Grace Halsell book


Grace Halsell
Prophecy and Politics:
Militant Evangelists on the Road to Nuclear War
1986, Lawrence Hill & Company



Reviewed by Jeffrey Stueber
Copyright (C) 1997, all rights reserved.
I originally sent this to the journal First Things, but they
rejected it.

"[T]he doctrines of the New Christian Right are clearly gaining
ground in our society. A poll showed that four out of ten
Americans believe that 'when the Bible predicts that the earth
will be destroyed by fire, it's telling us that nuclear war in
inevitable.' The political consequences of this trend are
shocking to contemplate."

This is just one review listed at the back of Grace Halsell's
Prophecy and Politics: Militant Evangelists on the Road to
Nuclear War. Her book was written in the Reagan era and is just
as important today as it was then. The expectation of end-times
events has a tendency to change your political views and your
political actions. Like rabid environmentalists spelling doom
and gloom when we approach the next ice age, Biblical prophets
like to predict the next course in humanity and often engage in
politics to alter the course of society to cope or bring about
the inevitable. Halsell took to the Holy Land tours of Jerry
Falwell and to the preaching of other televangelists who she
claims are in a powerful alliance with Israel. Anyone ought not
doubt Halsell for she is no light-weight. Halsell is a political
veteran, one who was a Whitehouse speech writer. She also covered
the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Let's face it, there is no shortage of apocalyptic visions in the
world. Hal Lindsay has been on the cutting edge of making such
predictions, especially those dealing with the end of the world.
In his Late Great Planet Earth, he made such a prediction for the
1980s. Christ would return. It is now 1997 and we are still here
and Christ has not come back yet.

One of the most interesting commentaries in her book is the
description of President Reagan's religious beliefs. Before
reading her book, I had admired Reagan mostly for his stand on
confronting the Soviets and his ability to stand up for his
religious beliefs. Grace tells me more about Reagan than I would
have believed. His life was heavily influenced by his Bible-
believing mother. His mother faithfully attended worship
services -- the Disciples of Christ was her denomination. This
squares with what I already knew of Reagan's beliefs; I already
knew he belonged to the Disciples of Christ. Reagan was
influenced by dispensationalist friends and believed that many
prophecies are being fulfilled today.
Reagan sounds like your garden-variety Christian. He attended
church, felt that many Biblical prophecies have reached their
fulfillment today, and dabbled in dispensationalism. Reagan was
not unlike many who have read Lindsay. When I started to explore
my religion, one of the first books I read was Lindsay's Late
Great Planet Earth. It was shocking to me and opened my eyes.
My Christian Aunt however took a more sober view of the
prophecies in it, telling me too "think about it, but then forget
it." In other words, what Lindsay wrote is not written in stone
and there may be other interpretations to Biblical prophecy.
What did Reagan think of Lindsay's interpretations?

Reagan apparently bought Lindsay's interpretation of end-time
events. Reagan said that all things were coming into place. The
Gog of the Bible can only mean Russia. The fire and brimstone
referred to in the Bible can only mean nuclear weapons.
Jerusalem would be trodden down until the times of the Gentiles
were fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles must have been
fulfilled in 1967, because that is when Israel regained its
sovereignty. This last generation could be the one that sees
Armageddon.

After much research, I have come to the conclusion that there are
multiple interpretations to end-times prophecies. Many good
Christians claim that all events were fulfilled prior to 70 A.D.
They claim that there will be no seven-year tribulation when the
antichrist will come to the forefront and persecute God's people.

Upon reading their works, I admit they have many strong
arguments. Reagan appeared to dwell only on Lindsay and his
thoughts. This is what you gather from reading Halsell. Reagan
began an incredible arms buildup to possibly hasten Armageddon.
Armageddon "cannot take place in a world that has been disarmed,"
as one observer noted.

Did Reagan really think that way? Halsell gives us evidence that
Reagan might have followed this logic although the proof is still
wanting. I always believed that Reagan felt that the best way to
bankrupt the Soviets is to continue the arms race and create a
situation in their country in which they can no longer finance
war materials. I also believed that Reagan felt that we needed
to sustain the arms race because nuclear war could only be
avoided if parity was sustained. To understand what I believe
Reagan felt, consider two bullies facing each other. Both
bullies have enough muscle to overpower their opponent several
times over. But each bully must continue to improve his attack
ability because the one who attacks first is usually the one with
the overwhelming advantage regardless of how many "times over"
that bully can harm the one attacked.

Halsell later talks about how Israel has changed its approach to
the United States since the new fundamentalist movement began.
Her chapters entitled "Why Israel Sought the Alliance With the
New Christian Right" and "What Israel Gains from the Alliance"
speak to the attitudes Christians have toward Israel. Why did
Jews seek an alliance with fundamentalist Christians when most
believe that Jews will either die in the tribulation or be
converted? It was because Jews were "abandoned" by liberal
Christians, ones who worried more about social concerns and
third-world needs. Too many Christians engaged in behavior that
seemed to support ideals in concert with groups like the PLO.
This was the response Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum gave her.

Of course, an alliance is beneficial to Jews simply because many
Christians believe that the reemergence of Isreal brings
Armageddon closer to reality. This is the message of Hal
Lindsay, the one who so heavily influenced Ronald Reagan. This
was also the message of Mike Evans, another Hal Lindsay clone.
According to Halsell, Evans said that if Israel was to relinquish
some of the property it occupied, God would destroy both Israel
and the United States. Evans believes in the Biblical truth that
whoever blesses Israel will be blessed by God and whoever curses
Israel will be cursed by God. This truth almost seems to be used
as blackmail, as Evans reportedly urged his viewers to send in
any dollar amount they could to support "Jerusalem D.C."

Halsell characterizes herself as a Christian although you might
think otherwise. "Fundamentalism" is definitely a dirty word in
her vocabulary and she has much derision for those who launch
prophetic arrows around. One's faith might be harmed by those
who expect monetary gain through Armageddon evangelism or those
who sit back and count their missiles gleefully anticipating
Christ's return. That's not what a Christian should be doing. I
myself expect to work to reduce war and weapons, not increase
them. One who has peace in Christ need not push Armageddon
closer by dangling a carrot in front of our Lord. Christ will
come when he pleases. In the meantime, we are to be good stewards
of our gifts, not psychics or soothsayers of doom.