This week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report'

In 55 years of prophetic ministry, I have never uttered the words: "Israel has bombed Damascus" - until May of 2013. Three weeks ago, for the first time, Israel struck targets inside the city of Damascus. The airstrikes were part of an effort to keep missiles and chemical weapons out of the hands of two groups: Hezbollah, who is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and al-Qaeda, who is leading the fight against him.

Why is this important? Because the prophet Isaiah predicted that in the last days Damascus would be laid waste and never inhabited again. He specified three important points in Isaiah 17. First, the entire city will become a "fallen heap of ruins." In other words, totally destroyed. Second, it will never be re-inhabited or rebuilt. Third, this destruction will happen suddenly. In fact, during the darkness of one night. 

Now, when Isaiah wrote these words, the sword was probably the most advanced weapon that men wielded. The weaponry capable of laying waste to a massive city in the course of a few hours was uninvented - even unimagined. 

In those times, when invaders conquered a city - and destroyed it - they usually just built a new one on the ruins. Yet this ancient prophet described an event and a result that could only be accomplished by the use of nuclear weapons - even to the fact that nuclear contamination would prevent the use of that area ever again. 

As I've noted before, Damascus is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world that has never been totally destroyed. That means that Isaiah's prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. In fact, it is the only end-times prophecy - outside the ones concerning the seven-year Tribulation and its end with Christ's return to set up the millennial kingdom - that remains unfulfilled. 

So why bring this up now? Well, as I said in the beginning, this month Israel's air force struck targets inside the city of Damascus. The fact that Israel was willing to take such a risk indicates the gravity of the threat. Syria has the third largest chemical weapons stockpile in the world and 100,000 missiles. That means that when Assad falls, either Hezbollah - his ally - or al Qaeda - his enemy - will gain possession of those weapons of mass destruction. And both are determined to destroy Israel. 

The Israelis are determined that none of the missiles or chemical weapons Syria possesses will end up in the control of Hezbollah or al-Qaeda. 

Now as daunting a challenge as this appears, it may be the lesser of Israel's worries at the moment. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad knows that he's headed for the door - one way or the other. Even most of the Arab world is standing against him. It has probably occurred to him that the only way he can hang on is if he can reverse that and rally the other Arab nations to his side. 

How can he make that happen? Simple, provoke Israel into entering the war currently being waged in Syria between his government and the opposition rebels. Though the Muslim sects - Sunni, Shia, and Alawite - hate each other, they hate Israel even more. If Israel entered the war, then Assad reckons that most of the Arab and Muslim nations will rally to his side and he can hang on to power. 

Saddam Hussein tried that in the 1991 Gulf War by hurling 39 SCUDS at Israel, but Israel didn't bite. This time, though, Assad's weapons are infinitely more dangerous and diabolical. That's why one of Israel's generals recently warned that if Syria dares launch any of its biological or chemical weapons at Israel, they would respond with whatever it takes, even "to the edge of the spectrum," to defend themselves. 

Folks, I think "...the edge of the spectrum..." implies Israel's willingness to use any means, even tactical nuclear weapons, to stop an all-out WMD assault by Syria. Tel Aviv lies only 133 miles from Damascus. Syrian missiles will reach it in mere minutes. That's how long Israel's leaders will have to respond. And they already know that to stop Syria, their response will have to be massive and final. 

And we know how seriously Israel takes this threat. Seriously enough to launch airstrikes inside Damascus and risk the wrath of the world. 

The bottom line is that we are at a critical juncture in this Middle East crisis - both politically and prophetically. Things could explode at any moment and we find ourselves hurtling forward in the end-times scenario. 

This week, I'm going to examine this crisis. I'll show you what the prophets had to say about these days and how stunningly accurate their predictions are turning out to be. I'll also show you how Russia, our "partner" in the peace process in Syria, is strengthening Assad's resolve by arming the other side. And I'll show you how Israel's prophesied devastation of Damascus may leave them vulnerable and in need of the protection of the Antichrist. 

If you are interested in the events of the "end times," you have a front row seat. 

But that's not all. Also this week, I'll discuss the alarming rise in suicides in America. Did you know that for the first time in the "automobile era," more Americans now die by suicide than by traffic accidents? 

