The perception in the Middle East and the Arab World is that the United States of America, supposed leader of the free world and international superstar, is becoming weaker according to Avi Gil who is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, who also said that America no longer leads as it once did but now follows or leads from behind.
The United States has called for Israel to withdraw from land that is Biblically, historically, and strategically essential for the very existence of the Jewish state among the Arab-Islamic nations in the Middle East which would put the Jewish state in harm's way.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
With America's superpower status in decline and the rising power of the radical Arab Islamic world, we can now see better the end of times scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy.
The America that we knew 10 to 15 years ago is no longer at the peak of the pedestal as a world superpower and even the Arab Muslim world recognizes this as the case for America politically and economically. Much of the way that Israel is perceived is directly dependent upon its relationship with America. This report begs the question, where is the United States in Bible prophecy? Is it a superpower in the last days or not there at all?
The United States is not mentioned by name anywhere in Bible prophecy but it seems to refer to the United States and in fact all nations in Zechariah 14:2 when the ancient Jewish prophet wrote that at the end of the seven year Tribulation period, all nations will gather in Jerusalem. But before that, the superpower will be the Antichrist, the world dictator who will control a one world economic, political, and governmental system from Babylon in modern-day Iraq.
This is foretold in Revelation 18. Under the leadership of Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet, this massive body of people will confront Jesus Christ as He returns to the Mount of Olives and then after the Battle of Armageddon, goes into the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to set up His kingdom (Zechariah 6:12-13).
Perception has become fact as America continues to decline in leadership and character in our world today. The prophecies of God's Word will indeed be fulfilled.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The perception in the Middle East is that the American superpower status is in decline
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
'The Hal Lindsey Report'
If you've been watching coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia, you've seen Russian President Vladimir Putin from time to time. He's been playing host to the world, commiserating with his fellow countrymen when they lose, celebrating with them when they win, and putting on a good sport's face when their rivals win.
Overall, pundits and analysts are suggesting that he's doing a good job of selling Russia to the world, even though the weather hasn't been terribly cooperative and some of the facilities and services have garnered criticism from visiting journalists.
Of course, the Games started with a slap in Putin's face from quite a few western leaders when they refused to attend because of Russia's law forbidding homosexual "propaganda" and recruitment. President Obama went so far as to send a delegation of gay former athletes and Olympians to Sochi before the Games to emphasize his commitment to the rights of homosexuals around the world.
But apparently Putin wasn't impressed. The law is still on the books, the Games have gone on, and no terrorist attacks have interrupted them thus far. Overall, things seem to be going Putin's way.
And they seem to be going his way in other parts of the world, too. Particularly the Middle East.
After the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi, arrested the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and stopped Egypt's headlong plunge into sharia law and Islamic statism, the Obama administration decided to withhold promised aid to the Egyptian government and deal with the new regime at arm's length. It's quite reminiscent of the tack America took in the late 1950's that drove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser into the arms of the Soviet Union.
Well, the USSR no longer exists, but Russia does and its president longs for the old days when the USSR exerted enormous influence in the world, particularly in the Middle East. And he has open arms.
So the de facto leader of Egypt, General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi paid Russian President Vladimir Putin a call in Moscow recently. And he was lavishly received with those open arms. In fact, in some of the news video, I saw Putin break into a smile - twice! Now that should warm al-Sisi's heart, indeed.
So now Egypt and Russia are working out a 3 billion dollar arms deal for MiG-29s, Mi35 helicopters, and inland and coastal defense systems. And who knows what else? In fact, in Egypt, Putin is now viewed as somewhat of a "savior."
President Obama, on the other hand, after delivering such exalted promises in his infamous Cairo speech, then pressing to see the Muslim Brotherhood installed in power and refusing to acknowledge that Egypt is better off without the thugs, is now reviled across the Middle East - especially in Egypt.
The world's media basically ignored the visit Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas paid to Moscow in late January. While there, he essentially dumped Secretary of State John Kerry's peace plan and sought Putin's backing for Palestinian statehood.
And if that's not enough, Iran has now begun making fresh overtures to Russia. They want to buy arms (I suppose the cash they're getting from the West since the sanctions have been eased is burning a hole in their pocket) and stage joint naval games with Russia (maybe in the Atlantic?).
But, as country picker Jerry Reed used to sing, "When you're hot, you're hot." And Putin is hot. Just as the prophets predicted.
In 1672, John Dryden wrote a play in which he extolled the virtues of the "noble savage." European elites loved it.
Over time, they began to see civilization itself as the great destroyer of human values. They began to believe that if humans were just left to their own devices, with no one preaching right or wrong to them or imposing ideas like marriage or justice, the innate goodness of humans would always rise to the surface and triumph.
Significantly, they saw Christianity as the main culprit in corrupting man's natural moral excellence.
In the fantasy, and in the movies, the "noble savage" is full of wisdom and goodness. In reality, though, if you showed up hungry on the doorstep of the "noble savage," he might serve you an entree or he might serve you AS the entree. But through the generations, the idea of the "noble savage" persisted.
Christians value each person as made in the image of God, but we also recognize humanity's fallen nature. The Bible says that man sins because we are sinners by birth. (See Romans 5:12 and on.)
The natural mind and the elites of the world hate that. We've been educated to believe that we are blank slates and that any bad characteristics we exhibit have been taught us by society, our parents, or the church. However, some recent studies show that the Bible was right all along.
In fact, Dr. Paul Bloom of Yale University commented, "Humans are born with a hard-wired morality, a sense of good and evil is bred in the bone."
Science, at last, may be starting to get it right, but those of us who trusted the Bible have gotten it right all along.
Archeologists from Tel Aviv University recently published research from an excavation in the Negev desert. They found some camel bones that carbon-dating suggests are from the 10th century B.C. In the press release, they mention that the Bible says that Abraham had camels even older than these, by more than a thousand years.
No big deal, right? Wrong. In the fevered, anti-Christian, and, perhaps delusional minds of the world media, that little statement suggests that this otherwise obscure find might bring into question the accuracy of the Bible. They were giddy with delight.
I'll share others on the show, but here's an example of how some respected publications abandoned their objectivity in reporting this "discovery." The Smithsonian headlined its article: "Here is Proof the Bibles Tales were Tweaked."
They insist that proof that domesticated camels existed in one part of Israel in the 10th century B.C. means they did NOT exist anywhere else in Israel before then. And that Biblical references to earlier camels are nothing more than a fiction. Which means that the Bible is lying and cannot be trusted.
Apparently, many of them do not understand that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
A writer for The Guardian of London even speculated that the discovery of "the old Testament's made-up camels are a problem for Zionism." Unbelievably, he used the discovery of some 3,000-year old camel bones to undermine Israel's right to exist!
I'm not making this up. Welcome to the end-times, folks.
For years now, conservatives and some moderates have been warning about the danger inherent in a United Nations initiative called Agenda 21. Though I covered this on my old television program on TBN in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I've not discussed it recently.
As we see growing chaos across the world, much of it exacerbated by an out-of-control environmentalist mindset (of which the bogus "man-made" climate change hoax is just the tip of the iceberg and the death of farming in America's most fertile valley is a result), the bizarre and draconian effects of Agenda 21 will become more apparent.
In fact, it is such a threat to our own national sovereignty that I want to quote just a portion of a statement by an organization called Democrats Against UN Agenda 21: "The plan calls for governments to take control of all land use and not leave any of the decision making in the hands of the private property owners. It is assumed that people are not good stewards... and the government will do a better job.... Individual rights in general are to give way to the needs of the communities as determined by the governing body. Moreover, people should be rounded up off the land and packed into human settlements, or islands of human habitation...."
And to show you I'm not just quoting the opposition, here's what Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer, one of the prominent scientists promoting Agenda 21, recently admitted: "Developed countries have basically expropriated the atmosphere of the world community. But one must clearly say that we redistribute de facto the world's wealth by climate policy."
Had the ancient prophets predicted that one day the elites of the world would seek to control the world by regulating the air we breathe and then taxing each breath, they would have been laughed out of the prophets' club. Once again, welcome to the end-times, folks.
Hal Lindsey
Overall, pundits and analysts are suggesting that he's doing a good job of selling Russia to the world, even though the weather hasn't been terribly cooperative and some of the facilities and services have garnered criticism from visiting journalists.
Of course, the Games started with a slap in Putin's face from quite a few western leaders when they refused to attend because of Russia's law forbidding homosexual "propaganda" and recruitment. President Obama went so far as to send a delegation of gay former athletes and Olympians to Sochi before the Games to emphasize his commitment to the rights of homosexuals around the world.
But apparently Putin wasn't impressed. The law is still on the books, the Games have gone on, and no terrorist attacks have interrupted them thus far. Overall, things seem to be going Putin's way.
And they seem to be going his way in other parts of the world, too. Particularly the Middle East.
After the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi, arrested the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and stopped Egypt's headlong plunge into sharia law and Islamic statism, the Obama administration decided to withhold promised aid to the Egyptian government and deal with the new regime at arm's length. It's quite reminiscent of the tack America took in the late 1950's that drove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser into the arms of the Soviet Union.
Well, the USSR no longer exists, but Russia does and its president longs for the old days when the USSR exerted enormous influence in the world, particularly in the Middle East. And he has open arms.
So the de facto leader of Egypt, General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi paid Russian President Vladimir Putin a call in Moscow recently. And he was lavishly received with those open arms. In fact, in some of the news video, I saw Putin break into a smile - twice! Now that should warm al-Sisi's heart, indeed.
So now Egypt and Russia are working out a 3 billion dollar arms deal for MiG-29s, Mi35 helicopters, and inland and coastal defense systems. And who knows what else? In fact, in Egypt, Putin is now viewed as somewhat of a "savior."
President Obama, on the other hand, after delivering such exalted promises in his infamous Cairo speech, then pressing to see the Muslim Brotherhood installed in power and refusing to acknowledge that Egypt is better off without the thugs, is now reviled across the Middle East - especially in Egypt.
The world's media basically ignored the visit Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas paid to Moscow in late January. While there, he essentially dumped Secretary of State John Kerry's peace plan and sought Putin's backing for Palestinian statehood.
