Reader Beware of Messianic
Twists
The
Ezekial Option by
Joel Rosenberg, Tyndale, 2005,
413 pages, $14.95
by Mitchell Bard
I love thrillers,
especially when they involve international
intrigue and Israel. Though the writing was
pedestrian from the outset, I was still drawn
into Joel Rosenberg’s novel, The Ezekiel
Option, because it starts dramatically with
the highjacking of Russian airliner that
is flying toward the White House. As the
plot unfolds, a right-wing coup leads to
a dramatic shift in Russia’s orientation
and the focus of its new hardline becomes
Israel.
The book is very current and has a lot of
that “ripped from the headlines” feel
as Rosenberg discusses radical Islam, Iranian
nuclear designs, and the terror threat. One
of the central plot points involving pressuring
Israel to give up its nuclear weapons under
pressure from not only Russia, but the Europeans,
is entirely plausible.
While the plot initially hooks you, the
characters are absurd and it soon becomes
evident this is an evangelical novel. What
sent me over the edge was the revelation
(pun intended) that one of the central characters,
a former director of the Mossad, has apparently
become a Jew for Jesus. He works closely
with the other major characters who are American
government officials whose Christian beliefs
seem to be their only important characteristics.
Once the Christian theme is introduced, it’s
not long before folks are praying together
and talking about their faith in Jesus. What
might have been a reasonably good political
thriller turns into an absurd apocalyptic
fantasy.
At the risk of sounding politically incorrect,
it is fair to assume that most readers picking
up a book by a writer named Joel Rosenberg
will not expect the plot to be rooted in
Christian messianism, so unless you are already
a believer, this thriller will offer an unwelcome
twist.
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