RENOWN DEBUNKER OF RAPTURE MYTHOLOGY PROVIDES UPDATED REVIEW OF ORTIZ BOOKDave MacPherson, world famous author of the history of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, today provided an updated review on Joe Ortiz' book, The End Times Passover. MacPherson wrote to Ortiz and told him he had reread Joe's book again and stated he was moved by some of the illuminating and profound information contained in the book that he may have glossed over the first time he read it. Following is the updated review, which MacPherson also posted on eBay.com:
"Over the years I've had shelves of Bible prophecy books in my library. But there's a current prophecy book I obtained that's a far cry from the usual dime-a-dozen pop prophecy rewrites designed only to produce goose bumps in prophecy-oriented groupies who are often found on internet message boards and chat rooms.
The author of the unusual prophetic production, Joe Ortiz, chose "The End Times Passover" as the title of his monumental work dealing with Christian theology and especially various millennial and "rapture" doctrines. The word "passover" in his title is explained in the last sentence of the following paragraph on p. 117:
"Even more disconcerting is the pervasive and incessant promulgation of these left behind mythologies that permeate the Christian publishing and video markets of today, which are deluding millions of Christians into a false sense of security, motivated more so by profit and temporal fame. The author makes no apologies to these writers and preachers in regards to this matter. While there exists much love by the author for all those who claim to speak God's gospel truth about who is taken and who is left, claiming that those taken are Christians and those left behind are the heathen, it is inexcusable to persist in this folly when the word of God clearly states His children of promise are left (Gr. aphiemi, forgiven) alone, passed over, when He returns with great wrath!"
When one goes through Ortiz' scholarly masterpiece, he marvels at his tenacious task of taking original Greek NT words and translating them into English. If the reader wants light on the various "rapture" and millennial views, heaven, hell, Middle East, Israel, church, and almost every other topic bearing on the author's focus, "The End Times Passover" is the one book no one can afford to pass over!
Because of recently uncovered data that had been forgotten or covered up for more than a century, the Christian public now knows that the famous (or infamous) pretribulation rapturescape is actually only 178 years old, that John Darby (long credited wrongfully with either pretrib rapture origination or its basic development) wasn't original on any aspect of pretrib dispensationalism, and that pretrib rapturism since its birth in 1830 has been utterly riddled with dishonesty (rampant plagiarism, the subtle changing of primary documents, the deliberate cover-up of contexts in Biblical passages, the flaunting of non-existent or non-accredited academic degrees, etc.)!
While Ortiz' focus is only on the theology (and not history) of end time views, he does lament on p. 194 that "This great secret pre-tribulation "Rapture" scheme has gone on long enough. The development of theories to fit the needs of those who have yet to develop complete and total trust in God's promises is not only destructive to the growth and maturity of the Christian Church, it impedes the Spirit of God from working in and through his called out ones, the ecclesia of God, which needs to be used by God to bring as many more sinners to Jesus before greater tribulation than in past times comes upon mankind."
If readers are exhausted by all of the speculative sensationalism that characterizes today's rapture hysteria, then they are ready for Joe Ortiz' unique resource entitled "The End Times Passover" which is a one-volume library all by itself that no home should be without!"
(Dave MacPherson, January 1, 2009)
Dave MacPherson is the author of
The Rapture Plot, The Incredible Cover Up,
The Great Rapture Hoax, Unbelievable
Pre-Trib Origin, and Late Great Pre-Trib Rapture.
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5 comments:
Thanks for your eye-opening blog. How anyone on earth in his right mind can continue to embrace such a Johnny-come-lately, latter-day, dishonesty-riddled, eccentric-British-invented, Bible-context-ignoring, dangerous, self-centered fantasy is beyond me! Worldwide exposure is what is needed for theorists who are ruthless as well as truthless! God bless you, Brother Ortiz, for the time you have spent making Greek words come alive for English-speaking persons! Jerry
The two books on Bible prophecy that were written by Joseph Ortiz are very good. I know because after I heard about them I was honored to be able to own them and read them. They are not fantasy like those "Left Behind" books but tell the real facts about what will be happening in the future. IMHO every Christian on earth would be blessed and benefited by owning copies of his books, namely, THE END TIMES PASSOVER & WHY CHRISTIANS WILL SUFFER 'GREAT TRIBULATION.'" You can find out all about them by going to the web and looking up the publisher which is Author House. Love, Rosa
Concerning your article, I am proud to be able to say that I own books by Dave MacPherson (who focuses on the history of the pretribulation rapture) as well as books by Joe Ortiz (who focuses on the real meaning of key words in the New Testament relative to prophecy). Anyone who is privileged to own books by the above two authors is wealthy indeed! Thanks for keeping us posted. Rev. Bruce Rockwell
JO can stand for Joe Ortiz or for the Jesus Oracle. Actually I'm talking about the same person, for Ortiz is truly an outstanding oracle for Jesus! If you have never seen his monumental theological works, you are truly a disadvantaged person. His twin achievements, THE END TIMES PASSOVER and WHY CHRISTIANS WILL SUFFER 'GREAT TRIBULATION,' should be in the library of every Christian on earth. Long after the mass-produced superficiality better known as the Left Behind volumes have become long-forgotten oddities, the towering works of Joe Ortiz will continue to be sources of knowledge, strength, and comfort! Don't forget to get your copies of the Ortiz twins on your way home from work. Helen
I discovered that one of the books mentioned (that is, "Why Christians Will Suffer 'Great Tribulation'" by Joe Ortiz) is also in my personal library. As a futurist, I had long noticed that not a few evangelical leaders (for example, Tim LaHaye, John Hagee, and the late Jerry Falwell) had been popularizing and promoting the "rapture" (a 19th century, British-invented, extra-Biblical aberration which Catholics, mainline Protestants, and members of other major religions have never adopted!). Well, to make a long story short, Mr. Ortiz' book reveals that in the earliest New Testament manuscripts there is absolutely no theological support for a return of Christ (with the label of "rapture" or anything else) reportedly occurring several years before the time-honored doctrine of a final coming of Christ to earth. Since the same 179-year-old "rapture" view is a figment of fanatical and fringe British elements of yesteryear, and since it has been turned by American merchandisers into mass-marketing, Ortiz declares it is past time for all supporters of the "rapture" to return to long-established and orthodox attitudes which have always been characterized by down-to-earth realism even in the midst of suffering. To that statement I say a hearty Amen! Ted
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