cA magazine of undercStandlnfl-VOL. xv, NUMBER 1

And now. • •

FEBRUARY, 1950

The HYDROGEN BOMB!New super-atomic bomb one thousand timesmore destructive than present atomic bomb.Shall United States make it? Is Russia making it?

N ow ON United States drawingboards is a frightful, imagina­

tion-defying instrument of mass-destruc­tion which dwarfs the present atomicbomb to area-Shooter by comparison.

Think 0 it! For five years the UnitedStates has been working at top speed inits gigantic two-billion-dollar atomic en­ergy plants producing as many atomicbombsas our vast national resources havemade possible. The United States is fiveyears ahead of Russia. It has made, andstored up for instant use, a stock-pile of afew hundred of these history-shatteringuranium A-bombs, like the two whichdestroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, andended World War II. YET JUSTONE SINGLE HYDROGEN BOMBWOULD DESTROY MUCH MORETHAN ALL THE URANIUM A­BOMBS SO FAR MADE!

Beyond Human Imagination

A furious battle has been raging inWashington, D. C, over the decisionas to whether the United States shallmake the hydrogen A-bomb. This maybe the most fateful, stupendous decisionever made by the United States govern­ment.

Military men want the hydrogenbomb. They say Russia is going to getit. The United States, they urge, shouldget it first.

But some atomic scientists and others

in high government circles are appalledat the idea! They consider it morallywrong even to work on a means of massdestruction heretofore unheard of-aweapon capable of destroying humanlives and property on a scale almost be­yond human comprehension.

The final decision rests with PresidentTruman. But Congress could refuse toappropriate money to make it possible.

Equals 1,000 A-bombs!

Now that knowledge of this super-A­bomb is no longer a top military secret,it is known that the hydrogen bombwould hurl an inconceivable power ofdestruction one thousand times that ofthe bombs which destroyed Hiroshimaand Nagasaki. The present uraniumA-bombs can be made in only one size.Their power cannot be increased. Scien­tists reporr that one hydrogen bombprobably would destroy everything with­in an area of ONE THOUSANDSQUARE MILES! Yes, at last, mankindhas invented a way to blast human lifefrom off this earth!

It has been costing the United StatesONE MILLION DOLLARS APIECEto make and store up the present stock­pile of uranium atomic bombs. Yet theentire accumulation of five years' efforrhas accumulated a Stock-pile the totaleffect of which would not be more thanone-third that of just ONE hydrogen

bomb! And some scientists advise thegovernment that a hydrogen bomb canbe produced in about one short year!After the first one, other hydrogenbombs could be produced much faster,

Russia Can-Nazis WILL!

Will Russiamake the hydrogen bomb?Russia can. It is known the Russianshave the secret of the atomic bomb.They have the resources. It is believedthey have already made and explodedtheir first test atomic bomb.

But the only nation which hal yetdone actual work on production of thehydrogen bomb is GERMANYI It isnow learned that the Nazis had theknowledge of the hydrogen bomb asearly as 1935. They have done actualwork on it. They had an atomic bombin actual production at the time of theallied invasion of Europe and the "battleof the bulge:'

At that time, the war was climaxingin a furious RACE AGAINST TIME.The Nazis were known to be producinga new secret super-weapon. Already theywere hurtling their giant V-2 rockersthru space toward Britain. It was knownthese V-2 rockets had some connectionwith the secret super-weapon beingraced to completion. Just then, a so called"chance lucky hit" by an Americanbombing plane "accidentally" landed onthe very spot where this Nazi myStery

Page 2

weapon was being produced. It has beenlearned since the war that the mysteryweapon was the ATOMIC BOMB! Itis now known the Germans had theknowledge of, and were then workingon production of the hydrogen bomb!

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THIS HY­DRoGEN BOMB WAS THE MYS­TERY WEAPON NEARING COM­PLETION, destroyed near war's end bythat "chance lucky hit?" The Nazis weresix months ahead of the United States inproduction of an atomic bomb-untilthis "accidental" hit by an Americanbomber wiped out their center of pro­duction. Undoubtedly the "V-2" rocketswould have shot these bombs to theirtargets.

Yes, we may have been just that closeto having lost the war!

"Armies do not bring victory to aking." THE ETERNAL GOD deter­mines the outcome of wars! And Godmercifully intervened and saved us fromthe defeat which might have come to us,even while Patton's men were drivingon toward Berlin! We are now allowedthis "recess" before round three of theworld war, TO ALLOW TIME FORTHE WARNING NOW GOING OUTON THE WORLD TOMORROWPROGRAM OVER THE AIR, of im­pending invasion and defeat in WorldWat III, unless this nation will RE­PENT, and return to its God!

The Russians may produce the hydro­gen bomb. They can.' But prophecies in­dicate that the Germans will produce it!

What Prophecy Says

In brief, here's what God AlmightySAYS will happen-and in this verypresent generation!

Of the United States, the British, andthe democracies of northwestern Europe-(racial ISRAEL of the 20th century-read our booklet "U.S. in Prophecy"sent free upon request)-God says:

"And the remnant (last generation,in this 20th century) of Jacob (U.S. andBritain) shall be among the Gentiles inthe midst of many people as a lionamong the beasts of the forest, as ayoung lion among the flocks of sheep:who, if he go thru, both rreaderh down,and tearerh in pieces, and none can de­liver. Thine hand shall be lifted up uponthine adversaries, and all thine enemiesshall be cut off." (Michah 5: 8-9). Inother words, the strongest, most power­ful nations on earth. The Jews do notfulfil this prophecy, never did, neverwill. The United States and Great Brit­ain have fulfilled it. We have the Birth­right unconditionally promised Abra­ham.

But, though God has kept His promiseto Abraham and bestowed upon us, hisracial descendants this national greatnessand power, we have rejected God's way

The PLAIN TRUTH

of life and gone the way of ancientIsrael; -and our sins are fast increasing.

