"To the skeptic who says that Christ is not comingsoon, I would ask him to put the book of Revelationin one hand, and the daily newspaper in the other,and then sincerely ask God to show him where weare on His prophetic time-clock."
-Hal Lindsey, "There's a New World Coming"

 

Hal Lindsey is a giant in the world of Bible Prophecy. During the early eighties, the New York Times hailed Hal Lindsey with the honorable title "The Jeremiah of Today". The New York Times also accredited Lindsey with being the best-selling non-fiction author in the world during the1970's, after reporting only half of the books he had actually sold. He has also been called the father of modern-day Bible prophecy and remains one of the most well-known names in prophecy.

Hal Lindsey was born again, in 1955, when he was reading a Gideon's Bible while serving as a tugboat captain on the Mississippi River. He dove into the Word, earnestly studying the Bible, with guidance from Rev. Robert Thieme, from 1955 to 1960. He also completed the four year Master of Theology course at Dallas Theological Seminary with a major in New Testament Greek and a minor in Hebrew.

As a seminary student and until 1969, Hal worked with Campus Crusade for Christ. Then, in 1969, Hal helped organize a Bible School next to UCLA named "The JC Light and Power Company", which trained many ministers and missionaries. This school continued until 1976.

Hal has anchored a weekly news show on TBN, called International Intelligence Briefing for over 12 years and, since the 1970s, he has been a frequent host on TBN's Praise the Lord. Lindsey is in demand as a speaker for prophecy conferences, churches and other engagements. He also leads at least two tours to Israel each year, totaling over 80 tours to date. In 1994, Hal was awarded a Doctorate from the California School of Theology. Today, Hal focuses his attention on his International News Website, www.hallindseyoracle.com. He has also appeared on many national TV shows, such as The Today Show, CNN, Larry King, Merv Griffin, The Gary Rose Show, The Late Night Show, ABC News, and NBC News.

During the 1980’s, Hal Lindsey became a favorite target of people opposed to the prophetic movement. He has been challenged at every turn for his beliefs as well as his four marriages. This is an example of some of the opposition that he has faced over the years:

For years, end-time soothsayers have been trying to convince us that the end is near, whether in a pre-tribulational rapture, a Great Tribulation, or the Second Coming of Christ. Hal Lindsey's, The Late Great Planet Earth (1970), was not the first book on Bible prophecy to assert that we are living in the last days. For centuries, Christian writers have used the Bible to predict that the end was "near." One would think that, with all the failed predictions, Christians would wise up and begin to scrutinize the interpretive methods used by so-called prophetic experts.
Lindsey’s much quoted rebuttal to the above comment and others like it is found in his book, There’s a New World Coming. Lindsey writes, "To the skeptic who says that Christ is not coming soon, I would ask him to put the book of Revelation in one hand, and the daily newspaper in the other, and then sincerely ask God to show him where we are on His prophetic time-clock."

His first book, The Late Great Planet Earth, published in 1970, became one of the best selling works of non-fiction in that decade. It was published in 54 languages and has sold approximately 35 million copies. Late Great talks about the undeniable signs of the end times: the rebirth of Israel, war in the Middle East, natural disasters, the revival of satanism and witchcraft and many others. These were prophesied long ago by prophets from Moses to Jesus and tell of a soon-coming antichrist and the destruction of the world as we know it. But the true purpose of this book is to bring a message of hope and a future to throngs of desperate, dying people. Successful at its main purpose, this book has been used to bring over a million souls to Christ.

Following The Late Great Planet Earth, Lindsey wrote Satan is Alive and Well (1972), The Liberation (1973), There's a New World Coming (1974). All of which were bestsellers touching millions of lives with the spread of the gospel. Hal has since written more than 20 bestsellers and helped write the movie, "The Late Great Planet Earth" with Orson Wells which was one of the most successful movies of 1977.

Take a look at this short list of a few of Lindsey’s other titles to help complete the picture of Lindsey’s focus:

  • The Terminal Generation
  • Planet Earth: The Final Chapter
  • Rapture
  • Apocalypse Code
  • Blood Moon
  • Vanished into Thin Air: the Hope of Every Believer
  • The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad
Hal Lindsey has much to say about the way that the near future could unfold. In his book, There's a New World Coming, he describes this possibility:
Recently, as I was studying about nuclear weapons, I discovered that science has perfected a cobalt bomb --- one of the most lethal weapons known to man. A cobalt bomb is made by placing a shield of cobalt 59 metal around a hydrogen bomb. By this comparatively simple operation the destructive capacity of the hydrogen bomb is doubled. More significantly, however, the radioactive contamination is tremendous. Scientists have dubbed it the "dirty bomb" because of its fallout. This is what I believe may be pictured in Revelation 6:12.
It is undeniable that Hal Lindsey is a true expert in the field of Bible prophecy. His books are a great place for any serious student to study.

By: Nicole Balnius