September 27, 1966  
September 27, 1966 - 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

September 27, 1966

Dear Co-Workers with Christ,

   Are we really AWAKE to the staggering FACTS that now, for the first time in history, world famous scientists, educators, editors, and statesmen are now more and more talking about MAN'S SURVIVAL?

   This is what WORLD LEADERS are talking about — WHETHER man can SURVIVE even another twenty years.

   They talk about how there are now enough hydrogen bombs to blast all human life out of existence many times over! They are talking about the POPULATION EXPLOSION — in the face of increasing famine and epidemics of disease. There are now about 3 1/2 billion humans on earth — more than half of them without enough food to eat. World leaders and thinking men are talking about SEVEN BILLION people on earth in a very few years — and not enough food for even a fourth of them.

   THEY can't see any hope!

   BUT YOU AND I CAN! And you and I are having a part in SAVING THE WORLD!

   Co-Workers, it's time we wake-up! HUMANITY WILL BE SAVED! But we need to face the FACTS — see them as they are — BE AROUSED BY THEM!

   LISTEN! UNDERSTAND THIS! The survival of any life whatsoever depends on the supernatural INTERVENTION OF GOD! While this world is straying farther and farther from even any knowledge of God — while this world is hearing "GOD is DEAD!" — while the persecutors persecute THIS VERY WORK OF GOD as if it and the Christ who directed were evils that ought to be silenced — at the same time the LIVING CHRIST looks down from heaven and beholds all they do! At the very same time the LIVING CHRIST is multiplying the power of this Work preparing the way for His coming! We must WAKE-UP to this fact — realize it is TRUE: The SURVIVAL of any life whatsoever depends on CHRIST'S RETURN and NO HUMAN would be saved alive, were not a BODY OF CHRIST'S ELECT now being prepared for His coming!

   Do you UNDERSTAND THIS? You say, Yes — but do you REALLY? Is it REAL to you? How DEEPLY do you believe it? How SERIOUS is it, actually in your life? How much does YOUR PART in God's Work dominate your thinking — your daily activities — your attitude? Are you deeply concerned? Are you praying for this great Work the living Christ is carrying through you and me and our other Co-Workers?

   Let me explain something you may not have realized!

   Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24, speaking of the very CLIMAX of world trouble into which the world is starting to plunge right now: "...And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved (alive): BUT FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE THOSE DAYS SHALL BE SHORTENED." (Verse 22).

   Do you UNDERSTAND that? Not very many do. Unless you understand some other scriptures that bear on it, you will not get the FULL IMPACT of what Jesus meant. So listen! Read and UNDERSTAND! Nothing is so interesting or important just now. For we are rapidly approaching the time! Back in the time of the Flood there was only ONE MAN on earth who was obedient and righteous before God — and that was Noah. In Genesis 6, it is recorded: "And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth,... But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Eternal. ...Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked with God,... Thus did Noah according to all that God commanded him so did he. And the Eternal said unto Noah come thou and all thy house into the Ark; for THEE have I seen righteous before me in this generation." (Verse 9 through 7:1).

   ONLY ONE MAN was obedient to God. Only that ONE man — and his family — was saved alive!

   Now see what happened at Sodom. The Eternal with two angels appeared to Abraham in front of his tent. The Eternal revealed to Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom because of its terrible, perverted, wickedness. But Abraham knew that his nephew, Lot, was there. He became frightened for Lot's safety.

   "And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city... And the Eternal said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city then I will spare all the place for their sakes."

   Now, at the time of the Flood there was NONE righteous before God but Noah. Had there been, God would have spared ALL people on earth for the sake of the few who were obedient to Him. He offered to spare all of Sodom if there were only fifty righteous.

   But Abraham became apprehensive. What if there lacked FIVE of the fifty righteous? Would God destroy the city for the lack of a mere five? NO, said the Eternal — if there are forty-five righteous, the whole city will be spared. Then Abraham came down to forty, then thirty, and finally all the way down to TEN. And God said that if there were even only TEN righteous He would spare the whole city for their sake.

   But there were not ten. There was only one righteous man in all that great city. So God took Lot and his family out of Sodom to spare them, and then DESTROYED THE CITY.

   Now look at OUR WORLD TODAY. It's a God-denying, God-forgetting, God-DISOBEYING world. And this world is now on the very brink of cosmocide — men themselves starting a nuclear war that could DESTROY ALL MANKIND!

   But what did Jesus say? He said, "But for the elect's sake," He is going to intervene, cutting short man's days of DESTRUCTION, and thus sparing the lives of all people then left alive — "For the sake of His own elect!" The "elect" are those who have God's TRUTH and can't be deceived (Matt. 24:24). They are those who rely on, and cry out to God in prayer (Luke 18:7).

   NOW DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?

   God is using THIS WORK to raise up obedient children who OBEY Him, who TRUST Him, RELY on Him — cry out to Him in prayer. He is using YOU and the rest of us Co-Workers to raise up a small minority of the earth's population who are HIS ELECT — who have surrendered their lives to Him, who rely on and obey Him, and have found GRACE in His sight!