And God promised also that if wewould not walk in His ways, and accord­ing to his laws, we shall be invaded,conquered, taken captive as slaves. StudyLev. 26, and Deur, 28. And so, noticewhat God says shall come to pass in thisday - this very day when we are sostrong we have compared to other na­tions as a lion compares to other animals-notice the very next verse:

"And it shall come to pass in that day,sairh the Eternal, that I will CUt off thyhorses (war power) out of the midst ofthee, I will destroy thy chariots: andI will cut off the cities of thy land, andthrow down all thy strongholds: ... andthou shalt no more worship the workof thine hands. And I will pluck up thygroves out of the midst of thee: SOWILL I DESTROY THY CITIES."(Verses 10-14,)

Other prophecies show ALL our citiesare to be destroyed. This never couldhave been accomplished before theatomic bomb!

Notice Jeremiah's prophecy! "In thelatter days ye shall consider it," v. 24.

"Alas! for that day is great, so thatnone is like it: it is even the time ofJacob's trouble: (America's and Britain'strouble!) but he shall be saved out of it.(Nerice, not from it bur out of ir.) Forit shall come to pass in that day, saiththe Lord of hosts, that I will break his(the Gentile enemy's) yoke from offthy neck, and will burst thy bonds (ofslavery), and strangers shall no moreserve themselves of him: but they shallserve the Eternal their God, and Davidtheir king, whom I will raise up untothem" (at time of resurrection, andsecond coming of Christ). (Jer.30:7-9.)

Germany to Rise Again

But what power will put this yoke onour neck?

Isaiah's prophecy answers clearly:"Come down, and sit in the dust, 0virgin daughter of Babylon, .•. Sit thousilent, and get thee into darkness, 0daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shaltno more be called The Lady of King­doms." (Isa. 47: 1, 5.)

First, identify this "daughter of Baby­lon." Compare with Rev. 17 and 18.She is called "The Lady of Kingdoms."A "woman" is a symbol of a CHURCH.In Rev. 17 is a fallen WOMAN, orchurch, to appear in our time, with thename "MYSTERY, BABYLON THEGREAT, THE MOTHER OF HAR­LOTS." She had a union with the kingsof the earth (verse 2) and reigned overthem (v. 18). The "daughter of Baby­lon" is not the ancient Babylon ofNebuchadnezzar, 600 B.c., but adaughter, generations later. The factshe is called a "daughter," not a son,

February, 1950

implies a CHURCH ruling over othercivil governments. This is exactly whatis pictured in Rev. 17 and 18.

This identity is made absolute inverse 7 of Isa. 47: "thou saidst, I shallbe a lady forever." This is quoted inRev. 18:7, as said by the modern"Babylon," now once again beginningto rise in Europe.

Now that "the daughter of Babylon"is identified as the WOMAN called"Babylon" in Rev. 17 and 18, noticewhat God says He will do:

"I was wroth with my people," saysGod to this "daughter of Babylon, "Ihave polluted mine inheritance, ANDGIVEN THEM INTO THINE HAND:thou didsc show them no mercy; uponthe ancient hast thou very heavily laidthy YOKE." (Isa. 47: 6) .

The YOKE of slavery, broken fromour neck only by the second comingof Christ AT THE TIME OF RESUR­RECTION, when David shall be resur­rected to be king again over Israel, islaid on us by this daughter of Babylon-the Babylon of Revelation 17 and 18.

And WHO IS THAT?This fallen woman (church ) "BABY­

LON" is seen riding upon (ruling over,in a union of church and state) aBEAST-the "BEAST" of the Revela­tion. Past articles have identified this"Beast" as the Fascist civil governmentin Europe-the outgrowth and succes­sor of THE ROMAN EMPIRE. Verse8 shows this "BEAST" emerging outof impotency and virtual non-existence.In the last and final resurrection of thisROMAN EMPIRE, it is formed by auniting of TEN DICTATORS in Eu­rope (Verse 12-13), forming aUNITED STATES OF EUROPE.They hold together but a very shorttime-verses 10, 12. They come totheir END at the SECOND COMINGOF CHRIST-verse 14-when Israelis freed from Babylon's YOKE. There­fore, this ten-nation Empire emergesout of the "bottomless pit" a veryshort time before the second comingof Christ.

Therefore, this is identified as theRoman Catholic church, uniting with,and proving the solidifying elementin bringing about, the coming UNITEDSTATES OF EUROPE! From the timeof Otto the Great, the GERMANSdominated the various revivals of theRoman Empire. NAZISM is merely theGerman form of FASCISM, the civilgovernment system of the Roman Em­pire.

In the November issue, we begana series of articles "UNDER COVERIN EUROPE" showing how the Nazis,working feverishly underground, arepreparing to resurrect the RomanEmpire-how they will soon startle the

Please Continue on Page 7

Is Jesus God?A listener in Alabama asks:

"Is Jesus God? Is Jesus Jehovah, theEverlasting Father? Are there morethan One God? Please Explain."

These questions, for thorough andcomplete answer, would require a full­size article. Such an article will appearin some future number of The PLAINTRUTH. The answer in this column,necessarily, must be brief and lacking infull explanation.

Yes, Jesus is God. Otherwise Hecould not be the Saviour of mankind.

Ise) if Jesus had been only human,His death could have paid the penaltyfor but one other human who had in­curred that penalty by transgression ofGod's spiritual Law. Since God the Fa­ther created all things by Jesus Christ

(Eph. 3:9), and since all things, in­cluding man, were made by Jesus Christ(John 1:1-3 with verse 14; verse 10;I Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:12-19), He is ourMaker and therefore God, and Hislife which He gave was of greatervalue than the sum-total of all humans.

2nd) Life alone can beget life. This isthe absolute law of Biochemistry. SinceEternal life is the GIFT of God, only aGod possessing immortality could giveit. If Jesus were human only, we couldnot receive eternal life thru Him and Hecould not be the Saviour. Man does nothave eternal life inherent in himself.But, as God "the Father hath life inHimself; SO hath He given to the Sonto have life in Himself • • . and Godhath given to us eternal life, and thislife is in His Son. He that hath theSon hath life; and he that hath not theSon of God hath not life" (John 5:26and I John 5:11-12).

On the other hand, Jesus was alsohuman. Since it is human life which hastransgressed God's Law, the Law claimshMman life as its penalty. The penaltymMst be paid. God will not compromise.It must be paid by man. Therefore,Jesus, who is and was God, who hasalways existed (John 1:1-2) was ac­tually made flesh (verse 14). He, whowas God, actually became human flesh(I John 4:2-3). He was conceived in,and born of the human virgin Mary(Mat. 1:18; 16, 25 and 2:2). He wasmade not only flesh, but human Yesh4n4 blood (Heb, 2: 14),

Jesus called Himself the Son of MANrepeatedly, and also the Son of GOD.(Mat. 16:13-17). He is EQUAL withGod (Col. 2:6). He is called God,(Jude 24-25; Titus 2:10, 13). There-

fore He is God. The Bible contains somuch on these points the above is amere fragment of the evidence.

Yes, Jesus is also "Jehovah," althothis word is a mistranslation used inthe Revised version. The original name,in the Hebrew, contained the conso­nants "YHVH." In writing in Hebrew,vowels were omitted, supplied only inspeaking. Thus the precise name is notdefinitely known, but today commonlyassumed to be "Yahveh," or "Yahweh."The meaning, in English, is "The ETER­NAL," or "The EVERLIVING," or the"SELF-EXISTENT." It is commonlysupposed that "Yahveh," or as corn­monly called, "Jehovah," or, as in theAuthorized version, "The LORD" ofthe Old Testament was God the FA­THER of Jesus Christ. This is a flagranterror! "Yahveh" was the God of Israel,the only One of the Godhead knownto Israel. They did not know God theFather.

In Genesis 1, the Hebrew nametranslated "God," is "Elohirn.' This isa uni-plural name, such as "church," or"family." A church or a family consistsof more than one person, yet is onechurch, or one family. In this same sense"Elohim" includes both God the Father,and Yahveh who was the "Logos" orthe WORD of God, and also theirSpirit, emanating from them, the HolySpirit, the liFE, CHARACTER, andPOWER of God. Jesus, in praying forthe welfare of the Church, prayed thatits many members might "be ONE, aswe are One" (John 17:11,21). TheChurch is ONE body, yet composed ofmany members (I Cor. 12:12) A hus­band and wife are ONE FLESH yettwo persons. Christ and God the Fatherare ONE God, not two Gods--one"ELOHIM." That is why "Elohim" said,"Let US make man in OUR image"(Gen. 1:26).

Yahveh was the "WORD" or spokes­man of the Godhead-its second mem­ber. As soon as God began to SPEAKto man, it was always "Yahveh" whospoke ( translated "LORD" in theAuthorized, and "Jehovah" in the Re­vised version). See Gen. 2:16, 18, erc.,and Ex. 20:2, etc.-always it is "Yah­veh" in the original Hebrew-the"WORD" who was made flesh. Theproof of this is a long study involvinghundreds of passages which prove it.

As a fragment of the evidence, com­pare Isa. 6:1-3 and 10 with John 12:39­41; Isa. 8:13 with I Pet. 2:7-8; Isa.40:3 with Mat. 3:3 and Mark 1:3. Johnprepared the way before "Yahveh" (Isa.

40:3) who was Christ (Mark 1: 14·15).In Rev. 1:17,8 and 22:13, Jesus Christ(see also Rev. 22: 16 for proof it wasJesus speaking) calls himself the "Al·pha and the Omega, the Beginning andthe End, the First and the Last. In Isa.44:6, and 48:1I-12 (verses 17-18 showit was Yahveh speaking) and Isa. 41:4,YAHVEH is the First and the Last.

In I Cor. 10: 1-4, the "ROCK" ofthe Old Testament was Christ. In Deut,32:3-4; II Sam. 22:2-3, 32; and Ps.18: 1-2, this same "ROCK" is Yahveh.When Moses was talking to YAH­VEH, and asked Him His name, (Ex.3:4-5, 13), He answered that His namewas "I AM" (verses 6,14) and YAH·VEH (verse 15). See also Ex. 6:2-3.In John 18: 5-8, as soon as Jesus identi­fied Himself to the mob led by Judasas "I AM," (the "he" in italics is addedwithout inspiration, and was not in theoriginal), they went backward and fellto the ground. Again in John 8:56-58,Jesus called Himself, "I AM." Also Rev.1: 18 and other places.

The Person of the Godhead who isour REDEEMER is Jesus Christ (John4:42, GaL 3: 13; PhiL 3:20; Tit. 2: 10­14; Luke 1:68-69 etc. etc. That Jesus isYAHVEH, see Isa. 49:7; Isa. 60: 16where He is also "the mighty One ofJacob" - (to be OF Jacob means ason, or descendant of Jacob) - theMighty One of all Jacob's children. Alsoin Isa. 48: 17, YAHVEH is Redeemer,and the Holy One of Israel-the Oneof Israel who is Holy! The same isexpressed in Isa. 43: 14. Also notethe next verse (15), YAHVEH isIsrael's Holy One, Creator of Israel,Israel's KING. Now notice in Acts 3: 14that the Christ the Jews denied was thissame "HOLY ONE"-YAHVEH! Seealso ACts 2:27 and Mark 1:24.

Who was David's shepherd?-Psalm23:1, YAHVEH. In John 10:11, Jesussaid He was the Shepherd. Also Heb,13:20, and I Pet. 2:24-25, and 5:2-4. Itis JESUS CHRIST who is coming againin Person as KING of kings to rule,and to RESTORE. (Rev. 19:13, 15; 17:14; 1:5; and Acts 3:20-21.) The GreatShepherd who is coming to RULE asKING over all Kings is YAHVEH­Ezek. 34:11, 30-31; now notice Isa. 2:1­4 and Micah 4: 1-4--it shall come topass that the Kingdom (mountain) ofYAHVEH'S House shall be establishedin the top of the Kingdoms--rulingthe world. And He, YAHVEH (Christ)shall judge among the nations, and re­buke strong nations, and then they shallhave PEACE.

