This was an extreme minority viewpoint among Christians until the mid-twentieth century, when the Allied forces' founding of the modern nation of Israel gave fuel to this interpretation. It doesn't seem crazy to me, though it would to someone with no faith. This is precisely why I use reason to come to a knowledge of truth, and why I distrust faith as a method for determining truth. Well over one billion now living either think there is no god or are otherwise not religious. If the Gospel message was true, if the Gospel message was self-evident, then you'd think more of us would have caught on by now.
Most humans accept the sphericity of the earth and the existence of the sun.
Most humans accept the laws of arithmetic and can work calculations. These things are self-evident and nobody disputes them. I'd say that that, at minimum, is the case. I can't make you believe this now. According to the Gospel message, we will only be shown after it is too late.