Archaeological discoveries confirmed the veracity of Scriptures

Weekly update written by Hal Linsey

Several recent archaeological discoveries in Israel have confirmed the veracity of the Scriptures.

This summer, "International Geology Review" reported on an investigation of earthquake activity around the Dead Sea, just a few miles east of Jerusalem. Geophysicists studied three core samples taken from the shores of the Dead Sea that offered evidence of at least two sizable earthquakes. Their investigation narrowed the dates of those earthquakes to 31 B.C. and sometime between 26 and 36 A.D., during the time when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea. Scientists from California-based Super Sonic Geophysical believe the second quake probably occurred around 33 A.D. 

When considered with other data, both historical and astronomical, the best estimate is that it occurred sometime in April of 33 A.D. This would concur with the Jewish month of Nisan, which indicates it may confirm the earthquake described in Matthew 27:51. That scripture describes the quake that happened when Jesus, from the cross, cried out in a loud voice and gave up His Spirit.

Last year, archaeologists from Tel Aviv University announced the discovery of a limestone ossuary. An ossuary is a box used for the burial of human bones. This burial box bore an unusual and detailed inscription. In short, it was positively identified as the ossuary of Miriam, the granddaughter of Caiaphas, the High Priest who presided over the trial of Jesus.

And in June, a professor from Hebrew University uncovered evidence confirming the existence of an Israelite kingdom centered in Jerusalem around the time of Kings David and Solomon. The same archaeologist also reported discovering the oldest Hebrew inscription ever found. On a shard of pottery, the inscription confirms the existence of a centralized, literate Hebrew kingdom more than 3,000 years ago. The professor announced that these discoveries prove that David was not a mythological figure or just the leader of a small tribe.

I think it's always exciting when archaeological and scientific discoveries confirm the historical record contained in the Bible. You see, Christianity is different from other world religions. Most of them can survive their sacred texts being found to contain conflicting details. What's most important to them are the broad generalities they teach, not the particulars of their founders' lives. But Christianity holds itself to such a high standard -- 100% accuracy (a standard established by God Himself) -- that the details of the life and death of Jesus Christ are critical to the validity of Christianity's entire message. In fact, if a single historical fact regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not true, the entire structure of Christianity collapses. But the sheer fact that the people who were eyewitnesses to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were happily willing to sacrifice their lives rather than deny even the tiniest detail, speaks volumes. And it still serves to encourage those of us who follow Him 2,000 years later. But we don't have to depend on the miracles of modern scientific discovery to affirm our faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most powerful confirmation of all comes from the Scriptures themselves. It is absolutely amazing to me how many ways the Bible confirms its own veracity. From the New Testament writers' indirect confirmations of each other, to the accuracy of the multiple, parallel accounts of events, to the eyewitness testimony, to the deathbed testimony, to the miraculous, exact fulfillment of centuries-old prophecies concerning Christ's crucifixion, to the lack of denials from leaders of the day, to the willingness of the witnesses to die for their testimony, the Bible is its own best witness. No body of literature in all history has been as thoroughly studied, vetted, picked apart, and argued and debated over as the Bible. Religions have sprung up to disprove it. Entire doctrines depend on there being a Bible to reject. Most atheists, rationalists, and humanists can find at least some common ground with most of the other world religions, but it's the Bible alone that raises their hackles and fires up their evangelistic fervor. Given the weight of all the evidence pointing to both the historical accuracy and Divine inspiration of the Scriptures, it seems to me that it would be much more amazing if it WEREN'T all true. The Bible has been under constant attack by the smartest guys in every generation since it was compiled. If a single thing in the Scripture were conclusively disproved -- a named person who didn't live, a place that never existed, an event that didn't take place -- then the Word of God is broken. Of all the thinkers and philosophers who have lived during the last two thousand years, not one has been able to claim the title of the man who proved the Bible wrong. Because it isn't.

Just a reminder to keep your eye on my website. You can find the top stories of the week so you can stay informed about what's happening in the world. Also, each week I post brief video commentaries about interesting questions, hot topics, or current events. So check out "Hal on the Hot Seat" at www.hallindsey.com. And, of course, you can always find the current edition of "The Hal Lindsey Report," as well as archived editions, on demand.

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

God Bless,
Hal Lindsey

It is increasingly politically incorrect to be a Christian...

Hal Lindsey's weekly update:

Both Christianity and the Bible are under attack in these last days in ways we could never have imagined just a generation ago. Dan Cathy, CEO of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain is learning that unfortunate fact the hard way.

In an interview with the "Baptist Press," Mr. Cathy ventured to express his personal opinion about traditional marriage. Uh oh. That was a mistake, because Mr. Cathy believes in the Biblical definition of marriage: one man and one woman. Further, Cathy believes that this generation's "prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about," just may be inviting God's judgment on our nation.

Them's fightin' words for the Left, the national mainstream media, and the powerful LGBT lobby. They quickly mobilized to punish the entire corporation and its 50,000 employees because its chief dared have a personal opinion that differed from theirs.

To add a more sinister tone to the threats, the mayors of Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco publicly threatened to prevent the restaurant chain from expanding in their cities. These forces are doing their level best to silence their opponents, i.e., most Americans, by intimidation. The clear objective is to make any criticism of same-sex marriage -- whether by direct criticism or by voicing support for the traditional, Biblical definition of marriage -- "hate speech." That's right! They want supporting traditional marriage to be labeled "hate speech." That's the first step toward criminalizing individual thought. And once individual opinion has been "criminalized," it can be punished.

Don't think this can happen in America? It is happening in Canada. It's already happened in "enlightened" Europe.

Folks, this situation is so potentially threatening to the religious liberties and individual freedoms of Americans, that it's almost surrealistic. How bizarre is it? So bizarre that even the ACLU has had to speak out in defense of Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A! That alone may be a telling sign that we are in the end-times!

Supporters of freedom of opinion, individual liberty, and traditional marriage organized a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" last August 1. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people lined up for hours at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the nation to purchase chicken sandwiches and express their support for the company and its leadership. They did so politely, calmly, and cleanly -- meaning they bagged their trash when they left. (Not like some of the infamous protests staged by the Left.)

There was local media coverage in many cities, sometimes because the long lines caused traffic tie-ups, but the massive, impressive turnout was largely ignored by the national media. However, two days later, the gay rights community staged "kiss-ins" at Chick-fil-A locations across America. Well, at a few of them, anyway. And even in such large markets as Los Angeles, the protests amounted to very few picketers who turned out to wave some signs and make public kissing displays. But they got national media coverage.

As Gomer Pyle, USMC, used to exclaim, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

To prove my point: Here at "The Hal Lindsey Report," we subscribe to Reuters News Service. That's where we get the news video that we feature on the show most weeks. Reuters provided its media customers with two separate stories on the Chick-fil-A controversy. Both of them covered the sparse, anemic "kiss-ins." Nothing on the massive, unprecedented outpouring of support for Chick-fil-A just two days earlier.

Folks, the bottom line is this. If city officials across America are allowed to use the power of their offices to stop Chick-fil-A from expanding in their communities because the CEO of this privately-held company believes in traditional marriage, then they can deny your church -- which probably publicly supports Biblical marriage -- the right to expand, relocate, or build for the first time. Or even promote Biblical marriage from the pulpit. Once again, see Canada and some European nations.

It's time to pray as never before for our nation.

But that's not all I talk about on this week's program.

Last week, I discussed how the announcement of the possible confirmation of the theoretical "Higgs boson" had rocked the scientific world. Remember that I said that the existence of the "Higgs boson" only proved what the Bible had revealed 20 centuries ago? Well, this week's program is last week's program on steroids!

Not only did the Scriptures allude to the forces that bind everything together and make the invisible visible (which is what the Higgs Field supposedly does), but examination of the Word of God confirms that truly "science is God's evidence."

Further, the Book of Job, the oldest in the Bible, is chock full of evidence of God's truth. In it, God reveals much about science, nature, physics, astronomy, and geography. It is rife with details that no single person living in the Middle Eastern desert 4,000 years ago could have known.

I'll also discuss the dilemma of the skeptic. His or her judgment of God is rendered according to his or her limited understanding. In order to believe that there is no God, the skeptic has to accept and believe a number of simply outrageous suppositions, some of which I'll discuss this week.

And if science is God's evidence, then Bible prophecy is God's signature. 

God revealed through His prophet, in no uncertain terms, that the mysteries contained in the Scriptures could not be "revealed" until the time of the end when "knowledge will increase" and men will travel "back and forth."

Moore's Law says that computer capacity doubles every 18 months. That's why your laptop is obsolete by the time you figure it out! Columbus sailed to the new world 1,500 years after the Apostle Paul made his Mediterranean journey. Both sailed on wooden ships with sails. In fact, men traveled in wooden sailing ships until the end of the 19th century. One hundred years later, those same weeks-long trips take a few hours by air. 1,900 years from Paul's ship to the Titanic. 60 years later, Neil Armstrong is walking on the moon.

As the angel promised the prophet Daniel, knowledge is increasing, men are traveling "back and forth," and the things that were "shut up" are now being revealed.

Time is short! Get ready! Jesus is coming!

Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, Inspiration Network, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Please check

your local listings.

God Bless,

Hal Lindsey

Archaeological Discoveries Validates the Scripture

Excerpts from a Letter by Hal Lindsey


Several recent archaeological discoveries in Israel have confirmed the veracity of the Scriptures.


The journal, "International Geology Review," recently reported on an investigation of earthquake activity around the Dead Sea, just a few miles east of Jerusalem. Geophysicists studied three core samples taken from the shores of the Dead Sea that offered evidence of at least two sizable earthquakes. Their investigation narrowed the dates of those earthquakes to 31 B.C. and sometime between 26 and 36 A.D., during the time when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea.


Scientists from California-based Super Sonic Geophysical believe the second quake probably occurred around 33 A.D.


When considered with other data, both historical and astronomical, the best estimate is that it occurred sometime in April of 33 A.D. This would concur with the Jewish month of Nisan, which indicates it may confirm the earthquake described in Matthew 27:51. That scripture describes the quake that happened when Jesus, from the cross, cried out in a loud voice and gave up His Spirit.


Last year, archaeologists from Tel Aviv University announced the discovery of a limestone ossuary. An ossuary is a box used for the burial of human bones. This burial box bore an unusual and detailed inscription. In short, it was positively identified as the ossuary of Miriam, the granddaughter of Caiaphas, the High Priest who presided over the trial of Jesus.


This month, a professor from Hebrew University uncovered evidence confirming the existence of an Israelite kingdom centered in Jerusalem around the time of Kings David and Solomon. The same archaeologist also reported discovering the oldest Hebrew inscription ever found. On a shard of pottery, the inscription confirms the existence of a centralized, literate Hebrew kingdom more than 3,000 years ago. The professor announced that these discoveries prove that David was not a mythological figure or just the leader of a small tribe.


Christianity is different from other world religions. Most of them can survive their sacred texts being found to contain conflicting details. What's most important to them are the broad generalities they teach, not the particulars of their founders' lives. But Christianity holds itself to such a high standard -- 100% accuracy (a standard established by God Himself) -- that the details of the life and death of Jesus Christ are critical to the validity of Christianity's entire message.


In fact, if a single historical fact regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not true, the entire structure of Christianity collapses. But the sheer fact that the people who were eyewitnesses to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ were happily willing to sacrifice their lives rather than deny even the tiniest detail, speaks volumes. And it still serves to encourage those of us who follow Him 2,000 years later. But we don't have to depend on the miracles of modern scientific discovery to affirm our faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most powerful confirmation of all comes from the Scriptures themselves.


It is absolutely amazing to me how many ways the Bible confirms its own veracity. From the New Testament writers' indirect confirmations of each other, to the accuracy of the multiple, parallel accounts of events, to the eyewitness testimony, to the deathbed testimony, to the miraculous, exact fulfillment of centuries-old prophecies concerning Christ's crucifixion, to the lack of denials from leaders of the day, to the willingness of the witnesses to die for their testimony, the Bible is its own best witness. No body of literature in all history has been as thoroughly studied, vetted, picked apart, and argued and debated over as the Bible. Religions have sprung up to disprove it. Entire doctrines depend on there being a Bible to reject. Most atheists, rationalists, and humanists can find at least some common ground with most of the other world religions, but it's the Bible alone that raises their hackles and fires up their evangelistic fervor.


Given the weight of all the evidence pointing to both the historical accuracy and Divine inspiration of the Scriptures, it seems to me that it would be much more amazing if it WEREN'T all true. The Bible has been under constant attack by the smartest guys in every generation since it was compiled. If a single thing in the Scripture were conclusively disproved -- a named person who didn't live, a place that never existed, an event that didn't take place -- then the Word of God is broken. Of all the thinkers and philosophers who have lived during the last two thousand years, not one has been able to claim the title of the man who proved the Bible wrong. Because it isn't.


God Bless,
Hal Lindsey

Media is no longer unbiased

When I took English writing in 7th grade, one thing my English teacher said to me about journalism that stuck with me through all these years is that journalistic writing needs to reflect FACTS. Journalists need to remain impartial in their writing. They may have their own opinions about the issues at hand, but their articles need to REPORT THE OBJECTIVE FACTS so that the readers can form their own views on the matter based on hard facts, as opposed to being misled by emotional outbursts.

Sadly, today's media no longer uphold such integrity. Below, Dr. Hal Lindsey's weekly newsletter gives some compelling examples and encourages us to stay sharp and not be misled or misinformed.

By Hal Lindsey

Though it would be tempting to think that Joseph Goebbels, notorious Minister of Propaganda for Hitler's Third Reich, invented the co-option of the mass media for propaganda dissemination, it would be wrong. That honor more probably belongs to America's own President Woodrow Wilson.

To win his first term as President, Wilson promised to keep America out of the impending Great War in Europe. But in 1916, the President decided that if he wanted a seat at the negotiations when the war finally ended -- basically so he could promote his League of Nations scheme -- then America needed to be in the war. So he employed famed New York Times journalist Walter Lippman and psychologist Edward Bernays to develop techniques to influence public opinion in favor of entering the war.

They did and America did. The rest is history.

In fact, Wilson, Lippman, Bernays, et al, were so successful that two up-and-coming political leaders took note of their methods and put them to good use just a couple of decades later. Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler pushed the propaganda envelope, so to speak, but they owed much to the Wilson-Lippman model -- even down to daily talking points on the issues and conference calls between the government and the news organizations.

Much like today. Of course, now we call it "spin." We even have "spin doctors" and "no spin zones." But it's still propaganda. One can make a strong argument that we've never seen the American mainstream media so "in the tank" for a sitting Administration as we're seeing today. But then the Left argues that Fox News is the PR department for the Republican Party! The reality is that almost every news organization operating today has some sort of "slant." Some more pronounced than others. If you want your news with a liberal progressive twist, watch ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, or, especially, MSNBC (not to mention publicly-funded PBS). If you want a conservative take on the news, watch Fox News and... well, Fox News Channel. But, you get the picture. 

Truth be told, to get just a middle-of-the-road presentation of the news, you probably need to go online and read everything you can from both sides, then filter it through your lens of common sense, historical knowledge, and intuition. But who has time to do that? So what does this mean? It means that we all need to keep in mind that the slant and intent of almost everything we see and hear and read from the mainstream media is decided in advance in corporate boardrooms and political backrooms. It's based on what works best for the corporation or party making the decision. If they decide that you shouldn't hear certain news reports, then you won't. Welcome to the brave new world.

Speaking of media bias, have you noticed that we've seen a lot more media outrage over an ill-advised comment made by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh than we have over the killing of six American soldiers and more than 40 Afghans after the accidental burning of some Korans in Afghanistan? Even when the UN's top diplomat in Afghanistan publicly described the Muslims' violent reaction as "legitimate" and "peaceful," and went on record calling for punishment for the American soldiers, the mainstream media couldn't be bothered. There were, apparently, bigger fish to fry. Like Rush and Israel.

Just as the media turned a blind eye to the deaths of innocents in Afghanistan and focused on American insensitivity to the Koran, the United Nations followed suit. While Syrian security forces continue to murder Syrian citizens in astonishing numbers (nearly 5,500 so far); even after a UN commission reported "widespread and systematic violations" of women's rights by Syrian forces, including sexual violence, rape, and torture, the UN Commission on the Status of Women chose to pass a resolution condemning... Israel. According to the Commission, the major obstacle to the advancement of Palestinian women is Israel's occupation of the disputed territory. In fact, the UN Commission condemned the "systematic violation of their human rights resulting from the severe impact of ongoing illegal Israeli practices." Never mind the rape, murder, and torture of women going on in Syria; never mind the oppression of women in Iran or Saudi Arabia; don't worry about the slave trade in Sudan and Darfur, this cruel Israeli scheme to suppress the self-reliance and advancement of Palestinian women has got to stop!

Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said about those who do not love the truth in the last days? He said that God would send a "deluding influence" upon them "so that they will believe what is false, in order that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." I believe that's precisely what we're witnessing in the earth today.

Finally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House last Monday. The Prime Minister chose the occasion of the Feast of Purim to emphasize to the President that Israel finds itself once again under mortal threat from Persia, or modern-day Iran. Mister Obama continued to insist that there is still time to try further negotiations and tougher sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu persisted in affirming Israel's sovereign right to defend itself, by itself, if needed. Then emerged a story that may prove the fallacy of President Obama's assertions.

Apparently German and Japanese intelligence sources last week confirmed stories that have appeared in Der Spiegel and Welt am Sonntag that western intelligence has known for 11 months that North Korea carried out covert nuclear tests on an Iranian radioactive bomb or nuclear warhead. And they did it in 2010! A Debkafile report concluded that, "The disclosure invalidates the main point the US President made... that there was still time for diplomatic pressure and sanctions to bring Iran's leaders to a decision to halt their nuclear momentum before military action was called for, whether by the US or Israel."

I think it may be wise to remember Paul's words in Romans 13:11, "...knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." Make sure you're ready for the moment when Jesus calls, "Come up here!" And use this time and the drama of these events to make certain that those near you have heard the "good news" that Jesus Christ died to purchase a pardon for all their sins so that when it comes time for the believers to leave this earth, they, too, will hear His call.

God Bless,

Hal Lindsey

Replacement Theology

Pastors Perry Stone, Hal Lindsey, and Terry Gray all spoke about Replacement Theory in the past few weeks. Below are my collective notes on the subject.


Replacement Theology


In 160 AD, Justin Martyr became the first Christian theologian to call the Church, "the new Israel"


Between 185-254 AD, Christian pastors began propagating the idea that God has permanently rejected Israel and that the Church is the new Israel. This idea also gained Augustine's support.


Replacement Theory...
1) Distorts the Scripture
2) Leads to the wrong understanding of the Scripture
3) Promotes anti-Semitism
4) Calls God a liar, insinuates God is not faithful


Replacement theologists over allegorize the Bible.


