December 8, 1947 Co-Worker Letter – End to Come in this Generation

Here we go again. We republish this for you amusement.

How many years has it been since Herbie made this prediction?

“The WORLD TOMORROW”

A NATION – WIDE BROADCAST

HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

Analyses Today’s News, with the Prophecies of The WORLD TOMORROW

Publishing The P L A I N T R U T H

Box 111, Pasadena, California

A Magazine of UNDERSTANDING

December 8, 1947

Dear Family of Co-Workers’ in God’s Service:

GREETINGS! in Jesus’ name: TIME is running out! This world is moving swiftly to its destruction! Yet there is still time—and just barely enough time—to finish the work of God for this present age. THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE. But the work of God is progressing on schedule—amid handicaps, thru obstacles and trials that try our souls, our patience, and our faith to the limit—under the divine direction of God, and as a result of MIRACLES performed by him in our behalf.

The “Big Four” diplomats are locked in an uncompromisable duel between East and West—between Russia and the United States—between Communism and Democracy—between Atheism and professed Christianity. At the London conference, the nations merely lock horns and fight, and quarrel, and deadlock, in their efforts to restore the peace of Europe and the world.

The United States announces the invention and production of horrible, terrifying new atomic weapons—without giving the public any hint as to the nature of those weapons. The Russians give out hints that they, too, either HAVE the atomic bomb, or have its secret and are now preparing to actually produce it.

The United Nations recommend the partitioning of Palestine, and actual setting up, at last, of a new Jewish NATION in the holy land. This sets off the Palestine powder-keg. The Moslem nations, 300 million strong and solidly ORGANIZED these past three years, have announced they will never permit it—they spring to action—fighting and violence is intensified in the holy land, and terror reigns.

Europe faces its hardest winter, and the United States, with diminishing food supplies, sets out to try to feed the world to save it from chaos and communism and starvation.

Yes, this world is being hurled rapidly TOWARD UTTER DESTRUCTION—we approach the END OF THE WORLD!—which means the end of this AGE!

The WORLD TOMORROW will soon dawn, bringing peace, prosperity, happiness and joy at last;—and in the short time that remains our calling and sole important mission in life is to SHOUT THIS GOOD NEWS (the true Gospel of Jesus Christ) TO THE WORLD! It must go, not only to America and Canada, as it is now going, it must go to ALL NATIONS, in ALL LANGUAGES! To this end, AMBASSADOR COLLEGE is now operating in sober earnest—instructing consecrated, eager young men and women in the true Message, training them in speaking foreign languages.

THE OUTLOOK, at the moment, is for six or seven more years of PROSPERITY here in America—(even tho it is an artificial, unsound and inflated “prosperity”)—while meantime the world moves relentlessly toward WORLD WAR III and final DESTRUCTION!

YOU, dear Co-Worker, are not going to be permitted to enjoy your home, your freedom, your present privileges and pursuits, many more years. Just a few more years—perhaps six or seven—perhaps twelve or fifteen—and a re-united Fascist-Nazi Europe will STRIKE—America’s great cities will be blown out of existence in one night without warning—we shall see such tremendous atomic destruction as the world has never even dreamed —more than 40 MILLION Americans will perish in the horrifying blasts! At the same time drought and famine will strike dead another THIRD of our entire population—men, women, and children —thru starvation and disease! And our second great commission —our divine calling from Almighty God—is to WARN our beloved nation, and other Israelitish nations, before it is too late! Every individual who HEEDS this warning, turns to God, is WATCHING and PRAYING ALWAYS, being filled with God’s Spirit, living by every Word of God, with a life consecrated to Him, will be given special divine protection—taken beforehand to a place of SAFETY— preserved thru the final horrifying tribulation, time of plagues and human anguish soon to visit this earth!

But if we to whom God has revealed this terrible future thru His divine prophecies fail to heed it—if we fail to each play his or her full part in WARNING this nation and the world, now, while we may—then God says we shall not escape, but He will require the blood of this entire people at our hands!

