Dear Friends,

More than 500 years before the birth of Christ, a Babylonian king named Belshazzar reigned over a vast empire established by his father, the great conqueror Nebuchadnezzar. He was an evil man who did not honor the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. On one occasion, Belshazzar hosted a banquet for his nobles, wives and concubines, and ordered that wine be served to them in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from the temple of God in Jerusalem. As they drank and celebrated into the night, they began praising the false gods made of wood, bronze, iron and stone.

We read what happened next in the fifth chapter of Daniel: "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale, and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way."

The story continues: "The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant."

At the suggestion of the queen, Daniel was then summoned to interpret the writing. He told the troubled king, "‘. . . you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from His temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways. Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

‘This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

‘This is what these words mean: 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.’"

"Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain."

What a dramatic account this is about a profoundly evil man and his terrifying encounter with an all-seeing God who judges the affairs of men. The question raised for those of us who read this familiar story today is whether it has particular meaning for our time. I believe it does. In fact, my thoughts turned to William Jefferson Clinton, who left office on January 20. His eight-year term as leader of the most powerful nation on earth is now in the record books. I couldn’t help but speculate about what "the moving finger of God" might write if its message had appeared during one of the final State dinners in the East Room of the White House.

Without presuming to know how Jehovah views this very flawed man, there are some troubling facts about him that are indisputable. Clinton’s hands are stained with the blood of countless innocent babies. By twice vetoing a bill that would have banned partial-birth abortion,¹ he almost single-handedly preserved a barbaric procedure by which fully viable and unanaesthetized infants, each fresh from the Creator’s hand and brimming with life, were murdered during the final moments of delivery. If the American people were forced to stand and watch a doctor thrust his scissors into the tiny head of a convulsing baby and then suck out the brains with a powerful vacuum, most of us would gasp in horror. Some would faint. Many would cry or vomit. Most would be outraged. Yet Bill Clinton not only supported this Naziesque practice; he claimed that the procedure was necessary "to protect the life of the mother."² It was a lie—one of many he told while in office. The American Medical Association and noted obstetricians insist that there is never any justifiable medical reason to kill babies by this method, yet the president twisted the truth in order to preserve its legality.³ More than 70 percent of the American people oppose partial-birth abortion.⁴ Nevertheless, Clinton gained political capital by appeasing radical feminists who demanded the blood of our most helpless little victims. Surely, this despicable act has not escaped the notice of the One who issued a terrifying warning to anyone who would hurt a child (Mark 9:42).

Bill Clinton advanced the cause of abortion in numerous other ways. The man who told us he wanted abortion to be "safe, legal and rare"⁵ never missed an opportunity to promote the "pro-choice" movement around the world. Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of the periodical First Things, said that Clinton will be described in the history books as "The Abortion President."⁶ On just his third day in office, he issued five extremely controversial executive orders which aggressively promoted abortion and related immoral policies such as fetal tissue research and the dangerous drug RU-486. It was the 20th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision by the Supreme Court. Thousands of pro-life advocates had marched outside the White House just hours before the orders were signed.⁷ It was a display of raw power seemingly designed to defy and taunt those who pleaded for the lives of unborn babies.

Clinton also supported the allocation of hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars to underwrite International Planned Parenthood and similar groups for overseas "family planning" programs.⁸ He appointed officials who shared his extremely liberal views on abortion. Most notably, Clinton named Joycelyn Elders as surgeon general, a woman who once told pro-lifers to "get over their love affair with fetuses."⁹ No other act, however, more vividly revealed where Clinton’s sympathies lay than when his administration denied asylum to 20 Chinese women in 1993 who came to this country to escape China’s forced abortion policy. They were arrested and languished for several years in federal prisons.¹⁰

When assessing the legacy of Bill Clinton, we can’t overlook his shameful sexual behavior in the Oval Office, and then, his lies under oath to the American people to cover it up. Indeed, it is my belief that no man has ever done more to debase the presidency or to undermine our Constitution—and particularly the moral and biblical principles upon which it is based—than has William Jefferson Clinton. Even after the infamous blue dress surfaced and the grand jury forced him to admit having an adulterous relationship¹¹ with "that woman, Miss Lewinsky," he brushed it off as a "personal mistake."¹² In the heat of the impeachment process, he refused to do the honorable thing and resign, even though more than 150 newspapers (many of them liberal) implored him to do so.¹³ If any man in corporate America, the military or academia had used his position of authority to garner sexual favors from a woman 30 years his junior, he would unquestionably have lost his job. But Mr. Clinton took pride in his ability to frustrate his accusers. He said later, "I am honored that . . . I had the opportunity to defend the Constitution . . . I do not regard this impeachment vote as a great badge of shame."¹⁴ Now we’re hearing that his memoirs will contain the details of his sexual extravaganza with Miss Lewinsky.¹⁵

There were apparently many other women in Bill Clinton’s life, some of them unwilling participants. Who knows what really happened between him and Kathleen Willey, who claimed he groped her in the Oval Office?¹⁶ Then there was Gennifer Flowers, who said she had a 12-year affair with Clinton. He denied it vigorously before being forced to admit under oath that he did, in fact, have a sexual relationship with her. But only once, he said.¹⁷ There were also the allegations of Juanita Broaddrick, who said she was bitten on the lip and raped by then Arkansas Attorney General Clinton in a hotel room many years ago.¹⁸ To date, the president has refused to even answer those charges.¹⁹

What we have seen with this man is a pattern of using women and then viciously slandering them when their stories became public. Remember the president’s vituperative representative, James Carville, calling Paula Jones "trailer park trash"?²⁰ Remember the private letters of Kathleen Willey being released illegally to the press?²¹ Remember the White House referring to women who accused Clinton of sexual impropriety as "bimbo eruptions"?²² Remember the president’s defenders saying his sexual misconduct was a mere "peccadillo"²³—which is defined as "insignificant faults." Finally, we should not forget the statements of Arkansas state troopers who said they witnessed Bill Clinton’s dalliances with many other women whose names never came to light.²⁴ There can be no doubt that Bill Clinton is a lifelong philanderer and womanizer who consumes and then discards his playthings. Nevertheless, this is the man who inexplicably garnered a majority of women’s votes in two elections,²⁵ and who consistently charmed and mesmerized evangelical pastors at White House gatherings.²⁶

The Scripture tells us that our sins will eventually come to light (Luke 12:2-3). So it has been for the president. He has a way of contradicting himself at the point of previous lies, leaving him exposed to the truth. For example, he was a recent guest at Willow Creek Church before an audience of 4,500 religious leaders, with 6,300 more watching via a closed-circuit television hookup in the United States and Canada.²⁷ Clinton was interviewed informally on that occasion by the Rev. Bill Hybels who, after promising a no-holds-barred interview, tossed softballs that permitted the president to sound mildly contrite over the Lewinsky matter. It was just four days before the Democratic National Convention, when he needed "cover" to shield him from those who might bring up the Lewinsky affair. Hybels did not ask the president, nor did the president volunteer, to repent for his infidelity with the other women or to express regret for his shameful support for partial-birth abortion. His confession, if that is what it was, dealt only with the instance when he was caught red-handed. Nevertheless, I’m told that many of the pastors in the viewing audience that day nodded in approval as Bill Clinton tearfully "came clean."

Unfortunately, that moment of candor was apparently forgotten a few months later when the president granted an interview with Esquire. He was pictured on the cover of that issue in a most unpresidential pose, spread eagle and sporting an arrogant grin.

The comparison between the two interviews is striking. Clinton told Hybels that he needed to acknowledge and apologize for what he did and begin a process of atonement.²⁸ But then he told Esquire two months later that the congressional charges against him were about politics and power, and "not about morality or truth or the law."²⁹ He said the accusers should apologize to the country. Will the real Bill Clinton please stand up?

