Hal Lindsey : 4.21.18

April 20th, 2018

A few weeks ago, my producer remarked to me that he could pull Reuters news footage from Syria in 2012 and place it in the program and few people would know the difference. We don't do that, but it illustrates a point: the Syrian civil war has been going on a long time and it seems that little has changed.

That's true, except for the fact that Russia is now a permanent military presence in Syria, as is Iran and Hezbollah. Russia has even built bases and a port facility there, including a submarine base. Previously, Russia had no appreciable presence in the Mediterranean. Now, its military machine sits next door to Israel.

Iran has built forward bases in Syria, too. In fact, Israel bombed one of them to smithereens just a couple of weeks ago. Iran isn't happy about it, either.

Tragically, since 2012, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and millions displaced. Almost the entire Christian population has been decimated.

Oh yeah, unlike during the Obama administration years when we "led from behind," America has a presence in Syria now, too. It's estimated that we have around 2,000 troops there, mostly advising Syrian Defense Forces in the battle against ISIS.

I think the Syrian conundrum can only be described as "indescribable." Few times in our foreign relations history have we been in a situation as convoluted, intractable, and volatile as this one. With the stakes sky-high and everyone on hair trigger, every move that President Trump has made, has not made, can make, cannot make, should make, should not make, may make, or may not make, is fraught with danger and dire consequences.

Most dangerously, when America and its allies make a move in Syria, it reverberates in Moscow and Tehran and Beirut as well. Folks, this isn't simple checkers, it's Chinese Checkers. Maybe three-dimensional chess.

The situation President Trump -- who recently has remarked that he can't wait to get out of Syria -- faces is that he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't do anything about it.

Last week, he finally felt that the United States had to do something.

After what was purported to be a recent chlorine-gas attack on the civilian population of Douma, Syria, by the Syrian army, the US joined the United Kingdom and France in launching punitive missile and bombing attacks on specific targets in Syria. These targets included facilities that produce and store illegal chemical weapons of mass destruction.

Controversy has swirled nonstop with Russia and Syria claiming that the "gas attack" was staged by opposition forces, or even by Britain, as an excuse to intervene in the civil war. Or keep America engaged in the war.

There are reputable analysts here in the United States who claim that the victims in the videos are not reacting as victims of chlorine gas would actually react. Even the medical personnel in the videos are not following usual procedures to deal with victims who have been gassed.

They also ask why Assad would take such a chance when he was on the verge of victory. After all, President Trump had just said that America is going to leave Syria soon.

Nonetheless, as French President Emmanuel Macron said, the UK and France convinced President Trump to join them in striking Syria as a response to the atrocity.

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council that Assad has used various gas weapons on Syrian civilians more than 50 times. Some estimates are as high as 200.

The intelligence services of the three allied nations insist that, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May said, it is "highly likely" that Syrian forces did use chlorine gas on the residents of Douma. She didn't reveal it, but she said there is evidence and that it fits Syria's profile.

So to emphasize to Syrian President Assad and the Russians that the world will not tolerate these "war crimes," President Trump ordered the strikes that involved more than 100 cruise missiles and two B-1 Bombers.

And I believe, under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do. As Ambassador Haley said, "At some point, you have to do something. At some point, you have to say, 'Enough!'"

The bottom line is this. At this point, no one can prove conclusively who did what. We can only act on what we know and what appears to be true. I believe President Trump has done so.

Another bottom line is that our relations with Russia have deteriorated precipitously. In fact, President Trump recently tweeted: "Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War."

We must pray daily for President Trump. Pray that God will grant him the wisdom, discernment, and courage to make wise choices in the coming days. Pray also for the Congress. Its members have choices to make, too. Their support or opposition can mean success or failure. Pray that they will be able to set aside partisan differences and act for the good of the nation.

There are powerful voices in America, including many in both parties, who want the US to intervene more strongly in Syria. But a strong intervention by the West could spark a conflict that would cost thousands, maybe millions, of lives. Further, the entire situation is so murky, it's a crapshoot just deciding who to support to replace Assad. Simply put, there are no good choices.

Over the last few weeks, I've talked often about Ezekiel 38 and 39. That's the prophecy of an enormous Russian and Iranian-led invasion of Israel during the Tribulation. We must face the fact that there is a strong possibility that Russia will remain in Syria until that time.

God has said that He would "put hooks" in the Russians' jaws and pull them toward Israel. (Ezekiel 38:4) Those hooks may already be in place, just waiting for God to give them a tug.

Also on this week's program, I'll discuss how, what, and whom to trust in an era of fake news.

Hint: It ain't CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, the BBC, or even Fox News!

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