Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Prophetic events are moving swiftly! The worldwide financial crisis is already affecting the lives of billions of people. Economists are predicting that this crisis will indirectly cause additional food and water shortages, and make disease prevention more difficult for millions in the third world nations because of the rising costs of drugs and medical supplies.
So, enormous difficulties are just ahead for much of the human race. Many of these looming catastrophes are a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecies. However, unlike events in years past, many of the plagues afflicting mankind will begin to fall directly on the American and British-descended peoples. Increasingly, they will strike where you live!
Barack Obama—America’s new President-elect—will certainly need our prayers in the years ahead. Like nearly all politicians, he has promised Americans everything but the “moon and stars.” But massive financial deficits, a truly “drained” military and unusually complex and difficult international situations will prevent Mr. Obama from carrying out many of his promises.
Just now, the Intelligence Report in the latest Parade magazine reports, “The U.S. government owes $2.67 trillion to foreign governments and investors—20% of our total GDP. And that number has grown rapidly. ‘In 2001, China held $61.5 billion in U.S. debt. Now it has $541 billion,’ says James Ludes of the bipartisan American Security Project in Washington, D.C. ‘In 2001, we owed Russia less than $10 billion. Now it’s $74.4 billion’” (November 9, 2008). Many financial experts have noted that a rapidly increasing amount of our national budget will have to be used just to pay the interest on our growing national debt. And in addition to the current $700 billion bailout package already approved, the Congressional leaders are already pushing for an additional $100 billion stimulation package—plus…. Where will it end?
A number of respected economists have frankly acknowledged that this bailout can happen only by “printing more money.” This, of course, undermines the value of the American dollar and prepares the way for massive inflation in future years. We—as a people—have turned away from the God of the Bible. America and Britain are in terrible trouble! As we have explained in our telecasts and in our Tomorrow’s World magazines many times, the God of heaven warned our forefathers, “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you” (Deut. 28:43-45).
These prophesied “curses” are slowly but surely beginning to come upon us. Very few of our friends and neighbors in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia or New Zealand are willing or able to understand. But as the Gentile nations of this world turn increasingly against us, as the prophesied “Beast” of Revelation 17 and 18 rises in central Europe, and as our wealth, power and prestige continue to plummet, we in this unique Work of the living Jesus Christ must reach out to warn our neighbors about what is beginning to occur! We must help them understand that the only genuine hope for our confused world is the arrival of a real World Government under the leadership of the returning Jesus Christ as King of kings (Rev. 11:15).
All of us in this Work of God are dedicated to proclaiming Christ’s message with increasing power. And God is backing us up and making it possible by opening “doors” of radio, television, the printing press and other avenues where we can finally reach our fellow human beings before it is too late.
Since the beginning of the year, we have added 23 new TV stations and six new radio stations to our media log. As of today, we have 207 TV stations, including 189 in the United States, four in Canada, five in Australia, two in the Philippines, and TV stations in New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. We also are airing on four satellite systems in the UK, including the Gospel Channel, the WORD Network, Wonderful TV and the Faith Channel.
The 189 TV stations in the United States include 52 commercial grade TV stations, 15 leased access stations and 122 public access stations.
Based on Nielsen TV ratings in North America, we estimate that the Tomorrow’s World telecast has brought in over two million new viewers since the beginning of the year, bringing our overall total in North America to more than 14 million households which have watched at least one telecast. This figure represents about 11 percent of the approximately 125 million TV households in the United States and Canada. Our North American TV stations can be viewed by approximately 90 million homes, by over-the-air stations, cable systems or satellite TV.
So far this year, superstation WGN has generated 33,934 responses from its 6:00 am (ET) airing, followed by our new network, Black Entertainment Television (BET), with 20,473 responses since March (on Mondays at 3:00 am and, now, Thursdays at 6:00 am (ET/PT)), 19,050 replies from Vision-TV in Canada (which airs Sunday evenings and early mornings on five other days), and 9,505 responses from the WORD Network on DirecTV and some cable systems, which airs Friday mornings at 1:30 am ET (Thursdays at 10:30 pm Pacific Time).
We are experiencing the biggest year yet for Tomorrow’s World television. As of today, we are only 8,000 responses (about two weeks worth) short of surpassing every annual response since the telecast began in January 1999.
So far this year, we have received 166,310 TV responses, which is 11.5 percent over the same period last year. Already, this year’s response is more than all the responses received during our first three years. As of this morning, this week’s telecast, program #265, “Seven Satanic Deceptions,” is being aired for the sixth time and is breaking all response records. It is still early, but we are expecting around 5,500 replies this week!
Dear brethren and co-workers, nearly all the major events which we have predicted for so many decades have either happened—are happening—or are about to happen! Since my student days at Ambassador College and my conversion to true Christianity about 59 years ago, I have never seen world events line up as they are today! So we truly need to be “on fire” to do our part in the Work of God. We may only have another five to ten years to proclaim the “Ezekiel warning” message to our peoples (Ezek. 33:1-7). To the very end, we must powerfully proclaim the Good News of the real “final solution” to mankind’s massive problems—the soon-coming Kingdom or Government of God through Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints.
Once that “seventh trumpet” sounds and Christ truly is here, in person, I am sure that all of us—certainly including myself—will look back and say, “Oh, how I wish I could have been more zealous to find what God has wanted us to be doing! I could have given of myself far more in Christ’s service. I could have helped reach out to the thousands and millions all over the world who need understanding. I could have, personally, walked with God far more closely. If only….”
May God help me and you and every one of us to genuinely “give” of ourselves to our Creator and to truly “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith