(Through the Bible) Zephaniah & Haggai — Chuck Smith

Zephaniah’s Lineage and Ministry Under Josiah

So we turn now in our Bibles to the book of Zephaniah. The opening verse tells us that this is the word of the Lord, which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushiah, who was the son of Gedaliah, who was the son of Ammariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah.

Now, of the minor prophets, we really have very little of their background. For some reason, we have more of Zephaniah's background than any of them. As he gives his lineage, and he takes his lineage actually back to Hezekiah, who was, of course, one of the great kings of Judah.

So Zephaniah was actually of the royal family, and he prophesied during the reign of Josiah. And Josiah had a fairly successful reign in Judah, especially from a spiritual standpoint. Under Josiah, there was at least a surface reformation.

Now, the fact that he prophesied during the time of Josiah makes him a contemporary to Jeremiah. And so, during the time that the southern tribe of Judah was in the final decline, moving down towards the end of the southern kingdom, towards the Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah and Zephaniah were exercising their office as a prophet to Judah at that time.

Zephaniah’s Double Fulfillment and the Day of the Lord

And the Lord declares in his prophecy through Zephaniah that he will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. Now, in Zephaniah's prophecy, there definitely is the double aspect of fulfillment.

There was that fulfillment that was to take place under the destruction that came from Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar. But they also looked out to the end. And Zephaniah looks out to the great tribulation and does prophesy much about the great tribulation, the judgment of God, the indignation of God that is going to come upon this godless age in which we live.

And so, the Lord is declaring, I will utterly consume all things from off the land. I will consume the man and the beast. I will consume the fowls of the heaven, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked.

I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord. This, no doubt, is a reference to the great tribulation period in which the cataclysmic judgments of God are going to fall upon this planet Earth.

And this planet Earth is going to see a turmoil such as it has never seen before or will ever see again. Jesus, speaking of this time, said, and there shall be a time of great tribulation such as has never been before or will ever be again.

As the whole kingdom of the animals, fish, and man will be affected by the cataclysmic judgments of God. God is now speaking. He's going to stretch out his hand against Jerusalem and Judah. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place.

And the name of the Shimmerends with the priests. The Shimmerends were actually the priests that exercised their offices at that time of apostasy. They were the priests in the high places as referred to in 2 Kings.

And so, because of their idolatry there in Jerusalem and in Judah, God was going to turn them over into the hands of their enemies. I've mentioned before, and I think that it is quite significant, that in some of the latest archaeological diggings, Professor Shiloh is seeking to uncover the old city of David.

Archaeology, Jerusalem, and Judah’s Idolatry

They call it the Hill of Ophel. And it is right above the springs of Gihon. And that hill that comes down to Gihon and goes up from there and the Pool of Siloam, under which Hezekiah dug his tunnel, above the hill and up the slopes, is the old city of Jerusalem that dates back to the time of this prophecy.

The city of, or the Hill of Ophel, and really was known as the city of David. And as they have been excavating on up in recent excavations, these are the ones that created the riots last year. The riots were perpetrated by some of the rabbis, the Orthodox rabbis, who felt that Professor Shiloh was not giving proper regard to the bones that he was uncovering.

The Orthodox rabbis have quite a thing on the dead. And whenever an archaeologist finds a bone, they want to be there and examine it to see if it is a human bone. And if so, then the rabbis give it a blessing before they bury it.

Professor Shiloh is a very pragmatic kind of a person. I have had dinner with him and I enjoyed his company very much. He is the kind of a guy who says, Hey, I don't want anybody trying to govern my digs.

And I feel that the archaeology is scientific and I don't think there should be a mixture of this religious aspect with the scientific projects of archaeology. And so he deliberately ignored the desires of the rabbis.

And this is why they had the big strike and the big to do over there. And it was really a matter of principle as Professor Shiloh was trying to guard the scientific aspects of archaeology so that it doesn't become a religious kind of a ceremony.

