The Paradox of Man
82-28
Telecast Date: October 21, 1982
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   Some of the men that I meet - kings, presidents, prime ministers - are among the most able men on earth. But the problems are completely beyond their ability to solve.

   Doors have been opened before me to appear and to have private conferences with many of the leaders of nations all over the world, in all continents, and all parts of the world. And I want to tell you that they have problems that no human being can solve.

   World conditions are now racing rapidly toward the final war - Armageddon. For the first time, the weapons of mass destruction now exist that can blast all humanity - every man, woman, and child, including your life and mind - out of existence on this earth. And every weapon that has ever been produced in this world has been used, and Bible prophecy says that the nuclear weapons will be used, and whole cities will be destroyed unless God intervenes to stop it. No human being would be saved alive on earth, but God will stop it. It will come to this world's Armageddon, the final war of the final nuclear war - World War III. At that time, Jesus Christ will come, and the whole world will burst out in singing.

   The World Tomorrow. The Worldwide Church of God presents, The World Tomorrow with Herbert W. Armstrong. Ladies and gentlemen, Herbert W. Armstrong.

   Evils are mounting rapidly on the earth right now. But what a paradox we have in this world! Here we are in a world of awesome progress, awesome accomplishment. But it's all material - it's all mechanical, electrical - and it's awesome. But it is also in the midst of appalling evils, human suffering, discontent, unhappiness. There is no peace. How can you account for such great progress, such great accomplishment, and such regression? At the same time, spiritually, we're going backward - backward.

   Mechanically, physically, the world has been going forward. This world is not God's world. This is a world that started with Adam. Adam had a chance to let it be God's world. If he had taken of the fruit of the tree of life, it was offered to him freely. And that simply represented the spirit of the living God. And there would have been no Satan, because Satan would have been put away. But Adam made the wrong choice, and this world has served Satan.

   And yet, in spite of all of that, in this world, there has been some good. Not much, but there has been. There was one man a few thousand years ago called Abraham, and Abraham obeyed God. There was one man who obeyed God, and God made to him every promise that your eternity hinges on. Yours and mine, and all the eternity of the human race depends on the promise that God made to him.

   Then later, there was another man - King David in Israel - called a man after God's own heart. Now, it's true, David went out, he was a man of war. He killed many people, and yet David's attitude was good. David had many wives, he had many concubines. But if you will read carefully through the history in the Bible, you will find that after God really rebuked him, that David did repent and that David put away his concubines, and he never had but one wife from that time on. The rest of his life, he was a man after God's own heart. His real intention of mind and heart and attitude was good. It was right. He wanted to do God's way.

   So, David sang, David wrote many hymns. They're called Psalms. One whole great book in the Bible, the Book of Psalms, and those even who do not shun the Old Testament of the Bible and say, 'Well, we're a New Testament Church.' They will nearly always have the Book of Psalms along with their New Testaments that they carry around. And Psalms are merely songs, merely hymns to be sung.

   David danced, and David sang. So, there is good in singing and dancing, and all that singing and dancing that was uplifting, that was glorifying God, that was exuding joy and happiness. And you know, Jesus Christ said, you know a thing by its fruits. I know one time a man came presenting to me another kind of music that we ought to have. I listened to it, I rejected it. You know why? I thought of the mood that it put me in. Do you ever notice that in a movie, in a television show, a drama, the music in the background is playing on your emotions.

   Now, the music can put you in an emotion of happiness and joy. It seldom does, however, in the commercial world, it can also put you in a mood of hopelessness and despair. It can whip you up into excitement; it can make you sad; it can picture grief. And so many of the songs finally came to be in this 20th century, a sort of a moan, a groan, a wail or a funeral dirge. And then they came to rock and roll, and then hard rock that has been very injurious to young people, but they're oblivious to that fact; they don't realize it, and they get drugged on it.

   But there is a kind of music that is good. There is a kind of dancing that is aesthetic and that is beautiful. And in ancient Israel, they had music and dancing, and there were times when they had joy. Unfortunately, ancient Israel finally went the wrong way, and God cast them out into slavery.

   But now I think back in the year of 1960, I believe it was, the thought came to me about Solomon's temple for our Ambassador College here in Pasadena we needed an auditorium very badly. And I was thinking about Solomon's temple, and I was reading here in I Kings, the eighth chapter, and beginning with verse 17 (I Kings 8:17-19) and dedicating that temple. Solomon was saying; 'And it was in the heart of David, my father', King David, 'to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel'.