Why? Well, I'm sure there are lots of reasons, but I think one of the most important may be the loss of 'hope.' Forty years ago, I wrote about what's coming for "The Terminal Generation." I followed that book with a later one titled: "Hope for the Terminal Generation." 

Believe it or not, there IS hope for this generation. Paul said that "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." But, thank God, we have more than hope in this life, we have a 'certainty' about God's promises for the future. In fact, the Bible says that if we think God has been faithful and generous to us in the past (by giving us His greatest gift when we were His enemies), just think how "much more" faithful and kind and generous He'll be now that we are His children! 

And if ever there was a time when we need that certainty, it's today as we stand witness to the twilight of this Age. 

When a Nation Turns Its Back on God

2 Chronicles 33:1-25
Hezekiah was a god-fearing king who brought about reformation among the Israelites. His son Manasseh, however, was an evil ruler. He had watched his father walk with God and live according to Scripture. Yet he chose to ignore the Lord.
Manasseh worshipped false gods, even to the point of sacrificing his sons by fire in order to praise Molech. He practiced much evil—including witchcraft and sorcery— and led Israel astray, thereby provoking God to anger. The king, along with the people, paid a high price for his rebellion.
This story illustrates the Lord’s intolerance of a nation’s disregard toward Him. Now consider our country. We, too, are a nation that pushes God aside—one that has turned away from the only true God and embraced idols. Perhaps these aren’t statues of stone, but we worship money, sports ability, fame, and reputation, to name a few.
The United States of America was founded on biblical principles with the intent to guarantee freedom of worship. But over time, we have removed the Lord from many aspects of public life. Prayer in schools, for instance, was deemed unconstitutional. What was once a “nation under God” has turned into a country that tolerates a growing number of sins and yet belittles absolute truth.
If a nation turns its back on the Lord, His judgment is inevitable unless the people repent and make Him Lord once again. As believers, our responsibility is to pray that God would draw the heart of our country back to Himself—and to help the gospel and truth spread through our land.

'The Hal Lindsey Report'

On this week's program, I feel compelled to speak to you in my ministry as a "watchman on the wall." In ancient times, the watchmen stood atop the walls of the city. From that vantage point, they scoured the horizon for approaching danger. If they spotted something or someone approaching that implied a threat to the city, they loudly shouted the warnings. The defenders of the city then sprang into action to repel the invader or handle the danger. 

In just as vital a capacity, the prophets in the Old Testament were also "watchmen" who warned the leaders and the people of what they saw coming upon them as the Lord revealed it to them. They were often the conscience of the nation. They chastised, warned, and corrected leaders and kings. God used them to speak His will to the nation. 

In much the same way, today's church and her ministers of the Gospel should be the conscience of our nation. But, in ways incremental and unnoticeable on the one hand, and fast and furious on the other, that role is being limited and may soon be completely suppressed. 

In past shows during the 16 years this program has been on the air (originally as "The International Intelligence Briefing" on TBN), I've warned of threats to the church and its "watchman" role posed by the moral and spiritual deterioration of our society. Today, however, I see dangers even more ominous. 

As President Obama's administration finds itself engulfed in multiplying -- and ever-widening -- scandals, it's alarming how many of them involve the restriction of our rights as citizens, the destruction of institutions and liberties vital to our national freedom, and the suppression of any opposition -- especially the church and her ministers -- that is perceived as a threat to the administration's intentions. 

Folks, I believe we are at a crossroads. If we turn a blind eye to the cynical and callous actions of some of our elected and appointed leaders, we will regret it sooner rather than later. Don't be misled by the still-sleeping (or brain-dead) mainstream media, the goal of the "operations" that are now being exposed is the total control of our society and its citizens. 

Here are just a few of the scandals that are in the news today: the IRS targeting of conservative and religious groups; the Justice Department crusades against the Associated Press and Fox News (the two that we know about so far); the cover-up of the lethal al Qaeda-led attack on our compound in Benghazi in which our Ambassador and three others died; the attacks on the rights of Christians in the armed services; the EPA's prejudicial treatment of non-liberal organizations; "Fast and Furious"; the across-the-board suppression of any information or policy that exposes the true intentions of Islamists in America; the almost-fanatical push to promote same-sex marriage and the abortion agenda; and the mounting revelations of "unintended consequences" in the implementation of Obamacare. 

The net result of the success of even a few of these efforts will be the curtailment of our rights as Americans and Christians. 

