Posted in Bookshelf

Series by Joel Rosenberg:

The Last Jihad

The Last Days

The Ezekiel Option

The Copper Scroll

Dead Heat

Joel Rosenberg has often come to our church to teach and preach.  I have long known about his books, both fiction and non-fiction but I guess I felt that I had no time or interest in reading about the terrible times that lie ahead of us in our prophetic future, real or fictional.  That is not to say that I don’t care about these events just that getting dinner on the table - on-time - took more precedence over when nuclear war would strike.  I too, have a very vivid imagination and these sorts of things often leave me worrying without cause so I tend to avoid these sorts of real time possibilities.  It wasn’t until my oldest son’s youth group started studying the book of Revelation, in depth, that I needed to take a more serious look at these events, to be able to discuss them with my extremely precocious son.

I’m not sure why my son wanted to read this series by Joel Rosenberg.  Maybe it was his church study.  Maybe it was because he was old enough to remember the horrific scenes of 9-11 and now he is old enough to want to understand them.  Maybe it is just the fascination that one could be so completely turned around in ones faith that they are willing to force the hand of G-d on the world.  Maybe it is just a young boy’s natural desire to fight and blow things up (not that my son is violent or even likes violence but he is a boy and G-d seems to make boys have a fascination with these sorts of things).  Whatever the case, he asked if he could start reading the series.  I said I would have to preview them first and with my computer on a sabbatical this gave me time to read for pleasure.  I am not an over protective, anti-violence mama who doesn’t allow my son to choose things for himself but I do believe that children are forced to grow up way too fast in our society and exposing them to fictitious events that seem to be so real may distort the actual truth.  In reality, there are only a few places in these books where I would object to my almost 12 year old reading this series (no sex, no language but a couple of vivid scenes of death and killing).  In the end, I have told him that he is to wait before he can read these books mostly because he will confuse the actually facts with the fictitious story that seems too close to what actually happened (Joel has been labeled as a modern day Nostradamus which he himself will say “… I’m not a psychic. I’m not a clairvoyant. I don’t call Miss Cleo in the middle of the night to get my plot ideas. I’m an evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish heritage and I’m basing my novels on Biblical prophecy.”)

Now that is not to say that I personally waited to read them.  Truth be told, I am hooked and currently reading the third book The Ezekiel Option.  I am fascinated but not with the sad events that take place but I am fascinated with the facts.  I find myself thinking that I need to go back and check the facts both prophetic and historical to compare with the book.  I find myself wanting to learn more about the history of the Middle East and how it ties with the Biblical account more closely.  I find myself wanting to understand how two religions - Christianity and Islam - could start from the same place and arrive at two opposites.  I find myself wanting to understand end time events and the book of Revelation.  I find myself asking, “Are we in the last days?”  I think so. 

 These books are riveting and exciting; but like a “chick-flick” is more for a girl, these books would probably appeal more to a guy however, they are “can’t put the book down” action-packed thrillers that leave your mind thinking “what if?”  And if “IF” happens, “what am I going to do about it? -- how would this change my life, my family, the church, my relationship with G-d and most importantly what does G-d want me to do now that I’ve thought about the “IFS”? 

My Review:  Action packed, "can't put it down" thrillers that leave you wanting to know more of... the truth.