Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Thursday, August 30, 2018

It's A Different "World Tomorrow" Than We Anticipated in 1985!


It's Almost Feast Time Again for many. But It's A Different World Than It Was in 1985. And what we all expected never happened. 

We've heard it all our lives. We're all going to enter into the Wonderful World Tomorrow. Lions will be tamed, peace will be everywhere, everyone will keep the Law. The Worldwide Church of God will rule the world under Herbert Armstrong, and all the church members will rule and reign with him for a thousand wonderful, amazing, utopian years, keeping the Law and the Holy Days and forcing all to do so with a rod of iron. Well, Until that was made absolutely impossible for that to happen in just a couple of decades from September of 1985. Boom goes the dynamite, and the Church ran like melancholy sparrows or lonely pelicans smacked by a volley of roman candles. 

Things are different now. There's no Worldwide Church of God as we knew it. Herbert's long gone. Scattered remnant ministers continue to try to make a work, work, and some remnant members who try to be ministers try to make a... well, whatever they're trying to do. I still haven't figured out what that is. I'm not sure they have either.

of course, we all are aware that we are very fast approaching the annual Feast of Tabernacles for those who celebrate the Fall Holy Days in the Churches of God. Many people will be going to and fro to extremely diverse locations, meeting in various hotels, homes, campgrounds, and living rooms.A few might get a hall! One or two, a BIG hall! It was a far different picture decades ago when we met at large sports arenas, conference centers, islands and cruise ships - all 140,000+ of us, all in one church, all looking forward to ONE World Tomorrow under ONE apostle in a church body called the Worldwide Church of God that we believed as a physical corporation the gates of hell could never prevail against (see the Receivership of the late 1970s to early 1980s to get this picture.)

(Photo from the Envoy, 1970s, 
Lake of the Ozarks, Feast of Tabernacles) 

At that point of time, many of us believed that Herbert Armstrong would miraculously recover and would not die, that Gerald Waterhouse was speaking fascinating, deep truths (ok, a few of us thought that), and that Jesus was delaying his return because the brethren were just not ready. Nonetheless, it was an exciting, festive, and unforgettable convention for so many of us - particularly those of us who were tenfold bought into the Armstrong Theology System.

Many were teenagers at the time. Many regarded Herbert Armstrong as God's Apostle. And many regarded the ministry as the authoritative word of God. So what exactly were the teenagers of the Worldwide Church of God told in the last few months of Herbert Armstrong's reign in the Worldwide Church?

The teenagers were told that the World Tomorrow was for the Children of the Church in 1985. An article was written in the Good News of September 1985 by Frank Nelte - which set up entirely incorrect expectations for the teenagers of the time. I'll quote some paragraphs. 

"The members of God's Church will then be Spirit beings. We'll be part of God's Family, assisting Jesus Christ in governing and teaching that perfect world. We will see to it that Christ's instructions are carried out to the last detail. But we will not be the ones to do the physical building of that society, nor will we be the ones who will benefit most from the ideal physical environment."

Here, we have the statement that the then-current (in 1985) members of the Worldwide Church of God would be transformed into Spirit beings - managerial assistants who's job is to "see to it" that the instructions of Christ are carried out to the exact detail. I can see in my mind glorified, brightly-shining spirit entities sitting on little thrones, legs crossed, holding a spirit drink and a spirit microphone, watching down below as they bark order after order received from upper management. Wait! I think I did see that actually... Wasn't that what Dave Pack was doing wearing a white shirt staring down at his workers, barking out order after order in his office up high? Of course, it was! After all, that was the Church's teachings!

"The actual restoring of the old wastes, the planting and reaping of bumper crops, and the beautiful homes and cities will be carried out by humans. And the teenagers from God's Church are destined to be among the leaders and beneficiaries of that society".

Please forgive me if I take a moment to do just a little math. The teenagers from the Church back in 1985 (13 to 19) are currently aged 46 to 52 years of age. Those who read this and believed this back in 1985 have children, and grandchildren, and are actually approaching retirement. They've got GREY HAIR. Think about this: The Young Ambassadors of those days could now nearly attend SENIOR CITIZEN LUNCHEONS!  May we now, at this point, say, without any degree of reasonable doubt, that the author of this article was just a little bit incorrect? 

