Hal Lindsey has been issuing revisions of his prophecies for almost 50 years.
Posted on 12/06/2018 8:25:27 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Bible teachers making predictions for when the End Times will arrive, which prove to not be true, has led to damages to the credibility of evangelicals, a Christian author and theologian has said.
Kenneth R. Samples, the senior research scholar of philosophical and theological apologetics at Reasons to Believe, tackled on Tuesday several questions people have when it comes to End Times prophecy.
The questions and comments were framed in responses to his 2013 book Christian Endgame: Careful Thinking about the End Times, which warned about excessive speculation regarding the timing of Jesus Christ's return to earth.
One person wrote: “I am convicted on the basis of God’s Word that we’re definitely living in the end times. There’s no doubt about it. Scripture seems very clear to me — I can read the signs of the times.”
Samples replied on the Reasons to Believe website that such convictions might indeed prove to be true.
"The Lord’s people rightly look forward to the Parousia (Second Coming). But I would suggest greater caution because the same sort of comments have been made by prophecy enthusiasts throughout church history," he warned.
"Many, unfortunately, went further and set dates that were wrong — causing nonbelievers to doubt the truth of the Christian faith. Just in the last 50 years alone, several prominent Bible teachers have set dates and acted, in my opinion, eschatologically irresponsible, and evangelical Christianity’s credibility suffered because of it," he added.
Among many others, former Family Radio president and co-founder Harold Camping became infamous for his multiple failed end times predictions.
Camping had urged Christians to leave institutional churches which he claimed had gone apostate in preparation of the End Times, which drew significant controversy.
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, also warned last year that some people may be driven away from the faith due to failed predictions.
"Sometimes people reject the good news of Christianity while never knowing that what they are turning aside isn't, in fact, anything that Jesus or those He sent said at all," Moore said, adding that "any day could be Judgment Day."
Other comments Samples responded to included one that claimed that “much of what the Bible describes prophetically is happening right before our eyes” and is not a matter of interpretation.
The senior research scholar at Reasons to Believe responded:
“All of the propositional content of Scripture must be interpreted. Only the Holy Spirit knows all the truth of Scripture intuitively. And as the apostle Peter notes, some people’s interpretations of Scripture are in fact wrong (2 Peter 3:16). So all of us must be careful. Moreover, if a person hasn’t studied all the major eschatological positions carefully, then that person should be even more cautious.”
Samples affirmed that the Bible has a lot to say about End Times prophecy, but insisted that interpreting it is not easy.
“It is unfortunately true that eschatology is one of the most divisive areas in Christian theology. That is why my little primer on eschatology spends so much time emphasizing what we can all agree on,” he said.
“In my book, I call it ‘Mere Christian Eschatology’ (see chapter 3), and I hope it helps Christians avoid unnecessary obstacles as we seek to bring nonbelievers to faith in Christ.”
I agree.
We know the end is coming, we are instructed to watch for it, but we are also told that no one know when it is.
Preach the Gospel, that is what we are instructed to do.
RE Harold Camping
the huge event of 1994 was US GOP winning both the House & Senate for since the 50’s ( GOP lost Senate in 87) stopping Bill Clinton.
One of the churches that came about from the Great Disappointment of 1844 is still around; the 7th Day Adventists.
Being a Catholic, I do not place the emphasis on the End Times as much as evangelicals do. But there is a local radio show (on Saturday mornings) that did spend a lot of time trying to divine whether certain current events or cultural mores could be signs of the End Times. In short, this show was convinced that the End Times were coming soon.
Listening lately, they seem to somewhat be backing away from that belief. When they do speak of the End Times, it now along the lines of “If and when it comes...” rather than “Yes, it’s coming soon...”
You know how the media does a countdown for when someone says Jesus will return on such-and-such date? I wish they’d do that with global warming predictions like when the great prophet Al Gore said the north pole will be ice free in 5 years -— 20 years ago. :)
True indeed.
And believe you me, the progs use this against the religious all the time.
Funny, however, that the climate “researcher” group’s total inability to correctly model and predict the climate only results on the science challenged progressives increasing their support.
Hal Lindsey has been issuing revisions of his prophecies for almost 50 years.
I don’t see why evangelicals are responsible for people making predictions. It sounds like a strawman.
I’m sure they do. I only wish the predictions by environmental wackos would damage them in the wacko press.
I notice that the later edition does not seem to carry the tagline "a penetrating look at incredible prophecies involving this generation". Looks like he dropped it entirely. I suppose he could have gone with "a penetrating look at incredible prophecies involving this a generation"
“No man knoweth the day or the hour thereof. . . .”
Always took it on faith that the “...as a thief in the night...” passages (1 Thess, Matt) pretty much overruled anyone who tried to assign a date to the rapture. Pretty sure the “end times” parameters were potential in the first century AD, and that the applied passages actually referred to times of the tribulation.
Patience
YMMV
KYPD
“Bible teachers making predictions for when the End Times will arrive, which prove to not be true, has led to damages to the credibility of evangelicals, a Christian author and theologian has said.”
From NIV Bible
“36“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Watch for it? No.
Be ready for it? Yes.
People confuse the signs accompanying the destruction of Jerusalem, which was obviously approaching, with the second coming which will happen without warning.
I picture the end times as a road with different sign posts (biblical prophecies). I am further of the opinion that we wont get there till ALL of the prophecies have been fulfilled.
Many have been.
Some are being fulfilled now such as the burden of Damascus.
Other have not been.
Not much I can do to change God’s time line, so I am just trying to do my best till I am called home. Besides, not sure I want to be around during the end times - sounds like it is going to be REALLY bad for Christians.
There’s way more insight to be found in observing the details in a game of baseball.
What’s on second.
If the End Times do not happen, then the Bible is just a work of fiction....some may be fine with that but not those who believe in God and His promises....I began life as a Catholic and had first communion and was confirmed by Fulton Sheen....much later in life, I discovered what the Bible actually says.....and never looked back.
Speaking as a nonbeliever, I must admit that seeing multitudes of unfulfilled prophecies does induce me to roll my eyes when the predicted date comes up and the world keeps chugging along.
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