Hal Lindsey: The Deception Of Turning Prophecy Into Symbolism

If a Bible scholar considers a prophecy to be symbolic it is usually because he or she can’t imagine how the prophecy could be fulfilled literally.

For instance, many Bible scholars and teachers in the past couldn’t conceive of Israel ever becoming an actual nation again. So they allegorized hundreds of Bible prophecies that require a revived Israel. Some still hold to old misinterpretations even after God has literally done what He promised to do.

Some teachers have scoffed at the idea that the coming Antichrist and False Prophet could be literal figures who literally rule the world. One of the reasons they found the Bible’s prediction of such characters to be fantastical is because they couldn’t imagine how any government could monitor the retail activities of the world. The prophets predicted that no one will be able to buy or sell without pledging allegiance to the Antichrist.

Also, how could the False Prophet make certain that everyone in the world always remains reverential toward the Antichrist. The prophets said that he will cause anyone who refuses to worship the Antichrist to be executed.

A lot of people dismissed these prophecies as impossible to fulfill because they couldn’t imagine how they could be accomplished.

Some of us suspected it would be done it with technology, but until recently, we didn’t know how powerful technology could be or how completely it could control our lives.

Now we are beginning to see it implemented and it is stunning.

To see what’s coming and what’s possible, just look at China.

China is a hybrid. It has a market-driven economy, but it is run by a communist oligarchy. By itself, capitalism cannot guarantee human rights.

Since I reported last year on China’s new “social credit score” system, we’ve learned more about it. What we’re learning is jaw-dropping.

Chinese officials say the system is necessary to stop terrorism, tax fraud, identity theft, voter fraud, child addiction to video games, and hundreds of other problems. And who wouldn’t want to stop those things?

But power grabs rarely begin with brute force. Political or economic problems usually pave the way. That makes the need for a solution seem reasonable and logical.

The problems are real, but China’s solution is a pretext. It is an excuse to consolidate the regime’s control over Chinese citizens.

It is two evils rolled into one. First, it is a vast surveillance system that receives and coordinates data from all government agencies and many businesses.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation says China already has more than 200 million high-definition surveillance cameras in use with many more to come. They are connected to facial recognition software. The system also uses satellites and drones.

The government monitors supermarket checkouts to know who buys what. The system knows who pays their bills on time and who doesn’t. It monitors how well they sort their garbage for recycling. It monitors all online chats, no matter how innocuous.

In the future, the government will monitor what kinds of books the Chinese buy and which internet articles they read. Medical and dental records will be part of the system. Obviously, any kind of information about everyone will be fair game for use in the system.

Second, it is a system of coercion and control. Using all of the information the government has gathered through its surveillance, every person is assigned a “social credit score.”

Those with high scores (more favorable to the government) receive various perks. They get cheaper public transportation and shorter wait times. Since the government controls access to health care, a citizen’s social credit score may mean the difference between life and death. Bureaucrats may seek to reduce healthcare costs by eliminating less cooperative or desirable citizens.

The social credit score decides what kind of job is available to each person. A score can get one hired or fired, promoted or demoted.

Last year, 17.5 million Chinese citizens with low social credit scores were denied the ability to purchase airline tickets. The system blocked 5.5 million citizens from buying train tickets.

And the complete system hasn’t even been fully implemented yet!

China’s Communist Party (which rules the country) says the social credit system will “allow the trustworthy to roam freely under heaven while making it harder for the discredited to take a single step.”

The problem is, the Chinese government trusts no one.

Fortunately, most western nations have publicly condemned China’s social credit system. But that’s only a public posture since most of those nations are also struggling to solve problems like terrorism, tax evasion, voter fraud, and crime. And many of them are quietly considering systems similar to China’s.

Canada’s law enforcement agencies have instituted something called the “Risk-driven Tracking Database.” They are busily collecting all kinds of information, ostensibly to locate “at-risk” young people.

But, they are also using Artificial Intelligence to predict who is “likely” to commit a crime.

If you’re a Christian in Canada, you should take note of this system. The Bible says many things that the Canadian government considers hate-speech. Will we reach a point where Christians will be arrested as a preemptive measure?

