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RosEpic 07-07-79 Epicenter:
Joel C. Rosenberg Tyndale
House, 2006, 311 pp., ISBN 1-4143-1135-4 |
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Epicenter gives you the headlines before they happen, regarding the coming buildup for war in the Middle East. Rosenberg, an evangelical Christian from a Jewish background, has written four extremely popular books of fiction, The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, and The Copper Scroll. He was just finishing The Last Jihad -- which begins with an Islamic fundamentalist stealing a plane and crashing it into Denver -- when the 9/11 attacks occurred. His books have an uncanny way of coinciding with current healines. His writing is based on taking seriously both biblical prophecy and what tyrannical leaders say they plan to do. He also has access to many influential and provocative national leaders and he learns from them a great deal of current information that we don't see in the press. Epicenter tells how he learns what he knows and describes what we might expect regarding a military alliance between Russia and Iran gathering a coalition to attack Israel in the Battle of Armageddon. "Neganyahu was no prophet. Rather, he was a man who understood the nature of evil." (34) "When I first moved to Washington in January 1990 to work for the Heritage Foundation, it seemed increasingly clear to me that Saddam Hussein was going to invade Kuwait, attack Israel, and draw the world into a bloody new Middle East war. I had no access to classified intelligence and knew no one in the CIA or Mossad at the time. I simply listened to Saddam Hussein's threats and took him at his word." (44) "When a cat is chasing a mouse, there's no sense for the mouse to ask for a cease-fire. He must deal with the cat and insure his own safety." (Shimon Peres) (74) "A careful study of Ezekiel 38 makes it clear that a Russian leader will one day mount an attack against Israel." He will build a military coalition. The first specific country named as part of the alliance is Persia (Ezekiel 38:5) (now Iran). "Today, even the biggest skeptic of Ezekiel's intelligence would have to admit that a military alliance between Russia and Iran is emerging for the first time in history." (105) "Ahmadinejad's incendiary rhetoric against Israel and the U.S. should not be mistaken for empty threats, any more than Saddam Hussein's threats to invade Kuwait were empty in the years leading up to August 2, 1990. Rather, Ahmadinejad's words suggest a countdown to a new and terrible war in the Middle East." (110) Why is the war coming? "The simplest answer can be found in Genesis 12:1-3…. One cannot read the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament without realizing how much God loves the Jewish people and the nation of Israel and that he has a plan and purpose for them both. Yet throughout the ages, many world leaders have refused to humble themselves before the living God. They have also refused to view Israel through the third lens of Scripture. In truth, they have not only set their hearts against God, they have also set their hearts against his chosen people and the land he promised to them…." (160) "Today the murderous anti-Semitic and anti-Christian spirit of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin is being carried on by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." (161) A period of peace and prosperity is in Iraq's future according to prophecies about Babylon by Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel as well as Revelation. Therefore, regardless of what the American people think, we might expect the current democratization process to succeed. (174) "Security experts now believe that the Temple Mount is the most dangerous square mile on the planet." (191) Salomon believes that Israel is the epicenter of the world, Jerusalem is the epicenter of Israel, and the Temple is the epicenter of Jerusalem and that's where the Messiah will reign." (192) 6 million Muslims a year convert to Christianity in Africa. According to a leading Saudi cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani interviewed on Aljazeera satellite television in December 2001. (p. 211) per www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm (accessed February 3, 2006) [I checked it July 29, 2007 and it is still there.] |
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