January 22, 2020

Dear Members and Coworkers,

There’s a new virus that is claiming headlines and creating “anxiety.” It’s a new form of “corona-virus,” one which is unresponsive to antibiotics and can be deadly. It results in a respiratory illness and though it is thought to have originated in animals, it’s been demonstrated to pass between humans. Reports say that fifteen health care workers at the Chinese hospital treating cases of the disease have come down with it.

Hospital workers at the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center in China are said to be wearing full bio-hazard suits, even wrapping their shoes in plastic. Surgical masks are sold out, worldwide. But according to residents of the city of Wuhan, people are going about their business as usual, the only difference being that everybody is wearing a surgical mask. So far seventeen people have died from the illness, but nearly five hundred some odd are believed infected, and those numbers are increasing by the day. A handful of cases have shown up in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand, among travelers who’d recently been to China.

Over recent years we’ve experienced several epidemic scares. Who can forget the swine flu, SARS, or Ebola? In each case, fears arise that the dreaded plagues featured in the book of Revelation have arrived and could sweep across the world’s population causing mass death. Thankfully, that has not proven to be the case with previous incurable diseases, but now we’ve got a brand new panic on our hands. This one is being taken seriously, with medics checking passengers on flights outbound from China. But one case is reported to have reached the state of Washington, raising fears that others may already have been infected. That’s the extent of our knowledge at the writing of this letter.

Also at this writing, President Trump is in Davos, Switzerland schooling the world’s elite on the unleashing of economic prosperity through the reforming of regulations. This has particular implications, because as you know, a global warming panic has swept across the globe with many of the world’s foremost alarmists claiming that time is of the essence. From the pope to Greta Thunberg, with all the mainstream media in tow, it seems no one is getting a decent night’s sleep due to their worry that the planet will be destroyed in ten years or less unless the Green New Deal is implemented immediately.

The claims, and their purported solutions are outlandish, but proponents aren’t embarrassed. Do away with “fossil” fuel, meaning oil and gas? It’s the lifeblood of the world’s economy. The ramifications are endless when you consider that even the gadgetry of technology, which no one leaves home without, is mostly constructed out of plastic which is made with the dreaded substance they claim to want to ban. Nevertheless, numerous of the mainstream media’s favorite personalities continue to bang on about the absolute necessity of taking drastic action before catastrophic events destroy life as we know it.

Those are dire and depressing predictions to contemplate, but they are preached continuously or at least alluded to affirmatively not only by the mainstream media, but every major corporation you can think of. Meanwhile, President Trump has a completely different message. Anyone exposed to his speeches or rallies knows that he is spreading a message of optimism regarding his accomplishments in the U. S. It has meant relaxing rules and regulations on industry and manufacturing. He did an exaggerated riff on plumbing fixtures and appliances that limit water usage during his Wisconsin appearance to the hilarity of those in attendance and many watching at home. No doubt the media will add those humorous comments to the long list of “lies” they’ve compiled. Maybe CNN will do another special entitled, All the President’s Lies, Part 2.

Mind you, there can be no more humor, exaggeration or irony anymore. The mainstream approach holds that all these subjects are deadly serious and regard every attempt at lightheartedness as a threat to the survival of all mankind. The sober network anchors, with the pained look on their faces and those of their guests, have no room for laughter unless it is intended for their buffoonish characterizations of the President. They’ve certainly lost the ability to laugh at themselves, unlike their daily target who has on many occasions poked fun at himself in public. You need examples? He joked about light bulbs being responsible for making him look orange; he modeled his duck tail saying we had no idea how much trouble it was to cover the bald spot, even turning around so the cameras could get a good look. After bragging of his accomplishments he said, “And they’re trying to impeach the …(expletive deleted).”

The mainstream (with the occasional exception of Fox News) doesn’t carry these speeches or rallies live, preferring instead to impanel a team of “experts” to talk strategy on how to best play impeachment and rid themselves of the President they despise, once and for all.

For weeks we were warned of what would happen in Richmond, VA, what with thousands of gun owners assembling to assert their 2nd Amendment rights against draconian “gun control” laws proposed by the leftward legislature. Everyone was on pins and needles expecting brawls, perhaps shootings by a mob of white supremacists full of hatred. It’s hard to remember any event being hyped in advance with such foreboding. Some worried it might just spell the beginning of another civil war. But the event took place, and it barely warranted mention. Apparently, nary an unkind word was spoken (other than the epithets toward the LIVE MSNBC reporter).

The media wants to keep us in a state of foreboding at all times, worrying constantly about things that aren’t even true and won’t ever happen. Like global warming destroying the planet. They’ve been fear mongering about this for decades, demanding power and authority to “tackle the threat,” and calling us names if we’re not in a panic.

Maybe we’re just suffering anxiety overload. Those of us old enough to remember, know that the mainstream has been demanding we panic and give power to prophets of doom to fix everything for nearly 50 years. During that time, their predictions have failed to materialize, but that hasn’t cooled the fervor to rile us into more dire predictions while blaming us, whether it be the U. S. or all the other nations of Western Civilization. It’s our fault they claim, and we need to be properly penitent for participating in planetary destruction through our use of water, electricity and of course fossil-fuel burning transportation. As poor little Greta Thunberg memorably said, “How dare you!”

No doubt we have things to worry about, but man-made Climate Change isn’t one of them. We believe in God and hold that the Bible is His word. What we’re worried about is the fact that so many in our population have rejected Him and gone on to regard their own opinions, born of cultural normality, as somehow superseding His Word.

How is it that leaders of various religious denominations can overrule the clear Word of God on the basis of what has become culturally acceptable? That’s a head-scratcher, but numerous denominations have been, and are currently in that very situation. We’re not trying to compete with them and couldn’t anyway. Instead, we’re trying to limit our worrying to the things that count. That means remaining true to His Sabbaths (not exactly catching cultural fire), His Holy Days and Feasts. If keeping God’s Commandments is unpopular, then so be it.

Sincerely,

Mark Armstrong

P.S. This month’s Garner Ted Armstrong CD offer is “Why Does God Hide Himself?”.