This week on ‘The Hal Lindsey Report’ December 21st, 2012

Each year, I receive many requests to examine the story of those mysterious ‘wise men’ who traveled so far to worship the new ‘King of the Jews.’ Who were they? How did they know to watch for a sign in the heavens? How long did they wait for that sign? Where did they come from? (Hint: it’s a land that’s often in the news today and not in a positive light.) Why did gentiles come to worship the King of the Jews? How did God use them to preserve the Messiah’s life? You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions and more this week when I discuss “The Mystery of the Magi.”

I pray that God will bless you for your faithful support of Hal Lindsey Media Ministries during 2012. 2013 promises to be even more exciting as the coming of our Savior and Lord draws nearer.

I truly believe 2012 will be remembered as a most critical year in our nation’s history. I’m convinced that we stood at a defining crossroads last November and I fear the road we chose will only bring suffering, bondage, and great loss for the citizens of our beloved country. So please continue to pray for America for I believe she faces her darkest days yet.

One of the key unknowns about 2012 (at least from the world’s point of view) was the rampant speculation about the ancient Mayan calendar and other secular prophecies predicting a major world catastrophe in 2012. Since the Mayan prediction seemed to indicate December 21, 2012 as some sort of “doomsday,” I suppose that if you’re reading these remarks, the world didn’t end. But then, if you’re a regular viewer of “The Hal Lindsey Report,” you already knew that it wouldn’t, simply because the Bible says that the earth will remain far into the future.

Which is to say: God is still in control and Christmas is a beautiful reminder of His great love for us.

Finally, as we approach this most joyous time of year, my heart is saddened by the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Please join me in praying earnestly that God will comfort and minister to each of those parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and friends and neighbors who lost their loved ones in that senseless massacre. It’s even more distressing because of the tiny, precious, innocent lives that were brutally ended on that horrific day.

Some things cannot be explained and I believe this is one of them. We must realize, though, that the Bible says that even though we cannot explain these senseless acts of heinous violence, we must expect them to increase. The Apostle Paul said that in the last days, “perilous times will come.” In his second letter to Timothy, he said, in part: “There will be terrible times in the last days… People will be… abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love… without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous….”

As this world turns its back on Creator God and toward the god of darkness, sin and ungodliness will increase. The Bible tells us that if we sow to the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. And the whirlwind brings with it death and destruction. So I believe we must see Newtown as a warning that we are entering the “last days” of which Paul wrote.

Naturally, this warning cries out to us to seek God’s face for His mercy upon our nation and our fellowman, but I believe that, more importantly, it is God’s warning to us individually to prepare for what is coming. Newtown shows us that death and destruction can fall upon us, unexpectedly, at any moment. That means that we must make our hearts ready while there is still time. Once again, the Bible tells us that “now is the appointed time,” today is “the day of salvation.” None of us can be certain we’ll have another.

If you have never accepted the gift of pardon that Jesus Christ purchased for you, do it today. Jesus came to earth as a human baby (that is precisely why we celebrate Christmas), then willingly surrendered His sinless earthly life to die a brutal death in your place so that the penalty required by your sin would be paid. And by doing so, Jesus Christ satisfied God’s justice. He suffered so you would not have to suffer eternal separation from God. He loves you that much.

The pardon for sin that He secured with His death and resurrection is now available to you. All you have to do is believe and accept it. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died in your place. Confess with your mouth that you are, indeed, a sinner and acknowledge that you are not worthy to be accepted into God’s eternal presence. Then, accept the gift of pardon that Christ’s death purchased for you. From that moment, you’re a member of God’s family and can look forward to spending a joyous eternity in His presence.

As you turn from your sin and trust the Holy Spirit to empower you to live a life that is pleasing to God, you’ll discover a peace and joy you’ve never known before. I encourage you to find a solid, Bible-believing church and associate with fellow believers. As this world grows darker and more hostile to the Word of God, we’re all going to need the strength and encouragement that comes from being a part of a church family.

