Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,

Thank you, dear brethren and co-workers, for your part in fulfilling the commission given to us. You are making a difference. In addition to the nearly 350,000 Tomorrow’s World magazine subscriptions, we are now approaching 890,000 English-language YouTube subscribers, and more than 300,000 new people view our YouTube site each month. While this is wonderful news, I want to take you on a brief trip down memory lane in this letter and point out how prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes.

World War II ended 81 years ago last month. Germany and the Axis powers were badly defeated. Japan was in ruins—not only from two atomic bombs, but also from the firebombing of 66 cities. In one night, as many as 100,000 or more people were killed and a million made homeless in the firebombing of Tokyo. Many more thousands died in firebombings in England and Germany. It was a brutal war in which there were victors and vanquished, but all suffered terrible losses.

In the aftermath, a man by the name of Herbert W. Armstrong was proclaiming on radio, all across the United States and Canada, that Germany would rise from the ashes to become a superpower once again. This seemed preposterous to the world—and, indeed, it did take time for both Japan and Germany to rise again. Japan became a democracy, and Germany ran full tilt away from its Nazi past. Both countries became economic powers once again. I still remember in the mid-1950s, when my mother was buying a set of binoculars, how she explained that German products were of excellent quality, but Japanese goods flooding the market were of poor quality.

That was only a decade after the war, but as time passed, even Japanese products, such as automobiles, began to symbolize high quality. Passenger cars built in North America made up about 85 to 90 percent of the market in the ’60s and ’70s, but look around you today. While many cars are assembled in America, note whose names are most prominent: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Lexus, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Hyundai.

What caused the downfall of American automobiles? I lived in Michigan in the 1970s, and at the time I put 50,000 miles a year on our fleet cars—all North American brands. I hated to trade one in, because I knew I would spend hours in the shop getting all the new car’s defects fixed. Yes, we did it to ourselves. Advertising will not make up for shoddy work. My friends from Michigan will likely take me to task over this, but this is the honest truth. I knew men who worked in management and on the lines and heard all the stories. Yes, quality has improved, but it takes time to rebuild a tarnished reputation.

Today’s Germans and Japanese are model citizens and an integral part of the democratic world. The World War II generation has passed and so has most of the animosity between victor and vanquished. The prediction that Germany would rise again was fulfilled decades ago economically, but not militarily. Russia and Mr. Putin have changed that. The February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia has turned Germany into an arms factory. Car manufacturers with spare capacity are now furiously building military weapons as Germans and Europeans in general truly believe that Mr. Putin will not stop with Ukraine.

Germany is not alone. As former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in a Time opinion piece (January 27, 2017), “It all looks as if the world is preparing for war.” That was five years prior to the invasion of Ukraine. What would he say today? More importantly, what does God say about today?

The stage is being set for the greatest time of trouble the world has ever known. Jesus said our world will come to the place at the end of the age when all life would be snuffed out except for His intervention to prevent it (Matthew 24:21–22). The prophet Joel speaks of the same time of the end when a great military buildup will take place.

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations” (Joel 3:9–12).

Nations do not know the true reasons behind their arms buildup. While they are preparing to fight their neighbors, they will eventually turn their weapons against the returning King of kings. But prophecy shows that, before that, there will be trouble between a “king of the north” (the Beast of Revelation, led by Germany) and a combine of nations south of Jerusalem, referred to as “the king of the South.” Even now, we see tensions between “Christian” Europe and Muslim migrants from North Africa and the Middle East (Daniel 11:40–45).

On September 6, Germany saw the extremist AfD party reach a significant milestone. The Associated Press reported on the strongly anti-immigrant party: “Many Germans had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws to outlaw persecution. But as it turns out, that conviction was mistaken, and similar to voters across Europe and elsewhere, voters in Germany are increasingly empowering the extreme far-right party” (“AfD party’s landslide win in eastern Germany tests country’s ‘firewall’ against the far right,” Associated Press).

Animosity against the American administration is significant throughout Europe, creating a rift that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Another prophesied rift is rising between brother nations. Isaiah 9:21 says that “Manasseh [the United States] shall devour Ephraim [Britain, Canada, and other British-descended nations], and Ephraim Manasseh; together they shall be against Judah [Israel and the Jews]. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” For details on the identity of end-time nations, write, call, or go online at TomorrowsWorld.org for a free copy of our resource The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.

Isaiah’s prophecy appears to be coming true, as the United States and Canada are locked in an emotional trade war and Canada is turning to Europe instead. This will not end well for either country. At the same time, Britain and Canada (Ephraim) are turning further away from Israel (Judah). The UK, Canada, and France announced on September 8 a trade ban on goods made by Israelis in the West Bank. Israel retaliated by closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem and banning eleven British members of Parliament from the country.

As will be pointed out in the September 24 TWP Newsletter sent out by our Canadian Office:

As tensions rise, new political and military alliances form. The world led by Britain and America for the past two centuries is transforming. Across the UK and Canada traditional support of Israel is waning and the ugliness of irrational anti-Semitism is rearing its head more and more. Nations are watching the Anglo-Saxon countries in what appears to be their unrelenting decline, driven by a loss of historical connection to their past, a falling birthrate and a repudiation of their cultural and religious origins.

If you would like to read more or view the related video when it is available, you can visit the website lcgcanada.org/twp-newsletter.

Brethren and co-workers, the lawless world can see trouble on the horizon, but has no idea where it is heading. However, those who obey God will understand as these prophecies are fulfilled (Daniel 12:9–10). And, thankfully, there is the good news of Christ’s return to stop humanity’s madness and usher in the unimaginable—a time of worldwide peace.

The outline of end-time events is spelled out in the Festivals of God—days many of us are currently observing. September 12 is the Feast of Trumpets, describing the terrible “Day of the Lord”—God’s punishment on rebellious mankind, culminating in Christ’s return. The Day of Atonement falls on September 21 this year and foretells the removal of the great troublemaker Satan the Devil. This is followed a few days later by the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, picturing the thousand-year reign of Christ and His faithful servants. And finally, on October 3 we come to the Last Great Day, picturing the time when all those who were never called by God will be resurrected to physical life once again for their first opportunity to understand God’s plan.

Thank you, dear brethren and co-workers, for being on Christ’s team, doing what we can to fulfill His commission. The job looks impossible, but God will make the way. However, let us do our part by doing what we were called to do. We are living in momentous times, and, along with proclaiming the good news of Christ’s coming Kingdom, a warning must go out to the world as a witness.

Thank you again. You are making a difference.

Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Gerald E. Weston