Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! Prophetic events keep steaming along. Just in the last few days, several events have taken place which certainly indicate the continued weakening of America’s position in the Middle East and our alliances with other nations. The two hundred plus deaths in the Madrid terrorist attacks evidently contributed to Spain’s voters turning away from their alliance with the United States in the Iraq conflict. Then came the massive bombing of the Lebanon Hotel in Baghdad soon after. And just yesterday, Israeli forces killed Hamas founder Ahmad Yassin, prompting Palestinian calls for retribution against Israel and its supporters, including the United States. "[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon has opened the gates of hell and nothing will stop us from cutting off his head," said Hamas officials announcing their leader’s death. Carnage continues, and even seems to be intensifying daily, in the Middle East. But the key thing to remember is that, unless we truly repent of our hedonistic lifestyles and our rejection of God’s laws, the modern nations of the "House of Israel"—including America, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—will increasingly suffer through tragedy after tragedy. Things will continue to "go wrong" for our peoples in international affairs, in financial affairs, in the weather, disease epidemics, earthquakes and other events.
Now we hear that virtual "locust plagues" are destroying millions of dollars of Australian crops. Drought and looming water shortages continue to affect vast areas of the western United States. And the American dollar continues to slide as measured against the euro and many other currencies.
Why?
Most of you brethren and co-workers have undoubtedly read our powerful prophetic booklet, The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. It clearly shows that our nations are directly descended from the so-called "Lost Ten Tribes" of the House of Israel. And so those prophecies detailing end-time events for the House of Israel (not Judah) directly affect our peoples. Many of the prophecies are "dual." That is, they had an ancient fulfillment but also clearly indicate an antitypical end-time fulfillment in these last days.
In what is truly a fundamental prophecy for our English-speaking world, the Eternal God outlined for our forefathers certain basic issues. God said, "If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely" (Lev. 26:3-5).
However, beginning in verse fourteen, God stated, "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments. And if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it" (vv. 14-16). Then, the prophecy continues describing the truly awful things that will happen if His people do not come to their senses and obey their Creator: "And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit" (vv. 18-20).
If there is still not repentance, more corrective punishments were to follow: "I will lay your cities waste… I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste" (vv. 31-33).
It will be tempting for many skeptics to "make fun" of these ancient prophecies. However, sad to say, these prophecies will soon begin to happen unless our people come to a deep and sincere repentance before the God of creation! In fact, with the horrifying devastation of September 11, 2001, and dozens of subsequent events, some of these prophecies are already beginning to happen!
If we continue to "despise" God’s commandments and statutes, all of these prophecies will come to pass. God is not mocked! I encourage all of you to study Leviticus 26 and its companion prophecy found in Deuteronomy 28. Taken together, these two parallel prophecies in the Word of God will help you understand why these awful events of recent decade have taken place and why the great God will continue to "break" the pride and power of the American and British-descended peoples over the next several years. Most of you will live through these terrible years! In spite of scoffers and cynics, you will soon see these things taking place and the sorrow this brings to so many of our fellow countrymen and loved ones.
Meanwhile, God has raised up this Work to be a beacon of light in a very dark world. Though still very small—the "little flock" which Jesus described—the impact of this Work is growing steadily. Your prayers—and your tithes and offerings—are indeed producing rich fruit. In the past five years, this Work of God has spent more than $5.2 million for the telecast, which includes TV shoot expenses, master-tape editing, commercial air time, tape stock, tape duplication, tape shipments and billings for 800-number telephone calls.
The Work’s investment of $5.2 million is producing significant results. A total of 207 original TV programs have now been produced. The Work was able to build its own TV studio in San Diego, and now here in Charlotte. The telecast has been aired on a combined total of 187 TV stations across North America, with a potential viewing audience each week of more than 74 million households—66 million households in the United States and 8 million households in Canada.
Thanks to superstation WGN, the telecast is now aired in virtually all of Nielsen’s 210 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. WGN by itself reaches 60 million households. In addition, our local commercial TV stations and public access stations are in 77 of the DMAs in America (37 percent of all DMAs), reaching 23 million households. 60 million plus 23 million is 83 million, but this includes a lot of duplication, as many cable systems carry local broadcasts and WGN. The unduplicated household count is 74 million with access to a Tomorrow’s World broadcast. Since the Work began airing the Tomorrow’s World program at the end of January 1999, the telecast has generated 346,837 responses, including phone calls, letters, email and Web site requests. These requests came from 202,040 viewers.
The past year was extremely busy—our biggest year yet! From January through December 2003, we sent out 269,632 booklets, Bible study lessons, reprints, audiotapes, etc., which was 27 percent more than the previous year. From 1999 through 2003, we sent a total of 730,589 of these items. The Mail Processing Department sent a total of 880,042 items last year, including co-worker/member letters, video and audio tapes, TV tapes and other assorted publications, in addition to the items listed above. Last year’s count was 26 percent above the 698,926-count in 2002. And this does not even include several hundred thousand electronic copies of our booklets and magazines that have been distributed via the Internet since LCG began!
Additionally, we have been blessed just in the last few days in working out a deal with our Los Angeles television station, KDOC, wherein we are switching our airing time from 7:00 am Saturday to 7:30 am Sunday—a much better time—for the same price! Also, we are adding a fine new television station in Knoxville, TN, WVLT, starting Sunday, April 4, 2004, at 6:30 am.
If we continue our dedication to God’s Work and His ways, the great God we serve will continue to use us and empower us to fulfill Jesus Christ’ prophecy, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14). All of us who understand and catch the vision will be richly blessed: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever" (Dan. 12:3).
With Christian love,
—Roderick C. Meredith