   'And the Lord said unto David, my father, wherein it was in thine heart to build a house under my name, thou did do well that that was in thine heart. Nevertheless, thou shall not build the house, but thy son that shall proceed forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house under my name.' David was not allowed to build it because he had been a man of war and had destroyed so many lives. But Solomon did build it. That house, that temple in Jerusalem was probably the most glorious building, the most magnificent building ever erected on the face of the earth. It wasn't as large, for example, as the great cathedral in Rome at the present time or even a cathedral in New York City. But it had far greater splendor. It was the most glorious thing that had ever happened, to build a temple like that today it would probably cost anywhere from 5 to 20 or 30 billions of dollars. If you can imagine how much that is, that's that many 1000 million dollars.

   I got to thinking we need an auditorium here on the campus with the headquarters of the Worldwide Church of God and of Ambassador College in Pasadena. But I remembered then what Jesus had said in Luke, the 14th chapter, and verses 28 and 29 (Luke 14:28-29). Jesus said, 'For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down and counteth the cost, whether you have sufficient to finish it? Lest happily after he has laid the foundation and is not able to build it, all that behold it began to mock him.'

   Well, you know, I began to think back in 1960 about building a house for God, but I thought I didn't want to build, start the place and then be unable to finish it. And you know, we don't beg the public for money. We don't ask for contributions on the air. Did you ever notice that? I never asked the public contributions on this program. I don't go out begging for money. Everything we have is free, and we give no follow-up, no request for money. I knew it was not God's will from what Jesus had said to start to build something like that until he had supplied the money to finish it. I prayed about it just as David prayed about building that temple in Jerusalem. I said to God, I had no idea of building a building, anything like the gorgeous temple in Jerusalem with such magnificent splendor.

   However, everything that God created and made, and everything God did, it says He beheld everything that God had made, and behold, it was not just good, it was very good. Everything God did was very good. And I knew this had to be very good. I asked God to let me know whether He wanted it done. He wasn't going to speak directly to me. But I knew He would let me know by putting in my hands the money to finish it before it began, if it was His will to do it, if He wanted it done well.

   By January 1972, God had provided the money to finish it, and we didn't begin it until then. So, in January 1972, with a spade in hand, I broke the ground. The auditorium was built and completed by April 1974, and it has become the home and headquarters of the Worldwide Church of God for services at headquarters. It has become the auditorium for Ambassador College in Pasadena.

   And it has also, we have opened, that we can share with the public of Southern California and with the world even, it is the recognized home of the performing arts. Among the great artists who have performed, Pavarotti, the great tenor, many times in the Ambassador Auditorium. Some of the other great singers, the Diva Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, the great Diva Cavalier, and the two greatest pianists in the world: Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz, who has appeared here three times at Ambassador Auditorium, and the first time in 25 years that he visited the West Coast of the United States.

   The world's greatest ballet artists have appeared here. Also, the world's greatest orchestras. The very opening performance back in April of 1974, we brought the Vienna Symphony Orchestra all the way from Vienna, Austria, over here to open the auditorium. Since the Great Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy has performed in the Ambassador Auditorium. Recently, the great orchestra from Amsterdam performed there, and also the Berlin Philharmonic—possibly the world's greatest orchestra—under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, appearing in person, the greatest conductor of an orchestra on the face of the earth.

   Now, of course, I can't reproduce on this program for you any such performances as those professionals. But let me show you a few glimpses of our own beautiful campus here and Ambassador, that wonderful auditorium, and some of our own productions that we have produced ourselves here just for showing before the various churches of the Worldwide Church of God. I'd like to share them with our television audience. We don't want to just keep it for ourselves alone. I'd like to share some of this with you. So now we're going to give you a few scenes and a few of the productions that we have produced here and going to give you some glimpses into that beautiful auditorium, which many of the world-famous artists say is now the finest auditorium on the face of the earth today.

   As a performing arts center, Ambassador Auditorium is unequal for a building its size. But Ambassador Auditorium is more than a concert theater. It also serves as a place of assembly for students and faculty. It has become a focal point on the Ambassador College campus. But Ambassador Auditorium is more than that—first and foremost, it is a house of worship made possible by gifts from the members of the Worldwide Church of God, dedicated to the honor and glory of the great God.

   As such, Ambassador Auditorium was built to reflect the very character and dignity of the great living God. God's high standards of quality and beauty are reflected throughout the whole auditorium. Brazilian emerald green granite decorates the outside walls. The granite was cut and polished in Mascara, Italy, as were all marbles and onyx found inside the auditorium.

