September 19, 1958  
September 19, 1958 - 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, California

Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING

September 19, 1958

Dear Co-Workers with Christ:

   Time is flying! The world is plunging ahead to its self- imposed DOOM! War is now threatened over Formosa. That means the WORLD TOMORROW broadcast over Radio TAIWAN (Formosa) is threatened. Twice every week this super-power radio station of Nationalist China THUNDERS God's last warning Message over the Bamboo Curtain into Red China—at 7:00 PM every Wednesday and Friday.

   Will Red China invade and capture Formosa? In all probability, YES—but when depends on when GOD ALMIGHTY decides that this Gospel of the Kingdom (of God) has been powerfully preached in that nation, and in Red China as a witness (Mat. 24:14). For about two years this powerful Message of Christ has been thundered over those Chinese nations, both slave and free, thru the door God opened to us—Radio Taiwan! Whenever God decides that thru us HIS WORK has been accomplished in those nations, it is probable that Chiang Kai Shek's free China will fall into the clutches of the Communists. The Red Chinese will "save face," and the United States, with many American troops now on Taiwan, will again LOSE face! Yes, PROPHECY marches on!

   As this world plunges toward destruction, God's great Work LEAPS AHEAD! The one section of all the United States which has been least effectively reached by The WORLD TOMORROW broadcast is central and northern California. This has been reached during the seven months October thru April by 50,000-watt XERB—but not as effectively as it should be. And during the five warmer months it has not been reached at all. And we have not been getting the Message into the populous San Francisco Bay area at all.

   But NOW, beginning last Monday night, Christ's Message is being thundered out to that whole area, on super-power KGO, one of San Francisco's three 50,000-watt super-power stations. This station, at 810 on the dial, is heard through northern California, and up into Oregon and Washington, and also in Los Angeles, at the time we are on—10:00 PM EVERY NIGHT, seven nights a week!

   This is a BIG LEAP AHEAD for God's Work! This is now the SEVENTH major 50,000-watt radio station in the United States whose doors have been opened to The WORLD TOMORROW program EVERY NIGHT— and, counting the three Mexican stations of 50,000 up to 150,000 watts, TEN super-power stations covering the North American continent! We are now on the first three stations in power and importance of the ABC Network—WABC, New York; WLS, Chicago; and KGO, San Francisco. On an every-night basis, this is most unusual —unprecedented!

   Co-Workers, the harvest is plenteous—but the laborers are too FEW! God tells us in the Bible to PRAY that He will send forth more dedicated LABORERS in His work—for it is LATER THAN WE THINK!

   We have but a few years left to finish the Work of God!

   Many of us have been praying to this end. God has sent to Ambassador College this fall our largest freshman class so far—75. Entrance Exams indicated a far larger number than ever before in the higher brackets of scholarship ability. There are now more than 200 students, for the first time in Ambassador College. Its growth is steady and constant. There were only four pioneer students the first year—seven the second year, twelve the third, twenty-three the fourth. This rate of growth has continued. Now, in the twelfth year of the college, we have at last passed 200.

   But we also need many more Co-Workers who make all this great work possible by their faithful tithes and generous offerings.

   This morning I arose early—5:00 AM—and was reading the experiences once again of God's people of old time, in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. And WHAT A TYPE of God's Work thru US TODAY—God's people of these very last days!

   LISTEN! It is thrilling! Can we be as loyal as they?

   Begin with II Chronicles 29: "Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old ... and he did that which was right in the sight of the Eternal. ... In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Eternal, and repaired them" (Verses 1-3).

   Over 31 years ago God in His mercy opened my eyes to His TRUTH, called me as His minister, later to lead as His instrument in His great work for these last days. And after some years of study, being instructed in God's Word, and of experience in evangelism, God OPENED THE DOORS of radio and the printing press, and television, before me and the FEW other Co-Workers who stood back of me; on one little 100-watt radio station at first. The first issue of The PLAIN TRUTH came out in February, 1934, about 250 copies, which I printed by hand on a MIMEOGRAPH.

   Just as the richly ornate and costly TEMPLE God had built by King Solomon in Jerusalem had fallen into disuse, and disrepair and dirt and filth, SO IN OUR DAY the very source of instruction for God's worship—the Holy Bible—had become misinterpreted, twisted, distorted, and His TRUTH dragged in the FILTH of pagan teachings and practises! But God thru us began to RESTORE His TRUTH—the faith once delivered to the saints. Gradually God led me to call more and more Co-Workers to join us in sanctifying our- selves and God's Holy Word, casting out the filthiness which the religious world had allowed to distort and pervert the TRUTH. Notice the ancient TYPE of this!

   "And he (King Hezekiah) brought in priests and the Levites, and gathered them together in the east street, and said, ... Sanctify now (set apart for GOD'S USE) yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Eternal God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place" (Verses 4-5). Then the king added: "Be not now negligent; for the ETERNAL hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that ye should minister unto Him..." (Verse 11).

   Yes, in the same way, God has chosen YOU and me, to stand before Him and to serve Him, in His work for these last days!

   "And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the ETERNAL, to cleanse the house of the ETERNAL ... and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the ETERNAL..." (Verses 15-16).

   In like manner, as they set themselves apart, dedicated to the physical task of cleansing and repairing, and restoring the Physical building of the temple, so we in these last days responded to God's call and permitted Him to set us apart, dedicated to the spiritual commission of preaching this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD into ALL THE WORLD as a witness to all nations, RESTORING the TRUTH, the TRUE GOSPEL, and the LAW OF THE ETERNAL!

