Can we discern the sign of the times? Are we living at…
‘The Time Of The End’?
The Muslim world is trying to unite against the West - and Israel. As you will see, even Iran likes the idea! Are we witnessing the foundation for the King of the South?
Turkey, Saudi Arabia And Pakistan Sign Defence Pact
“Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement on Friday, connecting the three largest Muslim countries in the world under one security umbrella for the first time. The deal, which has been under negotiation since last year, creates a significant new trilateral framework amid a deepening regional crisis following Israeli and US attacks on Iran. Saudi analysts have previously said that Riyadh could activate the defence pact it currently has with Pakistan should it enter the Iran war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the deal in Mecca in a joint ceremony. The leaders, in a joint statement, said that the defence agreement reflects their shared determination to further strengthen their collective security, in the region and beyond.
‘The Agreement aims to bolster collective deterrence against all forms of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack carried out against any one of the three states shall be considered an attack against all of them,’ the joint statement said. ‘The Agreement also provides for the development of defense cooperation among the three states in all its dimensions.’
One Turkish official told Reuters that the agreement was defensive in nature, was not directed against any specific actor, and was open to other regional countries. The pact would link three of the region’s largest countries, each with unique advantages.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is the Arab world’s only G20 economy and home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.
Pakistan is the Muslim-world’s only nuclear-armed state.
Turkey, which straddles Asia and Europe, boasts NATO’s second-largest army.” (middleeasteye.net)
Saudi Deal With Turkey And Pakistan Could Reshape Middle East
“The deal was signed in the Saudi city of Mecca by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Erdogan of Turkey, and the Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. The move consolidated a growing split between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan; and India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which have drawn closer in recent months after Israel helped the UAE to repel Iranian attacks.
The new alliance brings Saudi Arabia closer to Turkey, one of the region’s most advanced weapons manufacturers, and Pakistan, a nuclear power. But it is meant to replace the Saudis’ dependence on the US, which has pledged to help Saudi Arabia build a civil nuclear reactor and provides much of the kingdom’s arms.
The kingdom, however, is seeking to diversify its defence relations, especially after the war with Iran, which showed the limits of American military power while strengthening a new, and more radical, regime in Tehran.” (thetimes.com)
Why Has This Pact Been Made Now?
“A Turkish official told the Reuters news agency on Friday that the agreement between the three nations is defensive in nature and not directed at any specific actor. It is also open to other regional countries. However, the three nations are known to have been particularly concerned about Israel’s influence and recent growing attacks in the region.
In early July, speaking alongside Pakistan’s Sharif in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said peace efforts in the Middle East would not succeed without regional backing and added that Israel must not be allowed to ‘dynamite’ a US-Iran deal. ‘We are closely following the Israeli administration’s attempts to dynamite the [US-Iran] deal. The current war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again,’ he said.
The Turkish leader has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed on June 17 to halt fighting and allow time for negotiations. Erdogan has also repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
For its part, Pakistan has condemned Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, where more than 71,000 people have been killed in attacks since October 2023, including more than 1,000 since a supposed US-brokered ceasefire was announced last year. It has also condemned any notion of a so-called ‘Greater Israel’. But in the US and Israel’s war on Iran, Pakistan has taken on the role of mediator, striving to prevent a regional war.
US President Donald Trump has long hoped to persuade Saudi Arabia to sign the so-called Abraham Accords, normalising relations between Israel and Muslim countries. But Saudi Arabia has also repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and insisted it will not do so until there is a clear path for Palestinian statehood, which Israel’s current government staunchly opposes.
In a July 20 report, Yasmine Farouk, the project director for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula region in the International Crisis Group, wrote that closer defence ties between Turkiye, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and also Egypt reflects a hard-won realisation among these four states that ‘security in their neighbourhood can no longer be left at the mercy of rivalry between the US and Israel, on one side, and Iran, on the other.’
