Hal Lindsey said Russia would lead an invasion of Israel.
Hall Lindsey helped turn Bible prophecy into a worldwide phenomenon.
Several decades ago, in the early 70s, the world was introduced to Hal Lindsey During those years Mr. Lindsey became a household name. And he still is a popular author and Bible prophecy teacher. Hal Lindsey wrote a book titled “The Late Great Planet Earth. That was the book that springboarded him into international fame. You can find some of his current work on his website. See the Hal Lindsey report here.
The Jesus Movement
Hal is also well-known for his help in promoting a popular Russian conspiracy theory. That theory pushed the idea that Russia would lead a massive attack upon the Nation of Israel. The idea did not originate with Mr. Lindsey. But his wildly successful book had the Russian conspiracy as a center point of his last-days scenario. And ever since his book hit the big-time, Russia was in the cross-hairs. Christians in churches around the world anxiously looked for this Russian attack.
And during that same time, God’s Spirit was creating a revival. It seemed to start on the beaches of Southern California. Soon after that, the churches of Southern California became filled with young hippies.
The words, “Jesus loves you,” became popular across America and around the globe. Jesus stepped into the lives of millions of young people. And so, just when Bible prophecy became popular again, The “Jesus Movement” was also born. So, they both happened at the same time. Because of that, people have often wondered about the connection. Did Bible prophecy come first? Or did the Jesus movement come first? It’s like the chicken and the egg. Nobody is sure which came first.
But I should get back to the Russian conspiracy.
Russia wasn’t in Ezekiel’s vision
The conspiracy rose from Mr. Lindsey’s interpretation of a Bible passage in Ezekiel 38 and 39. I’ve written about that here and here. It’s in that passage that we find a detailed invasion of Israel. And we find that the Bible never mentions Russia. Not in those chapters or any other chapters. But Hal Lindsey found good reasons to point his finger at the Nation of Russia anyway.
You can find other articles that discuss Ezekiel’s prophecy and the future invasion of Israel. And I want to point out, this is not an attempt to bash Hal Lindsey. Many people have taken swipes at him, but I won’t. To that point, I would say his books and teaching brought Bible prophecy into prominence. It was his work in that field, and the teaching of Pastor Chuck Smith, that piqued my interest in Bible prophecy. So, to be fair, there is a lot about Hal Lindsey’s ministry that we should be thankful for.
https://thewritelife.tech/2019/02/25/who-is-he-and-the-mysterious-gog-of-prophecy/
The wrong maps lead to the wrong facts.
What I will take issue with is Mr. Lindsey’s interpretation of the role of Russia. His prophetic views on Russia influenced most of the evangelical community and beyond. And it even crept into the regular news cycles and American politics. It became a fact beyond dispute that Russia would eventually lead an assault on Israel. Fiction books and Christian movies such as the “Left Behind” series expanded upon the idea of the Russian invasion.
I believe that view is incorrect. For a better understanding of why I disagree, the reader should first look at a previous article on this subject. In it, I show that ancient and even many recent Bible atlases show Russia is not in view of Ezekiel’s prophecy. But despite what the Bible atlases show, there are many Bible prophecy maps that show Russia as the central player. The creators of such maps place the names found in Ezekiel’s prophecy where they will fit the interpretations suggested by Hal Lindsey and many other teachers. But just because a person makes a map and applies the Hal Lindsey theory, it doesn’t make it biblical fact.
The Bible maps that take Russia out of the Ezekiel prophecy.
Just two Bible commentaries that counter the Hal Lindsey Russian conspiracy.
TUBAL
As the text stands, Tubal and Meshech are always coupled, except in Isaiah 66:19 (Massoretic Text) and Psalm 120:5. In the former passage, Tubal is yoked with Javan, in the latter Meshech occurs in 120:5 and Kedar in 120:6, in Genesis 10:2 parallel, they are sons of Japheth. In Ezekiel (27:13) the two are mentioned as exporters of slaves and copper, as a warlike people of antiquity (32:26), in the army of Gog (38:2; 39:1).
Josephus identifies them with the Iberians and Cappadocians respectively; but they are most probably the Tibarenoi, and Moschoi, first mentioned in Herodotus iii.94 as belonging to the 19th satrapy of Darius, and again (vii.78) as furnishing a contingent to the host of Xerxes. Equally obvious is their identity with the Tabali and Muski of the Assyrian monuments, where the latter is mentioned as early as Tiglath-pileser I, and the former under Shalmaneser II; both are described as powerful military states.
They appear together in Sargon’s inscriptions, and during this entire period, their territory must have extended much farther South and West than in Greek-Roman times. They are held (Winckler and Jeremias) to have been remnants of the old Hittite population which were gradually driven (probably by the Cimmerian invasion) to the mountainous district Southeast of the Black Sea.
Horace J. Wolf
Commentaries can be difficult to follow. The above quote from Mr. Wolf proves the point. But if the reader takes a careful look, you can begin to see the point he is making. All of the major players in the prophecy were from the Middle East region. Wolf also directs the reader to the “table of nations,” found in Genesis ten. In that chapter, we find Noah’s family line branching out across the Middle East and beyond. That’s where we first see the names mentioned in Ezekiel’s prophecy. The modern nations of Greece, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran are where most of the historical focus is for these prophecies.
Meschech
MESHECH; MESECH
me’-shek, me’-sek (meshekh, “long,” “tall”; Mosoch): Son of Japheth (Genesis 10:2 1 Chronicles 1:5; 1 Chronicles 1:17 is a scribal error for “Mash”; compare Genesis 10:22, 23). His descendants and their dwelling-place (probably somewhere in the neighborhood of Armenia (Herodotus iii.94)) seem to be regarded in Scripture as synonyms for the barbaric and remote (Psalm 120:5; compare Isaiah 66:19, where Meshech should be read instead of “that draw the bow”).
It is thought that the “Tibareni and Moschi”
of the classical writers refer to the same people. Doubtless, they appear in the annals of Assyria as enemies of that country under the names Tabali and Mushki-the latter the descendants of Meshech and the former those of Tubal to whom the term “Tibareni” may refer in the clause above.
This juxtaposition of names is in harmony with practically every appearance of the word in Scripture. It is seldom named without someone of the others-Tubal, Javan, Gog and Magog. It is this which forms a good justification for making the suggested change in Isaiah 66:19, where Meshech would be in the usual company of Tubal and Javan.
Ezekiel mentions them several times,
first, as engaged in contributing to the trade of Tyre (Tiras of Genesis 10:2 ?), in “vessels of brass” and-very significantly-slaves; again there is the association of Javan and Tubal with them (Ezekiel 27:13); second, they are included in his weird picture of the underworld: “them that go down into the pit” (Ezekiel 32:18, 26). They are mentioned again with Gog and Magog twice as those against whom the prophet is to “set his face” (Ezekiel 38:2, 3; Ezekiel 39:1).
Henry Wallace
Commentator Henry Wallace makes a strong case against the Russian conspiracy. But Mr. Lindsey has the following quote in his book. Please note that I added the words in parenthesis.
“The Greek name, “Moschi,” (is) derived from the Hebrew name Meshech (and) is the source of the name for the city of Moscow.”
But Henry Wallace doesn’t match the word with Moscow. Mr. Wallce relies on historical facts and Hal Lindsey did not. Mr. Lindsey sees a similarity between Meshech and Moscow and assumes there must be a connection.
Hal Lindsey and the Late Great Planet Earth
In his international bestseller, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” author Hal Lindsey wrote a very convincing argument regarding Russia. Mr. Lindsey presented his case, backed it up with certain facts and commentators, and concluded that Russia was about to attack Israel. And, as I said earlier, he was so convincing that it became an established fact within the Christian community. And for many, it still remains an indisputable fact.
So, how did he come to the conclusion that Russia would attack Israel?
Well, he found a quote from Dr. John Cumming. And this is how it reads.
“This king of the North, I conceive to be the autocrat of Russia.”
The King of the North
We find a prophecy about the King of the North, in Daniel chapter eleven. Lindsey used the quote and reference to the Daniel prophecy to help build his case against Russia. And he does make a good point when he says the quote was written in 1864. It would have been hard to imagine Russia invading Israel during that time.
But Dr. Cumming, Hal Lindsey, and most of the popular Bible prophecy teachers are wrong. In Ezekiel 38:17, the Lord called out the leader Gog. God said, “Are you the one?” This leader who leads this final attack upon Israel will be a long-time enemy of God’s people. Russia was never in the prophetic focus. The blood brothers of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael reside in the Middle East. And no, I didn’t make a mistake when I included Ishmael instead of Jacob. The enemies of God’s people will rise from Ishmael’s family line. God’s story is consistent with that fact.
Ezekiel 38:17
Thus says the Lord GOD, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?
Daniel 11:40
“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.”
https://thewritelife.tech/the-roman-road-to-salvation/
Let me know what you think.