   Notice, their work started small by a few:

   "Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the ETERNAL. And they" (the few of them) "brought seven bullocks. and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom." (Verses 20-21.) These sacrifices and offerings were substitutes and types of our acceptance of the sacrifice of CHRIST, and our own offerings of our time and money for the SPIRITUAL mission of these last days. And, in like manner comparing to the Old Testament physical example, God first called me and a very small number of Co-Workers to offer ourselves and our financial offerings, through faith in the sacrifice of CHRIST, to start the great SPIRITUAL mission of God for our day!

   Continue the thrilling parallel: "And he set the Levites in the house of the ETERNAL with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David ... for so was the commandment of the ETERNAL by His prophets."

   They did according to GOD'S ORDERS, IN THE BIBLE! So did we!

   "Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the ETERNAL with the words of David." Did you know that the ETERNAL has inspired the WORDS of the songs and psalms (hymns) that His people ought to sing? But do the churches today sing them? NO! They sing words written by misguided men—flowery words that say just the opposite of the TRUTH of the Bible—words that are LIES if the Bible is the TRUTH! Isn't it as wrong to SING a lie as to tell a lie?

   Today GOD'S servants in HIS WORK are RESTORING God's ways and commandments to us in this regard, too! We are now preparing a BIBLE HYMNAL. It will contain some 50 or 60 beautiful hymns composed by my brother, Dwight Leslie Armstrong, whom God has given special talent for composing beautiful music, set to the words of the PSALMS or other passages of the Bible. It will also contain a goodly number of hymns set to the Psalms taken from a very old Presbyterian hymnal, and also a goodly number of the best-liked hymns sung by many denominations, with the words of the Psalms or other Scriptures substituted for the unscriptural words you have always sung with these tunes. And then also a number of the favorite old hymns loved by nearly everybody, where the words are not anti-scriptural, or where we have altered a few words to make the meaning conform to the true Scriptural meaning. NEVER has there been a song-book like this one! I will announce it when ready. It may be that, if you should desire to have one or more copies, that they could be purchased through the music publishers. Of course we ourselves do not have facilities for publishing music. We shall have to purchase all the copies we wish from the music publishers, and I am sure you could obtain one or more copies the same way. I will see what arrangements can be made. Meanwhile, if you will want one these true BIBLE Hymnals, with the most beautiful music ever published in our time, you might write and tell me, and how many you will want—that will help us to know how many to have them publish. I don't know what they will cost—it will depend mostly on the kind of binding chosen. If they are bound in stiff board bindings, as they ought to be to last, they will cost more— not less than $1 a book, and perhaps $2 or more.

   There I got off our story—but I wanted you to know that.

   Now notice verse 31: "...and the CONGREGATION brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings." Now ALL THE CONGREGATION—thousands of people— joined in this great service (Verse 28).

   "But the priests were TOO FEW." (Verse 34.) Yes, just like today, our ministers are TOO FEW! We must PRAY that God will send MORE able and qualified young men to be trained for God's service in Ambassador College!

   And the burnt offerings WERE IN ABUNDANCE, ... So the service of the house of the ETERNAL was set in order." (Verse 35.) WHY, dear Co-Workers, in this SPIRITUAL dispensation, in the work of the GOSPEL,—WHY are not our money OFFERINGS ever in sufficient ABUNDANCE for the WORK OF GOD today? WHY can't we today, be of as willing hearts as those carnal-minded people—when WE have God's HOLY SPIRIT? Well, some of you are—but too many are not. We need to stir ourselves!

   Next, beginning chapter 30, King Hezekiah wrote letters to all Judah and Israel that they should come to God's Temple at Jerusalem to keep God's Passover—asking these people who had drifted from God and from His ways into the worship of pagan gods and the practises of pagan customs. He asked them to TURN AGAIN to GOD (Verse 6). Many of them laughed the king's messengers to scorn (Verse 10). Yet "there assembled at Jerusalem MUCH PEOPLE to keep the feast of unleavened bread" (Verse 13).

   And, (verse 21—Moffatt translation): "For seven days the Israelites present at Jerusalem held the festival of unleavened bread with great delight; the Levites and the priests sang praise to the ETERNAL day by day WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT."

   Co Workers! WHY CAN'T WE, TODAY, SERVE GOD WITH ALL OUR MIGHT?

   "So there was GREAT JOY in Jerusalem for since the time of Solomon ... there was not the like in Jerusalem!" (Verse 26). The people then, like people today, had gone away from God's ways and His commands and HIS festivals, into the ways of the pagans. But notice with what JOY and REJOICING they came back to GOD'S ways! How about us, TODAY?

   Then, chapter 31, verse 4, the king commanded the people to resume TITHING of their income. What happened? "As soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought IN ABUNDANCE" their tithes (Verse 5)—"and the tithe of all things brought they in ABUNDANTLY."

   What a thrilling parallel to our mission TODAY! Today our need is SO GREAT! God's Work must keep GOING AHEAD in constantly accelerating Power! Today God's Work needs your tithes and offerings in GREATER ABUNDANCE! If those people, who did not have the blessing of God's Holy Spirit, could respond in such ABUNDANCE —how much MORE ought we, today?

   Here we are, into the last half of the month, and now for several days the income for God's Work has been falling 'way off again! And so, once again, this is a proclamation from God's servant for this day that MORE OF YOU dear Co-Workers respond to this need in GREATER ABUNDANCE!! PRAY more earnestly for the work than ever before! Put the work of God FIRST, ahead of everything else in your life! God will surely BLESS YOU!

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

Publication Date: September 19, 1958
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