I remember the exact moment the world ended for me. It was November 2008, and as a third grader at Worth Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, I was inconsolable. What was the cause of my dismay? Barack Obama had…
Meet Peter Thiel, technocrat and apocalyptic preacher
Have you ever said, “I got to get me some of that apocalyptic?” I have been haunted and harmed my entire life by the apocalyptic. First, it was the wild-eyed, sweating, screaming evangelists putting on twice-annual revivals at Antioch Baptist…
The religious and political legacy of Hal Lindsey: False prophet of the apocalypse
Hal Lindsey moved prophecy belief from the fringe of evangelical Christianity to the center of American culture for almost two decades. The Late Great Planet Earth, a dispensationalist popularization of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the rapture, the Antichrist…
Is this the end of the world as we know it?
Back in 1987, the alternative rock band R.E.M. sang their hit song: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.” The song clamors of catastrophic events devastating the earth (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, continental drifts and military…
Historian shows how America became Israel’s best friend and biggest defender
Ever since Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis more than 100 days ago, Israel has relied on America, its best friend and biggest defender. If you want to understand how that came to be the case, check out On the Road…
The fantastical world of climate change denial: Slouching toward annihilation
Climate change presents the greatest existential threat to human existence in history. The alleged worldwide flood of Noah pales in comparison. A group of politicians and preachers who should know better, and perhaps do, have responded as if they were…
Putin is no Antichrist; he’s worse than that
In my last article, I related the rapture to Russia. Tied to the rapture is the idea of the Antichrist. My purpose now is to show that Vladimir Putin is not the Antichrist but that the danger he poses is…
Let’s be clear: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not about the rapture and Russia in biblical prophecy
As soon as “Russia” and “war” are mentioned in the same sentence, all the premillennial, rapture, tribulation, Armageddon believers are on high alert. The Rapture Index (yes, there is such a thing) is at 186. The all-time high for the…
What’s wrong with ‘Left Behind’?
One of the biggest lies perpetuated in modern American Christianity is about the end times. Just by paying attention to popular culture and conversation, you would assume that the “Left Behind” theology is the most accepted — and maybe the…
Why are Christians so susceptible to conspiracy?
The internet age has rapidly intensified the ability for conspiracy theories to spread across large populations of people, but why are Christians so susceptible to conspiratorial thought? Increasingly these grand narratives regarding the alleged machinations of nefarious figures are making…
Dispensationalists delight in Trump’s Golan Heights statement
President Donald Trump on Monday reversed decades of U.S. policy, signing an executive order recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a plateau east of the Sea of Galilee known in Bible times as the region of Bashan.
Joshua vs Jesus: Why white evangelicals love Donald Trump
Almost 80 percent of white American evangelicals plan to vote for Donald Trump, a twice-divorced womanizer who made his name building and gilding casinos. A man who insults Hispanics, Muslims, African Americans, women, and anyone else who disagrees with him….