MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
For some evangelicals, Mideast war stirs hope
Believing the Mideast conflict is a sign that Christ will return soon, some evangelical groups have cheered Israel's military actions.
BY ALEXANDRA ALTER
aalter@MiamiHerald.com
The Rapture Index -- a popular evangelical Christian Web posting that calculates a global rise in natural disasters, war and inflation -- bills itself as ``a Dow Jones industrial average of end-time activity.''
An index below 85 signifies a week of ''slow prophetic activity.'' Anything above 145 signals the apocalypse is near.
The Rapture Index this week: 158. The spike reflects many U.S. evangelicals' view that growing conflict in the Middle East signals the start of a global struggle leading to Christ's return.
The rest of the article here:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...g/15221578.htm