And if that's not enough, Iran has now begun making fresh overtures to Russia. They want to buy arms (I suppose the cash they're getting from the West since the sanctions have been eased is burning a hole in their pocket) and stage joint naval games with Russia (maybe in the Atlantic?).
But, as country picker Jerry Reed used to sing, "When you're hot, you're hot." And Putin is hot. Just as the prophets predicted.
In 1672, John Dryden wrote a play in which he extolled the virtues of the "noble savage." European elites loved it.
Over time, they began to see civilization itself as the great destroyer of human values. They began to believe that if humans were just left to their own devices, with no one preaching right or wrong to them or imposing ideas like marriage or justice, the innate goodness of humans would always rise to the surface and triumph.
Significantly, they saw Christianity as the main culprit in corrupting man's natural moral excellence.
In the fantasy, and in the movies, the "noble savage" is full of wisdom and goodness. In reality, though, if you showed up hungry on the doorstep of the "noble savage," he might serve you an entree or he might serve you AS the entree. But through the generations, the idea of the "noble savage" persisted.
Christians value each person as made in the image of God, but we also recognize humanity's fallen nature. The Bible says that man sins because we are sinners by birth. (See Romans 5:12 and on.)
The natural mind and the elites of the world hate that. We've been educated to believe that we are blank slates and that any bad characteristics we exhibit have been taught us by society, our parents, or the church. However, some recent studies show that the Bible was right all along.
In fact, Dr. Paul Bloom of Yale University commented, "Humans are born with a hard-wired morality, a sense of good and evil is bred in the bone."
Science, at last, may be starting to get it right, but those of us who trusted the Bible have gotten it right all along.
Archeologists from Tel Aviv University recently published research from an excavation in the Negev desert. They found some camel bones that carbon-dating suggests are from the 10th century B.C. In the press release, they mention that the Bible says that Abraham had camels even older than these, by more than a thousand years.
No big deal, right? Wrong. In the fevered, anti-Christian, and, perhaps delusional minds of the world media, that little statement suggests that this otherwise obscure find might bring into question the accuracy of the Bible. They were giddy with delight.
I'll share others on the show, but here's an example of how some respected publications abandoned their objectivity in reporting this "discovery." The Smithsonian headlined its article: "Here is Proof the Bibles Tales were Tweaked."
They insist that proof that domesticated camels existed in one part of Israel in the 10th century B.C. means they did NOT exist anywhere else in Israel before then. And that Biblical references to earlier camels are nothing more than a fiction. Which means that the Bible is lying and cannot be trusted.
Apparently, many of them do not understand that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
A writer for The Guardian of London even speculated that the discovery of "the old Testament's made-up camels are a problem for Zionism." Unbelievably, he used the discovery of some 3,000-year old camel bones to undermine Israel's right to exist!
I'm not making this up. Welcome to the end-times, folks.
For years now, conservatives and some moderates have been warning about the danger inherent in a United Nations initiative called Agenda 21. Though I covered this on my old television program on TBN in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I've not discussed it recently.
As we see growing chaos across the world, much of it exacerbated by an out-of-control environmentalist mindset (of which the bogus "man-made" climate change hoax is just the tip of the iceberg and the death of farming in America's most fertile valley is a result), the bizarre and draconian effects of Agenda 21 will become more apparent.
In fact, it is such a threat to our own national sovereignty that I want to quote just a portion of a statement by an organization called Democrats Against UN Agenda 21: "The plan calls for governments to take control of all land use and not leave any of the decision making in the hands of the private property owners. It is assumed that people are not good stewards... and the government will do a better job.... Individual rights in general are to give way to the needs of the communities as determined by the governing body. Moreover, people should be rounded up off the land and packed into human settlements, or islands of human habitation...."
And to show you I'm not just quoting the opposition, here's what Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer, one of the prominent scientists promoting Agenda 21, recently admitted: "Developed countries have basically expropriated the atmosphere of the world community. But one must clearly say that we redistribute de facto the world's wealth by climate policy."
Had the ancient prophets predicted that one day the elites of the world would seek to control the world by regulating the air we breathe and then taxing each breath, they would have been laughed out of the prophets' club. Once again, welcome to the end-times, folks.
God Bless,
Hal Lindsey
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The president of the PA denies that there was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and denies Christian theology
PA President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent speech denied that there was ever a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem which is part of a campaign to eradicate Jewish history at the Temple Mount as well as the rest of the land of Israel.
By Abbas' denial of the Jewish Temple at the same time he has undermined the teaching of the New Testament and the life of Jesus Christ because if there was no Temple in Jerusalem, the biblical account of Jesus chasing the money changers out of the Temple would mean that there would be no truth to biblical history and Christian theology.
Abbas has also stated that there will be no peace, security, or stability unless the Jewish occupiers, the settlements, and the settlers are evacuated from the Palestinian holy city of Jerusalem and its sacred site.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
By denying that there was ever a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem the PA President Mahmoud Abbas not only denies Jewish history, Christian theology, but the truth of Bible prophecy as well.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been a person that stands in the face of history by first denying that the Holocaust ever took place. In recent years, Mahmoud Abbas has been leading the charge against biblical history in his denial of there ever being a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This denial contradicts both secular history and biblical history as well.