Page .{

9kPLAIN TRUTH

~maga7ine ofuntfer.stantliq..

VOL XV No.1

Published byTHE RADIO CHURCH OF GOD

Edited byHERBERT W. ARMSTRONGBox 111, Pasadena, Calif.

S,nt FREE to all who request it,tIS the Lord provides. AddreII111/ communications to the editor.

NOTICE: Be sure to notify us immediatelyof anychange in your address. IMPORTANTl

NOTICE: There has been no issue of ThePLAIN TRU1H since November.

Heart to Heart TalkWith the Editor

IMPORTANTEXPLANATION

DEAD this at once! It's urgent!.I\.. This issue of The PLAINTRUTH is only 8 pages, We are send­ing it only to a few thousand co-work­ers. Many thousands on our mailinglist, who have requested The PLAINTRUTH, will not see it.

I want to tell you why.First, I have been under such a tre­

mendous Strain, carrying such a crush­ing load of responsibility, trying to keepup with such a heavy schedule of work,that I have come to the place once againwhere I am simply worn out-physical­ly and mentally tired-my nervesfrayed-and, altho half of the numberI have been announcing over the airhas been for some time written and setto type, I have been unable to writesome of the articles announced.

Second, although some of our co­workers have been making real sacri­fices to stand loyally behind this greatwork, many others have become care­less and neglectful of the work of God,and there has simply not been enoughmoney to keep on the air and alsopublish The PLAIN TRUTH. So themagazine was delayed.

For two months Mrs. Armstrongand I have been trying desperately toget away for an imperative rest, and fast,so that I may recuperate, recharge theenergy "batteries," and be also spirit-

The PLAIN TRUTH

ually revived by a long period of fast­ing and prayer. Frankly, I have realizedfor some time that I am below par inphysical and mental vigor and efficiency-and one cannot carry the spiritualresponsibilities to which God hascalled me without occasional spiritualrecharging, too.

I have simply had to ask God forwisdom, and I'm sure He has shownme the way. Therefore, I am takingthose articles I have been announcingthis Heart-to-Hearr talk, and orderingjust a half-size S·page magazine printed-jUSt a few thousand copies, CO sendto a portion of our co-workers. This isall we can aff0rd now.

Since this number cannot go to morethan a small pan of our vast readingaudience, I have felt it would not befair to those who will not receive itto print in this special smaller issuethose articles I have been announcingover the air, and which thousands haverequested: "UNDER COVER IN EU·ROPE," continued; "What is the MARKOF THE BEAST"; "My Answer to theatheist"; second installment of "WHATIS THE SOUL," and others.

Therefore, I am holding all thosearticles for the next full-sized number,to be mailed to the entire mailing list.You will understand, therefore, why youfind those articles missing from thisedition. Several thousand listeners haveasked for pictures of Mrs. Armstrongand myself, and they, too, will appearin the full-size number.

RADIO LOG'The WORLD TOMORROW"Herbert W. Armstrong analyzes to­day's news, with the prophecies ofThe WORLD TOMORROWl

TO TIlE NATION, ANDCANADA:

XEG-150,OOO watts. most powerfulstation in North America­1050, at center of dial-8 :00P.M. Central time EVERYNIGHT.

WAIT-01icago-820 on dial-IOAX Sundays.

HEARD ON PACIFIC COAST:XERB--50,OOO watts-1090 on dial

-9:00 P.M. Sundays.KAGH-Los Angeles-13oo on dial

-7:30 A.M. every morning.KXL-Pordand-lO,OOO watts, Ore­

gon's most powerful station­750 on diaI-7:30 A.M. Sat­urdays.

KVAN-Vancouver. Wash.-910 ondial-5:oo P.M. Sundays.

KVI-SeattIe-Tacoma-570, first ondial-lO:30 P.M. Sundays.

KXA-SeattIe-770 Oft diaI-9:30A.M..Sundays.

February, 1950

Co-Workers, The PLAIN TRtnlIsimply must come out every month.The mailing list has grown around theone hundred thousand mark. That is alarge narional circulation. IF it couldcome out regularly, monthly, it is pos.sible we might be able to register itas second-class matter and save the big.gesr pan of the postage expense--tboit may even take a special ruling tohave it admitted as second-class mattersince we refuse to put a subscriptio~price upon it. TWO conditions are reoquired by the Post Office Department,which we have been unable to meet: apublication must be issued REGULAR.LY-in our case, monthly-and it musthave a paid subscription list. We can­not put a price on the Gospel, but weought to be able to publish it monthly.And some POSt office officials have toldme that if we were publishing monthlywe might find a way to be accepted assecond-class matter, tho it might requirespecial ruling from Washington.

Most of you have no idea how muchgood The PLAIN TRUTH is doing.But we have evidence that its vastpower for good is second only to thebroadcast. It has been responsible forthe conversion of hundreds of precioussouls. It reaches people in far-awaycorners, and in foreign nations in otherpans of the world who cannot hear thebroadcast. THE PLAIN TRUTH SIM­PLY MUST COME OUT EVERYMONTH!

That has been my ambition and goalfor 16 years.

Listen, Co-Workers! I'll pledge youto do my part-to see that the articlesare written and ready for the printersevery month-if all of you will do 'Yourpart, and see that there is enough moneyon hand to print it. Every issue costs afew thousand dollars. It costs almost$1,000 per issue just for postage alone,at Ic per copy, and I believe it is costingslightly more than that, now.

I am simply frayed out. Mrs. Arm­strong and I are leaving for the deserttomorrow morning, to try to get someimperative REST, and sleep, and to fastand pray. We have worked so hard! Wehave kept going almost night and day.We have given our ALL to this pre­cious work.