Dr. David L. Cooper:
“When the Bible uses and allegory or figure of speech, it is obvious. But when an interpreter arbitrarily takes a passage that is obviously intended to be a literal statement of fact, and treats it as allegory, he is twisting the Word of God and knowingly perverting its meaning.”


Replacement Theory teaches that the Israelites forfeited God’s covenants when they rejected Jesus as Messiah and forced His execution.


Replacement teaches that the Church has replaced the Israelites forever as God’s representative on Earth and inherited their covenants.


Replacement teaches that all prophets in the Bible, such as Daniel and Ezekiel, and the Book of Revelation have already been fulfilled.


The above teachings inevitably leads to the belief that the present state of Israel and all Jewish people are imposters destined for destruction. It results in the anti-Semitic attitude toward Israel today.


The biggest problem with Replacement Theology is that it announces God as a liar.




Replacement theology leads to anti-Semitism


Between 1095-1300 (the Crusades, one of the darkest and most embarrassing history of Christianity), the Church started the holy war, taking up arms against those who did not believe in Christ, who were mainly the Muslims. During this time, the Muslim Dome of Rock stood in the Israelites' Holy Land, and the Muslims therefore forbade Christians from visiting the Holy Land. The Crusaders were thus ordered to go into the Holy land to kill the non-believers. They not only killed the Muslims, they also killed the Jews. How could the Church kill the Jews? Because Replacement Theology states that they were no longer God's people!


During the Inquisition Era of the Romans, the Roman Catholic Church came down hard on heresy and heretics. In the name of Christ, under the cross, many people were burned, hanged, and killed if they were suspected of going against the beliefs of the Church (note that these beliefs were set by politically driven-church heads, NOT beliefs grounded in the Bible).


During the Reformation period, which culminated with Martin Luther, the Roman Catholic Church was challenged on numerous issues--namely, how far their practice has strayed from Biblical Truth of God. Luther hammered home the idea that salvation is by faith alone. Though he did a lot of great things for the Christian church, he became extremely anti-Semitic in his later years. In 1543, he wrote a book, On the Jews and Their Lies, championing the burning down of the Jewish synagogues, throwing Jews into pits of sulfur and hell fire, taking away their Bibles, being forbidden to praise God or teach about God, and being forbidden to utter the name of our God in our hearing. Luther further noted that we need to be save from the Jews, who were under Satan's influences. Other parts of his writing also reflect Replacement Theology, supporting that the Church has replaced Israel. Adolf Hitler would later use some of Luther's writings to support his anti-Semitic mission to wipe out the Jews.




Replacement Theory is heretical because 1) Israel is God's chosen people, and 2) God will never abandon Israel.




Israel is the apple of God's eye


1. Israel is the only nation on Earth ever formed by a direct covenant with God


God formed a covenant with Abraham for Israel:
Make you a great nation (Genesis 12:2)
Shall become a great and might nation (Genesis 18:18)
Shall make a righteous nation (Genesis 20:4)
A nation and a company of nations (Genesis 35:11)
Shall be a kingdom of priest and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6)


To God, there  is no one else on Earth as near to God as Israel:


Deuteronomy 4:7-8
For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?


2. Jerusalem is the only city on Earth marked by God
Jerusalem has a covenant with King David


Deuteronomy 12:5
But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.


3. The Jews are the only people on Earth that were given the oracles of God and the promise of God.
Gentiles were grafted into this New Covenant through the Jews. Israel is the only nation on Earth whose beginning, middle, and end—its destiny—is sealed in blood.




God is not done with Israel
Romans 9-11 


1. God made numerous UNCONDITIONAL promises to Abraham and his descendants, despite the failures of past and present Israelites.


