Where are we right now in world happenings? You read the news daily, you listen to it
on news casts, you read it in your newspapers but where are we right now and what is going
to happen next as the world turns in world events.
The World Tomorrow, the Worldwide Church of God presents Herbert W Armstrong... Internationally
recognized Ambassador for world peace... Visiting prominent leaders around the globe... discussing
the cause of world problems... and proclaiming the good news of the world tomorrow...
ladies and gentlemen Herbert W Armstrong. Very few people realize that the Holy Bible
devotes about one-third of all of its space to biblical prophecy of things that are going
to happen in the future from here on. Perhaps ten percent of prophecy is already
happened, has already occurred but about ninety-percent of all prophecy in the Bible is devoted to
things in the world today and things that are soon going to happen and yet if you go
to church and you here sermons or if you listen to religious telecast or broadcasts. You don't
hear much about that. You don't hear anything about the news of the world and the prophecies
of the Bible. About one-third of the Bible is devoted to
history going back to the beginning of mankind and how human life has developed.
I have mentioned how months ago now the atomic scientists came out setting the Doomsday Clock
one more minute forward from four to only three minutes now to midnight and midnight
is the end of this world or civilization as we know it.
There's a great deal of talk here and there although people try to get it out of their
minds about nuclear warfare and what will happen. The weapons of mass destruction have
now come to the place and been produced that can absolutely wipe human life completely
off of this earth. Erase human life completely and there won't be a man; woman or child left
alive on the earth and that is the thing that is the biggest problem of all facing mankind
today. The number one problem in the world today is that of human survival.
Now it's all recorded in the Bible about a third of the Bible is devoted to doctrine
and to teaching to telling us the purpose of life. The way we should live and all of
that sort of thing but if you attend church you never hear the other two-thirds of the
Bible about the history of what has happened all through these years. The history of nations,
of empires and of the prophecies of what is going to happen and yet about two-thirds of
all the Bible is devoted to those two subjects of history and prophecy which is history written
before it happens history of the future. Well now looking into the Bible where are
we right now? One of the greatest prophecies in the Bible
is recorded in Matthew 24:3 and that's the prophecy of Jesus and beginning with verse
three in Matthew twenty-four; "as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples" and
there were four of them actually "who came unto Him privately asking Him when shall these
things be?..." Now the things they referred to He'd just been talking to them about the
buildings of the temple and telling them that the temple was going to be destroyed. Totally
destroyed till one stone would not be left upon another and they said, "tell us when
shall these things be?..." He had said that the temple would be destroyed in their time,
many would come preaching another gospel and they did and saying that Jesus was the Christ.
Preaching about Jesus but not preaching His gospel and He said to be not deceived but
they were deceived, many of them and the world as a whole was deceived at that time.
Then they asked another question which they thought would happen at the same time which
actually hasn't happened yet and was to happen more than nineteen hundred years later. "...And
what shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?...", the end of this
civilization as we know it. Jesus answered, this gospel, of the Kingdom that is the gospel
He preached, was not preached for nineteen hundred years after Christ was crucified and
went to heaven. Inside of about twenty or twenty-two years
after Christ went to heaven, after His crucifixion, after His death and resurrection that gospel
that He preached was replaced with the gospel of men, about Christ. They merely preached
a message about Him and so the gospel today seems to be trying to tell people about Jesus,
about Christ. But the message that Christ brought from God. The message of Christ Himself,
the gospel of Christ they let alone and they don't tell you.
Now He Himself said, when this gospel He preached, "the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached
in all the world for a witness unto all nations" then He said would come to the end of this
world. So what are you listening to right now is the sign which Jesus Christ Himself
gave of being new the end of this civilization as we know it.
And it is remarkable that during the time of this program as I say during the last fifty
years, that the weapons of mass destruction have finally been brought into existence,
atomic and nuclear warfare, the hydrogen bomb that can absolutely whip out all human life
off the face of this earth. We've come to the time when humanity can be destroyed and
it was during the time when this very program has been proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom
of God. And I don't know of any other program proclaiming
that gospel and if you do I wish you would write and tell me. I would like to know. I
don't think it's possible that some other program is proclaiming it and it hadn't come
to my attention. But then after this now dropping down now
to the 21st verse Jesus said, "...for then" after this gospel of the kingdom is proclaimed,
which you are hearing in your ears this moment, "then shall be great tribulation..." That
is a time of world trouble. Just trouble in the world and it seems like there has never
been trouble such as we're in today. It's going to get worse. We're not in the time
quit here to describe as yet. We're coming into it. We're at the rumblings at the beginning
of it now. "Then shall be great tribulation such as was
not from the beginning of the world to this time no nor ever shall be." (22) "And except
those days should be shortened", the days of this trouble, "there should no flesh be
saved alive." Not a human being would be left alive but for the elects sake those days shall
be shortened. For the elects sake those are the real elect in God's church.
And people have lost sight of the real true church of God and where it exists today. But
for their sake, those in the true church of God, God will intervene and will stop the
hellish mess of the nuclear world war III that is almost upon us now before it does
completely annihilate all human life off the face of this planet.
But I'm here to tell you that Bible prophesies says millions upon millions are going to be
killed and are going to die in the trouble that is soon coming. And I can't tell you
if that trouble is going to come in the next one or two years, or the next three or four
or five years but it is very very near at this present time.
Now I want to give you some more of those prophecies.
I would like to have you notice beginning with verse 29 of that same prophecy now, "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days...", now God is going to cut them short by super natural
intervention, super natural intervention from the power of God Himself.
You know it's a question today you ask people, do you believe in God? And a lot of people
say oh yes I believe in God, but actually do they? Any idea that most people have of
God is so very very vague. God is not real to people. Do you think of God as one person?
Do you think of God as a trinity as three persons? Let me tell you the Bible says God
is neither. But I won't go further into that just now.
Now "immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the
moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven..." In other words
up in the sky there will be super natural signs. This is the intervention of God almighty.
This is not something men will be doing. This is not something the nations and their military
forces will be doing. This is something God is going to do to intervene and stop men from
slaughtering one another. And He is going to bring this world peace believe it or not.
I have good news for you beyond all of this. Humans are going to go through this terrible
time. They're going to learn a lesson. We're only having trouble and problems that seem
unsolvable in the world today because we're not living according to God's way of life.
God's way of life is simple summed up in the one word "Love" and it is love to God and
people have very little love for God today and love to fellow human beings. That is to
have a much regard for the good and the welfare of other people as you do for your own self.
Very few people have that kind of love today. Everyone is concerned for himself. It's always
me first. I want to get mine. Everyone is doing his own thing today. Leaning to their
own understanding as the Bible puts it. "And then", when this all happens, those signs
appear up in the sky "shall appear the sign of the son of man" and that is what Jesus
called himself, "the son of man, in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn and they shall see", that is the nations of the earth "will see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory." and He's coming and this you don't
hear preached very much in churches today. Christ is coming back to this earth to rule
all the nations of this world. Now I want to read you a little prophecy back
in Joel 2:31, it says: "The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood..."
Now I just read that just after this great tribulation, that will happen, the signs in
the heavens and that will happen before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
You know we've been for 6,000 years in the day of man but actually in the day of Satan
the devil. Satan the devil has kidnapped this world and the world doesn't realize that it's
been kidnapped and loves the way of the kidnapper more than the way of its potential father
who is God. And the world has been going the way of its kidnapper ever since.
But now notice, "the sun and the moon are to be darkened and these signs will be seen
up in the sky to end all of the trouble that is coming on the world but that will happen
before the great and terrible day of the Lord come". And God is going to punish the world
for its sin to wake the world up and bring it out of its sins because sin is the transgression
of God's law and God's law is God's way of life. That's the way of love so we can have
peace and if we live that way we would have peace and we wouldn't have troubles on the
earth. We wouldn't have our problems and our trials that seem unsolvable. If we only lived
the way God says we should live and He's going to punish this world but it will be after
the world brings its own troubles on its self through the great tribulation.
