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RADIO CHURCH OF GOD
WORLD HEADQUARTERS
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109
HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
PRESIDENT and PASTOR
Broadcasting
The WORLD TOMORROW
Publishers of
The PLAIN TRUTH
December 17, 1962
Dear Co-Workers with Christ:
Here we are again, in the very midst of probably the most
frantic, chaotic rush of Christmas shopping in all history--people
pawing over one another in the stores--the mails jammed--people
swapping gifts that are supposed to be birthday presents FOR CHRIST
--and yet CHRIST IS BEING NEGLECTED! People don't give their gifts
to HIM!
1935 years ago Jesus Christ, at age 30, started A WORK. It
was the WORK OF GOD. He said that He, of Himself, could do
nothing. It was the HOLY SPIRIT of God in Him that did the Work.
What was that WORK OF GOD? It was proclaiming the GOOD NEWS
(Gospel) of the Kingdom of God. But God Almighty did not purpose
to carry on His great Work in and through the single individual
human body of Jesus Christ. It was necessary for mankind that
Christ die for us to reconcile us to God--and that He be
resurrected that through His life WE may receive eternal life. And
so Jesus called and chose twelve whom He taught and trained to
become Apostles--leaders of His Church. And on June 18, 31 A.D.,
after Christ had ascended to heaven, He sent the same Holy Spirit
that had started THE WORK OF GOD through the individual human body
of Jesus, to enter into and empower the COLLECTIVE BODY of
disciples who became God's Church--the BODY OF CHRIST. From that
moment, the resurrected living Christ led, guided, directed this
collective BODY in carrying on THE WORK OF GOD--that is,
proclaiming Christ's MESSAGE, the GOOD NEWS, to the world.
But have you read, in the parable of the ten virgins (this
BODY of Christ), in Matthew 25, that, in proclaiming the second
coming of Christ to set up the Kingdom of God, while Christ delayed
coming as soon as they expected, they all "slumbered and slept?"
That is, the WHOLE CHURCH of GOD went to sleep on the job of
proclaiming that Good News of Christ's coming and the happy and
peaceful WORLD TOMORROW! For 18 1/2 centuries, that Gospel was not
preached. Instead men preached a gospel about the person of
Christ, a part of the true Gospel, but mixing with it a FALSE
gospel. Then, as Jesus foretold in this parable, the midnight hour
struck when the cry went out that CHRIST WAS SOON COMING! The true
Gospel Message Christ had taught His disciples was thundered AROUND
THE WORLD!