Ralph Reed Needs To Blame Fundie Writer Hal Lindsey For Why The Media 'Finds It Impossible' to Disentangle' Israel From Apocalyptic Theology

 

                                                                         
                         The book which started the evangelical belief that Israel would figure in Armageddon

We can safely say that Ralph Reed, Doyen of the Radical Right's Fundamentalism, doesn't understand jack about Evangelical's obsession and adoration of Israel. Especially when he writes in his Nov. 7 WSJ column ('Evangelical Support for Israel Is About More than Theology', p. A14):

"A columnist for MSNBC warned that evangelicals believe 'war is not something to be avoided' but something inevitable, desired by God and celebratory'.

In this liberal fantasy, evangelicals embrace Israel because its existence begins the final countdown to Armageddon."

But before Ralph gets too cocksure about a "liberal fantasy" he ought to read Hal Lindsey's page turner: 'The Late, Great Planet Earth':

Lindsey’s 1988 effort directly tied Israel's birth in 1948 to the "biblical" prophecies for the rise of an "Antichrist" and Armageddon. Indeed, Israel's birth as a nation was essential to all of Lindsey's forecasts which have mesmerized millions of bible punchers.

Lindsey built his interpretation on the identification of Israel with the “fig tree” and the coming of "the Beast" within one generation of its emergence (birth of a Jewish state). The "Beast" is discussed in detail by Lindsey on page 103, and the link to biblical interpretation, i.e.

And then nailing it for his millions of bible puncher readers:

What grabbed readers was Lindsey's uncommon specificity in his biblical citations. "My god! This guy must know his  bible and therefore be an expert"!.  But what they all miss was Lindsey's preternatural penchant for finding odd historical coincidences and integrating them with other world events, along with a good dollop of numerology and plain old happenstance. Voila! Apocalytic predictions - and from the bible no less!

For example, as Lindsey tells it this "beast' could not emerge without the emergence of Israel first. One had to follow the other because Israel (specifically the valley of Megiddo) would mark the location of the final showdown between good and evil.  Since that birth occurred in 1948, and Lindsey designated one (biblical) generation = 40 years he reckoned that the Antichrist would make his first public appearance in 1988, and the Tribulation (the alleged 7-year period for his reign) would commence then. Everyone in the Antichrist’s dominion would have to be marked with the magic letters ‘666’ which Lindsey surmised would function like an electronic code similar to the product UPC codes triggered at checkout in a supermarket to get prices. Without this special numerical code, no one would be able to buy, trade or work and hence couldn’t’ survive.

This tableaux also fit in with Lindsey’s other interpretations, including for the  entity with “ten heads” mentioned in Revelation, given the European Union featured ten members at the time. Thus, the Antichrist was to arise directly out of what was the original Roman Empire, and also be in charge of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem (atop one of Islam’s holiest sites). The price for was to be worshipped by the Jews.

According to Lindsey’s timeline, this meant the consummation of the world would arrive within seven years of 1988, or 1995. In other words, the "Rapture" would have to take place before the Tribulation (1987 or early 1988) and Christ would march into the world for his “Second Coming” by late 1995.

Of course, none of that happened! There was no Antichrist, no Tribulation, no Rapture, and the European Union now sports 27 members. When you try to pin these knuckleheads on exactly where and when this "Antichrist" will eventually arise, their only retort is that "the time and place is known only by God". Typical, convenient and bunk. So no wonder a Trump-worshipping punk like Reed would try to now disown all the apocalyptic hubbub.

Lindsey himself has now been long forgotten except by the fundie believers and lunatics with their 5-star reviews on amazon who still think he ought to have his own bible. But hey – a good fiction idea like the Antichrist never dies – so Tim LaHaye and friends since picked it up and integrated it into their Left Behind horse pocky or what I call “The Dark Materials” series for the slow of wit and lesser imagination.

Reed insists in his WSJ piece: 

"The media routinely caricatures evangelical support for Israel as a function of their eschatology which was why two NY Times reporters found it impossible to disentangle pro-Israel attitudes from apocalyptic predictions."

But if he read Hal Lindsey's book he'd see why - because that is what millions of  Evangelicals believe! If Ralph Reed is truly convinced that evangelicals pining for Israel's role in Armageddon (and the return of Christ) is a "liberal fantasy" and overblown - he needs to check out the hundreds of rave reviews of Lindsey's book on Amazon.

See Also:

• The Evangelicals' Israeli Conundrum

Excerpt:

While the evangelicals huff and puff and praise Israel, they only do it solely for their own selfish reasons and rationalizations: because it is to be (according to their Bibles) the stage where Armageddon plays out and J.C. Superstar returns in his illustrious “Second Coming”. Believe me, if Israel lacked eschatological import, the Fundies wouldn't give it the time of day, and indeed, would have it listed under assorted "False doctrines" pages of their blogs. The only reason they pay any attention is because of biblical references that allegedly support a 2nd Coming.

And:

• Six Million Jews Butchered to Fulfill Christian Prophecy?...

And:

• Provisional Ethics in a Post-Apocalyptic World

And:

• The Myth of the Antichrist