Joel C. Rosenberg (born April 17, 1967) is an American-Israeli communications strategist, author, and non-profit executive.[4] He has written sixteen novels about terrorism and Bible prophecy, including the Gold Medallion Book Award-winner The Ezekiel Option.[5] He also has written three nonfiction books, Epicenter, Inside the Revolution, and Enemies and Allies.
Joel C. Rosenberg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 17, 1967 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist, political strategist,[1] philanthropist[2] |
| Nationality | American, Israeli[3] |
| Alma mater | Syracuse University |
| Period | 2001–present |
| Genre | Bible prophecy, political thrillers, Middle East politics |
| Website | |
| joelrosenberg | |
Early life edit
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 identifies as a Messianic Jew.[6]
Rosenberg graduated in 1988 from Syracuse University,[4] 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 former 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]
Career edit
Following Netanyahu's loss in 1999, Rosenberg decided to retire from politics 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 11 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] topics also discussed in his book The Tehran Initiative.[16]
The Joshua Fund edit
Rosenberg is the founder and president of The Joshua Fund, a Christian Zionist organisation[17] launched in 2006, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity[18] that seeks to "Bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3."[19] The Joshua Fund invested more than $50 million in Christian ministries and humanitarian relief projects in various countries, including Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.[20]
Criticism edit
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."[21] 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."[22]
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.[23]
Personal life edit
Rosenberg and his wife Lynn have four sons: Caleb, Jacob, Jonah and Noah, and reside in Israel.[24]
Bibliography edit
Fiction
Last Jihad series
- The Last Jihad (2002) ISBN 978-1-4143-1272-9
- The Last Days (2003) ISBN 978-1-4143-1273-6
- The Ezekiel Option (2005) ISBN 978-1-4143-0344-4
- The Copper Scroll (2006) ISBN 978-1-4143-0346-8
- Dead Heat (2008) ISBN 978-1-4143-1162-3
David Shirazi series
- The Twelfth Imam (2010) ISBN 978-1-4143-1163-0
- The Tehran Initiative (2011) ISBN 978-1-4143-1935-3
- Damascus Countdown (2013) ISBN 978-1-4143-1970-4
J.B. Collins series
- The Third Target (2015) ISBN 978-1-4143-3627-5
- The First Hostage (2016) ISBN 978-1-4964-0615-6
- Without Warning (2017) ISBN 978-1-4964-0616-3
Marcus Ryker series
- The Kremlin Conspiracy (2018) ISBN 978-1-4964-0621-7
- The Persian Gamble (2019) ISBN 978-1-4964-0618-7
- The Jerusalem Assassin (2020) ISBN 978-1-4964-3784-6
- The Beirut Protocol (2021) ISBN 978-1496437891
- The Libyan Diversion (2023) ISBN 978-1-4964-3794-5
Standalone novels
Non-fiction
- Epicenter (2006) ISBN 978-1-4143-1135-7
- Epicenter 2.0 (2008) ISBN 978-1-4143-1136-4
- Inside the Revolution (2009) ISBN 978-1-4143-2626-9
- Inside the Revival (2010) ISBN 978-1-4143-3800-2
- Implosion (2012) ISBN 978-1-4143-1967-4
- The Invested Life (2012) ISBN 978-1-4143-7637-0
- Israel at War (2012) ISBN 978-1-4143-8374-3
- Enemies and Allies: An Unforgettable Journey Inside the Fast-Moving & Immensely Turbulent Modern Middle East (2021) ISBN 978-1-4964-5381-5
References edit
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b "Did You Miss It?". Horizon Christian Fellowship. 7 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Inside the Saudi crown prince's meeting with U.S. evangelicals". Axios. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Joel's Bio". Tyndale House. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "2006 Christian Book Awards Winners". Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Spiritual Journey". Tyndale House. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Joelrosenberg.com Archived March 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ National Review Archived December 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rosenberg, Joel (29 January 2003). "Elections in Israel: Israeli Perspective". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ Beck, Glenn (25 April 2008). "Honest Questions about the End of Days". Glenn Beck Program. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "Book Details: Epicenter". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ Rosenberg, Joel C. (2007). "DVD Details: Epicenter". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction". The New York Times. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "The Twelfth Imam". Good Reads. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Interview with Joel C. Rosenberg". Tyndale.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Berkowitz, Bill (19 June 2009). "Jerusalem Countdown: Christian Zionists and the New Israeli Government". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
n early April of last year, at a conference in Jerusalem of American evangelicals organized by Pastor John Hagee, Benjamin Netanyahu told the audience that Israel had no better friends than America's Christian Zionists. "This is a friendship of the heart, a friendship of common roots, and a friendship of common civilization," Netanyahu said. Now, nearly a year later, with Netanyahu cobbling together a ruling coalition in Israel, three men of the US Christian Right, Pastor John Hagee, Michael D. Evans, and Joel C. Rosenberg—all of whom have had long-term associations with the prime minister-to-be—may feel like they're about to be handed the keys to the Promised Land.
- ^ "Give". The Joshua Fund. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "The Mission". The Joshua Fund. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "About Joel C. Rosenberg". All Arab News. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ "CNN still fixated on Apocalypse predictors, ignoring an alleged invitation to White House, Capitol Hill". Media Matters for America. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Mickelson, Jan (31 August 2006). "Thursday August 31, 2006". Mickelson in the Morning. WHO. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "FaithfulReader.com – Joel C. Rosenberg". Old.faithfulreader.com. 2001-09-11. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
External links edit
- Joel C. Rosenberg Official Site
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Miller, John J. (26 March 2008). "Joel Rosenberg on Dead Heat". National Review Online. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
- "Joel C. Rosenberg". Tyndale House. Retrieved 30 May 2009.