In the April 11th issue of People, a weekly magazine produced by the publishers of Time, appeared a feature story on my son Garner Ted Armstrong. It was headlined "Prophet of Doom Armstrong." Listen now to what Garner Ted and I proclaim worldwide, and tell me, how could we possibly proclaim a message farther from one of doom?
HOW far away from a "gospel of doom" could one possibly get? Sure, we proclaim what the Bible says. That includes the prophecies — and about a third of the Bible is prophecy. But did you know that the doom foretold in the Bible is the doom of all this world's evils? But, more importantly, beyond that, the Bible tells of world peace, universal happiness, joy, and abundance for all. That's the happy WORLD TOMORROW that we do proclaim. And we announce that it's coming in this very present generation! But we go much further — because the BIBLE does. It portrays a fantastic, seemingly incredible human potential beyond that — greater, more wonderful, more awesome than your mind probably can conceive. Read here the essence of what we proclaim to this world — to kings, emperors, presidents, prime ministers; to those at and near the top of governments, the professions, business and industry; to those at the grass roots of the world's nations — and tell me how we could possibly get farther away from what People magazine headlined "Prophet of Doom Armstrong." There may be "prophets of doom." If so, we are not among them. And after that slanted and misleading headline, I think you deserve to know precisely what message of hope, of assurance, of happiness and peace we do proclaim to the millions worldwide.
What Really Is Prophesied?
Of course, if you mean the DOOM of evil; if you mean the DOOM of all this world's sufferings, unhappiness, poverty, sickness, troubles and wars, you may be sure the Bible foretells the DOOM of those evils. But if you mean the DOOM of MANKIND, then you'd better blow the dust off your Bible, and see with your own eyes what it really does say about the actual and real potential of man. Just how far from doom can you get? Well, it's probably a lot farther than your mind can grasp — but that's what Garner Ted Armstrong and I proclaim to the world: the most fantastic, incredible extreme opposite of what an uninformed and careless press assumes and accuses. The Bible foretells — prophesies — the most fantastically wonderful potential for man that the human mind can conceive and the real purpose for which man was placed on this earth. In this article I'll tell you what it is — and I won't pull any punches. But did you ever stop to wonder why humanity was put here on earth? Was there purpose? Purpose with a fantastic, awesome potential? Or did we simply HAPPEN? Did we evolve from a single-celled amoeba, without purpose, without intelligence, without planning; did we just happen by blind, purposeless chance? Was the human mind developed by resident unintelligent forces less powerful than the mind they developed? We do not believe that. Nor do we believe we were put here on earth for the purpose of being obliterated in a final doom of humankind. What, then, DO we believe? Nothing is so important for you to read and KNOW! What DO we proclaim — yes, even to kings, emperors, presidents, prime ministers; to educators, men at the top of their professions, heads of commerce and industry; to common people all around ' the world? This we know! We live in an unhappy world. Over 50 percent of mankind is illiterate or nearly so. Over 50 percent of all humans are living in or close to abject poverty, filth and squalor. We live in a world filled with violence. All is competition, strife, trouble. WHY? We recognize the conditions around us. The heads of state, the great and the near — great I meet around the world, know of the problems — problems greater than human minds can solve. They listen to me — and they do not listen to a forecast of doom, but of hope and of assurance more certain than either life or death. It is all outlined in biblical prophecy — the causes of today's world, conditions and where we are going from here! And it is NOT DOOM! Not for humanity! But if we begin to learn what the Bible does reveal — what the wonderful, almost incredible human potential really is — by starting with today's conditions, it is like tuning in on a movie or entering a theater about ten or fifteen minutes before the end of a one-and-a-half or two-hour show. Not knowing what went before — what led up to the present conditions — one is only confused, bewildered.
A Jigsaw Puzzle
The human body has a skeletal structure that supports the entire body — yet we don't see it. It's covered up. Every modern skyscraper has a skeletal framework of steel and concrete, erected first, but covered completely in the finished structure. In a sense not many realize, the Bible is like that. The real basic structure that holds it all together has been overlooked, glossed over, or else deliberately rejected and left out of just about all religious teaching. It starts with prehistory and leads to the present. It reveals purposes, causes, beginnings — the MASTER PLAN — and the way it is going to end: in world peace, happiness, joy, universal abundance! But it is like a jigsaw puzzle which must be assembled piece by biblical piece ("here a little, there a little" [Isa. 28:13] ). That is the "doom" we proclaim — the doom of all that stands in the way of that final happy world — the doom of all misery, suffering, unhappiness. But science has never discovered this basic truth. Religion has glossed over and failed to reveal it, though it's plain in the Bible. Education ignores it — because education doesn't know it. Education is in ignorance of it. Jesus Christ came and proclaimed it — announced it (it is yet to come) but, of the thousands upon thousands who heard His gospel message, only 120 believed it (Acts 1:15). And since before A.D. 70, it has been entirely suppressed (Gal. 1:6-7). God told it in person to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2), but they didn't believe what their Creator told them! Would you believe it, even though God Almighty or Jesus Christ in — person came and announced it today? Would you?
In the Beginning
I'll give you the briefest summary. You may believe it or not — but it is NOT a forecast of DOOM for mankind, but the very farthest you can possibly get from that. And believe it or not, it is TRUE! In briefest synopsis, here is what religion has glossed over; science has never discovered; education, in ignorance, fails to teach. The real beginning of the Bible is NOT Genesis 1:1, but in the New Testament, John 1:1-4. In the beginning existed two all-knowing, all-powerful, all-perfect Super-beings. Each possessed supreme MIND and CREATIVE power. One is called "the WORD." The other, superior only in authority, is called "GOD." But the Word, it states, was also GOD — though a separate personage. Garner Ted is also Armstrong, though a different and separate person from me. There existed at first only these two Super-beings — no matter, no other beings or life forms, no physical universe. The supreme accomplishment is creating, and the supreme achievement of creation is righteous, holy, perfect character. They thought; they planned — for how long we do not know, ages perhaps. Being composed themselves of spirit, their first creative undertaking was to create angels — also spirit beings, somewhat like, yet somewhat lesser, than themselves. The Creator, of necessity, automatically remains greater than what He creates. But the big problem, and therefore the chief objective, was the creation of righteous, holy and perfect character within these angel beings. And this, these two supreme Beings knew, could not be done automatically and instantaneously by fiat — else the created beings would be nothing more than mindless automatons, like man-made machines that must perform as their maker designed and set them to perform, with no mind, reasoning power, thought or decision-making power of their own. Therefore this character (whether good or evil) must be developed in separate entities possessing thought processes and minds able to think, to know, to reason, to make independent conclusions and choices. And that risked development of evil character. Actually, this righteous, holy and perfect character must of necessity come from the original perfect Beings, yet as a result of the thinking, reasoning, knowing, and actual choice and desire of the recipients. That process required time. God's thought and planning stage, prior to any actual creation, required time. Aeons of time could have gone by — perhaps hundreds, perhaps billions, of years. Remember God was supreme in authority, yet He and the Word were in all other respects equal. In mind they were in complete harmony and agreement. God created all things by and through the Word, and this mighty Word is the personage who, much later, became Jesus Christ (John 1:14). They were of complete togetherness of mind, intent, and purpose. It was through the Word as actual Maker that God created the angels.
Supreme Purpose
Now the tremendous supremacy of mind possessed by these two great God-beings (for the Word was also God) was exhibited at this point. They had in mind a tremendous objective for the angels — a purpose supreme. This required the creation of a new substance, MATTER, which comprises the whole vast physical UNIVERSE. SO now we come to Genesis 1:1. Genesis originally was written by Moses, as God inspired him. The word translated into the English word "God" there was Elohim in the Hebrew in which Moses wrote it — a uniplural name such as "family," "church," or "team" — MORE than one person forming one single FAMILY; more than one person, but only one single CHURCH; more than one player, but forming one single TEAM. There is but ONE God, but God is composed of more than one person and includes the Word, who also was "God" (John l:1). So the uniplural GOD now created the entire physical universe — including this earth. The Hebrew words imply a perfect creation. The angels shouted for joy because it was to be their abode (Job 38:1-7). Now in matter are many properties — gravity, force and energy, power, electricity — the properties known to physicists and chemists. Just as the creation of angels was not completed all at once, but in two stages — the second being the development of character, whether good or evil — so with the earth and all planets. God purposed that the angels utilize the raw materials and the many properties within the matter of the earth to COMPLETE its creation — for God is the author of beauty, harmony, peace, joy, perfection, and glory. God gave them this assignment, this WORK to do, plus the development of their finished character — either good or evil, as they chose — to complete their creation. But their mission on earth required them to work together in peace, harmony, oneness of purpose. That is to say, it necessitated the government of God over them. The government of God is a WAY OF LIFE. It is the way that develops righteous, holy, perfect character. It is the way that produces peace, harmony, happiness, joy, abundance. It is the way of LOVE. And love is always outgoing, never incoming. It is love to God in implicit obedience, adulation, worship, reliance, and faith-knowing God Himself IS LOVE! It is the way of giving, serving, helping, sharing — always outgoing! So God established on earth a throne to administer His government. On it, He placed a superarchangel named LUCIFER (Isa. 14:12-13). This great Lucifer (the name means "shining star of the dawn," or "bringer of light and truth") was perfect as created. Next to God, this superangel was the most powerful and most mighty being that was possible for God to create. He was perfect in all his ways until iniquity (lawlessness) was found of his own free choice in him (Ezek. 28:15).
