities, chairmen or presidents of several of the largest industrial and commercial organizations, the Deputy British High Commissioner, several civil service officials of India's government for the Bombay area, and others of like status.

   The dinner was held in the large ballroom of the hotel where we are staying — the newly opened Oberi-Sheraton, and it was in my honor.

   When the dinner had reached the dessert stage, Judge Singh stepped to the microphone of the public address system — there were nearly 50 round tables seating 10 each in the large room — and introduced me. I planned to speak between 30 and 40 minutes, and actually spoke for 22, saying many of the things I said in the Cairo address, only going further into the Bible than I did there.

   I wonder if you realize that if I spoke to this type of distinguished audience as I might to one of our own church groups, they probably would turn a deaf ear or rise and walk out. Christ taught that we need to be wise in how we give out His message. But when I told them at the outset that I was sobered, as I traveled around the earth and observed the terrible state of this world as it is today, and then went into the CAUSES of these world evils — with the wars and threats of wars, with violence erupting all over the world, weapons of mass destruction now capable of erasing all human life from this planet — they paid rapt attention.

   I spoke on the astonishing accomplishments humans have made on earth in this century — breathtaking inventions like the incredible computer, the marvels of space flight, to the moon and back — yet, at the same time producing weapons of mass destruction to kill millions of people with one H-bomb. I asked if that made sense to them, and there were a number of expressions of " NO! NO!"

   I asked if it made sense to them that, with the human mind capable of such accomplishments, still over HALF of all human beings on earth are living in abject poverty, many starving and near starving, illiterate, wracked with sickness and disease, living in filth and squalor. There were more "NOES!"

   I mentioned the economic depression spreading over the world, the violence, crime, moral degeneracy, the problems and evils mankind seems incapable of solving — the unhappiness, even among the affluent and financially successful.

   Then I said there is a CAUSE for all these evils, and I was going to show them that CAUSE. World leaders for 4,000 years have been seeking WORLD PEACE, striving for WORLD PEACE — yet there is NO PEACE! And that I intended to show them the REASON — and also the WAY to World Peace. And that I am contacting heads and leaders of nations all over the world as an AMBASSADOR FOR WORLD PEACE. I told them of my surveys of conditions beginning back in 1914, and of the challenge that came to me in 1926 that caused an eye-opening study and research into the Bible — and how I found, there, the ANSWERS to all our human problems and evils — the CAUSE — and also the WAY that will produce WORLD PEACE, universal prosperity, happiness, and physical and spiritual WELL-BEING. And that NO RELIGION teaches these things — SCIENCE cannot discover this truth — higher education cannot teach it!

   I went into the incident of the "FORBIDDEN FRUIT" in Genesis 2 and 3: Of how the Creator began instructing the first two humans on the WAY OF LIFE that would lead to happiness, abundance and eternal life — the WAY that would have prevented ALL of these EVILS that beset us in the world today; Of how that WAY of life is an inexorable LAW, as relentless and sure as the law of gravity — a SPIRITUAL law. I then explained that there are just two broad, general WAYS OF LIFE, and they travel in opposite directions. Of how I call one, simply, the way of "GIVE" — and the other way of "GET." The GIVE way is the way of OUTgoing concern toward others — the way of God's LAW — the way of LOVE.

   But our first parents DIDN'T BELIEVE what God SAID. When they disobeyed and took the forbidden fruit of the tree of the "knowledge of good and evil," they simply took to themselves the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. And I showed how humanity ever since has chosen the selfish "GET" way of life that has CAUSED all this world's evils. And I showed how God was soon going to TAKE CHARGE, and bring us WORLD PEACE in spite of man's rebellion against God's WAY.

   That's only a very brief summary of my 22-minute address. But it was a "warm-up" to prepare for a big PUBLIC APPEARANCE campaign in Bombay in the near future.

   This morning Dr. Singh has been swamped with congratulations and appreciation for bringing me here, and wanting to hear more. The reaction certainly indicates this big dinner was an overwhelming success.

   Co-Workers, I wonder if we all realize that the only true Gospel is the MESSAGE Jesus Christ brought from God in heaven. He came as a MESSENGER, sent from God with the most vital MESSAGE ever given to mankind. But men did not believe WHAT CHRIST SAID. He was sent as the "Messenger of the COVENANT" (Malachi 3:1). His MESSAGE had to do with the NEW COVENANT. The "Old Covenant" was mediated by Moses, and established the children flesh-born and descended from Jacob whose name was changed to ISRAEL, as a KINGDOM — or a nation on this earth. Christ is the Mediator of the NEW Covenant which will establish the SPIRIT-BORN, resurrected children of GOD as the KINGDOM OF GOD — the divine Family and Kingdom (GOVERNMENT) which will govern and rule ALL NATIONS on earth. The Kingdom of God is a GOVERNMENT, and it governs by the LAW OF GOD, which is the WAY OF LIFE that Adam and Eve and all humans since have violated — for its transgression is SIN, and all have sinned. It is A WAY OF LIFE. It is the "GIVE" way. This world lives by the "GET" way, which causes all the troubles.

   So the true GOSPEL is concerned with God's LAW — God's WAY OF LIFE — and also with man's way, and all these troubles and evils man's way has caused. This world has heard MAN's "gospel" ABOUT the Person, Christ. About the Messenger, but NOT about His MESSAGE.

   Malachi's prophecy shows a human messenger, preparing the way for the coming of Christ, JUST BEFORE HE COMES. John the Baptist was the messenger who prepared the way before His first appearing. But, beginning verse 2, Malachi's prophecy speaks only of Christ's SECOND coming TO RULE as King of kings, and SET UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

   Do you realize, Co-Workers, that THIS VERY WORK of which you are having a part, is PREPARING THE WAY, for, and just prior to, His coming to RULE? And NO ONE ELSE IS DOING THAT! And NO ONE ELSE IS PROCLAIMING CHRIST'S MESSAGE to the world!

   Never until just recently, have we been able to get Christ's MESSAGE into these giant Gentile mass-population countries. I have spoken to two audiences of more than 100 high ranking and distinguished LEADERS in India's capital, New Delhi. And now, to more than 400 leaders here in Bombay. And large-scale Public Appearance Campaigns are COMING!

   From here we shall fly on back once again to Cairo, arranging for the big Public Appearance Campaign there.

   I left Pasadena Thursday morning of last week. The night before a most remarkable recital took place in our new auditorium. The great maestro, Arthur Rubinstein, undoubtedly the world's greatest pianist, now 88 years old, gave a recital that will never be forgotten by those who attended. Those gifted, talented fingers performed in an incredible manner such as we had never seen nor heard before. He donated his services, as a benefit for the International Cultural Center for Youth (ICCY) at Jerusalem.

   For distribution to those attending, in addition to the printed program for the recital, there was a new special brochure prepared by members of our Headquarters staff in my absence, titled "HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG — AMBASSADOR FOR WORLD PEACE." The brochure is nicely done, in full-color, and it tells the story of this new phase of the Work. There are pictures of myself with 18 heads of state —kings, presidents, prime ministers, besides many others of high RANK. It illustrates the big Manila Campaign, pictures of ceremonies wherein honorary doctor's degrees were conferred, testimonial dinners at Cairo and Tel Aviv — a sort of general pictorial brochure of these new campaigns getting Christ's MESSAGE to leaders in world capitals who are responsible for the spiritual life of their subjects or citizens.

   I want to mention that I personally had no hand in getting this out — but I do want you to understand about this vital new phase of God's Work and so I want to invite you to request YOUR FREE COPY of this new full-color pictorial brochure.

   Remember, coming up now is the SHORTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR, yet on many accounts, we have to make full monthly payments. February is always a very hard month, financially, for God's Work. And so, if you can tighten your belts a little tighter, make an extra sacrifice for God's Work, and send in extra generous offerings at this time, it truly is sorely needed.

   And please put your heart into your PRAYERS for this Work, and for me and Garner Ted, for that is sorely needed, too.

With deep love, in Christ's name,
Herbert W. Armstrong

Publication Date: January 23, 1975
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