Singapore is rich!

This Southeast Asian city-state is the wealthiest in the region, boasting the highest standard of living, near $60,000 per household, top education standards and hosting one of Earth’s pinnacle water ports and stock exchanges.

“I have traveled over the four quarters of this globe we call Earth. I have rubbed shoulders with the rich and the very poor and those in between,” wrote Herbert W. Armstrong in his final work, Mystery of the Ages.

Surrounded by Second and Third World nations, Singapore was another country Mr. Armstrong served in the Eastern Hemisphere with Christ’s gospel message. It opened its arms of friendship to him and as a result, God’s work grew and took hold in the minds and hearts of those of its populace who had ears to hear.

As far back as Dec. 24, 1941, Mr. Armstrong declared to his co-workers amid World War ii that “it is probable Japan will take the Philippines—that Singapore will fall.”

To the British, Singapore was the “Gibraltar of the East” and a key sea gate in Southeast Asia. Mr. Armstrong’s prediction was correct, and in under three months, on Feb. 15, 1942, the British surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Forces. Many British and Commonwealth soldiers died as prisoners of war on that island, along with Singaporean citizens caught in the crossfire of conflict.

As the tide of war turned in the Allies’ favor, Japanese surrender came before the British could recapture its fallen possession on its own terms. Singapore would ultimately return to British rule.

It was about this time that its citizens began to hear Mr. Armstrong’s voice via Radio Ceylon, as he declared the good news of the coming Kingdom of God and the imminence of the World Tomorrow to his audience.

The evening of March 17, 1954, after a broadcast featuring comments about man’s planned moon flight, a listener from Singapore wrote, “[H]e mentioned that a free copy of the Plain Truth could be obtained from you, and I would be grateful to receive a copy. Please convey my thanks to Mr. Armstrong for his excellent sermon” (co-worker letter, April 26, 1954).

By May 11, 1955, Mr. Armstrong was able to notify co-workers around the world, “I have requests to appear and speak publicly in Singapore ….” His travels continued in and out of the region, and it would be seven years later that The World Tomorrow was able to broadcast on a station hosted in Singapore.

Throughout the 1960s, change was in the wind in Singapore as the process of decolonization hastened. By mid-decade, the country was an independent republic. During this time subscribers to the Plain Truth magazine grew, as did Mr. Armstrong’s profile among Singapore’s elite, enabling him to notify supporters by the summer of late 1970, that “conferences had been setup for me” with Yusof bin Ishak, the prime minister of Singapore (ibid, Sept. 3, 1970).

Arriving for the visit, Mr. Armstrong found the prime minister abroad in Europe, and as such he met with his second in command, longtime assistant secretary-general of the ruling pap and minister of education, Ong Pan Boon.

Mr. Armstrong was surprised to see that he already had a copy of the booklet This Is Ambassador College, and told co-workers on Sept. 28, 1970, “I presented him with a copy of The Envoy,” the annual pictorial of college faculty, students and campus life.

The surprises kept coming as the minister conveyed his desire to enroll his daughter in Ambassador College in Pasadena, California!

As the college founder and chancellor, Mr. Armstrong asked to interview her. “He had her in his office within 10 minutes,” he recalled. Despite the academic year having already been begun two weeks prior, Mr. Armstrong decided to accept her, and the minister sent his daughter to Ambassador immediately.

During this eventful trip, Mr. Armstrong was invited to speak at a luncheon hosted by the Rotary Club. He was followed by another speaker, chief of a local college, who told the assembly he was “a subscriber to the Plain Truth, praising it highly, telling the local Rotarians they should all become subscribers” (ibid, May 28, 1971).

Within two months, King Leopold of Belgium was accompanying Mr. Armstrong on a European-Southeast Asian trip which included a visit to Singapore.

The following year, work was under way to establish the World Tomorrow television program on air over the country to serve the amassing Plain Truth readership of nearly 180,000 in the Far East region.

In addition, Mr. Armstrong confirmed that same year that high government officials from various European and Asian countries were visiting Ambassador College. One such visitor was Singapore’s deputy foreign minister, George Thompson.

By 1973, Plain Truth staff were recommending their editor in chief establish a special Asian edition of the magazine to be printed in Singapore.

The following year, preliminary work was under way for a public appearance campaign for this city-state in the South China Sea. By this time, the Singapore congregation of the Church numbered almost 50. However, the next few years saw the planned campaign stall amid increasing pressure in the region from surrounding Communist nations along with the complications of Mr. Armstrong’s total heart failure and lengthy recuperation.

Drama unfolded in 1982. After arriving in Malaysia to speak to 800 Church members and Plain Truth subscribers, many of which had made the trip from neighboring Singapore, Kuala Lumpur authorities barred Mr. Armstrong from speaking, citing that the state religion was Islam and appraising him that the Gulfstream ii aircraft could be impounded and him jailed if he proceeded in speaking to the assembly.

A year later, he would return and speak to around 400 members and subscribers from Singapore and the surrounding areas.

A major historical highlight for Singapore and the unofficial ambassador for world peace came in 1984, shortly after Mr. Armstrong’s arrival at Changi airport. On the evening of January 17, he was joined at dinner by Lee Khoon Choy, senior minister of state from the prime minister’s office. Mr. Lee was also deputy chairman of the People’s Association, which boasted over 130 branch locations offering Singapore’s citizens a blend of education and cultural experiences.

After discussion about concerts and performances hosted at Ambassador Auditorium and outlining the humanitarian work of Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, Mr. Lee offered to host a small concert of Chinese music for Mr. Armstrong during his stay.

Two days later, Mr. Armstrong attended the small Singaporean performance. The Worldwide News of January 30 reported, “[T]he concert featured Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Western style symphony pieces—all played on Chinese instruments.

“Afterwards, Mr. Armstrong discussed arranging a performance by the group in the Ambassador Auditorium.”

Two years later, Mr. Armstrong was dead, and the charitable, humanitarian endeavors and the gospel message of Christ’s return and establishment of His Kingdom quickly faded as a hostile administration seized control of all enterprises he had so painstakingly built (Matthew 24:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).

It was not until Dec. 7, 1989, that this present continuation of Mr. Armstrong’s life work began to be revived. Since that time, Gerald Flurry has labored to enliven not only the Church, but the educational and humanitarian legacy long established through the selfless sacrifice of Mr. Armstrong and his supporters.

Today, this publication’s sponsor serves a small congregation of members and a few hundred subscribers in Singapore who collectively remain faithful and “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered” (Jude 3).

For though Singapore is rich, true wealth cannot be found in the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), but in the riches of the Word of God, which was showered on that nation via the gospel message originally delivered by God through Herbert Armstrong. The few remaining faithful in Singapore continue to work in preparation for a new government that will bring not only to South Asia, but to the whole globe, health, wealth and happiness for all.