The Mark of the Beast - 666 or 616?

A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament shows that the number of the Beast of Revelation 13 is 616. Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, states that “the majority opinion seems to be that it refers to [the Roman emperor] Nero.”[1] The early fragment supports the view that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A. [...]

Antichrist - Alive and Well, Again!

Is the antichrist alive somewhere in the world today? Cardinal Biffi, emeritus bishop of the archdiocese of Bologna, Italy, thinks so.[1] In addition to wanting to ban Mozart’s music because the composer was a Mason,[2] Cardinal Biffi also believes Italy should stop the flood of Muslim immigrants and protect Italy’s “national identity.” These are just some of his politically incorrect comments abo [...]

"Revelations" - Bible Prophecy According to NBC

Beginning this Wednesday evening (April 13, 2005), NBC will air the first installment of its “Revelations” series.[1] Like so many evangelicals, the series operates by asking this question: “Could the end be near? To get a jump on the commentary that will follow the series, I’ve decided to jump start the discussion by dealing with questions that Christians often have about the book of Revelation. [...]

Pope John Paul II and the Fatima Visions

Pope John Paul II was impacted by the 1917 Fatima prophecies. The most famous vision is said to have occurred on May 13, 1917. There it was reported that three children, Lucia dos Santos (ten years old at the time) and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco de Jesus Marto (seven and nine), in a field near Fatima, Portugal, saw “a beautiful lady from Heaven,” while others saw what appeared to them to be [...]

A Revived Ten-Nation Error: But Who's Counting?

Some readers get upset any time I point out how modern-day prophecy writers are misrepresenting the Bible on prophetic matters. The integrity of the Bible is at stake. If it’s wrong on one point, then it can be wrong on other points. My critics don’t seem to mind that Hal Lindsey has been wrong over the years in an area of study that has made his reputation and so much of Christendom h [...]

Hal Lindsey Redux

I received a number of emails from people objecting to my article on Hal Lindsey. This was to be expected. I pointed out how Lindsey has made several bad prophetic pronouncements and how he even admitted that if it turned out he was wrong that he would be a “bum.” I didn’t say this, Lindsey did. Lindsey turns out to be wrong, and I’m the bad guy. Some maintained that I shouldn’t criticize other Ch [...]

Hal Lindsey is Making Predictions-Again

Hal Lindsey is once again making predictions about the end times using Israel as the prophetic time piece. In his latest article on the subject, he claims that the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin is prophetically significant. Here’s how he explains it: “These religious authorities [in Israel] believe it was necessary to re-establish the Sanhedrin because only this properly ordained body of sages [...]

The Antichrist Fraud

Apparently someone hacked into the Planet Preterist web site and directed users to Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind web site. The front page of LaHaye’s site informs viewers that a prequel to the Left Behind series–“Before They Were Left Behind–will hit stores on March 1, 2004. The title of the new volume is The Rising: Antichrist is Born. LaHaye and company are milking millions of uninf [...]