Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,
I am writing this month’s letter as Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Weston are traveling to Colombia, South America, where Evangelist Mario Hernandez and Mr. and Mrs. Cristian Orrego will join Mr. Weston in conducting a two-day ministerial conference. Mr. Hernandez, originally from Colombia, is Director of the Spanish-speaking areas of God’s Work, and his Assistant Director, Mr. Orrego, also from Colombia, pastors congregations in Mexico and Guatemala. We appreciate your prayers for their safe travel and for the conference.
All our offices around the world are striving to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus Christ gave to His Church:
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).
The Living Church of God is a comparatively small organization, but under the “authority” of our Lord empowering us, we can have the faith and confidence to move forward. Mr. Weston gave this encouraging report on February 9:
Last week I reported that we recorded over a million views on our English YouTube channel for the month of January. And that was a new all-time record. Very exciting to see that. But, since then, I have learned that we also set a record on the Le Monde de Demain YouTube channel—that is our French channel—where we recorded 529,539 views. Now, to give this some perspective, all throughout the year of 2022 the average number of views on our French YouTube channel was around 50,000 to 100,000. And, yet, in January it was over half a million.… That is very exciting to see that much of a jump. We would not expect that every single month, of course. We are very happy to see that and very excited for the Work in the French language.
Our mission also includes the role of a “watchman” explained in Ezekiel 3 and 33. I encourage you to read the NewsWatch feature in every Tomorrow’s World magazine. For example, the current February issue on page 28 reports on sins that will bring God’s judgment on our country:
On December 14, 2022, American President Joe Biden signed a piece of legislation—the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA)—that seeks to protect same-sex “marriage” in the United States…. Moses warned the Israelite-descended peoples that in the “latter days” they would become utterly corrupt—calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20)—and would bring upon themselves the wrath of God (Deuteronomy 31:29).
The many carnal anti-God, anti-Bible ways of the Western world are storing up God’s punishments soon to come in the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). Also in the current Tomorrow’s World magazine, be sure to read Mr. Weston’s featured article, “Repeating Rome’s Mistakes.”
As our current world accelerates toward self-destruction, one of the obvious dangers is that of nuclear proliferation. We’ve cited the nine current nuclear nations in our booklet, Armageddon and Beyond. The Wall Street Journal reported North Korea’s recent boast of increased nuclear missiles:
North Korea displayed an unprecedented number of long-range nuclear missiles at a military parade, in an effort to show the country is mass producing weapons capable of striking the U.S. The parade, which was held Wednesday night [February 8, 2023] in Pyongyang, featured at least 11 Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles and a prototype of a new missile designed for faster deployment, state media photos showed. North Korea has never showcased that many nuclear missiles at one time. The show of force appeared to be aimed at demonstrating the advances the country has made in its missile production capabilities, analysts said (“North Korea Flaunts New Missiles,” February 10, 2023, p. A10).
This dangerous development is not only a threat to the U.S.—it is also a preview of the terrifying weaponry that will destroy a third of mankind. The sixth trumpet plague describes that powerful judgment:
So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths (Revelation 9:15-18).
Some of you may already know of the recent Doomsday Clock advancement, based on increasing dangers of world war and devastation. Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on January 24:
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set its Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight the clock has been since it was established in 1947 to illustrate global existential threats at the dawn of the nuclear weapons age…. Rachel Bronson, the president and CEO of the Bulletin, said the clock had been moved forward from 100 seconds to midnight, where it had been for the previous three years, “largely, though not exclusively, because of the mounting dangers in the war in Ukraine. We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality.”
Bible prophecy lays out the sequence of prophetic events. The last three-and-a-half-year sequence of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord has not begun yet. But world events are speeding toward that end-time climax. And we know the Gospel must yet be preached more extensively around the world. Thank you, co-workers and brethren, for your part in making that happen.
As we’ve reported on the Tomorrow’s World telecast and in our publications, one crucial end-time prophetic event will be the resumption of animal sacrifices by religious Jews in Jerusalem. Even now, the Jews’ observance of Passover in Israel on April 5, 2023, will remind us of such efforts. The Times of Israel reported:
A fringe religious group on Monday night asked newly installed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for permission to perform the Passover ritual sacrifice on the Temple Mount this coming spring. The “Returning to the Mount” group makes this request every year, to no avail. But Ben Gvir, who ascended the Temple Mount on Tuesday morning, is no normal police minister, and they stand a better chance than ever before to get permission to perform the controversial animal sacrifice ritual (January 3, 2023).
Yes, we need to watch and pray “always” (Luke 21:36) as these dramatic prophetic events take place. Our focus must be on “watching,” living each day by faith (Romans 1:17), and “so doing” God’s Work (Matthew 24:46). With all the dangers facing our world, we can have confidence in the coming Kingdom of God, and we can exercise patience and faith day by day (Luke 21:19).
Thank you, brethren and co-workers, for your diligent perseverance, prayers, and support for the greatest mission on earth!
In Christian love,
Richard F. Ames