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Forcing God's Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture--And Destruction of Planet Earth

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Let me start off by saying that I spent many hours researching the information in this book before I wrote this review. The material was so disturbing, that I wanted to be absolutely sure the author was leading me down a sincere path before I make an informed critique.

I had not read any of Grace Halsell's prior 14 books such as "Soul Sister", "In Their Shoes", or "Prophecy and Politics". Nor did I know she served in the White House for 3 years under President Johnson as speechwriter, as well as journalist in the U.S., South America, Europe, Middle East and more and is listed in Who's Who in America.

"Forcing God's Hand" focuses on the fastest growing segment of 'alternate' Christianity occurring in the USA today... fundamental Dispensationalist Christianity, whose numbers now stand near 50 million.

Believing in the relatively new 'Rapture' theory born in the 1800's, and perpetuated by the teachings of Cyrus Scofield throughout the United States, the followers of this doctrine look forward to, but most importantly, are trying to hasten the coming of the 'end times' so that they will be spared the age of Tribulation and ascend to Heaven.

I should point out that the author clearly states that not all fundamentalists or dispensationalists subscribe to this theological ideology, but being raised a fundamentalist herself, and, after travelling on two Jerry Falwell sponsored tours to Israel, along with countless conversations with various pastors, she became aware of the distinct chasm between her churches theological teachings and that of today's 'mega' churches led by evangelical preachers such as the former leader of the Christian Coalition Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, as well as Hal Lindsay who broadcasts daily on TBN to million of listeners and who openly demonizes Islam.

"Forcing God's Hand" is not an impartial critique. Ms Halsell definitely had an agenda in mind here. To reveal to you how these evangelist leaders have severely 'politicized' their churches, turning their faithful worshipers into a sort of mobilized 'army' who are ready to confront domestic issues and most importantly, foreign policy concerning Israel, to insure that their version of the biblical prophecy of 'Armageddon' is fulfilled.

There are also thousands of smaller independent Dispensationalist churches, some with even more extreme views such as Concerned Christians who in 1999 were arrested in Israel for conspiring to commit violent acts in Jerusalem in order to hasten the return of Jesus Christ. This is just a small example of the many churches who have made a cult out of Christianity and Israel.

Despite the non-violent teachings of Jesus, and the promise of salvation for all, in this form of hijacked Christianity, there is no room in God's Kingdom for followers of Lutheran, Jewish, Islam, and Buddhist faiths, nor for any other 'non-believers' unless they convert to Christianity.

Also disturbing is that there are people in our government right now, that subscribe to this doctrine and actively praise the efforts of large lobbying groups such as the Christian Coalition and ZOA who strongly voice their opposition to a peaceful two state solution in the Middle East, and urge the moving the US Embassy to a united Jerusalem, an act which would most likely outrage about a billion Muslims worldwide.

The author's writing style is neither scholarly nor academic, but has a simplistic quality to it that even beginners will be able to understand. Considering that Grace Halsell died shortly after this publication, one has to wonder if she really had time to fully critique or opted to just cut to the chase. She however drops lots of names, and countless quotes that are easily verified. I myself found many audio clips and articles supporting her writing.

In today's circle of discussions regarding the rise of fundamentalism in other religions, one can see that Christianity is not immune. If you are concerned about a racist type of Christianity that's on the rise today, one that does not believe in separation of church and state and is actively trying to convert this nation from a Democracy to a 'Theocracy' then you should read this book.

This is a book that confronts Christian extremism head-on. You will be amazed by what Ms. Grace Halsell has been able to uncover. She talks candidly about what may probably be called The New Cult in America which is gaining momentum so fast, i.e., the cult headed by Evangelists like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Hal Lindsay who would stop at nothing to fulfil their un-Christ like agendas. The cult has been able to penetrate even the most powerful office in the world (The White House), and its current occupant, George W. Bush. They have literally hijacked Christianity, and turned it into the most intolerant, conniving, and violent faith. They are prepared to expedite the second coming of Jesus Christ by forcing the preceding events by any means necessary, even if it means destroying the planet Earth. They have changed, manipulated, and misinterpreted verses in the Bible to suite their evil goals. Another issue that Ms. Halsell talks frankly about is the "13th Tribe" in which she quotes Arthur Koestler, the author of the book, "The Thirteenth Tribe" in which he gives historical facts on how the current Jews in Israel are really non-Semitic because they are in reality originally East Europeans/Russians who CONVERTED to Judaism. "Forcing God's Hand" is really a must read for anybody who is concerned with the integrity of Christianity, the preservation of the true teachings of Jesus, and the deadly alliance being forged between the American Christian Right and the Zionists. A truly fascinating book that you would not want to put down, and will give you a wide scope of what really goes behind the scenes. It's a book that will surely make you stop and think, and start asking tough questions.

What an amazing book! It opens a whole new look at why the country is in such a turmoil. Grace Halsell, who used to work at the White House during Johnson's years as president has presented us with a horrifying and believable theory that certain evangelical Zionist Christians and certain Israel citizens have been conspiring to hurry up the approaching Armegeddon so that they can receive what they call Rapture without going through the tribulations. She says this is why we have given Israel so much money and support over the years. In order for this to happen, they have to destroy Islams Holy shrines and build a third temple on the mount and use animals as sacrificialments like they did in early bible times. Millions and billions will die. Of course, since they are disobeying Gods Ten Commandments, they will not receive this rapture they are looking forward to, because God will choose when and how Armegeddon will happen. Will there be misery and death and loss if they continue on this course? Yes, many will suffer including them.

Much of where the evangelists place their belief is from the Scofield Bible, written by a man of dubious character. He fled from Kansas (abandoning his wife and children) amid accusations of embezzling political contributions made to Senator John Ingalls, a former partner. When he was in jail for forgery he had a religious conversion and was under the influence of James Brookes, the Darbyite Dispensationalist. He ended up writing a Bible that went along with the regular Bible using his own interpretations of what he thought the bible meant and this is what many of our evangelists use now.

Some of the people she lists that believe in this theory is Jerry Falwell (big time), Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsay, Tim Lehay, Ronald Reagan, Bush, Dan Quayle and wife, Tom Delay, TRent Lott, and many more. Read the book to understand what is at stake-our world as we know it.

Forcing God's Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture and the Destruction of the Planet Earth throws considerable light on apocalyptic motifs in culture, psychology, and politics. It forces the question, What kind of species are we that we can lock ourselves into a gospel of violence such as found in the Schofield Reference Bible? Halsell has perhaps opened a door for better understanding why the horror fiction of Hal Lindsay and Stephen King excite so many of our friends. What is really scary, however, is the number of people who want to insert the premillennial script into real national and international politics. One other point: Halsell makes it clear that when it comes to the will-to-power-and-to-dominate, the apocalyptic preachers' "Christ" makes Stalin look like a puff of wind. Joe Barnhart, Professor of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas

This timely manual should be required reading for those who are concerned about the rapidly exploding Christian fundamentalism movement and its growing political power. Interviews and accounts by followers of Jerry Falwell and other fundamentalist leaders, are illuminating and frightening, as the reader comes to understand that Christian fundamentalists, like Islamic fundamentalists, are praying for the immediate destruction of the earth in order to gain eternal life for themselves and damnation for the unsaved. Even more frightening is most of the fundamentalists are educated, middle or upper middle class Americans, who earnestly pray for the Rapture to come in their lifetime because of their perceived belief of the immorality in the modern world. Currently, several of the "Left Behind" books, written by Tim LeHaye, an icon in the Christian fundamentalist movement are on bestsellers' lists. In order to gain insight into what is being promoted by this cult, read this book.

