December 08, 1967  
December 08, 1967 - Brethren & Co-Workers Letter
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Herbert W Armstrong 

The WORLD TOMORROW
A WORLDWIDE BROADCAST

HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW

Box 111, Pasadena, Calif. 91109

Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING

December 8, 1967

Dear Co-Worker with CHRIST:

   Look what is HAPPENING! Look at what a nationwide display of the incongruity of human nature!

   On the one hand, throngs trampling over one another in a frenzied shopping spree — greater than ever before — that approaches mob violence! Throngs pleased with themselves — thinking they are participating in "the Christmas spirit" of GIVING — actually pawing over one another to EXCHANGE presents among themselves — not realizing it is a PAGAN tradition, and NOT Christian at all!

   Then on the other hand, the country is rife with other mobs bent deliberately on VIOLENCE inspired by HATE. Just one newspaper front page reports 2,000 "peace" demonstrators, bent on their own war of VIOLENCE, having to be subdued and held back by 4,000 police, forming a "human wall" to hold them back, in lower Manhattan, New York City. Another headline: "Dow Officials Flee Anti-war VIOLENCE at Cal State, L.A." Two officials tried to flee from the mob, escaping through a window to their car — driving off with the mob banging and kicking the car and throwing missiles and shouting abuse! These "believers in PEACE," inflicting VIOLENCE! This mob tried to burn down a door to an interviewing room on this Los Angeles college campus. Violence erupted too quickly to call police in time.

   Another front-page headline: "Black Nationalist TERROR GANG Forces S.F. College to close." This was San Francisco State College. A boyhood friend of mine, with whom I grew up from babyhood in the same Sunday School, was Dean of Student Personnel at this college when I started Ambassador College in Pasadena.

   But THANK GOD! — All this kind of thing will be ENDED soon — forever! YOU and I have been commissioned by the living Jesus Christ to have a part in SAVING thousands upon thousands NOW — and preparing the way before Christ's coming in supreme almighty POWER and GlORY to RULE THIS WORLD and put down violence, and all war, as well as to end poverty, sickness and disease, the breaking up of home and family life and all the world's ills.

   WHAT A PRIVILEGE — what a BLESSING!!! — To be chosen by the living Jesus Christ to be HIS CO-WORKER, under HIS direction in the momentous all-important WORK OF GOD at this crisis hour! What a BLESSING, To be privileged to HAVE A PART in CHANGING, and SAVING the world! This is NOT like an ordinary evangelistic campaign, where a certain number are supposed to be "saved," and most of them turn back from it in the first year. This is the very WORK OF GOD — CHANGING and saving multiple thousands of precious lives EVERY YEAR now — BUT FAR MORE, preparing the way before the COMING of JESUS CHRIST IN PERSON — in the full POWER and flashing GLORY of the supreme Almighty GOD! HE is coming not only to rule all nations and to restore PEACE, PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS, — not only to CHANGE the world — but also to SAVE THE WORLD with IMMORTAL LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

   If this, now, were the only "time for salvation" we would have to acknowledge that God had failed, and Satan had won! For crime, immorality, broken homes, violence, mental sicknesses ARE ON THE RAPID INCREASE! Only an infinitesimal number of people are even professing to "being saved" now!

   In the world today, God's salvation is looked on contemptuously with ridicule even in America, Britain and Europe, generally. Yet the MASSES of the HUNDREDS or MILLIONS of humanity, in Asia, Africa, and what we have called "heathen" lands know nothing of Christ or His salvation! Modern education scoffs and rejects God and salvation through Christ!

   There is ONLY THE ONE activity on earth today that is presenting God, and the living Christ, and the TRUTH of the BIBLE in a truly RATIONAL, intelligent, scientific, logical, yet Interesting, DYNAMIC, AND TRULY SINCERE WAY that is silencing the skeptics, REFUTING the world's number ONE weapon against God's TRUTH — the theory of EVOLUTION, which permeates all education today. The minds of all our children are being poisoned, misled, deceived, by this damnable doctrine! NO OTHER PROGRAM is meeting this number one weapon of Satan on its own ground — with scientific PROOF! And at the same time, WINNING MULTIPLE THOUSANDS TO CHRIST — and at the same time PREPARING THE WAY BEFORE THE COMING OF CHRIST!

