HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

'Herbert W. Armstrong' ( – ) was the founder of the Worldwide Church of God and an early pioneer of radio evangelism, taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from Eugene, Oregon. As head of the California-based church which he founded in 1946, Armstrong was a controversial figure. His unique doctrines and theological teachings, sometimes referred to by critics as Armstrongism, included the interpretation of biblical prophecy through the belief that the British and American peoples were descended from the lost ten tribes of ancient Israel^[1] and the requirement of observing Mosaic Law including the laws concerning the Sabbath, dietary prohibitions, and the Levitical "Holy Days".
He later founded Ambassador College and the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which promoted the arts, humanities, and humanitarian projects.^[2]
Through his role with the foundation, Armstrong and his advisers met with heads of governments in various nations, for which he described himself as an "ambassador without portfolio for world peace."^[3]
Armstrong believed that world events during his lifespan mirrored Bible prophecy, indicating a soon-coming return of Jesus Christ.

Contents

Early life

Beginnings of ministry

Radio and publishing

Reaching out to the world

Worldwide Church of God

Final years

Notes

References

Further reading

Early life

Herbert Armstrong was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 31 1892, into a Quaker family. He regularly attended the services and the Sunday school of First Friends Church in Des Moines.^[4] At age 18, on the advice of an uncle, he decided to take a job in the want-ad department of a Des Moines newspaper, the ''Daily Capital''.^[5] His early career in the print advertising industry which followed had a strong impact on his future ministry and would shape his communication style.^[6]
On a trip back home in 1917, he met Loma Dillon, a schoolteacher and distant cousin from nearby Motor, Iowa.^[7] They married on his 25th birthday, July 31, 1917, and returned to live in Chicago.^[8] On May 9, 1918, they had their first child, Beverly Lucile Armstrong, and on July 7, 1920, a second daughter, Dorothy Jane Armstrong. In 1924, after several unforeseen business setbacks, Armstrong and family moved to Eugene, Oregon where his parents now lived. There they would have two sons, Richard David and Garner Ted. Armstrong continued in the advertising business despite the setbacks.^[9]
During these early years, he was influenced by Protestantism. He read and admired the works of Charles Finney and he was influenced by his wife who was originally a Methodist. He was eventually baptized by the pastor of Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon.^[10]

Beginnings of ministry

During their stay in Oregon, his wife, Loma, became acquainted with a member of the Church of God (Seventh Day), Ora Runcorn. Loma became persuaded that the Bible taught Sabbath observance on Saturday, the seventh day, one of the beliefs of that church.⁹ Her assertion of this to her husband was met with dismay and appeared to him to be "religious fanaticism."^[11] She challenged him to find biblical support for Sunday observance. As his business was struggling against larger competitors, Armstrong had the time to take up this challenge. He began what would become a life-long habit of intensive, lengthy Bible study sessions. He soon felt God was inspiring this, opening his mind to "truths" that historical Christian churches had not found or accepted. Shortly after, as related in his autobiography, Armstrong would take up a similar study on the topic of evolution of the species after a conflict with his sister-in-law.Armstrong (1967), Ch 16 His studies on the Sabbath and evolution convinced him that his wife was right, and that the theory of evolution was false.
In 1931 Armstrong become an ordained minister of the Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day).^[12][13] The existence and history of this church became a significant factor in Armstrong's later beliefs.^[14]Armstrong, ''Mystery of the Ages'', Ch 6: Mystery of the Church
However, he ultimately severed ties with them as the result of a doctrinal dispute when he began to teach what would later make up his book ''The United States and Britain in Prophecy''.^[15] His ministerial credentials with the church were revoked in 1938.^[10] This, Armstrong believed, indicated God was now directing him in leading a revived work into the next "church era".

Radio and publishing

In October 1933, a small 100-watt radio station in Eugene, Oregon, KORE, offered free time to Mr. Armstrong for a morning devotional, a 15-minute time slot shared by other local ministers.^[17] After positive responses from listeners, the station owner let Armstrong start a new program of his own. On the first Sunday in 1934, the Radio Church of God first aired.Boston (2002), Appendix, pg 237 These broadcasts eventually became known as ''The World Tomorrow'' of the future Worldwide Church of God.^[18] Shortly thereafter, in February, 1934, Armstrong began the publication of ''The Plain Truth'', which started out as a church bulletin. The broadcast expanded to other cities, and in 1942 began to be broadcast nationwide from WHO of Des Moines Iowa, a 50,000-watt superstation.¹⁸
It was during this period that Armstrong began to reveal a tendency toward sensationalism that would be the source of controversy for supporters and critics alike from that point until his death. Critics point to numerous statements in his early writings that proved to be inaccurate. For example, a statement from a lead article in the February 1939 edition of ''The Plain Truth'', about a coming world war, said this:

''By way of brief review of previous articles, and radio messages, notice, first, that this war will involve ALL nations. It will be the first real world war. Secondly, it will center around Jerusalem....And thirdly, this war will END with the Second Coming of Christ!''^[19]

Such a mix of doctrinal teaching and speculation about world and prophetic events would attract both followers and detractors for decades to come.
From his new contacts in Los Angeles, Armstrong began to realize the potential for reaching a much larger audience. He searched for a suitable location and chose Pasadena, California, as being ideal as it was a conservative residential community. During this time, Armstrong also reflected on starting a college to train people in his growing church. Hence, in 1946 Armstrong moved his headquarters from Eugene to Pasadena and on March 3, 1946, the Radio Church of God was officially incorporated within the state of California.¹⁸ It quickly acquired its own printing plant and was broadcasting internationally in prime-time radio time slots. On October 8, 1947, his new college, Ambassador College opened its doors with four students.¹⁸

Reaching out to the world

During the 1950s and 1960s, the church continued to expand and the radio program was broadcast in England, Australia, the Philippines, Latin America, and Africa. In 1952, ''The World Tomorrow'' began to air on Radio Luxembourg, making it possible to hear the program throughout much of Europe.¹⁸ The beginning of the European broadcast provides the context of a booklet published in 1956 called ''1975 in Prophecy!'' This controversial book provided Armstrong's vision of what the world would look like by 1975 - featuring illustrations of mass burials and tidal waves destroying cities.^[20] Overall he thought that World War III and Christ's return was as the doorstep, probably to occur within his lifetime--to him a joyous truth, as the Bible describes a utopia to follow. Armstrong used the eighth chapter of Romans and the second chapter of Hebrews, among other passages, to show that God had exciting plans for mankind that would see the end of such wars--though the message went far beyond an earthly utopia.^[21]
Several books and booklets focused on the key events that would signal the imminence of Christ's return, and taught of a specific end-time prophecy to be fulfilled, manifested in the form of European peacekeeping forces surrounding Jerusalem, at which time his church would be taken to a place of protection, or "place of safety" -- possibly Petra in Jordan.^[10] World War III was predicted to be triggered by a "United States of Europe" led by Germany which would destroy both the United States of America and the United Kingdom.^[23] From the place of safety they would continue the work and prepare to help Christ establish Utopia upon His return.
In 1952 Armstrong published ''Does God Heal Today?'' which provided the details on his doctrine on healing. He noted that only God heals and that medical science is of pagan origin and is ineffective. He believed that most illnesses were caused by faulty diet and that doctors should prescribe proper diet rather than medicine.^[23]
The book ''The United States and Britain in Prophecy'' was published in 1954. It became the most well known and requested church publication with over six million copies distributed.^[25] In this book, Armstrong makes the claim that the peoples of the United States, the British Commonwealth nations, and the nations of Northwestern Europe are descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel.^[26]. This belief, which is related to British Israelism, formed the central basis of the theology of the Worldwide Church of God^[27]. Armstrong’s book used and quoted a book by J. H. Allen, ''Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright'', first published in 1917.^[28]
The volume of literature requests for material written by Armstrong continued to grow during the 1960's and 70s, and the literature was translated into several languages and distributed to a worldwide audience. They were distributed for free "as a public service." ''The Plain Truth'' magazine continued to be published and circulated, eventually reaching a monthly press run of eight million.
On April 15, 1967, Armstrong's wife, Loma, died.

Worldwide Church of God

Main articles: Worldwide Church of God

On January 5, 1968, the Radio Church of God was renamed the Worldwide Church of God.^[29] Shortly before, the church began to broadcast a television version of ''The World Tomorrow''.¹⁸ The program would eventually expand to 382 U.S. television stations, and 36 television outlets internationally, dwarfing televangelists Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts, and Jim Baker.^[30] By this time, Garner Ted Armstrong, the son of Herbert W. Armstrong, was the voice and face of the program. It was speculated that with his charisma and personality, he was the logical successor to Armstrong, but doctrinal disagreements and widespread reports of extramarital sex led to his suspension in 1972. Armstrong declared that Garner Ted was "in the bonds of Satan".^[31][10] After initially changing his behavior he returned, but these issues resurfaced, coupled with his challenging his father's authority as Pastor General, resulting in his permanent excommunication in 1978.^[33]
With the assistance of church accountant and advisor, Stanley Rader, Armstrong created the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation in 1975. The foundation was funded by the church.^[10] The foundation's efforts reached into several continents, providing staffing and funds to fight illiteracy, create schools for the disabled, set up mobile schools, and provide funding and staffing for several archaeological digs of biblically significant sites.^[35] These humanitarian projects led to Armstrong receiving a series of invitations to meet with prominent world heads of state. The list included (among others) Margaret Thatcher, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, King Hussein of Jordan, and Indira Gandhi.^[36]35

