Robertson says God told him of ''mass killing'' in U.S. in 2007

By STEVEN G. VEGH
The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson cited communications with God in predicting Tuesday that horrific terrorism aimed at the United States will result in "mass killing" during the second half of 2007.

"The Lord didn't say nuclear, but I do believe it'll be something like that - that'll be a mass killing, possibly millions of people, major cities injured," Robertson said.

"There will be some very serious terrorist attacks," he said. "The evil people will come after this country, and there's a possibility - not a possibility, a definite certainty - that chaos is going to rule." Robertson did not say where the attacks would occur.

Robertson made his predictions during "The 700 Club" television show, which he hosts from the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach.

Predicting events for the coming year is a tradition for Robertson, who customarily spends the last days of each year in prayer.

The prayer retreats yield "what I feel, or I feel the Lord is saying, is going to happen," he said Tuesday. "I put these things out with humility."

"God said he's going to restrain the evil but he isn't necessarily going to restrain it in the beginning," Robertson said. "A lot of these things can be reversed - we just need to do a lot of praying."

Robertson said the actions of Israel's government also weighed heavily on God's heart and his.

"The word was that the Olmert policies were toxic" for Israel, said Robertson, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Robertson, who did not cite specific policies, said the United States was "feigning friendship" toward Israel while espousing policies that were "pushing them toward national suicide."

Robertson drew heavy criticism last January when he suggested in a broadcast that God punished then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.

His accuracy in predictions has been mixed, though Robertson on Tuesday claimed a "relatively good track record."

Robertson said in May that, "If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed" by "vicious hurricanes." He predicted that "there well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest."

No hurricanes struck the U.S. coast in 2006. T hree tropical storms hit the country.

No tsunami occurred in the Pacific Northwest, though parts of Washington state saw record-setting rains, floods or drought during 2006, said Josiah Mault, the assistant state climatologist.

In January 2004, Robertson said, "I really believe I'm hearing from the Lord it's going to be like a blowout" re-election for President Bush.

Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

In 2005, Robertson predicted that "Bush is now positioned to have victory after victory and that his second term is going to be one of triumph." Robertson said Bush's Social Security overhaul proposals would be approved and "he'll have conservative judges on the courts."

Senators confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts Jr. and Samuel Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court, making it more conservative in the view of many observers.

But the president's Social Security initiative stalled, and Republicans lost control of Congress in the latest election amid voters' unhappiness with Bush's Iraq policy.

• Reach Steven G. Vegh at (757) 446-2417 or steven.vegh@pilotonline.com.