As the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah there is an interesting connection to Christmas as well as the Syrian crisis in the Middle East

Hanukkah is the Jewish holy days that mark the defeat of the Grecian leader Antiochus Epiphanes who tried to destroy Jewish worship at the Temple in Jerusalem and was defeated by the Maccabees who rose to the occasion and defended the Jews from a terrible tyrant.

On December 25, 168 B.C. Antiochus entered the Temple and desecrated this Jewish holy place by slaughtering a pig on the altar which was eventually reclaimed by the Jewish people three years to the day later with the lighting of the Menorah.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

The celebration of Hanukkah, celebrated by the Jewish people, marks a victory of a Grecian king who controlled what is Syria today, but this Jewish holy day has a connection to Christmas as well.

The eight day Jewish holy days of Hanukkah mark the victory over the Grecian King Antiochus Epiphanes who ruled what is today Syria. The eight days result from the lighting of the Menorah with enough virgin olive oil for the Menorah to burn one day, but instead it burned for eight days. That happened in 165 B.C. when the Maccabees reconsecrated the Jewish Temple after the madman Antiochus had committed an abomination of the Temple which happened exactly three years to the day before on December 25, 168 B.C. By the way the date, December 25th, was chosen by the early Church fathers to celebrate Christmas because Jesus Christ celebrated Hanukkah, John 10:22. When Antiochus slaughtered that pig on the Jewish Temple altar, the Bible called it the abomination that maketh desolate, a prototype of the abomination of desolation that the Antichrist performs at the mid-way point of the Tribulation Period, Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and II Thessalonians 2:4.

Since this Satanic event will take place in a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, that reveals to us that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem for this prophecy to be fulfilled and the next Jewish Temple is ready to be rebuilt right now. In addition, there must be one that fulfills the prophecy for the Antichrist. That world dictator is alive and well on planet earth today and ready to assume his Satanically energized power and seed of authority, Revelation 13:1-3.

Jews celebrating Hanukkah today is a reminder that in a near future day Bible prophecy will indeed be fulfilled.

Pope Francis says that the world should not judge gay people

Pope Francis when asked about the gay lobby in the Vatican responded with the statement that we should not judge gay people but instead integrate them into society. Our broadcast partner Mike Gendron in Dallas, TX reports what the official stand on sodomy is in the Catholic church.

Mike Gendron: The cataclysm of the Catholic church does not condemn homosexuality outright, it merely teaches that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. So that's one of the problems. This homosexual problem within Rome will continue until the issue of celibacy is looked at. The Roman Catholic church needs recognize that as long as it forbids its clergy people to marry that they are going to have to have some form of sexual expression and oftentimes this results in homosexuality.

There's an ongoing problem and I think what's happening here in the Vatican is really the tip of the iceberg because in 2002 there is a book that really exposed much of the scandal and perversions that are taking place in Catholic seminaries. The book is entitled "Goodbye Good Men" by author Michael Rose, and he said in his book according to former seminarians and recently ordained priests that this gay subculture is so prominent at certain seminaries that these institutions have earned nicknames. It has been said that over half of the Roman Catholic priests are now homosexuals and seminaries are but a proven ground for them to come out and put on a collar and hide their sinful condition.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

Sodomy, homosexuality in the Catholic church is a sign that Jesus is about to return to the earth, that is according to Bible prophecy.

Jesus warned in Luke 17:28 that He would return to the earth when our society was like the days of Lot 4000 years ago. In that day, sodomy, homosexuality was prevalent in Sodom and Gomorrah. Men were having sexual relationships with other men. Our society today is once again immersed in sodomy approved by many people even the leaders of our nation. who commit sodomy and even those who approve of it. The Apostle Paul wrote that God rejects this lifestyle of sodomy, homosexuality and will judge those who commit sodomy and even those who approve of it, Romans 1:24-32.

Open homosexuality in the Catholic church is indeed setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

Verify, But Do Not Trust by Hal Lindsey

The world dodged a bullet last week — a big, nuclear-tipped bullet. With the sanctions againstIran finally beginning to show results, the United States rushed to cash in on that small, surface movement. At the last minute, the French put a stop to (or at least postponed) an agreement that would have been a disaster for the entire world.

Before concluding any high stakes treaty with Iran, a fundamental problem needs to be addressed. Do their overtures represent a genuine desire for peace, or another attempt to delay the West from taking actions that would stop them from acquiring the nuclear weapons they clearly want. If they get them, will they use them like North Korea has — as a means to occasionally blackmail their neighbors into propping up a failing regime? Or, do they have something even more sinister in mind?

Two years ago, the Iranian government produced and released a documentary called “The Coming is Near.” It told about the “Mahdi” — an Islamic messiah many Iranian Muslims believe will one day come to earth and begin a worldwide Islamic “caliphate.” They expect him to arrive during a time of chaos and crisis. And they are apparently not above manipulating world events in order to bring about such chaos.

I should note here that some accuse Christians of trying to manipulate world events in order to expedite the return of Jesus. But no real Christian sees the Second Coming as something we can hasten with violence. We follow the Prince of Peace. He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and we strive to be exactly that. Yes, we see dark things on the horizon, but they are not of our making. World events are turning as He said they would. It is His doing, not ours.