God Almighty is causing a “prosperity”—if only a temporary, stimulated, prosperity—to shine brightly upon our LAND. Listen! Do you know WHY? TO ENABLE US WHO UNDERSTAND TO HAVE ENOUGH FINANCIAL MEANS TO CARRY OUT GOD’S PURPOSE—to WARN our nations of the soon-coming prophesied destruction—to WARN the entire world of the fast-approaching “TRIBULATION” and true Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Gospel Christ brought and preached, and commissioned every true minister of His to proclaim to the world throughout this age—THE GOOD NEWS OF THE COMING WORLD-RULING KINGDOM OF GOD! The denominations, preachers, and evangelists are not proclaiming THIS true Gospel!

The destruction of the United States of America is foretold in YOUR BIBLE. It is foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, and others. It was foretold by Jesus Christ Himself! But the worldly churches and their ministers, all divided into sects and denominations, bound by sectarian creeds and blinded by world-wide spiritual deception, deceived, by a devil who poses as GOD and has deceived the WHOLE WORLD—they do not under- stand the Bible, and do not perceive what is so clearly prophesied!

Yet this catastrophe is sweeping on toward an unsuspecting America with increasing momentum—and in a few years it will STRIKE—suddenly, unexpectedly! “AS A SNARE,” said Jesus, will this SUDDEN DESTRUCTION come. Then it will be too late!

Listen, dear Co-Worker! To set your heart, your mind and interest now in the pursuits of THIS WORLD, or THIS LIFE,—to ignore this appeal, and this PRIVILEGE, to HELP TO YOUR VERY UTMOST in the closing work of God—to figure that you can’t afford to spare anything now for God’s cause because of OTHER worldly interests—is to enjoy a fool’s paradise, and find yourself suddenly, when least expected, in just a few years, caught in the snare of this on-coming DESTRUCTION!

I tell you, ON THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST, IT IS COMING! Many of you NOW, are in financial condition to DO A LOT MORE than you are doing for GOD’S CAUSE—to help me get out this Message over the air, and in print—to help me train and prepare talented, able, consecrated young men and women for THEIR part in soon carrying this vital message to THE ENTIRE WORLD—into EVERY NATION!

One consecrated co-worker and his wife are mortgaging their home in order to place a few more thousand dollars in this mighty work that more millions may be warned! At first I shrank from accepting money under such conditions—but when we remember that in a few years NONE OF US will be living in our present homes—EVERYTHING material we possess now will be swept away from us, and we shall then be either in that haven of safety under God’s divine protection, or else dead or in slavery worse than death— and when we consider further that this brother and his wife are not deprived of their home, but merely PUTTING IT TO WORK FOR GOD’S GREAT CAUSE, while they enjoy it and live in it, too—then it appeared in a different light, and we could do nothing but accept it, to use it for God’s honor and glory. WHO KNOWS? perhaps this one sacrifice on the part of this one man and wife may be the means to bringing MANY precious souls not only under God’s divine protection in the TIME OF TROUBLE TO COME, but also into ETERNAL LIFE in God’s Kingdom FOREVER!

TIME IS SHORT! It is fast running out! Soon we shall come to the time of the prophesied FAMINE OF HEARING THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL—the time when world forces will no longer PERMIT the preaching of God’s Truth!

No man can know exactly how long. This much we DO KNOW —it is now NEAR, even at the very doors, according to prophecy —it will strike DURING THIS PRESENT GENERATION—it cannot now be more than A FEW YEARS;—yet, on the other hand, we may KNOW that God will not permit this time of national disaster and world destruction to fall UNTIL our nations HAVE BEEN WARNED (and no other voice is warning them), and UNTIL “this Gospel of the KINGDOM shall be preached in ALL THE WORLD for a witness UNTO ALL NATIONS, and then shall the END COME!” BE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH TIME, if we set ourselves full pressure to the task, and do our very utmost, at any sacrifice. But there is no more than enough—not one single day to waste.