"When other people at the beginning of the Millennium find out that a teenager' s father or mother is now a member of the God Family -when they discover that the teenager attended God's Church or studied the Church's teachings in this age -then they will look up to that teenager to show them the way. Those teenagers who strive now to learn God's way are then going to be in high demand"

The idea going through a teenager's mind, in 1985, was simple: Feast Flings. No, I'm joking. Not really, I wish I was. But what was going through their minds spiritually was something like this:  After the hellish World War 3, in just three to five years, the Millennium would dawn. The Worldwide Church of God would then surface from Petra or wherever, and they would then rule the world under Jesus Christ, and the teenager is still on earth. Others without knowledge of the Worldwide Church of God would suddenly be awestruck at the realization that their parents ARE NOW GOD UP IN THE SKY and would be in awe! The teenagers would be superstars! And, likely, MINISTERS - HUMAN MINISTERS like the WCG Ministers of 1985! What a GOAL! (Except the feast flings - that was their real goal.) 
"The surface of the Earth will be dramatically changed. Mountains will be brought low. Land will appear in many deserts covered by oceans. Deserts and polar ice caps will become fertile and habitable. The surface of this planet will receive an incredible face-lifting." 

Now, our mid-1980s teenagers will, presumably be 1995, expect to see the nuclear-torn, war-ravaged Earth suddenly go through a Genesis Project transformation that makes Star Trek look...wait, it IS like Star Trek, isn't it? - The only thing missing was the Enterprise with Kirk at the helm wrestling the Genesis Effect Machine from the hands of the villain! Of course, in the COG world, the Villain was Garner Ted, not Kahn.... But I digress...

"And then God will need thousands of pioneers! Have you ever envied the pioneers of yesteryear? - Like Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Vasca De Gama, Captain James Cook and David Livingstone to name a few? Well, the achievements of the pioneers of tomorrow, which are being trained today, will pale into insignificance anything accomplished in past ages." 

Yes! Now we are telling our teenagers that their names will be as important and etched in stone as the next Christopher Columbus! The next Marco Polo! The next Vasca De Gama or Captain Cook! What a reward! Now our teenagers will really be somebody! They'll be important! Yes, you teenagers will be what you envy!!  Envy is a Ferengi trait, not a Christian trait. Sorry, another Trek reference. I'll stop already. Someday. Moving on.... 

They'll build farmlands and industries in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and on the top of Antarctica! Oh, what's that? 

"Some will have to set the example in establishing family units that practice God's Way of Life. Some will have to set the example by living in accordance with all of God's Health Laws. With guidance from God, thousands of inventions are just waiting to be discovered... trendsetters will be needed!"

YES! Make it SO, we'd think, gleefully.  

But it could not be made so. 

Then, this is said...
"That's a big responsibility. God is very selective in the foundation He builds. The teenagers associated with God's Church today are being offered a part in that foundation. God is not going to make any mistakes. So teenagers in God's Church are being tested as to whether God will be able to use them....
Often the teenager may be the only one in the whole school who knows about God's truth. To reject the way the other kids do these things means to be rejected by them, and none of us wants to be rejected or ostracized. Yes, it's often tough, but it boils down to this: Either they seek the approval of other kids by being just like they are, or young people seek God's approval and possibly face a certain amount of persecution, but then look forward to pioneering God's Way of life in the incredible future." 
Not that I need to say this. But I'll do it anyway. None of this happened. It's 2018. Thirty-Three YEARS in the future. That's at least 5 TIMES further than the 3 to 5 years we were expecting in 1985, which is FORTY years later than the expectation in 1945. (Look at me sound like some kind of Church of God Date-Setting Dude). Let's be frank. None of it was true. It was entirely, totally, and completely FICTION. There's no other way around it. The teenagers are grandparents in some cases, the United States still exists, the entire generation of members in 1985 who were adults are middle-aged to senior citizens... or dead. It IS a totally, completely, incredibly different world, yes. But it's not the World Tomorrow we were told it would be. I guess you could say it's not your father's world tomorrow. But it is a World Tomorrow no one ever anticipated. All of the above I just mentioned is what they were told. And many believed it. That's a shame. A real, honest, absolute shame. We said lying to our children about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny was such a sin, but then lied to them about their world to come and thought it acceptable. It was not. 

