Tonight on The Hal Lindsey Report
This week, America's eyes have been on New Hampshire. But we've been so focused on the outcome of the presidential primaries, we have not noticed the dark specter that is rising there.
According to several recent polls, the number one concern for New Hampshire residents is not who will be the Democrat or Republican nominee. It's not the economy. It's not even President Obama's number one concern: climate change.
Surprisingly, the issue that is uppermost for the greatest number of New Hampshire residents is drug abuse.
In 2014, drug abuse was the top concern of 3% of the citizens of the "Granite State." By 2015, that number had grown to 25%.
Why? Because there is a heroin epidemic in New Hampshire. According to the Boston Globe, "Drug overdoses have become the second most common cause of death in New Hampshire and could move into the top spot soon."
Heroin? Didn't that go out with the '60s?
Apparently not.
Most of us associate heroin users with big cities and dingy tenements and blighted urban areas. But the largest city in New Hampshire is Manchester, with a population of only 110,000.
Heroin, once a main problem of metropolitan ghettos, is now flowing into small town America. Study after study indicates that massive amounts of cheap heroin are rolling into rural and suburban areas every day.
I would dare say that most people thought that, as a society, we had become enlightened enough to identify the dangers of drug abuse and avoid them. Especially the hard, absolutely devastating stuff like heroin. But not only are we not avoiding drug abuse, we are embracing it. Whole states are legalizing the use of recreational drugs.
But those of us who believe the Bible's predictions about the end times should not be surprised in the least. In fact, the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation notes that excessive drug use will be a hallmark of the end times.
So don't be surprised when this problem increases ferociously in the coming months and years. It will be just like the other "birth pangs," growing in frequency and intensity as we approach the return of Jesus Christ to snatch away His true followers.
The New York Times says that some of President Obama's national security advisers are urging him "to approve the use of American forces in Libya to open another front against the Islamic State."
Now, I doubt that will happen. I think, instead, that he will just pass this problem on to his successor. But the fact that this Nobel Peace Prize-winning President's counselors think he needs to engage in yet another war speaks volumes about the wisdom of his choices thus far.
He was elected, in large part, to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was re-elected on his guarantee that peace was at hand. But reality has a nasty way of peeling back our facades.
He didn't finish the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he quit them. And now, those two nations are in turmoil, with the Taliban and al-Qaeda about to regain control of Afghanistan and Iraq gravitating to Iran's orbit.
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton grossly mistook the Arab Spring for a reprise of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. They actively helped force Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (arguably the greatest stabilizing influence in the Middle East) out of office in favor of the terrorist godfathers, the Muslim Brotherhood -- the assassins of that region's most courageous peacemaker, Anwar Sadat.
They assisted in the removal of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi -- certainly an evil man, but undeniably another irreplaceable stabilizer in the Middle East. And now, Libya has descended into chaos.
The murder of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and others on September 11, 2012, was a needless byproduct of their unbelievable naivete. Obama and Clinton, like George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, mistakenly believed that when given the chance, "liberated" Muslims would choose democracy and freedom. Instead, they chose terrorism and worse repression. Why? Because, by and large, Islam is incompatible with democracy. The more Islamic a country, the less likely it will embrace democratic principles.
The result of this naivete? ISIS, a resurgent al-Qaeda, a reborn Taliban, a brutal civil war in Syria, and a Libya on the verge of becoming another Afghanistan, this time with ISIS in control.
By the way, Citigroup, the third largest bank holding company in the U.S., thinks the world economy is circling the drain. In a recent report, Citigroup officials called it, "Oilmageddon, a significant and synchronized global recession."
Ultra-low oil prices have been dragging down stocks around the world. The supposed savior of the global economy, the tech sector, has proven itself a huge disappointment -- financially speaking. And everybody knows that China is lying when it says its economy is expanding by 6.9%. China is operating on borrowed money and borrowed time.
Though it feels like we import everything from China, it may prove that the ultimate Chinese import could be a major recession.
Why is this so important to know? The Bible says that the Antichrist's road to power will be paved with lives shattered through economic upheaval. And when major economic upheaval begins to occur on a global scale, it's time to look up more fervently!
Finally, this week I'm going to open the pages of my book, Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth. As we observe the upheaval that is convulsing our world, you don't have to be a meteorologist to see that storms are bearing down on us.
I'm going to examine a ferocious storm on the Sea of Galilee that portended disaster for the disciples, then triumph, then near disaster again. But because Jesus was there, all ended well.
It's the same with our lives. We all have storms. We all face disasters. But if we keep our focus on Jesus, not on the problems bearing down on us, then we, too, can make it through in one piece. Maybe sopping wet, but whole.
Don't miss this week's Report here Sunday.
I want to take a moment to mention an important milestone that we've just passed here on The Hal Lindsey Report.
Last week's program marked the tenth anniversary of this show. The first Report hit the airwaves on February 6, 2006. We have now produced 521 editions of The Hal Lindsey Report and are seen throughout North America and in more than 200 nations and territories worldwide.
First, I want to thank God for His provision and protection. I've always believed that where God guides, He provides. And He has.
Then, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous prayer and financial support over the years. I could not have accomplished any of this without you standing faithfully by my side. Without doubt, thousands of you will share the eternal reward for those who have come to know Christ through this program.
And I believe our best days are yet to come. The world needs to hear this message now, more than ever before. As time grows short, the urgency of our mission increases.
So keep on praying and keep on giving. And I will keep on sharing the Good News that Jesus Christ is coming soon. And very soon! Maranatha!
God Bless,
Hal Lindsey