I know that TIME IS SO SHORT, there was not enough time to delay the opening of AMBASSADOR COLLEGE even one more year. That is why God moved with MIRACLES to make the IMPOSSIBLE happen for us, so we could start, as we did, this fall!

I want to tell you of its progress—of the state of this work. BUT DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT WE HAVE BEEN PLUNGED INTO A GREAT CRISIS IN THIS WORK, WHICH WE HAVE NOT YET PASSED, ALTHOUGH GOD HAS MERCIFULLY KEPT THE WORK ALIVE AND PROGRESSING WITH INCREASING MOMENTUM AND POWER. This work needs your greatest sacrifice—it needs all you and every other co-worker can give. It need MORE than you can give—it still needs the LOANS from many who are in position to put money they may need later INTO GOD’S WORK where it can be WORKING FOR GOD until needed, when we can pay it back. Especially do we need more LONG-TERM, and LARGE loans— that is, of from one to ten thousand dollars—even more, over a long period, not to be paid back for two, three, five years or more. A few loans for a period of only a few months have helped greatly. More of these will help—but the greater need is for larger, and longer-term loans from those who are able.

The “BEST COLLEGE IN THE WORLD”

These past several months have kept Mrs. Armstrong and me under such pressure, in the financial emergency of meeting this unexpected reconstruction expense at the college, that we have literally suffered agonies. There have been moments, when things looked so dark and hopeless, when I have wondered if it was all worth while—when I was sorely tempted to drop the crushing load and flee from it all. But always God helped us over such moments of temptation—as He always will.

But when I see the happy, smiling faces of the students and professors at the college—hear them all exclaim how WONDERFUL it all is,—hear them say Ambassador is the BEST college in all the world,—and they really MEAN that from the heart—see some of the students out on the tennis court, others on the benches watching, or strolling over the beautiful grounds—see some of our student “experts” engaging in long drawn-out volleys of hard drives across the table-tennis in the recreation room;—or, when I look into a class room during class and see the interested and sober expressions;—when I look into the alert, enthusiastic, anticipating eyes of students and professors alike during my own Bible classes, so eager, so interested, so absorbed in what they are learning—when I see these things, then I think it certainly IS all worth while, after all.

And when Mrs. Armstrong and I sit down and read thru hundreds and hundreds of earnest letters from radio listeners from all parts of the United States and Canada, and read of what our broadcast has meant in their lives—of how it has lead thousands and thousands to CHRIST and HIS TRUTH, well, I tell you, dear Co-Workers, these things just warm our hearts, fill us with encouragement and determination to PRESS ON with all our might, no matter what the cost!

I want to tell you a brief experiences. On Saturday night Mrs. Armstrong and I were asking one of our girl students from Oklahoma, who had not seen Hollywood or Los Angeles, if she would like for us to drive her around on Sunday afternoon and show her some of this beautiful Southern California community.

“Oh, no,—I’m sorry, Mr. Armstrong,” she replied, “I’d just love to, but I’ll have to spend all my time studying. The course is very stiff at Ambassador, you know,” she smiled. “But I’m glad it is, and our standards are so high. I just LOVE it!”

I invited two of the young men students, who room together—one is from Jefferson, Oregon, the other from Santa Rosa, California—and who are largely working their way thru college, to come over to our house for the evening.

“That would certainly be nice,” they smiled, “but we’ve got to study until bedtime.”

“So being a student at Ambassador College isn’t proving to be a soft snap, or a lazy man’s occupation?” I inquired.

They grinned. “I should say not!” One of them explained. “But I wouldn’t take all the money in the world for what we’re learning!”

