Story Behind The Book
I first took a passing-interest in Bible prophecy in 1996, and then in 1998 began to study it much more seriously. Soon after the War in Iraq began, I felt led to create a website to describe the events of Ezekiel 36-39 and track the current events in the Middle East through the lens of Scripture. This website is known as EzekielWatch.com. Several years later, during the spring of 2010, I went on a study-tour of Israel with Koinonia House and visited the land of Israel for myself. Next to the CD-study, that trip has had the single most important impact on my faith and perception of the world. The brief tour of the Holy Land had a deep impact on my perspective of Israel, the United States of America, and the other nations involved in the lasting Middle East conflict. The guide for our group was phenomenal and constantly taught us both Israel's Biblical history and her recent history over the past century. At the time I first created the EzekielWatch.com website, I did not fully understand many of the complexities involved with the Palestinians, Israel, the Arabs, and Jordan. It's not as simple as “the Jews should just take the West Bank and Gaza and make it part of Israel” as many evangelicals (along with many Orthodox Jews) proclaim. If it was, I am certain that Israel would have done so after 1967 in the aftermath of the Six Day War. My excursion into writing began in 2006 and my first book, “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” was released in 2008. The story chronicled the story of an Israeli family as they enter into the End Times and progress through the Tribulation. While the book was heavily based upon Scripture, there were numerous first-time author mistakes present and other elements of the story that I was unsettled about. After I returned from Israel, I rewrote the book into a trilogy based upon all I had learned about the people, the land, and the political situation. With the completion of “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” trilogy, I noticed that the EzekielWatch.com website badly needed updating, which then led to the conclusion that the material on the site could better be utilized in the form of a book. And with that realization, the “Ezekiel Watch” book was born. It’s my sincerest desire that this study will bolster your faith, give you a greater understanding of the Scriptures and Israel, and give you a greater appreciation for the truly miraculous times we are living in and the challenges we face. Though we face days of rising turbulence and uncertainty, we can rely upon the Lord just as He has promised Israel: “He who keeps us shall not slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)