   I have just been going over the last two chapters of the first of the three volumes of The AUTOBIOGRAPHY, now ready to go on the presses. I have been giving it a final editing before press time. I have been impressed with THIS CRUCIAL FACT, brought out in this book:

   TWO PIVOTAL DECISIONS marked the turning point — and the FINAL TEST before God began opening doors, starting this powerful worldwide Work preparing for CHRIST'S COMING. There were TWO DECISIONS that I had to make. I didn't realize their tremendous seriousness at the time.

   The first was when God was working with me for conversion. I had thrown myself, in business contacts, with the heads of many of the country's largest corporations, and presidents and vice presidents of many of the largest banks in Wall Street, and in Chicago and other cities. When God did open my mind to His TRUTH, the first thing I thought was: "What will all these former associates think?" I knew they would think I had gone in for religious "fanaticism," or gone crazy, or lost my mind. It meant WITHDRAWING altogether from such associations. It meant associating with humble people! That hit my vanity. But God could not use me until that vanity was "crucified." That was my first great decisive TEST!

   Yet hundreds have made that decision — passed that test — then entered the ministry. But the CRUCIAL turning point was the SECOND great decision.

   Like almost every man who has entered the ministry, I associated with an organized group of believers, and was SUPPORTED — paid a small SALARY — by them. It was not a great, and rich, and popular denomination. It was a small group in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, incorporated as "The Oregon Conference" of The Church of God. The climax of this first volume of The AUTOBIOGRAPHY relates how two ministers in that Conference were able to force me to preach and act CONTRARY TO THE BIBLE — that is, I had to do it or accept the only alternative — cut loose from their financial support.

   Thousands of ministers have faced this crossroad. I could have reasoned like I suppose they have done: "Well, it's better to be able to preach AS MUCH of the Bible truth as they will let me, than not to be able to preach at all! If I am cut off from all financial support, and from any following, I'd be stranded high and dry — UNABLE TO PREACH AT ALL!" Yes, I, too, thought of that line of reasoning. BUT I THOUGHT FURTHER!

   "ON THE OTHER HAND," I reasoned, "God says in the Bible: 'God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.'" Instantly I saw that, if any firm, company, or church organization of MEN pays your salary, you have to serve those MEN — or else!! If I were to serve GOD faithfully, I would have to LOOK TO GOD for supplying all my NEED — and HE HAS PROMISED HE WOULD DO THIS!

   God Himself brought about CIRCUMSTANCES to cause me to see, and make THIS DECISION! I gave up the salary. Not only the financial support — but the PEOPLE in that group left me! But God DID supply the need — and ONLY the need. God works through us humans. He does not rain down money from heaven. But He did lay it on the hearts of a VERY FEW people to support HIS WORK — so very SMALL, then — merely preaching to a handful of people in a 35-seat one-room country schoolhouse.

   I could not ASK people to become Co-Workers — I could not SOLICIT financial backers — I could not even INVITE people to become Co-Workers. I had to trust GOD to cause a few, voluntarily, on their own initiative, to start supporting GOD'S WORK. But GOD DID!

   YOU are one whom GOD moved to join with me as a Co-Worker WITH CHRIST. You did it voluntarily. God did cause Moses to ASK God's own people for contributions — and the Apostle Paul to ask CHRISTIANS for help for God's cause — BUT NEVER THE PUBLIC! I have always followed this policy laid down in God's Word.

   But right now, GOD'S GREAT WORK IS THREATENED! This Christmas shopping spree is diverting the support of many Co-Workers from CHRIST and HIS WORK, into EXCHANGING GIFTS with other PEOPLE. Many Co-Workers have come to see that the GIFTS should go to CHRIST for HIS WORK — not to other people — and have stopped giving Christmas presents altogether. But too many others are still NEGLECTING any gift for CHRIST, even though they suppose they are giving BIRTHDAY PRESENTS on CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY! Actually December 25 is NOT the date on which Jesus was born! But those wise men, appearing long AFTER His birthday, presented their gifts TO CHRIST — not to one another!

   Dear Co-Workers, I HAVE to send you this S.O.S. — LET'S NOT NEGLECT AND LET DOWN CHRIST'S WORK — LET'S SEND IN THE BIGGEST GIFT EVER, FOR HIS WORK! Let's KEEP UP OUR PART, generously, in HELPING CHANGE, and SAVE THIS SICK AND SINNING WORLD! Please PRAY earnestly over this! It is URGENT — and I'm enclosing a stamped AIRMAIL reply envelope to air-speed your extra and special gift back to us! THANK YOU from the heart!

With love, in Jesus' name,
Herbert W. Armstrong

Publication Date: December 08, 1967
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