Among countless other marvels, Computers and information have taken over the world. Smartphones, Twitter and Facebook. Instant news. Instant communication. Cell phones without cords with nearly unlimited apps. An unlimited library of videos at your disposal. GOOGLE, for crying out loud.  Music you do not have to pay for via YouTube. TV's that are flat and curved. Video conversations are every day. Everybody now has the technology to do a "Microwave Satellite Transmission" with the push of a button. And this blog has reached every nation in the world - and the thing is? That's not a big deal. A cat video reaches every nation in this world too. And so does every blogger and podcast operator and video producer. It's an everyday thing. And in ten years, everything I wrote will probably be horribly outdated. 

But because of our fictional World Tomorrow that never came, no one who was a teenager in 1985 was prepared for the REAL "World Tomorrow" which is the unthinkable-then World we know of today. Because


No matter how you slice it, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you parse history - the truth is, the Worldwide Church of God told the children to expect something that never happened. They believed it on the authority of Christ - dictated by Herbert Armstrong, the evangelists, and the pastors of the Worldwide Church of God. What did our children learn from that? How did that affect their trust in their parents? Their ministers? God? Everything? 

Nine years later from 1985, the greatest tribulation ever to hit the Worldwide Church of God hit with the force of a 1000 megaton detonation. People were left bewildered, stunned, and the Church was literally destroyed into thousands of small splinters, shards, and pieces of shrapnel. Some went left, some went right, some went - well, anywhere they could find to go. But the world around them went on. The world around them continued, progressed, developed, and became the crazy futuristic world that we live in today, beyond the dreams of anyone in 1985. A world that many of our teenagers were not prepared for, because of the fictional expectations they were told of by those who were trusted. No, it wasn't THE Great Tribulation, of course. But for us, it might've well been. 

Now, what was written above are indisputable facts. However, the following paragraph is just an opinion - so take it, leave it, or whatever, but here it is: 

As the Fall Festival Season comes for 2018 to those who continue to observe it, I hope you have an enjoyable time with family and friends - and fun. But there is a lesson learned that the teenagers of 1985 have learned very, very well. That lesson is simple:  Guard yourselves against feeding your children with unrealistic, fictional, biased, irrational and unreasonable expectations of ideas and inaccuracies of things that no one knows the date, the times, or the hours of - or can know, which will rob them of the trust they put in their parents if they imagine or teach that they do know. Instead, prepare them to have the ability to live, laugh, love, and succeed in this incredible World that no one back then could ever have expected. Teach them respect, honor, and joy. Give them the abilities to set a wonderful example for their children and their grandchildren which most are nearly certain to have. Jesus isn't interested in the propagation of untruths to his little ones. Jesus is interested in those who understand and live a life of love. Those who achieve that have achieved a better recognition than Marco Polo or any explorer or real estate developer of a worldwide scale ever could. And what happens beyond that? 

As long as we do the right thing, the true thing, and the honest thing  - we'll be more ready for whatever comes our way than if some teach what end up to be lies and deceptions unaware.

guest contribution:SHT




37 comments:

  1. I started at AC Pasadena in 1972. The first semester, one of the Senior students came back to the dormitory from the Dinner With Mr. Armstrong that every Senior got. All he told us (at least that I remember) was that one of the students asked HWA, "Should we save for retirement?" The answer was, "Yes, save for retirement, but also be ready for the return of Christ at any time." So, after I went into the work world, I saved, and guess what, I'm now retired.

    Which goes to show, what he preached was not what he privately believed and sometimes even said.

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  2. I agree with every single yota of this contribution.

    Except that the current "future" really mirrors almost each and every aspect of "the world tomorrow".

    Every quotation has passed into reality.

    I've seen deserts bloom everywhere. Climate change is indeed causing the ice caps to be used for future exploitation. Search engines provide answers to every possible question and it is only im its infant stage. The youth of 1985 are todays leaders. The "thousands of inventions" have and are coming to pass at exponential pace. Conspiracy theory has become mainstream. Technology will increase the span of control for the elites in every aspect of citizems lifes.

    "Health laws" are mainstream (in portland and any major hipster city). Vegetarians are mainstream. (lions eating grass).

    Cargill and Monsanto are feeding billions more than club of rome could have ever imagined


    And I m not even spinning.

