PT Jan-67 - Herbert W. Armstrong Library and Archives

28
The PLAIN TRUTH
January, 1967
strong enough to fulfi ll this need.
Where the sting-of-the-bee might work
as deterrent for France alone, it certainly
is no deterrent for the whole of
Europe. The onlv solution to this
would be the crcatlon of a nuclear force
something on a par with that of Russia
or the United States. But France has
neither the money, the technical ability
nor the time to create such a force on
her own. This could be produced only
through the combined efforts of the
strong industrial nations of Western
Europe. France is able to provideas
Strauss has suggested - a nucleus
on which to bui ld. She has full­
Aedged rocket- and bomb-testing facilities
already in operation as well as the
plant for producing uraniwn 235 in
abunda'nce.
By pooling their resources, a 'credible
independent European force could
quickly be developed.
Add to this the fact that right 1I0W
Italy's power reactors are producing
enough plutonium to make 132 atom
bombs per year. Belgium's large power
reactor produces enough plutonium fo r
56 bOmbs per year. And by 1968 West
Germany will have atomic reactors in
operation capable of producing nearly
200 bombs annually! Added up, this
comes to a staggering 388 atom ic
bombs per year ill addition to what
France is able to produce.
Here is one of the instances where
General de Gaulle will have to back
down. He must come to terms with
Germany if he hopes to achieve his
cherished dream of Europe as a th ird
force capable of arbitrating the world's
problems.
Ir Won't Last
How LONG will this new United
Europe - the seventh and final resu r­
rection of the "Holy Roman Empire"­
last? Only a VERY SHORT TIME. You
will find it a.lso described in Daniel 2,
symbolized by the "ten toes" of the
gigantic metallic image. It is all described
in our free booklet, ltv ho Is the
Beast?
This image represented the Gentile
world governments beginning with
Nebuchadnezzar's ChaJdean Empire ~
the original "BABYLON " on down
through the Persian, Greco-Macedonian,
and Roman Empires, and fi nall y ending
with the ten toes, picturing this coming
res urrection of the Empire. All former
empires are symbolized by solid metals.
But the toes are a M IXTURE of iron and
clay. It is a mixture of strength and
weakness ~ some nations strong, others
weak. As iron and clay wi ll not cleave
together, these nations wi ll not cleave
together.
THE BIBLE ANSWERS
T hey are shown fighting against
CHRIST at His return. Since they will
hold together as a great world power
only a FEW YEARS, you may KNOW
that the second coming of Jesus Christ
is already NEAR! It may take only another
5 or 6 years for this POLITICAL­
M ILI TARY unio n to form.
IT IS ALREADY LATER THAN YOU
THINK!
}1ROM OUR READERS
HERE are the Bible answers to
questions which can be answered briefly in a short space. Send in your
q"estions. While we cannot promise that all questions will find space
for answer in this department, we shall try to answer all that are vital
and in the general interest of our readers.
• " Where did St. V alentine's
D ay come from ? What should
I tell our children about these
customs ?"
L. H.
S CHOOLS are supposed to educate
children. Yet how many are taught
in school the surprising o ri gin of Valentine's
Day?
Centuries before Christ, the pagan
Romans celebrated February 15 and the
evening of February 14 as an idolatrous
festival in honor of Luperrus, the
"hunter of wolves." The Romans called
their festival the "Lupercalia." The custom
of exchanging valentines - where
did that originate? You might have
supposed it is a Christian custom.
It is not!
Exchanging valentines and all the
other traditions in honor of Lupercusthe
deified hero-hunter of Rome ~
"have been handed down from the
Roman fest iva l of the Lupercalia. celebrated
in the f!1ont h of February, when
names of young women were put into a
box and drawn out by men as chance
directed," admits the Encyclopedia
Americana article, "St. Valentine's Day."
But how did these traditions come
to be labeled "Christian" - when they
are, in fact, pagan ?
W hen Emperor Constantine made
Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire, th ~re was some talk in
church ci rcles of discarding this pagan
free-far-all. But the Roman citizens
wouldn't hear of it! So Constantine,
master politician that he was, agreed
that the holiday would continue, except
for a few of the more grossly
sensual observances.
But how did this pagan festiva l ac-
9uire the name of "St. Valentine's
Day" ? W ho was the original "St. Valentine"?
Why is the little naked Cupid
of the pagan Romans so often associated
today with February 14?
Little children and young people still
cut out hearts and send them on a day
in honor of Lupercus the hunter of
wolves - why' W hy have we supposed
these pagan customs in honor of a false
god are Christian? Read the surprising
answers in our reprint article on "St.
Valentine's Day." It's free. Write for it
immed iately.