Revelation Part 2
The Apostle John was given a divine, awesome commission from God: he was to bear witness to the Word of God, which he actually heard; to the testimony of Jesus Christ, which Jesus actually told him; and to all that he actually saw with his own eyes. God transported John, a 1st century man, to the 21st century and commanded him to write down all that he saw. Thirty-one times throughout the Book of Revelation John says, ‘I heard.’ Forty-six times he says, ‘I saw.’ John is telling us he was literally here in this time! Imagine what this modern world would have looked like to him. In John’s time, glass blowing was state of the art technology and the concept of zero was a jaw dropping mathematical breakthrough! It would be hundreds of years before chess would be invented. Take a moment and wrap your mind around what it must’ve been like for John to describe something like a 21st century child’s toy let alone state of the art technology and modern weapons of war.
The last book in the Bible, more than any other book, comes directly from God. Hal explains in part 2 of his line by line examination of Revelation, the Bible says that this unveiling of the true nature of Jesus Christ came straight from God the Father, is sent through His diving messenger to His servant John. John was an eyewitness. He tells us, in every way he can, he was here, in this time, and these are the things he heard and saw. In this book, God wants above every other book in the Bible for us to realize this was written in precise accordance with what He commanded and that this was written by a man that He caused to actually be on the scene and see and hear and record what he saw in a book or scroll. Now that doesn’t just make this book important, but very, very important. This essential Bible study is available in its entirety at no charge in Hal’s video archive.
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Revelation Part 1
This one time on TBN’s talkshow, Hal and Joel Osteen were both guests. Pastor Osteen was asked his thoughts on Revelation, he answered how it was a very difficult book and that he deferred to those experts blessed with a gift for Bible prophecy, like Hal Lindsey. Hal will be the first to tell you it wasn’t always that way. Immediately drawn to Bible prophecy, Hal would pray over passages, asking the Lord to help him simplify His word to make it understandable to the average person on the street. God taught Hal, by force, to communicate with people in straight, untechnical and non-churchy ways, which by His grace gave way to The Late Great Planet Earth and eventually every Bible study at HalLindsey.com.
In part 1 of his 62 part line by line examination of the book of Revelation, Hal explains God foretold through Daniel people wouldn’t understand, take seriously, or even care about Bible prophecy until He was ready for them to. Why didn’t great theological men like Martin Luther or John Calvin think Bible prophecy was important? Because God didn’t want them to! God told Daniel He would literally encrypt Bible prophecy until the time of the end. Interest in Bible prophecy began in earnest in the late 19th century, gained momentum throughout the first half of the 20th century, and hit lightspeed in 1948 when the state of Israel was born. Today there’s a avalanche of informative books written by good Christians in a way average people will understand. Are you ready to learn Bible prophecy from the man who started that avalanche? Open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 1, verse 1, and get your notepad ready! This important Bible study is available in its entirety at no charge in Hal’s video archive.
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Looking For Jesus
By Hal Lindsey
On the list of end-time events, nothing has to happen before Jesus snatches His people from the face of the earth. That means the rapture could happen many years from now, or any second now. The Bible calls it our “blessed hope.” Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” [NKJV]
Notice that we are not looking for the appearing of Antichrist, but of Jesus Christ. A lot of Christians now believe that Antichrist must appear before the rapture. They base this on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3.
“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.” [NASB]
People often confuse “the day of the Lord” and “the rapture.” A study of the day of the Lord in both the New and Old Testaments shows that it is not a single day, but an epoch. It begins at the beginning of the seven years of tribulation (also known as “Daniel’s Seventieth Week”). It ends at the end of the millennium. But the rapture happens before the day of the Lord.
Paul taught the Thessalonian Christians about a pretribulation rapture and about the day of the Lord. Sometime after he left, a group began teaching that the day of the Lord had begun. To the Thessalonians, this meant they had missed the rapture — a notion that shook them to the core.
Paul tells them to remember what he taught them about the day of the Lord. Daniel 9:27 says that the tribulation (“Daniel’s Seventieth Week”) begins when “the prince who is to come” (Antichrist) makes a treaty with Israel. Before Antichrist can make such a significant treaty, he will obviously have to arrive on the world scene. So, before the tribulation can begin, Antichrist must have risen to a high level of power and prominence, probably as leader of the European Union or its successor.
He cannot rise to such a position now because Satan’s work on earth is being restrained. Paul went on to write, “Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.” [2 Thessalonians 2:5-8, NASB]
The restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through the Church. At the rapture, that restraint on Satan will be taken out of the way. The teaching here is clear. The day of the Lord cannot begin until the rise of Antichrist, and Antichrist cannot rise until the Church has been taken out of the way. Therefore, the rapture must take place before the tribulation.
