Hal Lindsey’s Prophecies
A Study of The Late Great Planet Earth:
Part 3
By David Mathews
42. "A short time ago we saw a graph in a
newsmagazine which indicated the climb in serious crimes in the United States
from 1960 to 1968. If you had been an ant on the page you would have had a very
steep stairway to climb each one of those eight years. While the numbers of
crimes in America were increasing 122 per cent, the population rose only 11 per
cent.
Many people have stopped talking about the 'crime rate.' They now refer to the
'crime epidemic.'" (pp. 100-101).
The increase in crime in the United States is hardly a
matter of prophetic importance. Hal Lindsey finds the statistics useful because
people fear crime, and the increase in criminal activity would seem to make
becoming a victim of crime inevitable. The crime rate varies from year to year,
sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing.
43. "Some people feel that the concern about the
population explosing is exagerrated.
They point out that the marvelous technological advances of science will
overcome the burgeoning boom in human beings on earth.
They may be right. However, many experts who hav
studied and evaluated the population growth have arrived at statistics and
conclusions which are rather awesome, to say the least. A 1969 report from the
United Nations national policy panel on world population claimed that the
population crisis is the world's concern and that it is as important as peace
itself. This report projects the world population will reach 7.5 billion people
by the year 2000. Since the number of human beings on earth in 1968 was 3.4
billion, we see that if the estimate is correct, there will be more than twice
as many people in the world thirty years from now." (p. 101).
The United Nations projected a world population of 7.5
billion people by the year 2000. According to the U.S. Census burial the world
population as of 7/1/98 is 5,919,436,351.
In the next year and a half, the population will exceed six billion. That is
significantly less than the projected population of 7.5 billion, which is a
sign that population growth has decreased in the last several decades.
Fears that population growth would exceed the world's
capacity to sustain human life has a history dating back to Thomas Malthus, who
is well known for writing An Essay on the Principle of Population in
1798. What he failed to take into account was that agricultural acreage would
increase, technology would allow more efficient use of the land, and
improvements in transportation and storage would increase the availability of
food throughout the world.
44. "Chairman of the genetics department at Ohio
State University, J. Bruce Griffing, is quoted as
saying that 'Unless mankind act immediately. there will be a worldwide famine in 1985, and the extinction
of man within 75 years.'" (pp. 101-102)
J. Bruce Griffing was either
seeking publicity or an effective prophet of the future. 1985 came and went
without a worldwide famine. Seventy five years will pass without the extinction
of mankind. Why would Hal Lindsey accept his prediction? We will find out
shortly.
45. "Men who are studying population biology, such
as Paul Ehrlich, professor at Stanford University and expert in this field, are
inclined to be doomsters because of the research that they have done. Ehrlich,
for instance, says: 'Mankind may be facing its final crisis. No action that we
can take at this late date can prevent a great deal of future misery from
starvation to environmental deterioration.'" (p. 102).
Paul Ehrlich's qualifications are doubtful if they are
judged according to the success of his predictions. He may have been seeking
publicity by exaggerating his predictions, or he suffers from terminal
pessimism. In either case, he was wrong. Why would Hal Lindsey believe such a
pessimist?
46. "In doesn't take a 'religious' person to discern
the fact that what is happening is setting the world in the proper frame for a
dictator. We see anarchy growing in every country. We see established standards
of morality thrown aside for a hedonistic brand which is attractively labeled
the 'New Morality.' We see super-weapons and the threats of atheistic
leadership in world powers who would not hesitate to use those weapons if they
would not hesitate to use those weapons if they would further their drive for
conquest." (p. 102).
Whether you are religious or not, you will find that Hal
Lindsey's description of the present world is very different from reality.
Fears of catastrophe from natural causes, pollution or war were futile. Nations
have shown a great amount of self control with their nuclear weapons. The
United States of America remains the only nation to have engaged in nuclear
war. Anarchy is only a temporary condition in countries which are changing
governments or suffering from extreme economic hardship. Dictatorships and
oppressive governments worldwide have fallen, replaced by democratically
elected governments which have enjoyed some success and suffered some failures.
47. "Even Arnold Toynbee, the eminent historian,
said on a radio broadcast that 'by forcing on mankind more and more lethal
weapons, and at the same time making the world more and more interdependant economically, technology has brought mankind
to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for deifying of any new Ceasar who might succeed in giving the world unity and
peace." (p. 103).
Hal Lindsey now reveals why he believes every pessimistic
futurists. Worldwide conditions must degrade enough that a majority of the
world will seek for (and find) a worldwide leader to solve the world's
problems. This dictator will promise peace and prosperity, fulfill that promise
for a limited time, and then plunge the world into Armageddon. He is the
Antichrist.
Improvements in the world since Hal Lindsey's time would
appear to have made that scenario unlikely. Perhaps he should have listened to optimistics futurists.
48. "However, we saw in 'Rome on the Revival Road'
that there is a 'phase 2' to the Roman Empire. Daniel says that out of the
culture of the first Roman Empire ten kings shall arise, and another king after
that who is different from the ten. This king is going
to subdue three of the kings.
In other words, when this Roman dictator comes, he is going to take over a
ten-nation confederacy. Seven of the kings will willingly give him their allegience, but three of them will not. So he will not
overthrow these three leaders." (p. 105).
Hal Lindsey now fuses the two subjects of prophecy into
one scenario: The ten-nation Common Market, which is the revived Roman Empire,
and its future leader, the Roman dictator which will seize power through some
complicated and difficult to understand procedure. If the ten nation Common Market is the revived Roman Empire, you would
expect that it would already possess its own Ceasar.
But it does not, so a Ceasar must seize authority
over the empire. Prophets have speculated about the nationality of the future Ceasar, the dreaded Antichrist, and have failed to reach
any consensus. Nor is it consistent to predict that the world will demand a
dictator while the leadership of the ten-nation confederacy will oppose him,
except if the dictator takes over by force of a rebellion of the world's
population from the resisting leaders. For that matter, a leader of the Common
Market is not a world leader, which means that this Ceasar
will not be a world dictator.
49. "The way in which this dictator is going to step
onto the stage of history will be dramatic. Overnight he will become the byword
of the world. He is going to be distinguished as supernatural; this will be
done by an act which will be a Satanic counterfeit of
the resurrection. This writer does not believe it will be an actual
resurrection, but it will be a situation in which this person has a mortal
wound. Before he actually has lost life, however, he will be brought back from
this critically wounded state. This is something which will cause tremendous
amazement throughout the world." (p. 108).
The sequence of events is again subject to much doubt. Is
the World Dictator going to suffer the wound while ascending to world
dominance, perhaps as the result of an assassination attempt? Is he going to
suffer the wound following his attainment of world domination? Reading over the
prediction would tend to favor the former option because of the great boon in
popularity which follows his recovery would seem to pave the way for his
attainment of the leadership.
Expectations that a recovery from a mortal injury would
lead to a belief in the dictator's deity are difficult to accept. Medical
technology today can preserve the life of even mortally wounded people. The
recovery of the dictator would more likely lead to glorification of the doctors
who treated him.
Deification of political leaders fell out of practice
several millennia ago in Western societies. In the secular-oriented societies
of the West, deification of a political leaders would
appear impossible. Religious people would have no reason to deify any leader,
even a charismatic and powerful world dictator. Hints of resistance to the
leader in previous predictions would indicate that no consensus exists
worldwide to accept this leader, and hence no tendency on the part of the world
to deify him. Physical harm following an attack would also reduce the
likelihood that the leader would become deified. It would be difficult enough
for a man to attain world dominance, promotion to
godhood would have to follow a long and successful leadership over the world.
50. "'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage
war with him?' These are the expressions the people who live at that time of
the appearance of the Antichrist will be saying. They will accept anyone who
offers peace, since this is the great cry of the world.
What does this indicate? We recall that the Pax
Romana, the Roman peace, was the reason the
provincials willingly turned to Rome and eventually initiated Caesar worship. Law and order -- peace and security -- freedom from war. The
same needs, the same desires, were expressed in ancient times that the Bible
says will be prevalent before the Antichrist begins his rule. He will be swept
in at a time when people are so tired of war, so anxious for peace at any
price, that they willingly give their allegience to
the world dictator who will promise them peace." (p. 109).
Hal Lindsey now reveals the condition of the world at the
time of the Antichrist's rise to power. Wars will have made the people of the
world desperate for peace and willing to give up their sovereignty for that
goal. That would mean that a war of global proportions, including the
Superpowers, powers and third-world nations. Such conditions once existed,
called "World War I" and "World War II." Out of World War I
came the League of Nations and out of the World War II came the United
Nations. Supposing that a "World War III" were to occur, there is
little reason to assume that the world would choose a dictator.
