#697

The Late Great Hal Lindsey

The Book That Changed Everything

The year was 1972 and I was in the early years of being a Christian. I’ve told people many times that I was an odd believer mainly because the first book of the Bible that I read was the book of Revelation. Yeah, I was that guy. When I witnessed to a neighbor I read from Revelation and I later learned that I scared her when I did. Granted I had no clue how to witness but I figured that reading the Bible was a good thing. I also had a senior pastor who preached on prophecy so I cut my teeth on learning about the end times. I devoured anything I could on the subject so when I got my hands on a book that was printed in 1970 about prophecy I read it. The book would turn out to be very popular as seen in an article from wikipedia.org

The Late Great Planet Earth is a 1970 book by Hal Lindsey, with contributions by Carole C. Carlson, first published by Zondervan. The New York Times declared it to be the bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s. The book was first featured on a primetime television special featuring Hal Lindsey in 1974 and 1975 with an audience of 17 million and produced by Alan Hauge of GMT Productions. It was adapted by Rolf Forsberg and Robert Amram into a 1978 film narrated by Orson Welles and released by Pacific International Enterprises.

Whether you were a Christian or not, the book was extremely popular and influential. And for me, it sent me down a path of learning all I could about prophecy.

The Man And The Book

As we read from an article from harbingersdaily.com the impact Lindsey had was profound:

Hal’s book appealed to an audience that consisted of both the saved and the lost, drawing on the search for insight into the earth’s future in a culture where astrology and fortune-telling had become heavily popularized. Instead of setting out a list of predictions from the mouths of men, Hal detailed how God had provided an understanding of the future of planet Earth with 100% accuracy.

Lindsey brought Bible prophecy into the 20th century by simply showing using the Bible:

“The Late Great Planet Earth” was powerful. It began by establishing why the Hebrew prophet’s precise predictions given by God stood in contrast to the many others who claimed to know the future through mysticism, stargazing, and drug use. Lindsey revealed the history of fulfilled Biblical prophecy and dove deeply into how future prophecies connected to events seen on the current global stage.

The book’s influence kept opening eyes for quite a while:

As a result of the book, numerous eyes became open to the relevance of prophecy today, the sound teaching of our blessed hope, and the significance of the nation of Israel. By 1990, the book had sold twenty-eight million copies and was translated into over fifty languages.

While inevitably, many attacked and scoffed at Lindsey, even after his death, “The Late Great Planet Earth” was used by God to spark widespread interest in Biblical Prophecy, eternally impacting countless individuals and helping to raise up generations of ministry leaders to study and teach on the subject.

By God’s hand, many trusted ministry leaders we know today stumbled across Lindsey’s book in their early years. In numerous cases, the impact laid the groundwork for them to take their first steps in their walks with the Lord and prompted them to begin their ministries. It is startling to discover just how many ministries would be directly affected by Hal’s service to the Lord.

It Left An Impression On Me

But I wasn’t the only one. Lindsey woke up at least the Christian world to the belief that God had plans for the world beyond secular science, politics, and religion. And I wasn’t alone in how that seminal book created a love and interest in Bible prophecy as we read from many who are key leaders in Bible prophecy today as the article continues:

Jan Markell is an author, the founder and president of Olive Tree Ministries, and host of Understanding the Times radio, often described as “radio for the remnant,” which is heard on over 1,000 stations nationwide.

It was in the mid-70s that Markell cracked open Hal Lindsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth.”

“I knew Hal fairly well, having brought him to the Twin Cities on two occasions,” Markell told Harbinger’s Daily. “His book, The Late-Great Planet Earth, was a game-changer for many, including me. He made sense of theology that few understood well at that time. But his most important contribution is that he convinced millions of readers that Israel, indeed, was the key to our past, present, and future.”

“I read his book in 1974, the same year I made my first trip to Israel, and my life was forever changed thanks to both,” she recalled. “I would not be doing what I am today without both experiences.”

Another protégé was Erick Stakelbeck who received it from his father in his early 20s:

“I was living in the world. I believed in God, and I had that old Catholic fear of God but wasn’t walking with the Lord,” he explained. “My dad was in a Bible study at his factory where he was an electrician, and a group of guys were talking prophecy and Israel. They were big Hal Lindsey fans. They gave my dad the book, and he passed the book on to me.”

Stakelbeck was astonished by the contents of “The Late Great Planet Earth,” having always had an interest in world events.

“I followed it all very closely. I said, ‘Man, the chess pieces are moving, and this is unfolding now!” Stakelbeck described. “I went to confession as a good Catholic boy at the time, and the priest said, ‘It’s been three years; why have you come back?’ And I said, ‘Well, I just read this book,’ and I explained everything in it. He said, ‘You can’t take that seriously; it’s all allegory!'”

“I left the church, and that day, the gears were turning in my head,” he remembered.

Stakelbeck later moved to Washington, D.C., where he began reading the Bible. “It was like the scales were lifted from my eyes,” he said. In 2009, Stakelbeck traveled to Israel and, upon his return, gave his life to the Lord.

An Antisemitic Voice

Another person was touched by the book by way of future wife:

Olivier Melnick, whose books and ministry are dedicated to evangelism and combating antisemitism, described to Harbinger’s Daily how the Lord used “The Late Great Planet Earth” to bring him to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Melnick was Jewish so this Jesus talk was hard for him to accept:

“As a French Jew, son of Holocaust survivors, the last thing on my mind in my early twenties (1983) was to consider who God was and if I needed Him in my life,” he explained. “Soon after I met the young girl who is today my wife of 41 years, she directed me to the messianic prophecies of the Tanach (Old Testament).”

Love is a strong motivator it turned out:

“I was not impressed. I just wanted to marry her, not read the Bible. She insisted on not being unequally yoked and challenged me to read ‘The Late Great Planet Earth,'” Melnick remembered. “I read the book every morning on my way to work on the Paris subway. Its short chapters on fulfilled prophecies of the First Coming drew me in and convinced me that if they had indeed been fulfilled 100% accurately, what was left for the future would also be 100% accurate.”

And then he read about the Rapture and he really took note of it’s consequences:

“Then I got to the Rapture, and I freaked out. Would I be left behind?” he recalled wondering. “Hal Lindsey’s small book had a life-changing effect on me, and one night in July of 1983, I gave my life to Yeshua.”

“Years later, I met Hal Lindsey at a conference and told him my story,” Melnick noted. “I had brought the book with me, and he kindly signed it. He wrote ‘Merci Beaucoup,’ meaning ‘thank you very much’ in French. In retrospect, I would like to say Merci Beaucoup to Hal Lindsey for writing the book that led me to my Jewish messiah and changed my life forever.”

Many Others Were Changed

I could have told you about others like Tom Hughes, the founder of Hope for Our Times and 412 Churches, Ron Rhodes, an author and president of “Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries,” and Dr. David Jeremiah who is a pastor, author, and founder of the international broadcast ministry “Turning Point for God.” Jeremiah is a man who I quote quite a bit because of his rock solid teaching on prophecy which no doubt got its start by the book and the man. People that look to me for understanding Bible prophecy need to know that I am also indebted to Lindsey for getting me to understand end times events and to believe that anyone can make sense of books like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others including of course Revelation. I like how the author, Breanna Claussen pays tribute to Hal Lindsey:

From his books, articles, sermons, weekly “Hal Lindsey Report,” and tours of Israel, Hal Lindsey’s ministry was used by God to bring the often belittled topic of Bible Prophecy to the forefront of people’s minds.

Harbinger’s Daily has been privileged to point people to his trusted ministry work for the last decade. Like many others, we were greatly blessed by his insights and partnership.

Lindsey finished the race strong without breaking his pace. His love for the Lord and desire to reach people with the truth of God’s Word led him to continue laboring in ministry until only days before he passed away at the age of 95. It is a joy to know that on the 25th of November, 2024, Lindsey heard the long-awaited words from the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

I wholeheartedly concur. And you should, too.