Let’s turn now to the almost evangelistic fervor the president displayed in advancing the radical homosexual movement. During his first week in office, Clinton announced plans to overturn the ban on gays in the military.³⁰ An uproar in Congress and among our military leaders forced the president to back down from his radical plan, but nevertheless he succeeded in establishing the current "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy.³¹ In addition, he was the first president to speak at a gay event,³² the first to grant interviews to the gay press,³³ and the first to institute a "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month" in the U.S.³⁴ He appointed approximately two dozen openly gay individuals to senior posts in his administration.³⁵

Clinton also promoted "hate crimes" legislation,³⁶ which would penalize those who oppose the homosexual agenda. He called for pro-gay "diversity training" in public schools³⁷ and created a White House liaison to homosexuals.³⁸ (Given that priority, it is interesting that Clinton eliminated the long-standing White House liaison to evangelicals.)³⁹ Finally, Clinton said during a recent speech at a gathering of gay activists, "I wish we could have done more [to promote the homosexual agenda], but I’m glad we did what we did."⁴⁰

Not only did Bill Clinton make great strides in advancing the homosexual agenda, he also used his influence to redefine and undermine the institution of marriage. He opposed California’s Proposition 22 last year, a measure designed to protect the citizens of that state from having to recognize "gay marriages" in other states.⁴¹ At the same time, he supported the decision of the Vermont Supreme Court mandating a quasi-marriage arrangement for gay couples.⁴² He vetoed the marriage penalty tax cut, saying it would "squander" the surplus,⁴³ and rescinded a Reagan administration executive order that required all policy proposals to consider their potential impact on families before being enacted.⁴⁴

There are many other regrettable policies and actions taken by this president during his two terms in office, including the free rein he gave to the producers of obscenity. There has not been a single prosecution brought against a major purveyor of adult pornography in Clinton’s eight years.⁴⁵ Indeed, the Justice Department even attempted a few years ago to eliminate some of the regulations that permit child pornographers to be prosecuted.⁴⁶ The administration also tried to make it illegal to share one’s faith in the workplace,⁴⁷ and to allow the Federal Communications Commission to limit religious programming on some public television stations.⁴⁸ These developments, and others, reflect the views of a man who reportedly told Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes in August 1995: "My only enemy is right-wing religious fundamentalism."⁴⁹

Why am I recounting the misdeeds of a tragic president who has now left office? Why not simply wish him well and forget the disturbing things he did? The reason is to help us learn from this period in American history. First, we must recognize that the God who saw and punished Belshazzar’s sin more than 25 centuries ago will not wink at the rebellion of those living today. He may seem silent for a time, but in the end, He will speak. You can be certain of this: God will not be mocked—by either presidents and kings or by you and me. This is what we read in God’s Word: "But to the wicked, God says: ‘What right have you to recite My laws or take My covenant on your lips? You hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil, and harness your tongue to deceit. You speak continually against your brother, and slander your mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face. Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue" (Psalm 50:16-22, NIV).

Second, when our leaders turn away from the principles in Scripture—whether they are believers or pagans—the people will suffer. Proverbs 29:2 makes that clear: "When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan." We certainly have had reason to groan these past eight years, despite the booming economy. One of the campaign questions asked by Bill Clinton and Al Gore during the recent election was, "Are you better off now than you were eight years ago?" The answer is NO, despite polling results showing that more than 70 percent of Americans say we are better off now!⁵⁰ How wrong that is. We have descended much further into moral decline than any of us might have feared a decade ago. The press told us that character didn’t matter, and that private misbehavior was unrelated to effectiveness in office. Those journalists, including Richard Cohen of The Washington Post,⁵¹ were dead wrong, and our nation has suffered for having twice chosen a chief executive whom we knew was not a man of principle and integrity. This country, and indeed large portions of the world, will never be the same for having fallen under the influence of this one man.

