tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21812013.post-39351906607750656632007-12-02T12:48:00.000-05:002008-01-01T23:29:01.194-05:002008-01-01T23:29:01.194-05:00War of Gog and Magog - Book ReviewI just finished reading a book that was recommended by my friend <a href="http://derekleman.com/Home.html" id="nyul" target="_blank" title="Derek Leman">Derek Leman</a>. Derek is a leader of a Messianic Jewish congregation in northern metro Atlanta. I first met him at a minister's meeting in our association, and couldn't wait to book him in our church. We've had him here twice. Our people love to hear him teach, and I'm quite impressed with him myself. I'm also in the middle of reading one of the books Derek has written, <i><a href="http://mtolivepress.com/Our%20Books%20and%20Links/09B64E59-D3EB-4FC4-90F7-D7B10CB9748B.html" id="gly2" target="_blank" title="mtolivepress.com">A New Look at the Old Testament</a>.<br /><br /></i><div> <table class="zeroBorder" classname="zeroBorder" id="j95m" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="100%"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=311354&netp_id=446764&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details#curr" id="gylu" target="_blank" title="ChristianBook.com">EPICENTER</a> </span> by Joel C. Rosenberg<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.booksamillion.com/bam/covers/1/41/431/135/1414311354.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.booksamillion.com/bam/covers/1/41/431/135/1414311354.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Rosenberg is the grandson of Jewish Russian Immigrants. His grandparents were orthodox, but his father rejected his faith when he left home. His mother grew up Methodist, but neither parent really knew the Lord when Joel was born in 1967. His background has given him a keen interest in the history of the Jewish and Russian people. He has written a series of fiction works about terrorism that have had an eerie way of coming true, sometimes before he's even finished them, or between sending them to the publisher and having them released. Much of his accuracy comes from his willingness to simply believe what the scripture has to say about the last days. But much more I believe is simply divine revelation. For example, in <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=312725&netp_id=446785&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details" target="_blank"><i>The Last Jihad</i></a> he writes about terrorists who use hijacked planes to launch an attack in the United States. There are some differences in his novel and reality. The planes were private, not commercial. The target was Denver, not New York and Washington. But considering he had already written all but the last two chapters when 9/11 actually happened, it's hard not to see divine revelation playing a part. This is just the first of several instances he chronicles where he wrote a fictional account, and reality soon imitated art. I believe God is revealing this to him to let Christians know that we need to listen to him.<br /><br />Rosenberg does an excellent Job of walking the reader through Ezekiel 38-39 and explaining the coming events of the war of Gog and Magog. He provides a convincing argument that Magog is modern Russia, and that Russia's current alliance with Persia (modern Iran) is foretold in Ezekiel. Rosenberg explains why we need to see a nuclear showdown with Iran as a real possibility, and why it is important we act before it is too late. He challenges his readers to have an exit strategy for this coming nuclear holocaust, and tells them just how to do it.</td></tr><tr><td width="100%"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Mike Hardinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01671989505311713274noreply@blogger.com2