Rebellion of the Angels
This Lucifer led his angels (one-third of all the angels — and it is possible that it was this same third of all that populated the earth under Lucifer) into SIN — transgression of the laws of God's government. Thus the angels SINNED (II Pet. 2:4). They rebelled against God's way. They deliberately formed within themselves evil character. They turned from God's government to vanity, lust and greed; jealousy and envy; competition leading to strife, violence, war. They resented any rule over them. They wanted to choose their own way, not God's way. Thus the government of God was rejected, removed from the earth! The creation of the angels was now complete. They had formed evil character. The angels became demons. And the great Lucifer became Satan the devil. But Lucifer's jurisdiction under the government of God was this entire earth. A kingdom must never be without a head. Therefore Lucifer, his name changed to Satan, although now disqualified to rule God's Kingdom, must remain on the throne where God placed him — that is, until a successor qualifies to restore the government of God, and is inducted into. office. That is why Satan the devil IS still, today, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the deceiver of all nations, as the Bible reveals. We need to backtrack just a trifle at this point. Remember that God created the angels with independent minds. He gave them freedom of thought, reasoning, decision-making. Therefore God could not know in advance what kind of character they would choose to complete their creation. Therefore He (with the Word) had provided a fail-safe alternative, just as manufacturers of airplanes do in case one of the plane's systems goes wrong. God knew that if the angels chose evil character, it left Him as the only being in existence who could be positively relied upon NEVER to deviate from His government, its laws, and its way of life.
Second Phase of God's Purpose
So now we come to the second major step or phase in working out God's overwhelming grand purpose. We have come to the stage where the government of God — the means of building and instilling righteous, holy, perfect character — was abolished from the earth. Now the second phase of God's supremely great purpose must be initiated. God alone possessed the perfection of character that could activate the billions of beings to complete the finishing stages of the creation of the entire universe. God must have said, "There just are not enough of me." He needed millions or billions of perfect and righteous beings, governed by His government, to complete in all their beauty, majesty and glory not only the other planets of our solar system, but of our galaxy, and the countless other galaxies of the limitless vast universe! So now came the next phase of God's overwhelmingly grand purpose: REPRODUCING HIMSELF into billions of GOD-beings! Angelic sin (II Pet. 2:4) brought destruction and decay to the planets of the universe and to this earth (Gen. 1:2, the Hebrew words tohu and bohu properly meaning "destruction," "confusion," "waste" and "decay"). The indication is that the same condition of waste and decay happened simultaneously to all planets of the universe. Because of this, GOD CREATED MAN! So in six days God RENEWED the
The Bible foretells the most fantastically wonderful potential for man that the human mind can conceive and the real purpose for which man was placed on this earth.
face of the earth (Psalm 104:30) for MAN (Gen. 1:26). Man was made after the image and in the likeness (same form and shape) of God. But, remember, God is composed of spirit, not matter. And the angels were composed of spirit. Once the creation of the angels which followed Lucifer was complete by the development of their character, which was evil, they could not be changed! Matter, however, is ALWAYS changing. If man, composed of matter, first made the decision to follow Satan's way (and since man is a free moral agent, God knew he might), he could be CHANGED. This fail-safe master plan had been thought out before the world was, as the Bible plainly says. IF man sinned, being composed of matter, he could die. So for man, the penalty of sin would be DEATH — nonexistence! It must have been even before the physical universe was created that the Word offered to divest Himself of His mighty eternal glory and be born of a human woman so that he would die (Heb. 2:9). Being the actual MAKER (John 1:3-4) of all humanity, His life was of greater value than the sum total of all human lives, and thus His death would pay the penalty for ALL HUMANS. For, being God made human, being God as well as man, Jesus knew in advance He would be able to live without sin, even though tempted in all points like the rest of us. Matter DOES change — it always is changing. In six days God RENEWED (Psalm 104:30) for man (Gen. 1:26) the surface of the earth from devastation (Gen. 1:2) caused by angelic sin. Man, by process of reproduction (Gen. 1:27-28), was to fill the earth with humans.