   There are 26, 70 ft pillars surrounding the auditorium. The sparkling aggregate in the concrete is quartz. The soffits extend 24 ft from the outside walls and are decorated with Italian white and gold mosaic. The bridges leading to the auditorium were paved with Norwegian Sandefjord gray granite and trimmed with African Angola black granite.

   The reflecting pool covers one-half acre and holds 500,000 gallons of water. The soaring 30 ft egret fountain located in the center of the quadrangle was created by the distinguished English sculptor David Wynn. Dominating the Grand Loja is the chandelier. Its bronze tiers extend 15 ft from the center and embrace 1375 crystals imported from Belgium.

   There are 99 lights on the three tiers and 28 concealed in the bottom center dome. The carpet pattern is intended to be its reflection, just as the building is mirrored in the reflecting pool outside. The colors in the carpet are those of God's Temple in the Bible. Each of the candelabra made in Baccarat, France, contains more than 2,000 pieces of crystal, some weighing up to 30 pounds. Each crystal on each candelabrum is made to fit in one and only one place on the candelabrum.

   Heavy bronze doors grace the entrances to the main auditorium. The bronze door pulls were sculpted into the emblem of Ambassador College by Ernest Shelton. All of the walls in the grand lobby or Grand Loja are of rose onyx, quarried in Turkey and Persia, giving Ambassador Auditorium the distinction of having the largest installation of rose onyx in the world.

   Finally, the ceiling under the balcony and stairs are a 14-carat gold leaf. The carpeting in the lounge below the Grand Loja is of a bold, lively sunburst pattern. The two brass and crystal chandeliers in the lounge weigh 700 pounds. Notice the same brass bar ceiling as in the Grand Loja. The pattern of the rosewood paneling continues from panel to panel, a testimonial to the fine craftsmanship of the men who worked on it.

   Inside the auditorium itself, the balcony is decorated in crimson and gold in contrast to the main auditorium colors, which are gold and purple. The grand house drapes are of three shades of gold silk valor. The two Steinway concert grand pianos were made in Hamburg, Germany. It is not incompatible that a building used to worship God be also used for other uplifting activities like the spectacular concert series. God's way is that of serving, giving, and sharing.

   And now, may we present the Ambassador College Orchestra and Chorus performing the Hallelujah Chorus in the Grand Loja.

   And now I'm almost out of time. And before closing, I want to show you an offer, to you, a wonderful book that we have. I think I have offered it once before on this program, 'The Wonderful World Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like' after the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus Christ is going to come and reign and rule over all the nations of the earth for 1000 years, and then even greater things will happen after that. But what about that wonderful world tomorrow? When Satan will be gone, when Christ will be ruling in person, and when the saints of the Church, beginning with the apostles in Christ's time and down to the latest saints of today, will be ruling under Christ.

   What kind of a world, what kind of a civilization will that be? A new world? A new civilization is being started through the Church of God. Well, here's the copy of the booklet. I would like to send it to you, a free copy. It's professed with illustrated in full color. It's just full of illustrations, and it'll give you a picture of what the world will be like in a new civilization when we won't have the kind of troubles we have now. When the world will be happy, when they'll be singing songs of joy, where everything will be uplifting and not depressing, and when people will not be as discontented as they are now. We may have contented cows, but not many contented people today. And then we'll just be full of joy and happiness.

   If you want to know what kind of a world you're going to live on into, you need this booklet, 'The Wonderful World Tomorrow'.

   And also, we'll give you a year's subscription to what I regard now as the world's finest and greatest magazine, one of the largest in circulation, circulation of over 5 million, 200,000 copies a month. The Plain Truth, there is no other magazine like it, it discusses world conditions and tells you where they're leading according to Bible prophecy. The problems that this world is facing that you have in your life, family problems, problems in your own home. Now you just send your name and address to me. Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California 91123. That's Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena California 91123. Or if you live outside of California, it's much quicker. Go to the telephone and dial toll-free. It's a free call. 800 then 423-4444, 800 it's a free toll-free call 423-4444. But if you live in California, Hawaii or Alaska, then you call collect, area code 213-577-5555. Now that's area code 213-577-5555. So, until next time, this is Herbert W Armstrong, goodbye friends.

   For the free literature offered on this program, write Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California 91123 in Canada Box 44, Vancouver BC or in the continental United States. You may call this toll-free number 800-423-4444 in California, Alaska and Hawaii call collect, 213-577-5555. If the lines are busy, please try again. The preceding program and all literature were produced and sponsored by the Worldwide Church of God.

Please Note: The FREE literature offered on this program are no longer available through the Address and Phone Number given, please visit www.hwalibrary.com for all FREE literature offered on this program.

Telecast Date: October 21, 1982
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