‘Many officials in these countries had reached this conclusion before the US and Israel launched their assault on Iran in late February. But the war and subsequent Iranian retaliation, including both missile and drone strikes on Gulf Arab states and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, lent it fresh and urgent impetus,’ she said.” (aljazeera.com)
Turkiye Says Mecca Defence Pact Not Aimed At Iran
“Turkish leaders have insisted that the new trilateral defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is not directed at Iran. Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that the pact does not identify Iran, or any other country, as a common threat.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stating that an armed attack on one of the three countries would be considered an attack on them all.
‘There is no common threat that we have put in writing,’ Fidan told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency, adding that countries that do not attack the signatories would not be considered targets.
The alliance will also establish political and military committees, bringing together foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs, as well as a secretariat in Saudi Arabia.
Fidan said the three countries would work on joint training, intelligence sharing, logistics, threat assessments and military interoperability.
Defence-industry cooperation is also expected to be a notable part of the pact. Fidan said it was one of the main issues discussed by the three leaders in Mecca, including how the countries could benefit from each other’s military technologies.
The Turkish minister said preparations for the agreement had been under way for nearly two years and eight months, suggesting it was not drawn up simply in response to the current tensions involving Iran.
Despite Ankara’s assurances, some Iranian officials have questioned the agreement and warned Saudi Arabia against relying on its new partners for security.
Reporting from Ankara, Turkiye, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said that, according to officials there, the escalating regional tensions have indeed forced the countries to come together.
The three partners bring complementary strengths, ‘including Turkey’s defence-industrial capabilities, Saudi financial muscle and influence, and Pakistan’s military experience and strategic deterrent’.
However, Iranian MP Ebrahim Rezaei criticised the pact in a post on X on Friday. ‘Saudis must know that a paper agreement with Türkiye and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as years of one-sided dependence on the Americans did not bring them security,’ he wrote. ‘Reform your policies so that you do not need to beg for security from others.’
So far, neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office nor the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs have commented on the new defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.
In a post on X, former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani expressed hope that all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would ‘take the initiative to join’ the pact. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the GCC includes Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.” (aljazeera.com)
What Are The Challenges Facing The Mecca Agreement?
“Saudi Arabia turns to Turkiye and Pakistan for defence ties, raising questions [about] over-reliance on the US. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye have signed a joint defence pact. It is an alliance that analysts say highlights Riyadh’s desire to diversify its defence partnerships, expanding to Ankara and Islamabad.
The pact was announced at a time of increased regional tension. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has launched a military operation against the Iran-aligned Houthis following a series of attacks, while Iran and the US have yet to reach a final deal to end the war.
The trilateral Mecca pact raises questions about the effectiveness of the decades-long US military presence in the Gulf. Does this alliance offer a viable alternative to the security umbrella promised by Washington?” (aljazeera.com)
‘Technological Cooperation And Joint Manufacturing’
“A core objective of the agreement is accelerating technological cooperation and joint manufacturing across the three nations’ defence sectors. The framework provides for joint research and development, technology transfer, streamlined defence procurement, and co-production of military hardware, particularly in high-technology domains such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), naval engineering, air defence systems, and electronic warfare suites. The treaty also formalises the mechanism for continuous strategic intelligence sharing, joint operational planning, reciprocal personnel exchanges, and combined tri-service military exercises across land, sea, and air domains.” (firstpost.com)
What Is The Strategy Behind The Saudi, Turkey And Pakistan Defence Deal?
“The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement integrates three complementary forms of military and influence, creating a potent strategic triangle across West Asia and South Asia. As the world’s leading oil exporter and the largest economy in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia provides the financial capital, infrastructure, and political authority required to sustain long-term alliance initiatives. Riyadh’s central role within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the broader Islamic world gives the pact diplomatic clout.
As a NATO member possessing the alliance’s second-largest military force, Turkey brings sophisticated operational experience, standardised command systems, and an advanced domestic defence industrial sector.
Turkish defence firms — manufacturers of modern armoured platforms, naval warfighters, electronic warfare suites, and combat drone systems — provide the alliance with advanced indigenous military technology independent of Western export restrictions.
