Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW
BOX 111, Pasadena, California
Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING
MARCH 5, 1957
Dear Co-Workers with Christ:
Events in God's work keep speeding up, faster and faster! It really is LATER THAN WE THINK!
Already our work of carrying Christ's true GOSPEL into INDIA — second largest nation on earth — may be FINISHED! TODAY we are on the four super-power 100,000-watt bands of Radio Ceylon for the last time. Three years ago today, the millions of India, Ceylon, Malaya and West Africa began hearing the original Gospel of CHRIST for the first time. For three years this Message has gone to these people in tremendous POWER every Tuesday.
Here's what happened: about a year ago the former Prime Minister of Ceylon, who was friendly to our Western nations, was defeated by a man who ran on a ticket of closer co-operation with RUSSIA. Immediately the new political regime put a ban on the broadcasting of religion over the powerful Radio Ceylon — government owned. But God intervened at the last moment. We were allowed to stay on another year, as I wrote you last year. But now the Ceylonese cabinet has decreed that there will be no further religious broadcasting. Our program of March 5th — TODAY — is our last program on that station!
THE GOSPEL HAS ALREADY BEEN POWERFULLY DECLARED, AS A WITNESS, INTO THIS SECOND MOST POPULOUS NATION ON EARTH! God opened this super-power radio door for us three years ago. For three solid years this last Gospel warning has been shouted and thundered to these people!
Does this mean they have now HAD their only chance? Has God now closed the door on those people?
Co-Workers, this ought to WAKE US UP! It ought to make us realize how little time we have left! The Gospel is now going into CHINA, the MOST populous nation on earth, every week over the Voice of Free China — the super-power government station of Chiang Kai- Shek on Formosa. It is going to the people of Australia over an Australian Network. It is being shouted to the people of the Commonwealth of South Africa, where rating surveys show we have a larger listening audience than the programs on the combined stations of the government Network. Our mail also shows we have the largest audience in Australia. This same Gospel is being THUNDERED to the people of Europe and the British Isles every Monday night over super-power Radio Luxembourg. At this moment we have three ordained ministers in England, our own offices in London, and a Church in London.
BUT — we have not yet reached Germany, Italy, Spain. We have not yet reached Central and South America. We have not yet reached many nations in Asia and Africa. We have not yet reached the Arab nations of the Middle-East. Already we are broadcasting AROUND THE WORLD — but far from reaching ALL nations! There are MANY MORE that must be reached!
And the startling fact that our work may already be finished in India shows HOW NEAR THE END we now are! Yes, it's much LATER than we think! We must SPEED UP our efforts! This takes more money! And this means we must reach MORE thousands and millions of people right here in America, for the increased income needed to take the Gospel into all these remaining nations MUST come from MORE Co-Workers here in America. That brings us to our problem here in America. Probably the MOST valuable radio station in all America for OUR purpose is the clear-channel 50,000-watt station WLS of Chicago. For more than a year they have been putting The WORLD TOMORROW on at the too-late hour of 11:30 to midnight. That is too late for most people to stay up to listen every night. Here is what I have done.
Shortly after my last letter to you, I went to Chicago with an offer to purchase a full advertising page in their farm paper, Prairie Farmer, every issue — twice a month — provided they would give us an early-evening time every night on WLS. This is one of the nation's leading farm papers. It reaches nearly every farmer, and many thousands in the towns and cities of Illinois, Indiana, Southern Wisconsin, and Western Michigan. In many counties it has a circulation larger than the number of farms. The editors of Prairie Farmer, as I had been told, had given the radio station orders to change our time from the 7 PM period we had year before last, to this midnight time.
I took along with me five full-page "ads," — which were not advertisements in the commercial sense at all, but printed SERMONS proclaiming CHRIST'S TRUE GOSPEL. Remember that I spent 20 years in the advertising field writing advertising copy before God plunged me into His ministry. The editor of Prairie Farmer read every one of these 5 typed-out sermons.
"Do you think the readers of your farm paper would read those 'ads'," I asked.
"Read them!" he exclaimed, "I'll say they will read them — every word! That's the very thing I'm afraid of! We'll have to be sure that you don't say anything that could reflect against our paper, and you'll have to put words across the top of each page showing that these messages are not our own editorial matter, or connected in any way with us." He wanted the words "Religious Advertisement" across the top of the page. I objected to this, or the word "advertisement," since this is not a commercial ad, and we have nothing to sell. But I think we arrived at a compromise that will satisfy both them and us.
This will be the START of what I believe will become the most powerful preaching of the Gospel campaign IN PRINT, in the history of the world! But these two full page messages every month will not be fully effective for us unless Radio Station WLS will move our program to an EARLIER TIME, so these hundreds or thousands of farm-paper readers may hear the same Gospel EVERY NIGHT on radio.
The farm paper people have accepted the idea of our purchasing these advertising pages, and the radio station manager said he would try to work out the earlier time schedule — but I have heard nothing definite from him as yet — SO, DEAR CO-WORKERS, KEEP PRAYING FOR THIS, EARNESTLY AND INTENSIVELY AND CONTINUALLY! This is the most important need for God's work at this moment! Take it to heart, in real earnest!
IMPORTANT! These large full-page advertising pages, reaching over 400,000 families, and a million people, will cost as much as daily broadcasting on WLS — and the earlier time on WLS will also increase our expenses. THIS TAKES EXTRA MONEY — but will bring with us so many new Co-Workers it will more than pay for itself before the end of this year!
So once again, I have to ask every Co-Worker to COME TO THE RESCUE with the largest special offerings you are able to send — and to be FAITHFUL in sending in God's TITHE of your income regularly and promptly, and to continue to join me in earnest PRAYER that God will daily lay it heavily on the hearts of all Co-Workers to respond generously, continuously! PRAY for our many Co-Worker's in the drought belt, that God will grant them rain and prosperity that they may have money to spare for His great work! This is the MOST IMPORTANT MISSION ON EARTH. TIME IS SHORT! IT IS LATER THAN WE THINK! Make this FIRST over every other interest and purpose in your LIFE! Send the largest amount you are able by return mail — and God bless you — and THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart!
With deep LOVE, in Jesus' name, Herbert W. Armstrong