For the past week or so I have been reading the book "The Mystery of Iniquity" by Michael Rood (I am on the final chapter) and today our church watched a portion of the video called "The Sinai Connection" by Michael Rood. I find Rood a very interesting fellow. He enjoys teaching and figuring out the hidden or deeper knowledge of widely accepted teachings of modern Christianity (for example Easter and Christmas) and has a interest in the proper understanding of the end times. The first few chapters of his book talk about how there is a belief in the christian world of a secret rapture and how this is an inaccurate teaching. I had never heard of the secret rapture teaching so I wasn't sure why he was hammering this lesson so hard but I am told that it is teaching that is huge in the Catholic church and was made famous in the Left Behind book series. I have never taken time to study the end times so I have no real knowledge at all about the subject. I have always figured it is something that is out of my control, God knows all about it, understands it... so it is not something I have ever concerned myself with. So it has been interesting to read about Rood's understanding of the end times but it is not something I am going to lose sleepover, or argue with someone about. (Once upon a time I was asked what my beliefs were about the rapture as a way to measure me as a believer with what my answer would have been. The questioner was quite baffled when I told him I had no belief about it, that God would lead me when it was time. He didn't know what to do with that answer.)
In Rood's book he doesn't just talk about the end times but chimes in on other topics as well. I have found these topics pretty on par with other things I have read (how the Gentiles are grafted into Israel, how Christians blindly celebrate holidays with pagan worship practices never questioning why we do, how the Feasts that God gave to us are pictures for us to learn from and have fulfillment in Christ's first coming and His second coming).
Rood reminds me of a high school teacher I had, she always had trouble staying on topic and would rattle on about unrelated topics in the midst of the lesson she was giving us. Rood is quite similar. He is long winded and loves to tell stories. It seems to take him a long time to get to the point or make a point... he gets "squirrelled" a lot. :o)
From the video today I do have some questions and it has sparked what will be a research week for me. Some of the questions I have are - in the map he showed he has placed Mount Sinai in a different place than what is currently accepted, plus a couple of the towns he references are in different places that maps I have seen. The route he speaks of seems plausible because of the reference of the Hebrews avoid the Philistines(?), thus needing to cross the Red Sea. But why do the maps differ? I have other questions, but I don't have my notes in front of me to remember what they are.
While all of this is fun to debate and research, in the long run it does not affect what my relationship with God is... it isn't a salvation issue... so it is not something to stress about. What happened in the past is in the past, the future is in God's hands, so all I need to do is love my neighbor and love God. :o)
(PS: I wouldn't mind watching the whole video to see how he brings it all together in the end, or what his point is on this topic. If he was writing an essay he would get a low grade for hopping all over the place and out of topic. LOL!)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
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