    Technological singularity is rapidly aproaching and was the ultimate purpose of the 1938 new york "world of tomorrow fair". (another brain child of edward bernays, who spun rampant democracy into a single purpose unit the pursuit of happiness through consumerism through "the unseen hand")

    Nck

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  3. "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" 2 Thessalonians 2:3

    there has been a great falling away, as this current generation is all but completely Godless; and the man of sin is starting to expose himself...

    to me its now only a question of what part of Malachi 4:5-6 will be fulfilled, i.e., whether or not the Lord curses the earth...

    c f yochanan

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  4. WWTL; DR. But, point well taken from the first 1/3 that in order to relish being a ruler of Armstrongism, or a future leader in it, one's association with it would have needed to be way deeper than simple belief and observance. You would have to have loved it! Wasn't that impossible, from the very way in which it was taught? Let's just put it this way: If you serve a nice big bowl of vanilla ice cream to someone, and present it as if it is spinach, liver and onions, or okra, you can actually induce the gag reflex, or make them vomit, literally as they are eating ice cream! If there ever was anything good or appealing about Armstrongism, the way it was presented to and enforced upon the teenagers quickly made it lose its appeal. If you yourself feel trapped by something, how could you love it so deeply that you would want to teach it or enforce it on anyone else? You wouldn't, or couldn't, unless you happened to be a masochistic narcissist, and the teenagers who fell into that psychological profile grew up to be the Dave Packs or Rod McNairs of today. Yukk! Spinach, liver and onions, and okra beget spinach, liver and onions, and okra! So glad that we here get to have a part in breaking that awful cycle.

    I'm thinking the author must have been one of the 1980s teenagers. The first teenagers whom the WCG attempted to inspire by teaching them that they'd get to be the Elvis or Beatles of Armstrongism in the Millennium grew up in the '60s and '70s, so it fell flat for the first time with people who are already retired. Those who drank the Kool Aid back then and went all in have been dragging their asses around in pure misery for decades now, or are going crazy because what was going to provide validation for their miserable lives just flat never happened, and never will. So it is in the lives of those who fall victim to scam, a perpetual state in which your belief remains unrequited.

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  5. SHT,
    A great post, funny in places sad in others. I relived your entire post. I would like to add one more admonition. Teach your children and grandchildren to get the best education they can. Teach them to study economics. I don’t know what we will have in the future but right now they need to understand how a 401k, a Roth IRA and other retirement vehicles work. Don’t let any church put a guilt trip on you about giving everything to the church and neglecting yourself and your family. I never heard HWA say we should save for retirement. If he did I never heard him or anyone at HQ say we should. Teach your children and grandchildren to save. A few hundred dollars invested each year when a person is young will grow over time to several thousand. A company I worked for offered a 401k program. The company matched up to dollar for dollar up to 5%, so I invested 5% of my salary for several years. My wife did the same where she worked. We retired in 2017 and now live on our retirement income. If you start when you have several years before your retirement age you can do it. Education is the key. When I was about 40, I didn’t know anything about investing. But I decided I was going to learn, I was going to learn how stocks, bonds, cd’s and other instruments worked. If Jesus returns this year or next, great. But if it is years from now use that time to educate yourself.
    Jim-AZ

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  6. Thanks for finally talking about >"It's A Different "World Tomorrow" Than We Anticipated in 1985!" <Liked it!

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  7. 8:24

    I believe HWA preached exactly what he believed, while remaining a very practical man.
    Many interpret that practicality as hypocrisy.
    I think practicality is a better word going by his quaker heritage. his pride in stemming from early settlers and his eternal endorsement of the works of Benjamin Franklin to all youth.

    nck

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  8. When I was 17 in 1985 I never believed a word of that clap-trap. I was correct all along.

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  9. Atheist And Republican And I Live In CaliforniaFriday, August 31, 2018 at 5:31:00 AM PDT

    When I left WCG in the 1980's, and yes I had been baptized, I believe I was an atheist the entire time I was in that cult and looking back I never really believed the horse shit coming out of Pasadena.

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  10. Anon August 30, 2018 at 8:29 PM

    You will be sadly disappointed. Its what you get when you live your life by a book. A book assembled by the Catholics.

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  11. Everyone took to the FOT their personal feelings, beliefs and expectations. For a some, it was a spiritual event and for others it was a time of unbridled indulgence.

