News from Bible Prophecy Blog
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011
This Week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report'
By Hal Lindsey
The Hal Lindsey Report
A viewer e-mailed me this week and told me to "Give it a rest." Zoe wrote, "Hal, your (sic) a charlatan. You've been prophesying the Lord's return in the 1970s 80s 90s and 2000s. Give it a rest. We're sick of you." Ouch!
Would she say the same thing to Jesus Himself? I'm only repeating His words and the words of the ancient prophets He spoke through. Jesus told us specifically that when we saw certain things occurring in our world - beginning with the rebirth of Israel -- and we saw them happening with ever-increasing frequency and intensity, then we would know that His return for His Church is imminent. That list of events and conditions - He referred to them as 'birth pangs' - reads like the "Breaking News" crawl at the bottom of your TV screen every night.
No less than the Apostle Paul admonished us to "Comfort one another with these words." "These words" refers to the hope all true believers have in the soon and sudden return of Jesus Christ to receive us unto Himself and save us from the catastrophes that will fall upon this world.
As I see it, my failure (as the e-mailer deems it), and that of many of my like-minded ministry colleagues, has been that we underestimated the growing "frequency and intensity" of the 'birth pangs' we have witnessed the last several years. But even as I write this, a massive tsunami from an undersea earthquake has hit Japan and threatens Hawaii and the entire Pacific Rim. Early reports are that this may be one of the biggest earthquakes in history! Another intense birth pang? Undeniably, they are increasing and increasing rapidly, but only Father God knows when the birth pangs have run their course and the time for "delivery" has arrived.
That said, I do not apologize for crying out to those who are unprepared that the time is fast approaching when it will be too late to prepare for eternity. As the late Larry Norman once sang,
"There's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind."I am doing my best to make certain that will never be said of you, your family, or anyone who watches "The Hal Lindsey Report." Thank you for standing beside me in this ministry as a "watchman on the wall."
Sorry to disappoint you, Zoe, but this week I'm going to share with you another indication that we stand on the threshold of the final days of this Age. It has now been discovered that Syria's nuclear weapons program may be "far more advanced than previously believed." The German magazine Der Spiegel is reporting that Syria has four other nuclear facilities in addition to the one that Israel destroyed in September, 2007. The Institute for Science and International Security believes that Syria has three storage facilities that may house enough material to put Syria well on its way to an effective nuclear arsenal.We know the Syrians already have long-range missiles armed with both chemical and biological warheads aimed directly at Israel. And soon, they may have nuclear warheads, as well. So, as my mother used to say, what does this information have to do with the price of tea in China? Just this: the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah predicted that in the last days the Syrian capital of Damascus would be utterly annihilated - overnight. Considering the fact that Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, and has never been destroyed, that means that Isaiah's prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. And considering the fact that only now - with the use of nuclear weapons - is it possible to utterly eradicate such a massive city overnight, I'd think twice before buying property in Damascus. Add to that the fact that we know Syria wants to destroy Israel and is apparently taking steps to prepare for that opportunity, I would also say that Syria (with Iran's urging) will someday get cocky and force Israel to retaliate. Here's how Isaiah predicted it would happen,
"And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not."Once that happens, I'd say the world is on the fast track to Armageddon. But what about all the other Arab nations and the Persian-Russian confederacy? This week, I'm going to share my perspective on how all of that may unfold, including some thoughts on the events described in Psalm 83.
But don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging. I'm also going to discuss with you the believers' "unfailing hope." As I see it, there are four elements to our hope for the future. And, once again, I'm sorry to distress you, Zoe, but the imminent prospect of Christ's return is a cornerstone of that hope.
If you're not prepared for the sudden return of Jesus Christ for His bride or if you know someone who isn't, please tune in this week. I'm going to share with you precisely how you can get ready.
I want to leave you with those haunting words that Larry Norman penned back in the late 1960s. It's eerie how familiar the images are today.
"Life was filled with guns and war and everyone got trampled on the floor. I wish we'd all been ready. Children died, the days grew cold, a piece of bread would buy a bag of gold. I wish we'd all been ready. There's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind."
