Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW
Box 111, Pasadena, Calif. 91109
Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING
January 13, 1964
Dear Co-Workers with Christ:
Do you realize the real significance of Pope Paul VI visiting Palestine? Events that are very soon going to totally ALTER THE WHOLE FUTURE OF YOUR LIFE are happening so fast right now, that it is hard to keep up with them.
Just four days ago a TREMENDOUS EVENT occurred at Bonn, Germany. Chancellor Erhard called for establishment of a COMMON PARLIAMENT for the new UNITED EUROPE — a political and military union into ONE EMPIRE — the resurrected ROMAN EMPIRE! Erhard said he had the support of President Charles de Gaulle of France in this.
THINK OF IT! This in the first actual OFFICIAL ACTION to fulfill the great prophecy of resurrecting the Roman Empire that PROPHECY says will attack the United States and British nations, and DESTROY OUR CITIES! — unless our peoples unitedly turn to God Almighty in total surrender and real repentance.
Thirty years ago I was telling the radio audience this would come. No one believed it, then. AT LAST IT'S OFFICIALLY CALLED FOR! This means NUCLEAR WAR! It means HYDROGEN-BOMB WORLD WAR III! It means it will now come swiftly — perhaps in about eight years!
And what about the Pope's visit to Palestine? You'll read the AMAZING truth about that in the February PLAIN TRUTH — already set to type, and out in about a week!
You'll read the leading article, by Dr. Herman L. Hoeh, "Pope Paul VI to Meet President Johnson?" The article says plans for Church unity have suddenly speeded up! It says: (and I give you, in advance, PRIVATELY, a few quotes from this sensational article, as I now copy it from an advance page-proof): "IN THREE short days — January 4 to 6 — the entire future of Christianity suddenly changed. Three 'firsts' were triggered:
"1) The first visit in history of a Roman Catholic Pope to Palestine.
"2) The first meeting in 500 years between the Roman Pontiff and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch occurred to discuss unity.
"3) The first request in history of a United States President for papal blessing on U.S. peace efforts and a personal meeting between the Pope and an American President (in an official capacity).
"World events are racing on. The Pope's decision to make a personal pilgrimage to Palestine has already made 1961 a momentous year."
But it is what follows in Dr. Hoeh's article that is so startling. It will give you the real authentic history of the true ORIGIN or what has been called "Christianity" but which, in actual almost unbelievable fact is a counterfeit. I hope to follow this up with another article telling much more in the March number.
THESE EVENTS all tie in together! Erhard and de Gaulle ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO BRING ABOUT THE POLITICAL UNION OF EUROPE — until they call on the Pope to be the SUPREME AUTHORITY at the HEAD of it! Of course there will be a Strong-Man POLITICAL and MILITARY head — but the Pope will sit, as a religious and titular Head, over all. The Pope will be recognized as sitting there IN PLACE OF Christ — as a sort of King of kings and Lord of lords. They will call it the HOLY Kingdom of GOD — they will claim it is the prophesied MILLENNIUM! But it won't last a thousand years! YOUR Bible (Rev. 17:1, 10, 12) says it won't even last 1,000 days — but only a very "short space" or a symbolic "one hour" — which might mean up to a year or two — but a very short space.
These events are plunging the world ahead into happenings that will VIOLENTLY affect YOUR LIFE! They are catapulting us into the END OF THIS WORLD! — the Second Coming of Christ — and the beginning of THE PEACEFUL WORLD TOMORROW!
Jesus Christ has called YOU, as well as me, to be a Co-Worker with Him in the most important activity on earth — the WORK OF GOD — the proclaiming of THIS MESSAGE to the entire world — to all nations!
As great tremendous WORLD movements speed up, the living CHRIST is also speeding up HIS WORK. In this great Work things are now moving so rapidly I, myself, can hardly keep up with them.
Right now, here at World Headquarters, we are in the midst of the annual Ministerial Conference. From our various WORLD TOMORROW offices around the world, I have called our chief ministers to Pasadena for this great ten-day Conference to counsel together about plans for the future of God's Work. Men have flown here from Johannesburg, South Africa; from Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; from Manila, The Philippines; from London, England; from Vancouver, Canada; and also from New York, from Chicago, from Denver, from Dallas, from Houston, from Seattle, from Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta — all parts of America. Momentous decisions are being made.
In the last two days, here on the Ambassador College campus, two sizeable old houses, and a smaller sort of old shack have been torn down by big bull-dozers — ready to be hauled off, making ready for the first of the direly-needed new buildings to be erected.
Out of more than 600 applications of fine young men and women who wanted to come to Ambassador College last September, we had to reject all but 70, (new first year students, that is), because we lack building space and facilities for more. Students have to stand in line out doors in the rain (IF we get any in this dry spell) waiting to get into our over-crowded first-floor Mayfair which has to serve as a dining hall until our new dining hall can be built. They can't all get in, and some have to eat out-doors — even in the rain — (WHEN it rains!)
Architects are RUSHING to completion plans for the first two buildings. The ground is already being prepared for the foundation of the first one.
This reminds me that I MUST NOW ASK CO-WORKERS TO RENEW FOR ANOTHER YEAR your statements of intention for your SPECIAL offerings (apart from regular tithes and offerings for the Gospel Work) for the SPECIAL BUILDING FUND. We must not only keep this going from year to year for the next five to seven years — but we MUST INCREASE IT BY AT LEAST 30% EACH YEAR, TO MEET THE 30% ANNUAL INCREASE IN THE GROWTH OF THIS ENTIRE WORK!
I must ask that every one of you who sent in such a statement about a year ago, send in another renewing it for the coming year — and that at least 30% more of our Co-Workers now JOIN with me in this SPECIAL FUND! You see, there are now 30% more of you Co-Workers than there were a year ago.
As this great Work of Christ grows, and expands around the world in scope and power — REACHING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY WEEK — we simply MUST have more and more trained workers and ordained ministers in the field — all over the world — to visit those BEING CONVERTED who REQUEST baptism, spiritual counsel, and help. Remember, we NEVER send representatives to call on people, just because they subscribe to The PLAIN TRUTH, UNLESS THEY, THEMSELVES, OF THEIR OWN DECISION WITHOUT ANY PROMPTING FROM US, WRITE IN AND PERSONALLY REQUEST IT! But, did you realize that we constantly receive such requests, BY THE HUNDREDS? Do you realize that MANY HUNDREDS are converted and baptized through this Work every year? Their lives completely CHANGED!
But we don't send out novices to visit these people who do request it. They must be specially and highly trained. They must be themselves fully converted, consecrated, filled with GOD'S SPIRIT! They must be either ordained ministers — graduates of Ambassador College — or specially-qualified advanced students. Unless we can provide facilities to house, feed, and assemble in class-rooms more and more students, THIS GREAT AND GROWING HARVEST OF PRECIOUS LIVES CANNOT BE REAPED!
Remember Jesus said the harvest is plenteous, BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW — and He commands you and me to PRAY for more laborers. One way we can do that, beside fervent LITERAL prayers, is by as liberal special contributions (or even loans) to this SPECIAL BUILDING FUND as we are able. We wanted to accept 200 or more new students last fall — over 600 wanted to come. But, because of the lack of these necessary buildings, we could only take 70.
God is causing more and more talented, fine young men and women to apply for admission to one of the Ambassador Colleges every year. The WORLD can afford to have its BIG colleges and gigantic universities, with scores of giant buildings, to train them for the WORLD'S WORK in a dying and doomed world going to oblivion in perhaps some 15 years or less! Yet some think that GOD'S colleges ought to be tiny little struggling schools which ought to get along without any additional buildings or facilities to accommodate constant growth.
Just this morning the newspapers carried a half-page sketch of the burgeoning campus for Caltech (California Institute of Technology). They have just recently completed a TWENTY MILLION DOLLAR building expansion project, and now they are calling for TEN MILLION more. They will get it, too! And my own home LIES RIGHT IN THEIR PATH. In their Master Plan, our home is scheduled to be wrecked, and the ground to become a parking lot! This next ten million-dollar program, now called for, will take our home from Mrs. Armstrong and me. What they have done already has DEPRECIATED property values to the extent we will have to sell for about half of what our home is worth. If we refuse, they will have our property condemned under their right of eminent domain, and then we'll have to let them take it at a still lower price.
Caltech has just completed erecting 18 large, major new buildings — $20,000,000, to train men in technology and science for the "space age." Ambassador College MUST HAVE four new and far smaller buildings to train men to reap the harvest for GOD'S KINGDOM-AGE.
The plans are moving right along — I am going ahead ON FAITH that our Co-Workers will CONTINUE this special Building Fund, at an increase of 30% each year — since we do continue to have 30% MORE Co-Workers helping in this great mission every year. I have to trust you will STAND LOYALLY BEHIND ME.
Here we are in the middle of January — always a very difficult month — for so many people are trying to recoup their finances after lavish Christmas-gift spending. And then we have to face, next month, the SHORTEST month of the year. So we face two very trying months right now.
For this reason I need, especially to call for extra effort from all Co-Workers to be as liberal as your ability allows in regular offerings for the broadcast and Gospel work — and there is now SPECIAL URGENT NEED for loans of larger sums from those few of you who have such funds you are not using right now — may need in the future and therefore feel unable to GIVE such sums to the Work at this time. It is a very great help when you let such sums BE WORKING UNDER CHRIST'S DIRECTION IN HIS WORK, in the meantime, UNTIL you find you have to have it back.
Dear Co-Workers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your loyalty and faithfulness in GOD'S WORK. There's no Work like it on earth! God is BLESSING IT IN GREAT ABUNDANCE with EVER-INCREASING HARVESTS of precious lives for His Kingdom! And He is blessing YOU as long as you are loyal to HIS WORK!
In gratitude, with love, in Jesus' name, Herbert W. Armstrong