Who would have believed that the day would come when the president of the United States and his wife would sell overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House in return for campaign contributions?⁵² Who would have thought that homosexual activists would gain such political power in recent years that they could threaten the Boy Scouts of America, one of the most respected institutions in the nation?⁵³ Who could have known that the day would come when a president would be fined $90,000 for lying under oath about his relationship with a young girl, or that his home state of Arkansas would suspend his license to practice law for five years?⁵⁴ Who would have anticipated that the California State Legislature would pass a law removing criminal penalties for non-physicians who botch abortions?⁵⁵ Truth now depends on the definition of the word "is," and lying is no longer dishonest. Everything is relative. Tolerance has obliterated discernment. These and thousands of other developments and changes within the culture represent a dramatic lurch to the left that was inspired, in part, by the radical agenda of our president.

My greater concern focuses on Bill Clinton’s impact on our children. For example, a recent article in USA Today described a deeply disturbing development now coming to light among today’s teens and preteens. Social and medical scientists are confirming that a dramatic increase in oral sex is occurring beyond anything seen before. Furthermore, this activity, which is viewed by kids as "no big deal," is spreading devastating diseases of the mouth and throat. Health care providers have found dramatic increases in oral herpes and gonorrhea of the pharynx in teens.⁵⁶ Dr. Robert Blum, director of the division of general pediatrics and adolescent health at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, said, "There is very much a sense that these behaviors transcend race and income and family structure and are much more widespread than we might think."⁵⁷ He also said, ". . . most younger teens, even 10- to 12-year-olds, and maybe most teens (in general) don’t define this as sex."⁵⁸

Where do you think they got that idea? Psychiatrist Lynn Ponton at the University of California at San Francisco provided one of the answers: "Clinton said oral sex isn’t sex. Kids tell me over and over in my office, ‘The president did it.’"⁵⁹

In reporting the White House scandal, the media established the words "oral sex" as a household phrase, which quickly found its way into the language of elementary school children who had never heard of it before. Parents were then forced to explain adult sexuality long before their children had a need for the information or were ready to receive it. This, and the epidemic itself, is part of the legacy of Bill Clinton.

When John F. Kennedy was killed, an old Irish saying was adapted and widely quoted. It read, "Johnnie, we hardly knew ye." Now as President Clinton has left office, we can say with conviction, "Goodbye, Billy, we knew ye all too well."

Let me close by asking what you think the "moving hand" might write on the wall of the White House. But before you answer, let me personalize the question by asking another. What would the great hand of God write on the walls of your house and mine? Would it say, "You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting"? I pray not. But it might. The truth is that we are responsible for the tragedy of the Clinton presidency. Many in the church remained silent when he vetoed the ban on partial-birth abortion. We looked the other way when he courted and granted enormous political power to homosexuals who sought to destroy the traditional family. We hardly uttered a peep of protest when he vetoed the marriage penalty tax, which discriminates against husbands and wives living in committed, legal relationships. More indicting is the fact that millions of Christians didn’t even bother to vote in 1992 or 1996 when Clinton was given power.⁶⁰ People living in a democracy get the government they deserve, and we share the blame for the disaster of the past eight years. And here we go again. Only 31 percent of Arizonians voted in the most recent election; only 39 percent went to the polls in California; only 40 percent voted in Hawaii;⁶¹ and so it went. We cannot merely point a detached finger of accusation at the immoral behavior of our president when we stood by and let it happen!

Not only must we hold our elected officials accountable, but we must examine our own behavior in the light of Scripture. You and I are held to the same standard of righteousness that governs the behavior of our national leaders. Let’s live our lives daily so as to hear those words of commendation when we stand before our Maker: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:21, KJV).

I urge you to pray for our former president. God’s grace is extended to everyone who seeks forgiveness and restoration, including those who have been in rebellion against Him. That is the unfathomable love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who said, "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37, KJV).

Let’s also intercede on behalf of our new president, George W. Bush, and hold him and future leaders to a higher level of accountability than we did these past eight years. We are all flawed individuals and need to help one another to do what is right.

Those are my thoughts for this month. I would like to know yours. Please write me when time permits. We pay close attention to the views and suggestions of our friends. It is also our desire to be of help to you and your family if we can. And speaking of help, your continued financial support would be appreciated. Even small gifts add up to keep this ministry vibrant and effective.

Greetings to you all.