I know whereof I speak. Over the last couple of years, my ministry (and this television program) has been under unusually close scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service. Because of your willingness to stand with me in intercessory prayer for God's protection and also because of the personal integrity and diligence of some of the IRS employees who handled our case, we've made it through okay, thus far. 

But I have to admit that I was stunned by the interpretation applied by the IRS as to what constitutes a "church" or a "minister." Under those definitions, the Apostle Paul couldn't have qualified for a 501(c)3! I believe there is a movement afoot to eliminate what the Bible defines as "apostolic" ministry -- where a minister is appointed and gifted to speak to the whole church. That could, in effect, eliminate many non-pastoral or parachurch ministries. 

Indeed, I know also that there is coming a push to require churches -- which are and have always been, by their nature, "tax exempt" without having to "qualify" with a government agency -- to apply for status as 501(c)3 organizations to maintain the tax-exempt status they already have! You can see where that's going. The IRS would be the government bureau that decides if your church is qualified to be a church and if your pastor is qualified to be a minister. If that happens, that means the IRS will be the official interpreter of what the Bible teaches. (It's already designated to be the "enforcer" of Obamacare!) 

Is that what we want? If the government controls us, then it can effectively mute the voice of God to the people and to the leadership. It can silence the church by starving it and even confining its leaders if they transgress the will of the State. 

Well, I suppose you've guessed by now what I'll be discussing on this week's "Report." Tune in and encourage your family, friends, neighbors, and fellow church members to do the same. This is a time when we all need to be informed and united as never before! 

The Hal Lindsey Report

This Week On The Hal Lindsey Report

Last January, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee was probing the attack on our diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others from the mission. 

In a moment of frustration that has already returned to haunt Mrs. Clinton, the Secretary blurted out: "What difference, at this point in time, does it make?" 

She was responding to combative questions about "who" the killers were - terrorists or a runaway mob protesting an obscure movie promo on the internet. Obviously straining hard to avoid truthfully answering the question and thus indicting herself and her boss, Mrs. Clinton almost screamed, "What difference... does it make?" 

Two things disturb me about that question. First, if our Secretary of State honestly didn't realize what difference it makes, then she should not have been Secretary of State (or even a Senator as she was previously), much less President (as she wants to be). 

Second, if she did realize the difference it makes, then she was scrambling hard to cover up her and her boss's culpability (and dishonesty) and she thought she could bully the Senators into submission. 

Either conclusion is disturbing. 

Fast forward to April 17. Present Secretary of State John Kerry appeared before a House committee hearing. During the questioning, the subject of Benghazi came up. When pressed about what he planned to do about rectifying the situation and finding the culprits responsible for the breakdown of security that caused the death of our Ambassador, Kerry also became a bit annoyed and dismissed the questioning with this statement: "We got a lot more important things to move on to and get done." 

Again, two things disturb me about that response. First, for a Secretary of State, who is personally responsible for the safety of the Ambassadors and personnel under his leadership, what could possibly be more important than discovering what went wrong in Benghazi, who was responsible, where the killers are now, and how we can prevent it from happening again? 

Second, doesn't anyone in the Democrat party remember the motto of one of their most respected past Presidents? Harry Truman famously displayed a slogan on his desk that was unequivocal. It read: "The buck stops here." 

Apparently this Administration thinks that slogan means "the male deer stops by here occasionally to graze the south lawn!" (Speaking of ducking responsibility, I see today that Nancy Pelosi is publicly blaming George W. Bush for the IRS scandal. See what I mean?) 

I don't know how anyone could have watched last week's House hearings and not been incredulous at the way the Administration handled that crisis. How could you not be outraged that those same officials who stood by as our Ambassador and three others were brutally killed, then chose to cover up their incompetence (or worse, it could be their fear of offending Muslims or their fear of offending the American electorate) by lying to the American people for weeks after the tragedy. 

On this week's program, I'll give you several reasons why I think Benghazi matters to America. 

Wired magazine recently revealed that the new immigration bill currently wending its way through Congress may contain a little surprise. Within the 800-page bipartisan bill "is language mandating the creation of... 'photo tool', a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing the names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver's license or other state-issued photo ID." 

Requiring employers to search this database before hiring anyone, the idea is to stop employers from hiring illegal aliens. But this measure swats that fly with a sledgehammer! 

