Hal Lindsey Media Ministries - Hal Lindsey -
Because the relationship between Israel and the United States has become so secure during the first two years of President Donald Trump's administration, it's sometimes easy to overlook the fact that much of the world still opposes the tiny Middle Eastern democracy. Because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's steady, strong, and conservative leadership of Israel, we take for granted that everything is stable within our closest ally's borders.
Not so.
For the first time in years, rockets were fired last week from inside Gaza toward Israel's largest city, Tel Aviv. Sirens sounded throughout the area and the entire country went on alert.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied responsibility, but since Hamas rules Gaza, Israel holds that terrorist organization responsible for all attacks originating there. Egypt does, too.
Israel struck back at several Hamas terror centers. So far, the incident has failed to escalate appreciably, but it just reminds us that Israelis live under the constant, day-to-day threat of violent attack.
As another reminder of the hostile intentions of Hamas, a Palestinian "court" in Gaza "found Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas guilty of high treason and sentenced him to life in prison." (The Jerusalem Post).
Of course, Abbas was not present at the mock trial, but it was "aimed at showing what awaits any Palestinian who dares to work with Israel.... Verdict: Any Palestinian who accepts a peace plan with Israel will also be found guilty -- and signing his own death warrant." (Khaled Abu Toameh, The Gatestone Institute)
Hamas is slowly gaining control of all Palestinian politics. Mahmoud Abbas is being propped up from the outside. When there is an election, or when Abbas dies, Hamas will seize all power. And it won't be pretty for any Palestinian who ever cooperated with Israel.
On April 9, 2019, Israel will hold a general election. The focus, especially of the Left (Israel has a "deep state," too!) is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In modern Israel's history, only David Ben-Gurion served longer as Prime Minister. Like Ben-Gurion, I believe Netanyahu was raised up by God at exactly the right moment in Israel's history.
Before Netanyahu, Israel was in real trouble. For several years, its leaders had been trying to appease the unappeasable Palestinians. Mr. Netanyahu led the nation out of that dark time and brought it to an amazing level of prosperity, military strength, and stability.
But now, he's in real trouble.
In late February, Israel's Attorney General announced that he would indict the Prime Minister on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Many observers feel these charges are, at best, trivial and inconsequential, and, at worst, contrived and deceptively and maliciously disingenuous. (Once again, Israel has a "deep state," too!)
The AG also announced that he would delay the legally required hearing until after the election. That means that Mr. Netanyahu must run for re-election with a fraud indictment hanging over his head. One which the Leftist media reminds Israelis about daily. (Remember, Israel has a "deep state," too!)
Meanwhile, retired IDF general Benny Gantz is currently Netanyahu's main rival. Gantz is the former Chief of General Staff of the IDF. He was promoted to that position by Mr. Netanyahu.
It always amazes me how so many of Israel's military leaders veer left when they assume political office. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak is Israel's most decorated military figure. When he was PM, he caved to almost every demand made by Yasser Arafat. He tried to give away Israel's sovereignty and security at Camp David with Bill Clinton's encouragement. Israel was saved because Arafat really didn't want an agreement and turned Barak down.
PM Ariel Sharon was, perhaps, Israel's most famous and admired military leader. He was fearless and unconventional. He was considered the hero of the Yom Kippur War.
Yet, as Prime Minister, Sharon made a bold, but dangerous decision. He forced all Jews to vacate the Gaza Strip and ceded its control to the Palestinians. No matter his strategic goals, Gaza has been a thorn in Israel's side ever since. Hamas quickly seized control of the Strip from the Palestinian Authority and it has been a hotbed of terrorism and a threat to Israel's national security since then.
The Israeli media calls Benny Gantz a "centrist." His campaign strategy seems to be, "Say as little as possible." He has yet to endorse either a two-state or one-state solution to the Palestinian conflict.
However, several years ago, Gantz helped write a plan to unilaterally give significant portions of the West Bank to the Palestinians. If Israel's mainstream media succeeds in unseating Mr. Netanyahu, Israel may once again be fighting for its national sovereignty and security.
The Bible speaks of strange and extreme weather events in the times leading up to the end of this Age. The worst of it will come after the Church has been raptured. But we may be getting a foretaste of it now.
Experts tell us that the United States was recently struck by a "bomb cyclone." It hit hardest in the Midwest and Plains states, but its effects were felt from Wyoming to the East Coast, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. It brought rain, ice, snow, tornadoes, thunderstorms, massive flooding, and hurricane-force winds.
A "bomb cyclone" occurs when the barometric pressure drops more than 24 millibars in a 24-hour period. A sudden drop in pressure can mean strong winds and intense storms.
Something like that is happening in our culture, too. We have seen a sudden and severe shift in our attitudes toward right and wrong.
A time traveler from only ten years ago would be stunned at how the world has changed. The overall moral climate has taken a staggering fall.
With a meteorological "bomb cyclone," barometric pressure plummets, then comes the wind and hail, tornadoes and blizzards. But unless you are aware of the pressure change, the storms seem to be coming out of nowhere.
The decline in basic decency and morality is like that. Morals have fallen dramatically and dangerously. Now a massive storm is brewing. We must realize that our society's blatant turn toward unrighteousness will not be without consequences.
The "sudden" lurch by several states toward extremely late-term abortions -- actually infanticide -- is just one example. The Bible says that in the last days, "...men will be... brutal." (2 Timothy 3:1-3 NASB)
Killing babies is brutal!
It's as if western civilization has lost its collective mind!
Last week's brutal and brazen murdering of 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand forces us to ask some hard questions. If society treats SOME human beings like garbage, will that change how it treats ALL human beings? I think the answer is increasingly clear. Yes!
