Franklin Graham Warns America: 'I Fear That Our End Will Be Near'
Evangelical preacher the Rev. Franklin Graham has warned that much like the decline of the Babylonian empire close to 2,500 years ago, America may also be staring down at its end, unless it turns back to God.
"What's the writing on the wall for America? As a nation we are found lacking because of sin and disobedience to God's Holy Word. We have not honored Him. If we don't turn back to God, I fear that our end will be near," Graham wrote on Facebook Sunday.
He noted that 2,500 year ago, present day Iraq was known as the Babylonian empire, and boasted one of the largest armies in the world at the time.
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"Its king, Belshazzar, was having a big party drinking and boasting with his wives, his mistresses, and his nobles," Graham described, referring to the account in the book of Daniel in the Bible.
He added: "While they were partying, the hand of God appeared and wrote a message on the wall, terrifying everyone including King Belshazzar. His face grew pale and his knees went weak. Daniel is called in to interpret the handwriting which says three things: 'Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.'"
After Daniel warns Belshazzar that he is guilty of worshiping false gods, the king is slain that very night, and the kingdom is lost.
Graham has made several such warnings in the past, declaring at his Decision America Tour that the U.S. is "being stripped of biblical heritage."
"Our country is going in the wrong direction. And I think some of the politicians that are running have tapped into the anger and the frustration in this country. And I want Christians to know that their vote does count and we've taken God out of government, schools and everything else and we need to get God back into it," Graham said back in February, urging people to vote in the presidential elections.
The evangelical, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has further warned that news headlines suggest the world is unraveling, and Jesus Christ is coming to "wipe the slate clean."
"While the United States is focused on its own politics, the world is unraveling. The danger signals are everywhere. Beheadings, rapes, murders, bombings are taking place every day across North Africa through the Middle East, all the way to the borders of India," Graham said.
Speaking about Jesus, he added: "One day He is going to wipe the slate clean and 'create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind,' (Isaiah 65:17). For those who have trusted His Son Jesus Christ by faith, there is an eternal future with Him to look forward to."
