Hal Lindsey : 2.8.20

February 5th, 2020

Peace and Safety

By Hal Lindsey

Last week, President Trump announced his long-awaited peace plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood at the President's side as he made the announcement. But Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, rejected the peace proposal before he had even seen it. "I will not have it recorded in my history," he said, "that I sold Jerusalem,"

But the truth is, you can't "sell" what was never yours.

The announcement left a lot of Jews and Christians confused over how the plan would deal with Jerusalem. Early in the announcement ceremony, President Trump said, "Under this vision, Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided - very important - undivided capital."

Later he said that his plan would "provide a Palestinian capital in eastern Jerusalem where America will proudly open an embassy."

So, which is it? Does the plan call for Jerusalem to be Israel's "undivided" capital, or will part of Jerusalem be set aside to serve as the Palestinians' capital? As always, it comes down to the meaning of the words. The US plan calls for the Palestinians to have a capital in an area of East Jerusalem now occupied entirely by Palestinians.

The area is inside Jerusalem's city limits, but outside what we might call the new city wall. When I say "wall," I'm not talking about the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem. Yes, it is well outside those walls. But here I'm talking about the West Bank Barrier built by Israel to stop Palestinian terror attacks during the Second Intifada. A small part of what is technically Jerusalem lies outside the barrier. That's the part that would go to the Palestinians.

A bigger question might be, "Do the specifics of the Trump Administration's peace plan really matter?" And the answer is that they don't seem to. Palestinian leaders rejected the idea before they knew anything about it. They refused to give input during the plan's formation. They have shown repeatedly that they don't really want a two-state solution. They want a one-state solution - the state of Palestine.

Cal Thomas wrote, "The Palestinian leadership doesn't want to make peace with Israel. Their goal is to eliminate it."

We see several examples of this, most notably the peace deal offered to Yasser Arafat in 2000. He was offered a deal that gave Palestinians Eastern Jerusalem and 98% of everything else they asked for. But Arafat rejected it.

Not surprisingly, the Arab League quickly rejected the Trump Administration's new peace plan. They said it "does not satisfy the minimum of the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people." They insist that the Palestinians be given a state based on pre-1967 borders.

But wait a minute. Before the Six-Day War in 1967, Jordon controlled Judea and Samaria (also known as "the West Bank") and Egypt controlled Gaza. Why didn't the Arab League insist that those two members give the Palestinians their own state back in 1967? Instead, they choose to fight a war with Israel that resulted in them losing those lands.

Another reason this peace plan seems dead on arrival is that there is no legitimate Palestinian leadership to deal with. Abbas was elected to a four-year term that ended in 2009. Being more than a decade late in holding promised elections tells us that the government is corrupt, chaotic, and illegitimate.

Israelis long for peace. Most Palestinians also long for peace. But while the people languish in dire poverty, Palestinian leaders are doing very well. They don't want change unless that change means the utter destruction of Israel.

 

February 7th, 2020

On this week's Hal Lindsey Presents, our study of Revelation takes us further into the amazing 12th chapter. It gives a profound look into the courts of heaven and the beauty of Jesus as our Savior and as our Advocate before the Father. We will also see Lucifer cast out of heaven, and the astounding implications of that.

Some critics say that most of the prophecies written in the Book of Revelation happened in the first century. Of course, to interpret it that way, the plain sense of the words of Revelation would have to be ignored. One of the leading proponents of this idea says that to take Revelation at its word means that God is herding the Jews into the Promised Land in order to destroy them.

Wrong! That is not what the Bible teaches! In Revelation 12, the woman who clearly and plainly represents believing Jews is not destroyed. Instead, she is given special care. Revelation 12:6 says that Israel flees "into the wilderness" where she has "a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

Remember that ancient calendar years were 360 days long. 360 times 3 ½ equals 1,260. God here promises to prepare a place of safety for believing Jews during the treacherous last 3 ½ years of the tribulation. Daniel warned that midway through those seven years, the abomination of desolation will be set up in the Temple (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 12:11).

Jesus sent a warning across time to Jerusalem's believing Jews of the Tribulation. He said when you see the abomination that Daniel spoke of, run! Get out of there! Don't even go back for your coat. Just flee! (Matthew 24:15-22) And here we learn that the wilderness to which they will flee will have been prepared for them by God.

No, God is not herding them into the Promised Land for destruction. He has said that at some point in the future, a vast number of those who return to the land will also return to Him (Ezekiel 36:2426). That means they will finally turn to Jesus (Matthew 23:39, Romans 11:131).

On Hal Lindsey Presents, we will look at Satan's continuing attack them and what God does to stop the attack. We will also talk about the two wings of the great eagle that will fly them to the place prepared for them (Revelation 12:14).

On this week's program, we examine these and other wonders in Revelation 12. I hope you can join me on Daystar, Sunday at 11PM Eastern Time. And remember that you can watch the program online anytime at www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. If you missed any episodes, it's easy to catch up. Just go to www.hallindsey.com/videos/.



God Bless,

Hal Lindsey