All Systems Are 'Go'!

I have just gone through the booklet "1975 In Prophecy" and here I have some things to say about that. Since this booklet was brought up on another blog, and quickly dismissed by ardent admirers, I thought it best to review it again. Here are my thoughts on what I have found.

Please come with me as I would like to take you on a tour. We will start with a few select quotes from "1975 In Prophecy". Our next stop will be Herbert Armstrong's redaction letter after the hype about 1972 failed to materialize. Finally, we will travel back to 1953 (and even as far back as 1934) in order to see how 1972 became a target date in the first place, and hopefully we will get a good look into whether or not HWA, the "Elijah", was acting like a prophet (even though he emphatically states he was not a prophet). As a free bonus for participating, we will get what I feel is an interesting glance into the workings of Ronald Weinland.

Let's get started with some choice quotes from "1975 In Prophecy" to set the mood.

ABIANCE 

"While modern science and industry strive to prepare for us a push-button leisure-luxury-world by 1975, United States Assistant Weather Chirf I. R. Tannahill warns us unofficially to really fear 'the big drought of 1975.' But indications of prophecy are that this drought will be even more devastating than he foresees, and that it will strike sooner than 1975 – probably between 1965 and 1972."

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 10 (bolding mine)

"And, knowing that such an unbelievable catastrophe is soon to strike, I HAVE TO WARN YOU!! You can read what God says to me in Ezekiel 33: 1-6. THINK OF IT! Unbelievable? Preposterous? No, IT’S REAL — very soon, — of this present generation – of all people you know now – ONLY ONE THIRD of them will be left alive!"

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 20 (bolding mine)

"Yes, millions of lukewarm inactive professing Christians will suffer MARTYRDOM – and that before the anticipated push-button leisure-year of 1975 dawns upon us! You’ll read of this martyrdom – the Great Tribulation – in ..." [some verses cited]

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 20 (bolding mine)

"At that mighty moment of earth’s history, hundreds of thousands will remember the TRUE MESSAGE FROM GOD that they had heard going out freely to the world at THIS time, on The WORLD TOMORROW program."

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 24 (bolding mine)

"A fraction of today's population will survive."

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 28

"Your immediate future is of your own choosing. ... you have now read YOUR FATE - and I say to you on authority of God Almighty that it is absolutely SURE!"

-Herbert Armstrong, "1975 In Prophecy", 1956, p. 31 (bolding mine)

Is it not obvious in these quotes that Herbert Armstrong is passing his message off as authoritative from God? Phrases like "absolutely SURE!" and "REAL" truth given "on authority of God Almighty" are not ambiguous phrases. These do not indicate speculation nor opinion.
I point this out because of the many times I have heard people claim that Herbert Armstrong did not prophesy rather he only predicted. Is this so? Nay nay, my friends. It is not so. These phrases put the lie to that claim.
This clearly was intended to convey the unmistakable notion that the claims of the booklet originated at the very throne of none other than God Almighty Himself, that they delivered in trust to Herbert Armstrong personally, and that they were transmitted in authority to the reader to be heeded with utmost urgency and sincerity. This is the very definition of prophecy in the Biblical sense! And if you want more evidence, simply ask anyone who was of age in the late 1960's and early 1970's what their reaction to this booklet was. They were told it was solid prophecy, they took it as solid prophecy, and they reacted in their lives as if it was solid prophecy.

But 1972-75 was doomed to come and go. Just like William Miller's Great Disappointment. Just like the Watchtower Society's many predicted dates. Just like Ronald Weinland's first timeline ...and soon, his second timeline.
Were they of God, then?

THE REDACTION LETTER

We now come to our next stop on the tour - a follow-up from Herbert Armstrong concerning what did and did not happen in 1972 from Herbert W. Armstrong, Tomorrows World, February 1972.

When the "absolutely SURE!" and "REAL" truth given "on authority of God Almighty" failed to materialize on January 7, 1972 (January 7 is key and we'll see why before the end of this article), a hasty retreat from the claims he had been making for almost 20 years. The initial redaction came in the form of an article in the Tomorrow's World magazine. This was a less-popular magazine produced by the Church and read mainly by practicing members of the church. The retreat would thus be public, but far less public and embarrassing than if it were placed in the flagship publication, the Plain Truth Magazine.

I must warn you, this redaction is one of the best examples of how NOT to apologize or back peddle for bungling your prophecies.

Herbert Armstrong is staunchly defended ever and anon regardless of what he has done. Regardless which gospel he preached. Regardless how many Biblical laws he "changed out of necessity". The claim that he was not a prophet was planted by Armstrong himself. And it's that very claim that motivates me to write this post.

(All of the following quotes were taken from Herbert Armstrong's aforementioned redaction.)

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"Now a word about what my Commission is NOT. It is NOT to become an infallible expert on, or to preach, chronology."

-HWA

"But we are only human, and it is natural that we should have been curious to know, as far as possible, how much time we had to GET THE JOB DONE"

-HWA

To be curious is fine, to want to know is fine, to speculate is fine. But to make "SURE!" claims "on authority of God Almighty", well, that's another thing entirely!

"Let me say here in regard to this booklet, the title date, "1975" had NOTHING to do with any prophecy, or fulfillment of any prophesied event whatsoever. It was a date set by certain scientific and technological sources, for accomplishing certain materialistic objectives."

-HWA

If it has nothing to do with prophecy, WHY name it "...In Prophecy"? If it had nothing to do with 1975, WHY name it "1975"? Why not name it "What Do You Mean, Push-Button Leisure-Year?" Or perhaps "Push-Button Leisure-Year Or Not Push-Button Leisure-Year, Which?"
Of course it had to do with prophecy. When "1975 In Prophecy" was first written, many things were "...In Prophecy". They had several articles in the Plain Truth with that title; eg. "Suez Crisis In Prophecy", "Kingdom of Jordan In Prophecy", "Germany In Pophecy", "The Latins In Prophecy", etc. Each and every one of them had to do with prophecy. "1975" is just another in that long line. To claim it didn't have to do with prophecy is just not honest.

Even so, Armstrong is technically correct on one point. 1975 was never an important date. 1972 was! Never-the-less I believe he is being disingenuous. The book never set 1975 as a firm date.. rather it said "before the anticipated push-button leisure-year of 1975 dawns upon us". In the next quote, he actually sticks to that claim!

"I did not set that 1975 date -- spokesmen for science and industry did. I still say it will occur BEFORE their dream-world materializes!"

-HWA

That claim was being made as far back as 1955:

"...prophecy proves it [great drought that topples the United States] will happen - before 1975! Here are the FACTS." 

-Herman Hoeh, "Plain Truth Magazine", January 1955, p.1

It wasn't 1975 that mattered. 1972 was the date that mattered. I will show you why in a bit.

In the light of how it was worded, and how we know HWA dogmatically stated things that weren't accurate, can I believe his statement? I have a hard time giving him the benefit of the doubt. The book was worded in such a way as to get the reader to believe the end was NOW. The Plain Truth magazine had been worded in such a way, for over two decades prior, that the end was NOW. It feels deceptive.

There is no prophecy that ties the end with push-button dream-worlds. So it's still inaccurate at best.

"Scientists set dates for the times they HOPE to accomplish certain breakthroughs. But does anyone discredit THEM, if they set the wrong date? Of course not!"

-HWA

The difference is that Scientists do not preach the "absolutely SURE!" and "TRUE MESSAGE FROM GOD" on the "authority of God Almighty"!! I can't get Deuteronomy 18 out of my mind.

And now he really starts to back peddle.

"I said 'indications are' and 'probably.'"

-HWA

Sure did. This is a fact. But it's only HALF of the facts. The other half is that he also said "absolutely SURE!", and "TRUE MESSAGE FROM GOD", and on the "authority of God Almighty"!!

"WHERE ARE God’s true prophets today? In this age of world chaos and sudden death, you had better rid your mind of preconceived ideas and prejudice and honestly seek to find out! Listen! This work has been warning America of definite and tremendous events to come for many years! ...
They use the words “may," “could,” or “might.” They are afraid to be definite and specific! The truth of the matter is that they DARE NOT be specific about the future because they just DO NOT KNOW what the Bible says is going to happen! But on “The World Tomorrow” broadcast and in this magazine we have dared to unlock the Bible prophecies and apply them to specific nations and events that are NOW being affected. Do you grasp the SIGNIFICANCE of this?"
-Rod Merideth, "Plain Truth", August 1957, p.3 (emphasis mine)

Rod Meredith used the word P-R-O-P-H-E-T-S!

"Yet, in our human zeal and enthusiasm for getting this greatest mission on earth done, we have a few times come close to it or appeared to -- and that we deeply regret."

-HWA

Ahh! This is all just a huge misunderstanding on the reader's part.

"If YOU would rather hear God’s Truth in place of the soothing cries of 'Peace, Peace' (Jer. 6: 14), write in immediately for Mr. Armstrong’s AMAZING booklet, '1975 in Prophecy!' This startling booklet is profusely illustrated with pictures - actually showing you a step-by-step account of what God says IS GOING TO HAPPEN within the next 10, 15 to 25 years!"
-Garner Ted Armstrong, Plain Truth Sept. 1956, p. 14 (underline and bold mine)

So, when Garner Ted Armstrong says that "1975 In Prophecy" contains what, "God says ... IS GOING TO HAPPEN ... within the next 10, 15, to 25 years", we misunderstand if we take that to mean that God said it, that it is going to happen or that a date was set. Oops!

"Scores and scores of times we have said, 'We do not set dates.' Yet, in our zeal, we have used 'possiblies' and 'probablies' [note: the version on Ron Weinland's website has this transcribed incorrectly] and even appeared to set dates we really didn't intend to set."

-HWA 

"we did, a few times, go further than we should with it -- though basically, we continued, time and again, to say 'we do not set dates.' But some statements gave the IMPRESSION that we did set the date, January 7, 1972. It is difficult to control sincere, dedicated enthusiastic ZEAL; and we were human!"

-HWA (bolding mine)

There it is, the 1972 date. We will see why that was important, just hold on a bit longer.

Appears so, except that "absolutely SURE!" and "TRUE MESSAGE FROM GOD" and "on authority of God Almighty" were also said, along with "very soon, — of this present generation – of all people you know now".
Wait a minute! Stop the presses. He doesn't set dates? That's not what he said before!

"WE CAN understand it [prophecy - specifically Revelation], because JESUS CHRIST is the Revelator! HE is the interpreter! And we have found HIS interpretation, which is TRUE! Yes, we CAN know where world affairs today are LEADING. We CAN know what’s GOING to happen during the next 5, 10, and 20 years!"
-Herbert Armstrong, "Plain Truth", Jan. 1955, p.3

He said we CAN know what was GOING to happen, in 5 (1960), 10 (1965), and 20 (1975) years. 1975, you say? Never heard of it.

Please allow me to remind you that the supposed "MASTER KEY" to their entire prophetic understanding is that they received their interpretations from no other source besides Jesus Christ.

"But we’ve seen that the one MASTER-KEY to this tremendous prophecy is the fact that JESUS CHRIST IS THE SOLE REVELATOR - the SOLE INTERPRETER!"
-Plain Truth Nov-Dec. 1954, p.3

"We were very plainly told that NO MAN can understand, or REVEAL the meaning of this prophecy. .. But NO MAN can interpret this Book of Revelation. JESUS CHRIST is the Revelator. The Apostle John was not the Revelator. No modern religious leader is the revelator. This is the Revelation of JESUS CHRIST, and we must accept HIS revelation - HIS interpretaticn - or fail to understand! THAT’S the master key of this mysterious PROPHECY."
-ibid., p.4

Herbert Armstrong had many "keys" to unlocking prophecy, but this is the greatest of them all. His point in all of this is to indirectly claim that his prophetic teaching came to him from none other than Jesus.
In 1954-1955, we CAN know what was GOING to happen in the next 5, 10, 20 years because Armstrong received it from Jesus. But when he retells the story in 1972, not so much.

So, let me get this straight.. regardless of what he said, what he MEANT to say all along was, "You can read things that God said to me in Ezekiel that probably, possibly, might be absolutely SURE! on the authority of God Almighty, I think"?

Here is another example of that very same thing.

"But, after the astounding fact of discovering our first broadcast into Europe and Britain had been 19 years -- TO THE VERY DAY by both Hebrew and Roman calendars -- we gained further insight into the probable time it would require to reach all nations."

-HWA

It doesn't matter what calendar you use, 19 years is 19 years. I can measure 19 years from date A to date B by all possible calendars and it will still be 19 years.

Let me deconstruct that quote for you: "Prophetically fulfilling a 19-year time cycle, to the VERY DAY, we gained (from God we assume) further insight into what could probably maybe might possibly be absolutely SURE! to happen on the authority of God Almighty... but might not.'

When I exaggerate it like that, I hope you can see the flaws in it.

I'm not trying to be cheeky, but Herbert Armstrong sounds just like Pinocchio from the movie "Shrek the Third": "I'm possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that I undeniably do or do not know where he shouldn't probably be. If that indeed wasn't where he isn't!"

And concerning the myriad of 'three to four years', 'five to ten years', 'within the next 20 years', and so on, HWA says this:

"You will notice that, even here, we were not setting a definite YEAR, but expressing a general period in different ways."

-HWA

What?? HWA missed his calling as a politician! Maybe it wasn't a definite year, but it was none the less a definite period of time! With a definite beginning and a definite end. Whether or not it was a definite single year is meaningless!

When HWA says "SURE!", he means this:

"'The events prophesied to strike the American and British peoples in the next four to seven years are SURE!' By this we meant the EVENTS are SURE -- not the 'four to seven years.'"

-HWA

If the date range has nothing to do with anything at whatsoever, like the title of the booklet, WHY include it at all??

OK. I've had about all I can endure of that. I think I've made my point.

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I HIGHLY recommend you read that entire redaction for yourself. There are simply so very many points that need to be mentioned, but I could not possibly get to them all. (If you don't, you'll never know why I named this post "All Systems Are 'Go'!")

After the redaction set the official talking points for the retreat, the cover-up began. The church members in general were ordered - not suggested, but strictly ordered - to burn all material relating to 1975 In Prophecy. People entering the church from this time would have no idea the fiasco even took place. I personally never heard a word of the incident until well into the 1990's.

Let's move this tour onward. I would like to go through a few places in the WCG history and demonstrate the slipperiness of this 'I didn't mean 1975 in prophecy when I said 1975 in prophecy' game. Let's lift the tail, so to speak, and get a clear look at this "I said 'maybe" nonsense. You will recall that 1975 is not the important date at all. January 7, 1972 is! Let's go all the way back to where 1972 came from and we'll get a good look at quite a few things. Just bear with me, some of this may even be moderately interesting.
And moving forward you will be introduced to the co-author of this mess, the official church historian and most accurately informed man in the world, Mr. Herman Hoeh.

HOW DID WE GET 1972 & 1975?

Now we come to the next stop on our tour, where we try to figure out how we got the dates 1972 and 1975 in the first place. Was it all the fault of those pesky scientists, or was someone else to blame?

Most of the material for 1975 In Prophecy was written in the early 1950's. Much of it was quoted verbatim from articles in the Plain Truth magazine. They just took whole chunks from the Plain Truth and made a booklet from it.

In the Plain Truth magazine, June 1953, (the article starts on p.5), Herman Hoeh starts the 1972 ball rolling with this statement, "probably ... about 1972" (p.13). There's that word, "probably" again. But he only does that one time. Of course, this would be the time Herbert Armstrong selected as an example of his innocence. 

Let's look a few pages further.

"So Babylon fell in October 539 B.C., and 2520 years later is October 1982"

-Herman Hoeh, Plain Truth, June 1953, p.13

No "probably" there. But 1982, that's odd. Another new date. And it's VERY specific! Even gives you the definite reasoning why it was chosen.

You see, 1982 is part of what Herbert Armstrong called "the Times of the Gentiles". Don't worry if you don't fully understand what these "Times" are right now. HWA will define them for us below.

I would like to note that if you've spent any time studying HWA's prophecies, you've noticed that he goes through periods where his prophetic focus has a theme to it. At first, it was the "Third Angel's Message". This theme was a carryover from his days as a minister of the COG7, but it fell by the wayside early. It soon became the "Times of the Gentiles". That lasted a while until it also fell by the wayside. Later we had other themes. This is just how it went.

Back to the magazine.

We get an earful of what will happen between now (1953) and then (1982), which includes "famine, tribulation, and captivity", and how that punishment must end... which is where we find this little gem:

"at least ten years just prior to the ending of the times of the Gentiles", therefore, "that would mean that these events would probably begin about 1972".

-Herman Hoeh, Plain Truth, June 1953, p.13

So, that is what 1982 is about!

Even though the Times of the Gentiles were to reach their absolute completion in 1982, a 10-year buffer was given for events to begin a build-up to their 1982 crescendo. The starting date was 1972, you say??? I'm intrigued! If we add a 3 1/2 year Tribulation to 1972, we get ... 1975!

But that's me putting words into Hoeh's mouth. HWA already made it clear that scientists chose 1975. Let's allow Herman to explain what he means:

"This is a very significant date - 1972. It is only 19 years from 1953 ... If you read the February issue of the 'Good News' you will recall that Mr. Armstrong wrote that January of this year, 1953, marked the completion of the first 19 year time cycle which began in January 1934 ... It seems God is allowing us another 19-year cycle to COMPLETE THE CARRYING OF HIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM ... Are you paying your tithe to God for the furtherance of His work?"

-Herman Hoeh, Plain Truth, June 1953, p.13

So, 1972, 1975, and 1982 are linked, as are other dates like 1953 and 1934. And in this we get a peek behind the curtain to see it's not so honest to claim scientists chose 1975. 1975 was chosen because of 1972, and 1972 is important because of 1953, and 1953 is important because of 1934.

You may wisely ask, what event marks January 1934 as the beginning for this crazy timeline? Herman tells us!

"...the first 19 year time cycle which began in January 1934 when the 'World Tomorrow' broadcast first went on the air..."

-Herman Hoeh, Plain Truth, June 1953, p.13

1934 is the start of periods called "19-year time cycles". The start was January 1934, when the 'World Tomorrow' program went out over the radio waves. Add 19 years to 1934 and you get 1953. Add 19 more years and you get 1972.

Here's a quick rundown so you don't get lost:
1982 = the end of the "Times of the Gentiles".
1975 = the end of the Great Tribulation.
1972 = the end of the second "19-year time cycle", the start of a ten-year buildup to 1982, and the start of the Great Tribulation. Of all these dates, this is the most important one.
1953 = the start of the second "19-year time cycle".

1934 = the start of the first "19-year time cycle".

We actually have two balls in the air.

• The first ball is "Times of the Gentiles", to which the dates 1972, 1975, & 1982 belong. What are the Times of the Gentiles? This is a time-period mentioned by Jesus in Luke 21: 24, during which, "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Herbert Armstrong and Herman Hoeh interpreted these times as beginning in ancient history and ending in modern times. Whether they do or not is completely speculative and open to wild interpretation; God knows. Herman Hoeh said these times began in 539BC and end in 1982 AD.

• The second ball is "19-year time cycles", to which the dates 1934 & 1953 & 1972 belong. What is a 19-year time cycle? It is an interesting feature of lunar calendars (and the Hebrew Calendar was a lunar calendar) that they synchronize with the solar calendar roughly every 19 years. Herbert Armstrong taught that these 19-year cycles were prophetically significant. He would find significance in any way he could. Here, Herman Hoeh finds significance in the fact that Armstrong's radio show first went on the air in January 1934, and the church was still around 19 years later in 1953.

In 1934 the 'World Tomorrow' broadcast first went on the air (kind of). 19 years later, or one "19-year time cycle" later, we get 1953. Since the end did not come by 1953, that can only mean there is one more cycle to go (what else could it mean?). Add one more time cycle and you get ... drum roll ... 1972!
You should know that date by now. 

But the 1982 finish of the "Times of the Gentiles" cannot be forced to end in 1972 cleanly because its starting date depends on ancient history. Hoeh solves that dilemma by inventing a 10-year period (let's call that a "thunders increasing" period); subtracting that from 1982 gets us... 1972! If you had been wondering where that ten year thing came from, it's completely made up. Not a single scrap of Biblical evidence to support it. He just needed desperately to tie 1982 to the important date of 1972 somehow.

Everything was made to tie into 1972. The really important date is 1972. Tack on a 3 1/2 year Great Tribulation and we have 1975!

No, dear reader, the scientists did not choose 1975. Herman Hoeh did.

Setting "Times of the Gentiles" aside for a moment --
We know what Hoeh said about 19-year time cycles. He said a first cycle was from 1934-1953 and a second cycle was from 1953-1972. We must then ask, did Herbert Armstrong mention 19-year time cycles in February 1953, as Hoeh quoted? Yes! His story should match, right? Let's read that:

"This means our United States co-workers will have to dig a little deeper, and sacrifice a little more - because we of America will have to pay all the costs of the broadcasting to other parts of the world. But WHAT A GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY IT IS!"

-Herbert Armstrong, Good News, Feb. 1953, p. 2

Oops! Wrong quote. *blush* The one I want was one page up.

"Think of it! This most important work on earth now TAKES ITS GREATEST LEAP AHEAD! Do you realize the significance of this tremendous event? Do you know the MEANING of nineteen years? It marks a complete cycle of time - as God's set time in nature. ... Nineteen years ago, the first week in January, (1934), this program went on the air. ... The first week in January, 1953 - after one of God's complete cycles of nature - it starts as an INTERNATIONAL and WORLD-WIDE program ..."

-Herbert Armstrong, Good News, Feb. 1953, p. 2

Did you catch that? The radio program started in January 1934. January 7, to be exact. Add 19 years and you get January 7, 1953. Add 19 more years and you get January 7, 1972.

So HWA did say that. Hoeh did quote him correctly. You were waiting for a twist, weren't you?

Oh, there's a twist! And here it is:

BUT... this radio story is a certifiable, verifiable, demonstrable load of hooey made up after the fact!! 

Why? Because even though in 1953 both Armstrong and Hoeh were singing the same tune about 1934, that's not the story HWA was telling in 1934!! Not only that, but Hoeh's story about the "Times of the Gentiles" does not match Armstrong's.

Let's go back to not push-button not leisure year of 1934.

The "Times of the Gentiles" started, according to Hoeh (writing in 1953) at the destruction of Babylon in 539 B.C., and 2520 years later is 1982 A.D. We've already seen that. But according to Herbert Armstrong (writing in 1934), the time starts when Nebuchadnezzar finished removing Jews from Judea not from the time Babylon fell! And 2520 years later is 1936 A.D., NOT 1982!
The story changed significantly! Let's see that:

"...19 years after the first seige, or 585 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar made his final siege, drove out all the Jews, took complete possession of the land, and the Times of the Gentiles came fully in. And 2520 years later, or 1936 A.D., the Times of the Gentiles will have completely ENDED. As nearly as we can calculate from the dates of ancient history, the year 1936 will see the END of the Times of the Gentiles. Those "Times" have not been completely fulfilled until that year."

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, June/July 1934, pp.4-5

Later on page 5, HWA refines the time to autumn of 1936 and specifically names September. September 1936, not January 1934!! And the radio program is never mentioned!!

Let's see another, just for effect.

"'The times of the Gentiles' (a prophetic time allotted by God to the Gentile nations, of 2520 years. It began in 604-585 B. C. It began to end in 1917 with the delivery of Jerusalem from the Gentile Turk and will end fully, probably the latter part of NEXT YEAR, 1936.)"

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, March 1935, p.7

Armstrong mentioned that he went into great detail about the Times of the Gentiles in the March 1934 edition, but I have no copy of that. I do have a partial copy of the January 1938 edition, where HWA makes this phenomenal claim:

"An understanding of the "Times of the Gentiles" is vital and fundamental. It is the frame-work of the whole structure of Bible prophecy. It is a KEY to unlock the doors to understanding. Here is a fascinating subject without which the prophecies concerning the present wars, and the coming war -- in fact all prophecy, cannot be understood."

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, Jan. 1938, p.1

Didn't he make that same claim about Anglo-Israelism? Yes, he did. Didn't he make that same claim about Jesus being the revelator? Yes, he did. Everything is a vital key. But I digress...

If the correct understanding of Times of the Gentiles and 19-year time cycles is so crucial to understanding the Bible, so KEY, why was the story so irreconcilably different in the 1930s than the story we hear in 1953?

So we get a few little switch-a-roo's here:

1) In 1934, "Times of the Gentiles" meant '2520 years from the deportation of the Jews ending in 1936'. In 1953, "Times of the Gentiles" means '2520 years from the fall of Babylon ending in 1982'.

2) In 1934, the 19-year cycles were from September. In 1953, the time cycles are from January.

3) In 1934, the 19-year time cycles were tied to the "Times of the Gentiles". In 1953, they are tied to some made up story about the radio program.

4) To mesh the dates 1982 and 1972 together, Hoeh invents some 10 year buffer time for the ending of the "Times of the Gentiles" to phase in slowly. (Sorta like Ron Weinland's "Thunders" getting louder.)

And if that's still not hot enough for ya -- no one makes a single mention about these changes at all! 

The reader in 1953 would be utterly oblivious to the fact that HWA prophesied something unrecognizably different in the 1930's. Just like many of us who grew up after 1975 had no idea there ever was a "1975 In Prophecy".

Go ahead, read the Plain Truth for March 1935. Read every word. Read it because it was written after this supposed fulfillment of 1934. You will not see the beginning of the World Tomorrow radio broadcast mentioned as a fulfillment of 1934's prophecies. Or 1935's either, for that matter. HWA was still repeating his claims about 1936 as late as 1939 (see the January 1939 edition, p.1)!

To sum up --
We've seen how the first 19-year time cycle bore little resemblance at all to the second one. We've seen how there were prophetic failures in 1936 and 1953 just like there was in 1975. We've seen how the failures were buried. We've seen how the story changes drastically over the years. We've seen how there are many specific dates mentioned. We've seen how all of these dates are entirely based on prophecy, and none of them come from scientists. And we've seen why the not at all specific date of January 7, 1972 was important to this whole mess.

Why did this redaction letter get issued in February 1972, at the first possible opportunity after January 7, 1972? Because that's the not at all specific date on which their prophecies had failed, and they knew it!

It wasn't the scientists, my friends. It was certified bovine scatology.

1975 IN COMPETITION

As a related side-note, I find it quite interesting that the Jehovah's Witnesses also thought the end of the world would come in 1975. Coincidence? I think not.

It is very significant because events on their end played out in ways identical to WCG experience. People were hurt, leaders played word games. I recommend you view this website and especially view the video there for a chilling insight into what terrible deception those poor slaves of the Watchtower Society were suffering while Armstrong's churches were also suffering.

THE REDACTION REVISITED

We have seen how 1975 wasn't important, 1972 was. When nothing happened on January 7th, 1972, a redaction letter was issued under the radar as damage control. They gaslit thousands of tithe-paying believers and moved on as if nothing ever happened. 

I want to circle back to that redaction letter and show you another striking similarity between this 1953 event and "1975 In Prophecy"?

When nothing happened in 1953, Herbert Armstrong wrote a couple things to distract from the failure and refocus on future success. Notice these two points:

1) According to HWA, the fulfillment of the 19-year time cycle from 1934-1953 was an increase in radio broadcast power, hailed as "THE MOST POWERFUL AND WIDELY LISTENED TO PROGRAM ON EARTH, OR IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!".

2) After which he mentions Ambassador College and the ordination of the likes of Rod Merideth.

When nothing happened in 1972, Herbert Armstrong wrote a "Personal" redaction letter to distract from the failure and refocus on future success. He mentioned the fulfillment of January 7th, 1972 came in two forms -

1) An ad in the Reader's Digest, hailed as "the MOST POWERFUL DOOR so far opened to us".

2) They signed the financing documents to build the auditorium at the Ambassador College's Pasadena campus.

Did you catch that? In both situations the fulfillment was 1) some great advertising scheme, followed closely by 2) a mention of Ambassador College's Pasadena campus. This bears every fingerprint of a money-making scheme.

As an aside, I doubt the media empire was nearly as popular as claimed. Herbert Armstrong was a salesman by trade, and known to grossly over exaggerate in his claims of success. On June 13, 1974, the Regional Director for the Worldwide Church of God in the Philippines, Mr. Colin Adair, wrote a letter to his superior at the church headquarters in Pasadena, California, Mr. Leslie McCollough. In this letter, Mr. Adair pleads with Mr. McCollough for guidance in handling a potentially embarrassing over exaggeration made by Herbert Armstrong regarding attendance at an event held in Manilla. You can read more in an article on Midnight Ministries website called The Painful Truth About the WCG (see the section titled "More Lies From HWA").

CONCLUSION

We have seen how this claim is false:

"Let me say here in regard to this booklet, the title date, "1975" had NOTHING to do with any prophecy, or fulfillment of any prophesied event whatsoever. It was a date set by certain scientific and technological sources, for accomplishing certain materialistic objectives."
-Herbert Armstrong, Tomorrow's World February 1972

I'll give HWA one thing, he was right that he never set 1975 as a solid date for the return of Christ. This is the identical technicality the Watchtower Society tried to use to escape their own responsibility to fess up. They never said the same things Armstrong never said.

The big date was supposed to be 1972. January 7, 1972, to be as unspecific as possible. That's why the redaction was issued in February 1972 - immediately after the failure.

None of those dates were chosen by science, or science fiction, or scientism, or scientology, or anything besides. It had nothing to do with push-buttons or leisure. These dates were chosen in the early 1950s by Herman Hoeh, the "most accurately informed man in the world", and blessed by Herbert Armstrong, God's apostle on earth. The dates were entirely due to prophecy.

You see, the problem was, it was previous to 1955 when "1975 In Prophecy" was being written. How do you keep tithe payers doped-up on their addiction to prophetic terror, while setting dates far enough in the future to guarantee you an income, AND compete with the Jehovah's Witnesses? Why, that's simple, really! Be vague, set a series of rolling dates (eg. 1936, 1936-1953, 1953-1972, 1975, 1982, and the final date set was 2005). Nothing near, it has to be out a few years, but not too far out or the people won't feel pressured by their own fear to pay you. Then, make innumerable lesser claims of coming disasters. Should anything go awry, you toss out a bone (like an increase in radio power or an ad in Reader's Digest, or perhaps a 50th "truth") and move the goal post! They key is to act like nothing just happened as you gaslight your trauma-bonded, codependent believers.

The whole thing falls apart when people go back and read what you've said in the past. That's why you burn the evidence.

He tried to wriggle out by saying 'as nearly as we can calculate' and 'probably'." Why, HWA himself said, "I said 'indications are' and 'probably.'" But this ignores other statements like the ones we started this post off with. There's a good reason I led with those quotes.

