Hal Lindsey Report (june 24, 2011): Lawless Days, NBC:Without God/Divisible, Hot & Cold & "Chrislam"

This week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report'

Jesus once told His disciples that in the last days the love of many will grow cold "because lawlessness abounds." It's easy to assume that His warning refers to outlaws, no-gooders, evil people, rogues, and thugs. It's more difficult to take when the lawlessness abounds among those who are responsible for enforcing the law.

That's what we're discovering as we learn more details about the infamous "Operation Fast and Furious." It began as a sting operation to catch "straw buyers" purchasing guns on behalf of the Mexican drug cartels. Sometime in 2009, it morphed into something more sinister. When the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to let those guns make their way into Mexico, things got even uglier. At least 150 Mexican security officials, one US Border Patrol agent, and who-knows-how-many Mexican and American civilians were killed by those guns. In times past, the purchasers were interdicted and the guns confiscated before they could reach their destinations. But once the ATF and DOJ decided to let the guns "walk," the highest law enforcement officials in the land dipped their hands in blood.

Why did they do it? No one knows for sure right now, but there's speculation that the Administration was not averse to seeing the number of fatalities tied to American guns rise so that those statistics could be used in the fight for tighter gun-control laws. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been stonewalled in its investigation by Attorney General Eric Holder and others in the ATF and DOJ. Recent hearings, though, have seen the emergence of ATF agents who are willing to blow the whistle.

I'll bet there were some of you who just wanted to come home from church last Sunday, settle back in your La-Z-Boy, and watch the final round of the 2011 US Open golf tournament. Even though Rory McIlroy's lead appeared insurmountable, it could still be fun watching the fight for second place. Little did you expect that you were about to witness the birth of a new national controversy.

As you probably know by now, NBC opened its coverage of the event with an artistic montage. Since the Open was being played at the Congressional course near Washington, D.C., the producers decided to go with something that would capitalize on the viewers' sense of patriotism. So, throughout the montage, they interspersed clips of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. But since this was NBC, they just couldn't bring themselves to think like real Americans. They had to think and act like the liberal elites they are. So they did the natural thing. They cut God out.

After the children said the phrase, "one nation," there was a pause for beautiful pictures and music, then they resumed their recitation, "with liberty and justice for all." The boneheads at NBC naturally assumed that no one would notice -- or care -- that they omitted the phrase, "under God, indivisible...." Boy, were they wrong. Apparently NBC switchboards and websites across the country lit up! A little while into the telecast, one of the golf commentators had to read an apology from the NBC bigwigs. The network regretted that it had upset so many people by editing out "a portion of the pledge."

Notice that they didn't say which portion they edited out. And they implied it was accidental. But they did it twice! And the network wasn't sorry it cut "under God, indivisible," it was sorry it upset viewers (aka advertising targets) for doing so. In fact, the executives still couldn't bring themselves to utter the word, "God." They apologized for omitting "under God, indivisible" in the montage by omitting "under God, indivisible" in the apology. But then, NBC figured we "flyover country" Americans were probably too stupid to catch that omission, too. Surprise!

The American Astronomical Society recently held a conference in Las Cruces, New Mexico. According to some observers, the information that emerged from the meeting amounts to a "bombshell." Apparently, three separate studies indicate that after the current sunspot cycle swells toward the solar maximum in late 2012 or 2013, the sun is heading into a more dormant period. That essentially means that during the next 11-year sunspot cycle, solar activity may be greatly reduced or even eliminated.

So let's get this straight. Current predictions are that during the next two years, the sun will be very active. In fact, had the recent solar storm of June 7 hit the earth straight on, scientists say it could have fried the global electrical grid. Some think that during the next two years, we're in danger of a solar EMP (electromagnetic pulse) burst that could cause as many as 100 million people to lose electrical power for four or five years!

Then, we're heading into a decade of little or no solar activity. As you know, when the sun is active, the earth heats up. When the sun is inactive, the earth cools down. The next two years may be good for Al Gore and his global-warming buddies. After that, things may get a little inconvenient for the next few years.

But Jesus predicted this. He said that in the last days, men's hearts would fail them for fear "looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

Finally, you've probably been hearing a lot about a recent controversy involving an ideology loosely referred to as "Chrislam." I think this actually involves more than just the specific religious movement known as "Chrislam," which was born in Lagos, Nigeria, a few years ago. But the word itself, Chrislam, seems to capture the essence.

While the Chrislam movement itself is an attempt to merge the two religious belief systems and draw from both the Bible and the Koran, I think the greater danger to the church in the West is the thinking on the part of some Christian leaders that the teachings of Christ should be made more "palatable" to Muslims. It CANNOT be done.

The teachings of the Bible are antithetical and diametrically opposed to the teachings of Islam and the Koran. One cannot be made more palatable or acceptable to the other. To do so means excising the hearts of both faiths.

It goes without saying that we should be kind and reach out to individual Muslims who are open to the claims of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, it is folly to believe we can invite Muslims en masse into our churches and invite their leaders to share the Islamic faith from Christian or Jewish pulpits without compromising our message. The teaching -- in our churches -- of false doctrines that flatly deny the most essential claims of Christ can never be pleasing to God.

And what's more, I find it sad to say that many rank and file Christians may be more easily swayed from their core beliefs than rank and file Muslims will be swayed from theirs.

I believe we should stay true to the claims made by Jesus Christ and let our light shine brightly before all men so that they may see Christ in us. We need to draw attention to the distinct and undeniable differences between the teachings of Islam and the teachings of Christianity. People need to see that there is a difference between the two and be able to identify what those differences are. Then let the Holy Spirit take care of the rest. To hide or dilute our message in a feeble attempt to win them with "niceness" is foolishness.

In the same passage where Jesus instructed us to let our light so shine before men that they will see our good works and glorify the Father, He said that we are "the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its savor (i,e., a characteristic taste, flavor, or smell, esp. a pleasant one.)... it is therefore good for nothing." If we sacrifice the very distinctives that make Christians savory in a vain attempt to be accepted, then, in the words of Jesus, we are "good for nothing."

Let's not do that. Let's stand firm and be good for something, even if the world doesn't like it.

PROGRAMMING NOTE FOR INSPIRATION NETWORK VIEWERS: Remember, we have moved to a new day and new time. Beginning this weekend, Sunday, June 26, "The Hal Lindsey Report" will air at 7:30 pm Eastern, 6:30 pm Central, 5:30 pm Mountain, and 4:30 pm Pacific. So put a note on the fridge or the bathroom mirror. Beginning Sunday, June 26, you can catch the show every Sunday evening at 7:30 pm Eastern on Inspiration.

Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, Inspiration (on Sundays now!), CPM Network, various local stations,www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.

God Bless,
Hal Lindsey

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