Welcome to God’s forever family and have a wonderful, blessed, and very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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

“PROPHETIC YEAR IN REVIEW – 2012″: This may be of interest to those of you who live in the San Antonio, Texas area. I will be presenting the 2012 edition of my annual “Prophetic Year in Review” on Monday, December 31, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at Calvary Temple Church, 3000 Loop 534, Kerrville, Texas, 78028. I’ll look back at the major events of 2012 and examine how they fit into the prophetic scenario. There is no admission charge, but seating is limited. So please call the church office during regular business hours to let them know you’ll be attending and how many will be in your party. The Calvary Temple office number is 830-895-3000. I’ll see you there.
God Bless,

Hal Lindsey
mail: HLMM, P.O. Box 470470, Tulsa, OK 74147
email: comments@hallindsey.com
web: http://www.hallindsey.com

22 Stats That Prove That There Is Something Seriously Wrong With Young Men In America

 

By Michael

When are we finally going to admit that we have a very serious problem with this generation of young men in America?  We have failed them so dramatically that it is hard to put it into words.  We have raised an entire generation of young males that don’t know how to be men, and many of them feel completely lost.  Sometimes they feel so lost that they “snap” in very destructive ways.  Adam Lanza and James Holmes are two names that come to mind.  Why is it that mass murderers are almost always young men?  Why don’t young women behave the same way?  Sadly, Adam Lanza and James Holmes are just the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem in our society.  Our young women vastly outperform our young men in almost every important statistical category.  Young men are much more likely to perform poorly in school, they are much more likely to have disciplinary problems and they are much more likely to commit suicide.  In the old days, our young men would gather in the streets or in the parks to play with one another after school, but today most of them are content to spend countless hours feeding their addictions to video games, movies and other forms of entertainment.  When our young men grow up, many of them are extremely averse to taking on responsibility.  They want to have lots of sex, but they aren’t interested in marriage.  They enjoy the comforts of living at home, but they don’t want to go out and pursue career goals so that they can provide those things for themselves.  Our young men are supposed to be “the leaders of tomorrow”, but instead many of them are a major burden on society.  When are we finally going to admit that something has gone horribly wrong?

There is even a name for this generation of young men that does not want to grow up.  It is called the “Peter Pan generation”.  They want to enjoy the benefits of being grown up without ever taking on the responsibilities.  A member of this “Peter Pan generation” recent wrote an article for the Daily Mail in which he discussed what he and his friends are going through…

I haven’t yet had to grow up so, well, I haven’t.

Reckless, irresponsible and immature? Yes. But at least I can take comfort in the fact I am not alone.

Last week, I read that there is even a name for people such as me. We are the ‘Peter Pan generation’; a sizeable group of 25 to 40-year-olds who exist in a state of extended adolescence, avoiding the trappings of responsibility — marriage, mortgage, children — for as long as possible.

‘Our society is full of lost boys and girls hanging out at the edge of adulthood,’ says Professor Frank Furedi, a sociologist who has been studying this phenomenon, at the University of Kent.

‘Another word sometimes used to describe these people is “adultescent” — generally defined as someone who refuses to settle down and make commitments, and who would rather go on partying into middle age.’

Young men in America didn’t always behave this way.  Several decades ago, men in America moved away from home, got married and had children much earlier than they do now.  But the young men of today seem to want to put off the “markers of adulthood” for as long as possible.  The following is from an outstanding article by Sandy Hingston…

Sociologists cite five “markers” or “milestones” that have traditionally defined our notion of adulthood: finishing school, moving away from the parental home, becoming financially independent, getting married, and having a child. In 1960, 65 percent of men had ticked off all five by age 30; by 2000, only a third had. The experts have plenty of explanations for what’s come to be called “extended adolescence” or “emerging adulthood”—or what New York Times columnist David Brooks calls the “Odyssey Years.” They blame helicopter parents, the burden of student loan debt, much higher poverty rates among young people (nearly half of all Americans ages 25 to 34 live below the national level), and a dearth of vo-tech training and manufacturing jobs. Almost 60 percent of parents are now giving money to their grown kids—an average of $38,340 per child in the years between ages 18 and 34. Whatever happened to the son looking after his mom?

So why is all of this happening?

Well, there are a whole host of reasons.  But certainly parents and our education system have to bear much of the blame.  In the old days, young men were taught what it means to “be a man”, and morality was taught to young men both by their parents and in the schools.  But today, most young men have very little understanding of what “manhood” is, and our society has taught them that morality doesn’t really matter.  Instead, television and movies constantly portray young men as sex-obsessed slackers that just want to party all the time, so that is what many of our young men have become.

How much better off would our society be if we had trained this generation of young men to love, honor, protect and take care of others?

How much better off would our society be if we had nurtured the manhood of our young men instead of teaching them to be ashamed of it?

How much better off would our society be if we had disciplined our young men and taught them morality when they were getting off track instead of just letting them do whatever they wanted?

The following are 22 stats that prove that there is something seriously wrong with young men in America today…

#1 Males account for approximately 70 percent of all Ds and Fs in U.S. public schools.

#2 About two-thirds of all students in “special education programs” are boys.

#3 The average American girl spends 5 hours a week playing video games.  The average American boy spends 13 hours a week playing video games.

#4 The average young American will spend 10,000 hours playing video games before the age of 21.

#5 One study discovered that 88 percent of all Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 play video games, and that video game addiction is approximately four times as common among boys as it is among girls.

#6 At this point, 15-year-olds that attend U.S. public schools do not even rank in the top half of all industrialized nations when it comes to math or science literacy.

#7 In 2011, SAT scores for young men were the worst that they had been in 40 years.

#8 According to a survey conducted by the National Geographic Society, only 37 percent of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 can find the nation of Iraq on a map.

#9 According to the New York Times, approximately 57 percent of all young people enrolled at U.S. colleges are women.

#10 It is being projected that women will earn 60 percent of all Bachelor’s degrees from U.S. universities by the year 2016.

#11 Even if they do graduate from college, most of our young men still can’t find a decent job.  An astounding 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed during 2011.

#12 Pornography addiction is a major problem among our young men.  An astounding 30 percent of all Internet traffic now goes to pornography websites, and one survey found that 25 percent of all employees that have Internet access in the United States even visit sex websites while they are at work.

#13 In the United States today, 47 percent of all high school students have had sex.

#14 The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate on the entire planet.  If our young men behaved differently this would not be happening.

#15 In the United States today, one out of every four teen girls has at least one sexually transmitted disease.  If our young men were not sex-obsessed idiots running around constantly looking to “score” these diseases would not be spreading like this.

#16 Right now, approximately 53 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 24 year old age bracket are living at home with their parents.

#17 According to one survey, 29 percent of all Americans in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket are still living with their parents.

#18 Young men are nearly twice as likely to live with their parents as young women the same age are.

#19 Overall, approximately 25 million American adults are living with their parents in the United States right now according to Time Magazine.

#20 Today, an all-time low 44.2% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are married.

#21 Back in 1950, 78 percent of all households in the United States contained a married couple.  Today, that number has declined to 48 percent.

#22 Young men are about four times more likely to commit suicide as young women are.

So what do you think about this generation of young men in America?  Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…

The Last Days Of America? 25 Signs Of Extreme Social Decay

The Last Days Of America? 25 Signs Of Extreme Social Decay.

Evil Cloaked

By Ron Graham

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“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3. God told Adam when He placed him in the Garden of Eden that he was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If we look at Genesis chapter 3, which is what Paul refers to above, we find that Satan blatantly lied to Eve. “You will not surely die…” Genesis 3:4. So lies are now Satan’s forte. And after 6,000 years he’s become quite adept at disseminating his cloaked evil among the Christian Ekklesia.

 

That lie was the cause of an immeasurable rift between God and man. Jesus, of course, bridged that rift at the cross, but Satan would like nothing more than to undo what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. We know that Jesus’ sacrifice will never be voided, but that won’t stop His nemesis from creating as much havoc in this world while he still can.

 

Paul was fearful that the serpent’s beguiling of Eve would have the same detrimental effect on the Ekklesia of Christ and rightfully so. But unlike when he deceived Eve, today Satan’s evil lies are not so transparent – especially for those who are biblically illiterate. When Satan, through his lies, can instill an “I don’t care” attitude in the mind of a professing Christian he has just moved to first base. However, when the serpent can create doubt in the mind of a follower of Jesus Christ as to the accuracy of God’s word, then he has hit a homerun. Ultimately, as doubt manifests and festers, Satan moves in for the kill with “another gospel”, and with the acceptance of that false gospel he’s hit the grand slam of deceptions.

 

Let’s first understand who it is we are dealing with. The enemy of God has a name. In the Hebrew his name is “heylel”. In English his name means “light bearer”, or in the Latin “Lucifer”. The term “light bearer” can be very misleading, especially when we consider that he is the epitome of evil. Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and the Creator of the “light bearer-Lucifer”, is the true Light of the world and of men. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Darkness, when spoken of in our Bibles, is usually demonic “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5 Most people today, including many Christians, deny the demonic realm exists. Others seem to have a bit of understanding when it comes to the demonic, but ignore it as though it was insignificant. Most people, even though they believe in the supernatural, misunderstand thus significantly underestimate the leader of that realm – and his power. What they don’t seem to grasp is that even though Lucifer/Satan is pure evil he avoids all appearance of evil like the plague.

 

To unmask his evil plans and parade them about in public would be detrimental to Satan’s agenda. What we must understand about this very powerful being is that he is able to pull off a huge deception concerning his malevolence. Satan and his followers make themselves appear as benevolent while disseminating their deceptions. Satan’s agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy humans; understandably, the transparency of his agenda wouldn’t go over well with his human prey. Therefore he must cloak his evil plans.

 

“…for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. As he is able to transform himself into an “angel of light” he can put forth a demeanor of purity which cloaks his true intentions. This is why God tells us again and again to be ever diligent especially when it comes to God’s Word. There are many false teachers these days taking Satan’s lies to new levels.

 

Satan is evil, period. Yet his lies are always peppered with some truth. He is beguiling, crafty and extremely intelligent, far more so than any human being presently on earth. Therefore we must not only believe but we must also rely on God’s word for guidance. We rely on God Himself for our protection against this extremely evil foe, but believing God is paramount when it comes to understanding the enemy’s agenda. Remember, Satan knows the word of God also and he will use it as it suits his plan. Notwithstanding, his lies will always be hidden betwixt the truth – just enough to beguile. Satan once tried to beguile Jesus in the wilderness. How did Jesus answer him each time Satan confronted Him? By quoting Scripture. We must be just as biblically literate and diligent.

 

“Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…” 2 Corinthians 11:15. The ministers Paul speaks of above are those who follow their father the devil by doing his bidding. Some are very public figures; some are Bible teachers, some lead Christian congregations, and some lead cults. If you think Satan’s ministers are only fallen angels and demons, then you too have been deceived. Satan has an army of ministers who are human and who are fully entrenched in his camp. They are those who stand in the shadow of the “light bearer” as they do their best to cloak Satan’s personification of evil.

 

Lies are meant to deceive, pure and simple; deception is always the path of the enemy. Satan continually uses his deceptive techniques to attract the unsuspecting (biblically illiterate) and lull them into a false sense of well being. To the biblically illiterate his evil is always cloaked, which makes these folks ripe candidates to follow anything that sounds true, good, or that makes life more comfortable. Remember, cloaked evil never resembles evil, but always takes on a pleasing, and fulfilling charismatic characteristic.

 

Throughout the past few thousand years Satan has had a tremendous and highly successful run at presenting evil as good. Many souls have been deceived right into Hell. God didn’t just dump us on this planet and leave us alone; He gave us warning after warning in His word so that we could avoid being led astray by the evil one. Increasingly in these last days it seems that even many of God’s own children are now more spiritually in tune with the evil one, than with God. As humankind moves ever closer to Christ’s return, it becomes more and more apparent that many professing Christians are nothing more than secular humanists in sheep’s clothing. Many of these folks have not only divided their loyalties, but have fully defected.

 

To be a true Christian means we stand with Jesus Christ, and not just during worship time or prayer time but in all times. We are never to stand opposed to our God, and as God’s children we are never to take on a secular worldview mindset. God never tells His children to wallow in the muck and mire of the secular world. We must sojourn in this world, but the world should never view us (or love us) as one of their own.

 

Clearly Jesus expects us to be the light of the world. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus is adamant about the fact that we are never to hide our light but to always let it shine. When we choose to stand against God, because in our minds we’ve decided in the end our choices will justify the means, God sees this as unfaithfulness, and unfaithfulness is the same as slapping Him in the face.

 

Satan, once again, has raised his ugly head as the angel of light and convinced many Christians that we are to keep our faith completely separated from our own personal secular worldview. Here’s an example, abortion is so completely acceptable by mankind these days that we now murder the innocent, while still in the womb, and by the millions every year. Yet abortion is an abomination to God. Where are God’s children? Our silence in this regard speaks volumes.

 

I’ve heard it from many professing Christians that they have no problem with homosexuality, live and let live they say, thus through our own apathy homosexuality has been allowed to become so commonplace that the majority of humankind now not only condone this satanic evil but many desire to join in with these deceived individuals and play along.

 

The world is upside down and many professing Christians are siding with Satan in this regard as well as in other decisions that are purely secular and opposed to God. What do we, who revere the Bible as God’s truth, see occurring? The ever progressiveness of cloaked evil.

 

Those who stand with God, even under the most fierce condemnation that comes from the lost of this world, not to mention from many of our own brethren, are the true family of God . “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 4:3-4. Let mankind judge us. For their judgment is of no significance. God is our judge, and He judges righteously.

 

Instead of being a light on a hill, many Christians are actually as dark as the night. When we as the followers of Jesus Christ lose our saltiness we are good for nothing except to Satan. No salt? Satan has a job for you. He will conscript you into his service, and as you become his accomplice helping him in presenting his evil agenda, can you guess what your key responsibility will be? The cloaking and disseminating of his evil plans.

 

Only by believing God and what He has given us as His inerrant word can cloaked evil be unveiled. Studying God’s word for ourselves is vital. Here’s another example of a satanic lie cloaked. The phrase “judge not” is used, in many cases, by those who are into full on rebellion against God. People will use that phrase incessantly as they attempt to deflect any complaints of immorality from landing on their doorstep. The verse in question doesn’t mean we aren’t to use righteous judgment when confronted with deceptions and immorality, it simply means we are never to condemn others (that’s God’s domain). We are certainly never to accept Satan’s deceptions, the immoral actions of others, their lifestyles, or false religions and cults by siding with them, especially merely for convenience sake.

 

A major deception which Satan has performed in these last days is to convince the world that evil is good and pleasing, and good is now nothing more than an irritant which should be shunned. Many professing Christians seem to look at evil as something that is optional instead of obligatory to avoid. When “judge not” is implemented by Christians attempting to cover their sinfulness they become fully secular without any concern for their relationship with God. When we as Christians step away from our God for any reason we instantaneously enter the camp of Satan. When we step away from our faith and allow Satan to have his way in our lives, it means that we’ve just been deceived – Satan was successful at cloaking his evil again. Awareness of the cloaking and spiritual discernment is the key – evil cloaked is at the door, so is Jesus. Which will you let in?

 

God bless you all,

 

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

 

All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed

 

I’m greatly encouraged by all the response to my prayer request. Please continue your prayers for my health. The MG continues to destroy the skeletal muscles in my body, thus the fatigue and eye problems are becoming more of a daily hindrance.

 

I’m very grateful to those of you who have been led by God to send gifts of support. God, the giver of all good gifts; He is great and greatly to be praised. If God is leading you to send a gift, please send it to Ron Graham – 96 County Road 5480, Salem, MO, 65560. Thank you my dear brethren, God bless you all.

 

I believe in privacy, therefore I will not add anyone to my email list without their permission, nor will I share your email address with anyone else. If you would like to make a comment or ask me a question, feel free. There may be times that my commentaries are withheld from posting on various websites due to differing biblical views, but you can always join the growing number of those who have chosen to receive my commentary in their email inbox. If you would like to be on my email list to receive the commentaries just drop me a line and let me know.

Digital Age overload: ‘Internet addiction’ to be classified as mental illness — RT

Digital Age overload: ‘Internet addiction’ to be classified as mental illness — RT.

FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES By Dr. David Cloud

www.wayoflife.org/pdf/20120921.pdf.

Report Highlights Consistent Pattern of Hostility Toward Christians in US

http://www.christianpost.com

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A new 140-page report released by the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute reveals a pattern of hostility toward Christians and Christianity in the U.S. The report was released earlier this week and includes over 600 incidents over a 10-year period.

The attacks range from rulings from the judiciary branch to an elementary school student who was physically lifted from his seat and reprimanded for praying before eating his lunch.

Yet another example shows a Christian couple was fired as apartment complex managers and forced to move because a painting with a Christian reference was displayed in their office.

Other examples cited in the report include:

• A federal judge threatened “incarceration” to a high school valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation speech.

• City officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals, listening to religious messages or singing gospel songs at a senior activities center.

• Following U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs‘ policies, a federal government official sought to censor a pastor’s prayer, eliminating references to Jesus, during a Memorial Day ceremony honoring veterans at a national cemetery.

• A public university’s law school banned a Christian organization because it required its officers to adhere to a statement of faith that the university disagreed with.

• The U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court that the federal government can tell churches and synagogues which pastors and rabbis it can hire and fire.

• Through the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare“), the federal government is forcing religious organizations to provide insurance for birth control and abortion inducing drugs in direct violation of their religious beliefs.

• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs banned the mention of God from veterans’ funerals, overriding the wishes of the deceased’s families.

• A federal judge held that prayers before a state House of Representatives could be to Allah but not to Jesus.

“America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders. Our First Liberty is facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups and individuals who are using the courts, Congress, and the vast federal bureaucracy to suppress and limit religious freedom,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of Liberty Institute.

“This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down.”

Both organizations presented the findings of the report during a joint press conference in Tampa, Fla., on Monday prior to the Republican Party Convention platform committee to raise that awareness.

The Liberty Institute further pointed out that religious liberty is “facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups” that are using whatever means available to suppress or attack religious freedom.

FRC’s Tony Perkins added, “As dark as this survey is, there is much light. The secularists’ agenda only advances when those who love liberty are apathetic. Let this be a call to stand for religious liberty in the United States.”

What is the theme of the book of Revelation?

By Dr. David R. Reagan Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries Over the next few weeks our television show Christ in Prophecy will share with you the opinions of 13 Bible prophecy experts concerning various questions related to the book of Revelation. You will find these interviews fascinating and very informative. The interviews were conducted at a national Bible prophecy conference that was held in the Dallas, Texas area. The following from this week’s program is a sampling of answers given by our panel of Bible prophecy experts as they address the question above. Ed Hindson, World Prophetic Ministry I think the ultimate theme of the book of Revelation is the person of Jesus Christ Himself. That it’s not just a prophecy of what is going to happen in the future, that’s certainly involved, but it’s ultimately all about Who is coming in the future. Jesus is coming, and He is coming in triumph and in victory. The theme really is like a two-sided message. The Seven Sealed Scroll is written on the inside and on the outside. I think it’s a message to the world on the outside — bad news, you lose. And, it’s a message to the Church on the inside — good news, we win. That’s as simple as you can make the message of the book of Revelation. Al Gist, Maranatha Evangelistic Ministries The theme of Revelation is that God is going to be the ultimate victor in everything. The day is going to come when Jesus Christ will return to this earth and He will destroy all the enemies of God. He will establish His kingdom, His rightful kingdom on this planet. He will rule for a thousand years in what we call the Millennial Kingdom. Even beyond, we enter into the eternal ages of ages where we will live with our God in His very presence. So, to me, the theme of Revelation is to give us that future hope. In Revelation 1:19 I believe, the Bible says that God told John something like, “I’m going to show you the things which you have seen. I want you to write about those things which you have seen, those things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” That statement kind of gives us an overall overview of the format of what’s going to be told. The emphasis I think for us as Christians is that glorious future that we have in Christ. I would nail that down as the theme. August Rosado, Today in Bible Prophecy Ministries The theme of the book of Revelation is the person and program of Jesus Christ, as well as the theme of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When you read Revelation 1:7 John says, “Behold, He cometh in the clouds and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced Him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” When you look at Revelation 1:7 that parallels with the Jewish prophet Zechariah in 12:10 where he says that, “I will pour upon the house of David, upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” Parallel that with Revelation 19:11 where it says, “I saw Heaven open and behold a white horse and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness doth He judge and make war.” So the theme of the book of Revelation is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ back to this earth. Those verses I just quoted all are Second Coming passages and not about the Rapture. At the Rapture Jesus is coming for His Church, and not every eye is going to see Him except the Church itself. But, at His Second Coming, Jesus is going to come back with His Church. So, the Rapture and the Second Coming are separated by Daniel’s Seventieth Week of prophecy which is that seven year period of the Tribulation. So, the theme of the Book of Revelation I believe would be the Second Coming of Jesus back to this earth. Daymond Duck, Prophecy Plus Ministries It’s all about Jesus. That’s what I would say. It is a prophecy. It is a book of prophecy about Jesus Christ. In Revelation 19:10 the second part of that verse says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The book of Revelation starts out with the resurrected Jesus and then it starts talking about His dealings with mankind through the Church Age, and then through the Tribulation period, and then through the Millennium, and finally on the New Earth. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is presented as the head of the Church of the line of the tribe of Judah. He’s the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He’s going to sit on His throne and judge mankind. When Jesus returns, He’s going to straighten out this world. He’s going to defeat the Devil. He’s going to finish what He started in the Garden of Eden. It’s going to be a wonderful thing! I just love the book of Revelation. We are living in exciting times and I just wish more people would read it. Over the next few weeks we will continue to share with you the opinions of 13 Bible prophecy experts concerning various questions related to the book of Revelation. The remaining members of our panel of Bible prophecy experts will continue to address: #3. What is the theme of the book of Revelation? Don McGee, Crown and Sickle Ministries The theme of the book of Revelation is God revealing to us through Jesus what He is going to do. If you look at the first verse of chapter 1, you see that God gave Jesus this revelation to give to us. Again, that implies a need for us to know some things. It’s also a statement that says man does not know what’s going to happen, but he needs to know. Only God knows what the future holds. Our Lord is not the kind of God that’s capricious in any kind of way. He doesn’t just act randomly. He wants us to understand a course of history that He has set about and which He is going to bring to a conclusion. Mark Hitchcock, Faith Bible Church The overall theme of the book of Revelation I believe is the reign of the Messiah. It’s the kingdom of God on the earth. A couple of key chapters in Revelation are Revelation 4 and 5, an there we have a picture especially in Revelation 5 of Jesus the Son of Man and the lamb who is a lion. Jesus takes the Seven Sealed Scroll from the hand of the Father. Jesus is the one then who begins to open the seals on the scroll. The only document in ancient times that was sealed that way with seven seals by seven witnesses was one’s last will and testament. So, I think Jesus there in this passage is taking the will or the inheritance from the Father. In order for Him to get the inheritance these seals have to be opened, which is one judgment right after another. The Seventh Seal then issues forth into Seven Trumpets. I believe the Seventh Trumpet and the Seventh Bowl is when all that is finally taken place in Revelation 20 happens and the Kingdom of God comes to this earth. I think that’s what the book of Revelation is about. What I would say to kind of give a definition is that the book of Revelation is the advanced history of how Jesus Christ by means of judgment becomes King. God’s given the advanced history of how Jesus Christ becomes King, but it’s through judgment He judges the sinful world first. All of human history reaches it pinnacle and zenith in the Kingdom of God instituted here on earth. Ken Humphries, Treasured Truth Today Ministries To me the overall theme of the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ. You read through the Book of the Revelation chapters 1-3 and you see Jesus there as the Lord walking in the midst of the Churches. You come into chapter 4 and 5 and you see the Lord Jesus in the midst of the throne. You come into chapter 6-20 and you see Jesus as the lion in the midst of the tribes. Chapters 21-22 you see Jesus as the light in the midst of eternity. So, for me the whole theme of the Book of the Revelation is primarily Jesus Christ. There would be more added themes to that, but primarily for me the theme is Jesus Christ. Terry James, Rapture Ready I’d say it is a revelation, not of many prophecies or many different unfolding of events and things like that, but a revelation of Jesus Christ in all of His power and glory and honor. Revelation is also a record announcing the end from the beginning of the history until the consummation of human history. The fact is that God knows the end from the beginning, of course, which is another reason to study Bible prophecy. Tom McCall, Tom McCall Ministries Revelation is about Jesus Christ. It is His revelation. He is the one being revealed. It’s specifically about His Second Coming. That’s the overall theme. But, there are a lot of details involved. Revelation includes Church history. There’s the Rapture of the Church. There’s the Tribulation period. There’s the whole rise of the Antichrist and his fall, and then Armageddon. Then, there is the Second Coming of Christ followed by the truth about the Millennium and the eternal state. There are a lot of details, but the basic theme is — Christ is coming again. Nathan Jones, Lamb & Lion Ministries I got a crash course in this question during my ordination interview. When I was being ordained a bunch of elders surrounded around me and they were all asking questions. The one sitting right in front of me says, “In a few words sum up the book of Revelation.” Well, I went on and on and on about sheep and goats and the Antichrist and topics like that. But he stopped me and said, “No, no, no! It’s this: get ready.” That was so simple! He was right, Revelation is about getting ready. Get ready for Jesus to come back. Get your life in order. And, get ready for an eternity with Christ. In the next part of this series on reading and understanding Revelation, the members of our panel of Bible prophecy experts will answer the fourth question, “Is the book of Revelation history or prophecy?”

These Two Traps Are Absolutely Destroying The Next Generation Of Young Men In America

Pakalert Press

Posted by truther on June 3, 2012

Have you ever noticed that our young girls seem to be far ahead of our young boys and that our young women seem to be much more “together” than our young men are?  Have you ever noticed how many young American men almost seem like zombies and find even the most basic human interactions extremely awkward?  Well, this didn’t happen by accident.  Researchers are finding that there are two traps in particular that are absolutely destroying the next generation of young men in America.  One is video game addiction and the other is pornography.  In the old days, the parks and ball fields of America would be flooded with young boys after school was done for the day, but now our parks and our ball fields are very quiet.  So where did all the boys go?  Well, they are all sitting at home staring into computer screens.  Yes, there are also young girls and young women that are addicted to these things, but the truth is that these addictions are far more prevalent among young men.  Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy to reverse the damage that is being done to the next generation of young men in America, and that is very frightening.

These days, most parents don’t consider video game addiction to be a major crisis.  Many parents are just glad to have something that will keep their children occupied and out of their hair.

But the truth is that video game addiction is very serious.  One study discovered that 88 percent of all Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 play video games, and that approximately four times as many boys are addicted to video games as girls are.

If you are raising boys right now you probably know exactly what I am talking about.  Most boys are absolutely obsessed with video games these days.

Trust me, I know.

I was one of them.

When I was a young man I would play video games for endless hours.

I would often spend entire days playing games like Starcraft and John Madden football.

Once in a while I would stay up all night playing video games.

I was really, really good at them but the rest of my life suffered.

Not that there is anything fundamentally wrong with video games.  They can be a lot of fun, but when it becomes an addiction that can be extremely damaging.

Today, the average boy spends 13 hours every single week playing video games.

That is an astounding number.

Unfortunately, the second trap that we are going to talk about is almost certainly doing even more damage to our young men.

The Internet has improved our lives in a lot of ways, but one of the very negative things that it has done is that it has unleashed a giant flood of filth into our homes.

Our young men have more access to sexual content than ever before, and this is having some horrific consequences.

The following example comes from a recent Daily Mail article….

A boy of 12 who raped a nine-year-old girl after watching hard-core pornography online was spared jail yesterday as his lawyer warned of a generation of children growing up with a ‘skewed view’ on sex.

The schoolboy, who is now 14, told police he had raped the little girl because he wanted to ‘feel grown up’ after watching porn online.

In a disturbing case that has raised fresh concerns about the sexualisation of children, the teenager had unrestricted access to the web and was able to freely look at sexually explicit material.

Sadly, the United States is the pornography capital of the world.  An astounding 30 percent of all Internet traffic now goes to pornography websites, and the U.S. produces more pornography than any other nation has in the history of the world.

Many American men are so addicted to it that they cannot even wait to get home to look at it.  One survey discovered that 25 percent of all employees that have Internet access in America visit sex websites while they are at work.

In a recent article for CNN, psychologist Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan discussed some of the consequences that this obsession with video games and pornography is having on our society….

The consequences could be dramatic: The excessive use of video games and online porn in pursuit of the next thing is creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school and employment.

Stories about this degeneration are rampant: In 2005, Seungseob Lee, a South Korean man, went into cardiac arrest after playing “StarCraft” for nearly 50 continuous hours. In 2009, MTV’s “True Life” highlighted the story of a man named Adam whose wife kicked him out of their home — they have four kids together — because he couldn’t stop watching porn.

Norwegian mass murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik reported during his trial that he prepared his mind and body for his marksman-focused shooting of 77 people by playing “World of Warcraft” for a year and then “Call of Duty” for 16 hours a day.

Zimbardo and Duncan have written a new book entitled “The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling And What We Can Do About It” in which they present some absolutely startling research.  A recent Business Insider article summarized some of the key points from the book….

-In 2011, young men’s SAT scores were the worst they had been in 40 years.

-Even Hollywood has caught on: films like Failure to Launch, Knocked Up and Jackass mock the ineptitude of this generation.

-Boys account for 70 percent of D’s and F’s given at school.

-Research shows guys aren’t interested in being husbands, fathers or the head of the household.

-Boys are four to five times more likely than girls to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Two-thirds of students in special education programs are guys.

-The average boy spends 13 hours a week playing video games. The average girl spends 5. The average young American will spend 10,000 hours playing video games by age 21. That’s twice the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree.

-The average high school boy spends two hours watching porn every week. Men can’t escape porn: 13,500 full-length commercial porn films were released in 2011, compared with 600 Hollywood films.

-Researchers claim that internet pornography is hurting young boys’ ability to form meaningful romantic relationships because they objectify their partner.

-It’s predicted that 60 percent of bachelor’s degrees will go to women by 2016.

Are you starting to get the picture?

Clearly something has gone very, very wrong.

When these sex-obsessed boys grow up, they become sex-obsessed men.

Just check out what ABC News discovered was going on over at the SEC….

One senior attorney at SEC headquarters in Washington spent up to eight hours a day accessing Internet porn, according to the report, which has yet to be released. When he filled all the space on his government computer with pornographic images, he downloaded more to CDs and DVDs that accumulated in boxes in his offices.

An SEC accountant attempted to access porn websites 1,800 times in a two-week period and had 600pornographic images on her computer hard drive.

Another SEC accountant used his SEC-issued computer to upload his own sexually explicit videos onto porn websites he joined.

And another SEC accountant attempted to access porn sites 16,000 times in a single month.

Those that are chosen to work at the SEC are supposed to be among our finest young men and women.

So if this kind of thing is going on over at the SEC, what is happening in the rest of society?

And just look at the U.S. Secret Service.  It made global headlines recently when it was discovered that a whole bunch of agents were consorting with prostitutes.

We are very, very messed up as a nation.

And we now have an entire generation of young men that don’t know how to act like men.

In fact, we are rapidly becoming a nation of slobs that do not even have the capability of handling adult responsibilities.

Sadly, at this point young men in the 25 to 34 age bracket are nearly twice as likely to live with their parents as young women the same age are….

The number of adult children who live with their parents, especially young males, has soared since the economy started heading south. Among males age 25 to 34, 19% live with their parents today, a 5 percentage point increase from 2005, according to Census data released Thursday. Meanwhile, 10% of women in that age group live at home, up from 8% six years ago.

So what can be done to fix this?

Well, unfortunately there is not an easy solution to this problem.

How in the world are we going to convince millions upon millions of young men to spend less time playing video games and watching pornography?

Sadly, the truth is that this problem is getting a little bit worse every single day.

So we are headed for big, big trouble as a nation.

What are your thoughts on all of this?  Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below….

#theamericandream