It is a rare day when I agree with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Yet on this week's program, I agree with them twice!

The ACLU is concerned about a new program recently instituted by the government of China. It is designed to encourage compliance with the Communist regime. In a few years, though, it will enforce compliance with the regime.

Today, it is voluntary. By 2020, it will be mandatory.

In China, everyone has an identity card. Using that card, computers will automatically track all data on every citizen, assigning each one a "credit score."

That sounds innocent enough. In the United States, most of us have credit scores, too. But in the U.S., our credit score is only a measure of our ability to repay financial obligations.

In China's new program, the "credit score" will also measure an individual's compliance with government programs and propaganda. If someone buys the kinds of items that help the economy -- like a major appliance or a product or service encouraged by the regime -- his credit score goes up.

The Chinese system will also monitor all posts on social networks (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). If one's post mentions something the government wishes to discourage, his credit score goes down. For instance, a mention of "Tiananmen Square," the chaos in the stock markets, or China's economic downturn will lower a person's credit score.

If a Chinese citizen's friend mentions something "out of line" in a personal social communication, both their credit scores go down.

In China, a lower "credit score" means no promotion at work and that means less income. The combination of less income and less credit severely limits a person's ability to buy a house or an apartment. It may consign families to poorer neighborhoods or smaller units. It will directly affect the quality of a person or his family's health care.

In other words, non-compliance will limit a Chinese citizen's ability to buy.

Sound familiar?

Revelation13:16-17 describes a time in the future when a world governor will institute a program that will restrict a person's ability to buy or sell based on his compliance with the government.

By the way, the ACLU is concerned about the possibility that this program may work its way to the United States. (My second point of agreement with them!) Here in America, the government is not tracking your purchases to assess your compliance with its wishes. Yet.

But many branches of law enforcement here are now using software that analyzes arrest reports, property records, commercial databases, deep Web searches, and social-media postings to calculate a person's threat level. It assigns something called a "threat score."

Based on your "threat score," law enforcement officers can make decisions on how to deal with you.

It's called "predictive policing."

Actually, the IRS has used similar profiling for years to determine how it wants to deal with certain organizations of which it may or may not "approve."

Of course, how a "credit score" or a "threat score" is ascertained is based entirely upon the prejudices of the person or organization programming the software that makes that determination. In other words, whoever is in charge.

Today, the Chinese regime or the police department. Tomorrow, the Antichrist or the False Prophet?

It's getting closer, folks.

The 2016 Olympic Games don't take place until late summer this year. But the Iranian Games have already started.

Within days of Implementation Day for the Iran Nuclear Agreement (JCPOA) and the release to Iran of more than a hundred billion dollars in frozen assets (and other juicy perks), Iran captured two U.S. Navy Riverine Command Boats that were "disabled" in the Persian Gulf.

They only held the sailors for a day (enough time to shoot some propaganda video) before releasing them. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Iranians for being such good guys and helpful world citizens by "rescuing" our hapless seamen. He even gloated about how differently the Iranians would have handled it just four or five years ago -- before he and President Obama worked their magic.

Then a few days later, the Iranians magnanimously released some innocent American hostages they had been holding for years in polite exchange for some Iranian criminals incarcerated in the U.S.

Coincidentally, on the same day the IAEA announced that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the nuclear agreement and the money was released and the sanctions were lifted and the world was happy again -- all in just a few hours.

It all happened so quickly and, in some ways, quietly, that many people didn't grasp what was happening. Most of the events smelled fishy and didn't quite jibe with what the authorities said publicly.

But no matter. Iran, the world's premier state sponsor of terrorism, has a hundred billion dollars in cash, access to world banking, the authority to earn billions more selling its oil, the ability to make business contracts with anyone it wishes, and the freedom to send its henchmen worldwide again. Oh, and the world's blessing to continue working toward nuclear weapons with which to attack us and destroy Israel.

All in all, mission accomplished, President Obama and Secretary Kerry.

Of course, in his recent State of the Union address, the President downplayed the notion that there even is a war on terror. If he acknowledged its reality, it might be difficult to explain why he keeps releasing dangerous, "high risk" terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay prison where they are being held.

Finally, if you're an American, you are at war.

Your street may not appear to be a "war zone," but it is a target, nonetheless. Iran has declared it a target. North Korea has declared it a target. ISIS has declared it a target. And that doesn't include the numerous criminals and gangs who are doing their best to take control of your street and your life.

Only God's grace and the diligence of the U.S. military and law enforcement keep most of us from regularly experiencing terror's war on us, but it lurks there all the time.

Another kind of war also surrounds us. It involves us in battle everyday, whether we like it or not.

It's a spiritual war. And the war zone is not your nation or your neighborhood. It's your body, mind, and spirit. And you cannot opt out of this war.

On this week's program, I'll share with you how to effectively prepare yourself to fight and win "The Universal War."

Don't miss this week's Report here Sunday.
 
God Bless,

Hal Lindsey