The Late, Great Planet Earth

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The Late, Great Planet Earth is the title of a 1970 book co-authored by Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan.. The book was later adapted into a movie narrated by Orson Welles

The best-selling book examined then-current events and compares them with Christian beliefs about prophecies made in the Bible, arguing that the end of the world was fast approaching.

Whether the book's central thesis originated with Lindsey or with Carlson is not clear, since Carlson is a ghost writer who has co-authored many books, mostly with a religious theme.

1 Similarities with earlier literature
- 1.1 Failed predictions
2 Style and movie
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Similarities with earlier literature

While some suggest that Planet Earth is an example of pre-millennialist, dispensationalist Christian Zionist literature, the book is predated by works such as the 1956 work by Herbert W. Armstrong called 1975 in Prophecy!.

From at least the World War II era, Armstrong saw his purpose to warn people, via radio, press and eventually television, that a coming United States of Europe would one day destroy the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Armstrong's message was heard, seen and read by millions around the world and is similar to that of Lindsey and Carlson, except for the timing and methodology of the final outcome. (Unlike Lindsey and Carlson who appear to have sought converts, Armstrong did not, because he saw the primary purpose of his ministry defined by Matthew 24:14, which told of the world's end.)

The main difference between the Armstrong and Lindsey/Carlson accounts is that Armstrong claimed that his followers would go to a place of physical safety (identified by him as Petra in Jordan) until the second coming of Jesus Christ, while the Lindsey and Carlson version substituted that idea with the theory of the Rapture. In most other aspects the claims are the same.

[edit] Failed predictions

Lindsey and Carlson interpreted history in the context of Biblical scripture, stating that the events of history, specifically the Cold War, fulfilled Biblical prophecy. For example, they pointed (as did Armstrong), to the restoration of Israel as a state in 1948 as the literal restoration of Biblical Kingdom of Israel prophesied in the Bible. The central thesis of the book was the belief that Russia was Gog and Magog, the invader of the North prophesied by Ezekiel. This is also an echo of Armstrong's earlier works, which also drew upon speculative ideas published by British Biblical literalists of the 19th century. Unfortunately for Lindsey-Carlson and Armstong, none of their predictions have come to pass in the order and manner and timeframe that their respective storylines predicted and adds these works to piles of failed prophecies of the past. (Unfulfilled historical predictions by Christians).

Lindsey and Carlson wrote that current events point to a near future seven-year Tribulation which will include the biblical plagues, wars, and famines. Jesus will "rapture" true believers to himself just prior to this. Following the Tribulation, Jesus will return to establish his 1000-year millennial Kingdom on earth. This scenario is also identical to the earlier works of Armstrong.

Although Lindsey and Carlson did not claim to know the dates of future events with any certainty, in one passage they suggested that Matthew 24:32-34 indicated that Jesus' return would be within "one generation" of the rebirth of the state of Israel, and asserted that "in the Bible" one generation is forty years. (Modern theologians and Biblical scholars realize that "one generation" in ancient Israel actually is considered 100 years, though to say the rapture will occur before or on 2048 would be a misuse of the passage.) Some readers took this as an indication that the Tribulation or the Rapture would occur no later than 1988. That date is a substitution for the earlier date of February 1972 long hinted at by Armstrong.

[edit] Style and movie

The Late, Great Planet Earth is notable for its breezy style and punning jokes: "Russia is a Gog" and "Sheik to Sheik" provide two chapter titles, while one segment is subtitled, "Scarlet O'Harlot."

A film of the book was made in 1979; Orson Welles provided the narration.

Lindsey and Carlson have gone on to write many sequels, including Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth and The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon. The latter title is now out of print.