Hal Lindsey falsely announces the fulfillment of Daniel 2 ?

Wickus here:

I got angry while reading this. “How arrogant”, I thought. But then I realized this was written by someone who believes in the Islam AC theory, someone who believes that the Mahdi and the antichrist is the same person. This is someone who studies false prophecies in the Koran and try to let it line up with the Bible.

Well Mr Richardson, while you are formulating theories about a Mahdi AC and hope for a 10 nation Muslim alliance, we have followed the rise of the WEU, we have seen a little horn rising within them and given powers and a seat via Recommendation 666 and Article 666. We have seen the little horn remain hidden by retiring until he gets power to continue. And we have seen the 10 kings given their power over to the beast system, but is still known as THE TEN. And we are glad that Hal Lindsey is eventually speaking about this.

Article by Joel Richardson

This past week, well-known prophecy teacher Hal Lindsey pointed to a recent development within the European Union, claiming it to be a significant fulfillment of Bible Prophecy. Specifically, Lindsey highlighted the Western European Union (WEU), a group of ten nations including Germany, France, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Lindsey claimed was that this group has suddenly been invested with new “critical powers” and that this group is in fact the ten nation coalition of the Antichrist as described in Daniel 2. Following are Lindsey’s comments as they appear on his web site:

“… the European Union, though currently gripped in the throes of economic upheaval, is still moving forward to solidify its role in the final days of this Age. In fact, on July 1, 2011, a major milestone was quietly passed in the evolution of that body. Remember Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an image constructed of various metals? Remember his description of the final kingdom consisting of “ten kings?” Remember hearing that this could not be the EU because it has 27 members? Well, on July 1, the EU formally invested certain critical powers always reserved to the core group known as the “Western European Union,” in a new ‘Permanent Council.’ By its own choice and in its own official documents, that group is hereinafter to be known as “The Ten.”

Eerily familiar, isn’t it?”

What you have just read is both dangerous and highly irresponsible. First Lindsey mentioned the ten nation coalition known as the WEU, then he claimed this group has just been invested with new “critical powers”, then he connected this development to a passage from the prophet Daniel that speaks of the final ten nation alliance of the Antichrist. The clear inference is that “this is that”.

But are events in Western Europe truly as significant as Lindsey is leading his listeners to believe? Is the WEU in fact the final Antichrist alliance as predicted in the Bible? A simple examination of the facts show precisely the opposite.

Lindsey’s report is highly misleading. When one actually looks up what these new “critical powers” are, they are little more than the provisions to oversee the “residual” responsibilities of their own permanent dissolution, not some form of exaltation of their collective status. That’s right, on June 30, the WEU was officially declared defunct. Instead of having emerged as the prophesied ten nation coalition of the Antichrist, the reality is that these ten nations have dissolved their longstanding union.

You can read the official statement concerning the cessation of the WEU here.

Friends, if Hal took seriously his authority and status as a teacher to whom others look to, this would no doubt be quite embarrassing, necessitating a public retraction or apology. Hyped-up or misleading claims such as this only serve to invalidate the field of Biblical prophecy. If we learned anything from the failed predictions of Harold Camping, it is that tragedy can in fact follow false prophecies. Both lives and people’s faith can end up shipwrecked. A simple perusal of various prophecy blogs and message boards will reveal that many Christians right now are taking Hal’s report very seriously.

Is Biblical prophecy being fulfilled all around us? Absolutely. But what Lindsey has claimed is completely false.

Now, please do not misunderstand this to be a personal attack on Hal Lindsey. Hal is a man whom the Lord has used to awaken many people. Yes, he has committed a serious error, but in his defense let me say a few things. Several years ago on the Hal Lindsey Report, Hal extensively and directly quoted my words as they appear in my book, Islamic Antichrist, never citing me as his source. In legal terms this is called plagiarism. I wasn’t upset however that Lindsey plagiarized me. I was actually happy that he was citing my work. Since that time, I have become good friends with the man who wrote several of Hal’s books after The Late Great Planet Earth. When I mentioned to my friend what happened, I was told that Hal doesn’t do most of his own primary research anymore. He has a team that does this for him. So in all likelihood, this was actually a mistake on the part of Hal’s researchers. The problem is that most of Hal’s listeners don’t know this. They take his words very seriously. The fact of the matter is that Lindsey must retract and clarify his comments.

In conclusion, let’s continue to work toward proclaiming the gospel to all the world. Let us accurately and responsibly expound the relevant portions of the Bible as they reveal what is happening in the earth today. And in all of these things, let us do so with sobriety, humility and integrity.

ADDENDUM BY Adamantine:

Double click  on article to enlarge to read.

I think Hal Lindsey has a right to give his opinion but it is an odd time to choose now that one might argue the WEU or “the ten” is truly insignificant. I think we will never know exactly why he has chosen now to give this opinion. His article most recently is a bit deceptive in that anyone who knows the details understands that the ten is now a bookkeeping organization. I doubt that there is any “legal loophole” that would allow anyone to give rise to the ten from this residual organization.