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CNN ASKS ME: ARE WE
LIVING IN THE END TIMES?
I’ll discuss the question on CNN today at 3:15pm.
But first, I’ll be attending the Iraqi Prime Minister’s speech to Congress.
 (WASHINGTON,
D.C., JULY 26, 2006) — I’ve been invited to attend the speech by Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to a Joint Session of Congress at 11am
eastern today. I’ll post an initial report from the Capitol on my weblog
immediately following the speech, and update it later in the day.
At 3:15pm, I’ll be on CNN’s "Live
From…" with Kyra Phillips. Author Jerry Jenkins of the LEFT BEHIND
novel series and I will discuss our new books (THE RAPTURE and THE COPPER
SCROLL, respectively) and the topic: "Is the fighting in Israel
increasing interest in the End Times?"
The quick answer: Yes.
Curiosity about the End Times is definitely spiking, and not just among
Christians. Believe it or not, I’m finding that mainstream reporters and
producers along with a growing number of U.S. and
foreign political leaders are fascinated by the issue.
Over the past year, I’ve been invited to speak at the White House, to
Members of Congress, to Congressional chiefs of staff, to CIA officials and
to diplomats and other leaders from Israel and
even Arab countries about the link between Middle East events
and Bible prophecy. They’ve been asking because my novels keep having an
eerie way of foreshadowing actual coming events, and each of my novels are
based on End Times prophecies that could indicate the return of Jesus
Christ is drawing near.
Since the fighting in the Mideast broke
out two weeks ago, I’ve done more than 60 radio, TV and print interviews.
Nearly all of them have been about whether the events were watching play
out in the Middle East were foretold by the Biblical prophets, and what
should we be looking to see happen next.
What’s more, consider some of the articles that have run in recent days:
In a USA Today article entitled, "In The Headlines, Glimpes of the
Apocalypse," columnist Chuck Raasch asked quite pointedly: "Are
these the end of times?"
"You can’t look at the headlines these days and not conjure up
apocalyptic visions," he wrote. "With the war in Iraq
persisting, with fresh fighting in Afghanistan, with
missiles raining down on even Nazareth, the
hometown of Jesus Christ, the world’s most powerful governments and the
United Nations appear unable or unwilling to stop a chain of events that
may be spinning out of earthly control."
Raasch is not alone.
* A headline in the Waco Tribune-Herald asked: "Are We Living In The
Final Days?"
* A Columbus Dispatch headline asked: "Is The Mideast Rupture A Sign
of the Rapture?"
* Salon.com declared: "The Apocalypse Is Drawing Closer!"
* Last Friday, MSNBC devoted a segment of its Middle East
coverage to asking whether current events suggest we are living in the last
days before the return of Christ.
* Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, added fuel to the fire
when he said he believes we are living in "the early stages of World
War III."
* And not long ago, Senator John McCain speculated on NBC’s "Meet The
Press" that if Iran obtains
nuclear weapons, "I think we could see Armageddon."
While it may be tempting to some to dismiss such language as overly
dramatic, it is worth keeping in mind that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has told colleagues that he believes the end of the world is
just two or three years away. He believes that the way to hasten the coming
of the Islamic Messiah known as the "Twelfth Imam" or the
"Mahdi" is to launch a global jihad to destroy the Jews of Israel
and the Christians of the United States. What’s
more, Ahmadinejad is feverishly trying to build, buy or steal the nuclear
weapons to bring his Shiite end times beliefs to fulfillment.
That said, are we really living in what some call the "last days"
and others call the "End Times"? Jerry Jenkins and I will discuss
it briefly on CNN at 3:15pm. More
detailed answers are on my weblog.
WEBLOG:
To track the latest developments in the Middle East crisis — including my
answer to the question so many reporters and politicians are asking,
"Are We Living In The End Times?" — please click here
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