The Old Testament records the fact of the first Temple in Jerusalem being built by King Solomon, II Chronicles 3. Abbas contradicts the biblical account of the second Temple in Jerusalem built by Zerubbabel who led 50000 Jews back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in order to build the second Temple, Ezra 1-6. The Gospel of John tells us that Herod the Great took a number of years to refurbish the second Temple that stood in Jerusalem in the times of Jesus Christ, that's John 2:20.
In fact, the account of Jesus throwing the money changers out of the Temple found in John 2:13-16 took place at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus and a repeat of that same activity by Jesus at the end of His ministry, Matthew 21:12-13, proves that there was a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount and Jews were present there for over 1000 years. Zechariah 6:12-13 says that Jesus Christ, a Jew, will return to the earth and build another Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
PA President Abbas is wrong. Bible prophecy has been and will be fulfilled.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
An Israeli preemptive strike on Iran could happen at any moment
The world seems to be accepting the Iranian president as a moderate, a leader who wants to live at peace with its neighbors, the Israelis however disagree, they believe that President Rouhani is a bad man with an evil agenda as it relates to a Nuclear Weapon of Mass Destruction.
Dave Dolan: This man wrote a book in which he said we must launch a charm offensive, we must look more peaceable and look more respectable and speak more softly and at the same time according to the book we can continue with our nuclear program and get what we want in which case he was endorsing the nuclear program. Netanyahu is saying look, he's following his own clearly spelled out game plan here.
They are just likely to launch a military operation frankly certainly if they feel very, very isolated and I think that's what Mr. Netanyahu has been saying. I think it could be very close Jimmy and I've heard that from others too and that's not only because of this diplomatic process and what Israel sees as a very flawed agreement but also because we have this report from Washington a couple weeks ago they can assembly a bomb within about a month to six weeks once they decide to do it. That's all the time it would take Iran is what this nuclear institute said. They said this independently, they are former inspectors, so yes, I think something could be imminent over in that area.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
The tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran is actually setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Even under the new moderate Iranian leadership, this Islamic republic continues to prepare a Nuclear Weapon of Mass Destruction. Though world leaders believe that they can control Iran and the development of this nuclear WMD, Bible prophecy denies that is the case.
In Ezekiel 38:5 Iran will help form the coalition that will attack the Jewish state of Israel to try to destroy them, but instead of Israel being wiped off the face of the earth, Iran will be wiped out, Ezekiel 38:18-39:6. That passage of Scripture deals with how the God of Heaven will protect the Jewish people, His chosen people from total annihilation by an alignment of nations including the Islamic republic of Iran.
As Iran prepares to destroy Israel, Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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'.
Friday, February 14, 2014
'The Hal Lindsey Report'
When I consider Iran, the word "paradox" comes to mind. Today, we think of Iran primarily as Israel's greatest threat. The leaders of the Islamic Republic consistently and often threaten to wipe Israel from the map at their first opportunity.
Yet for generations, Iran has been home to the largest community of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel. And they have lived there in peace and a certain degree of harmony.
In fact, until the Muslims overthrew the Shah more than 30 years ago, Israel and Iran were, effectively, allies. There are, in fact, still Jews living in Iran. They have jobs, businesses, a member of Parliament, and even a hospital, but now just a few thousand remain out of the 150,000 who once lived and thrived there.
Even in their dealings with the United States, whom they call "The Great Satan" and are determined to destroy, the Iranians say one thing and do another.
While the new president, Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet mount a successful major "charm offensive," Iran's Supreme Leader and his military officers issue threats against both Israel and the United States. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to ridicule and threaten Israel. Major military figures imply to the world's press that teams of Iranian operatives are positioned at critical, vulnerable points to attack and destroy the U.S. from within.
Further, recently Iran announced that -- for the first time in its history -- it has dispatched three warships to the Atlantic Ocean to patrol (and probe?) the maritime borders of the United States. For several years now, I've reported on Iranian preparations (including substantial practice off their own coast in the Caspian Sea) to launch an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack against the U.S. Could this be a dry-run for that attack?
Whatever, it's safe to say that what Iran "says" and what Iran "does" are usually two completely different things. America's leaders apparently don't know that, don't believe that, or don't care.
Speaking of dry runs. In April of 2013, a power substation serving San Jose, California, was mysteriously attacked in the middle of the night. A team of snipers began firing at the unattended Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) facility. In less than one minute, the snipers fired more than 100 shots. They damaged or destroyed 17 of the station's 23 transformers.
Though law enforcement dismissed the incident as a prank by drunken teen aged boys, powerful and knowledgeable people have begun to question that assumption. Jon Wellinghoff, who was the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at the time of the incident, recently has gone public. He told The Wall Street Journal that it was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred."
"The grid," of course, refers to the thousands of power generation and distribution stations and substations that supply our nation's electricity through millions of miles of electrical distribution lines. It is huge and it is extremely vulnerable to terrorist attack.
The one minute assault of concentrated and coordinated gunfire on the San Jose substation took 27 days to repair. Power transformers are very expensive to build and difficult to install. That's why most power companies have very few of them on hand and at the ready. In fact, most of the transformers in our nation's power grid do not have replacement units available.
