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And then the next morning was Wednesday.
So they almost got away with
it!
But just like I said at the Feast of Tabernacles, God kept Mr.
Armstrong alive to see what the Work would be like if he hadn't taken
the steps vis-a-vis his son.
Once again God stepped in and showed
Mr. Armstrong WHO would have tried to seize power if he were not around
to step it.
Now, what happened this week can perhaps be best summed up by an analogy.
If it were not for all of what I have just discussed, the background
leading up to it, Mr. Armstrong's concerns that it were of seven or
eight months' duration; but for that background, we could have summed
it up a little differently.
If this had just been a vicious effort
on the part of a few disgruntled people, coupled by an extraordinarily,
harsh, unnecessary, and unjustifiable action on the part of the State,
backed up by the courts--Satan's courts, Mr. Armstrong has called
them, the unjust judges and what have you--if it had just been that,
nothing more, no background, then we could describe it a little bit
like the situation in Europe during the second World War.
And in these
Nazi-occupied territories, those of you who studied history will know
that there were people who were collaborators.
Now they might not have
wanted to invite the Nazi's in, so they might not have been the fifth
column�type of individual.
They might not have been guilty of the
seditious conduct.
They might not have been guilty of espionage and
what have you.
But once the Germans were in power; some people liked
it.
Some people thought they would never be rid of the Germans, and
they thought it would be better to collaborate.
Now that is pretty much what happened here on the very second day,
I guess it was, of the events of this week.
I guess it was Thursday,
because the first action on the part of the Receiver, as extraordinary,
because he was temporarily appointed, ex parte--no notice given to
anybody.
First thing he did is to announce that Mr. Armstrong was
fired, and Mr. Rader was fired.
And then he turned to Mr. Cole and
he appointed Mr. Cole as acting head of the Church.
Now anybody who
would accept such an appointment, acting or otherwise, would have to
be characterized in euphemistic terms as a collaborator.
If I had
been here and that man had turned to me and said, "Mr. Armstrong was
fired and you, Mr. Rader, acting," I would have said, "You are
ridiculous.
You can not appoint me.
No one can take away Mr.
Armstrong's authority as Christ's Apostle, as His personal represen
tative on this earth at this time.
Nobody!
And certainly you, an
unbaptized, unconverted person could never appoint me or anybody to
run this Church!" LApplause7 Now that's all there was to it.
If that had not happened, we might have been in greater difficulty.
If Mr. Cole had not accepted, we might have had a tougher time in
court yesterday.
But the Judge saw through it very clearly.
Mr.
Herbert W. Armstrong is Christ's apostle as far as that Judge is con
cerned, just as we know he is.
And he has been given the court's
official recognition as the man in charge, the man who hires and
fires, the man who ordains and disfellowships.
No Receiver is going to
sit here as he did for several days and intimidate our people, and tell
our people that his name is going to appear on our checks.
No!
That's
not going to happen, either.