   God is using YOU and all of Christ's Co-Workers to save humanity alive — so that, after Christ comes with all the POWER and supernatural GLORY of the Creator GOD, to cut short these days of man's destruction of man, He can then set about saving the world spiritually — with salvation and eternal life as God's GIFT!

   Does THAT mean anything to you?

   God Almighty is going to SAVE THE WORLD! The Living CHRIST in the FULL DIVINE POWER AND GLORY OF GOD is soon to return to earth! He is coming to STOP violence and human slaughter — to STOP race hatreds and mob violence — to STOP wars and human carnage — to STOP homes from being broken up in divorce — to STOP crime, and mental troubles, and sickness and diseases — to STOP poverty and squalor and filth and ignorance!

   Christ is coming to force humanity to BE HAPPY — to be healthy — to enjoy life — to be prosperous and end poverty!

   This last warning of this age is going out, WORLD-WIDE — OVER EVERY CONTINENT — through the WORLD TOMORROW broadcast, The PLAIN TRUTH Magazine, our other literature, and our Ministers all over the world ready to give personal counsel and spiritual help to all who request it!

   This Work is growing great and powerful because it's GOD'S Work — because the mighty POWER of His HOLY SPIRIT moves it! Yes, persecutors fight it — Satan's ministers (see II Cor. 11:13-15) "expose" it — cheap, dirty, low-grade, yellow journalism attack it, and, as Jesus said they would, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for MY sake. REJOICE, and be exceeding glad: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:10-12).

   They HATED Jesus Christ! He even had His Judas among His own disciples, who turned Him over to be killed for 30 pieces of silver! Do you suppose this could be HIS WORK and not receive the same opposition today? But this Work of God keeps right on growing greater and greater in POWER! It continues to reach more and more millions of people with CHRIST'S OWN MESSAGE, which many hate! It is a message of LOVE — of HOPE — of SALVATION! Why do men hate it? WHY? Men damn the very name of Jesus Christ in their profanity — yet He gave HIS LIFE — the most important life that ever lived — FOR THEM!

   Today the Work of God continues to reach more that 35 million people every week! What magazine is read by so many? What newspaper has a circulation of 35 million? Let me tell you, Co-Workers, the POWER OF GOD is greater than the puny power of men. The POWER motivating this Work is millions of times more powerful than that of persecutors, or those who would hinder or stop it! The POWER of God's Holy Spirit is ALL-POWER!

   What a privilege to be a part of it! What an honor to be helping to change the world — yes, and to SAVE THE WORLD! It is GOD who will do it, but He uses us as instruments. In this world, men use money to make the wheels turn 'round. God provides YOU and me with whatever money we are blessed with. He says the first tenth of it belongs to Him, and if we are honest in putting that into His Work where HE is actively working, He will prosper us until our nine-tenths become more that the ten-tenths was before. That's what GOD says! He gives YOU and me the tremendous privilege of being a small PART OF HIS GREAT WORK — helping with our earnest, prevailing prayers — and with our tithes and offerings, as HE has made possible!

   Co-Workers, let me remind you again, the tithes and offerings do trickle in much slower the last half of the month — so if you possibly can, it would help more than you know if you would try to send in an EXTRA offering during the latter half of each month. God does not ask you to give more than you are able. He does not ask you to work a downright hardship on yourself or family by giving. Of course not many do that — most do not give as generously as God has made possible. God wants us to PROSPER! He promises to prosper us if we are obedient, and honest in paying His tithes. It is said that John D. Rockerfeller tithed, and thus became the wealthiest man on earth. It is said that Mr. Colgate, the soap tycoon, attributed much of his success to tithing. That does not mean that God makes everyone who tithes a millionaire — but He does promise we shall prosper better than if we selfishly keep all for ourselves.

   Once again, this Work has been greatly helped by receiving LOANS of sums of $500, $l,000, and even up to many thousands — in situations where Co-Workers do not need to use the money now, yet are not free to give it as a contribution at this time. Many find that they can make it a contribution later — or part of it — and it is deductible on your income tax when you do. You can work out the details with our Legal Department — and we always carry an adequate reserve fund to insure our ability to repay part or all according to terms agreed on, as you wish.

   On the other hand, never think that even the "widow's mites" are too small to help. God's way is to give to HIS WORK according to ability — according as HE has made possible. Once in a while someone gives more than he ought — but of course human nature is such that most give far less than they are able — and than they ought. God has so greatly blessed us — let us be generous with Him.

   This world is hurtling now right directly into its grand-smash CLIMAX of violence, war, and death. We draw daily nearer the day when CHRIST shall intervene and return to earth. We draw nearer daily to the time when our voices shall be stilled — our pens stopped — our presses silenced -i when there will be a famine of hearing God's Word! That will be the time of the world's most terrifying VIOLENCE — climaxing in the coming of Christ to cut short those days, and bring us PEACE, HAPPINESS, AND SALVATION AT LAST!!

   Meanwhile, we must Press on! The need grows greater as the Work grows more powerful! Let's let nothing separate us from CHRIST! Let's press on with more determination than ever! GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR PART!

With love in Jesus' name,
Herbert W. Armstrong

Publication Date: September 27, 1966
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