Herbert W. Armstrong - Raising the Ruins by Stephen Flurry

During my teen years in the 80's I used to subscribe to the Plain Truth and Youth Magazines published by then Worldwide Church of God headed by the late Herbert W. Armstrong. I was a high school student that time and my routine outside of the school involves mainly staying at home and reading all sorts of books, magazines and booklets provided absolutely free of charge by the Pasadena, California based religious group. I was a very avid reader and follower of Mr. Armstrong's teachings and I was even a student of the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. I collected and read almost all of the books and booklets published that time and I can recall having a hard time trying to find a place for the stuff in our very small bamboo and "nipa" house which has only two rooms, one being our kitchen and the other the living room which used to be our  bedroom at night. Somehow I managed to keep all the stuff until my college days but due to the frequent typhoons that visit our hometown every so often, I was unable to preserve the printed materials. Had our house been made of concrete and galvanized roofing, there is a very big possibility that those materials could still be around till this day.

For so many years after I graduated from college and joined the work force, I totally forgot about the Worldwide Church of God and its free literature and teachings. I also lost track of Mr. Armstrong and I just recently found out his fate and what became of his church when I accidentally stumbled upon a magazine called "The Trumpet" and a hardbound book named "Raising the Ruins" in my home in the province. It turned out that my younger brother did not lose track and continued subscribing to the publications of the Worldwide Church of God or its offshoot which became Philadelphia Church of God after Mr. Armstrong's demise. I remember my younger brother which was a little kid then  used to fiddle with my magazines and booklets and somehow got attracted to the contents and became an avid fan himself while I totally forgot about it.

Anyway, after reading the magazine and the book, I suddenly remembered everything about Mr. Armstrong and his works and how it subconsciously influenced my thinking in my adulthood. I was deeply saddened upon knowing of the circumstances and events that transpired after Mr. Armstrong's death. The disintegration and eventual demise of the religious empire that he built was very akin to a classic and somewhat thriller movie which would make you loathe the protagonists. The conspiracy and the deception orchestrated by Mr. Armstrong's successor, was a treachery to the highest level. For one Mr. Armstrong himself should be blamed for his greatest mistake of appointing a successor which would become the one to destroy what he has started and painstakingly built for so many years. If he would have stuck to his original plan of relinquishing his powers to the council, things could have been very different today.

I salute Mr. Stephen Flurry, his father and the few faithful who stuck it out,persisted and worked hard to fight for Mr. Armstrong's legacy and for reviving Mr. Armstrong's writings and distributing it for free just like the old days. I feel guilty for forgetting about Mr. Armstrong and his works and for not having extended any support during all those years that his organization was embattled and under attack by the very persons that he trusted to continue his lifelong mission to spread God's word and to enlighten people about what the Bible really says. To make up for my shortcoming  in my own little way, I'm gonna help spread the word.