Meanwhile, Pakistan contributes one of the world’s largest standing armies, decades of expeditionary training experience in the Arabian Peninsula, and its unique position as the only nuclear-armed nation in the Muslim world.” (firstpost.com)
March 2011
In an Update published back in March 2011 we recorded a very different world. While Turkey presented itself as a secular country, and supported Iran politically, the Turkish Prime minister explained:
“ There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.” (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey)
“ Democracy is like a streetcar. You ride it until you arrive at your destination and then you step off.” (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey)
Nureddin Surin, a Hezbollah-activist, made the Muslim viewpoint very clear:
“We are here today with the longing and the determination to build a Middle East without Israel and America…” (americanthinker.com)
What The Western Nations Do Not/Will Not Understand
This is the way of thinking that appears to guide how the West views the Muslim people. They do not understand the signs of the times.
The Western Viewpoint - April 2014
“When you study the world of Islam, you find that there is a lot of diversity. It is not the monolithic faith that people make it out to be. The extreme Islamist side to Islam is a part of that diversity but it is a small part on the fringe. Most Muslims who immigrate to the USA and Canada are moderates who want to adapt to their new homes and countries.
This means that they are open to democracy, and learning the ways of the local culture. They want to become good citizens and seek prosperity for their families. In this way they are like you and me. Even in places where Muslims are concentrated, such as Dearborn, Michigan, there is no call to implement Sharia Law.
Muslims also value the rights and freedoms that we hold dearly in western societies and they are willing and ready to adapt. Let’s be good neighbors and offer them hospitality rather than fear them.” (crcna.org)
Look Where This Blindness Has Led!
“As of 2025, five Muslims have been elected to US Congress.” (wikipedia.org)
“42 Muslim Americans win in US elections, marking record milestone. From New York to Virginia, Muslim candidates make record gains, reshaping US politics and signaling the community’s rising influence despite Islamophobic attacks and disinformation campaigns. This marks the largest number of Muslim victories in American political history.” (muslimnetwork.tv)
Zohran Mamdani elected as mayor of New York!
“New York City’s political shift took a dramatic turn as Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist from Queens, delivered a post-election speech at a Brooklyn mosque where the crowd chanted ‘Allahu Akbar.’ The 34-year-old Democrat Socialist, now the first Muslim mayor in city history, used his platform to promote redistribution of wealth and socialist-style governance under the banner of faith and community service. He spoke about economic justice, collective ownership, and moral duty to share resources, while the crowd’s chants created an atmosphere that blended religion and politics in a way many found deeply unsettling. The chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the Brooklyn mosque captured a city surrendering to a movement that confuses activism with leadership and ideology with governance.” (thegatewaypundit.com)
“Record number of Muslims elected to UK parliament despite rising Islamophobia.” (muslimnetwork.tv)
“The quiet spread of Sharia law in the UK raises concerns over its influence on Muslim communities and its conflict with secularism. However, this issue is far from being confined to the UK — it is a global concern with profound implications for many other countries.” (stophindudvesha.org)
A Quote From The 2011 Update:
“In 2009, Erdogan visited Iran and voiced support for Tehran’s nuclear program and refused to support economic sanctions imposed by the West. The Turkish-Iranian-Syrian alliance provides significant economic opportunities, enhances Iran’s power in the region, empowers Hezbollah and Hamas, puts pressure on pro-Western Arab countries and represents a serious threat to Israel.
The current Middle East turmoil is an opportunity for Turkey and Iran to shift the region toward radical Islamist rule and elevate Turkey’s role as a regional power.
The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, took the opportunity to thank the Turkish Muslims for their fight on behalf of Islam. Given the strength of this alliance combined with Saudi largesse and a changing picture in the Middle East, a global caliphate under shariah law could become a reality.
Turkey is actively and more openly pushing for Islamization and an expanded role for the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2007 on Turkish television, Erdogan admonished Westerners’ use of the term ‘moderate Islam,’ by declaring, ‘These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. THERE IS NO MODERATE OR IMMODERATE ISLAM. ISLAM IS ISLAM AND THAT’S IT.’
That should have set off alarms in the West and extinguished any fantasies of Turkey’s role as a pillar of ‘moderate’ Islam. Further confirming his strategy in 1996 after he was dismissed as mayor, the future Prime Minister stated, ‘DEMOCRACY IS LIKE A STREETCAR. YOU RIDE IT UNTIL YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION AND THEN YOU STEP OFF.’
Since 2002, the Turkish government has been pursuing a version of Islam closely aligned with the Wahhabi extremist Islam of the Saudis.” (americanthinker.com)
The Muslim Viewpoint Hasn’t Changed
Around 3,000 years ago, back in the time of King David of Israel, we read in Psalm 83:
“‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’
Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you…” (Psalm 83:4-5, NLT)
Around 3,000 years after this was written, the attitude hasn’t changed!
“We are here today with the longing and the determination to build a Middle East without Israel and America…” (Nureddin Surin, a Hezbollah-activist)
Iran Approves!
“The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is likely to be viewed by Tehran as a major success resulting from its aerial attacks on Gulf states… it was a sign of a concerning regional mentality that would see ISRAEL CAST AS THE DESTABILIZING POWER, NOT IRAN… ‘They are looking at Israel as if it is the enemy.’
Though not speaking on behalf of the pact, only a day after the agreement was announced, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Pakistan media that there should be ‘a united military front’ against Israel, which he described as a ‘threat to the entire Muslim world’.” (jpost.com)
Iran is highlighted as “radical Islam” - but remember President Erdoğan’s quote: “There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”
In Iran, they refer to the USA as “the great Satan”.
Their goal is the destruction of Israel and America.
When the situation in the Middle East goes “critical” Islam will unite - forming the power behind the biblical King of the South, and attack “Catholic” Europe - the king of the North - in their bid for control of the world.
The Power Of The King Of The South
If we combine the military might of Turkey and Pakistan we see a powerful military force.
Together they have over a million soldiers, 500 jet fighters, 800 attack helicopters, 5,000 tanks and 150,000 armoured vehicles. And Pakistan has nuclear weapons! All this backed financially by Saudi Arabia. This is a truly formidable force.
“And AT THE TIME OF THE END shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” (Daniel 11:40-41)
Ancient Edom is modern day Turkey! Ammon is modern day Jordan.
Once the armies have surrounded Jerusalem, Jesus Christ will return within 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11)
This defence agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could well be the foundation for the end time King of the South.
The Signs Of The Times
Christ rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees…
“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; BUT CAN YE NOT DISCERN THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES?” (Matthew 16:2-3)
Around forty years later, in 70AD, Jerusalem was destroyed and most of the people were taken captive. It was “the time of the end” for their world.
So Here’s Tomorrow’s News - Before It Happens!
The message to this age went out over 3,000 years ago:
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, knowledge shall be increased.” (Daniel 12:4)
“They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:” (Psalm 83:4-5)
A confederation is forming right now.
They see Israel and the USA as the enemy.
Can we discern “The Signs Of The Times”?
Is this “The Time Of The End” right NOW?
How You Answer This Question Could Well Decide Your Future!
The Magician's Misdirection - Revisited
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)
The 4 Mandates
A couple of weeks ago I was asked "where does Mr. Armstrong mention we need to simplify our lives?" and it brought to mind a Pastor's Report I wrote some years ago about the Magician's Misdirection and I thought it was timely to re-examine the subject, as in the world at large -- and even in God's church -- this technique of misdirection to obscure what is true is becoming more and more of a problem. How often can we get a straight answer from a politician on subjects such as Covid 19 vaccinations, illegal immigration, welfare handouts, unemployment -- or even peace talks with Iran? And how often are we bombarded with the accusation of Israel's "genocide in Gaza" - and rarely hear of Hamas' massacre of Israeli citizens! No, the "leopard doesn't change his spots" -- Satan is the arch-deceiver of all time, and as the apostle Peter warns us: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: "(I Peter 5:8)
In that particular Pastor's Report I highlighted the Good News article of April/May 1987 written by Joseph Tkach just over a year after Mr. Armstrong's death, and his personal was entitled "Four Great Mandates". The entire 32 page issue of the Good News dealt with the subject of the four mandates -- with each article dealing with an aspect of one of them. It would be a good idea before going any further to read that Personal yourself and see if you can spot the problem, keeping in mind the "fruit" of the Tkach's administration!
- Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
- Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
- Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
- A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
- Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
- Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:16-20)
So Christ here makes very plain that, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit." but conversely, He also makes very plain that, "A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit." Today the ultimate fruit of that corrupt administrative "tree" is very evident -- a shattered Church and an apostate organisation! So is it possible that the administration that was inexorably taking God's people into apostasy could somehow have been "on track" in this 1987 issue?
Yet in the first year after the death of Mr. Armstrong the church seemed to be going from strength to strength -- we were in a "honeymoon period", and that lulled a lot of us to sleep! Personally, we had plenty of our own distractions, with 3 young children, a job and a small holding to take care of, and I don't remember the initial article ringing any alarm bells at the time. And on RE-reading "The Four Mandates" : 1) Coming out of the World, 2) Simplifying your life, 3) Preparing to Teach and 4) Emphasizing the family -- I couldn't IMMEDIATELY put my finger on anything blatantly wrong . Those fundamentals appeared reasonable, helpful, even "on track" -- but it only had me puzzling for a few moments before I began to see that behind the façade that it was anything but!
The Magician's Trick
The first human leader of the apostate "christian" church is clearly identified in Acts 8 as a magician -- Simon Magus, who "bewitched them with his sorceries" (Acts 8:11). Admittedly, he was using much more than mere slight of hand, but as we will see, even Satan's full-blown techniques parallel the deceit of a magician! Satan used such deceitful techniques from the beginning. As Christ clearly describes, he "abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44) The very basis of the magician's trade, the liar's trade, and of Satan's trade, is the same -- it is "the misdirection"! Let me quote below just how it works:
In theatrical magic, misdirection is a form of deception in which the performer draws audience attention to one thing to distract it from another. Managing audience attention is the aim of all theatre, and the foremost requirement of all magic acts. Whether the magic is of a "pocket trick" variety or a large stage production, misdirection is the central secret. (wikipedia.org)
When we apply the above to "The Four Mandates", what is the larger movement ... the misdirection? And what is the concealed smaller movement ... the deception, the bit Satan does NOT want us to see?
The Larger Movement
The opening phrase of the Personal states, "For the last seven years of his life, the late editor-in-chief of this magazine, Herbert W. Armstrong, often emphasized three major areas of Christian living. I have called these 'the three mandates.'" When we begin to recognise what is really being presented here -- from our present, post-apostasy perspective -- this phrase can be seen as 'the larger movement'. There's "nothing up my sleeve" approach that would come across to those reading the Personal as:
If Mr Armstrong often emphasized these areas, particularly for the final seven years of his life, then they must be important. These mandates are therefore utterly foundational. They are the bedrock on which to build, as after all, hasn't an entire issue of the Good News been devoted to reminding us about them?
But are they? Seeing that the definition of "mandate" is: "an order given by a superior"...are these three points really the major areas Mr Armstrong emphasised in his last seven years?
It's critical that we understand what the foundational areas are on which we are to build, and that is why we make available the material found on getbackontrack.org. It's only when we go back and read what the apostle God sent to us actually wrote, what he actually spoke about, what he actually emphasised, can we then be sure we are indeed becoming aligned with the Truth as revealed by Jesus Christ to His end-time Church and not instead building on sand! (Luke 6:47-49) And when we do that, what do we find? We find that although Mr Armstrong did mention some of these areas, they were not "great mandates" -- they were NOT his primary focus! Other men may have mentioned "Mr. Armstrong said we must "simplify our lives" but I have electronically searched through all the HWA material on getbackontrack.org and cannot even find the phrase "simplify your life". It doesn't exist! But even that startling fact is not the main point.
The Concealed Smaller Movement
Understand very clearly that Satan is perfectly happy to have us try to become sons of God on our own strength. Why? Because he then knows we are certain to fail. If all we focus on is "being good people" and "getting into God's Kingdom" then Satan will most certainly have won! No one becomes a part of the God family with mere human goodness. A son of God requires a converted, divine Mind. So what was different about Mr Armstrong's focus? It was focused on God! His focus was on The Gospel of God - the same Gospel Jesus Christ and the apostles preached. And that Gospel is focused on God's rule, what God is doing, what God requires, what God's Plan is, a Gospel that was to be preached as a sign, a witness, in all the world as a unique event -- the Gospel of the Kingdom (or family) of God. So we didn't need Mr. Tkach to "emphasise the family" ... Mr. Armstrong was continually doing so!
There is also another vital point: When that Gospel was explained to those within the Church of God, there was ONE principle aspect above all that Mr Armstrong went back to over, and over, and over again. And that was the subject of the two trees. Two divergent ways of life -- with God's Way based, NOT on mere human goodness, mere human love (as taught in the world's churches, see Matthew 19:16,17), but squarely on "the love of God shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5). That was the clear, unambiguous emphasis -- the clear foundation of everything, particularly in "the last seven years of his life"!
And isn't it interesting, that in the 1987 Good News, the article, Prepare to Greatly Reduce Your Standard of Living initially written by Mr. Armstrong as a Plain Truth article in 1980, does indeed appear. But the article printed in 1987 is NOT the 1980 article in its entirety. The article in 1987 had the following paragraphs prior to the heading "Now Prophesied for the USA" missing:
At this point let me bring in another bit of historic background.
Go back, for a moment, to the first man, Adam. Prior even to Adam’s creation, the earth had been populated by angels. The angels had SINNED (II Peter 2:4). God had set over them His GOVERNMENT, administered by the mighty archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28). This Lucifer, the most powerful spirit being God had created, was placed on the throne of the earth. But he rebelled against and rejected the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. He led his angels in the opposite direction: – rebellion against the law of God – vanity, lust and greed, envy and jealousy, competition with strife and violence, darkness of error instead of light of truth, destruction instead of creative construction. This Lucifer had become Satan the devil. His angels had become demons – evil spirit beings.
Until a successor qualifies and is set on that throne of the earth administering the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, Satan remains, though now disqualified – and the GOVERNMENT OF GOD not being administered over the earth, earthwide.
When God created the first human, Adam, He thoroughly instructed this man and Eve, his wife. He instructed them in the law and government of God, in the rebellion and sin of the angels. In the Garden of Eden were two symbolic trees. One, the tree of life, symbolized the Holy Spirit of God – the way of life of God and His law – the gift of eternal life. Adam and Eve were created with only mortal, temporary physical life. The other tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, symbolized the taking to themselves – IF they disobeyed God in so doing – the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, rejecting the gift of eternal life.
When Adam and Eve chose the forbidden fruit, rejecting God and His government, God drove them out of the garden, and barred the way of entrance, lest humans rejecting God’s sovereignty over them go back, take of the tree of life, and receive eternal life IN SIN. This would have brought on all such an eternal life in the indescribable misery and torment of unhappiness, despair in resentment and bitterness, and pain of mental frustration.
God is a God of LOVE – outgoing concern for the GOOD OF MANKIND, created in His image, with the potential of being BORN into the very GOD FAMILY!
God could not allow any such indescribable eternity of anguish and mental torment to come to the humanity He had created.
Therefore He BARRED entrance to the tree of LIFE – to an immortality in the supreme torment of eternal anguish and frustration. That is, God put an impassible WALL between Himself and all humanity – EXCEPT those infinitesimally few He would specially call to Him – for 6,000 years! Afterward – after Satan is conquered by Christ and those called to be His, and Satan is imprisoned forever, every human who ever lived will be called, mostly in a special postmillennial resurrection, and offered repentance, forgiveness of sin, and the gift of ETERNAL LIFE!
HOW WONDERFUL are the ways of Almighty God!
So God had said to Adam, in effect: “YOU have made the decision for yourself and the whole world that shall spring from you. Therefore, go, and devise your own ideas of government, your own religions, form your own gods, produce your own store of knowledge and its dissemination, during the next 6,000 years.”
Mankind was CUT off from God, except those predestined to be specially called by God.