Genesis 12:2-3


God's covenant with Abraham:


- I will make you a great nation: implies that Abraham will have at least one son and that the nation will inherit the covenant through Abraham


- I will bless you: this was fulfilled (Genesis)


- I will make your name great: Abraham’s name has been honored for over 4000 years


- You will be a blessing: Abraham has been the source of blessing for numerous nations


- I will bless those who bless you: Designed to protect Israel, God’s chosen people, God’s representatives on Earth


- Whoever curses you I will curse: Designed to protect Israel


- All peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3): God’s whole purpose of creating the nation of Israel! God chose the Israelites as His representatives on Earth, showing everyone else the blessing of God through faith, so that God, through Israel, could reach and bless all other nations on Earth.


2. God promised a physical piece of land (the Holy Land) to Abraham and his descendants 
Only the Israelites have the title deed to a piece of land given to them UNCONDITIONALY and FOREVER by God:


Genesis 13:14-15
“The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever’” (Genesis 13:14-15)


Genesis 15:18-21
“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites…’”


The Israelites have not possessed all this land yet, but God has promised that there will be a time where all will be restored to Israel.




Replacement Theology calls God a liar


Preterists


- Are one of the most fervent supporters of Replacement Theology


- Believe prophecies in the Book of Revelation have already been fulfilled in 70 AD, and the Church has permanently replaced Israel to inherit God’s covenants with Israel


These views are contradictory to the Bible, for it ignore this prophecy, given by Jesus Himself:


Luke 21:22-24
“… because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they – the Israelites – will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the gentiles UNTIL the times of the gentiles are fulfilled” 


When the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, Jesus prophesied that the Israelites would be trampled by other nations. And indeed, they were and have been ever since. HOWEVER, there is a time limit to this! “… UNTIL the times of the gentiles are fulfilled!”


Jesus confirms God’s plan for His people


Matthew 25:31-46
Upon Jesus’ return to Earth, He will separate the surviving Gentiles from the Israelites. The believers will join Jesus in His Kingdom, whereas the unbelievers will be judged.


When Jesus returns, the separation between Israelites and Gentiles will be re-instated. This marks the end of the Church Age, during which the Gentiles act as God’s representatives on Earth.


During the Church Age, there is  no distinction between the Israelites or the Gentiles – Israelites or Gentiles, as long as we are followers of Christ, we're all known as Christians. This is especially stressed in the Book of Ephesians.


From the Tribulation and onward, the distinction between the Gentiles and the Israelites is reinstated.


This is one of the factors supporting the pre-Tribulation Rapture theory. The Church has to be removed from Earth prior to the Tribulation, because if the Church was still on Earth during the Tribulation, there would be no way to distinguish between a believing Gentile from a believing Israelite!


Ezekiel 20
Israelites are going to be judged on Mount Sinai, a place different from where the Gentiles would be judged. Believing Israelites will be separated from the non-believing Israelites, and this passage shows that the covenant God once promised to the Israelites are still binding to the believing Israelites.


Romans 9-11
Paul wrote this to silence the people back in his days who were leaning toward anti-Semitism.


Romans 9: Israel “elected” (the past)
Romans 10: Israel “rejected” (the present)
Romans 11: Israel “accepted” (the future)


Romans 11:22-24
“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!”


The Olive Tree symbolizes the promises and covenants of the eternal relationship with God that was first given to Abraham and Jacob and passed on to their descendants. They are therefore the cultivated olive tree that possesses these things.


Romans 11:25-29
“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part UNTIL the full number of the gentiles has come in. And so, all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable”


Israel was God’s chosen people to bring His blessing to the rest of the world. However, Israel failed. God then gave this mission to the Gentiles, thus starting the Church Age, where the Gentiles are God's ambassadors on Earth. During this period, Israel is under partial blindness (Isaiah).


The Church Age does not last forever. When the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, God will graft the believing Israelites back into the Olive Tree. These remnant Israelites will receive all the promises made in the covenant between God and Abraham.




God is faithful. To insinuate God is otherwise is heretical.




Christian Zionism
The belief that God will return the Israelites to their ancestral homeland in the last days, as God has unconditionally promised.

Current Events & End of Days

Newsletter from Hal Lindsey
http://www.hallindsey.com/


Written by Hal Lindsey


The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. A few weeks ago, the Arab League voted to suspend Syria's membership until Bashar al-Assad either steps down or stops his government's crackdown on protesters. The United Nations estimates that more than 3,500 have died in the continuing violence. The economic sanctions imposed by the League will be a blow to Syria's economy, which is already weakened. But the suspension is an even bigger blow to Syria's pride. It has long considered itself a bulwark of Arab nationalism. Syria's belligerent response -- not to mention Iran's and Hezbollah's moves to strengthen their ally's position -- has caused seven of Syria's neighbors to place their armed forces on high alert. To further heighten the tension in the region, Russia has dispatched three warships to its naval maintenance base at Tartus, Syria. Its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is headed for Syrian waters, too. Although Russia denies it, its naval presence in the region is widely considered a response to the fact that the United States has moved its carrier USS George H.W. Bush and part of the Sixth Fleet to lie off the Syrian coast. Russia has already let it be known that it will not allow to happen to Bashar al-Assad what happened to Muammar Gadaffi in Libya.


This, however, is not necessarily a stand Russia is taking on principle. Libya was one of Russia's prime customers for a variety of goods and services, arms included. Syria is also a major client state of the Russians. They've lost one good customer, they don't intend to lose another. This will be the first military standoff between the two superpowers since the end of the Cold War two decades ago.


Some have asked if this might be the lead-up to the Bible's Psalm 83 war or the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. At this point, it doesn't appear to be developing as such. However, Isaiah's unfulfilled chapter 17 prophecy of the total and almost instantaneous destruction of Damascus makes any movement toward armed conflict with Syria worth watching. Especially since Syria has threatened Israel with attacks utilizing weapons of mass destruction. Israel has already made clear that if that happens, it will respond quickly and with overwhelming force. And Israel has the capability to make good on its threats. The only weapon that could cause the sudden and total destruction of Damascus -- as Isaiah predicted -- would be nuclear.


Folks, it's time to get ready for Christ's return. The utter destruction of Damascus is an important benchmark in God's "last days" scenario.


Lots of viewers are writing in to ask about the various and sundry 2012 doomsday predictions. Many want to know about the Mayan calendar, Planet X or Planet Nibiru, Comet Elenin, Edgar Cayce, Nostradamus, and so forth. I've addressed this subject a few times before on the program.


Opinion about the Mayan calendar is split. Some experts believe the fact that it abruptly ends in what translates to 2012 indicates that there will be a positive physical or spiritual transformation of the earth next year. Others -- especially Hollywood and the popular culture -- prefer the other theory: the world will literally, physically, and, apparently, very violently end on December 21, 2012.


The Planet X believers also promote a traumatic physical-destruction-of-the-earth theory. Planet X, or Nibiru, is supposedly four times larger than the earth and is headed on a collision or near-miss course with our globe next year. Obviously, if it collides with us, we're goners. If it passes near us, its size and gravitational pull on the earth will make us wish we were goners. Neither is a pretty picture. Obviously, I believe that neither will happen. That's because I believe the Bible's version of what's to come on the earth. And it does not entail the imminent destruction of the universe or the disappearance of our planet.


Just a marginal note for those who have never heard of Planet X. We "know" about it because a woman started a website in 1995 to reveal its existence. She "knew" about it because some alien visitors to earth had implanted a communications device in her brain so they could keep her posted about its arrival. Oddly, no reputable astronomers have been able to locate it in the universe. The ones who claim to have found it say that it's "hidden" behind other planets and will become visible as it gets closer to earth. Unbelievably, Planet X has gathered quite a following here on this planet!


And why do I believe the Bible's version? Because EVERYTHING predicted by God's prophets in the past has come true with amazing precision. If they've been 100% right so far, why should I believe they'll be wrong now? (See how that works? That's why I keep insisting that knowing and understanding Bible prophecy is important for the Christian -- and for the non-believer, too!)