    My guess is that for the Administration in Pasadena it was a very effective fund raiser by means of:

    1. Tithe of the Second Tithe.
    2. Offerings.
    3. Excess Second Tithe.
    4. Envoy sales. (I think we have disposed of ours.)

    It was a way of squeezing the "brethren" for more than first tithe. I recall the Business Office at Big Sandy being open to receive excess Second Tithe. Business seemed to be brisk.

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  12. Is it just me , or do any of the rest of you add a "vowel" , namely the letter "I" to the initials "SHT" whenever you see one of their postings? Not a knock on SHT , I just cant help but think it! ;-)

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    1. That’s probably what the current ACOG members call him, Connie! He’s got the goods, and has ‘em cold. They may eveb want to kill him!

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  13. Is it just me , or do any of the rest of you add a "vowel" , namely the letter "I" to the initials "SHT" whenever you see one of their postings? Not a knock on SHT , I just cant help but think it! ;-)

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  14. NCK said, "Technological singularity is rapidly approaching and was the ultimate purpose of the 1938 new york "world of tomorrow fair"".

    MY COMMENT - In a 1930s Depression-era exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute Museum in Washington, D.C., there is a 1938 edition of Time Magazine on display which sported the cover title "World of Tomorrow". Realizing Herbert W. Armstrong was a print advertising executive, I immediately thought to myself, "So that's where Herbert Armstrong got the name for his radio and television program".

    Richard

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  15. c f yochanan said, "there has been a great falling away, as this current generation is all but completely Godless; and the man of sin is starting to expose himself..."

    MY COMMENT - While I agree with you that this current generation is all but completely Godless, my Grandfather first listened to Herbert W. Armstrong on radio and was a Plain Truth Magazine subscriber in the early 1950s leading my family to enter the WCG in the late 1960s. My grandfathers' generation has long past, as well as my parents' generation. So what was the purpose since most who received the Armstrong Great Tribulation warning message has long since past? Those generations did pass, and yet Jesus Christ has not returned as predicted.

    Richard

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    1. well scoffing and treachery also have been occurring along with the falling away...

      but the main thing is the advent of that man of sin as alluded to by the apostle Saul...he was referring to Daniel 11:21-45 when he spoke of that man in 2 Thessalonians...

      i believe donald drumpf is that man of sin cuz his behavior matches the description of the person written of in Daniel 11:21-45...

      there is also other circumstantial evidence occurring in tandem with the end time man of sins arrival, e.g., the very real possibility that the plagues of Revelation that clearly refer to climate change may occur spontaneously...

      if you google "hothouse" and "global warming" you will find scientific research that speaks on the very real prospect of there being a sudden catastrophic and exponetial increase in the level of carbon gases, which will lead to much higher temperatures; such an event will kill many of the sea creatures and scorch the flesh of we landlovers, and we will curse God...

      c f ben yochanan

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    2. it is Written that these things occurr just before the Return of Christ...

      c f ben yochanan

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  16. Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.


    Pay no attention any more. Armstrong prophecies were made; all failed. ("Don't believe me. Believe your Bible!")


    That, we do, thankfully.

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  17. I did not know anyone in 1985 who thought the return of Christ was imminent - or in 2005 or 2015 or now either.
    There are 38 and a half months of countdown events listed in Daniel, and only the last 37 months are clearly stated.
    I believe in Christ's return, but I won't be surprised if the prophesied events at the end come without warning. Not that it will stop self-proclaimed prophets.
    And we should stop speculating on who is the man leading the beast - who could have forecast Corporal Hitler to lead WWII?

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  18. Nck
    So Herb lying for over 40 years with his "I tell you in the name of the Living God, we have only 3 - 5 short years left" is only him being 'a practical man.'
    And 'many interpret that practicality as hypocrisy.'
    An example of how lawyers on occassion betray truth and justice for 30 pieces of silver.

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  19. Richard
    The answer to your 9.08 AM comment is that societies develop in a certain way. Each generation builds on the previous generation/s. This can be for better or worse. Even if a whole generation dies out, they are still morally accountable for what they have passed on to the next generation.

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  20. then they will look up to that teenager to show them the way

    Perhaps what he meant to say was "...ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you'" Zech 8:23

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  21. As a young man in 1985 I shingled a roof for a couple and at the end of job as they were handing me the check I told them that that will be the last new roof they will ever need. They looked at me incredulously and asked "just what was the warranty of the shingles"?
    I replied the shingles are warranted for 20 years but the world won't be around by then. Thirty years later I got a call from the same couple asking if could put a new roof on their house.

