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PERSONAL
FROM
THE
PUBLISHER
In
Remembrance
H
erbert
W.
Armstrong's
illness ended in the manner least expected
by a ll of us. Mr. Armstrong died
peacefully in his sleep on January 16 while
resting in the favorite chair of his late wife
Loma Armstrong.
In t he next second of his consciousness he
will awake in the first resurrection, completely
healed , not in the corruptible body of this
mortal Oesh, but as an immortal
spirit-composed body, in
glory
in God's eterna!
kingdom!
Through the years, we have learned that God's
promises are absolutely sure- but not always in the
way
we expect, because his ways are not our ways.
God says to us, "'For My thoughts are not your
thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the
Lord. ' For as the beavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and
My thoughts than your thoughts' " ( Isa. 55:8-9,
R evised Authorized Version
throughout).
God has
promised
to heal the sick, upon real
repentance and faith. But God has
not
promised
how.
or
when.
That we must leave to him in faith .
God, in bis infinite merey and wisdom, faithfully
answered our prayers in the way
he
chose, rather
than the way
we
would have chosen. "Precious in
the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints"
(Ps. 116:15).
God is fait hful. He is merciful , compassionate,
and loving. Herbert W . Armstrong is mere!y
May
1986
awaiting the day of his
change,
along with the
other thousands and thousands of God's saints, into
immortal , glorious spirit-life, born into the very
family of God at the soon-coming return of Jesus
Christ.
God granted Mr. Armst rong
93Y2
dynamic years,
the las t 53 of which were fully immersed in doing
the work of God, proclai ming the gospel of the
kingdom of God to a world blinded by the
deception of the god of this world, Satan the devil
(Rev. 12:9).
Even in the last year of his life, with declining
strength, he completed , with God's help, his most
powerful and effective book
Mystery of the Ages.
This after half a century of art icles, letters,
booklets, books, sermons and broadcasts, preaching
and teaching the trutb of God's Word, of bis plan
for mankind, of tbe glorious and radiant future
that is the ultimate destiny of humanity.
We don't know wbat trials lie yet ahead of us
in completing God's work of proclaiming the
gospel to the world. Perhaps God saw fit, as be
descri bes in Isaiah 57:1, to spare Mr. Armstrong,
at his advanced age, from the persecutions and
trials prophesied to come as we finish the work
of God for this age. lndeed, as Mr. Armstrong
wrote in bis final Ietter, "The greatest work líes
yet ahead... . Never before in the history of the
Church has it been possible to reap so great a
harvest."
The greatest tribute we can give Mr. Armstrong
is to
do the work
we've been called to.
He often pointed us to his mother's favorite
verse in the Bible, Psalm 133: 1, " Behold , how
good and bow pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity. " We do need that unity now
as never before. Jesus Christ, the Head of his
Church, has
PROMISED
us that he will
never
leave
us nor forsake us (Heb.
J
3:5)! We must make
sure
we remain steadfast in his calling, working
together in unity and harmony led by bis
Spirit!