Have you ever started on a venture with a group of enthusiastic and like-minded people, only to be deserted by everyone before you finish?  This describes the way I have come to feel about my quest into Bible prophecy.  In the 1970s and 1980s, many Christians were very interested in Bible prophecy.  For the most part, that interest was sparked by Hal Lindsey’s bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth, first published in May 1970.  Having survived the chaos and disillusionment of the 1960s, many in my generation began looking once again for something solid to believe in.

It was during this time of confusion that Hal Lindsey wrote his book.  When I opened its cover I found a quote that had been taken from a documentary film Lindsey had made.  In this quote Lindsey said:

“I believe this generation is overlooking the most authentic voice of all, and that’s the voice of the Hebrew prophets.  They predicted that as man neared the end of history as we know it that there would be a precise pattern of events … And all of this would be around the most important sign of all – that is the Jews returning to the land of Israel after thousands of years of being dispersed.”

When I read those words, Bible prophecy became more to me than just a casual interest – it became my salvation. You see, without Bible prophecy I would not have accepted the Bible as the Word of God.  My logic was simple.  If the prophecies in the Bible were true, then it was probable the rest of the Bible was true. And the more I looked into the matter, the more I became convinced that the prophecies in the Bible were true.

Many in my generation came to the same conclusion. Books on Bible prophecy began flooding Christian bookstores.  The Late Great Planet Earth was made into a movie, and we all began looking for the “precise pattern of events” to occur in the Middle East and Europe that Hal Lindsey’s book predicted.

But many years have passed since that time, and, unfortunately, things have changed.  Not many people are watching anymore. Why not?

I believe it’s because many people misunderstood Hal Lindsey’s purpose and became disillusioned when certain things didn’t happen that he said might.  What they didn’t realize was that he was not attempting to predict the future; he was only suggesting possible future fulfillments that seemed to make sense.  For example, when the European Common Market failed to become the foretold 10 kings of prophecy – as some understood Lindsey’s book to suggest – many people lost interest in the subject.  The problem was that too many of us were focused on well-intended speculations, and not on the Scriptures themselves.  Then when a 10-nation alliance actually appeared in Europe in 1995, no one noticed. 

But for whatever reason, people turned off to Bible prophecy. They comforted themselves with the idea that, when these end-times signs occurred, they would know it.  Why waste time watching?

There is a problem with this reasoning.  As I said earlier, the Bible seems to indicate that the final events of history will actually occur at the very time when many have stopped watching.  Referring to the second coming of Christ, the Apostle Paul says, “Let no one in anyway deceive you, for it (Christ’s return) will not come unless the apostasy (falling away) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Some believe these signs – including the apostasy and the revealing of the Antichrist – are only for Israel to see.  They say these events will all occur after the church has been raptured.  Yet, here the Apostle Paul wasn’t writing to believers in Israel – he was writing to a new church in Europe made up mostly of former pagans.  For Paul to have assured this church that Christ would not return until after certain events, he must have thought it was possible the church may witness them in some way – at least their beginning. 

Besides, the Apostle Paul said the apostasy, or a falling away from the true faith, would come first.  In other words, the apostasy would be on the scene before the Antichrist, not the other way around.  This being the case, why should we think the church won’t witness this falling away from the faith – at least its beginning?

Actually, as we just learned in misconception #1, many Christians being turned off by Bible prophecy may be an indication that the great apostasy has already begun.  The Apostle Peter said, “in the last days mockers will come with their mocking” (2 Peter 3:3).  In other words, one indication that the end-times apostasy has begun is when those who believe in prophecy are mocked.  And this is how it is today.

Some Christians may argue that not being interested in Bible prophecy is not necessarily the same thing as falling away from the faith.  I agree with them – as long as they don’t mock the ones who do.  Yet, when the watchman is not watching, this is when the enemy will come.  I believe this is why Jesus warned, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.  But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.  For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matthew 24: 42-44).