by Herbert W. Armstrong

I am in the process of finishing an article under the above headline, for the January PLAIN TRUTH. Are you ministers keeping your congregations aware of the crescendo of world troubles now speeding up the prophecies relating to this END time?

As I write, this Monday morning, the latest world news concerns the invasion by a mob of students in Iran of the U.S. Embassy, taking and holding as hostages dozens of staff members of the American Embassy in Tehran. They demand that the Shah be returned to Iran for trial. The students stormed the Embassy Marine guards, apparently blindfolding and handcuffing the U.S. members of the Embassy.

The Shah, as I suppose you know, is in a New York hospital for a gallbladder and cancer operation and treatment. He has been granted only temporary admission to the U.S. until completion of this medical treatment.

But this is only today’s latest of a growing storm of world troubles and evils. The past few days the big news was the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees starving to death and dying of diseases trying to flee into Thailand. The Cambodian officials had been turning a deaf ear to appeals to allow shipment of food and medicines into Cambodia to relieve this holocaust, which may rival that of the Jews ordered by Hitler during World War II.

This horror in Cambodia appears to be a prelude, or forerunner, of the “four horsemen” of Revelation – false and evil religion, war, famine and starvation, disease and death.

In recent months the world has been plagued with uprisings and violence in the Middle East, continued violence in North Ireland, civil wars and violent disturbances in South America, beside recent disturbances and violence in Africa.

Perhaps most significant of all is the emergence of the new Polish Pope, suddenly appearing as the world’s only outstanding and great leader. There are no more Teddy Roosevelts, FDRs, Winston Churchills, or Stalins. I sent Gene Hogberg east to cover the pope’s arrival in Boston, and his visits to New York, Des Moines, Chicago and Washington D.C. His article, a masterpiece of journalistic reporting, will appear in the December PLAIN TRUTH. Be sure to read it.

It seems apparent that beginning about 15 years ago God held up and slowed down the developments of world events toward the final prophesied restoration of the medieval “Holy Roman Empire,” the Great Tribulation (“The time of Jacob’s – British-American – trouble as well as overall world trouble), the time of “miracles” by the “false prophet,” enforcement of the “mark of the beast,” and final “Armageddon,” ending with the coming of the glorified Christ to RULE ALL NATIONS!

In Revelation 7 is an example of God’s actually holding up prophesied events UNTIL something He wants done is accomplished. Then again, the time is soon to come when “He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Rom. 9:28).

We may well expect the Lord Jesus Christ to now SPEED UP events, and bring His Work to a speedy end.

This is ALL THE MORE REASON why we need to WAKE UP to the signs of the times, and redouble our time on our knees, our searching our own souls, our spirit of repentance toward GOD, and increasing FAITH in Jesus Christ!

SOUND THIS ALARM in deadly earnest in your sermons before your congregations! We are the one and only true CHURCH OF GOD – the soon-to-be “BRIDE OF CHRIST.” And when He comes WE MUST BE READY – but we are not YET ready! Yet we are now making good progress! KEEP IT UP!