Fortunately for Silicon Valley, there was only one substation attacked. PG&E quickly rerouted around the downed station. Just imagine the possibilities if many substations are attacked at once and in a coordinated manner. The cascading effect could be unbelievably catastrophic. In today's world, no electricity means society ceases to function. And it could take months to get the grid back up and running.
In view of recent threats by Iranian generals about teams of operatives being in place to attack and destroy America from within, the possibility that the San Jose attack was a "dry run" becomes even more realistic -- and frightening.
On a recent "Hal Lindsey Report," I offered a series of stories about how Christians are increasingly being criticized and ridiculed for their faith and even forced by the state to act in contradiction to that faith. In the course of the program called "No Christians Allowed," I reported that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) had surprised everyone with its nomination for an Oscar of a song from an obscure Christian movie.
I noted the disgusting media reaction to the song, "Alone Yet Not Alone," from the movie of the same name. I even reported that one of the film's producers was surprised, amazed, and overjoyed by the announcement.
Well, apparently the Academy board was also surprised and amazed by the nomination -- though apparently not overjoyed! They were probably also a bit shocked by the reaction of the liberal media elites and the gay-rights activists. So they did the only thing a group of hypocritical leftist snobs could do, they withdrew the nomination.
This was almost as great a shock as the nomination itself. In fact, it is so rare that The Los Angeles Times noted, "For the first time in its history, the academy this week revoked an Oscar nomination on ethical grounds, citing improper campaigning...."
In an industry where studios pay companies millions of dollars to deliver Oscar votes (including lavish parties, free screenings, bags of gifts, and who really knows what else), a solitary composer sending 70 emails to his friends and acquaintances simply suggesting they listen to a song seems pretty benign. (He only asked them to listen. He didn't ask them to vote for it.)
As Gerald Molen, the Oscar-winning producer of "Schindler's List" noted, in an industry where over-the-top, in-your-face promotion "seems to me to have been the normal practice for a long, long time... the Academy has suddenly discovered lobbying in the case of this one song?"
Then I think Molen hits the nail on the head: "Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple."
But, really, we should not be surprised. The Bible warns that as we approach the end of this Age, recrimination and discrimination against Christians will increase. It will someday reach the point where Christian thought and activity may be criminalized. I firmly believe that's the goal. At that point, the government can begin removing Christians from participation in society.
Remember, Jesus Himself warned us that the world would "hate" us simply because they hate Him and our very presence reminds them of Him. He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:18 & 20)
Let's take this as a reminder that we need to actively prepare ourselves and our families for those days. Make certain you've accepted the forgiveness that Christ's atoning sacrifice purchased for you. Then trust Him to strengthen you for the trials that lay ahead. Remember, each challenge to your faith will be an opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus with those who do not know Him.
Yet for generations, Iran has been home to the largest community of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel. And they have lived there in peace and a certain degree of harmony.
In fact, until the Muslims overthrew the Shah more than 30 years ago, Israel and Iran were, effectively, allies. There are, in fact, still Jews living in Iran. They have jobs, businesses, a member of Parliament, and even a hospital, but now just a few thousand remain out of the 150,000 who once lived and thrived there.
Even in their dealings with the United States, whom they call "The Great Satan" and are determined to destroy, the Iranians say one thing and do another.
While the new president, Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet mount a successful major "charm offensive," Iran's Supreme Leader and his military officers issue threats against both Israel and the United States. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to ridicule and threaten Israel. Major military figures imply to the world's press that teams of Iranian operatives are positioned at critical, vulnerable points to attack and destroy the U.S. from within.
Further, recently Iran announced that -- for the first time in its history -- it has dispatched three warships to the Atlantic Ocean to patrol (and probe?) the maritime borders of the United States. For several years now, I've reported on Iranian preparations (including substantial practice off their own coast in the Caspian Sea) to launch an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack against the U.S. Could this be a dry-run for that attack?
Whatever, it's safe to say that what Iran "says" and what Iran "does" are usually two completely different things. America's leaders apparently don't know that, don't believe that, or don't care.
Speaking of dry runs. In April of 2013, a power substation serving San Jose, California, was mysteriously attacked in the middle of the night. A team of snipers began firing at the unattended Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) facility. In less than one minute, the snipers fired more than 100 shots. They damaged or destroyed 17 of the station's 23 transformers.
Though law enforcement dismissed the incident as a prank by drunken teen aged boys, powerful and knowledgeable people have begun to question that assumption. Jon Wellinghoff, who was the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at the time of the incident, recently has gone public. He told The Wall Street Journal that it was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred."
"The grid," of course, refers to the thousands of power generation and distribution stations and substations that supply our nation's electricity through millions of miles of electrical distribution lines. It is huge and it is extremely vulnerable to terrorist attack.
The one minute assault of concentrated and coordinated gunfire on the San Jose substation took 27 days to repair. Power transformers are very expensive to build and difficult to install. That's why most power companies have very few of them on hand and at the ready. In fact, most of the transformers in our nation's power grid do not have replacement units available.
