2020 In Review

2020 In Review By Hal Lindsey It was one of those years when Bible prophecy proved itself to be more than a theoretical understanding of the prophets words. It was real, visceral.You could feel it and taste it. The world shifted toward the reign of antichrist and the terrors of tribulation. But we could also see the Light of the world beaming closer and closer. The signs of our times point to a brief reign for the antichrist, thenan eternal reign for the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. More clearly than ever, we see the prophetic scenario unfolding before our eyes. Jesus is coming soon! The Bible teaches that the world will get darker as the Lord's coming approaches, especially after the rapture. Even those who will be raptured willexperience increased difficulties before it happens. In this midst of fearful times, never forget what Jesus said in Matthew 28:20. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So, as we look at the darkness of the times, don't forget to keep your eyes on the Light of the world. A terrible despair has fallen over much of planet earth. During October of 2020, there were 2,153 suicides in Japan. That resulted in more deaths inone month than all the Japanese who had died of Covid from February through October. Even before Covid, there had been a worldwide increase in suicides, especially among industrialized nations. Those numbers exploded in 2020, and they are the tip of the iceberg.Billions of people are now living in quiet despondency. One reason is financial hopelessness. Imagine spending most of your life building a business only to see that business fold because of government restrictions.It's depressing to say the least. If you are employed by a business that closed, you also understand economic despair. We will not have official figures for a long time, but a study by Yelp found that over 160,000 businesses closed between April and Septemberof 2020. And after September, things got worse. Covid restrictions have been highly profitable for online retailers. Scott Kelliher, Head of Brand Ads & Partnerships at eBay said, We saw that consumersimmediately shifted their online buying habits with roughly 75% of our consumers at eBay buying more items online.� Perhaps more significantly, he said, Almost 85% of them plan to keep this new higher level of e-commerce for the foreseeable future. That shift coincides with the globalization of commerce and the move away from cash. Prophecy teachers have been predicting a cashless society for years.Still, most of us did not expect it to be caused, in part, by people afraid they will catch a disease from their money. A November article in Money Under 30 said, There are forces at play that may ultimately result in a cashless society, something the articleseemed eager for. The pandemic hurt education in major and probably lasting ways. Across the world, it increased peoples dependence on government for the sustenance oflife. It gave us our first glimpse in a long time of killing off the elderly in favor of the young and pliable. It destabilized the global economy in ways that can easily lead to global government and totalitarian rule. In 2020 we saw more clearly than ever the end of journalism and the beginning of a new era of propaganda. It was a rough year. Jesus warned that just before His return, the world would go through birth pangs like a woman in labor. After a heavy contraction,the woman in labor gets a reprieve. 2021 may be such a reprieve. I don't know. But I do know that contractions tend to get stronger and come closer together while the reprieves grow shorter. But don't despair. Look up! Even in times of confusion on earth, God remains sovereign. Goodbye 2020 and challenge for 2021 � Bill Wilson � www.dailyjot.com Looking back on 2020, it was a year of great promise turned ugly. From COVID to lockdowns to racial issues to radical violence to a disputed election, America and Americanswere under extraordinary pressure. We didn�t get a break. For the first time in history, healthy people were quarantined. The economy was locked down. The wheels of commerce were braked until they smoked. Medical science sent conflicting signals. The newsmedia repeatedly lied. Politicians fought without resolve. And the end of the year is one that most people want to close out and forget, but that will not happen because there are so many unresolved issues ushering in 2021. We need to get a handle on this.We need leadership. This country cannot continue to lead the world under the current environment. America will be a country, but its position in the world will be challenged, especially byChina. The rest of the world looks to the United States as a leader for economy, liberty, individual rights, and innovation. Currently, all those areas are under threat because of emotionalism, cronyism, ideological bigotry and political intolerance. Judgmentand common sense are clouded by conflicting concepts. Everywhere we turn, we are presented with a challenge to any traditional norm. Science is what the big companies with the big money pay for it to be. Mask, no mask. Vaccines that have no track record andare only considered 50% effective with tremendous side effects. And if you don�t wear a mask and take the vaccine, you are a social pariah. 2020 was a year where totalitarianism took a giant leap forward. COVID was the catalyst. Fear was the driver. It seemed to cause Americans to forget themselves. Who arewe? What are we? From a Christian standpoint, we had better figure out who we are otherwise the time-tested freedom to worship the Lord freely in this country will be threatened. We had better figure out how to stand as Christians or there will be fewer andfewer opportunities to share the gospel and to do the work of faith around the world. We had better determine that Christianity is not feel-good, self-indulgence based on some erroneous concept of scripture, but rather a way of life that is lived as an exampleto others by the instruction of Christ. We need to realize that this country and the world around us is a reflection of us. We can be the difference. Where is the perfect liberty in which Christ has set us free, if not in his salvation and the world changing power of that salvation? Can we not look at our lives with introspectand determine what it is we need to do to make this world a better place, then do it? Can we not begin with as Christ said in John 15:12, �This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you�? Can we not take it upon ourselves to �put awaythe childish things� and, as in Acts 17:6 be those who �have turned the world upside down�? There are so many in Christianity who say, �don�t be involved in politics,� �don�t be involved in business,� �don�t do this, don�t do that.� What about �doing� wherethe Lord has placed you, and making a positive difference where you can? These are the challenges for the year ahead. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM