Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! On June 16, 1954, the Queen Elizabeth—the largest passenger ship afloat at the time—eased out of New York harbor and past the Statue of Liberty. Richard David Armstrong and I were on board. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong was sending us to Britain and Europe to help get the Work of Christ moving ahead there.
As we slowly passed by the Statue of Liberty on this cold and foggy morning and headed toward the open sea, the memories of the original film "Titanic" came vividly into my mind. For we had recently seen this film which showed, in detail, how the passengers on the "unsinkable" Titanic were totally unaware of their mortal danger until it was almost "too late." They did not realize that a massive iceberg had broken loose from mountains of ice and was just ahead. If they had been warned, they would not have been on board—or would have taken some evasive action. But, again, the warning came too late for the vast majority of them!
Now, as Christ’s servant, I see our beloved American, Canadian and British-descended peoples about to strike a far more dangerous "iceberg" than did the Titanic! And I profoundly realize—as most of you probably do as well—that we in the Work of the living Christ should do all we can to earnestly warnour peoples of what is just ahead! For God’s prophecies are sure! They are going to happen whether we believe them or not. The specific descriptions given of our end-time future, as laid out in the dual prophecies of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, should stir all of us to get closer to God. I hope that all of you brethren and co-workers possess and have read carefully Mr. John Ogwyn’s powerful booklet, now titled The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. If not, please request this booklet soon and take time to study this material. For it is real and will drastically affect your very life!
As we continue in our national sins before our Creator—allowing more and more self-willed judges and legislators to "legalize" same-sex marriage and to allow the continuing slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children, the living God who rules the nations will soon intervene. The above-mentioned prophecies of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28—tied in with Jeremiah 30, Ezekiel 5, Matthew 24 and many other specific prophecies—certainly indicate what is just ahead for us! These prophecies sometimes applied, originally, to ancient Israel. But they all have their final fulfillment in the years just ahead of us now.
They describe an entire series of prophetic "judgments" on us if we continue to wallow in fornication, adultery, homosexuality, increasing acts of violence and even the murder of our unborn children—plus the horrible destruction to our individual characters brought about by misuse of alcohol, drugs, and pornographic material on television, the Internet, etc.
As we have told you many times, Leviticus 26:19 describes how God will "break" the power and prestige of our peoples unless we repent. Right now, our financial power is being slowly but surely undermined by our reckless spending individually and nationally. Americans are taking on massive amounts of debt—borrowing on their credit cards and even on their homes. As a nation, Americans continue to run up almost unheard of debts which we owe not only to our own peoples but to other nations. Recently, as many of you have read, a new all time record trade deficit of more than $617 billion was announced for the year of 2004! As many financial analysts have noted, sooner or later the "chickens will come home to roost." The other nations will begin to bring home these dollars they have invested with us or put them in euros or other currencies or gold. The American dollar will continue to fall—eventually in a final collapse of historic proportions!
Also, all over the world, vast numbers of people are slowly but surely being turned more and more against the United States and our British-descended brethren. Most of the more than one billion Muslims, vast numbers of people living in China, North Korea, Iran and elsewhere are certainly turning against us. The leaders and many of the peoples of the European Union are becoming more and more "suspicious" of our intentions because of the recent Iraq conflict and many other factors. A truly powerful union of nations is gathering together in Europe which will eventually fulfill the prophecies of Revelation 17.
However, there is every indication that the British will be leaving or be "dismissed" from the European Union sometime in the next few years if they do not ratify the new EU constitution or if they continue to agitate about other matters! We are definite on this because of the Word of God! It is vital—for your own good—that you begin to realize that although many other sincere ministers talk about prophecy, only those who follow the understanding of our national identity and our future which Christ revealed to Mr. Armstrong really grasp the specifics of what is beginning to happen. There is no other source from which you can gain this information which will help protect you and your loved ones from being part of the looming disaster described in the Bible as the Great Tribulation.
Regarding Britain’s leaving the European Union, we are definite on this because it is very clear that the British people—along with the British-descended Canadians, Australians, South Africans and New Zealanders—are the modern descendents of the tribe of "Ephraim" described in the Bible. As Genesis 28, 35, 48 and many other scriptures make clear, Ephraim was to become a great "company" or commonwealth of nations at the time of the end. They were to be truly "great"—even greater than their older brother, Manasseh, was to become. But "Manasseh" became the greatest single nation on earth—the United States of America! Again, read the very clear and thorough explanation and proof of this in our vital booklet on this topic! Call or write now to request your free copy, and please study it.
One of our correspondents recently confirmed what some of you have probably read from other sources. He just attended a conference on "ratifying the EU constitution" conducted by a recognized expert on this matter. This man said that "even if one country did not ratify, it would legally stop the whole process." This expert went on to say, "The UK could very possibly notratify. In that event," he said, "there would be enormous political pressure for the UK to leave the European Union or be kicked out!" From this and other conferences—plus his own extensive experience in Europe—our correspondent reports, "The United Kingdom still has an ‘independent spirit’ and is skeptical of Catholic continentals who slip in unwanted social changes through the back door."
Increasing evidence is coming to light which verifies what the Bible indicates: the British peoples—one way or the other—will be out of the European Union within the next several years! For they are part of the descendants of Israel and will, in fact, be among those people who are to be attacked and taken into captivity by the coming Beast Power now rising up! Again, we are able to be definite on these matters because the great Godof creation reveals these things in His Word and has given us a specific understanding which the mainstream churches simply do not have! God tells all of you to "watch and pray"! May you do so, and come to understand and to heed the prophetic warnings which we in this Work will continue to give you.
May God help all of you to draw much closer to Him! For He is the ultimate "reality"! His will shall stand!
Even though understanding and facing these realitiesregarding future events is not always pleasant, it will definitely help you and your loved ones to be supernaturally protected ifyou will take action and turn to your Creator! In Luke 21, Jesus describes the entire series of events which will lead up to the end of this age and His Second Coming. After describing the tremendous upsets in the weather, disease epidemics, wars, etc. Jesus said, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:28).
Dear brethren, as we see these specific events which Jesus prophesied beginning to occur, we should actually be encouraged. For we know that—in spite of the traumatic times in which we are living—our ultimate reward will soon appear! Christ will return to this earth as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16). He will set up a literal government on this earth with headquarters at Jerusalem. His wonderful Law—the Ten Commandments—will then become the basis of His Government over mankind. Therefore, love, joy and peace will break out all over! And there will be a kind of "inner peace" and joy that the world as a whole has never experienced. As future kings and priests under Christ (Rev. 5:10), we can look forward to this magnificent future. And we can all give of ourselves in His service in preparing for that wonderful Kingdom to come.
With Christian love,
—Roderick C. Meredith