Jesus said plainly: “No man CAN come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Others who think they are “saved in Christ,” accept Him IN VAIN – in a FALSE RELIGION promulgated by Satan! Jesus also said plainly: “… IN VAIN do they WORSHIP me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:7-8). (The Plain Truth – January 1980)
And those missing paragraphs deal with the unique understanding that sets God's true church apart from the churches and religions of the world. Mr. Armstrong dealt specifically with the two trees, Satan's rebellion and current rule in this world -- stressing the need of a qualified Successor to administer the Government of God. And this basic but VITAL understanding is very much part of priorities Mr. Armstrong wanted to get across to us, but that was not where the "wolves in sheep's clothing" were planning to take us! As Mr. Armstrong so often pointed out, "if you don't understand the lesson of the two trees, you don't understand anything". And they didn't. And when he DID mention "simplify", it was in connection with summarising two opposing ways of life -- Give versus Get! From his Good News article December 1980 "Why This Gap In The Bible?":
God’s LAW, the foundation of GODLY CHARACTER, of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, is outflowing LOVE. It is a WAY OF LIFE! It is the way of love to God first of all, then love to fellow man by serving, helping, giving, sharing, cooperating. Adam and Eve chose to decide for themselves instead of believing GOD’S LAW. And they chose the OPPOSITE way of life – that of SELF-love, vanity, coveting, envy and jealousy, hostile competition, strife, violence, war – rebellion against authority.
I simplify these two ways – God’s LAW and its transgression – by the terms “GIVE” and “GET.” (The Good News – December 1980 )
So can we now see how presenting the four mandates is actually a substitution, a misdirection -- the old magician's trick? It is not that the four mandates are of themselves wrong, and many worldly christian churches would sign up for them as well. But making them "great" and giving them inordinate prominence - "playing the Mr. Armstrong card" (as still happens in some of the churches of God today) was a smoke-screen to obscure what was in the process of being removed -- which was the True Gospel Christ brought to the world, turning our focus instead onto a gospel about the person of Christ. It was changing the Kingdom from "a present hope and future reality" into the exact opposite; a nebulous "present reality and future hope".
How often did we hear Mr. Armstrong, in frustration telling us..."brethren, you are not getting it!"...and what we weren't getting was the DEGREE OF CHANGE necessary to become a born son of God -- something totally downplayed by the apostasy, which substituted traditional and watered-down "christian" ideas, and mere human goodness, as found throughout the wider "christian" world...
- For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
- And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
- Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (II Corinthians 11:13-15)
The Lesson for Today
And why were we deceived? Because we were so busy concentrating on these reasonable but inflated christian-living areas that we failed to see the erosion of the truth, the Way of Life that Christ put in His church by His end-time apostle -- and it's still happening today. "Mr. Armstrong always said...XYZ" or "Mr. Armstrong never said...XYZ", and "before his death Mr. Armstrong was about to change...XYZ"; A classic "magician's misdirection" that we need to be aware of, as, Satan is still on his throne and is still attacking God's Church today, using all the deceptive devices he can.
In a sense, it is the same old story as found in the Garden of Eden: "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1), when God's clear emphasis was very different! "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat" (Genesis 2:16), but He also added that mankind was not to take to themselves the knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil, but rather be obedient to Him (verse 17). Satan then gave a reverse emphasis -- he used a misdirection! He had Eve focus on the phraseology; "Yea, hath God said, ye shall not ...", so he could subtly sow doubt and lead her to accept something other than God's clear instruction, which was for her own good. Has anything really changed?
The Two GREAT Mandates
As Mr. Armstrong simplified the lessons of the two trees into two ways of life: Give versus Get, so we can see that GOD has also simplified HIS way of life into two great principles of living, two "mandates" in fact:
- Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
- Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
- This is the first and great commandment.
- And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:36-40)
Just two complete and comprehensive commandments -- guiding our every thought and deed and expounded for us by God's apostle at this perilous time, the end of the age. If you wish to find out more concerning what Christ inspired him to teach the church, there is a wealth of information on the internet; books, booklets and articles to download, plus sermons and World Tomorrow programmes to listen to, checking your Bible as you go, as Mr. Armstrong always encouraged us to do. And by doing so, we can be forewarned, and thereby forearmed against one of the oldest tricks in the book -- the magician's misdirection.
- But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
- But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; [God's apostles]
- And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
- That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (II Timothy 3:13-17)
Latest Audio - 2026-08-08
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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