Prophecy The Books

I enjoyed entertaining the hypothesis proposed in this book. The author does a very good job reporting research done by others that helps support his hypothesis, although the author tends to provide more "case examples" than is necessary in each sub-argument, making the book longer than necessary. However, the authors of the other work he quotes admit more testing/research is needed to help prove the "realness" of what is seen in their own and research subjects' ethnogenic experiences, and the author's own experiments with ethnogenic substances as reported in the book contain only some similarities to what he is arguing should be dominant staples in everyone's experiences with these substances, as his theory goes. Relatedly, I felt he did not perform enough attempts with each substance, or at least didn't report enough of them, for me to see that the few flashes of similarity he did experience support his main hypothesis. Similarly, I disliked how the book ended on an open-ended note where he had just consumed more substances as another "test," but that's it - book ends - no information about how that experience went.

Ultimately, more testing/research is needed; I hope there is, as there seems to be a strong case for this hypothesis...

A wonderful read. Extremely interesting and I would certainly recommend it. I only gave it four stars because Graham Hancock is afraid to reach any conclusions. He draws the picture in great detail, but fails to hang it on any perceptible frame. Although the information about spirits, aliens, goblins and angels is enthralling, the reader doesn't know where to go with it. So we are no wiser as to what is going on.

I really enjoyed this book (and am still reading parts of it). This book is, I think, one of the most important books one can read. It is very eye-opening and illuminating, to anyone interested in the basis of religion. It presents almost a scientific explanation to religion, without trying to "debunk" religion, which is an extremely novel approach.

One criticism I have with this book, is that the author seems to doubt too much in humanity, and put too much faith in the "spiritual beings" from "other realms". It seems he thinks nearly everything we have achieved is because of these entities, and not because of our own prowess and imagination. One particular example is with DNA, and that "aliens" might have encoded all knowledge inside "junk DNA", and that only 1% of our DNA is actually useful. I think this may be more akin to the myth that we only use 10% of our brain (we use all of our brain, but it may be said we usually are only using 10% of it at a given time).

So it's more likely we just don't understand the entire DNA code, and that there isn't any "junk DNA", it all plays a role, even if minor. We should give ourselves more credit here, and not try to write off all of our accomplishments to "aliens". Just to make things clear, I think psychedelics have played a vital role in our evolution. It's just a little offputting to write off our progress to other sentient beings.

Furthermore, it seems contradictory to propose that:
A) Hallucinogenic experiences are encounters with real entities.
and
B) Hallucinogenic experiences are recordings from our DNA.

You can't have it both ways. Either its A or its B, but not both. Talking to a recording, is not talking to a being, no matter how you slice it. Finally, to think that beings genetically engineered our DNA, then let it loose over a billion years, only to culminate in sentient beings who would then use DMT to read the message in the DNA... do you see how absurd this is? It's like the ULTIMATE GOTCHA CONSPIRACY, one so ludicrously complex, like an impossible plot from a bad movie. If, by some fluke, researchers prove me wrong, and find a secret movie code in our DNA, then I'll stand corrected. It justs seems beyond the realms of even believable fiction.

In spite of this, I highly, highly recommend this book.

Supernatural takes you on a classical Graham Hancock journey this time through the jungles and into the culture of the shamans. Hancock in this book combines historical research with experimentation of psychotropic hallucinogens such as ayawasca and DMT. The book focuses on phenomenological issues of consciousness and the evolution of constructive thought. The thesis of this book is essentially that the evolution of the human mind and thought from the ancient non-sophisticated cultures to our current super technologically advanced societies today, was facilitated by the virtue of conscious experimentation and experience with psychoactive plants which unlocked the secret wave lengths or channels of useful knowledge which exists in different wave lengths than the one`s we are commonly use to.

One of the issues Hancock focuses on is the historically accurate account given by Francis Crick that it was under the influence of LSD that he "saw" the double helix structure of DNA. Crick of course with Watson are the ones credited with elucidating the structure of DNA. Hancock also goes on to talk about his discovery that many cultures which use psychotropic plants prepared by shamans have a history of discovering very improbable and greatly hidden secrets. How he supports this assertion I do not know considering that the cultures today that continue to promote shamanic rituals are usually the most technologically backwards. Nonetheless, aside from simply the technological benefits that Hancock attributes to DMT and the like there are, he maintains spiritual benefits. He talks about how all of his life he suffered from migraines but after taking ayawasca several times his migraines are now gone. Here he seems to be crafting an interesting parallel to the hallucinogenic plants with modern interests in homeopathy and the like. Certainly the concept of nature plays a huge role in this book and it's message. One of the messages of the book is that human nature has become corrupted by the modern vices and pressures of a materialistically obsessed society and because of this corruption society has become ill. Hancock sees the shamanic culture and its rituals as part of the remedy for this ailment.

Hancock presents two theories for how shamanic rituals work on the conciseness. One is that when in "altered states of consciousness" one is actually connecting with another dimension of the universe or of being. In this dimension you can access secrets and valuable insights from actual living entitles on the other side. While a bit creepy and yet fascinating, I find this explanation hardly plausible. I know a few junkies (LSD users and such) and none claim to have "encounters with the ancient teacher of man kind," hence the subtitle of the book. The other theory however which I do find plausible, is that within our DNA, if say we were created by space aliens, as Crick supposed, or by God or an intelligent designer, as some suppose, then there could be already within our hardware, our DNA perhaps, messages and knowledge somehow imprinted into it waiting to be unlocked. This he speculates, within altered states of consciousness we can at times, "tap into" that valuable information source and reach different points of enlightenment. I cant say that this is actually the case or even a real possibility but I do find the idea worthy of being called "a theory" to some extent and it is to me very interesting. I would like to point out that when reading these kinds of books I take them as partially fictional and partially non-fiction. I don't consider this a scientific book of any merit but an exposé of a theory in the works. A little bit of paranormal pseudo-science mixed in with some real science and also a little novel like fictional account as well.

Throughout the book Hancock gives is interpretations of various ancient artwork and the like tying it all in with shamanic rituals. All in all the book was very entertaining but I wouldn't bother going out and experimenting with drugs. Just because one mad scientist claims that one LSD trip helped him to visualize the structure of DNA, it is not a worthy inference in my opinion to go out and use such drugs in hopes of a similar experience especially considering their dangerous track records.


Also one of the interesting facts and perhaps real original researched facts that was brought up in the book was the discovery of a particular plant that the ancient Egyptians used that had psychoactive properties. I find this of worthy note and very interesting in how it may have played a roll in their cultural manifestations, especially in the artwork that we see though out their great structures as in Abydos.

My greatest problem with the book was not its extreme theories about human development and the evolution of consciousness but the fact that the book drags on. Hancock just keeps traveling and looking at more and more ancient cave art and some of the examples are boring at best. He continues to use more and more DMT and extrapolate more and more possible insights about mans experiences with the ancient teachers of mankind which he affirms exist in other dimensions. The focus towards the end of the book was too much on the drugs and the ancient art work and not enough on the meaning and possible science of the experiences he is dealing with.

I say 4 stars because its far better than the usually drivel. I am a pretty liberal grader so it could have earned 5 but it needed to be more scientific for me to give it a full score.

With this book, I have read most of Hancock's works, from Message of the Sphinx, Talisman, Fingertips of the Gods, among others. While this particular book strays from the so-called "real world" (as in very few actual sites are mentioned throughout the book) it still focuses on the themes Hancock started to write about years ago.

To those unfamiliar, his work - and this book is no exception - is not about giving final answers to readers. Rather, Hancock poses one of the most interesting questions you can find out there, challenging your perception of, well, reality as you know it.

The reader will initially find the assumptions here really far-fetched, but as the book progresses, it is hard to toss these assumptions out. They will stick to your brain after you've read them. I keep looking at fairies (yes, really) in a much different light.

Highly recommended for those interested on ancient cultures, the birth of life and how our civilization and phenomenos happen. I wouldn't suggest it for those firmly set on the status-quo: the idea here is to break it apart and see if the rebuilt scenario works better than the previous one.

Canyon Adams attempts to write a book which has the bible as the only authority on prophecy and end time events. I think he succeeds. Certainly one cannot argue that he doesn't motivate the reader to search the scriptures.
I am sure he has so much more to say - I hope he writes more because the book raises a lot of questions which he doesn't have time to deal with.
This was the most amazing book I have ever read. Why? Because it opens up one's understanding of the bible which is the most amazing book ever written.

I found The Signs in a used book store and bought it based on the cover info. Bad decision. I should have opened it up and read just a paragraph--that's all it would have taken to deter me from wasting my money.

To say this book sucks is a major understatement. It's proof that retarded people can write books too. Sorry, Canyon. But what were you thinking? I don't think you were.

I guess the fact that this book is out of print says it all. If even half of these reviews were accurate, it would still be selling well today. Canyon who?

I read this book--along with his only other book on prophecy--several years ago. At that time, I was like many, searching for some esoteric truth so that I could be enlightened, and inwardly scoff at the ignorance of the hypnotized masses. Since then, I have seen that this is not the way.

This book is not full of general moral principles, but rather very specific historical and cultural information that the author claims as a culmination of the truth of what the beast is, what the mark of the beast is, and how that mark is being worn by almost everyone.

As said above, at the time of my reading of this book, I was gullible, so that if I was not totally convinced by this book, then I was at least worried that the man might be correct, and that the mark of the beast might be a very confusing concept--that consists primarily of not following certain Jewish customs, such as the Sabbath, and various holidays that Christ himself followed, but that Christianity subsequently deemed unnecessary (keep in mind, of course, that Christ was Jewish, and he had to follow Judaism even to the most minute details, so as to fulfill the Jewish religion and the prophets). I think, however, his criticism of Christmas and other mainstream holidays is legitimate, though not necessarily for the reasons he sets forth. In my frantic search for the truth, and confusion, I managed to come into email correspondence with the author. He comforted me to a degree by saying that maybe man can even be saved while having the mark of the beast (that, of course, is very controversial). On this thought, I am personally curious how (if) the author himself has achieved a state without the mark, on account of the fact that he is not Jewish (or a Seventh-Day Adventist, as in his other prophecy book, he claims to not attend any church).

I would like to end in saying that not only do I empathize--but do not look brightly upon--with man's fallen desire to find some esoteric truth, that even decent conservative Christians would find radical and slightly ridiculous, but I also understand the author's disdain of Roman Catholicism, not only theologically, but also psychologically. That religion is an old and established religion, and because it was once so incredibly powerful, many hypocrites and falsely spiritual people have lived and died in that "Catholic" denomination. I'm happy to say, however, that Canyon Adams' interpretation of Augustine in his book(s) is only one, and a narrow one at that. So although Canyon Adams is almost justified in harshly rebuking the Catholic Church, that Church was not the only one to inherit the glory of the Holy Church Fathers (including Augustine, but indeed not limited to him, and Augustine himself made several doctrinal errors; the Church Fathers were the holy men who defended and established Christianity, without whom the trinity, and the deity of Christ, etc., would not exist in any substantial form. They are truly the foundation of any true Christianity). In fact, it could be argued that the Roman Catholic Church has practically (or perhaps literally) abnegated their rights to the inheritance of the Holy Church Fathers. The only other Church that is in their lineage, of course, is the Eastern Orthodox Church, which lacks all of the pitiful errors that have entered into the Catholic Church, and through it the Protestant Churches (after all, even Canyon Adams claimed that the Protestant Churches were the little "harlots" coming from the Great Whore, Roman Catholicism)

Just the fact that many who gave this and Mr. Adams' other prophecy book five stars were extremely uncharitable to those who did not share their opinion (for instance, one man said I sounded like a "schizo," and Android "Tweetie and Sweeny" called someone a "stupid fool.") ought to send up a red flag. This is not to accuse Mr. Adams of anything wrong, but to rather give a needed sober perspective on reading these many reviews on Mr. Adams' books. A good man is not only an expositor of some esoteric or common thing, but also a silent example of charity and true love through Jesus Christ. These people are not legitimate in their reviews of Mr. Adams' book, because they are high on their emotions. Only when they come back down to earth to the level of us "stupid fools" will they be able to accurately evaluate, through patient eyes, whether they were right or wrong in praising Mr. Adams' book(s).

In place, or as a complement to this book, I would like to suggest: Christ the Eternal Tao by Hieromonk Damascene. This book will amaze you, as it avoids being syncretic (mish-mashing religions such as Taoism/Buddhism and Christianity, while degrading the integrity and exclusivity of our Lord Jesus Christ), because the very nature of the book is very true to everything that Christ said and claimed about himself as the only Way to God. It is the perfect antidote to the paranoia of a man for whom I now feel sorry--Mr. Adams.

The Signs is the best book written on prophecy that I have ever read. Just like the comments from others, I believe every person on the face of the earth should read this book. My research and ensight on the future shows me serious neglect among many writers about the true developments and fortunes of Africa.

Sincerely,
Author of "Knowledge For Tomorrow" -- Quinton D. Crawford

The Signs is the best book written on prophecy in the last 200 years, maybe more. Every person on the face of the earth should read this book and discover their true identity and the upcoming fate of the US, the Middle East, and Europe. If anybody out there believes in "the rapture theory," read this book and find out the REAL truth about Jesus's Second Coming. My church ordered 4 cases of this book, it is that important.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was very interesting. I could not stop reading it. It was so good. So now I just can't wait to read the 3rd book.

This book is the 2nd in the Underland Chronicles. I read the first book to my kids and they couldn't wait for the second. I was a little apprehensive at first. I was afraid that this book would be a lot like the first. It wasn't! It held it's own. Gregor and his little sister "Boots" go back down to the Underworld (not by choice) and are taken into another adventure with the Prophecy of Bane. There they have to stop the rats again. They have a secret weapon that could destroy the Underworld. Gregor sets out with some new characters and some old ones and finds that the secret weapon isn't what they thought it would be. You'll need to read more to find out. Can't wait to read the third book!

"Will the warrior drain your light?"

--- The Prophecy of Bane


In "Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane," Gregor is surprised once again to find himself heading deep under New York, to the Underland. His little two-year-old sister, Margaret ("Boots"), has been spirited away and he learns that the Underlanders believe that rats wish to kill her --- hoping to cause Gregor's "most essential part" (his heart) to die before he can kill the Bane. The Bane is a vicious white rat, who Gregor is supposed to be prophesied to kill.


As Gregor undertakes a new journey, he learns many new and startling things about himself and faces great loss. But in a story where nothing is as it seems, Gregor finds that little can truly be known before the fact and hope can be found when one has reached the depths of despair. He also meets many new allies, such as Twitchtip and Howard and discovers things he never knew about old ones, such as Luxa and his bond, Aries.


I found this to be another moving edition in the series and I think it's a wonderful story for those who enjoy series such as "Harry Potter." I'm a fan of Suzanne Collins, having seen her television writing work for such programs as "Little Bear" and "JoJo's Circus." With this second edition in The Underland Chronicles, Collins proves herself once again of writing a top-notch novel for young adults, and readers of all ages (well, except maybe those who are very young --- this may be a bit too disturbing for them.)


Audiobook Review:

I have also listened to this book on six-disc audio CD set. Released by Listening Library (who also bring you Jim Dale's "Harry Potter" audiobooks), this edition of the story is a masterful telling by Paul Boehmer (of "Frasier" and "Judging Amy," among others.) Boehmer brings the story fully to life as he conveys the tides of emotion in Gregor, the cries and playing of his sister Boots, the regal tone of various Underlanders, the savage ferocity of Ripred (underlaid by intelligence and a surprising compassion) and much more.

I really loved the first book in this series, and I was excited to read the second one "prophecy of the bane" I have to admit that I didn't like this one as much.
In the first, Gregor returns after going on his quest to save the underlanders and their world. We met the Giant Bats, and Rats, and Roaches and are taken for an amazing journey under the streets of New York City. In this book Gregor is back home, where things are miserable, so he takes his toddler sister Boots to the park where she is kidnapped by the giant roaches. Of course Gregor follows her down and he finds out that the Underlanders took her to protect her from the Rats, and that lo and behold there is another prophecy concerning Gregor and he has to yet again save Regalia from the Rats, well a particular rat called the Bane. This mythical rat is supposedly all white and will lead the rats to destroy the underlanders unless Gregor kills it. Not once did Gregor say "hello underlanders you knew there were other prophecies the last time I was here why didn't you tell me!" No, the underlanders resort to kidnapping poor Boots to get Gregor back down!
So Gregor trains to fight, and realizes that he has superhuman reflexes, he is a "Rager" but no where in this book does this skill come into play, maybe the next? Gregor and his merry band of fireflies (to light the way), underlanders, roaches, Bats, and rats set out to kill the Bane in a boat. There is one new character, TwitchTip, who is a rat with a talent to smell things. She can smell what color shirt you are wearing miles away, which way to turn in a tunnel, what dangers are up ahead. I loved her; she was the best part of this book, wonderfully written. The best part to me is when she was stuffing cotton up her nose so she didn't have to smell the humans!
I wont give the ending away, but I will say that to me it never seemed to come to a climax, or satisfy the reader in me who wants some sort of closure. The action, the plot and the treatment of Gregor just managed to disappoint me. I have not however given up on the series; I will just treat this second book as a segue to the third book, since at the end of this one we know Gregor isn't finished with the Underland.

GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF THE BANE is on this year's Sequoyah list at school. I ready to my 9-year-old all the time, and I enjoy exploring kids' books. I'd seen these books before, but I hadn't really picked one up. Now my son and I find ourselves hooked on Suzanne Collins's marvelous tales.

Gregor lives a hard existence with his parents. It seems his dad was lost in the Underland for a long time before Gregor found a way to rescue him. That story is told in Book 1.

This book begins as Gregor is struggling trying to help the family make ends meet financially. Gregor's father hasn't been able to go back to work and they have difficulty even getting enough to eat. While he's sledding in the park with Boots, his little sister, Gregor finds that she's disappeared. When he realizes that Boots is missing, he goes after her and journeys back into the Underland.

The story is filled with dangerous escapes and evil villains. My son and I thrilled to the heroic twists and turns of the plots and the characters, as well as the rich humor laced through the tale. The pacing in the story is incredibly fast.

Gregor learns that a new prophecy is in effect, and he's the warrior that's referred to. He's supposed to kill the Bane, the evil ruler of the rats. Temp the cockroach and his friends captured Boots because they feared the rats were going to take her.

The misunderstanding between Gregor and his bond-mate bat, Ares, is well done. Their friendship deepens in this novel, and they're a great team to read about. Not all of the companions that go on the quest come back. Although death is presented in the pages, it's not too gruesome or gory. But there are losses.

Although the ending satisfies, it does leave you wanting more. My son and I are going to pick up the third book next, but we want to go back and read the first one as well since we missed that one. Fans of fantasy, Harry Potter, and Artemis Fowl will enjoy this book.

This book represents a definite "must read" for every serious student of Biblical end times prophecy. Drawing from sound Scriptural exegesis (something that is sorely lacking in much of today's "scholarly" Christian literature) and accurate historical precedent, Dr. Riddlebarger makes a virtually airtight case for the validity of the historic amillennial view of end time events. His reasoning is solidly Scriptural, minus the hype and hyperbole that accompanies much of today's "prophetic" writings. As any good teacher should do, Dr. Riddlebarger examines fairly all current popular views of last days events and demonstrates systematically that the amillennial interpretation is the most Scripturally sound and historically accurate position.

To those of a differing viewpoint: be prepared to be challenged and do not be surprised if, by the end of the book, you agree with Dr. Riddlebarger.

I went through several stages each time I read this book. It is well-written and moves eschatology towards a more holistic-bible perspective. For that we can be thankful.

Summary:
Riddlebarger offers a systematic defense and exposition of amillennialism. He bases his argument off of the Bible's covenantal-structure, exegesis of key texts, and rebuttals of alternative positions. This is an admirable set-up.

Riddlebarger largely follows the exegesis of Geerhardus Vos in showing the Bible's biblical-covenantal theology. He shows how God's covenantal promises to Abraham are fulfilled in the church. In this he follows the typical amillennial covenantal perspective.

He then exegetes key texts, which other reviewers have noted, so I will skip them here.

Pros of the book:
It is a solid, systematic defense of amillennial system. As a *polemic*, it is the best. However, Cornelis Venema's *Promise of the Future* is probably a better book.

He deals with exegesis of hard passages. That is good.

Cons of the book:
He ignores the better arguments. I would have liked to see him seriously deal with postmillennialism. He seemed to dismiss it by the following reasoning: "Oh, well they are connected with theonomists, and we know they are wrong." I would have liked to see a serious rebuttal of partial-preterism. He merely *asserted* the "already/not yet" scheme and pretended that was a sufficient argument

(for the record I am not postmillennial, nor partial-preterist).

Conclusion:
Is the book worth getting? Yes. It is a good and capable defense of the amillennial position. Are there holes in the book's reasoning? Yes. Is it the end-all answer? No.

As I was reading reviews of this book, the first thing that came into my mind were the words of Yeshua, who said "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Matthew 15:13-14

Honestly, Leonardo is the only one who has done his homework when it comes to "church" history.

When the Eklesia, the assembly of called out ones, or the Body of Believers in Jesus, was mostly Jewish, this nonsense about Replacement Theology was nonexistent. Three centuries later, when the "church" became predominantly Gentile and filled with the Greek way of thinking instead of the Hebrew way of thinking, the church become anti-Semitic and this false doctrine entered. The Bible began to be allegorized for the first time (Greek, gnostic thinking), and to fit new doctrines, it became necessary for the Bible to be "interpreted" in order to fit (like a square peg in a round hole) these new false doctrines. The new anti-Semitic church could not believe that hated Israel could possibly inherit the Kingdom of God, so the Bible had to be "interpreted" in order to "fit" this new view.

This book leaves out discussion of so many scriptures that I cannot be silent. This theory which many Christians perhaps have been taught all their lives has too many holes to be credible. Christians who try to deny the plain text meaning of prophecies yet to be fulfilled would never do this with all the many prophecies that were LITERALLY fulfilled with Jesus' first coming. In fact, we use the literal fulfillment of prophecy to argue the case for Jesus being the Messiah!!

The author begins with Daniel 9. The next chapter, as well as 11 and 12, are also important. Daniel 10, ironically, deals with Michael's battle against the Prince of Persia. Who can deny this battle is going on today? Persia is Iran!!! The Prince of Greece could be Greek thought that permeates the mainstream religion called Christianity. What about Zechariah chapters 12 thru 14. I had my son, at age 10, read these chapters and paraphrase. He told me exactly what they say. He can also read Lord of the Rings and tell me the story exactly as the author intended, but he also knows the deeper good versus evil meaning. "A child shall lead them..." He did not need to go to seminary or learn to interpret the Bible. The scriptures mean what they say, and they say what they mean. G-d repeats things over and over in the Bible and still people ignore them. How can you twist Ezekiel chapter 36. Count the "I wills"!! Please wake up, Eklesia! Listen to the Shepherd. The sheep know His voice and listen to Him. Do not be a goat who does not listen to the Shepherd. Do not be sent to the left. He said some would be deceived, even among the elect. See He told us ahead of time. The people will be judged how? By how they have treated His brothers in the FLESH. His Jewish brothers and sisters. Jesus is a Jew who will return as a Jew, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem forever and forever. His Kindgom will have no end. The olive tree in Romans 11 has a Jewish root. We Gentiles have been grafted in, and we HAVE become arrogant against they natural branches who are in our day being grafted back in even as the unnatural (Gentile) branches are being broken off to make room for them. There are now over 100 Messianic congregations in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish believers worldwide. Malachi prophesied, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers (Jewish people) to the hearts of the children (church), and the hearts of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

Those who allegorize the plain Word of God will be speechless when standing before Him, He asks them why they did not believe what His prophets revealed. Even when almost every prophet spoke of the restoration of Israel. Before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He taught his disciples over a period of 40 days about the kingdom of God, and then His disciples asked Him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." Acts 1:6-7 Jesus did not correct his disciples to say the kingdom would not be be restored to Israel. He obviously had been teaching them that the kingdom would be restored for them to ask this question. This agrees with Paul in Romans 11:12 "But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" When Israel believes, the whole world will experience revival. When Jerusalem became united under Israeli rule in 1967 for the first time in almost 2000 years, revival broke out all over the world. Many Jews became believers this year, and the number of believers have steadily increased since.

What about Isaiah chapter 11? This is talking about life on Earth, when there will be peace one day. There will be no peace until Messiah returns. One thousand years of peace on Earth with Messiah rules and reigns. What about Amos 9:11-15? This was not fulfilled prior to May 14, 1948. What about all of the prophet Joel? Jesus wept over unbelieving Jerusalem as He entered it, and said He would not return until they said, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." "Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai" Matthew 23:39. This agrees with Zechariah 12 - 14.

Believers in Yeshua, do not forsake God's people! If we do not know what the Bible says from cover to cover, we will be greatly deceived in these last days.

All these terms we have come up with, Dispensational, Covenant Theology.... Jesus is not amused by our lofty knowledge. None of us can believe the Bible without the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Truth. God is looking for a people who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into truth and not "rules for interpretation" and systems of theology.

For a most coherent discussion of the end times, read Israel, the Church, and the Last Days by Keith Intrater and Dan Juster. Just as the Jews brought God's truth into the world the first time, so Messianic Jews are restoring truth to the Gentile believers. God's Perfect Plan! Believers, pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray Psalms 83 over Israel. If God is calling you to pray for Israel in this hour, see thewatchman.org. God bless you!

Most people who attend evangelical churches today have never heard anything but dispensational premillennialism from the pulpit. There first reaction to amillennial or postmillennial views is it must be heretical. The reality is dispensational premillennialism is not historical christian doctrine and only entered the church in the 1830's through the Brethren founders, Darby and Kelly.

I personally found it difficult to look at the scriptures without the biasness of what I had always heard from the pulpit. Once I got beyond the bias, I focused on the scriptures about the kingdom and what happens when Christ returns. I looked at every verse in the Bible regarding these two topics and convincingly concluded that Christ's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that we are born into at regeneration, when Christ returns He separates the wheat from the tares (sheep/goats) and pours out the final judgment on the day of His return. Also on the day of His return 1Cor15:23,24 says Christ returns the kingdom to the Father because it is the end.

Regarding this book by Riddlebarger, it provides a good explanation for the different views of eschatology. There are certainly some things that I don't agree with Riddlebarger on but they are minor in the overall context. I think anyone who cares more about what Scripture teaches rather than a view they've heard popularized will find this book filled with treasure.

As I've matured in my faith, I've changed my theological views on a number of occasions. I grew up in a dispensational-premillennial General Baptist church. In college, I became convinced of covenantal theology (as opposed to dispensational). I went from Arminian to Molinist to Calvinist and from believer baptism to infant and back to believer. Through all those changes (and others), eschatology is one subject I never felt well equipped to give an opinion about. That is, until I began learning from Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim. Dr. Riddlebarger was the first person who made sense of the eschatological questions I had and helped me come to solid conclusions about what the Bible's talking about.

I offer that background as a caveat: I was convinced by the author about his book's thesis before reading his book. That said A Case for Amillennialism made me ever more confident in the ammillenial interpretation of the Bible. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 lays the foundation for eschatological discussion by defining terms, surveying the various views, and examining the how prophecy is to be interpreted.

The second part of the book is the meat of the case for the amillennial interpretation of the Bible. Dr. Riddlebarger deals with issues related to covenant, prophecy, interpretation, the Kingdom of God, Israel, and much more. If Part 2 is the meat, then Part 3 is the bones as it examines four critical passages: Daniel 9:24-27, The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 & Mark 13), and Romans 11, and Revelation 20.

While the whole book is a treasure, my favorite is the beginning where Dr. Riddlebarger defines the terms and provides a survey of the various views. Understanding the landscape of eschatology is utterly crucial to studying it, but few people seem to have such understanding. There and throughout the book, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger presents opposing views (pre- and post-millennial) fairly and offers precise criticisms. Though he admits that much more could be said, he presents a thoroughly compelling case for his position that cannot be ignored by those with opposing views. A Case for Amillennialism is a necessary read for anyone interested in eschatological issues.

Although the writter is considered a controversial preacher of the messianic movement I recommend the book for those seriously engaged in the study of escathology.

Another book of Truth... in complete agreement with the scripures. This is definitely not for your average baby christian... it will make your pablum curdle.

If you only buy one more book this year buy this one. The bible was suposed to help us not confuse us. Us American Christians have been trying to understand bible prophecy without the basic knowledge to figure anything out. It's like saying you going to compose some music but have only heard your child bang on pots and pans to use as your guide and then your music never seems to sound good or make any sense at all. This should be taught to all believers and nonbelivers BEFORE we get all messed up learning our pagen customs from an early age. God intended for you to know the signs and the seasons, thats why there in the bible in the first place, Y'shua (Jesus) will come as a thief in the night to the slothfull or lazy pew sleeper paying his 10% religion tax waiting for heaven. The ones who seek the truth and know the signs will not be caught sleeping or sinning on that great day. Buy this book. It is very hard to put down. And Michael Rood backs everything up with the Bible or the Torah so you can check his work. He has an understanding of the Jewish ways of life and can give us gentiles a much better perspective that even the King James can. This truth in this book has set me free. Finally free! And it just keeps getting better.[...]

I don't completey agree in detail with everything that Michal Rood puts forth. Normal I suppose, where eschatology is being considered. BUT -- This book is a fresh examination of that topic (End Times) and is about much more than just the "rapture" issue. It's a frank, Bible-based, and long overdue look at the nature of The God of the Hebrews and His Son: what He expects of his children, and how they should go about conducting their lives ESPECIALLY IN THESE END TIMES.

I reiterate that the book is Bible-based, but specifically NOT based on the manufactured doctrine of any religious denomination (thus, a "fresh" look).

This book was powerful enough to talk me out of my 45 year old traditional "pre-trib rapturist" position. Not a change to be easily made (except with God's leading??). Maybe part of a general movement among God's people in these times, as Rood alludes to.

I believe Rood is on target. I also note that his eschatological teaching is quite similar to the position of author Marvin Rosenthal, as explained in his excellent "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" (which I also recommend as some non-denominational Bible-based original thinking).

This is critically important information. Read and evaluate it for yourself. By all means, read it. Truly, my life changed. A very powerful book.

I can but agree with most of the reviewers here.

Ultimately, if Michael Rood is wrong in his interpretation about the Rapture, and the Rapture occurs either pre or mid-tribulation, then true Christian believers have nothing to lose. If the author is right however,and the Rapture occurs towards the end of the Tribulation, then Christians everywhere owe it to themselves to have been made aware of his interpretation.

Some of what the author covers in relation to Biblical prophecy and it's interpretation to date has bothered me previously. His coverage of such clarifies a number of matters for me personally.

I can only recommend this book to ALL scholars and Christians who are seeking the truth surrounding Biblical Prophecy, the Rapture and the return of Our Lord Jesus. We must all be accountable to search the Scriptures ourselves whilst seeking prayerful insight to the truth.

I would hate not to have read this book. Being prepared, in full possession of the facts so that we are not going to be deceived in that day is essential. If you read this book and disagree with the message and interpretation, then that is a matter for the individual. But we do really owe it to ourselves to be aware of what the author is saying here.

This book is awesome even though I haven't finished it. Kyle sounds so cool but her dad is so mean. So far it is like he dosen't even love Catty.

This book is awesome. I loved everything about it. Since reading book #5, i've been reading like crazy, trying to find other books. When I got this book, I read it in 5 days. It has every factor that makes it a great book. It has drama, love story, friendship, and family values.

Catty and Kyle are my favorite couple, next to Vannessa and Michael. I think it's great when Catty realizes that someday, she has to face the Atrox alone. I hope Kyle could help her. I idolize the way Lynne Ewing wrote all of the Daughters of the Moon books because it makes me visualize what is actually happening in the story. i can't wait to read book 12!

The secret scroll has become an attraction at the art museum. Catty has to steal it before people start dying from the curse on the secret scroll. She almost has it but Kyle stops her. Kyle has his reason for wanting the secret scroll. The book is good but what you think is going to happen doesn't happen so the ending is sad. Catty gets to find out more about who she is, too.

I picked this book up last night at the local library, and i finished half of it in 2 hours! This was so much better than THE TALISMEN (sorry maggie)

The Secret Scroll has been sold to the musuem, and everyone visiting it is getting a little sick. Catty and the rest of the Daughters then try to steal it back, to save mankind (of course!) The scene where the girls try to steal the Manuscript back is quite comical, almost a 3 stooges movie.

AND we have another love interest. and he's a bad boy. literally. This book is quite a rollercoaster between one emotion of betrayal and hate to loving that person and wanting to jump down his jeans! i can relate to Catty, feeling a little insecure about herself because all her friends have boyfriends and she doesnt.

The scene w/ Chris and Catty is extremely sad. She meets her father, some powerful Inner-Circle Atrox dude.

I finsihed this whole book in one sitting. it was great. i cant wait to read the 12th book, and she better stop writing her male counterpart series and finish this one. I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!

I think we should try to make it happen, i think these books are so good that they deserve to make a tv series off of this, if we love it so much we should get out there and say something, i personaly think they could make this series a Teen TV series..Girls think about it....And i have to say Jimena is my favorite, i like her with her gangster self....;)

This book, written as a sustained critique of the social philosophy of Plato, is one of the best statements of classical liberalism I have encountered. The basic message of Popper's book is that an open (free) society is characterized by the presence of criticism, discussion, and participatory reform. Popper finds occassion to contrast this view of society with the philosophy of Plato, one of the great minds of the western intellectual tradition. And it is interesting to note that in the preface Popper writes that he chose to attack Plato only because he is so revered.

Plato, it must be remembered, lived in Athens at a time when democracy was being introduced. Plato witnessed the displacement of many of his friends from political positions of power, and was shocked by the social turmoil that these changes engendered. Plato saw these changes as extremely bad, and concluded that all change is necessarily destructive and degenerating because he conceived the origin of society as consisting of pure forms of absolute objects such as good, beauty, perfection, etc.

The task before him was to find a way of preventing (or arresting) change, so that degeneration and social decline could be avoided. He believed it was necessary to divide society into three classes: the rulers, the warriors, and the workers. In order to arrest change, there must never be disunion in the ruler class. To accomplish this, it was proposed that property be abolished in this class, and the family destroyed, since famililal loyalties often lead to political conflict. No mixing between the classes should be tolerated, and Plato argued that special methods of breeding should be employed among the different classes to ensure "racial purity."

For Plato, then, the chief aim of the "philosopher king" was to arrest change by preserving harmonious union among the ruling class. This could be achieved only by dividing society into classes the purpose of which was to specify in advance the activities that could be performed by each.

The concluding chapters are more positive, and attempt to introduce alterntative political arrangements that would do a great deal in promoting an "open society." This would include the existence of democracy, critical discussion, change, "piecemeal" reform, and so on. Popper sees utopian programs like Plato's as exemplary of tyranny. They preserve taboos, dogmas, rigid social inequities, power, etc. Only until alternative views are permitted can we hope to bring into existence a free and open society.

A wonderfully insightful book, and especially useful against those who see Plato as the founder of humanitarianism based on the principle of The Philosopher King.

Popper's criticism of Marxist thought is the real payoff of the two volumes of this work. He writes with a passion that is at times overwrought - especially when teeing off against Plato and Hegel. Whether his criticism of their views is on the mark is incidental to the attack on Marx, and I leave it to the scholars of each to debate the merits of his critique. What Popper brings to the table is a clear exposition of his ideas. He makes a solid case for "social engineering" (an accurate but unfortunate term) as both a description of the past century and a prescription for addressing the problems with economic and social systems. This is a valuable and challenging book which will reward the reader willing to think through Popper's analysis.

When confronted with the rise of totalitarianism and the destruction of all that he held dear, Poper felt a single, overwhelming urge: to return to the Greeks, to the dawn of our civilization, so as to understand the root of the evil and to offer a practical way out of bestiality. His search was motivated by the insight that "this civilization has not yet fully recovered from the shock of its birth--the transition from the tribal or 'closed society', with its submission to magical forces, to the 'open society', which sets free the critical powers of man."

Heraclitus set the stage with his claim that "the cosmos, at best, is like a rubbish heap scattered at random." If "everything is in flux" and "you cannot step twice into the same river", then at least we can try to discover the historical or evolutionary laws which will enable us to prophesy the destiny of man.

Plato's claim to greatness is to have discovered such a law: that "all social change is corruption or decay or degeneration," and that the only way to break this cycle of decay is to arrest development and return to the Golden Age, where no change occurs. His belief in perfect and unchanging things, the Platonic Ideas from which all things originate, finds its expression in all fields of inquiry: be it social justice, nature and convention, wisdom and truth, or goodness and beauty.

Behind these lofty ideals, Popper uncovers a discomforting truth: Plato envisioned the ideal Greek polity as a totalitarian nightmare, where the 'race of the guardians' had to be kept pure from any miscegenation and where the role of the rulers was to breed the human cattle according to some esoteric formula (the 'Platonic Number', a number determining the True Period of the human race). Along his apology of Sparta came his endorsement of infanticide and his recommendation that children of both sexes be "brought within the sight of actual war and made to taste blood."

Popper demonstrates that these crazy ideas were not the vague mumblings of an otherwise sound philosopher: they were central tenets in Plato's philosophy, a system which has been characterized by another author as "the most savage and most profound attack upon liberal ideas which history can show."

Popper connects this extreme radicalism of the Platonic approach with its aestheticism, i.e. with "the desire to build a world which is not only a little better and more rational than ours, but which is free from all its ugliness." Plato, the Philosopher-King, can be best characterized as an artist: a man attracted to a world of pure beauty, a craftsman who tries to visualize an ideal model of his work and to copy it faithfully, and for whom "the part has to be executed for the sake of the whole, and not the whole for the sake of the part." His desire to "start from a clean canvas" or his claim to prefer "the original to the copy" find disturbing echoes in contemporary political debates. Contrary to Plato's belief, however, the canvas can never be made clean, and the copy often improves upon the original.

Let's give Popper the last word: "But there I must protest. I do not believe that human lives may be made the means for satisfying an artist's desire for self-expression. We must demand, rather, that every man should be given, if he wishes, the right to model his life himself, as far as this does not interfere too much with others. Much as I sympathize with the aesthetic impulse, I suggest that the artist might seek expression in another material."

To Popper, science is a process of "conjectures and refutations"-- advancing bold conjectures about the state of the world and then trying to refute them. "Even in the study of history, objectivity should be sought in the institutions and traditions of a discipline. It is only through the give and take of open criticism and the ongoing interplay of many different kinds of biases that anything approaching objectivity will emerge." Thus, "truth" is seen as a hypothesis--you can't prove truth, you can only prove untruth. This is because one cannot know everything, therefore, nothing can be proved to be true.
Open societies, in Popper's definition, with their ideals of freedom and reason, of men who may create their own future, are opposed to the regimes of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. Hegel and Marx are the main focus of the book. Aristotle built his theory on Plato; Hegel on Aristotle; Marx on Hegel. Popper is concerned with their philosophies of history. A philosophy of history is an attempt to interpret systematically the historical process by a principle that unifies the results of research and points to an "ultimate meaning" behind the process. It involves systematic reflection on scientifically derived data about the past. All the parts are unified to form a whole with "ultimate meaning."
It was thus not Marx's historicist method which led him to success, but instead the "methods of institutional analysis." In many democratic, capitalist countries production has been so great that the workers have a higher standard of living than Marx ever envisaged. He also had an unrealistic view of human nature--that because man is born good, changing his environment will bring happiness. But this view ignores the universality of human imperfection, and the sacredness of personality that is lost in the communist state.

Yet, Popper claims that Marx has done Christianity a great service by pointing out the humanitarian demands of Christ. Popper made many generalizations about Christianity without describing the basic tenets that have made Christianity "the strongest opponent of Communism." Popper does not view Christianity as being a "substitute from dreams and wish--fulfillment; it should resemble neither the holding of a ticket in a lottery, nor the holding of a policy in an insurance company." Popper opposes a "leap in the dark" of faith, whether by Marxists probing the beginning of evolution, or by those experiencing a personal relationship with God. Faith is necessary, but it is to be based on a rational understanding of the difference between belief and fact, and the appropriate place for both.

Click on the book and keep clicking to page 7 - two quotes from Plato vs Pericles, which could have been written yesterday.
I may be moving and I'm busy, so no I have not read the book, but every now and then I reread that page 7 - how INSPIRING !

I have been through lots of bibles, study bibles, different translations, different notes. This one, by far, is the best! It isn't a study bible (I would recommend MacArthur's commentary to use with this bible) this bible is a weapon. Filled with so many tools I find it so helpful.

Get it

As if there could be such a thing...an "extra-special" Bible!! God's Word is ALWAYS great but it's really nice when the Bible you're holding in your hands also contains nuggets of truth from some of God's most well-known saints, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, etc., along with some of the founders of this nation.
Also, contains info on how to witness to those who don't believe or are involved in various cults.
KJV, but without the thee's, thou's, ye's, etc. (I prefer them, but, oh well...)
You can't go wrong with Ray Comfort!!! One of my favorites of these days; doctrinally sound (and that's hard to find...).

It has large print and they have modernized the King James for much easier reading. No Thou's in there, but the text matches up with the King James. Great foot notes and articles everywhere.

This bible is more of an evangelical tool than a study bible. Buy it for the "evidence" it provides, not as a primary study bible. The "comfortable" KJV seems fine to me - similar to the NKJV. Good addition to the Christian library!

I worry for the intellectual future of the Church when I see such poor scholarship so highly rated. Just in the Genesis 1-2 pages alone there are so many mistakes and such a clear misapprehension of words such as 'fact', 'theory', 'evidence', etc. that I have lost my confidence in the editors' ability to follow even the most basic arguments in philosophy of science. The quotation by Charles Darwin on p.5 is taken completely out of context. Notice he only says that the evolution of the eye SEEMS absurd, that is, absurd to those who don't know how scientists reason about the world. He went on in his "Origin of Species" nevertheless to present overwhelming evidence for gradual evolution and in the 150+ years since then scientists have filled in the pieces to an astonishing degree. There's no excuse for such blatant misrepresentation of Darwin's views. Kent Hovind's 'questions for evolutionists' similarly reveal that he has no idea what real scientists do and has not immersed himself in the literature of evolutionary biology, theoretical physics and the other disciplines to which he addresses these questions.

There are so many other things I could take issue with, including the editors' naive espousal of a penal substitution theory of atonement (there are at least three other models which they never consider, including Christus Victor and the healing-restoration model, all thoroughly grounded in scripture), but suffice it to say that anyone looking for real answers to the hard questions put to the Christian faith in modern times should look elsewhere. Shame on these people for not applying their God-given intellect to His glory.

There are essentially four parts to this excerpt. I greatly enjoyed the first two, but the last two threw me because they were just so different in tone and direction than the first two.

We begin as Kate, our heroine, smashes her fiance's "baby" - his new red convertible - with a crowbar. No, it's nothing original (and no one will ever do it better than Terry McMillan), but it's well-written, and I thought Kate stopping to powder her nose after she was finished was a nice touch. Part two is her meeting with Mr. Dupont, a millionaire antiquities collector with an offer to share information on Kate's passion - the truth behind supposedly fictional civilizations "such as Atlantis and Camelot."

The story lost me with its abrupt switch into family drama as Kate receives a call in the middle of the meeting, telling her that her father has been diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease. Yes, plots need complexity, but we don't need all the complications in only a few pages. Hold off a little. To make matters worse, the conversation is stilted and ridiculous: why is her father's doctor calling her out of the blue? Shouldn't she get this news from her father himself? And then, most jarringly, we discover that none of what has occurred really matters, because apparently the story is going to take place long long ago in the land of Zenith.

I'm thinking back to Outlander, my favorite and arguably the best time-travel romance, and Gabaldon does indeed spend some time at the beginning setting up her story before Claire is catapulted back in time, where the real story begins. But I think that was successful because less time was spent on the plot and more on the characters. By the time Claire went through the stones, I cared about her. I liked Kate when she smashed up Adam's car, but by the end I had been jerked into so many different storylines I felt disoriented and confused: is this going to be the story? Is this going to be the story? I don't want to have to keep investing in plotlines and characters if they're going to keep changing.

As you read the opening, you start hearing a Carrie Underwood song in your head. Then you realize that Kate, the heroine, is more ticked than Carrie could even imagine. Hope the book is published soon as I want to know how this story plays out.

This story caught me up in the first line and didn't let me go. Kate is exactly the type of heroine I love to read about: feisty and knows her own mind. Although we didn't see much of him in the first pages, Warwyck already is clear in my mind as a strong heroic character. I can just imagine the sparks that will fly between these two main characters. Very impressed with this entry. It was a fast-paced, exciting read that promises much. If I had the whole book, I'd be up into the wee hours reading tonight. I hope this story is quickly snapped up by a publisher so I can find out what happens.

The Prophecy is a wonderful surprise. I have a feeling that this is not going to be your usual run of the mill romance story. With the introduction of Warwyck Lyonn, newly crowned King of Argun, Mai Christy Thao creates the type of world I like to become lost in. I would read this book if for no other reason then to see Argun up close.

Wow...what an opening chapter! Kate Madison seems to be a force to be reckoned with, and when she meets the powerful warrior Warwyck Lyonn, the reader is left in doubt that it will be an incredibly intense relationship. Coupled with an intriguing fantasy plot, it certainly is inviting. Personally speaking, I feel that a little too much happens in the first chapter, however I would still be tempted to read on.

Best book description available of how Christians fight each other and how to recognize the enemy's tactics. Supurb use of scripture and descriptive instruction on application to fight the enemy while growing closer to God. Challenges one to commit to God's call.

Rick Joyner is another of my favorite writers. He is a master of the allegory. I love allegory, because you can "get the message" while you are being entertained....a winning combination. This is a great book!

I read the first part of The Vision (The Final Quest) and I believe I will stop there. My first disappointment came when Rick Joyner called Wisdom a male part of Jesus, when the Gnostic Scriptures define Wisdom aka Sophia, as a female counterpart of Jesus. I was again disappointed when Rick identified the real people he met in heaven in descriptively, leaving out all and every name. They were 1) a famous writer 2)a contemporary of mine 3) one of the great Christian leaders of all time and 4)someone I had known on earth. But what really floored me was when Paul told him that "Except for a few small places in the world where there is persecution or difficulties now, we can hardly recognize either the ministry or the message that is being preached today". This offends just about everybody who has carefully chosen a religion to practice.

Paul also tell us we should return to the cross. This sounds sect specific. At last two major churches see the cross as an instrument only.
Jesus was neither the first or last to die on a cross; if he had been hanged would be asked to return to the noose, or if beheaded to the guillotine? Would we be wearing a tiny electric chair on a chain around our necks? The book is well written. I found only one grammatical error. And I am amazed at his remarkable memory to put in text every conversation he had in this vision.

Rick did get a few things right - 3 degrees of heaven and relationships in heaven. But the Mormons got that from their prophet. Enoch had 7 degrees in his prophecy.

Received in good time in excellent condition; well written and a book that will affect you one which my wife and I once started to read we could not put down.

What a wake-up call to today's church! I can't count the number of times the descriptions raised my goose-bumps. We need to be aware that an enemy of the church does exist, that spiritual warfare is going on (whether we like the idea or not), and that a wise Christian will not bury his/her head in the sand. We need to develop wisdom, discipline & skill to fight well in the battles that WILL come our way. This book provides a lot of wisdom in an easy-to-read, easy-to-comprehend fashion - and the author is very honest about his own struggles and errors, and is not "preaching from a pedestal." HIGHLY recommended!