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. The WORK at Ambassador is hard, and lots of it. Our academic standard is the very highest, our professors all able and experienced. But our students find time for fun, and I think every one of them will tell you they have never enjoyed life so much before. Most of them are taking up tennis, and during noon-hour, and following afternoon classes the tennis court is a popular place. Personally, tennis was one of my favorite games as a young man, and although I had not played it for twenty years, I get great enjoyment, and some much- needed recreational exercise in getting out on the court for a set with some of our young people once or twice a week.

We installed table-tennis equipment in the recreational room, and discovered we had several top-flight players at the college. One student was champion of his county in Oregon. Mr. Mattson, business manager, was some kind of champion among the U.S. Marines in Australia during the war. Mr. Dillon, our college president, can hold his own with any of them. One of my sons beats most of them most of the time, and then—to the chagrin of the boys and men, one of the girls usually beats them all!

I have preached, over the years, before hundreds and thousands of audiences, but never have I had such INTERESTED audiences as I now have in my Bible class at Ambassador College. The entire faculty and student body attends, and several of the office staff. Their eyes sparkle, and their faces gleam and shine.

They drink in every word hungrily, and seem to realize they are receiving riches all the money on earth could not buy!

We serve lunches at the college, and lunch hour is a delightful period. It is served cafeteria style, each carrying a tray and serving himself. Everyone speaks enthusiastically of the splendid hot lunches being served, and we find we are able to serve them (at cost, of course) for 20› to students, and 35› to faculty and office staff.

One noon I had a man and wife, radio listeners visiting the college, as my guests at lunch. On being introduced to Miss Lucille Hoover, head of our music department, the wife exclaimed that she was a music teacher in piano, and had studied at the Chicago School of Music. Immediately they had a great deal in common, because both Miss Hoover, and Mrs. Lucy H. Martin, our librarian, have degrees from the Chicago School of Music. I explained to our visitors that Miss Hoover had come to us from Drake University, in Des Moines, where she was head of the departments of piano and organ. And the Drake Conservatory, I explained, is a top ranking conservatory in the middle-west.

“Yes,” said Miss Hoover quickly, “Drake is a high ranking university, but I have come to a BETTER college, Mr. Armstrong.” She said it sincerely, and I replied that I felt that was a very high compliment for our college.

But that is the way ALL our professors and students feel. In no university in the United States can you find professors of higher standing, wider experience, or superior ability. True, from a pure academic standpoint, probably any large university has professors of just as high academic standing, and probably many more of them—BUT, what every student at Ambassador realizes and appreciates is that in none of these larger universities would he be able to have, in his own classes, four, or five, such high ranking professors as he has at Ambassador—and, even more important, in none of them would he find the basic IDEALS and Christian principles that form the very FOUNDATION of Ambassador College—and in none of them would he receive the personal attention and individual instruction given at Ambassador.

Yes, although our professors have been members of the faculties of some of the highest-ranking and best known universities in the United States, I have many times heard the conviction expressed that Ambassador, tho one of the smallest, is the finest and best college in the whole world! Well, it ought to be—it’s GOD’S OWN college!

PRESENT STATE OF GOD’S GREAT WORK

Now I must close this BULLETIN with a report on the state of the work, and its urgent need at the moment.

I have told you before how the final cost of the reconstruction and fire-proofing of the main college building rose to three times the original estimate—to more than twice what we were prepared for. The bill for the week or ten days prior to the opening of college, alone, was in excess of $12,000—more than the entire original estimate. I was only prepared to meet a part of this. It simply overwhelmed us.

All we could do was slow down the completing of the reconstruction work to a bare stand-still. The work was far from finished, but enough had been done so we could open the college and keep it operating. Since that time, we have whittled down this bill by about another $2,000 or a little more, but we still owe several thousand dollars on work already done, and we still lack some $3,000 of completing the job.

Now two facts are VITALLY IMPORTANT! One, least important of the two, the part of the work still unfinished is the part that will make MOST of the difference in the final beautiful APPEARANCE of the college. Now we might say that we would just leave this unfinished, and keep the college operating under the handicap of an unfinished building, sacrificing the beautiful appearance it will have in order to save the money except for the more important second point: UNLESS THIS WORK IS COMPLETED IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, THE COLLEGE MAY BE FORCED TO CLOSE DOWN!

