Joel C. Rosenberg

This article is about the evangelical Christian political pundit and author of thrillers. For the science fiction author and handgun safety expert, see Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author).
Joel C. Rosenberg
Born (1967-04-17) April 17, 1967
Rochester, New York, United States
Occupation Novelist, political strategist,[1] philanthropist[2]
Nationality American
Alma mater Syracuse University
Period 2001–present
Genre Bible prophecy, political thrillers, Middle East politics
Website
joelrosenberg.com

Joel C. Rosenberg (born April 17, 1967) is an American communications strategist, author of the Last Jihad series, founder of The Joshua Fund,[3] and an Evangelical Christian. He has written five novels about terrorism and how he feels that it relates to Bible prophecy, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Ezekiel Option.[4] He also has written two nonfiction books, Epicenter and Inside the Revolution, on what he sees as the resemblance of biblical prophecies and current events. He and his wife Lynn have four sons and reside in Israel.[5]

Early life

Rosenberg was born in 1967 near Rochester, New York. He has stated that his father is of Jewish descent and his mother was born into a Methodist family of English descent.[6][7] His parents were agnostic and became born-again Christians when he was a child in 1973.[8] At the age of 17, he became a born-again Christian and now identifies as a Jewish believer in Jesus.[6] He graduated in 1988 from Syracuse University,[3] after which he worked for Rush Limbaugh as a research assistant. Later, he worked for U.S. Presidential candidate Steve Forbes as a campaign advisor. Rosenberg opened a political consultancy business which he ran until 2000, and claims to have consulted for former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he says that he garnered much of his information on the Middle East that he uses in his books.[1][9]

Writing career

Following Netanyahu's loss in 1999, Rosenberg decided to retire from politics altogether and begin a new career in writing.[10] The Last Jihad was both his first book and the first of a five-part fictional series involving terrorism and how it may relate to Bible Prophecy. The book was written nine months before the September 11th attacks (a revised edition takes the event into account) and was published in 2002.[11] When published, The Last Jihad spent 11 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, reaching as high as number seven. It also appeared on the USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists, and hit number four on the Wall Street Journal list. The book was followed by The Last Days, which spent four weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, hit number five on the Denver Post list, and hit number eight on the Dallas Morning News list. Following the successes of his first two novels, The Ezekiel Option was published in 2005, The Copper Scroll in 2006, and the final book Dead Heat in 2008.[2]

Rosenberg also wrote a non-fictional account of current events and Bible Prophecy in the book Epicenter.[12] It was published in September 2006 and an accompanying DVD was produced in the summer of 2007.[13] His second non-fiction book Inside the Revolution addresses the different sects of Islam in the Middle East and asserts that a significant number of moderate Muslims are converting to Christianity in the region. It was released in 2009 and also made it onto the New York Times best-seller list, reaching as high as #7 as of 27 March 2009.[14] His 2011 book The Twelfth Imam also deals with terrorism and Iran gaining nuclear power.[15]

The Joshua Fund

Rosenberg is the founder and President of The Joshua Fund, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity[16] that seeks to "Bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3."[17]

Criticism

Media Matters for America, a progressive media watchdog group, criticized Rosenberg's July 31, 2006, Paula Zahn Now, CNN appearance that "featured a segment on 'whether the crisis in the Middle East is actually a prelude to the end of the world,' marking the third time in eight days that CNN has devoted airtime to those claiming that the ongoing Mideast violence signals the coming of the Apocalypse."[18] It featured Rosenberg comparing apocalyptic Scripture in the Bible to modern events, which he views, in addition to the lenses of politics and economics, through what he calls "a third lens as well: the lens of Scripture."[19]

Rosenberg's views on the War of Ezekiel 38–39 involving Gog and Magog are in line with dispensationalism, one of several Christian theological systems involving eschatology. Partial preterist Gary DeMar has debated Rosenberg on this subject.[20]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Rosenbaum, David E. (15 November 2003). "Washington Journal; His Conservative Connections Help to Put Novelist on Best-Seller List". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Did You Miss It?". Horizon Christian Fellowship. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  3. 1 2 Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Joel's Bio". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  4. ↑ "2006 Christian Book Awards Winners". Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "FaithfulReader.com - Joel C. Rosenberg". Old.faithfulreader.com. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  6. 1 2 Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Spiritual Journey". Tyndale House. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Joelrosenberg.com Archived March 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ National Review Archived December 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Rosenberg, Joel (29 January 2003). "Elections in Israel: Israeli Perspective". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Beck, Glenn (25 April 2008). "Honest Questions about the End of Days". Glenn Beck Program. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  11. ↑ Rosenberg, Joel (2006). "Author's Note to the 9/11 Anniversary Edition" (PDF). The Last Jihad. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House. pp. ix–xii. ISBN 978-1-4143-1272-9.
  12. ↑ Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Book Details: Epicenter". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  13. ↑ Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "DVD Details: Epicenter". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  14. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction". The New York Times. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  15. ↑ "The Twelfth Imam". Good Reads. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  16. ↑ "Give". The Joshua Fund. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  17. ↑ "The Mission". The Joshua Fund. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  18. ↑ "CNN still fixated on Apocalypse predictors, still ignoring alleged invitation to White House, Capitol Hill". Media Matters for America. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  19. ↑ Rosenberg, Joel C. (2006). "4 The Third Lens". Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future. Tyndale House. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-4143-1136-4. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  20. ↑ Mickelson, Jan (31 August 2006). "Thursday August 31, 2006". Mickelson in the Morning. WHO. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
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