Hal Lindsey’s Prophecies
A Study of The Late Great Planet Earth: Part 4
By
David Mathews
65. "'There I was, driving down the freeway and all
of a sudden the place went crazy . . . cars going in all directions . . . and
not one of them had a driver. I mean it was wild! I think we've got an invasion
from outer space!'" (p. 136).
Hal Lindsey is giving here a reaction of the unsaved to
the sudden disappearance of the Christians from the planet. The Rapture is a
significant expectation among premillennialists, and a point of contention.
Three distinct opinions about the timing of the Rapture are present:
Pre-tribulation (the Rapture will precede the seven-year tribulation),
Mid-tribulation (the Rapture will occur 3 1/2 years into the tribulation,
immediately before the Antichrist is revealed) and pre-wrath (the rapture will
occur after the Antichrist is revealed but before God punishes the world in
wrath for its rejection of God).
66. "In I Corinthians 15:50, important things are
revealed about the Rapture. We are told that Christians cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God in the types of bodies we now have -- that is, in bodies of
flesh and blood.
However, according to the gospels and the Old Testament, there will be certain
people who will inherit for a time the Kingdom of God in their mortal bodies.
This is the Kingdom that Christ will establish after his return to earth. This
does not contradict the previous statement. The Bible is speaking of two
separate events." (p. 139).
The premillennial interpretation creates a problem with 1
Corinthians 15:50 which forces premillennialists to see two separate events
instead of one. The "two events" that Hal Lindsey is making reference
to are: 1. The Rapture, and 2. The Second Coming. Since Christians cannot
inherit the Kingdom of God in their physical bodies, God must remove the
Christians from the earth. Because a physical Kingdom of God must exist, the
Jews must possess that kingdom and that means that they must suffer through a
Tribulation period and terrible sorrows.
If the "Kingdom of God" has a spiritual
meaning, and no physical kingdom is needed in the future, the need for two
separate events no longer exists. In that case, passages such as John 5:28-29,
"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in
the graves will hear his voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to
the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation", may be allowed to make reference to a single event, the
Second Coming, and the final judgment which will immediately follow the second
coming.
67. "First, there is a great distinction between
God's purpose for the nation of Israel and his purpose for the church, which is
his main program for today. The church is composed of both Gentiles and Jews.
We are now living during the church age and the responsibility for evangelizing
the world rests upon the church." (p. 142).
A distinction exist between the physical nation of Israel
and the church: God has chosen the church to continue the spiritual heritage of
Israel and therefore He has made Israel and the Mosaic covenant obsolete. God
has not rejected the Jews. The Jews are saved in the same manner as the
Gentiles, in obedience to Christ. By obeying Christ, Jews and Gentiles are made
members of the spiritual Israel, the body of Christ, the Temple of God. Christ
has made obsolete the Old Covenant and there is no reason to return to it or
preserve it.
68. "Here is the chief reason why we believe the
Rapture occurs before the Tribulation: the prophets have said that God will set
up a Kingdom on earth over which the Messiah will rule. There will be mortal
people in that kingdom. If the Rapture took place at the same time as the
second coming, there would be no mortals left who would be believers;
therefore, there would be no one to go into the Kingdom and repopulate the
earth.
We need to understand that during the seven-year Tribulation there will be
people who will become believers at that time. In spite of persecution as
described in the previous chapter, they will survive this terrible period of
history and will be taken by Christ to reign with him for 1000 years. This is
the Kingdom which is God's prelude to eternity." (p. 143).
If the Kingdom must be physical, a problem must confront
them if the Second Coming and the Rapture have reference to the same event. No
mortal people would remain to populate a physical kingdom. If the Kingdom is
spiritual, that problem does not exist, and Christ's return will precede the
entrance of the saved into Heaven and the lost into condemnation.
69. "General Douglas MacArthur was eternally right
when he said on the deck of the Battleship Missouri at the close of World War
II: 'We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater or more
equitable system, ARMAGEDDON will be at the door. The problem basically is
theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human
character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science,
art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past 2000
years. It must be the spirit if we are to save the flesh.'" (p. 150).
General MacArthur made this speech at the conclusion of
the Second World War, a global war and a nuclear war. His warning were heeded,
even while the United States and Soviet Union were investing vast sums of money
in developing more powerful weapons and more terrible nuclear weapons. The
guarantee of peace was the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction. The
madness of the strategy was sufficient enough to prevent the nuclear war or
even direct military confrontation between the Superpowers. Armageddon was
avoided and eventually the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc would collapse on
their own as the oppressed nations removed the instrument of their oppression:
communist governments.
70. "The sad prediction of the Bible is that mankind
will not accept God's diagnosis or his cure. Therefore, they will seek to solve
the problem themselves. Fear of war will grow until it prepares man to accept
the Antichrist's solution for preventing war. Paul predicts the false hope of
the world will have in the Antichrist: 'While they are saying, "Peace and
safety!" then sudden destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth
pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape' (I Thessalonians 5:3
NASB)." (p. 150).
Hal Lindsey was mistaken, saying that the danger of war
would motivate the public to accept an Antichrist. Fear of war was a constant
companion throughout the Cold War. What did people do in response of that fear?
They forgot about the danger, followed the pathways of their life, and only
troubled themselves about it during rare instances when the danger of war
became a reality. After decades of danger, the problem solved itself without
Armageddon or the Antichrist.
71. "In the previous chapters we have shown the
predicted powers that would arise shortly before the return of Jesus Christ and
how these powers are simultaneously developing in current history. We have
outlined how world conditions in this generation are launched into a countdown
that will end in the final collapse of man's efforts to run the world without
God.
In this chapter we will trace consecutively the predicted events that lead to
the Armageddon campaign: the various sequence of battles, the particular powers
who fight each other, and how in turn each is destroyed. The crucial prediction
of the revived state of Isreal's part in triggering Armageddon will also be
shown." (p. 150).
This paragraph begins the detailed scenario of future
events which Hal Lindsey has predicted will occur within "this
generation." He has set forth a detailed account of what events will occur
and what nations will have a role in these events. The scenarios are presented
confidently as if they were derived directly from the Bible and the present
days were fitting perfectly with the End-Times. Of particular importance is the
reference to "this generation" because that has a specific meaning to
Hal Lindsey: "What generation? Obviously, in context, the generation
that would see the signs -- chief among them the rebirth of Israel. A generation
in the Bible is something like forty years. If this is the correct deduction,
then within forty years or so of 1948, all these things could take place"
(p. 54).
Hal Lindsey believed that his scenarios would become
fulfilled in the time period between 1970 (the publishing of The Late Great
Planet Earth) and 1988 (forty years after 1948). Not only has the failure
of the time frame condemned Hal Lindsey's prophetic insight, it has also
prevented the predictions from ever occurring. Very soon after 1988 the Soviet
Union and Eastern Bloc would collapse, and the Cold War-inspired fears would be
relieved.
72. "When the Jews re-established their nation in
Palestine they created an unsolvable problem; they displaced the Arabs who had
dwelt in Palestine for several centuries. All the legal debates and logical
dissertations that can be advanced will never change the basic state of
hostility that exists between the Israelis and the Arabs.
The Jews will never be convinced that they should leave the land that God gave
their forefathers. ... The Arabs are equally implacable in their unwillingness
to accept the Israeli occupation of what they consider to be their land. It has
become a matter of racial honor and sacred religious duty to drive out the Israelis."
(p. 151).
The future is so difficult to predict. Avowed enemies
sometimes become friends, or at least learn to live with each other. Some Arabs
want to kill the Jews, some Jews want to kill Arabs. But a majority of
level-headed leaders have decided that war is no longer acceptable. Compromise
and treaty are now distinct possibilities. Israel has given up a percentage of
the occupied territories, and former enemies are now seeking an acceptable
conclusion of their conflict.
73. "According to the Bible, the Middle East crisis
will continue to escalate until it threatens the peace of the whole world. The
focus of all nations will be upon this unsolvable and complex problem which
keeps bringing the world to the precipice of thermonuclear holocaust. This is
apparently the first major problem that the incredible Roman leader will solve
after taking over the ten-nation confederacy of European nations." (p.
151).
The problems in the above prediction: 1. The Arab-Israel
conflict is no longer a problem demanding continuous worldwide attention. 2.
The problem is complex but not unsolvable: the Israelis and Arabs are speaking
to each other, negotiating for peace. 3. The negotiations are occurring without
the direct intervention of the Antichrist. 4. There is no ten-nation
confederacy.
74. "He will make 'a strong covenant' with the
Israelis, guaranteeing their safety and protection. The world translated
'strong covenant' has the idea of a treaty or mutual protection pact. The
Israelis will then be permitted to reinstitute the sacrifice and offering
aspects of the law of Moses. This demands that the Temple be rebuilt, because
according to the law of Moses, sacrifices can be offered only in the Temple at
Jerusalem. Apparently all this will be done under the protection of the
Antichrist of Rome.
(P.S. The Arabs are not going to like this idea of rebuilding the Temple one
bit.)" (p. 152).
If the original conflict is between Arabs and Israel, any
covenant between the Antichrist (or revived Roman Empire) and Israel will not
have any relevance without Arab approval. The Antichrist cannot dictate the
ownership of the Temple Mount without Arab approval, excepting only the case in
which the Antichrist's military directly intervenes to threaten the Arabs or
defeat the Arabs. How could the Antichrist possibly be regarded as bringing
peace to the Middle East if he engages in war with the Arabs or threatens war?
Why would the Antichrist grant Israel a Temple and a
resumption of sacrifices when neither the government of Israel nor the majority
of Jews are seeking a Temple? Nor is it reasonable to suppose that a leader
intent upon deification would allow a Temple for the worship of another God.
75. "It is through an ingenuous settlement of the
Middle East problem that the Antichrist will make good his promise to bring
peace to a world terrified of war. After this he will rapidly bring all nations
under his control. The world will experience great hope and put its full trust
in the genius of Rome. He will begin fantastic plans of economic prosperity,
even to the underdeveloped countries. War will seem to be a curious game that
men used to play. The world will be universally be acclaiming the
dictator." (p. 152).
The dictator's settlement of the Middle East would demand
tremendous political power from the outset, otherwise his interference would
have no impact upon the negotiations. Yet Hal Lindsey has the dictator
attaining worldwide stature following the settlement of the Mideast crisis. Nor
does it appear reasonable that a single solution to one difficult problem would
cause all nations to submit themselves to the dictator's political control.
Nor is the solution to the Mideast crisis an end to war.
Nations have fought other nations for centuries preceding the Middle East conflict.
Nations continue to fight other nations. One treaty will not change the
character of mankind or make war obsolete. Nor is there sufficient time for war
to become a memory (a "curious game"). The Antichrist's rise and fall
will occur within a seven year span, almost all of which will suffer from the
threat of war or the existence of war.
76. "After three and a half years of remarkable
progress, the Antichrist will become worshipped for his brilliant statesmanship
and the wonderful progress in the world. The believers in Christ will oppose
his rule and be ruthlessly exposed. Publicly, they will not be able to buy,
sell, or hold a job. They will be executed en masse as examples to those who
would hinder the 'brotherhood of man,' because they will insist that Christ is
the only lasting hope for man.
Riding upon the crest of public worship the Roman Dictator will go to Jerusalem
and in the Temple proclaim himself to be God incarnate (II Thessalonians 2:4;
Matthew 24:15). As mentioned, this will be the great warning sign to the
believers of that day that Armageddon is about to begin. The residents of
Israel who believe in Jesus will flee to the mountains and canyons of Petra for
divine protection, as promised (Matthew 24:16; Revelation 12:6, 14)." (pp.
152-153).
So many different causes or events are mentioned as
causing the deification of the Antichrist that it becomes difficult to
coordinate them all into a coherent scenario of future events. Christians will
suffer from the consequences of rejecting the deity of the Antichrist,
particularly through exclusion from the economy. The Temple's role in deifying
the Dictator is also questionable. If the world is already proclaiming the
deity of the Dictator, he would have no need for the Temple. Even if he wished
to possess the Temple and install himself as the god of the Temple, that act
would not include the other religions of the world: Christianity, Islam,
Buddhism, Hinduism.
77. "Almost immediately after the Antichrist
declares himself to be God, God releases the dreaded second of the four
horsemen of the Apocalypse. This is a figure of the unleashing of war upon the
earth.
That beautiful balance of power established by the Antichrist is suddenly
ruptured. God begins to show man that the Antichrist's promises cannot stand.
The thing which man feared most, an all-out war, now rushes upon him." (p.
153).
Who is going to attack the Antichrist?
78. "'At the time of the end the king of the south
shall attack him (Israeli leader)' (Daniel 11:40a).
We have identified the characters of this passage. The Arab-African confederacy
headed by Egypt (King of the South) launches an invasion of Israel. This fatal
mistake spells their doom and begins the Armageddon campaign.
'. . . but the king of the north shall rush upon him (the Israeli leader) like
a whirlwind, with chariots (merchanized army) and horsemen (calvary), and with
many ships' (Daniel 11:40b).
Chart one shows the movement of troops.
Russia and her allies use this occassion to launch an invasion of the Middle East,
which Russia has longed to do since the Napoleonic wars. Ezekial 38 describes
the development of this great Russian force, and its plan to attack
Israel." (pp. 153-154).
Who is the Israeli leader? Does Hal Lindsey here speak
about an attack by Egypt and Russia against the Antichrist? The Antichrist is
in Israel, possessing the Temple and the country. Any attack on Israel would
then be an attack against the Antichrist.
Egypt may mobilize without the Antichrist's knowledge,
but Russia could not organize an amphibious force and massive army without the
Antichrist's knowledge. It would take some time to assemble an army on the
Russian border. Countries separating Russia from Israel would resist the
invasion force and therefore give the Antichrist more time to defend the
nation. Even if all of these countries cooperate with Russia (unlikely because
they will still be under the Antichrist's power), the troops would have to
travel the distance over rough terrain.
A Russian amphibious force would face similar
difficulties. The revived Roman Empire would control the Mediterranean Sea.
Even a small defensive force would impede the amphibious force. With the
assistance of military aircraft and anti-ship missiles, there is good reason to
believe that the Antichrist could prevent Russian ships from approaching
Israel.
Of special importance is the allegorical interpretation
of Daniel 11, with "chariots" becoming a modern mechanized army. A
strictly literal interpretation would have the battle include ancient weapons
and ancient methods and strategy of warfare. Since a return to these weapons
and methods of warfare is absurd, Hal Lindsey and many other interpreters of
prophecy have sought to equate modern weapons with ancient weapons so that they
may place the climatic war in the future.
Hal Lindsey's Chart 1 detailing the movement of
troops and battles in the first half of the Armageddon battle:
You may gather from the picture whatever you wish.
79. "The Russians will make a great tactical blunder
by invading Israel. They will construe the defenseless posture of Israel, who
will be trusting in the Antichrist's protection, as an opportunity to conquer
the great land bridge of the Middle East. They will be motivated by the great
material wealth of the restored nation of Israel. Their purpose is thus
revealed by Ezekial '. . .to seize spoil and carry off plunder. . ." (p.
154).
Given that Israel has the World Dictator as a protector,
a defenseless posture by the Israelis would not serve as any invitation to
attack. The President is defenseless in public, holding no weapon and
unprepared to fight or defend his own life. His lack of protection is no sign
of weakness, because Secret Service agents surround him, and they are prepared
physically and mentally to defend the President until death, and they are armed
quite well. If Israel is protected by an international army controlled by the
Antichrist, it will not need its own military to protect it.
The motivation for the attack is of special interest.
80. "The wealth of Israel is also predicted: '. .
.the people who were gathered from the nations, who have gotten cattle and
goods.'
True Bible scholars have recognized that some day there would be a vast
accumulation of wealth in Israel. Harry Rimmer wrote in 1940, when the land was
scrub brush in comparison to what it is today: '. . .The development of the
resources of that land has only commenced. Ten years of uninterrupted industry
there will make Palestine the richest concentration of treasure this world has
so far witnessed. Even five years of unbroken application to the cultivation of
her natural resources would make Palestine the envy of the world, and a land
very well worth robbing, indeed.'
The prophetic indication is that Israel will become one of the most prosperous
nations on earth during the reign of Antichrist. It is also said to be, '. .
.at the center of the earth.' Geographically, this is approximately true, but
more seems to be meant here than physical location. Israel will become a
cultural, religious, and economic world center, especially at Jerusalem. The
value of the mineral deposits in the Dead Sea alone has been estimated at one
trillion, two hundred and seventy billion dollars. This is more than the combined
wealth of France, England, and the United States!" (pp. 154, 156)
Israel has not attained the immense wealth or economic
dominance that premillennial scholars have expected. The Arab nations enjoy
greater material prosperity than Israel because they have oil reserves, which
the world currently demands. Immense wealth and economic dominance are two very
distinct properties which a nation may possess. Even if Israel were to find an
immensely valuable resource and possess great wealth, it would not dominate the
world. The United States and other western capitalist democracies possess great
wealth and economic dominance because of the greatest wealth a nation may
possess: Educated, motivated people willing to take risk and innovate. Some
people win and some people lose in the capitalistic economies, that is the
nature of risk, but overall the economy grows and improvements in products and
services follows.
81. "I was talking to a prominent Los Angeles
engineer after a message on this subject and we discussed the need for a cheap
source of energy by which these Dead Sea minerals could be refined. He said
that he is certain that there is enough steam trapped under the numerous faults
in the earth around Israel to provide power to run turbines to produce energy
very economically. He called this new process geo-thermal energy. In the near
future Israel will discover a way to produce cheap energy to develop this gold
mine of riches.
One of the chief minerals in the Dead Sea is potash, which is a potent fertilizer.
When the population explosion begins to bring famine, potash will become
extremely valuable for food protection.
It is strategic wealth of this sort that will cause the Russian bloc to look
for an opportunity to invade and conquer Israel, according to Ezekial."
(p. 156).
Geo-thermal energy is a potential energy source in
volcanically active regions of the earth. Geo-thermal plants are not cheap to
build. Developement of geo-thermal energy would have the advantages of a
permanent energy source and avoidance of dependance upon oil. The energy is of
little use in wealth generation without processing plants and mining operations
to gather the mineral resources, process it, and transport it. 3 1/2 years is
not a sufficient amount of time to invest the money and time for Israel to
begin gathering its resources, sell these resources and become wealthy, and
then use its wealth to build an economy which may dominate the world.
The last thing the world would need during a famine is an
escalation of the price of fertilizer. Happily, the great famines predicted by
Hal Lindsey and other prophets of doom have not materialized. Israel may sell
its potash, but potash will not make Israel immensely wealthy.
82. "When the Russians invade the Middle East with
an amphibious and mechanized land forces, they will make a 'blitzkrieg' type of
offensive through the area." (p. 157).
Russia's distance from Israel would prevent a
blitzkrieg-style assault.
83. "As previously quoted the Russians will make
both an amphibious and land invasion of Israel. The current build-up of Russian
ships in the Mediterranean serves as another sign of the possible nearness of
Armageddon. They now have more ships in the Mederranean than the United States,
according to several recent news releases. The amphibious landings will
facilitate a rapid encirclement of the middle secion of the 'land bridge.'
The might of the Red Army is predicted. It will sweep over the Arab countries
as well as Israel in a rapid assault over to Egypt to secure the entire land
bridge." (pp. 158-159).
Russia's military might was a threat in the past, now it
has weakened dramatically. Russia's navy is smaller today with a lower morale
than at any time during the past. The "Red Army" no longer exist. The
end of the cold war and dismantling of the Soviet empire and nation has done
away with it.
as of 12-2007