Now THAT point is of VITAL importance. Here is the reason: They have permitted us to start the college in the unfinished building, but we cannot legally CONTINUE the college indefinitely UNLESS THE BUILDING IS PASSED ON BY THE CITY BUILDING INSPECTORS AS CONFORMING TO THE LOCAL BUILDING CODES FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES! The building must be COMPLETED to pass inspection. Otherwise the city may, at any moment, tell us we are operating illegally, and close up this wonderful college.

It is JUST THAT SERIOUS AND IMPORTANT! There is NO TIME TO LOSE!

Brethren, Co-Workers! Shall we have gone thru all we have had to suffer thru, at this tremendous sacrifice these past several months, have opened and started this fine college, only to have it all STOPPED just when it is going ahead so nicely? That’s exactly what will happen, UNLESS OUR CO-WORKERS COME TO OUR AID WITH ENOUGH MONEY TO FINISH THE JOB IN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE WEEKS!!

We CAN’T let that happen!

Now about the all-important radio work. This college reconstruction forced us to get behind with our two big radio stations.

Remember, WE HAVE THE BEST, MOST LISTENED-TO-TIME, 8:PM, EVERY NIGHT BUT ONE IN THE WEEK, ON THE MOST POWERFUL RADIO STATION IN THIS HEMISPHERE, beside having the programs re-broadcast early the following morning every day. The great super-power XEG is heard in Florida, in North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, and as far west as the Rocky mountains. It is heard all over Canada. MILLIONS hear the true Message on this great station. Also, on the Pacific Coast over XERB.

The owner of these stations suddenly demanded that we bring our account with these two great stations up to date IMMEDIATELY, or GO OFF THE AIR!

In the emergency, I had to sign notes that will keep me in the vice of this tight financial squeeze for the next three months or more.

The only way I could meet the situation was to GO OFF THE AIR week-nights on XERB. This I had to do. At the present writing I am trying to arrange to remain on XERB, 1090 on the dial, covering the entire Pacific Coast and British Columbia, Sunday nights only, and if possible to keep the morning program on the air at 6:30 week-day mornings. I am making a desperate effort to keep the program FULL TIME on the most powerful station of all, XEG, 8:PM every night except Saturday and 5:30 every morning except Sunday. We simply MUST NOT lose our valuable time on XEG.

Remember, this is the most powerful station there is. Remember, we have the BEST time there is on it! It is a miracle we are able to have it. But we must FIGHT TO KEEP IT. Twice in the past week we almost went off the air. Once the program was ordered off, but before broadcast time I managed to get it ordered back on by several long-distance calls. I have been laboring under terrific pressure, and a terrible strain. Co-Workers, I simply MUST be relieved from this punishing strain, so I can be free to concentrate my mind and put my whole heart into sending you interesting, vital, inspired broadcasts.

But I simply have to tell you, I am a human being like yourself, and this terrible punishment I have had to live thru has all but unfit me for my most vital work, and many, many times I have been SIMPLY UNABLE to get before a microphone and send out a fresh broadcast. THAT is why you have had to hear so many old programs repeated by transcription! And that very fact, it seems, almost crushes the heart and life out of me. Yes, I’ve suffered these past months as I never knew a man could suffer. I have to tell you, dear Co-workers, I HAVE DONE MY VERY BEST—and that’s all any man can do. I have given MY ALL, and tho the temptation has been strong at times, to just quit and drop this crushing load, I have remained determined, and refused to quit, and just committed this heavy burden to God, and TRUSTED HIM. And He has mercifully kept the entire work ALIVE—He made it possible to actually START the college, to GET IT GOING, and it has been kept alive.