And so when he would uncover the bones, rather than calling for a rabbi, he'd say, Oh, it's a dog bone, you know, just bury it. And so the rabbis discovered what he was doing and hence the big to do over there last summer in his excavations.

However, Professor Shiloh was telling me that as they uncovered the houses that existed, and of course he said it always gives you sort of a sense of awe as you're digging and you're uncovering the rubble and the ruins of the houses and you find the interiors just as they were when they were destroyed by the Babylonians.

And he said that the artifacts that they find within the houses that were destroyed by this Babylonian army as they just came in and just broke the houses down. You see, when they came back from the Babylonian captivity, the place was all overgrown, the houses were all leveled and the place was overgrown.

So rather than at that time uncovering them and rebuilding the houses, they just put more dirt over them and built on top of them. But he said as they were digging in the ruins of these houses, finding them just as the Babylonians had destroyed them, he said they were amazed at the number of little gods that they discovered, the little idols that were in every home.

And he speaks of the multitudes of idols and he showed me pictures, just table after table full of these little idols that were in these homes of the people in Judah prior to the destruction by the Babylonian army.

And surely, that is confirmation of what we read in Jeremiah and what we read in Isaiah as these prophets were warning of the judgment of God that was to come because of the idolatry that existed. Now, here again, as Zephaniah is telling of the destruction and the judgment of God that is going to come, there is the mention of the worship of Bell.

So many little idols to Bell, which means Lord, were discovered. The priest, the Shimerim, the priest of the high places, and then that worship the host of heaven upon their housetops, which was the practice of astrology, which is an ancient cult going back to the Babylonian period where people imagined that the stars had certain influences over their lives.

And so the time that you were born and all feeling that the stars determined your destiny. Isn't it amazing that in this modern, scientifically enlightened age, there are those who still look at their horoscopes to determine whether or not they should go to work today.

They worship the host of heaven upon the housetops and them that swear by the Lord and swear by Malcolm, which, of course, is the idol of the Ammonites, which had its equivalent of Molech and them that are turned back from the Lord and those that have not sought the Lord nor inquired for him.

Here they were worshiping all of their idols, but they had forsaken Jehovah and not inquired of Jehovah. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is at hand. The day of the Lord, of course, is again a reference to the great day of God's judgment that is coming.

Judgment, Idolatry, and the Day of the Lord’s Sacrifice

For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has bid his guest. You remember in the book of Revelation, chapter 17, as it speaks of this great day of the Lord's wrath that is coming, that he invites the birds to come and feast on the carcasses of kings and so forth.

The great day of the Lord's wrath. And so he has prepared a sacrifice, a feast. He has bid his guest, which are the birds, the vultures, to come and to eat the carcasses of men. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice that I will punish the princes and the king's children and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

In the same day also will I punish all of those that leap on the threshold, which fill their master's houses with violence and deceit. It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be a noise of a cry from the fish gate and a howling from the second and a great crashing from the hills.

Howl ye inhabitants of Maktesh. That is actually the little area where the shopping, the bazaar, if you go to Jerusalem today, the souks, the commercial place within the city, these long, narrow little streets where all of these little shops are on all sides.

That's the Hebrew Maktesh. It's the place where they did all of their selling. Howl ye inhabitants of Maktesh. For all of the merchant people are cut down. All they that bear silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles and punish the men that are settled on their leaves, that say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

In other words, God is withdrawn. It doesn't matter to God. We can live as we please. What difference does it make to God? He won't do good. He won't do evil. People who live as though God did not exist.

Now, I think that we look at some people and we are appalled at the brazen declarations that they make of atheism. They are so bold in their speaking out against the things of God and many times we are shocked at their blasphemies.

But you know, I think that even worse than some of these blasphemous persons are people who say they believe in God and yet they live as though God did not exist. Who never take God into account in any of the decisions of their lives.

Now, to me, this is a greater blasphemy than a man who utters oaths with his mouth. Is a man saying, oh, I believe in God, yes, I believe in God, but he never takes God into account in any of the decision-making processes, never seeks the Lord.