But many of Iran's leaders have a completely different view when it comes to the return of the “Mahdi.” They seem willing to devastate the world if it means bringing about “The Coming.” When discussing an agreement with Iran, we need to ask — do they want to live and prosper in a world where Israel also lives and prospers? Or, are they willing to do anything, say anything in order to get nuclear weapons and be able to use them against Israel — even knowing the death that could reign down on them as a result? Are they, as a nation, willing to do in the world what the suicide bombers they support do in buses?

In 1987, when Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, he said, the United States would “Trust, but verify.” Mikhail Gorbachev said to him, “You repeat that at every meeting.” Reagan responded, “I like it.”

“Trust but verify” was richly Reaganesque. It showed his inherent friendliness, but also a no-nonsense toughness. It recognized that relationships are built on trust, while also recognizing that trust and accountability go hand in hand. It was a real “road map for peace.”

Since then, in one form or another, “trust but verify” has been repeated by every U.S.president, and many other leaders around the world. President Obama used those words a couple of months ago regarding Putin’s peace plan for Syria.

In dealing with Iran, the level of trust is exceedingly low on both sides. Iran has a history of violent abuse of its citizens, exporting terrorism around the world, and promising to wipe out the nation of Israel. A few days ago, they held a “Death to America” concert at the site of the former U.S. Embassy. They continue to use those words — “Death to America” — as the slogan for their military. A meaningful nuclear deal with Iran will require a lot of extra “verify” to make up for the missing “trust.” It must include verification without restrictions. But so far, that idea doesn’t even seem to be on the table.

A terrorist group has warned Israel: Harm al-Aqsa Mosque and we will open the 'Gates of Hell'

The popular resistance, one of a number of Palestinian terror groups in the Middle East has threatened Israel that if there is any harm to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem they will open the 'Gates of Hell' against  the Zionist enemy.

The terrorist group said that the Islamic nations have started waking up and are ready to meet their religious commitments towards Palestine and al-Aqsa. The former Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Sabri, says even the Western Wall is not Jewish but belongs to the Muslims and any attack by the Jews on the al-Aqsa Mosque will endanger the safety and stability of the entire Middle Eastern region.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

A threat by a Palestinian terror group that if the Jews harm the al-Aqsa Mosque, they will open the 'Gates of Hell' against them is a page out of Bible prophecy for the end of times.

For over 1300 years the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has been a focus of the Islamic world. Though it is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem is an honored site that the Muslims want as the location for their worldwide kingdom, a caliphate. However, the Palestinian terror group is warning they will open the 'Gates of Hell' against anyone who harms al-Aqsa. Muslims could put millions of martyrs on the Temple Mount to fight off any Jewish effort to remove al-Aqsa so they can construct a Jewish Temple on the site.

This scenario is foretold in Bible prophecy and will be played out in the future. Zechariah 12:2 reveals that the Temple Mount will be at the center of controversy in the last days. Malachi 1 reports that descendants of Esau, the Palestinian people of today, will try and rebuild their national power base in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 35:5, 10 speak of a time when the Palestinians will kill the Jews and take the land, i.e. the Temple Mount, that God has given to the Jewish people. Obadiah 18 foretells of the Jews defeating the Palestinians when the Messiah, Jesus Christ returns to Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ will build a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, Zechariah 1:16 and no Palestinian terror group will open the 'Gates of Hell'.

'The Hal Lindsey Report'

I first began studying Bible prophecy in 1955, shortly after becoming a Christian. In 1956, I attended a lecture at Rice University in Houston. Colonel Robert B. Thieme spoke for more than two hours showing how the Suez Crisis of 1956 fit into the predicted scenario of end-time events. 

He said that Russia would back Egypt and the Muslims in their struggle against England, France, Israel, and much of the west. He also detailed how Russia would later become the driving force of a Muslim coalition that would eventually attack Israel and start the first phase of the war of Armageddon. 

Needless to say, I was hooked. As all of this played out on the world stage, it gave me an assurance that the Bible had to be the Word of God. For nothing man created could be that accurate about specific events that would happen hundreds and, sometimes, thousands of years later. 

In 1969, when I wrote The Late Great Planet Earth, the Soviet Union was approaching its zenith as the world's other superpower. But, according to Bible prophecy, Gog is to be a strong regional power, not a world conqueror. That meant that God had to stop the Soviet Union before it became a world-dominating power which wouldn't fit into prophecy. 

He did. 

This week, I'm going to review how Russia is becoming the Gog described by the ancient prophets. Against all odds, including the improbable collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's subsequent rise from the ashes as a strong regional power, national alignments that seemed impossible 40 years ago are now falling into place. Russia, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and the European Union are all players that have, in some cases, made complete U-turns in their historical roles. Just as the prophets predicted. 

That means that if the Bible is right about these things, then it's right about everything else. And that includes Jesus Christ's promise to redeem you from your sin. But Satan, the accuser of the believers and the father of lies, wants you to think otherwise. In fact, he will try to convince you that you're not REALLY forgiven. He'll tell you that even though you've confessed your known sin and regained fellowship with God, "He won't forgive you this time." 

If we confess our sins to God but still do not believe that we are truly forgiven, then we have unresolved guilt that will keep us from believing God in the future and walking in the Spirit. If we mistakenly believe (as Satan wants) that God is still holding something against us, then we will spiral into an ever-deepening estrangement from God.