ON THIS WEEK'S "HAL LINDSEY REPORT"
Have "creepy clowns" come to your town yet?
Well, they are showing up in towns and cities across America. Even other countries.
Though it seems that it is mostly a macabre fad among young people fascinated by the bizarre and the... well... creepy, there have been reports of the "clowns" attempting to lure children into the woods for nefarious purpose. The police are even arresting them in some places.
Television news programs around the world are doing stone-cold serious reports about the craze.
The "creepy clown" phenomenon is probably harmless, but it does make us ask one question: Why are young Americans increasingly drawn to the demonic?
Which leads me to an observation: Apparently the demonic sells.
All you have to do is look at America's amusement parks in the Halloween season. Even the most innocent and fun theme parks take on a threatening, fear-inducing personality during this time.
And no more Casper the Friendly Ghost characters, now the parks feature the most sickening, horrifying, repulsive, even demonic and Satanic characters. And with the modern advancements in make-up and prosthetics, the resulting "creatures" have the potential to scar customers' psyches for life. Especially the young, innocent customers.
As I researched this story, I must admit that even just viewing the images of the "creatures" many of the famous amusement parks are showcasing unnerved me.
And the current season of television programs isn't far behind. Shows like "The Exorcist," "Lucifer," "The Walking Dead," and "American Horror Story," introduce and glamorize themes and images that can only be described as demonic, even Satanic. They are incredibly disturbing and dangerous, both psychologically and spiritually.
I believe people are so hungry for something to fill the spiritual void in their lives, they're willing to turn to Satan and the blatantly evil. And, of course, Satan is more than delighted to flood that void. He can never fill it, though, only God can do that.
But the thing about Satan is that he is never satisfied. He always wants more.
Right now, these are fictionalized and manufactured depictions of gore and pain and death and decay, but Satan won't quit until he has the real thing.
We can see in our own society that the bloodlust now filling our entertainment venues keeps getting worse. How long can that go on? How long before the desensitized and insatiable mob demands the real thing -- real blood, real torture, real killings, live and in color?
We see the progression of this in the many "fight club" matches and shows. Every year they grow more brutal and dangerous. And every year the live crowds and TV ratings increase.
In His great discourse on the Second Coming found in Matthew 24, Jesus said, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah." [Matthew 24:37 NASB]
What was it like in those days? Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
One of the main ways that evil thought expresses itself is through violence. Genesis 6:11 says, "Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. " Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The National Retail Foundation says that this year Americans will spend $8.4 billion on Halloween -- much of it in celebration of violence, evil, and the demonic.
Halloween, which, by the way, comes to us through the perversion of certain Christian traditions, is October 31. That day is also the anniversary of the day Martin Luther mailed his "95 Theses" to the Archbishop of Mainz. A few days later, he famously nailed them to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
That event sparked the Protestant Reformation. Once more, the word would be spread far and wide about the true nature of salvation, that, "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." [Ephesians 2:8 NASB]
Next year will be the 500th anniversary of that event. So, my suggestion is that we turn this Halloween into something positive. Let's begin a year to contemplate Martin Luther's courage and the Reformation, and thank God for that glorious return to the true Gospel.
Did you know that World War One was primarily fought by nine nations, and it was called a World War? That's about how many nations are presently involved in war in the Middle East! And that doesn't include terror groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas.
The entire region is burning with conflict.
And no one is off limits.
Recently, the Houthis, the Shiite Muslim tribal group -- funded and controlled by Iran -- that has thrown Yemen into a bloody civil war, attacked the USS Mason. The American destroyer was in international waters at the southern end of the Red Sea.
They fired three missiles at the American ship. The Mason was able to avoid being hit, then retaliated by destroying three of the Houthis' radar stations.
Caroline Glick of The Jerusalem Post noted that there was no way the Houthis would dare "expose themselves to U.S. military retaliation if they hadn't been ordered to do so by their Iranian overlords. The question is why has Iran chosen to open up an assault on the U.S.?"
Then Ms. Glick answered her own question: "Iran... wishes to replace the U.S. as the regional hegemon, at the U.S.'s expense."
The last eight years of the United States' declining influence in the Middle East has left a leadership void that is being quickly and dramatically filled by Iran and Russia. Just as the Bible predicted for these final days.
Through the years, I've heard many objections to the study of Bible prophecy and the "end times." I think that is sad, because this is a special generation. We are actually living out the Biblical scenario of the last days.
For thousands of years, men and women of God have looked forward with anticipation to the time in which we are privileged to live. We get to see and experience what they could only imagine.
But too many choose to hide their heads in the sands of ignorance. They say they want to present a positive message and that Bible prophecy is just about doom and gloom.
But, folks, that's just not true.
Since Adam and Eve, humans have been fighting and hurting one another in every imaginable way. All the days before Christ's return -- not just these immediate days leading up to it -- have been full of violence and death.
It is the return of Jesus that will bring an end to the misery that has engulfed humanity these thousands of years.
That's not doom and gloom! That's hope! That's our Blessed Hope!
And that's exactly what I want to tell you about this week.
Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, The Word Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.
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God Bless,
Hal Lindsey
Subject: ON THIS WEEK'S "HAL LINDSEY REPORT" 
Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:32 am