It certainly seems we’re headed in that direction, and we’re headed there fast.

Finally, with everything hurtling toward the apocalyptic climax of the end of the Age of Grace, this could be a time of terrible despair. But it doesn’t have to be.

Our despair turns to joy when we come to know God’s greatest promise of all — Jesus Christ.

More than two thousand years ago, Jesus stepped out of the Judean hills claiming to be God’s long-promised Messiah. Thousands believed Him. Others rejected Him as a fraud.

For twenty centuries, Jesus has been the most controversial figure in the pages of literature and history. Great good and colossal evil have been done in His name. Wars have been fought over this gentle, Jewish prophet.

On this week’s program, I am going to examine some of the reasons why I am firmly convinced that Jesus Christ is precisely who He claimed to be — the Messiah.

Don’t miss this week’s Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: For those of you who watch The Hal Lindsey Report on TBN, I want to remind you that the program that airs on March 29 will be our last edition on TBN. I have been a regular on Friday evenings on TBN for the past 12 years, but financial considerations are causing us to alter our airtime commitments. However, you will still be able to find The Hal Lindsey Report on Daystar in our regular Sunday night slot, and on CPM Network, www.hischannel.com, and various local stations at our normal times. Of course, you can find all of my programs on demand at any time on my website, www.hallindsey.com.

Thank you, TBN, for a wonderful and productive partnership the past 12 years for this show, and more than 40 years for me personally. Only God knows how many have been added to His kingdom through this partnership. And thank you, my blessed partners, for supporting this ministry through all of those years. You will share in a great reward for your faithfulness.

God Bless,


Hal Lindsey


mail: HLMM, P.O. Box 470470, Tulsa, OK 74147
email: comments@hallindsey.com

 

WARNING: False Teachers Fill the World With Lies

Matthew 24:11 (New King James Version) “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

The Revelation of Jesus Christ finishes telling us everything that God wants us to know concerning what He will do until His Son returns. He reveals to us in the Bible all things that He wants us to know and so that we can obey in all times of great trouble. His revelation prepares the true church for the future days of great tribulation and trials leading up to THE END OF DAYS. And you must understand that the true church never has to worry about God’s wrath to come.

Christ the Lord taught in John 3:36 (New Living Translation), “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

The collection of people who experience eternal life and follow Jesus in obedience to Him are the church. These are spread all over the world. Christ demands that locally they unite together, make disciples and pass on His original teachings, not make up new stuff.

Generation after generation the first century GOOD NEWS and teaching are passed on through time and the church of Jesus prevails on until He returns in his second coming. They are the ones who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. These are the ones who will never receive God’s wrath. But all the world including hypocrites that gather with the church will suffer the eternal judgment of God.

The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God. Revelation 22:18 (NLT) states, “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.” The real Holy Spirit will not contradict the written Word of God in any way. Instead He will reinforce the truth already spoken by Jesus.

We know this because Jesus himself reveals to us this truth. We find in John 14:24-26 (NLT) Jesus says, “Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

You do not have permission to reveal new truth and claim it was revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. When you do you are directly disobeying the true and only Savior. The Holy Spirit does not add to or ignore the words of Jesus.

Any person or group who dares to make claims of hearing the Holy Spirit tell them whole new teachings that condemn the original church of Jesus Christ are false prophets. Their teaching is not from heaven.

When Jesus gave instructions to the Twelve He further instructed in John 15:26-27 (NLT), “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

He did not stop there but continued.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’” John 16:13-15 (NLT)

“Two themes are balanced in these texts. The Spirit would lead the disciples into further truth after Jesus was gone, but it would be based on what they already knew about Him and had learned from Him. Denying that the Spirit can still give believers the gift of prophecy is unwarranted, but allegations of such prophecies must always be tested and can never contradict, or be elevated to the same level as Scripture (see 1 Corinthians 14:29-33).” The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.