Supposing that an individual wished to dominate the world
and establish a worldwide kingdom, he would probably not wait for a popular
election. Empires are traditionally built by one method: Wars of conquest. The
Roman Empire was not welcomed or sought by most of the nations which would
later compose it. Roman armies under Roman generals had to travel to these
lands, defeat armies, remove governments and establish their own government and
culture which they protected through the presence of an army and the threat of
war. Julius Ceasar conquered nations and expanded the
size of the Roman Empire through warfare, and he was following a Roman legacy
of victorious conquest. Pompey conquered Jerusalem, and the conquest was
repeated in 66 - 70 A.D., when Vespasian and Titus defeated a Jewish rebellion.
Dictators impose their will upon their own nation and
other nations which are not weak enough to resist them. Dictators must impose
their control over conquered regions (and sometimes their own country) by force
of arms, and even these efforts are not always successful. There is little
danger of a world dictator because conquest of the whole world is difficult, as
the United States defeat in Vietnam and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
sufficiently demonstrate.
51. "This is a direct quote from the people who will
live under the false security of this world dictator. It is a cry of relief --
a sigh of gratitude. 'Peace and safety' -- at last!
The mood of the world is being developed toward the acceptance of this person.
Remember what Toynbee said: 'We are ripe for the deifying of any new Ceasar who might succeed in giving the world unity and
peace.'" (p. 109).
For the people of the world to react in this manner to
the dictator would require that the dictator deliver on his promise. Not only
must the world suffer through a terrible war, but the dictator must bring that
war to an end and unite every country under his own authority. The only problem
is that negotiating an end to a war is not compatible with becoming a dictator.
Weapons of war and active armies are tools which will resist the will of any
potential dictator. A negotiator who seeks to end war will nullify his efforts
if he reveals his goal of world domination. The world dictator would in either
case have to initiate war before he began secure in his dominance over the
world. Any army not under the dictator's direct authority would present a
potential threat. Independant nuclear weapons would
also function as a deterrent to wars of conquest.
52. "Forty-two months is three and one-half years
and this is the three and one-half years prior to Christ's personal, visible
return to this earth. This period of time will make the regimes of Hitler, Mao,
and Stalin look like Girl Scouts weaving a daisy chain by comparison. The
Antichrist is going to be given absolute authority to act with the power of
Satan." (p. 110).
Needless to say, this has not happened.
53. "It is logical to ask at this point, how he is
going to make war with the saints when they are gone from the earth? 'The saints' are the people who are going to believe in
Christ during this great period of conflict. After the Christians are gone God
is going to reveal Himself in a special way to 144,000 physical, literal Jews
who are going to believe with a vengeance that Jesus in the Messiah. They are
going to be 144,000 Jewish Billy Grahams turned loose
on this earth -- the earth will never know a period of evangelism like this
period. These Jewish people are going to make up for lost time. They are going
to have the greatest number of converts in all history. Revelation 7:9-14 says
they bring so many to Christ that they can't be numbered." (p. 111).
Nothing is said in Revelation 7 about a sudden conversion
of the 144,000 Jews, or their work of evangelism
during the Tribulation, or their responsibility for converting the great
multitude of Gentiles that stood before the throne.
54. "The False Prophet (he is called that in
Revelation 19:20 and 20:10) will be a master of Satanic magic. This future
False Prophet is going to be a devilish John the Baptist. He will aid and
glorify the Roman Dictator; he will proclaim him the savior of the world and
make people worship him as God.
It is logical to ask how the False Prophet will force the worship of the Roman
Dictator. He will be given control over the economics of the world system and
cause everyone who will not swear allegiance to the dictator to be put to death
or to be in a situation where they cannot buy or sell or hold a job. Everyone
will be given a tattoo or mark on either his forehead or forehand, only if he
swears allegiance to the Dictator as being God.
Symbolically, this mark will be 666. Six is said to be the number of man in
Scripture and a triad or three is the number for God. Consequently, when you
triple 'six' it is a symbol of man making himself God." (pp. 112-113).