Even the ACLU is uncomfortable with the idea of the government "keeping a record of all things." 

Hey, I know one guy who will be very appreciative if this system is in place when he finally rises to power. I don't know his name yet, he's not been revealed, but I'll bet he's watching to see what happens to this legislation. 

Syria continues to spiral into chaos. I don't recall there being a regional or national crisis as geopolitically confusing or sensitive as this one. There really aren't any "good guys" in this civil war. Of course, Bashar al Assad is a brutal dictator (though not as decisively brutal as his father), but the rebels are led by none other than al Qaeda. And though the West doesn't want Assad to remain in power, neither do we want the rebels to gain control of his chemical WMD arsenal. And, surprisingly, Israel would prefer to deal with the devil it knows (the self-preserving Assad), than the devil it doesn't (the terrorist rebels with chemical weapons). 

As a result, the New York Times is calling southern Syria "an ungoverned area." Sounds like the Sinai peninsula, doesn't it? Israel continues to be surrounded by a ring of enemies that are growing increasingly hostile: Lebanon (Hezbollah), Syria, the "rebels" in lawless southern Syria, Jordan (under increasing threat by the Palestinian majority), the jihadists in the lawless Sinai peninsula, Egypt, and Gaza (Hamas). Of course, beyond them are Iraq, Iran, and the other Arab/Muslim states that despise Israel; and within Israel are the Palestinians. 

And the Syrian crisis is making for some strange bedfellows. Turkey's fear of Syria is encouraging a rapprochement with Israel. Even Russia, which stands to lose its Mediterranean naval base at Tartus, is making unusual and disquieting diplomatic overtures to Israel. 

Prophetically, we know that Syria will sooner or later fall into tremendous armed conflict. The prophet Isaiah predicts in the 17th chapter of his book that, overnight, Damascus will be utterly destroyed and rendered forever uninhabitable. We know that prophecy has yet to be fulfilled because Damascus is still standing today and is the world's oldest inhabited city that has never been destroyed and rebuilt. 

If nothing else, that unfulfilled prophecy alone should encourage all of us to be ready for Christ's imminent return to rapture His Church before the awful events of the Great Tribulation begin. 

And speaking of Christ's church, it grieves me to say that I believe the "church" in America in these last days more closely resembles the church at Laodicea described by the Apostle John in Revelation 3. Jesus said that it was blind to its own failures and shortcomings and mistakenly thought it was successful because it was rich and needed nothing. Instead, Jesus said, it disgusted Him because it was "neither cold nor hot," but "lukewarm." And because it was lukewarm, He wanted to "spit you out of My mouth." 

Friends, as we rush headlong into the final days of the Church Age, let's follow Christ's own advice in the third chapter of Revelation. Humbly ask Him to make us "gold refined by fire" and provide us "white garments (His righteousness) so that you may clothe yourself" and "eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see." As never before, we believers need to be righteous and pure before God and clear-eyed to see the danger around us in these final days. 

Do that today. Ask His forgiveness of your "lukewarmness." Confess the sins you know about in your life and trust Him to forgive you (1 John 1:9). Then He'll do more than that, He'll cleanse you of "all unrighteousness," which means the sins of which you are unaware, but guilty. 

And if you've never accepted the free pardon that Jesus Christ purchased with His death on Calvary, you can do that right now, too. In fact, in Revelation 3:20, Jesus says that He stands outside the door of your heart and patiently knocks. He promises, "...if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." 

As you read this, many of you "hear" Him knocking at the door of your heart. Don't leave Him standing there. Open your heart to Jesus and, just as He promises, He will come in and fellowship with you. 

Simply invite Him in. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Ask Him to become Lord of your life. Believe that He has done so and accept His free gift of pardon. Just like that, if you are sincere, you have become a part of God's "forever family." Now, you need not fear what waits for you after this life, you've just changed your destination reservation! You are bound for heaven! 

Finally, now that you've joined God's family, ask Him to guide you to a solid, Bible-believing church. As we near the end of this Age, the Apostle Paul warned that these would be "perilous times." You will need the strength and encouragement that comes from fellowship with other sincere believers. And you need to continue to grow in the Word of God. So find a church or fellowship that believes, preaches, and trusts the whole Word of God, not just the "feel good" variety.