Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,
We receive many positive comments from people introduced to Tomorrow’s World and the Living Church of God by means of the telecast, magazine, social media, and the Internet. Here is one of them, a most encouraging comment received by our Social Media Department that I thought I must share with you. Your contributions and prayers make responses such as this possible, and there are many more:
I ran across TW online during the fall of 2019 and began reading lit and watching presentations [and] ordered literature. Began studying my Bible along with the lit. And have not stopped. I have so much to learn. I grew up being taught and just believed much that is not even biblical. I know it was no accident that I found the articles and presentations by TW which led me to LCG [Living Church of God]. I don’t know much but I know and I stress “know” that what I have learned is true because it is right there in my Bible. I cannot express how thankful and relieved I am. . . . I would like to know where to go to honor the Sabbath and learn more and have Godly counsel. Thank you.
Many thousands have had their eyes opened to the truth of the Bible, not what they have heard it says, but what it really says. Every week, literally thousands of individuals come across our programs for the very first time. This is the good news.
There is so much happening in our world that it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. The pandemic of this past year has obscured a lot of bad news and at the same time created its own bad news. Our DVDs “A Culture in Crisis” and “A World Gone Mad” are not exaggerating the situation. The transformation of our culture in the last decade has been shocking and it does seem as though many government, business, and media elites have lost all sense of understanding and responsibility. Sadly, many know what they are doing as they attempt to “reset” our world without God.
People are frightened. They see our world coming apart and don’t know where it is heading. They want answers. How is all this going to turn out? What kind of a world will my children inherit? What is the meaning of life? These are questions the Bible answers, but the overwhelming majority of mankind, even of those who read it, cannot understand this amazing book. How can that be?
Jesus said a lot of shocking things that pass right over people’s heads. He stated twice in one chapter that not everyone would understand His message. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44, cf. v. 65). When His disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables, He gave this shocking answer: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13:11).
This same account is recorded in Mark’s gospel: “And He said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that “Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them”’” (Mark 4:11-12). After He explained a parable and gave several others, we read, “But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples” (v. 34).
Do you understand what these passages are telling us? If so, you may be one of the few in this world whom God is calling at this time. God has a plan for every human who has ever lived, but He also has a time order. Contrary to what most people believe, but in accord with Scripture and the evidence around us, God is NOT trying to save the whole world at this time. If you have not read our inspiring booklet Is This the Only Day of Salvation? please let us know. This is one of the most encouraging publications we offer, and as always, it is free of charge and comes straight from the pages of your Bible.
These are not normal times. Here in the United States we no longer talk about millions of dollars, not even billions, but trillions! Congress just passed a $1,900,000,000,000 so-called “COVID relief” package. Critics complain that most of the money has nothing to do with COVID and most Americans have no idea what is in the bill. Their concern is receiving a gift check for $1,400, but that exciting windfall may turn sour in short order if inflation kicks in. This is not to be unsympathetic to those who truly need help, as many do, but many Americans fared well financially over the last year and do not need it.
Then there is the crisis at the southern border of the United States where thousands are claiming asylum or crossing illegally. It is fair enough to blame politics and government policy, but that does not get to the heart of the problem, which is a hurting world. In most cases these migrants are fleeing bad circumstances in their home country. It may be stifling dictatorial rule or government corruption. Perhaps it is gang warfare—common in Central and South America. Then there are civil wars, poverty, droughts, and famines. Who can blame desperate individuals for wanting a better life for themselves and their families? Sadly, no country, not even the United States, can absorb all the poor and hurting of this present evil world, and certainly not in an uncontrolled manner.
It is not only an American problem. No matter where we look, these days are not normal. We even hear talk about “the new normal.” Whether that is near-sighted fear over the pandemic, or whether it is part of an effort by some to exploit a bad situation to bring about a “great reset” is yet to be seen. If it were only a drought here, a record winter storm there, a civil war in the Middle East, or a guerilla war in Africa, we could chalk it up to the way the world has been for millennia, but it is so much more. Weather events are more often described as unprecedented, record-breaking, and “of biblical proportions.” Geopolitical cracks and shifts are appearing: Brexit, a resurgent Germany, anti-Semitism, European loss of faith in America, and an intractable divide within the United States. We see political correctness, cancel culture, the rewriting of history, and the jettisoning of Christian values on a scale unimaginable even five years ago. What happens when divided America, the stabilizing force for more than seven decades, collapses, as it certainly will according to your Bible? (See our booklet, The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.)
All the signs indicate we are living at what the Bible refers to as “the end of the age,” “the last days,” and “the time of the end.” We have entered a new chapter in mankind’s failure to rule himself. The good news is that humankind is no accident. There is a Creator who has a plan for us, and His plan is being spelled out in greater power as the end draws near. This Work that you support is growing.
The United Kingdom and Ireland have reached their highest levels ever with more than 18,000 Tomorrow’s World subscribers. Our Work in Canada reported that responses from one television station increased 32 percent in 2020 over 2019. The FaithTV channel in Winnipeg, Manitoba airs Tomorrow’s World daily, Monday-Friday. Halfway through the year we changed the time from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and are happy to report that this change, along with several other factors, resulted in a 56 percent increase in responses.
Growth here in the United States continues to astound us, just as it does in our offices around the world. We are happy to report that circulation of Tomorrow’s World magazine increased by 43,000 subscribers since our November-December edition as we rapidly press toward a goal of half a million, but that is only our short-term goal. We have much greater plans than that, but ultimately, it will depend on what our Head, Jesus Christ, wants. We can plan, we can work, we can hope, but only He will bring these things to pass.
None of this means that we are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing. To the contrary, I think we all feel inadequate and recognize our need to grow in the knowledge and will of our Father in heaven. If it depended on human effort alone, and had God called and turned loose some of the truly great innovators of our time, this Work would have gone much further, but that is not how God works. Instead He has called the weak of the world to confound the great and wise, “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). God is using us to change lives as this comment from one of you expresses:
We have received your letter of congratulations for our completing the Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course. We appreciate your kind words and personal thanks. However, we should and do thank you and the Living Church of God for making the Bible Study Course and your booklets available to us. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It has been a most educational and enlightening experience.
The knowledge you receive from Tomorrow’s World is precious. Few understand it. Do not take it for granted. Act on this precious knowledge and never forget the admonition of Jesus in the Olivet Prophecy: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
Thank you for your prayers and generous support. There is a better world coming!
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston