A local Christian television station hosted Hal Lindsey last spring for two evenings of lectures about his new book, "Planet Earth—2000A.D." With chapter titles like "The Perilous Condition of the Human Race," "The Rise of Deceiving Spirits," and "The Coming Great Deception," it is no wonder that, when the host opened the floor for questions, there was no want of inquirers:

- What leads you to believe that the Antichrist is alive, and in what part of the world is he living?

- Does the Bible specify any area of the world that will not be completely destroyed in the battle of Armageddon?

- What are some specific signs that believers can look for to distinguish Christ from the false prophets?

- What are your thoughts concerning crop circles and UFOs?

- Do you think the Antichrist will be completely human?

As planet Earth is poised on the threshold of a new millennium, and as global systems coalesce, there is rising speculation, and angst, among Christians as to what these changes might mean eschatologically.

Some of the beginning-of-the-end events Lindsey and others point to are difficult to ignore—no matter what end-times convictions you hold. For example, the proliferation of chemical and nuclear weapons sophistication on the part of terrorist groups (the "secret power of lawlessness" unleashed, 2 Thess. 2) really has transpired, as the subway sabotage in Japan has painfully revealed. The European Community really has become unified, to a degree, by means of the European Common Market and the Maastricht Treaty (the "revival" of the Roman Empire, the "ten toes/nations" in Daniel 7). At the same time, the economies of other nations have become inextricably linked through the recent ascendance of the World Trade Organization. ...