Adam Rejects God's Government
As God first instructed the angels in their awesome potential, He now talked in person to the man and woman He had created; told them this potential could be theirs; outlined to them His government as the way of life that would bring that potential, and as a by-product, peace, universal happiness and abundance, joy, health and wealth. But like Lucifer and earth's angels, Adam and Eve disbelieved God and preferred Satan's way of "GET" — vanity, lust and greed; envy and jealousy; competition, strife, violence and war — rebellion against God and His government. They did not believe what God said! Without having experienced living either under the government of God, or Satan's way of "GET," Adam rejected the government of God, took to himself, along with his wife Eve, "the knowledge of good and evil" — that is, rejected the law of God as the way of life, and determined to decide for himself what was right and what was wrong. In other words, Adam, fountainhead of the whole human race, simply said to his Creator: "God, get your nose out of my affairs. I'll run my life my own way." Thus he cut not only himself, but the whole human family off from God and all contact with God! He brought DEATH (the first death) upon all humans (I Cor. 15:22).
Hands-Off Policy
Thereupon God had adopted a 7,000-year master plan for reproducing Himself through HUMANS. The first 6,000 years God turned man over to his own devices; God adopted, as it were, a HANDS-OFF policy toward humanity. For 6,000 years mankind would go his own way. Of course, God knew man would adopt Satan's way — I call it the way of "GET" for brevity — actually the way of vanity, lust and greed, of jealousy and envy, of competition and strife leading to violence and war, of resentment and bitterness against every fancied wrong, of the desire to "get even," of rebellion against authority. God knew Satan would sway mankind in this way — though Satan is so subtle, being invisible to human eyes, that man would not know he was really obeying Satan's rule! In other words, God deliberately sentenced mankind to 6,000 years of this evil way of life, to form his own governments, religions, society; to prove, by 6,000 years of human unhappiness, discontent, suffering, violence, murder, war, and death, that Satan's way of "GET" is the wrong way, and leads to the unwanted wrong result! So for 6,000 years, up to now, God has kept hands off mankind's affairs. Mankind has been cut off from God, by his. own choice. God has made but a few exceptions, where necessary for His purpose. During this 6,000 years, God has made no effort (contrary to nearly all religious teachings) to "save mankind" spiritually. For example, none had contact with God for the first 1900 years except Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Then God called Abram, changed his name to Abraham, made all the promises of eventual human salvation to him. He dealt with Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Then, 430 years after Abraham, God called his descendants, then probably more than three million, led them by miracles out of Egyptian slavery, offered them the greatest material and national blessings (but no spiritual salvation except to Moses and the prophets) for being His nation on earth, obeying His laws. They promised to live under His government, but rebelled utterly and ended up in captivity again.
Christ Brings Good News
Some 4,000 years after Adam, Jesus Christ came in the likeness of human flesh. He came with a MESSAGE — the gospel. What was that? It was the GOOD NEWS of GOD'S Kingdom and the ultimate grand potential of man, so great it surpasses the power of the human mind to conceive. Christ qualified to replace Satan (the former Lucifer) and to restore
We recognize the conditions around us. The heads of state, the great and the near-great I meet, know of the problems — problems greater than human minds can solve.
