Making Doomsday References to Hitler or Stalin? Please Learn from Hal Lyndsey

To my Christian friends on the right and left who constantly make doomsday references to either Hitler (Trump) or Stalin (Kamala), please learn from the example of Hal Lindsey (1929-2024).

Hal Lindsey became (in)famous and made a fortune out of wild and dramatic claims about who was the anti-Christ and what current political events made it clear that Jesus was coming again RIGHT NOW. His supposed prophetic insights began in the 1970s and he continued to provide his special type of commentary on current events up until last year.
 
While I am sure he meant well, on virtually everything related to the world of politics he was wrong his entire life. And the net impact of that failure has been negative, to say the least.
 
While one can argue his credibility and integrity is widely questioned due to his being so wrong so many times, the most important and sad impact is how his approach to world events has hurt the Christian movement he sought to help.
 
First, his shallow, simplistic, and profoundly misguided approach to political analysis modelled a style of Christian engagement in the world of politics that has only hurt the church. Even people who do not know who Lindsey was unknowingly model his approach, and the church – especially the evangelical denominations – suffers as a result.
 
Second, his plethora of prophecies that never came true have inoculated people from ever considering the end times; after all, why take seriously a doctrine associated with such bizarre interpretations of people and events?
 
Of course, for us today, currents events can be vexing, and some leaders drive us crazier than others, but the example of Hal Lindsey should compel us to up our game. 
 
Stated simply, simplistic political “analysis” marked by doomsday scenarios of “who is Hitler or Stalin or the antichrist” only make things worse. At best, people will eventually tune out those whose political commentary is marked by such silliness. At worst, the impact of such unhelpful analysis will cause people to conclude that Christians are unable to think carefully, dispassionately, and thoughtfully about the world, and as a result will also tune out out the faith.
 
That being the case, the next time you are tempted in your political posts or discourse to make doomsday references to Hitler, Stalin, or the antichrist please remember Hal Lyndsey and take a different tack.