BONUS MATERIAL

This concludes our tour of "1975 In Prophecy". I hope you find value in the information. Now, as promised, a free bonus just for making it this far!

I have transcribed this quote from the You Tube video “Called To Be Free”. A lot of people don't like this video because of who it was made by and the other things it says, but I only reference it because I have not yet found the original, and I ask only that you listen to Herbert Armstrong's own words from his own mouth recorded in that video. Start listening at 5:11 through 5:42, HWA makes very specific prophecy about a famine that ruins the United States. He stakes his very reputation on its accuracy. I place the time of the recording of this quote to around the mid to late 1950’s. Those were the times when the WCG was predicting famine, and predicting things in 20 years to coincide with the end of the third 19-year time cycle in 1972-1975.

In fact, if you don't want to listen to it, I will transcribe what HWA said:

“I want to tell you that all this weather disturbance means a terrible famine is coming on the United States that is going to ruin us as a nation inside of less than 20 more years. 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.”

-Herbert Armstrong

No if's, and's, or but's. He "stuck his neck out right there." Well, we gave him his 20 years, and 30 additional to boot! Can you see and accept who was speaking to us? Now read Deuteronomy 18: 20-22.

Just to reinforce that this sort of duck and weave has been his pattern since the beginning, I will give you a couple more quotes.

"So this IS the TRIBULATION. We have been IN the Tribulation [note the capitalization of Tribulation, meaning THE 'Great Tribulation' as it was later called] since 1929 in the United States, and since 1928 in Europe."

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, June/July 1934, p.4

"So we know these terrible signs [in the heavens] are in the very immediate fiture."

"THEN shall the sun and moon be dark and the stars fall --- at or quickly after 1936."

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, June/July 1934, p.5

"The great and terrible DAY OF THE LORD is upon us! It will follow this world-Depression."

-Herbert Armstrong, Plain Truth, June/July 1934, p.9

Oh, friends and loved intensely by God, sought after by His deepest loving desire, there are so VERY many more examples just like these ones. Take this list of "Herbert W. Armstrong's 209 False Prophecies" for example. Powerful stuff!

Do you recall HWA's quote from earlier?

"Now a word about what my Commission is NOT. It is NOT to become an infallible expert on, or to preach, chronology."

-Herbert Armstrong, "Personal", Tomorrows World, February 1972.

NOT TO PREACH CHRONOLOGY?????? THAT'S THE BETTER PART OF WHAT HE DID FOR HIS ENTIRE CAREER!!! That was his bread and butter! He kept it up until his death in 1986. He made "absolutely SURE!" prophetic statements "FROM GOD", "on authority of God Almighty." And then asked for donations.

The idea is to get us good and emotional, and then ask for money. It is exactly the same trick used in commercials. That's why we often see babies, puppies, and skantily clad women. Commercials for charity regularly use images of pitiable children. Marketing experts and Ad-Men like HWA know we are more likely to part with our cash if we are emotional. I've written a blog post on my old blog about this very thing before, if you're interested in reading it. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have all been fleeced!

This pattern displayed by HWA, dear reader, is precisely followed by the false prophet Ron Weinland. And he's been called out on it before. Sadly, his followers take no notice whatsoever.

In the You Tube video, "God's Final Witness", Ron, from his own mouth, makes the following two statements:

“And the world will be shocked! And in horror! On the day that the 7th seal is opened. You will lie, you will twist, you will distort, and you will die… speedily.”

“The 7th seal is opened. Somebody in email will say, ‘Well, nothing happened.’ You know? Well, you know? Did I say anything would happen on the 18th? It’s a spiritual thing. I thought I made that abundantly clear.”

-Ronald Weinland

At first it's "the world will be in horror" and "you will die." Then it's "Did I say anything would happen?" and "I thought I made that perfectly clear." Yup. Clear as mud!

Salvations could quite possibly be on the line, here. I am no judge of who will and who will not receive eternal salvation, but don't be deceived, this false prophecy game is abhorred by God (DEU. 18: 20-22).

God bless and keep you all!

I'll leave you with this final quote from the Plain Truth:

"But who today understands what the prophets foretold? Why, only the ministers today whose word comes to pass!-those who are appointed and guided by God to preach the truth! Those whose utterances do not come to pass have not spoken the prophecies truly. We give you here the record of what we have been proclaiming for the past 2 years-a message which no other voices, to our knowledge, have been proclaiming.... But what we have been warning you about is happening!-precisely as we have stated.... This is how you can know that our work is not of men but of God!"

-Rod Merideth, Plain Truth, December 1956, p.3

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom.

Acts 17:11

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