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HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
P.O. BOX 431, TUCSON, ARIZONA 85702
London, England
July 16, 1982
Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ:
This time I write from London, England, returning from a meeting with
King
Hussein of Jordan at his palace in Amman. Here I have a meeting scheduled with
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and also another meeting with HRH Prince
Charles, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne (the throne of the
ancient King David, if Jesus Christ as King of kings does not come and take over
that throne before Prince Charles inherits it).
Tomorrow, Sabbath, I fly to Paris to speak to the Paris church.
This morning's London Times front-page headlines show the present state
of
the world in which you and I live. All news is BAD news--violence, wars, strife,
trouble, unhappiness, suffering. The right-hand top column says of the war at
Beirut, "BEGIN ON 'DIVINELY ORDAINED WAR'." Next to it, "IRANIANS 4 1/2
MILES FROM BASRA" in Iran's war with Iraq. King Hussein is allied with Iraq in
this war and flew to this war front a week ago today while I was in Amman. Two
big headlines on the rail strike here in England--a bitter struggle. One big
headline on police security at Buckingham Palace. An intruder had climbed over
the barbed-wire top of the high wall surrounding the palace, climbed in through
a
window, got into the Queen's bedchamber and could easily have assassinated her.
Of course that's been big news in London. All other front page news this morning
is just more BAD news.
The GOOD NEWS is that we are MUCH NEARER the END of this final,
grand-smash CRISIS at the END of this present world and civilization--and much
more near to the KINGDOM OF GOD and the NEW and happy WORLD
TOMORROW than you have realized!
In Amman, Jordan, I had to wait five whole days to see King Hussein. As I
said, he had to fly to the battlefront where his troops are fighting while I was
there. He has nothing but TROUBLE to contend with on every side. After the 1967
war, when the Israelis took over the West Bank in Palestine from Jordan,
Communist and terrorist propaganda began stirring up discontent and hatred
against the Israelis. Yassir Arafat led this terrorist war against the Israelis
and
built up the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), making headquarters in
West Beirut. This also brought on civil war in the city of Beirut, with the Arab
faction against the Christians. When this was just starting, I had private
meetings
with President Suleiman Franjieh of Lebanon, a Christian (Roman Catholic), and
the prime minister, an Arab. The beautiful city of Beirut, then financial
capital of
the Arab world, was almost destroyed in that civil war. Out of it, Yassir Arafat
emerged with a sizable military force, well armed with major weapons by the
Soviet Union. But Arafat carried on his terrorist activities, even hijacking
aircraft
with many women and children aboard from nations unconcerned in the