Fortunately for Silicon Valley, there was only one substation attacked. PG&E quickly rerouted around the downed station. Just imagine the possibilities if many substations are attacked at once and in a coordinated manner. The cascading effect could be unbelievably catastrophic. In today's world, no electricity means society ceases to function. And it could take months to get the grid back up and running.
In view of recent threats by Iranian generals about teams of operatives being in place to attack and destroy America from within, the possibility that the San Jose attack was a "dry run" becomes even more realistic -- and frightening.
On a recent "Hal Lindsey Report," I offered a series of stories about how Christians are increasingly being criticized and ridiculed for their faith and even forced by the state to act in contradiction to that faith. In the course of the program called "No Christians Allowed," I reported that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) had surprised everyone with its nomination for an Oscar of a song from an obscure Christian movie.
I noted the disgusting media reaction to the song, "Alone Yet Not Alone," from the movie of the same name. I even reported that one of the film's producers was surprised, amazed, and overjoyed by the announcement.
Well, apparently the Academy board was also surprised and amazed by the nomination -- though apparently not overjoyed! They were probably also a bit shocked by the reaction of the liberal media elites and the gay-rights activists. So they did the only thing a group of hypocritical leftist snobs could do, they withdrew the nomination.
This was almost as great a shock as the nomination itself. In fact, it is so rare that The Los Angeles Times noted, "For the first time in its history, the academy this week revoked an Oscar nomination on ethical grounds, citing improper campaigning...."
In an industry where studios pay companies millions of dollars to deliver Oscar votes (including lavish parties, free screenings, bags of gifts, and who really knows what else), a solitary composer sending 70 emails to his friends and acquaintances simply suggesting they listen to a song seems pretty benign. (He only asked them to listen. He didn't ask them to vote for it.)
As Gerald Molen, the Oscar-winning producer of "Schindler's List" noted, in an industry where over-the-top, in-your-face promotion "seems to me to have been the normal practice for a long, long time... the Academy has suddenly discovered lobbying in the case of this one song?"
Then I think Molen hits the nail on the head: "Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple."
But, really, we should not be surprised. The Bible warns that as we approach the end of this Age, recrimination and discrimination against Christians will increase. It will someday reach the point where Christian thought and activity may be criminalized. I firmly believe that's the goal. At that point, the government can begin removing Christians from participation in society.
Remember, Jesus Himself warned us that the world would "hate" us simply because they hate Him and our very presence reminds them of Him. He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:18 & 20)
Let's take this as a reminder that we need to actively prepare ourselves and our families for those days. Make certain you've accepted the forgiveness that Christ's atoning sacrifice purchased for you. Then trust Him to strengthen you for the trials that lay ahead. Remember, each challenge to your faith will be an opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus with those who do not know Him.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Divine Sign for Israel?
The Book of Genesis says God uses the sun, moon, and stars for signs and seasons. Examples can be found throughout the Bible.
Think of how a star led the wise men to Jesus or how the sun stood still as Joshua led Israel to victory over its enemies.
According to Pastor John Hagee, God is getting ready to speak this way once again.
"There's a sense in the world that things are changing and God is trying to communicate with us in a supernatural way," Hagee told CBN News.
"I believe that in these next two years, we're going to see something dramatic happen in the Middle East involving Israel that will change the course of history in the Middle East and impact the whole world," he predicted.
Four Blood Moons
In his latest book, Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change, Hagee lays out what he calls celestial signals. He describes how a series of blood moons in 2014 and 2015 will have great significance for Israel.
Although single blood moons happen fairly regularly, four appearing so closely together is extremely rare. There have only been a series of blood moons a handful of times over the past 500 years.
So what exactly is a blood moon and what is the biblical significance?
"A blood moon is when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon," Hagee explained. "And the sun is shining through the atmosphere of the Earth and casts up on the moon a red shadow. And so the moon appears to be red."
Such moons appear several times in scripture.
In the book of Joel, God says there will be "wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire…the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
In Acts, the Apostle Peter repeats that verse from Joel. And the book of Revelation says that during the Great Tribulation, "the moon will become like blood."
Blood moons are set to appear in April 2014, on Passover, and then again in September 2014 during the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot.
The timing is the same for 2015 -- a total of four blood moons, all appearing on Jewish feast days.
"The sun and the moon and the Earth are controlled by God almighty," Hagee said. "He is the one that is getting them in a direct alignment on a certain day at a certain time -- but each time, it's a Passover or Sukkot.
Historic Significance
In the past, the rare appearance of four blood moons on these feast days has coincided with major events for Israel and the Jewish people.
In 1492, Spain expelled the Jews. Columbus also discovered America, which became a safe haven for the Jewish people.
"In each of these blood moons, you have something that begins in tragedy and ends in triumph," Hagee explained.
For instance, in 1948, Israel was reborn as a nation.
"After 2,000 years, God supernaturally brought them from 66 nations and a nation was born in a day," Hagee noted. "That again was a supernatural something that happened following the tragedy of the Holocaust."
In 1967, Israel won the Six-Day War and recaptured Jerusalem.
"For the first time in 2,000 years, Jerusalem and the State of Israel were together again," Hagee said.
Nuclear Threat
The blood moons of 2014 and 2015 are poised to appear as Iran works toward nuclear weapons and Israel's neighbors, Egypt and Syria, are in chaos.
