God’s Work Booming Worldwide

by Herbert W. Armstrong

The new decade of the ‘80s was born in Chaos. At the same time it was born with a surge onward in God’s Work.

The invasion of Russia into Afghanistan plunged the world into a situation MORE SERIOUS than preliminary events that triggered World War II. Actually the current Russian moves are reminiscent of events that led directly into World War I and also World War II.

Not only has the Soviet Union started massive military invasion into and through Afghanistan, they also have called up massive reserves, and have massed military readiness for invasion close to the Yugoslav border, and also in East Germany, threatening Western Europe.

This greatly alarms Western European nations. They have had to rely on U.S. military force to defend them from Russia – on their borders to the east. They are losing confidence in U.S. protection.

President Carter has applied sanctions, the wheat embargo, etc., and has virtually cancelled U.S. participation in the Olympics. Also he has warned that any Soviet invasion into the Persian Gulf area will be answered by military force from America. But the Russians do not employ the lightening-quick methods of blitzkrieg. Like a lumbering bear they move slowly, ponderously. Their schedule for total world domination by their atheistic Communism is a LONG-HAUL plan. They can take two or three generations for this overall objective.

The Kremlin does not want to start a HOT war with America. NOT YET! It’s already a resumption of cold war. They will move slowly – but they will not retreat. They will NOT remove their forces from Afghanistan. Only a stronger military force could drive them back.

Meanwhile they continue to apply the psychological pressure on Western Europe! No U.S. military force will come into actual combat against them – for the Soviets will move right up to the point of provoking that – but not into it. They will make it a war of nerves. And the most nervous are the European nations and the Vatican. The likelihood is now great that this will hasten the resurrection of the medieval “Holy Roman Empire” – union of Church and State, with Mother Rome sitting on the European “Beast.”

So, the decade was born in a new world of action! Meanwhile, GOD’S WORK is SOARING – BOOMING worldwide!

Wednesday, Messrs. McCullough, Wilson and Tkach spent an afternoon with me here in Tucson. I am making Mr. McCullough more and more a supervisor over the foreign Work, and reports from South Africa, Britain, Europe, the Caribbean and Canada, along with reports from Mr. Wilson about the Work in Australia, Southeastern Asia, India, Sri Lanka and the South Pacific are all exciting.

The invasion of the State of California against God’s Church headquarters at Pasadena has had an electric effect in all these areas worldwide! Just as in the U.S., the churches and brethren have been drawn closer to CHRIST and to one another! The Church is actually growing faster SPIRITUALLY than in numbers – but as God blesses the spiritual growth, He ADDS TO our numbers! There is increase in membership and income in all areas.

And of course you all know of the strides in the U.S. in the past year!

But this spiritual and physical growth is JUST IN TIME! We are closer to the GREAT TRIBULATION than we think! OUR TIME IS NOW SHORT! Let’s get ON THE BALL even more enthusiastically than ever!

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MOONLIGHTING AND WORKING WIVES

I have been quite disturbed at reports of a limited number of our salaried ministers “moonlighting” – taking part-time, extra-paying jobs on the side, secretly. Also of some of the ministers’ wives earning extra incomes – mostly by joining in a national cosmetics-pseudo-religious enterprise of selling cosmetics to women members of the Church.

Fellows and wives, I think this has been mostly stopped – I hope altogether – and I think most who were doing those things are no longer in God’s ministry. Perhaps they are ALL now gone from us. I hope so. But I feel it should be put on notice, that sort of thing is NOT ALLOWABLE IN GOD’S CHURCH!

I hope no further notice on this score will be necessary. Ministers’ salaries are supposed to cover whatever complete HELP a wife should give her husband in his work! To do this sort of thing secretly on the side, thinking those Jesus Christ is using in authority will not find it out, totally unfits a man to be a faithful minister of Jesus Christ in His own one and true Church!