Hal Lindsey: Last Days Warnings
As the world reels under the impact of the latest Middle East crisis, many are discovering that the events are fitting into a larger pattern of precisely predicted events.
The pattern is to be found woven through the Hebrew prophets from Moses to Jesus Christ and John the Apostle. The prophecies were made during a period of from 3500 to 1900 years ago.
Throughout these predictions, it’s clear that the events are to lead to a final seven-year period of world catastrophe. This period will climax with a global war of such magnitude that only the personal, visible return of Jesus Christ to this planet will prevent man from self-annihilation.
THINGS WE ARE SEEING
Listed below are 20 pieces of this pattern which are unmistakably coming together simultaneously for the first time in history.
The return of the dispersed Jews to Israel to become a nation again in 1948.
The Jews’ recapture of the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
The rise of Russia as a powerful nation and enemy of Israel.
The Arab confederation against the new State of Israel.
The rise of a military power in the Orient that can field an army of 200 million soldiers. (Red China alone boasts that she has this number of troops!)
The revival of the Old Roman Empire in the form of a ten-nation confederacy. (I believe the European Common Market is ultimately going to be this power.)
The revival of the dark occultic practices of ancient Babylon.
The unprecedented turn to drugs.
The increase of international revolution.
The increase of wars.
The increase of earthquakes.
The increase of famines through the population explosion.
The coming of plagues.
The increase of famines through the population explosion.
The coming of plagues.
The increase of pollution.
The departure of many Christian churches from the historic truth of Christianity.
The move toward a one-world religion.
The move toward a one-world government.
The decline of the United States as a major world power.
The increase in lawlessness.
The decline of the family unit.
THINGS TO WATCH
The Arabs will continue to bring greater pressure upon the Western nations to support their demands against Israel. They will do so through the continued restriction of oil without which the industrial nations cannot survive. They may begin to use their vast financial power to seriously threaten the economy of the United States as well. It is doubtful that Fort Knox could back up the dollars they hold, if they demanded gold for them.
The United States will have some severe economic shocks from the European Common Market and the Arab oil squeeze. It will continue its decline as a major power both by this and internal moral decadence.
The European Common Market will begin to emerge as the greatest economic power in history.
Israel will continue to increasingly become the Western world’s dilemma. The Middle East will continue to be the most dangerous threat to world peace in history. The prophets clearly say that the spark that sets off Armageddon will be struck by the invasion of Israel by the Egyptian-led Arabs and the Russians.
Jesus predicted these days we’re living in when He said concerning the prophetic signs, “When you see all these things, know He is at the door ready to return.” Then He said, “This generation will not pass away until all is fulfilled.”
My opinion is that, because we are seeing all these signs fitting into the predicted pattern, we are the generation, which will see the culmination of history, as we know it, and the return of Christ. Who knows, perhaps this will be the year of Christ’s sudden and mysterious coming to snatch out all those who believe in Him.
For more than fifty years, I have lived in the urgent expectation of Jesus’ return. Fifty years is a long time. Do I regret it? Was I wrong?
No and no!
In Luke 12:37, Jesus said, “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.” (NKJV)
As followers of Christ, we are to live in a state of watchfulness. A thousand years ago, there were Christians living in expectation of His coming. They were not foolish to do so. They were obedient. Titus 2:13 directs us to be “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (NKJV)
Those Christians from previous generations who lived in expectancy of Christ’s return tended also to be those who lived closest to Him. They were the ones most interested in His word, in sharing the Gospel, helping the poor, and caring for the sick.
If you’re always on the lookout for Christ’s return, someone will inevitably remind you that no one knows the day nor the hour. But they’re missing the point. It’s precisely because we do not know the day nor hour of His return that we are to be watchful. In Matthew 24:42, Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (NKJV)
For two thousand years, people have been watching. That sounds like a long time, but remember this. God gave the first promise of His first coming to Adam and Eve. It took thousands of years, but God kept His word and Jesus came. By human standards, the Lord may sometimes seem slow. But He has a reason for that. 2 Peter 3:9-10 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come.” (NKJV)
When skeptics complain about God allowing evil and pain in the world, remember that “the Lord is not slack.” He will one day stop all the child molesters, terrorists, and other criminals. And He will hold them to account. But He won’t just stop the evil you don’t like. He will stop all evil. He will hold everyone to account.
Why does he wait? Because He “is longsuffering toward us.” He’s “not willing that any should perish.” He wants everyone to “come to repentance” — turn to Him and be saved. For now, love and concern compel Him to wait. But He will not wait forever.
Earlier in the same chapter, Peter wrote, “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’” (2 Peter 3:3-4 NKJV)
I’m convinced that these are the last days, and can assure you that scoffers have come. “I’ve been hearing this all my life!” … “You’ve been saying this for fifty years!” Yes, and I will keep on saying it because it’s still true.
There are no signs yet to be fulfilled before the rapture. But signs of the Second Coming are everywhere. Since the rapture comes before the Second Coming, the rapture has to be exceedingly close!
The big thing that makes our time different from any other is the existence of Israel as a nation, and the Jews having control of Jerusalem. But there are other things unique to our time, as well. For instance, before now the world did not have the technology needed for the Antichrist to control commerce as completely as the Bible foretells.
There’s another sign unique to today. Jesus is coming soon . . . because He must!
In dozens of areas, human civilization is hurtling headlong toward destruction. Look at just one — machines with artificial intelligence. Scientists like Stephen Hawking warn of such machines taking over the world, destroying the human race in the process. Far out? Even longtime proponents of artificial intelligence have now joined in the warnings.
Air Force General Paul Selva, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the U.S. Defense Department, recently warned about “autonomous weapons systems” similar to the title character in the movie, “The Terminator” — and just as dangerous. General Selva sees weapons that are not under direct human control as a menace to mankind. And, like self-driving cars, they’re just around the corner.
Then there’s nuclear proliferation. Some people take comfort from the fact that no nuclear weapons have been used in combat since 1945. But that’s like taking comfort from the fact that you’ve been playing Russian roulette for an hour and no shots have been fired. Just keep playing, and the odds will catch up to you.
During the Cold War, Carl Sagan, wrote, “The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.”
Except now, a madman in Korea also holds a match. The nation of Iran, run by religious fanatics who see it as their job to create an apocalypse, also have, or will soon have, a match in their hands. Next door neighbor enemies, India and Pakistan, both have nukes. Russia has more than anybody, and no one knows if their leader is crazy or not.
But don’t be afraid. Things are shaping up as God said they would. Just be sure you have invited Jesus to save you. Receive the pardon purchased for you when He died on the cross. He will instantly give you a new heart with new desires. Ask Him to empower you with His Holy Spirit. Then remember to thank Him for all these things.
In His power, you will begin to live a life that will draw others to Him as well.
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