"The only reason that Iran will not acquire a nuclear bomb will be that Israel chooses a military solution to that crisis," Hagee told CBN News.
"I believe that if that happens, it will start a series of events that will change the course of world history," he said. "If Israel does not, then it will still change the course of world history."
Hagee has been warning of the Iranian nuclear threat through his work with Christians United for Israel, which he founded in 2006. It is now the largest pro-Israel organization in America, with some 1.3 million members.
He holds nights to honor Israel across the country and at San Antonio's Cornerstone Church, where he serves as senior pastor. The first event, in 1981, drew bomb threats and vandalism from anti-Semites.
Yet Hagee continues his mission.
"If there was ever a time for the Christians of America to stiffen their spine and stand up and speak up, it's now," Hagee admonished. "To see evil and not call it evil is evil. Not to speak is to speak. We cannot be silent and receive God's approval at a time like this."
He said it's still unclear what the coming blood moons will bring, but he is certain of one thing.
"When all is said and done, the flag of Israel will be flying over the walls of the city of Jerusalem when Messiah comes, and it's going to be forever," he said. "And every nation that rises up in judgment against Israel God will punish and punish severely."
Friday, February 7, 2014
Robert Jeffress on Revelation, President Obama's Role in End Times Prophecy and Motivating Christians to Share the Gospel
Pastor Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has released a new book, Perfect Ending: Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today, that cuts through the misconceptions about end times prophecy and God's judgment, and answers questions about heaven. It also answers why Christians should be actively sharing the Gospel with nonbelievers.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Jeffress shared which questions he gets asked most about heaven, why he says President Barack Obama's policies are paving the way for a future world dictator, known as the Antichrist, and why Christians shouldn't shy away from being active in politics.
CP: In your book, you mention that President Barack Obama's policies and political agenda is paving the way for a future world dictator. Can you provide a couple examples of those policies?
Jeffress: Those are probably the two paragraphs in the book that have garnered the most national attention. I want to be very clear, I am not claiming that President Obama is the Antichrist. In fact, I'm absolutely certain he is not the Antichrist. The reason I can say that is the Bible indicates the Antichrist will have higher poll numbers. But I do believe that the president is paving the way for a future world dictator.
The Bible says the seven years of history before the coming of Christ will be characterized by this world dictator that we commonly call the Antichrist. He will usurp people's basic freedoms, such as speech, worship and commerce. He will launch an attack against God's people. And he will seek to change God's moral law, according to Daniel 7:25. And he will be able to accomplish all of these things with little to no opposition – at least at the beginning
And when I wrote this book, I had to ask the question: How will the Antichrist be able to usurp such freedom without any opposition. And my answer is that people will have been conditioned to the giving up of their rights long before this final dictator comes. And I think you see that in President Obama.
You have to agree, whether you're for or against Obamacare, that the president has successfully seized control of one-sixth of the nation's economy, causing people to give up basic freedoms, like the freedom of the choice of a doctor and a health care provider.
Not only that, the president has launched an attack against God's own people unlike any president in history. Who would've thought a president of the United States would be going against a little group of nuns because they would not submit to the HHS mandate for contraceptives.
For the first time in U.S. history you've had a president who has proposed a change in one of God's most basic moral laws that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The president was able to do all of these things and still win re-election by a comfortable margin.
This is what I'm saying: The president is both illustrative of, but he's also preparing the way for the coming world dictator. Now, let me be very clear and say that I do not believe that President Obama kneels before an altar of Satan in the Oval Office every day – I'm not saying that at all. But I am saying that what he is doing now is preparing the way for this future dictator.
CP: So you're saying that current events, President Obama's policies, are examples of what's to come?
Jeffress: They are examples of what is yet to come. But they are also preparing the way for what is to come by conditioning people to give up their rights for the so-called greater good.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
As we look at geopolitical events unfolding in our world today there is evidence that this world is ready for something spectacular to happen
In our wold today, we see events happening that seem to be somewhat of a stage setter for something catastrophic or spectacular to happen, something that could happen which would indeed change the entire earth's future.
In the Middle East, Egypt is involved in one crisis after another. The civil war in Syria brings more death to Syrians on a daily basis and the Jewish state of Israel is under a political attack especially from the Palestinians.
If you take a look to the far East, the prospects that China and India with a total of one-third of the earth's population and both of these nations increasing daily in population, wealth, and military preparedness, they both are becoming somewhat of a superpower in our world today.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
Geopolitical activities and current events in our world today are setting the stage for what some call a catastrophic event to happen but is in reality only a part of the end of times scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy.
If you are a watcher of geopolitical activities and current events and at the same time familiar with Bible prophecy, you will be able to recognize that our world is on the fast track to the scenario that is found in the pages of Bible prophecy. As a student of Bible prophecy and what I call a news junkie, I do recognize that this world is very close to the last days scenario that is found in the pages of Bible prophecy. The far East is quickly putting in place their economic and military preparedness in order to become nations that would be included in the superpowers of this world.
This was actually foretold by John the Revelator when he wrote about the impact of the Kings of the East in Revelation 16:12. Europe and the EU with all of their economic struggles are working to put in place an economic structure that is described in Bible prophecy, Daniel 7:23-24 and Revelation 18.