Jesus stopped to rest a while, and nowso must we. I shall be careful not tooverdo the orange juice as I did lastspring. I shall continue to speak to youevery day, from out in the desert byportable tape recording. I could nothave done that a year ago, but now pro­fessional broadcast-quality equipmenthas been perfected, so I can now speak toyou from wherever I am. While trying torest, I shall also have to keep up dictat­ing my Bible class lectures for the col-

Please Continue on Page 8

SHOULD CHRISTIANS TITHE?

Who OWNS What You Have?

Sonow in the simplest of language, letme make plain to you the PRINOPLEof tithing, as revealed in the Bible. Thenwe shall look to the Scriptures them­selves, from which this explanation isderived.

First, then, YOU, or I, actually ownnothing!

"The earth is the Eternal's, and thefullness thereof; the world, and they thatdwell therein." (1 Cor. 10:26, and Psm.24:1.) In Job 41:11, God the Creatorsays: "whatsoever is under the wholeheaven is mine." God Almighty is CRE­ATOR. He created the earth. He createdman upon the earth. ALL BELONGSTO HIM!

It is, therefore, for HIM to say howmuch of what you earn you may keepand use for yourself. Your farm actuallydoes not belong to you-GOD is thetrue owner. Your income is not reallyyours-because ALL belongs to GOD!

Now in the BIBLE, God reveals toman that He never has given to man thewhole of what he produces or earns.The FIRST TENTH of all you producefrom the ground-of your wages, yoursalary, your profits, your INCOME-thatFIRST TENTH remains HOLY to theEternal, and that He has reserved [o«

everyone will answer immediately,"Why, of course!" But if you do, you'rewrong! And this only goes to show thatour people as a nation have strayed sofar from God and His revealed TRUTHthat we are astonished, when the truthis explained!

Do you know what the Bible is? It isa revelation from God to man of thingsboth material and spiritual which manotherwise could never know. God letNewton discover and reveal to mankindthe law of gravity. He has left it for ourchemists with their test-tubes and tech­nical equipment in their laboratories todiscover the laws of chemistry. Butthere are laws and truths which mannever could discover. God has not leftus in ignorance of these, but has re­flea/ed them, thru the Bible! That's whythe BIBLE is the very BASIS of rightand sound education-"the fear of theEternal is the beginning of wisdom."And that's why there is so little realunderstanding and TRUE education to­day, in a world whose schools and col­leges almost universally ignore thisbasic foundation of TRUTH!

By HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

Here is an eye-opening article on a much misunderstoodsubject, making the TRUTH plabt, clear, INTERESTING!

(reprinted from November, 1946, number)

declared on this much-perverted sub­ject!

For - and mark this well! - eventhough God sends a cataclysmic destruc­tion upon the nation as a whole, yet theindividual who seeks understanding, andwho heeds God's warnings, shall begiven full protection, and ESCAPE allthese things to come to pass.

What the "TITHE" Is

But first, before looking to the NEWTESTAMENT TEACHING to seewhether or not Christians must "tithe,"let us make clear just what that word"tithe" means.

God says to Britain-America of today:"Ye are aesed with a curse: for ye haverobbed me, even this whole nation ...IN TITHES and offerings."

What, then, does God mean by thatword "tithes"?

It is an old English word, commonlyused in England three and four hun­dred years ago. Today it is seldom used,except in this scriptural connection. Thisold expression "tithe" has been pre­served in the Authorized, or KingJames translation, of the Bible-s-trans­lated in 161l.

The word "tithe" means TENTH. Atithe of anything is the tenth part of it.

It is well known that the nationIsrael, during Old Testament times, wasrequired to tithe, that is,pay in one tenthof income. But the matter of to whomeach Israelite paid this tenth, whichtenth was paid, why and for what pur·pose, seems to confuse a great manytoday. And the New Testament teach­ing for Christians about tithing is under­stood only by a few.

The Principle of Tithing

The subject is mentioned many placesin the New Testament, as well as in theOld. But first, a simple explanation of thescriptural PRINCIPLE of tithing willmake it more understandable.

Let's bring the subject home to eachone of us, in a plain and personal man­ner.

Suppose you own a farm. Does thatfarm, and all you raise from it, reallybelong to you?

Suppose you work for wages, or asalary. Or you "clip coupons," or re­ceive dividends, profits, or a pension.When you receive the money, is itreally YOURS?

This may seem a bit foolish. Nearly

Wu Tithing Done Away?

Now all this, we know, doesn't makemuch sense to the average Americantoday. Many do not even know whatTithing is. Others ask, "Wasn't tithingjust for Jews of a long-dead past?" Or,"Wasn't tithing done away? Wasn't itjust part of the ceremonial system in­troduced by the Old Covenant Law ofMoses?"

Others, today, are taught and believetithing was merely a form of nationaltaxation in the civil government ofthe one-time nation of Israel Still othersteach that the tithe supplied the ma­terial needs of the poor, and was neverput into the ministry.

WHAT CONFUSION today! Whatignorance of the revealed laws and com­mands of God!

Since this WHOLE NATION is un­der II curse, soon to suffer unprecedentedtotal national disaster because of a lackof understanding as well as for disobe­dience to the laws of God, it's certainlyabout time we opened our Bibles andbegan to study honestly, diligently, pray­erfully, exactly what the Almighty has

I N the last Book of the Old Testamentis an amazing PROPHECY. It fore­

tells the cause of a national calamitysoon to happen to the UNITEDSTATES!

It is a WARNING for America andBritain, now! It is not dead history, notabolished teaching for Jews of a by­gone day. It is a live, timely PROPHE­CY.

To America and Britain of this 20thCentury, Almighty God says:

"I will come near to you to judgment.••• Even from the days of your fathersye are gone away from mine ordinances,and have not kept them. ... YE ARECURSED WITH A CURSE: for ye haverobbed me, even this whole nation."(Mal. 3:5-9).

But why? What has brought on thisnational curse, soon to bring upon thisnation a calamity of the most cataclysmicproportions ever to befall any nation inworld history-as prophesied in manyother prophecies - prophecies whichhave repeatedly been explained in thebroadcasts, and in articles in this maga­zine.

"But 'II say," continues the Eternal'sM~ to us, "Wherein have werobbed thee?" And God replies, "inTITHES and OFFERINGS!"

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Himself-for His holy and spiritualuse!

After man has PAID TO GOD thatfirst tenth which belongs only to Him­and which never belonged to the man,-then the remaining nine-tenths Godgives to the man.

It's a good deal like Adam and Eve inthe Garden of Eden-and the first sin.The garden was beautiful beyond de­scription. Just one tree, however, Godreserved for Himself. That, remainedHIS. That, He never gave to Adam andEve. That, they had no right to touch,or use. All the rest He gave to them.But they were not satisfied with whatwas theirs, ample tho it was. Filled withgreed to possess all, they reached outand took the fruit of that forbiddentree! And that was stealing! It was cov­eting! It was placing another god be­fore the CREATOR! It was dishonoringtheir Creator-Father! It broke FOUR ofthe Ten Commandments! It was SIN­the original sin!

And today, the same Satan who de­ceived mother Eve has deceived thiswhole world into believing that all ofeach man's farm belongs to him-thatthe whole of a man's income is his! Thisdivine and original TRUTH of owner­ship has been hidden from the peoplethru the deceptions of the god of thisworld! And today, nearly every Ameri­can is taking and spending that finttenth of his income which BELONGSTO ALMIGHTY GOD!

Actually, in so doing, the individualand this whole nation is ROBBINGGOD, just as surely as Adam and Everobbed GOD when they stole the fruitof the one tree which never belongedto them!

WHY God Retains the Tithe

But WHY does God retain tor Him­self the ownership of that first tenth­that TITHE--of your income?

Here again comes a TRUTH manwould never know, and could not findout, except by God's revelation to man!What is man, anyway? WHY is he?Where is he going? GOD HAS APLAN! God is working out a GREATPURPOSE! He reveals it in His Word-His revelation-the BIBLE.

For the carrying out of His holyPURPOSE in placing mankind uponthis earth, God has always had aPRIESTHOOD-a ministry, represent­ing HIM, serving Him, carrying out Hismission. Way back in the dim antiquiryof patriarchal times, God's High Priest-His representative on earth-wasMelchisedec.

During the national dispensation of Is­rael, under the Old Covenant, known asthe Mosaic dispensation-those yearsfrom Moses until Christ-the tribe ofLevi constituted the ministry of God,

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known as the Levitical priesthood. Thenlater, when Jesus Christ arose from thedead, He ascended to heaven as a liv­ing HIGH PRIEST. Today He callsministers as His true representatives ina darkened and Satan-deceived world,to carry on HIS PLAN. Today the Mel­chisedec Priesthood is restored, in Christ.

Now it costs money to carry on thework of God. God's ministers who de­vote their entire time to God's holy andspiritual purpose are prevented fromearning a living in the usual channels.Yet they work. If they are true minis­ters, they are men of ability who WORKHARD, and long, observing no hours.Actually they eam a living-they haveworked for their food, shelter and cloth­ing and physical need-the same as thefarmer, the laborer, the clerk or themerchant.

And so God, in His wisdom, hasprovided for financing His work, and forHis ministers' living. In God's program,these true ministers work for HIM,and HIM alone.

In God's great Plan, HE pays Hisministers. It is HE who "hires" them­He who calls them to their work forHim.

So, in order to provide for the financ­ing of HIS MINISTRY, God has fromthe very beginning RETAINED forHIMSELF the first tenth of the incomeof every human being on earth. TheOWNERSHIP of that first tenth of in­come is GOD'S.

To WHOM Tithes Are Paid

But how can you pay God's tenth toHim? God is on His throne in heaven.And "no man," said Jesus, "has ascendedto heaven." You can't go there. You can'tsee God, or hand your money to HimPersonally. How, then, can you pay HimHIS TITHE?

Well, some large corporations, per­haps in a distant city, cannot be directlycontacted by their many customers. Andso they send around representatives, col­lectors, to collect for them what youowe the company. The collector comesin the name of the company. When youpay the money which really belongs tothe company to the collector, you havepaid the company.

God's system of collecting from youHIS tithe is just that simple. Since youcannot see God, or go to God's thronein heaven, God instructs you in His re­vealed Word to pay it to HIS REP­RESENTATIVE, who, in receiving it,represents God just as a collector towhom you pay a debt represents thecompany to whom you owe it.

And when you pay such a bill to acollector, you consider you paid THECOMPANY-not that you made a per­sonal donation of your own money tothe man the company sent. You paid

February, 1950

it as TO THE COMPANY. From thereon it is the COMPANY'S responsibilitywhat happens to that money, not yours.And the company pays the collector hissalary. He does not consider that 1014

paid his salary-he receives his salaryas [rom. the company.

This illustrates plainly God's trueprinciple of tithing. When you paytithes today you are instructed by God'sdirections to pay them to God's calledand chosen representative-the trueminister of Jesus Christ. But you payit, not as a personal contribution of yourown money to a minister-but AS TOGOD. The minister represents GOD­receives not your money but GOD'Smoney from you for God.

Here again so many in this modernworld have lost sight of God's cleardirections. When they give the tithe toa minister they seem to feel it is a spe­cial entrusting of their own money, andthey make it their duty to try to super­vise how the minister handles it--even,in some cases today, down to the su­pervision of what the minister and hisfamily may eat, or wear, or have intheir personal private family life!

When YOUR Responsibility Ceases

But God's revealed principle is quitedifferent. That first tenth of your incomeis not yours-never was yours! It be­longs to God. And the method Godhimself instituted for your payment ofHis money to Him is to pay it to Hiscalled and true ministers.

When you have done that, 'lOtH re­sponsibility for that money ceases! Youhave no further concern, responsibility,or direction in the handling of it thanyou have in money you owe the electriclight or the telephone company whichyou pay to their collector. Once paid,you have DONE YOUR PART-youhave acquitted yourself of your obliga­tion.