    In the early 1980's HWA said the war in heaven had happened and with current events as they were and HWA's advancing age, we in our local church area area all thought the end would be soon upon us.

    One of the big disagreeing statements made by "non-believing" family members against the church through the years was; "that is his interpretation of it". I must say after two trips through the COGs, the COG leaders have all predictably been guilty of interpretation failure. This becomes a giant problem when XYZ leader claims he heads the true church - the body of Christ and claims all that (he) teaches and predicts is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit which is defined as the spirit of truth coming from Christ to these men is supposedly guiding them as (they) lead and guide the church. The one question if asked and put before any of (them) that (they) in no way could answer is: How can the Holy Spirit which is the spirit of truth lead Christ's chosen representative into error on the way to leading that (man) into a supposed truth? If any of these (men) would even try to answer that, what kind of a logical answer would it be?

    We in the COGs have been so tainted by false interpretations do we ourselves even have any idea of what events or in what way Christ is truly to come or even how many comings will there actually be? Relying on (men) to interpret for us what is to come has been and continues to be a complete failure. I have a strong feeling it will all come about in a way we never expected.

    For now time goes on and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse.

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  22. Richard 9:08

    HWA said often that he got the idea for the name of the radio broadcast from the 1939 New York World's Fair which allowed visitors to look at "the world of tomorrow". See Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fair
    Also https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Tomorrow_(radio_and_television)

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  23. Connie-you're not the 1st to wonder about that "missing"vowel...just the 1st to mention it.;-)

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  24. This post makes me think of the rock song 1985, about a mom stuck in that era. ("Music still on MTV....")

    But it leaves out something notable that happened during the 1985 Feast. Herbert Armstrong was too ill to give the closing message via satellite; Pasadena had to replay the one from 1984. So the WCG downhill slide may have begun right there.

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  25. I think I am the only one that can say, with all honesty, and without using any form of profanity, in full sincerity, without self-degradation or depreciation, that I absolutely and positively have SHT for brains.

    -SHT

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  26. thanx for getting rid of that "i am not a robot" hurdle; it was annoying...

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  27. Connie is yet again adressing and exposing a taboo without shame.
    Next time she will be talking about menstruation. Please, is nothing holy anymore?

    Btw I never heard hwa claiming he got inspired by Bernays for "the engineering of consent" and the fair. Anyway, Hwa was obviously the superior master copy writer by deleting the word "of".

    Nck

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    1. "Holy shit" rolls off the tongue better than "Holy period".

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  28. I’ve done the same thing too Connie LOL! It reminds me of an Indian co-worker I had back in my hospitality days who was named Shitiz! When he learned how his name was pronounced in English and what it alluded to made him feel very self-conscious. I hope he changed it after moving on :-)
    I also do the same with NCK’s posts thinking it’s Nick not Nck LOL!

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  29. Connie,"I" or no:"I" this guy ois like a breathof fresh air

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  30. Hebrew written without vowels and we can be so sure the ones that "clarified" the translations were not doing what some of us have automatically done with SHT and NCK? We turned those "words" into what we commonly associate those consonants with.

    There is so much room for error. What a way to "deceive the whole world" to have a collection of writings that claim to be the "Word of God" with human failings, foibles, and prejudices thrown in.

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  31. What About the Truth says: "For now time goes on and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse."

    No, WAtT, not so. One advantage of having studied the literature of past ages up to the present is that one learns that in spite of differences in culture that exaggerate/and/or suppress certain evils and kinds of seduction, there is pretty much a steady supply of both. Any waxing they do in one area of wickedness is counterbalanced by waning in others. Sort of like observing waves up close in an those far off. The perspective makes close ones look much more threatening.

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  32. Anonymous August 31, 2018 at 5:16 PM said, "HWA said often that he got the idea for the name of the radio broadcast from the 1939 New York World's Fair which allowed visitors to look at "the world of tomorrow"".

    MY COMMENT - The 1938 Time Magazine cover that I saw at the Smithsonian headlined "World of Tomorrow" was probably covering the New York Worlds Fair. Now I know the rest of the story. Thanks!

    Richard

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