HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
P.O. BOX 431, TUCSON, ARIZONA 85702
Pasadena
September 17, 1982
Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ:
I call on you to AWAKEN! We seem numb to the frightening
SIGNIFICANCE of events in Europe and the Middle East! Today--just hours
ago--the West German government FELL! It happened suddenly. Yesterday the
Israelis moved swiftly into West Beirut, after the assassination of the
President
Elect of Lebanon. Just a couple days ago the Pope received terrorist leader
Yasser
Arafat and was photographed with him. Although my aides told me Arafat had
invited me to a meeting with him, I refused to see him or to allow one of my
aides
to see him in my stead. Tomorrow the funeral will be held for Princess Grace of
the kingdom of Monaco. Probably the November issue of The PLAIN TRUTH will
carry a picture of Princess Grace and me dining side by side at a formal
banquet.
World events are moving swiftly toward the grand-smash climax at the
CLOSE of this world--THIS CIVILIZATION! World news intensifies! God
undoubtedly has held back progress of world events toward this final crisis. But
indications now are that God will allow Satan to SPEED UP his wrath, for he
knows he has but a short time! The devil knows it because Jesus' SIGN we are
near the END OF THIS WORLD (Matt. 24:14), which YOU have backed me in
proclaiming to the world--the Gospel of THE KINGDOM OF GOD--has been
going to the world in great POWER!
It is written in Romans 9, concerning this very END TIME, "For he
(Christ)
will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work
will
the Lord make upon the earth" (verse 28).
As I write, tomorrow is the Feast of Trumpets, portraying the SOON Second
Coming of Jesus Christ. But WHY is he coming? Some few proclaim the Second
Coming of Christ--but it seems that NO ONE--NO CHURCH--understands the
real meaning--the true PURPOSE of his coming!
Winston Churchill said before the U.S. Congress, "There is a PURPOSE
being worked out here below"--implying God above working it out. But he did
not understand that purpose, nor God's Master Plan for working it out.
God's great PURPOSE is: He is reproducing himself through humans made
from the dust of the ground. But what, after all, IS God? He is the supreme
Spirit
Being, but he is perfect righteous spiritual CHARACTER! And that character must
be inculcated into each human who is then to be changed from earthy matter into
divine SPIRIT.
For this awesome PURPOSE God has a MASTER PLAN. God's annual feasts
and annual sabbath holy days picture that Master Plan.