It is having a devastating effect. In America, suicide is now the tenth leading cause of death. Among people between the ages of 10 and 34, suicide is the second leading cause of death.
We are learning the hard lesson that there are consequences when we turn our backs to God's principles.
Also on this week's program, I am going to share some thoughts about how we reached this point in our culture.
In my book, Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, I wrote about a concept I described as "Thought Bombs." I listed several of them, showing the evolution of thought in western civilization.
On this program, I will discuss two of them: Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
I will show you how the ideas of these two men have reverberated through the recent centuries, bringing us to the crises we face today.
But I promise not to leave you without hope. For in Jesus Christ, we have eternal hope!
Hal Lindsey -
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution criticizing what it calls Israel's "occupation" of the Golan Heights.
Perhaps not coincidentally, that typical condemnation of Israel by the UN was overshadowed by a tweet from US President Donald Trump. He wrote, "After 52 years, it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability."
Thank God for a President with the courage to stand up to the world's elite and the determination to protect and defend Israel. I believe God will honor His covenant with Abraham and bless America for blessing and defending the Jews.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, one of its attackers in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Some critics say that Mr. Trump's opportune recognition of Israel's right to the Golan Heights was a political ploy. I think, though, that it simply acknowledges reality.
From a military standpoint, Israel cannot afford to allow an enemy to own the high ground to its immediate north. Especially an enemy completely controlled by Iran and Hezbollah (and Russia and Turkey in the deeper background). Further, Syria's dictator, Bashar al-Assad is a recognized butcher who has repeatedly used poison gas on his own people, including children.
To return a strategically vital defensive asset like the Golan Heights to Syria at this time would be an insane act of self-destruction for Israel. But it is a suicidal act that the EU and the UN (not to mention all of Islam and many on the Left in Israel) are pushing Israel to commit.
Once again, I thank God that our President is bravely standing firm with Israel in the face of worldwide opposition.
Harvard Professor-Emeritus Alan Dershowitz explained the situation perfectly. He said, "You don't give back a battleship that you captured from an enemy who is going to use it to fire at you. The Golan Heights is a battleship and you don't give it to Syria and Iran."
Especially after half a century!
You just thought that "Meatless Mondays" was another incoherent screwball idea by the insufferably self-aware Left's social justice warriors. It was recently announced that the New York City public school system is adopting the idea in all of its cafeterias next year.
But what if the whole idea has some prophetic significance?
In 1 Timothy 4:1,3, Paul writes, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith.... men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth." (NASB) The King James Version specifically says, "...commanding to abstain from meats...."
I doubt that pursuing a vegan lifestyle one day per week will significantly hurt growing children, although the idea is hotly contested among dieticians and nutritionists in the world's medical community. But it is increasingly becoming politically incorrect to eat meat or dairy products. And isn't that exactly what the Bible predicted for "the later times"?
We already know that, more and more, cultural trendsetters are opposing the institution of marriage. They call it "sexist."
These are just two of the hundreds of prophetic signs being fulfilled daily in our time. And the amazing thing is, they're all happening at once. Remember, the Bible predicts that all of these signs will grow in frequency and intensity as the end of this age approaches.
There was a time when people could depend on their "life savings" for a sense of security. Not anymore.
The world's economy is surprisingly fragile at the moment. There are even signs that the US economy might be headed for some instability or, at the least, sluggish growth.
These problems may turn out to be insignificant, temporary setbacks. But there is one warning sign that no one can dismiss: national debt.
Unsustainable levels of national debt hang like the sword of Damocles over the United States and the world.
In 1992, the US debt stood at 62% of our nation's annual Gross Domestic Product, or GDP.
In 2009, our national debt reached 82% of our GDP.
This year, it will be at least 106% of GDP.
That's an explosion of debt!
Remember, when I say "GDP," I'm not talking about the amount of money the government brings in through taxes and tariffs. I'm talking about all of the wealth generated by the ENTIRE nation in a year. Government debt now exceeds the annual amount of everything the nation produces!
In 1981, the US debt hit one trillion dollars. President Ronald Reagan tried to illustrate to Congress how much a trillion dollars is.
He said, "...if you had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only 4 inches high, you'd be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand-dollar bills 67 miles high."
Last month, US debt hit 22 trillion dollars. That's a stack of thousand-dollar bills 1,474 miles high!
But official Washington doesn't seem to care. Now they want to give Medicare to everyone and pay all college tuitions. They want to ban fossil fuels, build millions of massive windmills, and rebuild every building in America. Including your house.
The American Action Forum estimates that will require more than 90 trillion dollars! That's how you turn the most prosperous nation in human history into another Venezuela!
But it's not just happening in America. In 2017, 19 nations had government debt higher than their GDP. Japan's national debt stands at a staggering 236% of its GDP!
History proves these numbers cannot be sustained. The world is headed for a financial disaster like nothing ever seen before.
And it will set the stage for the emergence of the Antichrist.
If your hope is only in this world, your future is scary!
Speaking of hope, the first prophecy of a Savior for the world comes right after the first mention of sin in the Bible. In Genesis 3:15, God said that the future Seed of woman would bruise the head of Satan.
Nothing more was written about the Promised Seed until around the year 2000 BC. At that point, God spoke to a man named Abram who would later become known as Abraham.
God told Abraham to leave his home and travel to a far-off land. God made a covenant with Abraham. He told him that great blessings await him and his descendants in that unknown land.
In an amazing act of faith, Abraham obeyed.
And from that one act of faith flowed the blessings that have enriched all of the peoples of the world and history, most notably the birth of the "Anointed One," ha-mashi'ah, Messiah.
On this week's program, I am going to tell you the story of "The Amazing Mr. Abraham."
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