Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! Thank you for the tithes and offerings so many of you send us! With all our hearts, we are trying to use the resources God sends us to genuinely prepare for the soon-coming world government which Christ will set up here on this earth.
Even as I write, one of the biblically commanded Holy Days of God is almost upon us, the “Feast of Trumpets.” As “trumpets” were sounded in ancient Israel to warn of an imminent attack or some other catastrophe (Joel 2:1), so God has set this festival as a reminder of the “wars and rumors of wars” (Matt. 24:6) which Christ predicted would occur just before His Second Coming. Also, this day pictures the horrifying “trumpet plagues” at the very time of the end (Rev. 8; 9). Remember, Jesus Christ will return to take over the governing of this entire world at the seventh trumpet, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev. 11:15).
God speed that day!
God is not trying to “save” everyone now. Otherwise, Almighty God would be saving everyone! But instead, He has allowed the vast majority of all humanity to go its own way for 6,000 years, writing in human suffering the “lessons” of trying out our own ideas and practices of politics, of religion, of education, etc. If God did not intervene supernaturally to send Jesus Christ back to this earth as King of kings, arrogant and misguided men would absolutely annihilate all humanity from the face of this earth! Human life would cease to exist. As Christ predicted, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:21-22).
For a merciful God will not let our own foolish ways utterly destroy us. He will intervene—just in time. However, untold millions will die because of the horrifying wars and plagues at the end of this age (Rev. 6:8; 9:18). The wonderful Good News is that God is “calling” many people out of this world’s society if they will now heed His message. These people—if they “persevere” in obeying the Truth—will be supernaturally protected from the coming Great Tribulation, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world” (Rev. 3:10).
So our job—our responsibility—dear brethren and co-workers, is to faithfully and forcefully preach and publish the true Gospel of Christ’s coming Kingdom to all nations as a “witness”: “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).
The message of Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom is to be preached only as a “witness.” For, again, God is not trying to save everyone at this time! But we who understand have the awesome opportunity and privilege of “warning and witnessing” to our fellow human beings about the real meaning of these end-time events which are already beginning to take place—and about the coming intervention of God and Christ’s Government being set up on this earth to finally bring peace and joy. With God’s help and guidance, increasing thousands may come to understand at this time and be willing to totally surrender their lives to their Creator through the true Jesus Christ. Then, with the strength of God’s Holy Spirit, they can be the real “pioneers” to prepare themselves to assist Christ as kings and priests in His coming Government on this earth. For Jesus said, “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father” (Rev. 2:26-27). In the famous “song of the saints,” the resurrected Christians are pictured as saying to Christ, “[You] have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10).
What a truly awesome opportunity we have to prepare ourselves—and to help others prepare—to assist the true Christ in ruling this confused world, in stopping the wars, the tortures, the rapes, the humiliations, the starvation and untold suffering occurring all over this earth!
Meanwhile, with the help of your prayers and faithful support, we are reaching increasing millions of people with the inspired message of the soon-coming Kingdom of God. Our Media Coordinator, Mr. Wayne Pyle, using the same criteria as the respected Nielsen Rating Group, has estimated that about thirteen million households have tuned in to the Tomorrow’s World telecast in recent years! Through our increasing number of television stations we have the potential, of course, of reaching hundreds of millions. But we are sure that at least many millions have already actually seen and heard Christ’s message through this very Work which Christ has commissioned us to perform! So far this year, we have begun airing the Tomorrow’s World television program on 33 “new” TV stations, which reach more than 53 million households. And just in the past eight months our worldwide viewer statistics show that 1.5 million “new” households began watching the Tomorrow’s World television for the first time.
As of this writing, we have now received more than 971,000 responses from our TV viewers since the Tomorrow’s World program began in January 1999. In just a matter of weeks we anticipate receiving our one-millionth TV response from viewers requesting our free literature and a free subscription to the Tomorrow’s World magazine. Already this year we have mailed out nearly two million pieces of literature, including 324,000 booklets, reprints, lessons and audio CDs, plus 1.6 million magazine issues. Just since January, more than 10,000 individuals have begun taking the Bible Study Course. There is so much to do, and so little time. Again, we are so very grateful for all your help, support and prayers.
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith