Ben Stein has a recent article in The American Spectatortitled, Is This Really Happening? The sub-title reads, “Obama Accedes to Israel’s Possible Annihilation.”

Stein writes, “I really cannot believe what I am seeing in the news about the U.S. and Iran. In 2013, less than 70 years after the end of the Hitler regime in Europe that killed half of all of the Jews in the world, roughly half of the Jews in the world are threatened with annihilation again–and the U.S. administration is not only going along with it, but cheering on the possibility.”

He further writes, “Hitler did not have nuclear weapons, thank God, and there was no tiny little country like Israel where 7 million of the race he hated with such a crazed vengeance lived. So he had to send police and militia and the Gestapo and the SS and local anti-Semites to round up the Jews.

“The Iranians in the recent past, have pledged to destroy the Jewish people in the Middle East. Some of their leaders have boasted that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Iran will have ‘a holocaust in an afternoon’ by rocketing a few nuclear weapons into Israel.

“Naturally, the Israelis are desperately worried.

“The problem is that Iran has made many promises about stopping the nuclear program. It has not kept any of them. It has not signed the non-proliferation treaty. It has not allowed inspectors in its most secret plants. It has raced on towards nuclear weapons that could, in a half hour or less, cause another holocaust.

“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. Many of its top brass have expressed a wish to see an earth rid of Jews altogether. For Mr. Obama to trust these people–the same ones who killed 300 Marines in a terror attack in Beirut 30 years ago last month–to actually change their stripes and suddenly become trustworthy, is deeply naive or worse.

“It’s death for Israel. It’s another Holocaust and the world–except for France–is standing by saying, ‘Go for it, Iran. We trust you.’ There is something biblically horrifying about the whole situation.

“This is no time to reduce the sanctions. If Iran actually destroys its nuclear factories and labs, that’s a better bet. But just for a promise of a freeze to stop the sanctions that can be reversed in hours?

Stein closes by asking, “Have we learned absolutely nothing from Hitler? Will we have the most wicked stain possible on the human race again within one lifetime? Obviously, Mr. Obama is willing to take the chance–with the lives of seven million Jews. Maybe Congress will have more heart.”

Who would have anticipated that America would one day cheer for the annihilation of Israel? But that’s what is happening. And for that there are consequences. Horrific consequences.

Ken Blackwell writes a penetrating article in The Christian Post stating, “Now, the world is distracted and distressed. Financial meltdowns, ethnic conflicts, and a toxic popular culture combine to unfocus our gaze. Iran is proceeding — boldly, defiantly — toward nuclear weapons. The Obama administration clearly has no idea how to prevent this.

“Mr. Obama assures Israelis if they like their country they can keep it. But his word is not to be relied upon.”

Blackwell continues, “Can it be that salvation–at least in this temporal sense–is once more to come from the Jews?Nothing can be clearer than that if the world must rely on Barack Obama to stop the Iranians, they will not be stopped.”

Blackwell concludes, “For these reasons, we need to look to Jerusalem for our security. Once again, the peace of Jerusalem is linked to the fate of the world. This time, let us pray the leaders of the Jewish state do their duty without fear, without interference, and without deference to a muddled leadership in the White House.”

Of course we look to God for our security, but Blackwell is double emphasizing the importance of Israel and our dependence on her rather than Israel’s dependence on America. Our foolish leaders cannot see this. He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121). I don’t think she is going to be annihilated! America may be, but not Israel.

America is currently in a Luke 21 scenario: We have “distress with perplexity.” We have dilemmas for which there are no solutions. There is no way out of the ObamaCare steel trap. No matter which way we turn in the maze, we run into a wall!

How about 80 tornadoes close to Christmas? Is there a message to us in that nightmare?  Perplexity.

Despite the fact that we have a more than trillion dollar deficit, an almost 17 trillion dollar debt, and roughly 100 trillion dollars in unfunded Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security liabilities, we seem incapable of slowing down our spending. Our country will be bankrupt in 5-15 years unless something is done. Perplexity.

The more government expands, the more freedom contracts and less vibrant and healthy our society becomes. This is producing an Orwellian country. Perplexity.

The degenerate and dishonest behavior of our politicians, school shootings, abortion, trashy reality TV, drug use, gang activity, gay marriage and children being born out of wedlock, among many, many other issues, are eating away at the core of our once-solid values. Perplexity.

I believe some of this national decline is directly tied to our support or abuse of one of our best allies, Israel.

Always pay attention to the meaning of Genesis 12:3. There are blessings and cursings involved with the treatment of Israel.

It just never ever pays to stick your finger in the “apple of God’s eye.” No nation, denomination, church, political party, ministry, or individual, will get away with it forever. Behavior has consequences.

As I state in my August-September print newsletter, I am troubled by the tone I am seeing among believers today and particularly between ministry leaders. I am seeing a lack of civility between ministries that is stunning as well as character assassination and even slander.

Yet I am mindful that we are to contend for the faith! I’m not certain that what I see is contending from a few. I see it crossing a line and becoming mean-spirited growling. Some men and women are caving to the fleshly desire to tear down rather than build up.

So when Gary DeMar came out a couple of weeks ago stating publicly that I host “a nonsense conference,” I felt I needed to respond. I trust I can do so in a manner that is kinder and gentler than his. And, by the way, he was kind and gentle when he called me six years ago and asked me to set up a debate for him here in the Twin Cities. I declined.

When DeMar hosts his Preterist conferences, I do not go online and call his efforts foolish or nonsensical even though some of the tenets of Preterism stretch the imagination. Nero was supposedly the Antichrist. The Tribulation took place in 70 AD with the sacking of Jerusalem. DeMar, R.C. Sproul and Hank Hanegraaff do not take their Preterism to the extreme and believe Christ returned in 70 AD as well. Many Full Preterists do teach that.

Prophecy: Looking in a Rear-View Mirror?

Moderate Preterists like R.C. Sproul, claim they still believe in a future Second Coming, but still insist on interpreting the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Revelation as already fulfilled in the past.  As a result, they reject such basic concepts as: Rapture of the Church; literal seven year Tribulation period; literal Antichrist; conversion of Israel; battle of Armageddon; 1000-year Millennium. Oh, and we’re already in the Millennium, even though it is not literal.

Hank Hanegraaff has spread this theology as well with his vast radio audience. Hank continually slams people such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. I am not sure why we cannot disagree without denigrating the other side.  Again, if this isthe new standard in apologetics, God help us.

DeMar states in his article, “Prophetic predictions wouldn’t be much of a problem except that millions of people fall for the claims and the effect on our nation’s social, political, and moral landscape has been devastating.”

Really? How has the message of Christ’s imminent return and the coming hope of Heaven been devastating to people?? I never knew that the thought and belief that the King is coming, and soon, was a downer!

The Rapture Rescue Business

My critics insist that what I and other Dispensationalists believe is just stoking the fuel for a belief that rescues believers before the traumatic Tribulation or that it rescues them in the middle of the Tribulation or just prior to the outpouring of the wrath of God. In any case, God is going to bail out true believers and this is further “nonsense” to many, including DeMar. Since we just want to get out of Dodge before the Antichrist wrecks the earth, this kind of bait offered to unsuspecting Christians leads to DeMar’s claims about my “devastating results” I guess.

So DeMar states, “Once again, the usual suspects are gathering at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN, October 5, (for Jan Markell’s conference) to tell an eager and naïve audience that all the signs are aligned for an inevitable end-time event.”

Just throwing out the word “suspects” is denigrating, Gary. We are not guilty of a crime as such a word suggests.

In all honesty, we gather each year to “encourage one another,” Have you noticed the tide of our times? Everything is coming apart. There is little to no good news. So anywhere from three to five thousand followers of this ministry gather a couple times of year just outside Minneapolis to have like-minded fellowship. For that, we are mocked and made fun of. There are dozens of scriptural references admonishing us to encourage, and we can start with Hebrews 10:25.

Regurgitated Speculation?

Again, DeMar states, “I suspect the majority of attendees who will sit under Mark Hitchcock, Ron Rhodes, Jan Markell, Erwin Lutzer, and others, will not realize that only the names and events and dates have been changed. They will be hearing regurgitated speculation in the name of the Bible.”

The theology of my speakers and attendees does not make us an enemy; does not make us mentally off balance; does not make us heretics; does not make us morally debased; does not make us good candidates for a mental institution. But you would think all of those were true. We have a difference of opinion for Pete’s sake.

Yet in the world of apologetics today, those who hold to a different view are too often called everything short of demonic.And that may be next.  At my events, we do not set dates. We do not share elaborate dreams and visions about the end of the world. We don’t even try to name the Antichrist!  The most outlandish statement we might make is that Barack Obama ispaving the way for the Antichrist. We don’t promote global warming, nuclear disarmament, or redistributing the wealth.

I am hereby pleading with ministry leaders to have cooler heads and knock off the harsh rhetoric. No, not to stop contending for the faith, but to do it in such a manner that the above-mentioned style ceases. In Proverbs 6:16-19, “sowing discord among brothers” is right up there with the offense of murder in the eyes of the Lord. As Gary Kah said on my radio program on August 3, unsaved people are turned off to faith when they see Christians slamming and denigrating each other.

Here’s the line-up for some future “nonsense” events I am hosting. All events are free and are held in a suburb of Minneapolis. We look at current events, deception in the church, apologetics, and Bible prophecy.