The Late, Great Planet Earth
This weekend, I was rummaging through some old stuff of mine. I moved out of my parent’s house eight years ago, and left a lot of things in my old room, old toys, old books, etc. For some reason, my father bought a copy of Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth (we have a Dutch translation: ‘De planeet die Aarde heette‘). It somehow ended up in my book collection, though I’ve never actually read it.
I don’t know why my father bought it, he’s not an Evangelical or Christian Zionist, he doesn’t go to church, he doesn’t even believe in God, I think. But my father and grandfather were rabidly anti-Communist. In the early eighties, NATO installed nuclear missiles in Kleinenbrogel, and the whole country–I live in Belgium–was up in arms about it (silly pun intended), the orange sun logo of the ‘Geen Kernrakketen‘-movement (translated: No Nuclear Missiles) was everywhere. The people who protested were mostly Leftist and Greens, my father referred to them as ‘geitenwollensokkendragers‘ (’goat’s-wool-sock-bearers’, or something like that). We had stickers that said: ‘Liever een raket in the tuin dan een Rus in de keuken.‘ (I’d rather have a missile in my backyard, than a Russian in my kitchen.) My grandfather, 78 years old at the time, went out at night to throw down the placards the movement had set up in front of our local church.
I’m sure Lindsey’s message didn’t stick. My father is a right-wing conservative, but he’s no fruitcake. I’m going to ask him why he read the book in the first place. I hope the answer will be ‘to get a better understanding of the hidden motivators of those in power.’ The book describes how Russia, as being a Great Northern Empire, would invade Israel, thus setting in motion the events as described in the Apocalypse. In the eighties, surely, the Red Army were the Legions of the Anti-Christ. People like Ronald Reagan consorted with the likes of Lindsey, because it fitted nicely into his ‘Evil Empire’ strategy, and because he was a Premillenialist himself. Fundamentalist Christians have believed their Waiting for Godot is nearly over, ever since the State of Israel was instituted. They have been prominent supporters of aggressive Israeli policy towards Palestinians every step of the way, and strong opponents of every peace effort that gives the slightest bit of leeway to Palestinians. Today, many believe Russia will once again rise as an Empire, and hold true to it’s Fate. Others believe it’s the Islamic ‘terrorists’ who are the real Legions of the Anti-Christ. Today, these people have real influence in Washington. It’s contributing to why we are seeing all these ‘why-protect-the-environment-when-the-Rapture-is-upon-us’-kind of policies coming out of the White Asylum.
I sometimes wonder: who’s playing who, in this Christian-Jewish Zionist collaboration? Israel believes it has the US eating out of it’s hand, while the Apostolic Loonies believe Jews will eventually have to revert to Christianity of perish. Since the Jewish stake is the one not vested in some unworldly trust, my money is on Israel.
