Hal Lindsey: Hope For Today's World, As The Day Approaches

The Hal Lindsey Report

Hope ‘For Today’s World’

For years, we began this ministry’s television program with the words, “Yesterday’s prophecies; today’s headlines.” We recently refocused the program to more of a teaching format rather than an emphasis on current events. It seemed appropriate to change the wording of the intro. It now says, “Yesterday’s prophecies for today’s world.”

The two openings have this in common. They emphasize the accuracy and timelessness of God’s word. Thousands of years ago, Bible prophets described our time. They gave details that are nothing short of miraculous. They described our technology and the results of that technology. They described wars that were not possible then, but today hang ominously over our world.

This is not surprising when you realize that God knows everything — including the future. Humans can possess such knowledge only if God grants it. The accuracy of their prophecies prove that these Bible prophets were God’s messengers. 

Their prophecies leave no doubt in my mind that we are living in the “latter times.” The end of this age is near. That’s wonderful news. It means Jesus is coming soon. But living in these times presents a host of challenges. Jesus said these would be times of deception (Matthew 24: 4, 5, 11, 24), persecution (Matthew 24:9), and lawlessness (Matthew 24:12 among other dangers.

2 Timothy 3 specifically describes the last days as “perilous.” It talks about the results of men turning away from God. Among other dangers, it says the men of our time will be “without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless” (2 Timothy 3:3-4). Those descriptions are a recipe for heartbreak and pain.

We live in perilous times. But these are also times of wonder. Everywhere we turn, we see examples of God’s sovereignty rolled out before our eyes like a scroll. Because He told us all these things in advance, we don’t have to live in fear. We don’t have to focus on the perils, but on the promises. 

One night, the disciples were in trouble. They were in a small boat and a storm had risen. The waves threatened to engulf them. Then they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water, and that sight terrified them even more. The New Living Bible says, “In their fear, they cried out, ‘It's a ghost!’ But Jesus spoke to them at once. ‘Don't be afraid,’ he said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’” (Matthew 14:26-27)

That’s where a lot of Christians are right now. A storm is rising. The world system they long trusted seems to be falling apart all around them. And many have forgotten the Lord’s promise in Matthew 28:20 — “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

“Even to the end of the age” includes today. He’s with us in all of it, and He will stay with us. He’s saying to all those who are in Him, “Don't be afraid…. Take courage. I am here!”

As the Day Approaches

Just over two years ago, the Barna Group polled Americans about the end times.  They found that 41 percent agree with the sentence, “The world is currently living in the ‘end times’ as described by prophecies in the Bible.”

 

This is more than a vague awareness that things are off-track; more than an ill-defined sense of looming apocalypse.  This is a specific belief that the events of our time match the Bible’s description of the end time.

Peter asked, “What sort of people ought you to be?”  The King James Version translates it, “What manner of persons ought ye to be?” (KJV)

 

Through Peter, the Holy Spirit tells the reader that the things of this world we get hung up on — money, houses, cars and other luxuries — will not last.  He’s telling us to take the long view of history.  Look at the big picture.  See your life in context — not just the context of tomorrow or next week, but of eternity.

Peter asked, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be?”  Those words were hardly on the page when he began giving the answer.  “In holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:11-12 NASB)

Forty-one percent believe we are in the end times as described in the Bible.  So why don’t they live “in holy conduct and godliness?”  Forty-one percent is not a majority, but it is such a large minority that mainstream advertisers would never want to offend it.  The celebration of evil that permeates American entertainment would not hold — at least not in the mainstream.

I’ve spent much of my life pointing out just how near we are to “the Day.”  It’s heartening that so many Americans now agree with that basic message.  I pray that this glorious belief will begin to manifest itself in our attitudes and actions.  When that happens, we will see miracles!