Now first is going to come the great tribulation then will come the signs in the heavens according
to Joel 2:31. And then will come the day of the Lord and that is the day when God is going
to intervene and God is going to begin to send to govern the world, He will send Jesus
Christ who was here over 1900 years ago in the human flesh. But Jesus Christ said if
I go to heaven, which He did, He said He would come again and He's coming again as the King
of kings and the Lord of lords to rule over the United States to rule over the British
nations to rule over Canada, over Japan, over Russia, over China, over France, Germany all
the nations of the world and our present governments by men and politicians is going to be banished.
Why don't you hear things like that preached? That's what your Bible is all about. And the
Bible is the word of God which God sent a message from God almighty and ministers of
the gospel ought to be preaching it. Gospel means good news and Jesus came with a gospel
which is good news and it's about these things I'm giving you some of that good news on this
program. Now in 11th chapter of Daniel is the longest
prophecy in the Bible and in verse 40 of chapter 11 (Daniel 11:40), it begins; "And at the
time of the end..." and that's the time we're in now. Then it continues on in the 12th chapter
which is continued and uninterrupted; "And at that time in the time" of the end I've
been reading you prophecies about the time of the end. "At that time shall Michael stand
up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people." Michael is a great
arc Angel a cherub when Michael stands up there be a time of trouble such as never was
since there was a beginning of the world up to that time.
Now here's the same time of trouble I just read to you in Matthew 24 in the prophecy
of Jesus there can't be two times of trouble of the greatest that ever happened "...And
at that time, Thy, God's people shall be delivered everyone that is found written in the book."
Now what time is that? "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake
in a time of resurrection some to everlasting life" some are going to be resurrected to
everlasting life at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Now then we go right on from that into the 12th chapter of Revelation where you find
the same thing is mentioned again. "There was war in heaven Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels."
Now the dragon is Satan the devil and his angels are demons; "And prevailed not", that
the devil and the demons did not prevail "neither was there place found anymore in heaven."
Now that is something to happen about our time now or very, very, very soon; "And the
great dragon was cast out", now who was he? It tells you right here who he was, "that
old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world:..."
Did you ever stop to think that means you yourself have been deceived? That means me
too, I was deceived. But God has opened up the Bible to me and has undeceived me and
I see the truth now but I was deceived. You don't need to remain deceived but you have
been, you who are looking at me and listening just now. You have been deceived everybody
on earth has been deceived except Jesus Christ when he was here.
"That great dragon was cast out of heaven." Now "that old serpent which is the devil and
Satan which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth and his angels [or
demons] were cast out with him." The world doesn't seem to know that Jesus
was born to be a King ruling all the nations of the world.
In the ninth chapter of Isaiah verses 6 and 7 (Isaiah 9:6-7), I won't take time to read
it but it says that He would be born as a baby, as Christ was and He would grow up but
He was to become a King and His name would be called and Emmanuel which means, "God with
us" in the human flesh and He did come with a message about the kingdom of God and the
kingdom of God is at the time of the government when Christ will be the King and the prophecy
is that He would come to rule and reign over all nations and that was proclaimed to Mary
just before Jesus was born. Now Jesus said in the 14th chapter of John
in the New Testament and verse 3 (John 14:3); that He would be going to heaven and He did
after He was crucified and resurrected and He said if He went to heaven He would come
again and when He comes again He's coming as the King of kings and the Lord of lords
to rule over all the nations of this earth (Rev. 11:15).
Why don't you hear that preached in the churches and you don't realize that the earth is almost
on fire and the terrible thing is going to come on us but after that people are going
to learn their lesson God is going to intervene and then He's going to bring His peace and
prosperity and immortality and eternal life and all of the good things that we could ever
hope for. Jesus said in John 14 (John 14:3) that He
would come again and the church He would receive to Himself and when He comes again they will
be with Him right here on earth where He is. He is going to rule all nations and there's
going to be an end of all of the satanic trouble that we have been in. Selfishness is the root
of all of it. People are ignoring the laws of God. God's law is the law of love of loving
one another instead of selfishness, instead of competition, instead of vanity, instead
of having malice of jealousy and envy toward other people. Always getting, wanting, trying
to get the best of everyone else, trying to get the best of every bargain, trying to take
away from others. Now when Christ does come again let me read
you what finally is going to happen it's in Isaiah the 2nd chapter beginning with verse
2 (Isaiah 2:2); "it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established at the top of the mountains."
Now here it is speaking symbolically and mountain is merely used in symbolic language to represent
nations. The mountains are the great nations like the United States, and like Britain,
and like Russia, and like Japan, and China and nations like that.
"...The mountain of the Lord's house" that'll be the kingdom of God, "shall be established
in the top of the mountains" or of the great nations "and it shall be exalted above the
hills" that is the smaller nations "and all nations shall flow unto it." (3) "And many
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and of
the house of the God of Jacob and He will teach us of His ways..." That is the ways
of love, the ways of loving one another and having concern for the good and the welfare
of others instead of trying to take away from them and trying to be selfish "and He will
teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths for out of Zion [that's from Jerusalem]
shall go forth the law [that's the law of God] and the word of the Eternal [or the Lord]
shall go forth from Jerusalem (4) and He or God shall judge among many nations and shall
rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares" this is what is going
to happen after Christ comes back to the earth again. "They shall beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." Nations shall not lift up sword against nation
neither shall they learn war any more..." but we will have world peace at that time
and that is what is coming that is what is prophesied for us.
I want to offer you a booklet on the condition of the world today. The world you live in
it is A World Held Captive. A World Held Captive and loving the way of its captor which is
Satan the devil more than its potential father which is God. A World Held Captive. You've
never read a book like this. This is something right out of your Bible.
You need to blow the dust off your Bible I've been saying that for the last 50 years and
see the message of God the message that God sent for all mankind.
This is a booklet that open your eyes you need to know about the world you've been born
into the world you are living in and the kind of a world going to live on into that is going
to happen the next 2, 3, 5, 10 years, because all these things I've been telling you on
this program are going to happen in our lifetime. I may live that long and see it all myself.
Now at the same time I would like to send you a year's subscription to the finest magazine
in this world and it's one of the world's great mass circulation magazines one of the
largest circulation magazines on earth "The Plain Truth". Over 7 million people have subscribed
to it or pick it up at newsstands. It is talking about today's world news and
it analyzes what you are getting on your newscasts and in newspapers and gives it from the light
of biblical prophecy and where we are and what it all means giving you understanding
of the events that are happening in your life and in the world in which you live today there
is no magazine like it there never has been there is not today.
Every issue has an editorial by me and the one here is, "Understanding the Way to Peace."
Then here is an article, "The Election of the Decade." Here is an article, "The Colossus
in the Making in Europe." A gigantic colossus that'll be greater than either the United
States or the Soviet Union and it is being formed in Europe right now and you need to
know about what is going on over there. Here is another article, "There is a Perfect Government,"
but you don't find it on the earth at the present time but there's going to be a perfect
government. Here is another article, Four Great Qualities of Leadership," and so on.
It's a magazine of understanding. A magazine that will give you understanding of world
news and what is going on in the world today there is no magazine like it.
Now that the request for money we don't follow it up begging for money we have nothing for
sale. Now you just send your request to me Herbert W Armstrong at Pasadena California
that's the only address you need. Just Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena California the ZIP Codes
91123 or many people would rather just go to the telephone and get it immediately so
go to the telephone and there's a free call. You dial 1-800-423-4444 that is 1-800-423-4444
that's a free call just call and ask for the booklet and the Plain Truth if you're not
already a subscriber to be sent to you as quickly as possible and so until next time
this is Herbert W Armstrong goodbye friends. For the free literature offered on this program
visit Herbert W Armstrong Library (www.hwalibrary.com). The Address and Phone Number for the Worldwide
Church of God are no longer valid, please visit www.hwalibrary.com for all literature offered and produced by
the Worldwide Church of God.