HERBERT ARMSTRONG'S TANGED WEB - CONTINUES - Keith Hunt
PT, December, 1962, page 42, HLH: "Russia and China Will NOT Split ... Russia and China are to remain allies!"
PT, Jan., 1963, page 21, HWA: "Somewhere along about seven to ten years from now the REVOLUTION IN THE WEATHER will become a national and international calamity. Drought, epidemics of disease, will reap a mounting harvest of death across North America -- and in Britain. Economic depression will strike ... And the time will be right for the new United Europe to strike!"
PT, June, 1963, page 46, RCM: "This coming, revived Holy Roman Empire which is prophesied to arise in Europe and CONQUER America and Britain within the next ten to twelve years ..."
July 31, 1963 Coworker Letter: “Time is running out on us. Only a few more years remain to finish God's Work! …But the Work is, as of this moment, still, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE! …There is time to finish His Work--BUT NO TIME TO LOSE!”
1964 Coworkers letter: "only 7 years before H-bomb warfare breaks out"
PT, Mar. 1964, page 48, HLH: "We face a national catastrophe before 1975!"
PT, May 1965, Page 21, R.F. McNair: "The greatest proof that the 'times of the Gentiles' have not yet ended is the simple fact that the Gentile Arabs are still in possession of the old city of Jerusalem. They will remain in control of this city until the second coming of Christ."
Dec. 1965 co-worker letter: " Everywhere on earth events are HURLING this world toward the prophesied grand-smash Climax. We may have barely six more short years to finish this great Work the living CHRIST is doing through YOU and me! I say MAY--I am not setting dates, yet biblical prophecies indicate the strong possibility that time remaining for us is indeed JUST THAT SHORT!"
1966 sermon by Meredith: "within three years by 1969 society will have collapsed in America”
PT, Mar. 1966, page 22, Charles Dorothy: "Hitler escaped, probably to Argentina!"
PT: January 1967: Hogberg - "There WILL be an end to strife and struggle among men and nations. And in less than 10 years!"
PT, Feb. 1967, page 47, Herbert W. Armstrong: "The 'Day of the Eternal' ... is going to strike between 5 and 10 years from now!"
"The U.S. and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy," 1967, pages XI-XII, HWA: "The events prophesied to strike the American and British peoples in the next four to seven years are SURE! That is why the events of the next four to seven years may prove this to be the most significant book of this century. These colossal world events, shrinking the first two world wars into insignificance, WILL COME, on schedule."
PT, Feb.,1970, page 27, R.F. McNair: "Will Britain ever be admitted to the Common Market? Probably not!"
[Note: After the failed prophecies about fleeing to the place of safety in 1972, and Christ’s return in 1975, it appears that HWA made fewer prophecies during this period. However, he returned to old patterns in 1976 and continued through 1985].
Coworker Letter 8/19/76: “This is the END-TIME: Never in the history of mankind have world conditions been so VIOLENT—never so much TROUBLE—never before so many NATIONS and their GOVENRMENTS toppling and being overthrown so often—now one a month on the average. NEVER such VIOLENCE by man. Never such VIOLENCE in NATURE—SUCH MASSIVE AND VIOLENT earthquakes—TIDAL WAVES—floods.
… Read and study Revelation 10. The timing of this prophecy is NOW. Satan KNOWS.
…Satan will try to cast a spell over you so you will disbelieves—fail to heed.”
Coworker Letter 6/22/78 "We are in the very LAST DAYS of this present evil world of Satan's. Satan knows he now has but a SHORT TIME.
It is desperately important that we know that too! Christ, through me—with you BACK OF ME 100% (as so many of you have written me)—is now proclaiming IN POWER and IN ALL THE WORLD the fact that Christ and the KINGDOM OF GOD—and the abolishment of Satan—is SOON to happen—IN OUR PRESENT LIVING GENERATION!"
Coworker Letter 11/28/78: “Brethren, could all these NEVER BEFORE evils be the FIRST RUMBLINGS of the GREAT TRIBULATION? I want to tell you, THEY ARE A WARNING TO ME! And they had better to YOU!”
Coworker Letter 4/16/79: “TIME IS SHORT. These are the LAST DAYS!”
Coworker Letter 9/20/79: “THIS WORLD is now very old, and nearing its END! We are in the LAST DAYS!”. These are the LAST DAYS!”
Coworker Letter 10/26/79: “The movements of the present Pope are strongly indicative that the “resurrection” of the medieval “Holy Roman Empire ” could “ easily be under way NEXT YEAR!” Then the GREAT TRIBULATION would follow swiftly…”
Coworker Letter 1/3/80: “TIME IS NOW SHORT! IT IS LATER THAN WE THINK! TIME IS MARCHING ON—and PROPHECY is now being fulfilled.”
Coworker Letter 2/8/81: “This is the MOST SERIOUS year of the Work of God so far.”
Coworker Letter 11/30/81: “We are the FINAL EXAM period of the END TIME before the end of this work..”
Coworker Letter 12/27/81: “We are right now in the preliminary stages leading to “THE GREAT TRIBULATION” of Matthew 24:21-22…”
Coworker Letter 9/17/82: “I call on you to AWAKEN! We seem numb to the frightening SIGNIFICANCE of events in Europe and the Middle East!
…World events are moving swiftly toward the grand-smash climax at the CLOSE of this world—THIS CIVILIZATION!””
Coworker Letter 8/23/84: “… nuclear scientists set the DOOMSDAY CLOCK forward one more minute—from four to ONLY THREE MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. Midnight is the END of the world and of civilization as we know it!
…Will we listen to what our God warns us?”
Coworker Letter 1/14/85: “…These Israeli rabbis did positively express the conviction that the Second Coming of Christ is very near at hand.”
After reading just 55 examples of false predictions, most would find it difficult to conclude that an individual (and an organization) could be sincere about claiming to have special abilities to predict the future before it happens while the track record proved the complete opposite. Others have compiled over a hundred additional predictions that HWA/WCG had made and proved to be false.
When the most significant predictions failed (regarding the tribulation beginning in 1972), Mr. Armstrong (and WCG) failed to accept responsibility for making all of their previous, repeated, reckless claims.
Feb., 1972, Tomorrow's World, pages 30-31, Mr. HWA claimed: "It has never been our intention to SET DATES! Yet, in our human zeal and enthusiasm we have a few times come close to it or appeared to. Yet, in our zeal, we have used 'possible's' and 'probably's' and even appeared to set dates we really didn't intend to set."
"… Emphatically, if we — in our dedicated enthusiastic ZEAL to get God's WARNING of the end of mankind's world before this sick, sick world — DO, even though we intend not to, appear to set a date, I FEEL I DO NOT NEED TO APOLOGIZE! No one but the enemies of ALL GOOD will accuse!"
March 25, 1975 Coworker Letter - HWA stated, "Some years ago I saw factors indicating the possibility that our work might be completed by early 1972, and immediately followed by the Great Tribulation. I NEVER SET A DEFINITE DATE. I NEVER SAID IT WOULD DEFINITELY HAPPEN."
Is that an honest statement?
February, 1967 Plain Truth, p. 47 - The ‘Day of the Eternal’—a time foretold in more than thirty prophecies—is going to strike between 5 and 10 years from now! You will know, then, how REAL it is. You will wish, then, you had heeded. I am not writing foolishly, but very soberly, ON AUTHORITY of the living Christ!
Did Mr. Armstrong from his mistakes?
1982 Broadcast - In 1982, Mr. Armstrong bragged about forecasting WWII, WWIII, and the united states of Europe almost 50 years in advance (in 1934 Plain Truth). However, he conveniently ignored a huge error within the same magazine in which he had stated the world was already passing through the tribulation and that Jesus would return in 1936 (and many similar errors over the next 50 years).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BaUeQbsYoo (Listen between minutes 2-6)
Now, after reading Mr. Armstrong's own words about his special calling, training and purpose; reviewing his track record of prophecy; and evaluating his willingness to accept responsibility for multiple failed claims; it may be appropriate to return to the first question raised:
Was HWA sincere about his role and understanding of prophecy?
In short, the answer seems to be clearly “no”. From Mr. Armstrong’s own statements, it was clear that he wanted his audience to believe that he was a prophet speaking on behalf of God, not himself, and yet almost every single prediction he made failed to come true. A good example of him implying he was speaking for God can be heard in his own voice from his radio program during the 1950’s (link provided earlier, quote provide below):
"Alright, I stuck my neck out right there. You just wait 20 more years and see whether I told you the truth. God says, if a man tells you what's going to happen, wait and see. If it does not happen, he was not speaking the word of God; he was speaking out of his own mind. You watch and see whether these things happen. You'll see who's speaking to you, my friends."
In this program, HWA boldly inferred he was speaking on behalf of God and gave his audience a way to test whether this was true or not. If Mr. Armstrong truly had a special calling, a unique purpose, special preparation and exceptional understanding of biblical prophecy, then this (and his other predictions) would have come true. However they did not. And, since his predictions repeatedly failed to materialize; by his own standard, he labeled his work that "man", not that "of God".
This seems to be reinforced by his unwillingness to accept responsibility for his own statements. Not only did he deny setting dates, he attacked those that found fault with his failed prophecies. Did Mr. Armstrong demonstrate that he had been sincere throughout his ministry through these actions? Did he demonstrate admirable integrity through these actions? No.
For many members, it was/is difficult to even begin to question Mr. Armstrong’s sincerity. However, there is no reason to fear addressing such questions. God warned us to be careful about those claiming to represent him and He provided the means of testing such claims. The following verse is the biblical test that Mr. Armstrong had referring to:
Deut. 18:22: " How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him."
....................
I HAVE NOT COMMENTED HERE; THE COMPILER DID THE COMMENTS; AND IT ALL SPEAKS FOR ITSELF...... IT ALL PROVES HERBERT ARMSTRONG WAS A DENIER OF REALITY, AND DECEIVED HIMSELF WITH HIS OWN EGO, VANITY, AND PROUDNESS, LEADING TO THE ULTIMATE DECEPTION OF THINKING YOU ARE GOD'S SPECIAL, AND ONLY "APOSTLE" ON EARTH - Keith Hunt
TO BE CONTINUED