He has the attitude, well, the Lord is not going to do good or do evil. It's that careless attitude concerning God and the things of God. The Lord said he's going to punish those who have settled on their lease.

Therefore, their goods shall become a booty. Their house is a desolation. And boy, as you go and you go through the archaeological digs that Professor Shiloh has made, you see what desolation has become of their houses.

They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the Lord is near. It is near and it hastens greatly. Even the voice of the day of the Lord, the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

That day is a day of wrath. It is a day of trouble, of distress, a day of wasteness and desolation. A day of darkness and gloominess. A day of clouds and thick darkness. A day of the trumpet, the battle trumpet that calls the troops to assemble.

An alarm against the fenced cities, against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men that they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord and their blood shall be poured out as dust and their flesh as the dung.

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy for he shall make even a speedy riddance of them all that dwell in the land.

And of course, the prophecy here does definitely spread out in the double fulfillment going to the great day of God's judgment that is coming yet upon the earth. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired.

Now that not desired in the Hebrew literally means a nation that knows no shame. They were doing shameful things, but they refused to be ashamed. Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you, seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment.

Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. And so the Lord's promise to hide those from the day of his anger. When the great tribulation comes upon the earth, just before it comes and what will actually be the final straw, so to speak, will be the desecration of the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

The Great Tribulation, the Antichrist, and Israel’s Refuge

Now, prophetically the temple is to be rebuilt. And when the temple is rebuilt, this man who in the scripture is known as the son of perdition or the man of sin, the beast often called the Antichrist.

He is going to come to the temple. He's going to stand in the holy place and declare that he is God and is going to demand to be worshipped as God. And Jesus speaking to Israel, to the Jews at this time, who see this manifestation, said to them, and when you see the abomination of desolation that Daniel the prophet spoke about, standing in the holy place, then flee to the wilderness.

Now, in the book of Revelation, chapter 13, beg your pardon, chapter 12, as John sees, first of all, the woman, Israel, clothed with the sun and the moon and the twelve stars. And then he sees the second wonder in heaven, the great dragon, Satan, who is cast out of heaven.

And he goes to make war against the woman's seed or the remnant of the nation of Israel or the people of Israel. But in the book of Revelation, it says that the woman's seed are given wings of an eagle to bear them to the wilderness place where they will be nourished for three and a half years so that they will not come under the dominion and the control of the Antichrist, but will flee to this wilderness place that God has prepared for them.

Which, according to Isaiah, chapter 16, will be the rock city of Petra, where many of the Jews will flee for survival and God will watch over them and take care of them there. This also is made mention of in the 26th chapter of Isaiah, the last few verses, where God bears them safely to a place of refuge until his indignation be overpassed or the wrath of God, the judgments of God are over.

So here again is the promise of the Lord for those people in that day to seek the Lord. All ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment, seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

It is possible that they can be those that will be preserved miraculously by God in this wilderness place where they will be taken care of by the Lord for three and a half years. So that's a yet future experience for the Jews.

It is not the church. The church, of course, will be caught up in the rapture before these things take place. For he said, Gaza shall be forsaken or Gaza and Ashkelon, a desolation, and they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday and Ekron shall be rooted up.

These are the cities, the major cities of the Philistines, the Gaza. And of course, you're reading an awful lot in the last couple of weeks about the Gaza Strip and the problems that are going on there right now.

Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites, for the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will even destroy thee that there shall be no inhabitant and the seacoast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah. Now, this is a fascinating prophecy. Because during the time of the Old Testament, the Philistines were one of the strong and perennial enemies of the Jews.

The cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath were the major Philistine cities. They were in the coastal plains. And they were a constant thorn in the flesh to Israel. The tribe of Dan tried to settle in that area.

But they found that the Philistines were too strong for them. And so the tribe of Dan went way up in the north part of the land in the upper Galilee region. And there the tribe of Dan settled north of Lachish, clear on up near the base of Mount Hermon.

But the Lord is here predicting that the Philistines are going to be destroyed. And that these cities will be desolate. They will just be places where the nomadic Bedouins keep their flocks. But then the prophecy goes on to declare, the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah and they shall feed thereon.