Even that is a miracle. I am thankful—more grateful than words can express. Several of you, dear co-workers, have made great sacrifices with me—some of you have given one or two thousand dollars—some of you have LOANED us from $500 to $3,000, and this, in addition to the regular tithes and offerings of smaller amounts down to a dollar, has kept the work alive.

But we are far from out of this crisis. It seems we get out of one phase of it, and into another. At this moment I am struggling to keep the program on the air, and keep the college alive.

I HAVE to ask every one of you to SACRIFICE, and to HELP to your very LIMIT. If you cannot GIVE large sums for this all- important cause, then I must ask more of you to LET GOD’S WORK HAVE THE USE of some of your money you may not need until later— especially those of you who could let us have the use of sums of $1,000 up to $10,000 for three years or more. But even if for only a short time, it would help now and MIGHT SAVE THE LIFE OF THIS WORK. About four people let us have money totalling around $3,000 two or three months ago, which we must pay back in the next week or two. So perhaps some of our other co-workers can NOW let us have the use of this sum to pay them back, and keep holding this great work alive.

This is, TRULY, the MOST important work on earth today! It is the work of GOD! And that’s the very reason it is meeting every obstacle and difficulty!

TIME IS SHORT—TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON US! We have a herculean task yet to perform. We have hardly started! I want SO badly to start publishing The PLAIN TRUTH every month—but it now costs a few thousand dollars every issue, and we must catch up with these other emergencies first.

But REMEMBER! as certainly as the sun rises and sets, the ATOMIC WORLD WAR III is ON THE WAY—it is coming SWIFTLY! Invasion, destruction of our nation, THE GREAT TRIBULATION—the PLAGUES of the “DAY OF THE LORD”—these horrible things are approaching SWIFTLY! You won’t be living in your home many more years! Our homes will all be taken from us.

This AGE is closing FAST! We must WARN the nations, before it is too late! NO ONE ELSE IS SOUNDING THIS WARNING! Can you realize that? A NEW AGE will soon dawn, with the COMING OF CHRIST! The GOOD NEWS of that must be proclaimed in great power to the WHOLE WORLD! I am fighting with every ounce of strength in me to build and prepare this work for that great COMMISSION—the commission to which we have been called BY JESUS CHRIST!

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS today! Our nation is in an artificial, stimulated, inflated “prosperity”. Our people are living in a fool’s paradise! YOU WON’T BE LIVING IN YOUR HOME MUCH LONGER—you won’t be doing what you are now doing much LONGER! NOTHING ELSE MATTERS TODAY! We must WARN the people, NOW. We must preach and publish the GOOD NEWS of the coming Kingdom while there is time. The night is coming swiftly when no man can work, for God.

I am still fighting—doing my very utmost. I NEED YOUR HELP—to your very utmost. Nothing else MATTERS, today!

GOD BLESS those of you who have helped so nobly, and at such sacrifice—some of you with just the widow’s mites, who have nevertheless given as MUCH, in proportion to what you have—and some of you with one, two, or three thousand dollars! God has USED YOU TO preserve this, HIS WORK! He will reward you, and GREAT shall be your reward in the Kingdom. Nothing MATTERS any more, in this world!

By immediate return mail if possible—otherwise, at the very earliest possible moment, please send the largest offering you can, in addition to God’s tithe. And, if you cannot give a large amount, but can LOAN it for the use of God’s work, SEND THE MONEY by return mail or as soon as you can get it, and a letter stating when, and in what amounts, you may need to have it returned, and I will send you our NOTE for it. And remember, we are maintaining a cash reserve fund to guarantee repayment of all such loans.

Once again, I leave the issue in your hands. I know you won’t fail me, or our God. THANK YOU, and GOD BLESS YOU! And PLEASE remember above all, KEEP PRAYING EARNESTLY, and IN FAITH for God to deliver us, and keep this great work going.

With love to all, in Jesus’ name,

Herbert W. Armstrong

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To those who lie and say Herbie never said he was a prophet, we have this for you.

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