Whenever some group comes along and condemns the whole church that should throw up red flags all over for you to see. Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (NLT), “But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”

“Cult leaders often preach “another Jesus.” For instance, Reverend Sun Myung Moon teaches that Jesus was the second Adam who only partially succeeded at His mission; thus, Rev. Moon must complete it. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist (aka Christian Science), wrote of Jesus as a divine being who only appeared to have a physical body. Victor Paul Wierwille, founder of The Way International, rejected the preexistence of Jesus and taught that Jesus was a man with a fallen nature, yet without sin.”

“Charles Taze Russell, the architect of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (aka Jehovah’s Witnesses), taught that the preincarnate Jesus was the archangel Michael, the first of God’s creation. Mormonism teaches that Jesus was the first and mightiest spirit son of God and the brother of all the other spirits who would eventually become humans on earth. Followers of the Word-Faith embrace a belief that Jesus was born again after His death and descent into hell. New Age gurus espouse a Jesus who was a great world teacher for His age, but they believe that a new world teacher is about to appear.”

“To accept another Jesus is tantamount to receiving “another spirit” and “another gospel.” The authentic gospel is the free offer of salvation to all who believe.”  The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.

Only a different spirit would masquerade as the Holy Spirit and contradict the revelation of scripture. Only another spirit would dishonor the words of Jesus and totally condemn His church. Only a false spirit would try to replace the church Jesus established 2000 years ago with a different good news and reject all the followers of the original Jesus. Only the deceived would believe that God was unable to preserve His people, the church, for the last 2000 years!

Heed His words.

Two thousand years ago Paul explained in Ephesians 3:3-6 (NLT) “As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”

Two thousand years ago the Holy Spirit revealed the plans of God. A different spirit today cannot erase, override, or twist the revelation of the church established by the one and only true Jesus Christ. When a false prophet stereotypes the whole church as wrong and condemns it to hell they are liars.

The true church did not die, and does not need replacing. In spite of traitors like Judas Iscariot and all the assaults of the devil through his false prophets and teachers, and all the persecution that the world pours on the church it will not separate the saints from their God. Jesus promised they will prevail and He will come back victorious!

Christ Jesus made it clear to His church 2000 years ago.

First He promised nothing would stop the church from accomplishing God’s will.

Matthew 16:16-19 (The Message)

Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am.

And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

Next He promised He would never forsake His church.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The church will never be bypassed by God and does not need replacing because God is all powerful and “…is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25 (NLT)

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 (NKJV)

So again I say…

WARNING: False Teachers Fill The World With Lies

News from Hal Lindsey Media Ministries

At the beginning of each year, it is my practice on “The Hal Lindsey Report” to review the previous year and highlight both major and minor events or developments that I believe have prophetic significance.

This week, I’ll present Part One of “2018: The Prophetic Year in Review.”

At the beginning of his masterpiece, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

Wow! He could have been writing about the United States of America in 2018. All we ever hear is that it is the worst of times. Reality says that, in many ways, it has been the best of times.

Off-the-charts employment — for all racial groups — and increasing wages. A booming economy as manufacturing returns to the US. “Merry Christmas!” is back. We regularly hear God’s name invoked in public by our top leaders. There has been a resurgence of respect for America’s strength and leadership around the world. In many ways, it seems like America is becoming America again.

Yet 2018 was also a year of constant rage. Especially in the media. There was an uptick in the number of mass killings. Protests turned violent. Political rhetoric burned red-hot. Accusations of harassment, rape, racism, even murder, were flung willy-nilly, often without a hint of real proof. Lives were turned upside down, or ruined, for political gain. America’s moral foundation continued to crumble. Censorship and persecution emerged from the shadows.

But these things were not just limited to the United States. It is happening all over the world. There were record levels of drug use and record numbers of suicides. Political turmoil has become the norm, not the exception, in nations across the world.

In some ways, these developments could describe past years, but there seems to be an increased sense of urgency and anxiety across the world as 2019 dawns. But then, we know to expect that. Jesus warned us that it would be this way as the time of His return to earth approached.

On this week’s program, I will discuss some of those things — many of them downplayed in the media — that contribute to this sense that the world is spinning out of control. I will look at the sinister collusion of the world’s most famous and powerful technology firms as they lay the groundwork for the coming Antichrist.

