> evangelicals have been pushing this interpretation since the 1980s, at least
Source? I would have thought it was way older. (Counterargument: high-octane crazy tends to mellow with time.)
Source? I would have thought it was way older. (Counterargument: high-octane crazy tends to mellow with time.)
Yes, I'm aware that the theology goes back to the 1890s. I don't know the details. Those details are jammed further down than the story of Americans forgetting that their stone monuments to the 10 Commandments were put up in public spaces as a tie-in with Cecil B. DeMille's movie.
Brief Reagan-era End Times Bibliography
Hal Lindsay: The Late Great Planet Earth. 1970.
Henry Morris: The Revelation Record. 1983.
Salem Kirban: 666 & 1000.
Tim LaHaye: dozens of books, and Left Behind novels. Political actor.
"The US is uniquely responsible for bringing about the end times through violence in the middle east" has been a belief system amongst a subset of american evangelicals, many of whom hold significant power, for a while. But it hasn't been around forever. It really is an idea that grew out of the late 20th century.