People who believe that the Antichrist must appear before the rapture face a conundrum. Instead of looking for the appearing of Christ, they must look for the appearing of Antichrist. But as we just read in Titus 2:13, we are to be “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
In other words, we are looking for life, not death; love, not hate; and so, we look forward with joy rather than despair.
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If you want to understand what time it is in God’s prophetic timetable, just take a look at what’s going on in Israel. Israel is the key to Bible prophecy of the final days before the return of Jesus Christ. In this final part to his essential Bible study, ‘The Coming of the Last World Super Power’, Hal explains how he so clearly sees the hand of God at work all the time. Israel is a miracle! Against all odds He made them a state, which He said He would do. The Israelis made that land a beautiful garden. The land responded to them when, throughout history, it would not respond to anybody else. God promised in these last days Israel would not be destroyed, and though they are under near constant attack, and surrounded by enemies, the nation and its people still stands under the protection of God exactly as He promised they would.
This 11 part series explains what the Bible says the world will look like in the time just before the return of Jesus, and in this final presentation Hal takes us right up to that moment with Ezekiel 36-39 and Zechariah 12-14. God talks to the Earth, not the people of Earth, but the actual planet! God commands the land itself: mountains, hills, valleys, ravines, desolate wastes and forsaken cities; when My chosen people return, only then is the land to go forth, bear fruit and prosper, while their neighbors must endure insult. God will make Jerusalem the envy of the world, the nations of the Earth will be drunk with jealousy and desire and seek to take this land from God and His people through conquest. God promises those people, when they cross that red line, He will come down to Earth and deliver His fiery wrath onto them. And we all know God keeps His promises. This important Bible study is available in its entirety at no charge in Hal’s video archive.
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2022: A Prophetic Preview
By Hal Lindsey
The study of Bible prophecy does not make you clairvoyant or a soothsayer. Don’t ask me for stock tips. But I have to admit to one rather astounding truth. I have a supernatural source for understanding the future. So do you. It’s called the Bible.
The Bible does not say if a new pestilence (or plague) will break out in the year 2022. But it does say that as the time of the Lord’s return approaches, pestilences (plural) will increase.
It also speaks of increases in rumors of war and of war itself. In recent months, we’ve seen such rumors like never before. A nation with thousands of nuclear warheads — Russia — now threatens the small nation of Ukraine. That, in turn, threatens the peace of Europe, and perhaps the world.
The nation with the world’s fastest growing military — China — threatens Taiwan and India. That threatens the peace of Asia… and the world. Iran either already has nuclear weapons or soon will, and the religion of its leaders makes them eager for a global conflagration. The press is now reporting what many of us have long suspected — that in response to Iran, Saudi Arabia has been working with China to acquire nukes and the missiles to carry them. And don’t forget that North Korea is again making threatening moves.
Each of these rumors of war fits the specific program of wars laid out in the Bible for the end time.
Jesus told us that the time preceding His return would be a time of lawlessness. Right now, that trend is red hot over most of the world, and it seems certain to get worse in 2022. An especially disturbing aspect of the current climate of lawlessness is how high it reaches. Corrupt governments litter the earth. Across the world, national leaders and prosecutors tend to enforce the law against political opponents, but not against political supporters.
In recent years, global elites have used disasters and the threat of disasters to create a pace of worldwide change never seen before. This change includes a redefining of moral values and even of the definition of truth. Over the past two years, they have primarily used Covid-19. In 2022, they will continue to use fear as the primary driver of change. But as the year goes on, expect them to increasingly shift the focus of our fears more toward climate change.
Disasters (natural and manmade) are a mark of the end time, and we should not be surprised when they increase. The Bible specifically speaks of hyper-inflation and the threat of global economic collapse as we get closer to the Lord’s return. It also speaks of an increase in racial tensions and globalism. The truth is, we see prophecy being fulfilled, or getting ready to be fulfilled, everywhere we look.
That should spur us on to increased efforts in evangelism. We must resolve to make 2022 a year for getting God’s word out to the whole world. And while we faithfully give to missionary causes around the globe, let us also remember our families, neighbors, friends, and local communities. They need the gospel, too.
The tenor of the times should provoke us deeper into the Bible and into prayer. We don’t have time for complacency. Draw close to Him. Follow Him relentlessly. Follow Him in every part of your life.
And be at peace. Thousands of years ago, God told prophets details about the day we live in. Let that give you comfort. He is still in control. Rest in Him and in the infallibility of His promises.