Final years

In 1977 Armstrong married Ramona Martin, then 38, a long-time member and church secretary who had a 15-year old son from a brief, annulled previous marriage.^[37] The marriage would last for only a few years, ending in divorce in 1982.
In August 1985, Armstrong's final work, ''Mystery of the Ages'', was published. He called it a "synopsis of the Bible in the most plain and understandable language". It was more or less a compendium of Armstrong's theology. The publishing copyright would later become the source of lawsuits between the Worldwide Church of God and one of its splinter groups, the Philadelphia Church of God.^[38]
Armstrong had hoped and speculated that Jesus Christ would return in his lifetime, basing this on the sequence of events that he believed the Bible indicated must precede the return of Jesus Christ. He had long written of his belief that the primary sign to look for would be some sort of dissolving of the Eastern Bloc alliance under Soviet control, followed by those nations' subsequent incorporation into an eastern leg of a United States of Europe.²⁰
In the last years of his life, he took a number of heart medications and had a full-time nurse travel with him. This apparent contradiction of his own practice and his teachings led to discussions with his closest advisor, Joseph W. Tkach, on changing the church's stance on divine healing.^[39] In September 1985, with his failing health widely known, Armstrong disappeared from public view. According to ''The Worldwide News'', Armstrong told his advisory council of his decision to appoint Joseph W. Tkach on January 7, 1986.^[40] Only nine days after naming his successor, Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at the age of 93.^[41]

Notes

1.
The United States and Britain in Prophecy, , Herbert W., Armstrong, , ,
2. Rader (1980), p. 21
3.
Letter
4. Armstrong (1967), Ch 1
5. Armstrong (1967), Ch 2, Heading "Learning Important Lessons"
6. Armstrong (1967), Ch 3, Heading "Learning Effective Ad-Writing"
7. Armstrong (1967), Ch 9, Heading "I Meet Two Pretty Girls"
8. Armstrong (1967), Ch 10, Heading "The Wedding Day"
9. Armstrong (1967), Ch 15
10. Tkach (1997), chapter 12
11. Armstrong (1967), Ch 15, heading "Religious Controversy Enters"
12. Armstrong (1967), Ch 24, Heading "ORDAINED Christ’s Minister"
13. Tkach (1997), pp. 170-171
14.
A True History of the True Church, , Herman L., Hoeh, , ,
15. Nickels (1996) Appendix A -- Technical Notes
16. Tkach (1997), chapter 12
17. Nickels (1996)
18. Boston
(2002) pg 238
19. Where and How the World War Will Start, , Herbert W, Armstrong, The Plain Truth,
20.

21.
The Incredible Human Potential, , Herbert W., Armstrong, , ,
22. Tkach (1997), chapter 12
23.

24.

25. Flurry (2006), pg. 3
26. Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?, , Herbert W., Armstrong, The Worldwide Church of God, 1976,
27. Tkach (1997), chapter 9
28. Orr, Ralph G., How Anglo-Israelism Entered Seventh-day Churches of God a history of the doctrine from John Wilson to Joseph W. Tkach, study paper from the Worldwide Church of God, revised ed., 1999
29. 1968 Certificate Of Amendment Of Articles Of Incorporation Of Radio Church Of God
30. Flurry (2006), pg 2
31.
Armstrong, 93, Founder of the Worldwide Church, Dies Russell Chandler
32. Tkach (1997), chapter 12
33.
Nickels (1996), Heading "About the Author" Heading "About the Author"

34. Tkach (1997), chapter 12
35. Flurry (2006), pg. 25
36. Rader (1980), inset photographs after pg 128
37. Bride in Work 15 years, , , , The Worldwide News,
38. Flurry (2006)
39. Tkach (1997), chapter 8
40. Flurry (2006), pg. 36
41. Flurry (2006), pg. 16

References

★ Mystery of the Ages, , Herbert W., Armstrong, Dodd, Mead, ,

★ Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong Vol. 1, , Herbert W., Armstrong, Ambassador College Press, ,

★ The Essential Teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, , Stephen W., Boston, Writers Club Press, ,

★ Raising the Ruins: The Fight to Revive the Legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong, , Stephen, Flurry, Philadelphia Church of God, Inc., ,

★ Early Writings of Herbert W. Armstrong:Public Domain Articles Written, 1928-1953 By Herbert W. Armstrong, , Richard C. (editor), Nickels, Giving & Sharing, ,

★ Against the Gates of Hell: The threat to religious freedom in America, , Stanley R., Rader, Everest House, 1980,

★ Transformed by Truth, , Joseph, Tkach Jr., Multnomah, 1997,

Further reading

★ ''Herbert W. Armstrong'', Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong, Vol. 2

★ ''Ambassador Report'', John Trechak, June 1976 to April 1999.

★ ''15 Accusations and Truthful Responses About Herbert Armstrong'', published February 2003.

★ ''About Our Founder'', Worldwide Church of God

★ ''Herbert W. Armstrong Searchable Library''

★ The liberation of the World Wide Church of God, Feazell, J. Michael, , , Zondervan, , ISBN 0-310-23858-7

★ The Preachers, Morris, Jan, , , St. Martin's Press, ,