_Forcing God's Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture-And Destruction of Planet Earth_ by Grace Halsell is a very interesting book giving some surprising information about popular theological trends in American Protestantism and how they relate to the US-Israel relationship and possibly the peace and stability of the Middle East. The book is not very academic in structure and like another reviewer notes, it "smacks of propaganda." Not only is this book propagandistic but it has a very left-wing slant to it as well (Halsell worked for President Johnson's administration back in the 1960s). However, what the book does cover is substantial and reveals certain problematic issues within American Christianity and how this carries over into foreign politics. Halsell's focus is on "dispensationalist" theology centered in "Bible churches" that began to develop during the mid 19th century by a British preacher John Darby, and popularized en masse by an American minister of questionable background, C. I. Scofield, around the turn of the century. Scofield published the _Scofield Reference Bible_ in 1908 and since then dispensationalism has proven extremely influential amongst evangelical and fundamentalist Protestants opposed to "higher criticism" in Biblical studies and theological liberalism that developed during the latter 19th century. Halsell notes well how dispensationalism deviates significantly from traditional Biblical interpretation agreed upon by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and mainstream Protestant churches. Until the advent of dispensational theology, most churches held more or less to the view of St. Augustine: God's "chosen people" consisted of believers in Christ, and the Old Testament references to a literal race of people as God's chosen were superceded by the universal message of the Gospel. Dispensationalism, on the other hand, adheres to a belief that God's covenants with Old Testament Israel (and therefore modern Jewry) are still in force. Non-Jews are rescued from God's wrath by faith in Christ, and Christ is the Jewish messiah who will come at the end of the tribulation to establish a literal 1000 year reign on earth before the final battle between good and evil. A main issue of contention between dispensationalists and orthodox interpretations is the issue of whether or not God's covenants with Israel were conditional or not. Dispensationalists hold that God's covenant with Israel is unconditional while traditional interpreters maintain God's covenants effectual with the participation of the human party involved, whether with a specific individual or group of people. God (in Genesis) promised Abraham that his descendants (the Jews) would inhabit a kingdom encompassing not only all of present-day Palestine, but Lebanon, parts of Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as well. Not only this, but dispensationalists believe the foundation of Israel in 1948 as an officially Jewish state was a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy which is a sign of the end of time. Jesus will return to save the Jews from coming destruction at the hands of the Antichrist after they suffered three and a half years of persecution and warfare. Another curiosity of dispensationalist theology says that Christians will be "raptured" before the tribulation under the Antichrist begins. Other signs of the end times include a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem complete with the Levitical animal sacrifices-where the Muslim shine Aqsa Mosque stands today, Islam's third holiest site after the Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. Although Jews in general have proven themselves time and time again hostile to Christian activity of any sort, Israeli politicians and military officers have developed a close relationship with American Christian fundamentalists to promote dispensational theology in return for political support for Israel. Many prominent members of the US Republican Party are adherents of dispensational theology and attend "Bible" Churches such as Jesse Helms, Trent Lott, Ronald Regan, Tom DeLay and Oliver North. Halsell, a left winger, is especially disturbed by some Jews in the US supporting right-wing Christians because of the security it entails for Israeli interests. The whole fundamentalist Christian/Israeli relationship is entirely hypocritical in the first place because not all Palestinians are Muslims. A sizable Arab Christian community has found a home in Palestine since the time of Christ alongside Jews and later Muslims for well over a thousand years. Christians in the US are supporting a state that persecutes Christians and drives them out of their ancestral homes--at the expense of billions of dollars of US taxpayers' money of course. Something desperately needs to be done to break this awful and inherently heretical alliance if the US wants to regain some prestige in the international community because of the widespread animosity it brings because of its unilateral support of Israel. This book is not perfect (for example it compares supporters of Israel like Jerry Falwell to much more radical right wingers like neo-Nazis, the KKK and Christian Identity sects) but it does offer an important perspective into this critical but ignored political/religious issue.

This book changed my world view. I had grown up on the evangical end times philosophy never questioning what was going on in the Middle East. After reading this I have seriously studied current Middle Eastern politics and end times philosophy's from a more enlightened perspective. Thank you for this wonderful book!

The further one gets from orthodox Christianity (i.e., Christianity as practiced by the very earliest Christians, who knew the Apostles), the crazier things get.

While Protestant Dispensationalists like to pull a verse from here or there in Sacred Scripture to "prove" that we must "bless the Jews" (to the tune of how many BILLIONS a year -- and for HOW MANY Israeli citizens? Do the math!), they forget verses like the following:

Joshua 21:43-45 "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."

1 Kings 8:56 "Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant."

He kept His word. His promises were fulfilled -- most especially when the Second Person of the Trinity became man by the Holy Ghost and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

God's land promises to Old Testament Israel were conditional:

Deuteronomy 28:58...64 "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book... the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone." --

-- and "the Jews" blew it. Christ came, and post-Temple Judaism devolved into Pharisaic Rabbinism -- which consists of Talmudism and Kabbalism, a religion filled with racist, blasphemous, anti-Christ doctrine. But the modern followers of this Pharisaic Rabbinism are, according to the Protestant Dispensationalists, those whom we are "to bless" in order that God may bless us. Puh-lease. Diabolical!

Get Halsell's book -- and do a web search for a webpage with this title: "Dispensationalism, Israel, the Church, and the Jews."

To any non-Christians out there: please don't mistake this mad political thinking for "Christianity"; if you want to understand real Christianity, look at what the earliest Christians wrote; look for the writings of the Church Fathers.

I really enjoy reading this book; it is short but very informative. Reveals the real believes of the extreme right of protestant Christians in the United States. It shows how those believers interpret different verses that are mentioned in the Old Testament in a way that it will make the current events a part of it, and they build on that conclusion on how the near future will be. In other words, they are pushing towards the big battle between the good and the bad (Armageddon) and the end of the world. I recommend it!

I read this book last night and the pieces began to fall together. Previous to reading this book I just could not understand the Bush administration's war madness...why is it so important to fight this war now with a nation that is no immediate threat to us? Now I understand...at least as much as one can understand the insanity of fundamental religion. Every person who wants to look behind the media headlines, behind the administration's cowboy rhetoric MUST read this book.