In the Middle East with the radicalism prevalent in both Syria and Egypt to the North and to the South of the Jewish state of Israel, one can understand better the pre-written history written by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 11:40-43 and see how this world will indeed see catastrophic, spectacular events in the near future.
‘Kerry has declared a war on God,’ write hard-line rabbis in letter
A group of hard-line nationalist rabbis wrote in an open to letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry that through his current mediation efforts between Israel and Palestinian negotiators he had declared war against God.
The rabbis warned that the secretary must cease such activities, to avoid divine punishment.
The letter was sent by the Committee to Save the Land and People of Israel – an activist group opposed to any political accords with the Palestinians involving territorial concessions – founded by Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo , who also founded the far-right Our Land of Israel party.
“Your incessant efforts to expropriate integral parts of our Holy Land and hand them over to Abbas’s terrorist gang, amount to a declaration of war against the Creator and Ruler of the universe! For G-d awarded the entire Land of Israel to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in order that they bequeath it, as an everlasting inheritance, to their descendants, the Jewish people, until the end of all time,” the letter reads.
The rabbis argue that Kerry’s plan endangers Israeli Jews by bringing them within close range of potential rocket and missile fire from the West Bank should it be ceded by Israel to the Palestinians.
“If you continue on this destructive path, you will ensure your everlasting disgrace in Jewish history for bringing calamity upon the Jewish people,” continued the rabbis, comparing Kerry to Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II and Roman commander and future emperor Titus, the two enemies of the ancient Jewish kingdoms who destroyed the temples inJerusalem and Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel along with them.
“By the power of our Holy Torah, we admonish you to cease immediately all efforts to achieve these disastrous agreements – in order to avoid severe heavenly punishment for everyone involved,” they threatened.
The letter was signed by Rabbi Wolpo, along with four other rabbis including Rabbi Yisrael Ariel , the founder and chairman of the Temple Institute ; Rabbi Yigal Pizam, the dean of a yeshiva and a leader of the Chabad community in the Haifa neighborhood of Kiryat Shmuel; Rabbi Gedalya Axelrod, the emeritus head of the Haifa Rabbinic Court; and Rabbi Ben Tziyon Grossman from the town of Migdal Ha’emek.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
The Intelligence Community says the US will be out as the sole superpower by 2030
The Intelligence Community has issued a report which projects that the US will no longer be the world's only superpower by 2030 and Asia will surpass North America and Europe combined with Asian population, military spending, and technological investment.
This report comes from the office of the Director of National Intelligence which states that the unipolar world that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union will not continue.
Global trends project that the US will retain a role in the world in part because of its history and past leadership but nations like China, India, and Brazil are the rising world powers.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
With countries like China, India, and Brazil on the rise in our world today, the US will soon be reduced economically and militarily no longer to be the only superpower in our world which is a scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy for the last days.
Many political pundits and world thinkers have said that the economic crisis which the US faces will play a key role in knocking the US out of superpower status. Militarily, China is quickly becoming an equal to the US and there are projections that China will overtake the US in military power in the near future. Students of Bible prophecy have for some years known that the US is not in Bible prophecy as a player in the last days. One suggestion is that at the Rapture of the Church, the US will be rendered weak since the backbone of America is the born again Christian who will leave at the Rapture, I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Both China and India are included in the prophetic phrase, "Kings of the East" found in Revelation 16:12 and they will be key players at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period. Other nations in the Middle East will form a coalition of nations that align themselves to try to destroy the Jewish state of Israel at the beginning of the Tribulation, Ezekiel 38, Daniel 11, and Psalm 83. Between the Rapture which happens just before the Tribulation Period and the return of Jesus Christ at the end of that terrible time of trouble, much judgment will come upon the world including the nations already mentioned in this report as well as the US.
This report comes from the office of the Director of National Intelligence which states that the unipolar world that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union will not continue.
Global trends project that the US will retain a role in the world in part because of its history and past leadership but nations like China, India, and Brazil are the rising world powers.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
With countries like China, India, and Brazil on the rise in our world today, the US will soon be reduced economically and militarily no longer to be the only superpower in our world which is a scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy for the last days.
Many political pundits and world thinkers have said that the economic crisis which the US faces will play a key role in knocking the US out of superpower status. Militarily, China is quickly becoming an equal to the US and there are projections that China will overtake the US in military power in the near future. Students of Bible prophecy have for some years known that the US is not in Bible prophecy as a player in the last days. One suggestion is that at the Rapture of the Church, the US will be rendered weak since the backbone of America is the born again Christian who will leave at the Rapture, I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Both China and India are included in the prophetic phrase, "Kings of the East" found in Revelation 16:12 and they will be key players at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period. Other nations in the Middle East will form a coalition of nations that align themselves to try to destroy the Jewish state of Israel at the beginning of the Tribulation, Ezekiel 38, Daniel 11, and Psalm 83. Between the Rapture which happens just before the Tribulation Period and the return of Jesus Christ at the end of that terrible time of trouble, much judgment will come upon the world including the nations already mentioned in this report as well as the US.
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