An inconsistency appears in Hal Lindsey's future. Quotes
#49-51 (above) claimed that the deification of the Dictator was an act of an
eager public desperate for peace and security, or the result of a miraculous
recovery from a mortal wound. Now the deification is imposed on the world
through economic blackmail. The False Prophet will demand that people worship
the Dictator and punish those who resisted by preventing them from functioning
economically.
55. "Do you believe it will be possible for people
to be controlled economically? In our computerized society, where we are all
'numbered' from birth to death, it seems completely plausible that some day in
the near future the numbers racket will consolidate and we will have just one
number for all our business, money and credit transactions. Leading members of
the business community are now planning that all money matters will be handled
electronically." (p. 113).
Fear of computers and electronic transactions are not
founded upon any Biblical prophecy of the evils of computers and electronic
transactions. Modern prophets have become wild in their speculations about the
mark of the beast, credit and debit cards, electronic funds transfers, smart
cards, recognition software, smart cards, and the cashless society. They base
their unbridled speculation upon a passage in Revelation, "he caused all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their
right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one
who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name"
(Revelation 13:16-17).
Controlling people economically on a worldwide scale is a
monumental and presently impossible task. Those excluded from normal commerce
by the government can find different ways of avoiding or defeating any
government's control over the economy. Efforts to "mark" all living
humans would require decades in design and implementation. Economic control
through direct control over electronic transactions would require:
1. Removal of all other methods of transaction, such as cash and barter.
2. Establishment of a one-world currency standard.
3. Creation of a database capable of handling six billion humans and keeping up
with the growth of population on a day-to-day basis.
4. Creation of an electronic transaction infrastructure throughout the entire
world.
5. Assignment of a unique number to each human.
6. Implantation of an ID chip or other mark on each human.
7. Instantaneous monitoring of all transactions in real time throughout the
world.
Which is one reason why economic blackmail such as predicted
is not only unlikely, but also impossible.
56. "We believe that the dramatic elements which are
occurring in the world today are setting the stage for this magnetic,
diabolical Future Fuehrer to make his entrance. However, we must not indulge in
speculation about whether any of the current world figures is the Antichrist.
He will not be known until his sudden miraculous recovery from a fatal wound.
There would be no earthly advantage in being alive when the Antichrist rules.
We believe that Christians will not be around to watch the debacle brought
about by the cruelest dictator of all time." (p. 113).
Why not speculate about the identity of the Antichrist?
Hal Lindsey is speculating about everything else. Perhaps the danger of failure
was well known to Hal Lindsey because of the failures of other attempts to
identify the Antichrist.
Christians will be around during this time, contrary to
Hal Lindsey's assurance otherwise. He spoke earlier about 144,000 Jews being
converted to Christ during this time period. What is the proper title of a Jew
converted to Christ? A Christian. And they will suffer
through the Tribulation and the Dictator's persecution, according to Hal
Lindsey.
57. "As pieces of the prophecy puzzle appeared to
fall into place there was one important part that was lost to me. The Bible
outlines very specifically that there would be a one-world religion which would
dominate the world in the time before the return of Christ. However, this
seemed so remote, with so many different religions competing for the minds and
hearts of men, how on earth could people unite in allegiance to just one
religion?" (p. 115).
Expectations of a one-world religion are not compatible
with earlier predictions that the Jews would build their Temple and
re-establish Mosaic worship in Jerusalem or that the Moslems and Jews would
achieve a temporary peace through a temporary treaty. Since these earlier
scenarios demand the existence of competing religions, it follows that Hal
Lindsey has made a mistake somewhere in his understanding of prophecy.
58. "We believe that the joining of churches in the
present ecumenical movement, combined with this amazing rejuvenation of
star-worship, mind-expansion, and witchcraft, are preparing the world in every
way for the establishment of a great religious system, one which will influence
Antichrist." (p. 116).
A growth in the variety of religious experience and an
ecumenical movement which seeks to increase cooperation across denominational
lines are very feeble evidences of a one-world religious
systems.
59. "It's true that the Babylonian builders were
geniuses, but they were not stupid." (p. 117).
No comment.
60. "Some clairvoyants today, without knowledge of
Bible prophecy, are saying the same things that Scriptures tell us. In a publication
which specializes in psychic phenomenon there was an astounding article which
said that 'History and many signs of the times point to man's preparation for
the coming new world leader.'" (p. 118).
Reliance upon psychics and other new age charlatans does
not build any confidence in Hal Lindsey. These clairvoyants could well be wrong
in their imaginations about the future. Hal Lindsey quotes these sources
because they agree with his own opinions about they
future. As it turns out, both are wrong.
61. "Some may scoff at the idea that idol worship
will become prevalent. Even in America, however, there are growing cults which
actually do worship stone and metal idols. At one of California's colleges some
young men were seen at dawn, indulging in a primitive sort of sun-god worship
on the lawn of the fraternity house. When they were questioned about their
rather strange activities they said, 'There's a bunch
of us up at Big Sur who worship idols and stuff.'" (p. 124).
Idol worship is not prevalent in the United States, nor
should anyone expect that it will become prevalent at any time in the future.
Acts of worship performed by cults and a fraternity in California do not make
for a widespread idol worship movement.
62. "This description of the visible or physical
church is given with sadness. We find it difficult not to be disheartened when
we see what is happening in the churches which call themselves 'Christian.'
However, if we follow Bible prophecy carefully we see that it is made
absolutely clear that in the time preceding the return of Christ there would be
a 'falling away' from the basic doctrines of Christ by the churches. Some
churches are not just falling away, they are plunging
recklessly toward destruction with their disbelief and blasphemous program."
(p. 127).
Fears of a wholesale "falling away" are not
entirely misplaced, except that the event occurred in the distant past.
Denominations, congregations and individuals are abandoning the truth of the gospel
for human doctrines and opinions. Events in the present which Hal Lindsey
alludes to are only a repeat of similar apostacies
which occurred numerous times in the past.
63. "'A big and growing trend toward unity is
developing in many of America's churches at this time. That trend, some
clergymen are saying, could lead to a "superchurch"
of immense religious and political power.'
Satan's real intention is not to have a godless political situation, he wants a
religious situation. Satan loves religion, which is the reason he invades
certain churches on Sunday. Religion is the great blinder of the minds of
men." (p. 131).
Any ecuminical movement would
have to experience extraordinary success if it were to achieve the religious
and political power of the Roman Catholic church. The
ecumenical movement is not nearly so dangerous as Hal
Lindsey would have the reader believe. Intrinsic differences exist between the
denominations which no amount of cooperation and fellowship could ever
overcome. The members of the denominations are also not bound to follow the
dictates of the denomination or the ecumenical movement, which diminishes the
effective power of a "superchurch."
64. "This harlot, as described in Revelation, is not
only a system, but also a city. There is no question about where the city would
be -- it was Rome. It says that the woman sits (or rules) on seven mountains.
Most elementary students of history or geography know that Rome is the city of
seven hills. It is there that the religious system will reign for a time in
coalition with the political system.
However, the Bible tells us about the end of this system. The political system
and its dictator will hate this religious system after a time, because it
controls the Antichrist amd he wants to proclaim
himself to be God, without any interference. The Great Dictator is not going to
be a puppet; if strings are to be pulled, he wants to do the
manipulating." (p. 133).
Complicating the sequence of end-time events is the
Harlot's relationship to the Antichrist. The Harlot will possess great
religious and political power, which will cause the Antichrist to become
jealous of her as a competitor for world domination. How then will the
Antichrist receive religious devotion as God when he is opposing the One World
Religion? Cooperation would provide a greater opportunity for deification.
Conflict will only make the religious community distruct
the Antichrist.
Biblical support for the theory of opposition between the
beast and the harlot is found in Revelation 18:2, as Hal Lindsey applies it:
"Revelation 18:2 shows that the destruction of the religious system
will take place in two phases. 'Fallen, fallen is
Babylon the great.' The first 'fallen' refers to the destruction of the
religious system by the dictator. This will take place in the middle of the
Tribulation, at the time of three and one-half years. The second 'fallen'
refers to the sudden destruction of the city of Rome." (pp. 133-134).
Reading the above quote reveals a troublesome flaw in Hal Lindsey's reasoning:
How can the two "fallens" have reference to
different events? Words are repeated often in the Scriptures to emphasis the
importance of an event or statement. When Jesus rebuked Peter in Luke 22:31,
Jesus said: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may
sift you as wheat." Jesus was not speaking to two Simons,
He was repeating the name so that He may get Peter's attention to warn him
about a temptation that would overtake him.
as of 12-2007