Hal Lindsey: 9.28.19 -

September 24th, 2019

Israel Update

By Hal Lindsey

On Monday, September 23rd, the Likud party of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Blue and White party of Benjamin Gantz agreed to pursue a "unity government" for Israel. Negotiating teams are set to begin working out details of the proposed government on October 1st. It will be a difficult and treacherous process.

After the election in April, a government could not be formed. So, in September, just a few days ago, Israel held another election. Again, there was no clear-cut winner. Gantz's Blue and White party won 33 seats and Netanyahu's Likud won 31 seats, leaving them both a long way from the 61 seats needed to form a majority.

Israel has a parliamentary system of government. They call their legislative body the "Knesset." That name comes from Knesset HaGdola, meaning "Great Assembly." According to tradition, Ezra formed the Great Assembly. It was a religious council of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets. While it would be difficult to find a sage or prophet in the modern Knesset, the number remains fixed at 120 - requiring 61 seats to create a majority.

Reuven Rivlin serves as President of Israel. The President has many ceremonial jobs but few actual powers. The most significant of his powers is in facilitating a new government following each election. The President must consult with Knesset members to determine who has the best chance of forming a governmental majority.

After recent polling of the Knesset, he found that Netanyahu had a slight advantage with 55 backers, compared to Gantz's 54. That 54 includes the backing of the Israeli Arab party. It would be difficult to raise either of those numbers to 61, thus the proposed unity government.

Such a government would require some means of sharing power. From 1984 to 1988, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir took turns acting as Prime Minister. While possible, such an arrangement between Netanyahu and Gantz has, at least until now, seemed highly unlikely.

A few days ago, Gantz cited impending indictments against Netanyahu as reasons against pursuing a unity government. Despite the accusations and investigations, formal charges have not been filed against the Prime Minister. He continues to deny all the accusations. The Attorney General of Israel is scheduled to announce a decision on whether to indict on October 3rd. That greatly complicates the process of forming a government.

People tire of politicians. Winston Churchill stands as one of the great figures of the 20th century. He held his nation together during the terrible German blitz. After helping to lead the Allies to victory in World War II, he almost immediately lost his job as Prime Minister in 1945. That's just how the world works.

It's easy to forget what things were like in Israel when Bibi Netanyahu became Prime Minister. Bus bombs and intifadas made every moment of every day feel like a life or death struggle. Syria and Hezbollah constantly threatened from the north. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak almost gave away East Jerusalem. Thankfully, Yasser Arafat thought he could get even more, and turned the deal down. Benjamin Netanyahu changed all that. He brought the kind of stability that is necessary for national progress and economic prosperity.

He built an amazing record, but he also accumulated enemies. Those enemies include much of the Israeli and international press corps, as well as liberals in his own and other countries. Nevertheless, he stands as a towering figure in the history of modern Israel - the man Israel needed for the times in which he led.

Those of us who love Israel can hope his leadership will continue during the turbulent days to come. If not, we can be thankful for his leadership to this point.

The Book of Daniel teaches that the revived nation of Israel will one day join in a treaty with the Antichrist. The confirmation of that treaty will mark the beginning of what is popularly known as "the Tribulation." The present turmoil in Israel seems to be bringing the world closer to that day.

 

September 27th, 2019

Anyone who wants to understand the book of Revelation, needs to understand certain key passages in the Book of Daniel. On this week's Hal Lindsey Presents, I pause the study of Revelation 6, and go back to the book of Daniel. There, we will look at the greatest single prophecy in the Bible.

Chapters 6-19 of Revelation deal with a specific seven-year period - the tribulation. We learn about that seven-year period in Daniel. How do we know that Revelation is speaking of the same seven years that Daniel spoke of? I'll show you this week.

In Daniel 9, we learn about "seventy sevens." Some Bible translations say, "seventy weeks." The Bible is absolutely clear that these are weeks of years, not days. On this program, I'll show you how we know that. We will also look at how the historical record lines up with this prophecy. It shows that Jesus presented Himself to Israel as the Messiah on - not just the year - but the very day Daniel prophesied that He would!

Folks, the Bible is true! You can trust it with your whole life.

Daniel divides these 70 weeks of years into three parts with the third part being only one week of years. There was no pause between the first two parts. But the clock stopped at the end of the 69th week. How do we know that? Because the prophecy itself told us it would. It told us things that would happen between the 69th week and the 70th week. Then it tells us exactly what starts that clock rolling again and marks the beginning of the 70th week.

I'll explain all this and more on this week's program. You've heard that the Temple must be rebuilt. How do we know that? The prophecies we look at this week require a rebuilt Temple. We know it will happen because God says it will happen.

When C. I. Scofield first published his Study Bible in 1909, critics scoffed at his literal interpretation of prophecy. He showed that for the prophecies to be true, Israel must exist in the last days. The critics laughed. They pointed out that Israel had disappeared as a nation 1,800 years earlier.

Scofield said that he didn't know how it would happen, but he knew it would happen because that's what the Bible teaches. He stuck with the Bible, and God's word did not let him down. It won't let us down, either.

I think you'll be fascinated and thrilled by this week's Hal Lindsey Presents. Look for it on Daystar, Sunday at 11PM Eastern Time. Or watch the program online anytime at www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. If you missed any episodes in this study, you can catch up by visiting www.hallindsey.com/videos/.

The following week, Sunday October 6th, Daystar will be in the midst of its "Fall Heart for the World" campaign. That means there will be no new Hal Lindsey Presents on Sunday, October 6th. But don't worry. You won't miss a thing. We will start back into Revelation the following Sunday, right where we leave off this Sunday. Thank you again for your faithfulness in supporting this ministry.



God Bless,

Hal Lindsey