Now, it's extremely interesting that in these days in which we live, these Philistine cities, Ashdod, Ashkelon, have been rebuilt into Jewish communities. And in Ashdod, the Israelis have built their major seaport.

And most of the shipping is no longer done out of Haifa, but it's done out of Ashdod. And as God has declared, this area for years, for over a thousand years, was just grazing land for the Bedouins. But when Israel became a nation again, they began the rebuilding projects.

And one of the major projects was the rebuilding of this area of Ashdod and the making of this modern seaport and also Ashkelon. And so they have settled in the area now that was once a part of the Philistine territory.

And so this fascinating prophecy of Zephaniah has been fulfilled during some of our lifetime. Some of you kids are still too young to, you know, it happened before you were born. But I do remember it.

The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They shall feed thereupon. And in the houses of Ashkelon, they shall lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God shall visit them and turn away their captivity.

So this, of course, is a prophecy of the rebirth of the nation Israel. I have heard the reproach of Moab, the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people and magnified themselves against their border.

Moab and Ammon, of course, had magnified themselves. They took the West Bank from Israel when Israel became a nation in 1948. King Jordan moved in with his troops and took the West Bank. The Lord here speaks about it.

I know the reproach, how they've magnified themselves against their border. Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab will become as Sodom, that's present-day Jordan, and the children of Ammon, the capital of Jordan, as Gomorrah.

Even the breeding of nettles and salt pits and a perpetual desolation, the residue of my people shall spoil them and the remnant of my people shall possess them. So it looks like Jordan is in for trouble with Israel from this prophecy of Zephaniah.

Of course, it is interesting that at the present time, the strategy of General Sharon, the defense minister of Israel, is to drive the PLO out of Lebanon, into Jordan, and make Jordan the Palestinian state, helping the PLO to depose King Hussein.

And that is the present strategy planned by General Sharon. And it is interesting that Zephaniah speaks much of that taking place 2 ,100 years ago. No, more than that, 2 ,600 years ago. This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of Hosts.

The Lord said, touch not My anointed, do My prophets no harm. The Lord said He would bless those that blessed Abraham. He would curse those that cursed them. And so Moab, or Jordan, is to fall because of their treatment of God's people, the people of the Lord of Hosts.

Now, it isn't that the people of the Lord of Hosts are so righteous. It's just that God has chosen them. And because God has chosen them, we should respect them. The Lord will be awesome unto them, for He will famish all the gods of the earth, and men shall worship Him, everyone from his place, even all of the isles of the heathen, or the coast of the heathen.

Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by My sword. And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and He will make Nineveh a desolation. So at this time that Zephaniah was prophesying, Nineveh was still existing.

It had not yet been destroyed by the Medes and the Babylonians. The flock shall lie down in the midst of her, all of the beasts of the nations, both the comorant and the bitter, and shall lodge in the upper littles of it.

Their voice shall sing in the windows. Desolation shall be in the thresholds, for He shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me.

That great city of Nineveh. And how has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in? Every one that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his head. Nineveh, one of the greatest cities of the ancient world.

It took three days to walk through the city of Nineveh from one end to the other. And yet here's the prophet making this amazing prophecy. It's going to be desolate. Sheep are going to graze there. In the houses that once existed there, the owl and the bitter will lodge in the thresholds.

Jerusalem’s Corruption and God’s Corrective Judgment

It will be a place for the dwelling of wild animals. And as improbable as that prophecy of Zephaniah did seem at that time, yet it came to pass. And now the Lord speaks against Jerusalem. Woe to her that is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city.

She obeyed not the voice. She received not correction. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God. So God's indictment against her. She wouldn't listen. She wouldn't obey. She wouldn't receive correction.

She wouldn't trust in the Lord. She would not draw near to God. Her princes within her are at roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons.

Her priests have polluted the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. Now we find that these are much the same indictments that Jeremiah was bringing against the nation and against Jerusalem in his prophecy.

And you remember how Jeremiah had a hard time with these false prophets who were coming to the king and saying, Oh, King, you know, you're going to be pushing the Babylonians all over the place. They won't come near here and all.

And how that they were conspiring against Jeremiah because he dared to stand up and tell the truth. And so here Zephaniah speaks of their prophets are light and treacherous persons. Their priests have polluted the sanctuary.

They've done violence to the law. The just Lord is in the midst thereof and he will not do iniquity. Every morning that they bring his judgment to light. He fails not, but the unjust does not know shame.

I have cut off the nations. Their towers are desolate. I made their streets waste that none passes by. Their cities are destroyed so that there is no man. There is no inhabitant. I said, surely that will fear me.

That will receive instruction. So their dwelling should not be cut off. Howsoever, I punished them, but they rose early and corrupted their doings. God intends actually that judgment be for correction.

First of all, when we start getting out of line, God often times brings judgment in the form of chastisement into our lives. And the purpose of it is to turn us back to God. But it's tragic that so many people, when God is bringing the rod of chastisement, will often times rebel against the Lord and thus their condition only worsens.

But the Lord said, when my judgments are in the land, it will cause my people to turn to righteousness. And a true child of God, when he begins to see the judgments, turns to God. But here the Lord speaks of his judgments and how that they just corrupted themselves all the more.

Therefore, and now we go out to the future, the great judgment of the nations which is coming. Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey. For my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation.

And as we told you, the word indignation in the Old Testament is the equivalent of the great tribulation of the New Testament. And so here God is speaking of the great tribulation period as he gathers the nations.

And of course, gathering them into the valley of Megiddo, for the great battle of Armageddon, where I will pour out upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger. For the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. Now originally men all spoke one language. But at the Tower of Babel, as men through tremendous scientific progress were building these communication towers for extra stellar communication, to communicate with people in space, to learn from those in space.

You remember as the Lord looked upon the scene of the building of the Tower of Babel. He spoke of how that men gathering themselves together had advanced so far in their technology that nothing that they determined to do could be withheld from them.

And so in order to thwart men from his devious plans, God brought the confusion of tongues and the separation then into ethnic groups by language throughout the world. Now the day is coming when we're going to speak a pure language again.

I found it quite interesting when our Hebrew guide told us that there were no swear words in Hebrew. If a Jew wants to swear, he has to use English. They have no swear words in Hebrew. We were in the Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.

And we heard this doctor talking in Hebrew. And as he was talking to his colleagues, he let out a series of oaths that I understood in English. And so I turned to my wife and I said, I guess it is true.

The only way they can swear is in English. And of course he got very embarrassed. But I thought that was quite interesting. A language in which there are no swear words. Perhaps that is the pure language.

But the Lord will turn to the people of pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent or with one voice. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughter of my disperse shall bring my offering.

In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me. For then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord and the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies. Neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth where they shall feed and lie down and none will make them afraid.

Now notice again the sequence. God's judgment, the indignation that is going to come. But followed by the new age, the one language, the restoration of the earth to God's order and God's plan. And of course going then on into verse 14, the glorious day of the Lord.

The day of the... that the Lord comes and establishes his kingdom upon the earth. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath taken away thy judgments.

He hath cast out your enemy, the King of Israel. Even the Lord is in the midst of thee and thou shalt see evil no more. Glorious day when Jesus comes and reigns. The Lord dwelling in the midst of his people once again.

Even as he did when he was upon the earth 2 ,000 years ago. The Word made flesh and dwelt among us. He was in the world, the world was made by him, but the world knew him not. He came to his own, but his own received him not.

And so the Lord dwelling in the midst of the people, the rejoicing, the singing, the glory of that wonderful day. And in that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Don't fear. And to Zion, let not thy hands be slack.

For the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. And so the attention is drawn now to the Lord in the midst of his people.

First of all, his mighty power is made mention. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. And then his work he will save. Really, the world today is in dire need of salvation. Man has gone just about as far as he can go without destroying everything.

The World’s Need for Salvation and the False Messiah

Man presently is spending one trillion dollars a year on military weapons. It's bankrupting the whole world. Our economy is bankrupt. The Russian's economy is bankrupt. Because we are spending so much money in our military budgets, we are bankrupting our world.

A hundred and three billion dollars of deficit spending this year alone. For the defense projects. In fact, we're spending even more than that for defense. They have asked for one trillion dollars for defense over the next five years.

It just boggles your mind. You can't even think in numbers like that. Even if you wanted to count to a billion. It would take you nineteen years day and night counting at the rate of a hundred a minute.

A hundred and three billion dollars that they don't have. They're spending. Now, I don't recommend you go out and write checks on funds you don't have. It's a crime. Punishable. By imprisonment. And yet our government is doing exactly that.

Writing phony checks. Actually, they're printing phony money and passing it off on you. It used to be that the currency was covered by gold. They had gold notes. And then it was covered by silver and they had silver notes.

And you noticed on the old silver notes. It was redeemable. In silver. But a few years ago, they called in all the silver notes. The gold notes, in effect, said we owe you twenty dollars in gold. The silver notes said, in effect, we owe you ten or twenty or five dollars in silver.

Now the notes that they give you, the Federal Reserve notes. They're not backed by anything. So, in reality, it says we owe you nothing. Sad state of affairs. Oh, how the world needs saving. And, unfortunately, government can't save us.

In fact, it is government that is burying us. Destroying us. We can't afford government anymore. Government has become too expensive. And the same is true around the world. Only one hope for this old sick world.

From a sociological standpoint, we look at the sociological sickness of the world. We look at the sociological sickness in the United States. We see the epidemic crime levels. We see the assaults, the murders, the rapes.

No solution, no answer. We need a savior. Now, there is coming a false savior. A man who is going to have all kinds of novel, new ideas. Who will seemingly save the economy for a time. Who will solve much of the social evils.

Because so many of the crimes involve money. All of the convenience stores that are robbed every night. The service stations that are robbed. And pockets that are picked and purses that are snatched. Or goods that are heisted.

And it all involves a monetary exchange. A guy rips off your television set and all so that he can go and sell it quickly for some money. He gives it to a fence and he gets money. And it's all this thing of money.

So, this man is going to come up with a fantastic solution to the social problems. Many of them of crime. By eliminating money completely. By assigning everyone a mark. Recognizable by a computer scanner.

A mark that will be placed in the right hand or in the forehead of everybody. And no one will be able to buy or sell unless they have this mark. You read this week in the paper where they figure that there is between 80 and 100 billion dollars of unpaid taxes every year from people who are skimming off the top.

The government is going to have to do something. And what better thing can you do than to get rid of money. And say, all right, if you want to buy or sell, you'll have to use the mark. No one buys or sells without a mark.

That way they'll know every asset that you have. You won't be able to dispose of them except that mark is used. And all the exchanging will be done through the use of the mark. Which of course will have your monetary equivalent within the computer bank.

Stored within the computer system. And immediately all of the crimes involving money will be over. You can't hold up. It's all in the computer. Of course there will be then people who will be developing ways of tapping into the computer and all.

But nonetheless it is going to change the crime. And it will take a while for people to figure the new system. At least three and a half years. So he'll come up with some economic solutions. He'll come up with some sociological solutions.

And all of the world is going to begin to hail this man as its leader. As its savior. False Messiah. The Antichrist. He will even befriend the Jewish nation. Make a covenant with them. Whereby they will be able to rebuild their temple on the Temple Mount.

All of these things are in order today. Did you know that the United States government is planning in 1984 to inaugurate a universal number system for everybody in the U .S.? We're moving down towards the line.

I read this in the newspaper the other day. But I've known it for years. Because one of our fellows went back to do secret work. Top classified work in the Pentagon. Seven years ago. And he thought it was so significant.

He said, Chuck, this is top classified. But he said, I feel I've got to tell you. 1984. He said, I've been working on the program back in Washington, D .C. He said, 1984, we've targeted to give a universal number to everyone in the U .S.