Hal Lindsey : 4.14.18

April 13th, 2018

As Israel approaches the celebration of its 70th anniversary in May, we can expect to see increasing anti-Israel rhetoric, agitation, and violence. In fact, it has already begun.

Recently, Hamas organized, promoted, and orchestrated the "March of Return" in Gaza. They promised that the march would be the beginning of the "liberation of all of Palestine, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River."

Obviously, such a prospect would leave no room for Israel itself. Which is the precise goal of the "Palestinians."

That geographical reference is nothing new. It has been the articulated goal of most of the Arab/Muslim world since the birth of Israel. Consistently through those years, they have threatened to drive every Israeli Jew into the sea. And they don't mean for a nationwide vacation at a Tel Aviv beach!

Over the last few days, Hamas has pushed thousands of demonstrators (including Hamas commandos and thousands of military-aged young men) to gather at Gaza's border with Israel. Once there, they have burned thousands of automobile tires to create great plumes of thick, black smoke.

The smoke is intended to obscure their other, more nefarious actions, such as lobbing fireballs at Israeli soldiers and planting explosives along the border fence.

Though the response of Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) has been remarkably restrained, the world media condemns Israel as "ruthless" and describes the Palestinian aggressors as "peaceful."

No surprise there. Just as it's no surprise that the UN Security Council proposed a resolution calling for "an independent and transparent investigation" of the Israeli response. I'm supposing here that they don't intend to investigate Hamas' instigation of the "March of Return" in the first place.

Why do I assume that? Well, because the resolution calling for the investigation also condemned Israel -- even before the investigation it demanded! That's like holding a trial on the gallows with the noose around the defendant's neck.

Business as usual.

Fortunately, the United States in the last 15 months has recovered a sense of realism and courage that has been missing for many years. Standing alone against the 14 "yes" votes, US Ambassador Nikki Haley vetoed that resolution.

Did you know there is such as thing as an International Association of Exorcists? Well, there is. And it's growing.

In fact, the Association says that the worldwide demand for exorcisms has taken a dramatic rise in recent years.

Last year, I reported on the efforts of the Vatican to recruit more exorcists from among the ranks of priests. Earlier this year, the Vatican held a seminar and training program for would-be exorcists. As you can imagine, the clergy (from any denomination or tradition) are not enthusiastically lining up to get in on the action!

But even the Catholic Church acknowledges that, in the words of Fr. Pat Collins from Ireland, "In recent years, the demand has risen exponentially." Once again, no surprise there. The Bible warns that Satanic and demonic activity will increase rapidly as we near the return of Jesus Christ.

When I wrote Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth in 1972, Satanism, witchcraft, and the occult were a dangerous novelty. Now they are mainstream.

Major broadcast and cable television schedules are filled with regular programming that explores, exploits, and exalts Satanism and occult practices. The Devil even has his own television series! Appropriately, it's called, "Lucifer!"

But the indoctrination and desensitization goes beyond Satan and witches and warlocks. It includes the ridicule of pious and moral people and the exaltation of evil and people who engage in evil with impunity. It involves the normalization of violence, the grotesque, and fascination with death, the undead, and the afterlife.

We deal with these things at our individual and corporate peril. The Bible warns against trifling with the dead. There are spiritual realms none of us would ever want to encounter! But Satan has found a willing ally in Hollywood and the entertainment world.

Some would scoff and say that demonic oppression and possession are figments of our Puritanical imaginations. Not so.

Houston Stewart Chamberlain, who lived and worked at the turn of the Twentieth century, freely admitted to being influenced, even driven, by demons. William L. Shirer, in his book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, said that Chamberlain's "books were written in the grip of a terrible fever, a veritable trance, a state of self-induced intoxication."

From the depth of his being, Chamberlain despised Jews. He wrote demon-inspired nonsense, but made it sound believable. He argued that Jesus could not have been a Jew and implied He was Aryan. He said that all the wars in history were "connected with Jewish financial operations" and that the Jew wanted to be "possessor of the whole earth."

Chamblerlain's writings were a major influence on Adolph Hitler. In fact, much of Hitler's philosophy began with Chamberlain. At the time, he was called "Hitler's John the Baptist." He was acknowledged as "the spiritual founder of the Third Reich." He passed on to Hitler the philosophical underpinnings of the Holocaust.

Just consider the unimaginable global and human damage wreaked by this one demon-haunted man.

But Satan doesn't have to inspire a global Holocaust to accomplish his goals. He is happy when he neutralizes a common Christian. In fact, by doing so enough times, he can immobilize an entire denomination or spiritual movement.

In his book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis describes the mentoring of a young demon, Wormwood, by his veteran tutor, Screwtape.

Written during World War II, Screwtape addresses the question of whether the young tempter should nudge his Christian target toward patriotism or pacifism. He concludes that it doesn't really matter which.

Screwtape says, "Whichever he adopts, your main task will be the same. Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of 'the cause,' in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favor of the British war-effort or of Pacifism."

Plainly stated, Satan's goal is to make Christ subordinate in our lives, even to a good cause. A new wave of evangelicals now seem to believe that if you are not a "social justice warrior," you're not a real Christian.

I'm concerned that the new evangelical emphasis on "social justice" may be motivated by a desire to seem politically correct. But when we make pleasing the world our goal, we begin a journey down a dark path. A path that surely leads to destruction.

The Apostle Paul worried about that danger, too. That's why he said, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2 NASB)

Satan's goal is threefold. First, to DILUTE the message of Jesus. Then, to SUBVERT it to worldly concerns (even worthy ones). Finally, to OBLITERATE the message of Jesus.

With this formula, Satan has succeeded in turning some of the great movements of God into mere manifestations of human religion.

Jesus called Satan, "the ruler of this world." (John 12:21 NASB) At the heart of Satan's world system, we find religion. In fact, during the Tribulation, the second most powerful man in the world will be a man of religion. The Bible calls him the False Prophet.

Sin represents humanity's most basic dilemma. Religion answers the sin question in one way, and the Gospel answers it in another.

Religion is based on the human conceit that we can do something to earn God's acceptance. That's why the "religious" answer to overcoming sin is "work." Religion always tries to gain God's approval by what we do.

The Gospel says that God offers forgiveness of sin as a gift. And that gift comes on the basis of a God-provided Substitute bearing the penalty for our sin.

Religion is about what WE do. True Christianity is about what CHRIST has already done.

And only one of those ways leads to heaven.

I will discuss all of these things -- and much more -- on this week's Hal Lindsey Report. I'll see you there.

Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Please check your local listings.

God Bless,

Hal Lindsey