the government of God to earth, this time over man. Then He proclaimed the good news of that coming Kingdom — the extreme opposite of "doom." He called His apostles, and taught them His tremendous announcement of this unsurpassable human potential. Then He died for our sins, was resurrected, and rose to God's heaven to be our high priest until He comes as King of kings to rule all nations of earth with the government of God. The apostles went forth proclaiming this good news of the vast human potential. This started in A.D. 31, the year Christ was crucified and His Church raised up. But out of the remnants of the ancient Babylonian mystery religion, rose up in A.D. 33 in Samaria this pagan religion professing CHRIST, calling itself CHRISTIANITY, and persecuting and martyring all true Christians. Beside the name "Christian," they appropriated the doctrine of "grace" from Christ's apostles, turning it into license — permission to disobey — saying the laws of the government of God were done away. Thus, we find that by A.D. 69 another gospel had gained public acceptance (Gal. 1:6-7). The good news — Christ's gospel — of the Kingdom of God was no longer publicly proclaimed to the world! Few today know what Christ's real gospel was! Your Bible says all nations have been deceived (Rev. 12:9). Of course, most of you reading this do not believe that, because a deceived person does not know he is deceived, else he would not BE deceived. Christ in person preached this good news to many thousands. But how many actually believed what He said? Only 120! (Acts 1:15.) Today, the Bible outsells all books. The Bible is the Word of God — it is what God says. Yet millions who own Bibles never read them. Other millions read the Bible at least once in a while, but scarcely any of them believe what God says in it! They do not know that the Bible foretells the DOOM of all ways that are causing our troubles, our woes, our evils. Humanity right now is at the doorstep of the supreme crisis. It has reached the point where man now has the weapons of mass destruction to erase all human life from the earth. And, UNLESS the Great God that Garner Ted and I proclaim does intervene supernaturally and END this hellish state of affairs man has brought on himself, there most surely soon would come the real DOOMSDAY! But because our God will intervene and save man from himself and set up the KINGDOM OF GOD — one WORLD GOVERNMENT ruled in love and justice by Jesus Christ — there will be no doomsday!
What Prophecies Reveal
Now open your eyes to some of the prophecies that foretell a little of the transcendent potential that really IS man's. Under the invisible influence of Satan, man is bringing on himself the FINAL CRISIS of the 6,000-year day of man. Jesus' apostles had asked Him how we humans might know when the end of this present world, Christ's coming, and the beginning of the happy, peaceful WORLD TOMORROW would happen. Jesus answered that when "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations... THEN shall the END [of this age] COME" (Matt. 24:14). The very message Garner Ted and I are preaching and publishing (Mark 13:10) worldwide follows in verses 21 and 22: "For then shall be great tribulation [man-caused], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [alive (Moffatt translation)]: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Man, swayed unknowingly by Satan, is already beginning to bring on this greatest time of world trouble and chaos, but GOD will step in and CUT IT SHORT, and save humanity ALIVE. WHY? For the most wonderful, transcendent human POTENTIAL you could possibly imagine! Christ will come! Satan will, be bound! (Rev. 20:1-2.) Then will follow 1,000 years of peace — WORLD PEACE — happiness, universal prosperity! Then, after that thousand years will occur what the Bible calls the "great white throne judgment." At that time, all humanity who ever lived up to the beginning of Christ's reign shall be resurrected mortal. They will be given time to look back over the human anguish caused by Satan 's way, which man chose, and given the opportunity to turn to God's way. Remember, they will be resurrected mortal, human, made of matter — and matter can change! Those who do change (and I believe that will be about 99 percent) will then, having learned the lesson of the right way of life, be given spiritual salvation — eternal life-changed from mortal to IMMORTAL, composed then of SPIRIT. Just a prophetic glimpse or two into that time: "The WHOLE EARTH is at rest, and is quiet.... Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou [Satan] art laid down, no feller is come up against us" (Isa. 14:7-8). Then, speaking of Christ's rule over the whole earth in that day (and within our generation): "And the spirit of the ETERNAL shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom an9 understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the ETERNAL... But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.... And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins" (Isa. 11:2-5).
Man's Only Hope
Many world-renowned scientists have said the ONLY HOPE of saving mankind alive on this earth is a
God has kept hands off mankind's affairs. Mankind has been cut off from God, by his own choice. God has made but a few exceptions, where necessary for His purpose.
single world government — with only one army. But in the same breath they say it is impossible. With men it is. WHO would rule such a government? A human? He would rule for his own pleasure and profit. A committee? A committee would rule with a constant struggle for top power among themselves. But THINK of a world ruled by the Christ described above! Carry this prophecy further: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the... [other wild animals shall be tame].... for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the ETERNAL, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:6-9). Then, after a thousand years with the whole earth ruled by the Kingdom of God, comes the greatest, most stupendous good news of all! Here are some brief glimpses into it: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be NO MORE DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL" (Rev. 21:4-5). UNDERSTAND THIS: For 6,000 years the Creator God has kept hands off man's activities and ways of life. Our first parents made a decision for themselves and their posterity — all humanity. What will stagger the reader most of all perhaps, because he has been so deceived and blinded from God's plain truth, is that God has made no effort to redeem or spiritually save the world from that day of Adam until now — that is, except those specifically called. Satan wants you to believe God has been making a desperate effort to save all humanity, while Satan stands aside, injects within all people the "GET" attitude, and laughs at God, saying, "You see, God, I am mightier than you. I am keeping about 99.99 percent of the world 'LOST.'" This popular belief makes religion ridiculous and represents Satan as more powerful than God.