Of course you are expected to besure the collector is the company's ap­proved representative-not a thievingimposter pretending to be the companycollector. And you should be equallysure you are paying your tithe to acalled and TRUE minister of JesusChrist. Satan has many more ministerstoday than Christ-and Satan's thiev­ing imposters pose as ministers of JesusChrist, put on sanctimonious airs, speakin pious and spiritual-sounding lan­guage! How are you to know? BYTHEIR FRUITS, Jesus said, you shallknow them! The FRUITS of God's Spir­it, and of Christ's true ministry cannot becounterfeited!

So when you pay tithes to God's trueand accredited spiritual representative,you pay it as to God. It is not a chari­table gift from you to the minister. It isnot your money-but rather it is God's

February, 1950

way for you to pay to GOD that whichBELONGS TO GOD.

And from there on, the minister whoreceives it is accountable to God. Andyou may be Sure that GOD'S justice isPERFECT-that GOD Almighty willhold every minister far more strictly ac­countable than you would be capableof doing!

What GOD Does With His Tithe

Once paid, SO far as you are concerned,you have paid GOD'S tithe to GOD.

The question now is what does GODdo with it?

And the answer, which we will showby the Scriptures inspired of God, is thatGoduses it FOR HIS MINISTRY-forCARRYING ON HIS WORK!

Now the nature of God's ministry onearth has changed with changing dis­pensations. Not much is revealed as tohow God's ministry was carried on backin patriarchal times. We know Mel­chisedec was High Priest-that He heldrank equal to that of Jesus Christ, ac­tuallyone of the Godhead! The ministry,then, must have been of a spiritual na­ture. New Testament writings revealthat the GOSPEL, God's Spiritual Mes­sage, was preached beforehand to Abra­ham. All we know of those days of thedim distant antiquity is that the titheswere paid to Me1chisedec, a divine Be­ing, for the service of God's ministryfor that time.

But beginning with Moses a new anddifferent dispensation was ushered in.God formed Israel as a civil nation, andalso as a church (See ACts 7: 38). Butbetween Moses and Christ under theOld Covenant, God's ministry was pure­ly national, for Israel alone--and purelyMATERIAL, not spiritual

As a Church, or Congregation, Israelwas given a constant round of physicalceremonies and rimals--animal sacri­fices, meat and drink offerings, carnalordinances (see Heb. 9: 10) - which,NOTE IT!-means of a material, not aspiritual nature. Israel under the OldCovenant was not given God's HolySfirit. They had no promise whatsoevero salvation, astonishing as that mayseem! They were not commanded to gointo all the world and proclaim theGospel to other nations. On the con­trary, they were forbidden to have any­thing to do with other nations!

Consequently, the church ministry inIsrael was one of ministering to allIsraelites, and to Israelites only. Therewas no spreading of the Gospel, Theministry, rather, was largely a matterof physical labor-preparing animalsacrifices, meat and drink offerings, ad­ministering the different washings andphysical ordinances and rituals. For thisservice, God Himself selected His min­istets-the people had no choice as to

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who their ministers were. For this serv­ice, God took ONE WHOLE TRIBEof the twelve tribes of Israel-the Tribeof Levi. Every man born a Levire was apriest, or minister.

The Levites owned no land-had nosecular source of income-s-devoted theirentire time to the physical ministry ofthat dispensation. Yet, tho a physicalministry, this service was sacred and holyto God. And during these years fromMoses to Christ God Himself paid HisLevitical priests by turning over to themall of His Tithe.

Today, we are in the age of GRACEthe NEW Testament GOSPEL dispen­sation. Today, the Levitical priesthoodis gone, and JESUS CHRIST is HighPriest. Today all true ministers of JesusChrist are called by special spiritualcall from God rhru His Holy Spirit-notby flesh birth-not by self-desire to be­come a minister-not by selection, ap­pointment, or vote of the people.

Jesus Christ came as God's MESSEN­GER, bearing a Spiritual Message fromGod to man. That Message of HisGOSPEL-the Good News of the com­ing KINGDOM OF GOD, a kingdomof immortals which human flesh andblood can never enter! One must be bornagain!

And today, Christ's commission to allHis true ministers is "Go ye into all theworld, and PREACH THE GOSPEL"..."Go ye, therefore, and teach ALL NA­TIONS." And, for our day now. "ThisGOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM shall bepreached in all the world for a witnessunto all nations; and then shall theEND (of the age) come."

Today the ministry is a SPIRITUALministry-a ministry of PROPHECY­a ministry of SALVATION-a ministryof WARNING! Today it is not physicaland national, but spiritual and ituli­vidual-it is not for everyone in asingle nation, but for a witness UNTOALL NATIONS.

Today, in these critical, chaotic daysapproaching the END OF AN AGE, thecarrying on of God's true ministry is aworld-wide mission, which must reachMILLIONS of people, and quickly, forthe "~ight cometh, when no man canwork.

Today Christ's true ministry is a hugeundertaking. It requires, not the merefinancing of the personal needs of a fewministers, bur the employing of tre­mendous available facilities for PRO­CLAIMING THE WORLD-SHAKINGWARNING-for PREACHING THEGOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM intoALL THE WORLD FOR A WIT­NESS UNTO ALL NATIONS!

And these super-powered facilitiesGod has invented and made availablefor HIS PURPOSE-great, powerfulradio stations, and the modern printing

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press-cost a great deal of money, be­cause they reach vast multitudes of peo­ple never before possible in any pastage!

Today, God has PROVIDED for thefinancing of His powerful ministry bythe same system He has used from thevery beginning-His TITHING system!

Thus Almighty God has purposedthat THOSE WHOM HE HAS SPE­ClALLY FITIED AND CALLED forthis tremendous mission in this chaoticand dying world may be FREE to pro­claim HIS TRUTH fearlessly, boldly,and with GREAT POWER!

They cannot be subsidized, controlled,coerced by men or organizations of men.They are not hired by, nor obligated to,men or any organized group or denomi­nation. They are called by God, guided,protected, and empowered by God, fi­nanced by GOD'S OWN TITHINGSYSTEM! - yes, by GOD'S OWNMONEY!

