Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,
What a start to the new year! In a mere ten days we saw a terrorist attack that killed 14 in New Orleans and historic fires in California that have killed dozens of people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. The Santa Ana winds that blew in California have taken the wind of disaster consciousness away from victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton that wrought destruction in the southeastern United States last year. Those still living in tents in Tennessee and North Carolina are pleading with people not to forget them.
On the world stage, Germans will go to the polls on February 23 after the collapse of Olaf Scholz’ coalition government. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced January 6 that he will resign, and by the time you read this, barring any unforeseen events, the United States will have its next president. This is the tip of the proverbial iceberg of global discontent. Leaders are toppling all over the world as citizens express unhappiness with the direction their countries are going. Let us not forget that it was a time of discontent that brought Adolf Hitler to power.
We are not yet out of January and who knows what the rest of the month will bring, much less the remainder of 2025. As I write, Hamas and Israel may have made a lopsided deal to swap terrorists for hostages, but this is not certain as there seem to be last-minute hiccups. One thing is for certain—according to the Bible, there will be no lasting peace in the Middle East until the Prince of Peace brings it about!
Thinking people are asking why such disastrous fires occurred in California. There is much finger-pointing toward leaders, whether on the state or local level. It is difficult to deny the facts that the fires might have been mitigated, if not totally prevented, by better leadership. Others point to climate change, but anyone who has lived in Southern California knows that Santa Ana winds are a yearly phenomenon—some years worse than others.
However, the root cause of our problems goes deeper. This becomes evident when we hear of gangs of looters swooping in, breaking into homes that are still standing after their owners obeyed mandatory evacuation orders or fled for their lives. Then there were those deranged individuals starting fires! Others illegally flew drones jeopardizing low-flying aircraft battling the blazes. One drone was struck by a “scooper” plane, putting the airplane out of the fight for a few days to be repaired. Such selfish actions jeopardize the lives of pilots and also the lives and properties of those not protected when planes are taken out of the fight. The root cause of these goes far beyond politics and global warming. Yes, dear members and co-workers, our problems are spiritual in nature—a truth that few recognize.
God warned in Leviticus 26:14–46 that a nation that despises His laws is in for a rough time. Deuteronomy 28 gives a similar warning, and even speaks of immigrants taking over—something citizens in America, Britain, Canada, South Africa, and parts of Europe recognize is happening in their countries.
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 (vv. 43–45).
Is this not exactly what we see happening? When funds are diverted to provide sanctuary care for illegal immigrants and away from fire control, policing, infrastructure, forest management, water storage, and other critical services, this is the result. Our nations have despised God’s commandments and we are now eating the fruit of our decisions.
We often quote another passage of Scripture that speaks of “the last days.” How many of these characteristics apply to your nation and those around you?
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1–5).
Some have noted that many of the people affected by these latest fires are the rich and famous, although most are neither rich nor famous. Many are middle-class people struggling to make ends meet. But whether rich or poor, they are human beings made in God’s image, and He cares for them just as He cared for the sinful city of Nineveh. Many are familiar with the account of Jonah being swallowed by a fish, but think it merely a story. However, Jesus knew it to be true, as seen in Matthew 12:39–40.
The last verse in the book of Jonah tells us about God’s compassion: “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” (Jonah 4:11). How many are familiar with the response of the Ninevites (ancestors of the modern Germans) to the preaching of Jonah? Following Jesus’ affirmation regarding the historicity of Jonah, he foretold: “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah” (Matthew 12:41). God’s compassion was shown in giving them a warning through Jonah—a warning that they heeded.
Jesus was confronted by some asking about a recent brutal act that must have been on the minds of many. There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1–5).
Tomorrow’s World and the Living Church of God are here to call all peoples to repentance from sin, which includes defining sin according to the Bible (1 John 3:4). But that does not mean that we don’t love them. Just as God cared for sinful Ninevites, so we must care for our sinful neighbors, realizing that we too are sinners who must repent when we come up short.
We do help others with modest physical assistance where we can and when we know that it will get to those most in need. Our calling, though, is not to treat the effects but to address the cause. We are commanded, “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Proverbs 24:11–12).
As the Prophet Ezekiel reminds us, “Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul” (Ezekiel 33:9). To more fully understand God’s commission to Ezekiel, view our Tomorrow’s World telecast “Ezekiel’s Message Unlocked”on our YouTube channel or at TomorrowsWorld.org.
Thank you, members and co-workers, for your loyal support. Together we are reaching far more people than our small numbers would indicate. Thank you for being part of our team that addresses the clearly defined cause of all the problems in our world today. We know that mankind is bent on rejecting the true God of Creation, but some are responding to our message of repentance and hope. Pray for us as we pray for you.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston