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(from the February 1982 issue
of Christian Life Magazine)
The Last
Days According to Hal Lindsey
by Stephen R. Clark
Hal Lindsey’s books
all together have sold 30 million copies. One has been made into a movie. He
perhaps heralded the “end times” earlier and more loudly than anyone else.
However, Lindsey claims that it is not a pessimistic message of destruction that
he offers the world. On the contrary, it is a message of hope.
A dedicated student of
Bible prophecy, Hal Lindsey considers himself an interpreter of world events for
the common man. Although he once was
an agnostic, his life
was transformed when he began reading the Bible secretively. He soon became so
enthralled with prophecy, that he studied at Dallas Theological Seminary. Since
then he has served eight years on the staff of Campus Crusade, written eight
books, and continued his research.
This interview by
Stephen Clark offers a glimpse of the man whose writings have influenced
Christians the world over.
— The Editors
Why do you feel an
understanding of end-times prophecy and the world scene is so important to
Christians?
Lindsey:
Because God says it is important. Read I John 3:1-4. There it says that knowing
that Christ can come at any time should cause a Christian to purify his life. If
something is said that clearly once, it’s important. If something is said many
times, then we really should take it to heart. God reiterates only what He
considers to be important. And one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament
refers to Second Coming events.
How can Christians benefit
from studying prophecy concerning the end-
Lindsey:
Many passages in the Bible emphasize that prophecy will give us a blessing, a
sense of urgency. It will make our faith more aggressive and strong. It will put
an urgency to every wonderful thing that God says to us.
I’m living proof of this. I
was an agnostic who became a believer by happenchance, quite apart from the
church, quite apart from anyone else. I was led to Christ by the Holy Spirit.
But after I became a true believer, some people got hold of me and told me the
Bible was filled with errors, it wasn’t historical, and I couldn’t believe in
it.
I really floundered after
that, until I heard someone speak on prophecy. That was 25 years ago. A fire was
kindled within me then that has never gone out. And every time I have fallen
away, gotten out of fellowship with God, or really gone lax in my Chris tian
experience, prophecy has jerked me back. It has caused me to put into action all
of the other things that I know. So it is a very practical thing.
What does your latest book,
Count down to Armageddon, say that The Late Great Planet Earth doesn’t?
Lindsey:
I saw that things were really once again rapidly accelerating, fit ting into the
prophetic pattern. I saw many things in current history that were really moving
in an incredible way into the prophetic scenario. So I felt a great need to make
a statement on that at the beginning of the ‘80s with so many things happening.
That’s how I got involved with writing Countdown to Armageddon.
Countdown goes into the
history behind the most important spheres of political power involved in the
prophetic scenario. I go back into history and show how these things have
developed, and why they are inevitably going toward the prophetic pattern. I
talk about the United States a great deal in this book, whereas I didn’t in Late
Great Planet.
I talk about such things as
the Tri- lateral Commission and other groups which are moving us toward a one-
world government. I give a great deal of information about how the Soviet Union
is moving into a place of great military dominance and why this is a threat. I
talk about the Persian Gulf, the importance of the Caribbean and Central
America. And I relate every-
How is Countdown an update?
Lindsey:
In Countdown I point out the fulfillment of prophecy since the time of
prophecies I mentioned in Late Great Planet. For instance, I said in 1969 that
the Common Market would have ten nations and that the United States would become
a second great power behind the Soviet Union, driving the European nations to
unite politically. I believe we’re well into that. I also said that the Common
Market would surpass the U.S. in economic strength. And for two years they have
surpassed us in the Gross National Product.
I said that Iran would fall as
an ally of the United States at a time when the Shah was ruling everything east
of the Union would take over Iran. I believe now that their invasion of
Afghanistan was their first step towards that goal. These things were all
unheard of at the time I wrote Late Great Planet.
How much of a threat is
Communism to the United States?
Lindsey:
From the standpoint of Bible prophecy and where things are going today, I know
that Communism is not going to conquer the world. What probably will stop it are
the ten nations of Europe led by the Antichrist. So looking from a prophetic
standpoint, I know where it’s going. The Communists will not conquer the world.
However, I feel that the
Communists are more dangerous right now than they have been since the
revolution. That’s because their aged leaders are becoming paranoid. They are
having problems with Poland and they have the most powerful military machines in
the history of mankind at their disposal. They could solve several problems at
once, and there is a good chance they will. They can launch an all-out conflict
somewhere. For example, they could go for the jugular vein and take the Persian
Gulf. That would solve their own economic problems.
Are you happy with what the
Reagan administration is doing?
Lindsey:
I’m glad that certain things are happening. I think that the new administration
is making some great attempts in the right direction. Whether they’ll be able to
succeed I don’t know.
There are some powerful forces
in this country that are mobilizing against certain important foreign policy
changes. For instance, drawing the line on El Salvador against Soviet
expansionism. A lot of people like to call it Soviet adventurism, which is a
very nice term. In fact, what it is is Soviet conquest of the world, which every
leader since Lenin swore they would do.
If we lose the Caribbean we
lose our oil, because the sea lanes in the Caribbean are just as important to
the survival of the United States as the sea lanes out in the Persian Gulf. All
the oil coming from there goes through the Caribbean. It is refined there before
it comes to the United States.
I think taking a strong stand
against the absolutely appalling build-up of Soviet military strength is
important. Now this administration is saying, “We will not sign a Salt agreement
un less there is real evidence that you’re not continuing to expand your
military. As a result, the Soviet Union has started the most massive propaganda
campaign worldwide to make it look as though the United States is going to cause
a nuclear war. And it’s amazing how many people in the United States pick up
that Soviet line and start passing it around.
How can Christians respond to
this without being overwhelmed?
Lindsey: I think first and
foremost we need to be aware of what God pre dicted would happen just before the
return of Jesus. That should
give hope to Christians. They will be able to see that the terrifying things
that are hap pening in the world today are not just fate. They are in God’s
plan. We know that God is in control.
Secondly, it should really
move the Christian to devote himself to becom ing stronger in his faith,
learning how to believe the promises of God on a daily basis, how to walk in the
Spirit
moment by moment. In other
words, to really grow in his Christian life and be prepared for the things that
are coming. It should give an urgency to live the kind of life that would
impress nonbelievers with the fact that we have the ans amidst all of this
anxiety. It should help us communicate the Gos
pel clearly to them, because
the people we see today we may not see tomor row.
I once heard J. Vernon McGee,
ra dio pastor of “Through the Bible Hour,” say, “God didn’t send me down here to
clean up the fish bowl but to fish in it.” He was talking about the urgency of
prophecy and what people were doing. I think there’s an element of truth in
that. I also think that we should seek to promote the survival of the United
States, which still has more freedom than any other country on the face of the
earth. And I think that Christians have that in mind. However, it’s the
spiritual that we should be preparing for and feeling urgent about.
How involved should a
Christian be come in political issues?
Lindsey:
Well, it’s really a difficult thing to know how to determine that. Jesus said,
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that
are God’s.” That sim ple statement really covers it all. But knowing how to
apply it is difficult. I think it’s a matter of call. I think some are called to
devote a great deal of their time to carrying the message. Others arc called to
devote a good bit of their time to trying to make their communities safer by
bringing in good legislation and so forth. I think all of us are called to live
a serious and déd icated Christian life.
How do you respond to people
who believe in stockpiling food and sup plies in preparation for the end- times?
Lindsey:
Well, your view of when the rapture occurs certainly greatly influences what you
ought to be doing right now. I think that if I believed what these people
believe, I would be doing the same thing.
However, I personally believe
that it will be futile to stockpile anything. I think that first of all the
pseudo- peace that develops in the first half of the seven-year Tribulation will
weed out who is a believer and who isn’t and that believers will systematically
be wiped out. If that doesn’t get them, the global holocaust that will take
place during the last half certainly will get them. So I don’t see any place to
hide, if I’m right.
You’re working on a book which
deals with the Jewish concept Of the Messiah. How is that coming?
Lindsey:
I could actually finish that book in a short time. I haven’t felt it was the
right time for it. When it comes out it’s going to cause a furor among the Jews,
especially the rabbis.
Why is that?
Lindsey:
Well, it’s titled, The Messiah Conspiracy. I’m going to show that there is a
rabbinic conspiracy to conceal the Messianic prophecy about a suffering servant.
I believe a group of rabbis after the holocaust in A.D. 70 hammered out a system
of teaching that they took into the diaspora. They isolated the aver age Jew
against the possibility of being exposed to the Old Testament prophecies about
the Messiah. And they made Jesus almost a test case of whether you were loyal to
your race or not.
I feel there is a great deal
to be said. And it’s going to be like dropping a bombshell. Because of that, it
ought to be my last book.
How do you get your
information for your books?
Lindsey:
God has blessed me with the help of a retired U.S. Intelligence Officer. He used
to be an aide to Gen eral Patton. He’s almost 80 years old and sharp as a tack,
and he’s one of the best intelligence information gatherers I’ve ever seen. He
briefs me every week and he stays current with The New York Times, the London
Mail, the Christian Science Monitor, everything. He also has a straight line to
a lot of military information. Whenever I’ve got something to track down, he
will find it.
Do you have any other sources?
Lindsey:
The National Media, the company that promoted my book, is also quite good. When
I was working on Countdown, they had contacts in Washington, the Pentagon, every
where. So the charts and things that are in this book are highly specialized,
almost classified, information.
Do you consider yourself to be
primarily a religious writer, a theologian, prophet or teacher?
Lindsey:
Number one, I’m an author. That seems to be the medium that God has used in a
unique way. I’ve shied away from saying that I am a prophet. And I don’t see
myself in the sense of being an Old Testament prophet. But the more I study the
New Testament and I see the pattern and definition of the gifts of the prophet
in the New Testament, I see that Biblical prophets did not necessarily make
predictions that were 100 per cent accurate. Their words were not necessarily
interpreted as being the in fallible word of God every time they spoke. Rather,
they took the truth of God and made it relevant to the moment and moved people
into action with the urgency of the message of God as it related to that moment.
And if that’s a correct analysis of prophecy, then that’s where I would say my
gift is.
Some of your critics accuse
you of being simplistic.
Lindsey:
I take that as a compliment. I have a passion for simplicity, a passion to make
complex truths of the Bible understandable to the nonreligious ordinary man as
well as the ordinary Christian. If I wanted to grapple in theological jargon, I
could do so because I was well trained at Dallas Theological Seminary. But I’m
not out to reach other theologians or other Bible teachers. I want to reach the
common man.
In the face of other
Biblically based, but opposing viewpoints on the end-times, how do you justify
your position?
Lindsey:
Well, thank God I’m not the only one who believes what I believe. There are a
great many people out there who have preceded me. As a matter of fact, all you
can say about Hal Lindsey is that he has popularized what has been believed by a
number of fine Bible students for the last 100 years.
But when it comes down to
justifying what I do, I think every man has to search the Scriptures carefully
and come to a subtle conviction that he is willing to stand and die before God
and realize that what he teaches is going to be judged by God. That’s where I
am.
I find that there are a lot of
people who contend with me but have not studied prophecy as I have. Some have,
of course, and I treat them with respect. I seek to have a very honest debate
with them. But I’m not going to be a reed shaken in the wind. I am sure of what
I’m saying. My sense of worth as a person is not threatened if somebody
challenges my view. It’s something much greater than that. I feel that I can be
wrong on some things, but I feel that I am right in most of them.
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