Two of them, Facebook and Apple, were exposed by the media for their deceptive practices and their collusion with foreign communist and repressive dictatorships. As a result, both of these firms lost massive amounts of value — mind-boggling sums — and have brought the world to the brink of financial catastrophe. Yet the upper leadership of neither firm has been held accountable for those actions. (Probably because they are closely allied with the Left in America and the globalist forces worldwide.)

Jesus warned of increased “pestilence” near the end of this Age of Grace. Throughout the year, I reported on the rise of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” but 2018 also saw an increase in another form of pestilence: computer viruses and cyber warfare malware. And just like a physical virus, they spread exponentially and with increasing speed until stopped. And with the world’s increased — and in some case near total — dependence on computers, these viruses literally put billions of lives at stake.

In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new generation of nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed missiles. With almost unlimited range and frightening speed, these new missiles ratcheted up the existential threat that Russia poses to the world. Though the initial tests were unsuccessful, near the end of the year, it appears the Russians may have figured out their problems.

Many analysts and military experts are predicting that this may ignite a new Cold War. Undeniably, a new global arms race.

That includes the European Union where its two most powerful leaders are calling for the creation of an Army of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron is promoting the idea so that Europe can protect itself from Russia, China, and… the United States. Apparently, we’ve moved from friend to foe in Macron’s globalist imagination.

But we shouldn’t be surprised. Bible prophecy indicates that the Antichrist will emerge from Europe and, of course, he’ll need his own powerful military machine. As we say each week at the top of the Report: “Yesterday’s prophecies. Today’s headlines.”

In 2018, President Donald Trump made good on his campaign promise to withdrew the United States from the insidious Iran nuclear deal. Of course, the mainstream media (along with former Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama) howled that Trump’s action would ignite a global catastrophe. Further, he had cast aspersions on the integrity of our trusted co-signer to the deal, Iran.

A few months later, Israel validated the wisdom of President Trump’s decision. Israeli agents had discovered the existence of Iran’s “Atomic Archive” in a nondescript warehouse in Tehran. It was a hidden cache of information and documentation of Iran’s attempts to create nuclear weapons.

So they stole it. And hauled it back to Jerusalem. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed it to the United Nations and the world.

The archive confirmed what we all knew, but the Obama administration ignored. Iran’s leaders have been lying all the time. And by agreeing to the deal, we cleared Iran’s path to nuclear weapons and, in a bizarre twist, provided substantial funding. Iran has been exposed to the world and their intentions cannot be denied.

2018 saw the continued coalescing of the three powers that the Bible predicts will someday launch an attack on Israel: Iran, Turkey, and Russia. All three now have a military presence in Syria, on Israel’s northern doorstep.

China has the second largest military budget in the world. Five times greater than the United Kingdom. They are feverishly working to perfect a “railgun.” Using electromagnetism rather than gunpowder or cordite to propel its projectiles, a railgun’s range is significantly greater than conventional artillery. Its projectile travels at five times the speed of sound.

China is also on the cusp of having a working HD1 supersonic, anti-ship missile. It is often described as the “aircraft carrier killer.”

Since the beginning of 2019, China has landed a probe on the dark side of the moon. This indicates that China is deadly serious about its space program. I say “deadly” because China’s paramount purpose for its space program is to destroy US satellites. And the most powerful military machine in the world — the US armed forces — is dangerously dependent on its satellites.

But, as I often observe, Bible prophecy does not appear to indicate a role for the United States in the cataclysmic events leading up to Jesus Christ’s return to this earth. That’s why every threat to America, be it economic, moral, political, or military, must be viewed as prophetically significant.

I’ll discuss all of these developments and more on this week’s broadcast.

Folks, I know I say this often, but things really are heating up! If you’ve not been serious about getting ready to leave this world when Jesus comes back for us, don’t waste another moment! No prophecies remain to be fulfilled before that day happens. He could come at any moment. Get ready!

I’ll continue “2018: The Prophetic Year in Review” next week with Part Two.

Don’t miss this week’s Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.

God Bless,


Hal Lindsey


mail: HLMM, P.O. Box 470470, Tulsa, OK 74147
email: comments@hallindsey.com