That is how THE PLAIN TRUTHis published - without subscriptionprice, FREE to all who will request itfor themselves.

That is how the true GOSPEL Mes­sage is going out in great power to acumulative audience of SEVEN MIL­LION EVERY WEEK, broadcast night­ly at the most listened-to hour-8 P.M.--over the most powerful radio stationin all the North American continent.

That is God's way, carrying out God'sPlan in HIS GREAT PURPOSE BE­ING WORKED OUT HERE BELOWlAnd the Almighty has so guided anddirected this great work of His today,that every single dollar of His moneyplaced faithfully in His work is actuallyreaching TWO THOUSAND precioussouls with HIS MESSAGE! Yes, it isgrowing into a huge work. It costS to­day a great deal of money. But it. isreaching MILLIONS of people WIthpower-and at the infinitesimal cost ofonly one dollar for each rwo thousandreached! We-and all our co-workerstogether-are happy to be privileged bythe Eternal God to each have our smallpart in so glorious a work for HIM!

TO BE CONTINUED

The Hydrogen BombContinued from Page 2

world with the gigantic and diabolicalsystem that is now forming UNDER.­GROUND, and soon shall emerge be­fore an astonished world, too late tostop it.

It is THIS POWER which will in­vade, and this time CONQUER Amer­ica-not Russia! It is this power whichalready has done work on this hydro­gen bomb! German scientists are se­cretly at work on it now!

It is this power, actually now aided

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and abetted by the United Slates­which Washington is now trying to help-which will TURN AGAINST USAND DESTROY US. AND ALL OUROTIES SHALL BE DESTROYED!Eight or ten hydrogen bombs, with adozen or so uranium bombs could vir­tually destroy all our cities, wipe outour government, our financial, com­mercial, and industrial powers in onenight, without warning. Most of oursources of raw materials--of steel, oil,coal, etc, could be destroyed the samenight. Prophecy says ONE THIRD ofour population is to be killed by thisblast!

And all because our nation is reject­ing the LAWS and WAYS of God­our sins fast increasing!

OUR MISSION IS TO WARNOUR PEOPLE! This warning is nowgoing out, with a LOUD SHOUT,Coast to Coast-heard by six or sevenmillion people every week, over TheWORLD TOMORROW program.The sole purpose of the present recessbetween world wars is to permit thisWARNING to be sounded-and toshout to the world the same GospelJesus preached-the one and only trueGospel, the GOSPEL OF THE KING­DOM OF GOD! And YOU HAVEYOUR PART IN THIS GREAT MIS­SION!

Heart to Heart TalkWith the EditorContinued from Page 4

lege students by tape recording, andshall try to complete those articles forthe next complete issue of The PLAINTRUTH. So, you see, it can be only apartial rest. Many of my responsibilities

The PLAIN TRUTHPrinted in the U.S.A.

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cannot be relinquished or delegated toothers.

We need your prayers! The financialcondition of this work has been verytight-a constant daily strain. But Isimply have to go and rest now, or youwon't have me with you much longerto carry on the work at all-so, we havedecided to go tomorrow morning, trust­ing in God, and knowing that you, ourfaithful co-workers, will hold up ourhands,and remain fairhful to keep God'swork going. Truly, the financial condi­tion has been most disheartening anddiscouraging. I wonder if my co-work­ers realize how much harder that makesmy part of the work? When I knowmore and more of you co-workers aredoing YOUR part along with me, andwe are able to keep up with the neces­sary expenses of this greatest work onearth, it acts as a spiritual tonic, and Ican .surely put SO much more heartand spirit and enthusiasm into MYpart of the work.

JUSt while I was writing the abovewords, I was called to the telephone.A listener half way across the UnitedStates was calling long distance. Therewas a heart-rending pleading in hisvoice. He was tired, too--tired of sin.He said, "I'm about to break up, andgive in to God. Won't you tell me whatto do?" he pleaded. I think tears wouldhave come to your eyes if you couldhave been listening in. I quickly toldhim JUSt what to do, and now I mustwrite him a special letter. DO YOUREALIZE, dear co-workers, THATEXPERIENCES JUST LIKE THATARE AcruALLY HAPPENING ATA RATE AVERAGING ALMOSTTWICE EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR,DIRECTLY AS A RESULT OF THISGREAT WORK IN WHICH GOD

February, 1950

IS USING YOU AND ME TOGETH­ER AS CO-WORKERS?

It was YOUR money in this work-YOUR prayers behind it that broughtthis repentant sinner to the place hecouldn't stand it any longer, and madea long-distance call half way across thecountry to ask me HOW to surrenderto God and become His child! So Ipause here to THANK. YOU, and say,God bless you!

I know you'll KEEP ON faithfully,even at increasing sacrifice, holding upthis powerful and precious work. Lookout over this troubled world, girdingnow for the super-Hydrogen-atomicwar, one thousand times as destructiveas the atomic war we have been read­ing and hearing about. Soon your moneywill be worth nothing. Then you'll wishyou'd used more of it in this preciousLAST-MINUTE WORK OF GOD, toWARN our nation, to proclaimChrist's true GOSPEL to the world, tosave these precious souls while there'stime.

I wonder if it could be that someof our co-workers need a spiritual re­vival, too? You may not need, physical­ly, the several weeks' fasting which Ifeel I need JUSt now-but perhaps oneday's fasting and earnest prayer wouldproduce real gratifying results for someof you. 1£ you'll all back me earnestlyenough with your PRAYERS, thefinancial cloud willliEt, and God's workwill go with multiplied power! TIMEIS SHORT! CHRIST IS SOON COM­ING! We must work while it is day.Soon it will be too late!

Co-Workers, please keep on sendingin the most liberal possible offerings,in addition to regular tithes, that God'sharvest may be reaped! Use the enclosedaddressedenvelope! GOO BLESS YOU!

See. 34.66 P. L. &: R.

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