World Under Satan's Sway
So humanity, cut off from God — but NOT cut off from Satanic influence working within human minds — has for 6,000 years formed its own kinds of governments, its own religions, its own educational systems, its own systems of business, commerce and industry, financing and exchange, and its own society. And DOOMSDAY is indeed what humanity is bringing itself to. But God will intervene to PREVENT THAT! Meanwhile, God has made His Word and His purpose known. Until Moses, He made His will known by word of mouth, speaking with certain ones such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Beginning with Moses, God made His will and His purpose known in writings that finally have been compiled together, called the Holy Bible. In it God has made known that He has Himself chosen certain ones for certain purposes through the ages. They have been predestinated, and, in due time, called into the service of God.
Man's Awesome Potential
Now we come to the final, most AWESOME, TRANSCENDENT potential of man — the farthest possible away from one of DOOM. It was mentioned first by King David in the eighth Psalm. David was inspired to ask: "WHAT IS MAN, that thou art mindful of him?... For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:4-6). But David probably did not, in his early days, realize the FULL EXTENT of that glory and that dominion. It is explained in more detail in Romans and in Hebrews in the New Testament. And lest you think my imagination is running away with itself, I quote this direct from the Bible. Begin with Hebrews 2:5: "For unto the angels • hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak." The• theme here — the context — is "the world to come" — not this present evil world. The implication is that angels have been in subjection over a previous world. Continue: "But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? [here quoting Psalm 8].... Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he [God] put ALL in subjection under him [man], he [God] left NOTHING that is not put under him" (verses 6-8). The "all things," appearing also in Hebrews 1:3, is properly translated in the Moffatt translation as "the Universe." God has put — ultimately, but not in this life — the entire endless universe under subjection to man. But finish verse 8 of chapter 2: "But now we see NOT YET all things [the universe] put under him [man]." Oh, NOT YET! But after the thousand years of peace under Christ, and after the "great white throne judgment." After ALL humans ever born have been called, granted repentance if they will repent, and believed — and finally changed from human to DIVINE! But continue on. What DO we see now, already? "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things [the universe], and BY WHOM are a/I things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (verses 9-10). In Hebrews 1, the Moffatt translation shows Jesus Christ even NOW
Man, swayed unknowingly by Satan, is already beginning to bring on this greatest time of world trouble, but God will step in and cut it short, and save humanity alive.
is sustaining the entire universe by the word of His POWER! Notice again, carefully, verse 10. "For it became him [Christ], for whom are all things [entire universe], and by whom are all things [God the Father created the universe by Jesus Christ], in bringing many sons unto glory...." We HUMANS are those sons, who become through Christ HEIRS of all God has and co-heirs with Christ; become actually BRETHREN of Christ, now, "in [His] bringing many sons unto glory." You see, Christ is the CAPTAIN (verse 10) of our salvation. In other words, He who was the firstborn (Rom. 8:29) among many brethren — first to be BORN of God by a RESURRECTION (Rom. 1:4) simply is our PIONEER who has gone on before the rest of us into this great and supreme glory. We see NOT YET the whole universe under man, but we DO see it all UNDER CHRIST, and sustained by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3).
Glorious Liberty to Come
Now to Romans 8. This fantastic awesome potential of man is made even clearer in the book of Romans. I shall use the Revised Standard Version, for the King James is not accurate — apparently the translators in the year 1611 simply could not believe the Greek original COULD mean what it plainly says. Can you create in your imagination a HOPE as great as this? The apostle Paul is inspired to write, beginning verse 18, Romans 8: "I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the GLORY that is to be revealed to us. For the CREATION [universe] waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God [at the resurrection, when we shall become composed of SPIRIT]; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption [our resurrected birth] as sons, the redemption of our bodies [from mortal flesh and blood to immortal spirit]. For in this hope we were saved." What a wonderful, majestic, tremendous hope! That, and NOT DOOM, is what Garner Ted Armstrong and I proclaim to this world! There may be "prophets of doom" — but we are not of them. No one else — but NO ONE — proclaims the full truth you have read here. It's ALL IN THE BIBLE — and the Bible is THE WORD OF GOD. It's the most WONDERFUL HOPE your eyes ever read! Not DOOM — but qualifying to remake and beautify the universe! I believe it and look forward in joyful anticipation to it. Thousands today believe it and are grateful for the opportunity to have a part in helping us spread this message of real hope. No one else does!