April 2002 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

I just love the Bible. Admittedly, I continue to be more a student of Scripture than an expert on it because none of us can ever fully plumb the depths of the eternal, living Word of God. But what fascinates me about the Bible is that God clearly reveals what He intends to accomplish in this world. End Times prophecy is one great example of how the Lord lays out His plan for the future. And never has it been more evident than in today’s world.

Readers of the Levitt Letter have followed our reporting of current events and their ever-increasing correlation with End Times prophecy. As renowned prophecy expert Dr. John Walvoord has stated often, the next event on God’s calendar is the Rapture of the Church. After that time, the fulfillment of Tribulation and Millennial prophecies will occur like clockwork. It’s just this time in which we find ourselves now that troubles us. We cannot pinpoint the Rapture but we can see in the interim how God is orchestrating the events of the world in order to prepare for the cascade of prophetic fulfillment that will crash down upon the world once He removes the saved.

We featured in our March Levitt Letter an article by my friend Hal Lindsey in which he analyzes the rise in European involvement in Mid-East politics in relation to Bible prophecies foretelling of the revival of the Roman Empire during the Tribulation period. In fact, the European nations are meeting right now to formulate a constitution for all of Europe that will ultimately create a superstate capable of standing up to the United States. These events are not coincidental. And I believe, as many Bible teachers do (at least those of us left that still teach prophecy), that God is giving us indicators that He’s getting ready to bring the Church age to a close and complete His plan for mankind. Take a look at one poignant example I found recently in USA Today.

In an article entitled “No Secrets: Just a Fantasy, Right?”, writer Don Campbell offers a plan to cut through the slow process of providing homeland security to our nation. Though he believes that we now have a brand new, foolproof approach to accomplishing this task, you, my Biblically-aware friend, will understand quickly that this is not new at all. Let me give you some excerpts (emphases mine):

The answer in the endless search for both safety and convenience in the post-9/11 era is to stop worrying so much [about privacy issues] and recognize the potential of a benevolent, protective federal government using the latest technology.

Once you’re comfortable with trusting the authorities, there are numerous solutions, if you’ve got a little imagination. Two that I’ve considered and rejected as rather extreme are a personal bar code that could be disguised as a designer tattoo on your cheek or forehead, and a microchip implanted in your belly button. They conjure images of branded cattle being led to slaughter. A more reasonable solution is a ‘‘No Secrets’’ card. An embedded chip in the card would hold key information about you and link to a federal database containing virtually every other scrap of information about you ever recorded in any form. The logic is impeccable: The more the authorities know about each and every one of us, the easier it will be for them to decide which of us are the bad guys.

The categories of information needed for the card and the supporting database would be exhaustive, beginning with your full name, date and place of birth, a 22-digit, computer-generated Human Identification Number, or HIN, and — most important — your DNA code. Then we’d need your legal history, such as speeding tickets, incarceration records, overdue-library-book fines, parking tickets, civil judgments, etc. We’d need your complete medical files and all of your financial records, including your credit history and income tax returns for the past seven years. We’d need your work, educational and travel history and, finally, your genealogy, specifically a complete family tree descending from your great-grandparents. The card would be required at all security checkpoints, anywhere, any time.

The really neat feature about the No Secrets card would be that most of the information going forward would accumulate automatically. The authorities would keep a rolling record of all purchases you’ve made in the past five years. All cash registers, vending machines and other points of sale would be fitted with a device to record your every transaction and no product or service could be legally sold, rented or leased without the card. Do you get it?

The No Secrets card would also stimulate the economy, because we’d need to create a new federal agency, called the Personal Identification and Safety Administration (PISA), to facilitate the introduction of the card and to manage the No Secrets database. Logically, it would fall under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. To staff up PISA, we’d hire — ballpark — 500,000 more federal employees to track down and input widely dispersed information about you, capture and codify DNA samples and monitor the database.

Some initial opposition to the card could be expected because it would be mandatory for all U.S. citizens, green-card holders and foreign visitors. The biggest ruckus, predictably, would be raised by civil libertarians and privacy zealots. The only way I know to deal with these throwbacks is to grab them by their lapels, shake them until their teeth rattle and scream: “If nobody has any secrets, your precious little privacy gig is out of date, don’t you think? Duh!”

Now tell me that keeping up with current events is not important for the Christian. I told you that Mr. Campbell’s ideas are not new. Let me give you excerpts from another writer who gave us a very similar and equally chilling account of what we can now expect.

And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six (the Apostle John, Revelation 13:15-18, emphasis added).

News reports right now are telling us that companies like Applied Digital Solutions are seeking FDA approval to implant information and tracking chips in humans. This is OnStar under your skin! How can anyone doubt the relevance of the Bible to our lives today or suggest that End Times prophecy is just allegory and not literal? Preparations are being made right now on the world stage that will, very soon I believe, allow the fulfillment of many of these prophecies.

One other item that caught my attention in this regard is the entrance of U.S. troops into the Republic of Georgia, a former Soviet stronghold. On the surface, we are simply providing training for the Georgian army in our effort to curb and root out terrorist groups like Al Qaida. But neighboring Russia isn’t too happy about our close proximity. In fact, Russia has been quite vocal in recent weeks about our cavalier approach in dealing with Arab terrorists. The Russians have traditionally been allies of the Arab world, providing arms and intelligence to those nations that have historically come against Israel.

Ezekiel 38, in its reference to Gog and Magog (the northern powers many believe to be modern-day Russia), speaks of their attack against Israel, which I see as happening at the beginning of the Tribulation period. They will come against the Chosen People with all their might, but will be vanquished by the Lord.

Russia’s current posturing puts it at odds with Israel and its ally, the United States, and should an all-out war erupt in the Middle East, we can only expect that the great “bear” will attempt, albeit in futility, to come down against “the lion of Judah.”

Look around and see what is happening. Famine, pestilence, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars. If the invasion of Israel happened today it should surprise no one. Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.” Get ready, the storm clouds are already gathering. The Rapture could occur even before you finish reading this letter. One pastor was asked when the end would come and replied, “Don’t buy any green bananas!”

And don’t be like the foolish virgins in Matthew 25 who failed to bring oil with them to prepare for the Bridegroom’s coming. They wanted to go to the wedding feast, but they did not believe He would arrive so soon, and so they were ultimately left out. Don’t let a single night pass unprepared for the Lord’s return for His Bride, the Church.

Ezekiel wasn’t offering speculation about the future; he wasn’t guessing. He was right on target because He was God’s spokesman for End Times prophecy. The same with the Apostle John. We dare not relegate these truths and these events, as some Bible teachers would like, to allegory. When God speaks, He speaks so the masses of His people can understand. And, as a result, He expects us to respond.

Second Peter 3 makes it clear what our response should be when we read and understand Bible prophecy.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. (2 Peter 3:10–15a)

It’s time for action. First, we must be diligent to maintain personal purity. And second, we must testify that the Lord’s patience is salvation for the lost.

Time is slipping by and the task is before us. Witness to family, friends, and neighbors whom you know to be lost. Some may know of Jesus, like the five foolish virgins, but not be saved at all because they’ve never put their faith personally in Christ alone. Get involved in local evangelism and world missions through your local church and other organizations. And don’t forget to evangelize the Chosen People, Israel, with the testimony of Messiah, as we do in our “To the Jew First” outreach.

And, by the way, let the Bible schools and seminaries know what’s happening; many have lost sight of prophecy altogether. Your pastor likely graduated from a school that does not respect Israel or teach prophecy (and that includes the big ones we warn you about), and that is why churches do not teach this vital information.

When you receive this letter, I’ll have just returned from leading another wonderful group of pilgrims to the Holy Land. I missed seeing you there. But I hope you can come along on one of these upcoming tours:

• May 10–12 — Mother’s Day Tour — Holy Land Experience, FL
• May 17–19 —Pentecost Tour — Holy Land Experience, FL
• June 1–10 — Summer Kibbutz Tour — Israel
• June 14–16 — Israel and the Passion Play — Eureka Springs, AR

Call our tour manager Tony at 214-696-9760 for brochures and registration or 1-800-WONDERS anytime.

I’d like to meet you personally at one of my stops this summer as I teach in churches. Our schedule will begin July 20 in Colorado and continue into September through the northwest and California. Give Cynthia a call at 214-696-8844 to schedule your church for one of these meetings. And for Dallas area churches, I’m always happy to visit your congregations when I’m in town.

Even as I get older and my beard grows whiter, I keep looking unto the fields that are white for harvest and anticipate my Lord calling me up in the clouds before my body sees death. And I want you to have that same assurance, peace, and hope in the blessings that God has in store for you. Write us and let us know how we can help you.

And please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

Your Messenger,

P.S. If you spend your tax refund, you will probably pay sales tax. If you contribute it to the Lord’s work, then you will have less to “render unto Caesar.” This ministry is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Thanks.