Review by Momiji1987 -- Roadmap to the End of Days
Posted: 08 Sep 2017, 01:47
[Following is a volunteer review of "Roadmap to the End of Days" by Daniel Friedmann.]

4 out of 4 stars
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Daniel Friedmann’s Roadmap to the End of Days is a refreshing study of Judaic teachings of biblical end time events. Friedmann carefully analyzes the Talmud/Old Testament and other rabbinical sources to illustrate a basic pattern of events that can be used to decode exactly how close humanity is to reaching the final days prophesied by Daniel and other biblical authors. The genre is nonfiction and deals specifically with biblical prophecy, but Friedmann’s approach is more instructive than spiritual making it accessible to a wide variety of religious faiths and non-religious readers.
The text is paired throughout with charts that visually allow the reader to see the “roadmap” of the end of days. The entire book traces the past, present, and future prophetic timelines. He starts with an important event, such as the birth of a leader like Abraham, or a war like the Israeli defeat of the Amorites, to literally chart out prophesies fulfilled in the Bible and then apply it to current and future end time prophesy. Recent events like 9/11 and wars in the Middle East fit neatly into the same exact patterns that Friedmann uses to predict approximate dates for the Messiah’s arrival and the coming Gog and Magog wars. The charts can be enlarged by double tapping to be examined more closely, which is great because they are definitely worth studying. The only thing I didn’t like about them is the text is a little hard to make out; they look like pages that were photocopied and inserted as opposed to rendered on a computer for maximum clarity. It’s still legible for me, but might be hard for some readers with visual impairments to make out. The text goes into everything in the charts in much greater detail anyway, so it’s a small point of complaint.
Another thing about this book is it mainly deals with rabbinical and Old Testament sources. This approach conforms to the author’s own Jewish perspective and makes his work accessible to a variety of faiths by avoiding religious debate. I can appreciate this approach, but personally felt it could have been made even more impactful with the inclusion of New Testament events like the birth of Jesus and his crucifixion in the timeline. I understand his perspective and why he chose not to emphasize Christian or Islamic beliefs except in passing or when they diverged from Judaism, but the absence of religious sources outside Judaism in the timelines made some of the later charts feel incomplete to me. That’s my only critique of an overall solid and fascinating work that truly brings real-world historical and biblical timelines together in a way that is satisfying to people looking to bridge the gap between science and faith.
The formatting of this book lends itself well to the e-book genre. Friedmann’s sources are meticulously researched and compiled in the back of the book with detailed explanations of religious terminology, themes, and prominent individuals. Links to this engaging material are scattered liberally throughout the entire text and tapping a link takes you directly to the explanation/source and back again so you never lose your place. It’s not only convenient, but kind of fun. If you get lost reading the material in the back, you can re-trace your steps until you return to the desired page in the book.
Overall I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars. Friedmann does an excellent job of presenting the subject matter in a clear and approachable way that allows people with little theological expertise to follow along. I personally feel you will get more out of it if you have a basic familiarity with the stories, prophesies, and biblical figures contained in this book prior to reading it, but it’s not necessary to know anything beforehand because the author writes without any expectations of prior knowledge.
Roadmap to the End of Days is both instructive and illuminating. By the time you finish this densely packed read full of concrete events that seemingly fulfill ancient prophesy, you will understand why God created the world, where we currently are in the biblical timeline, what to expect in the future, and how current events are all part of the pattern that has repeated over and over since the beginning of time. It’s very interesting and an excellent read for scholars and theologians looking to expand their knowledge of prophesy and prophetic timelines.
******
Roadmap to the End of Days
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Daniel Friedmann’s Roadmap to the End of Days is a refreshing study of Judaic teachings of biblical end time events. Friedmann carefully analyzes the Talmud/Old Testament and other rabbinical sources to illustrate a basic pattern of events that can be used to decode exactly how close humanity is to reaching the final days prophesied by Daniel and other biblical authors. The genre is nonfiction and deals specifically with biblical prophecy, but Friedmann’s approach is more instructive than spiritual making it accessible to a wide variety of religious faiths and non-religious readers.
The text is paired throughout with charts that visually allow the reader to see the “roadmap” of the end of days. The entire book traces the past, present, and future prophetic timelines. He starts with an important event, such as the birth of a leader like Abraham, or a war like the Israeli defeat of the Amorites, to literally chart out prophesies fulfilled in the Bible and then apply it to current and future end time prophesy. Recent events like 9/11 and wars in the Middle East fit neatly into the same exact patterns that Friedmann uses to predict approximate dates for the Messiah’s arrival and the coming Gog and Magog wars. The charts can be enlarged by double tapping to be examined more closely, which is great because they are definitely worth studying. The only thing I didn’t like about them is the text is a little hard to make out; they look like pages that were photocopied and inserted as opposed to rendered on a computer for maximum clarity. It’s still legible for me, but might be hard for some readers with visual impairments to make out. The text goes into everything in the charts in much greater detail anyway, so it’s a small point of complaint.
Another thing about this book is it mainly deals with rabbinical and Old Testament sources. This approach conforms to the author’s own Jewish perspective and makes his work accessible to a variety of faiths by avoiding religious debate. I can appreciate this approach, but personally felt it could have been made even more impactful with the inclusion of New Testament events like the birth of Jesus and his crucifixion in the timeline. I understand his perspective and why he chose not to emphasize Christian or Islamic beliefs except in passing or when they diverged from Judaism, but the absence of religious sources outside Judaism in the timelines made some of the later charts feel incomplete to me. That’s my only critique of an overall solid and fascinating work that truly brings real-world historical and biblical timelines together in a way that is satisfying to people looking to bridge the gap between science and faith.
The formatting of this book lends itself well to the e-book genre. Friedmann’s sources are meticulously researched and compiled in the back of the book with detailed explanations of religious terminology, themes, and prominent individuals. Links to this engaging material are scattered liberally throughout the entire text and tapping a link takes you directly to the explanation/source and back again so you never lose your place. It’s not only convenient, but kind of fun. If you get lost reading the material in the back, you can re-trace your steps until you return to the desired page in the book.
Overall I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars. Friedmann does an excellent job of presenting the subject matter in a clear and approachable way that allows people with little theological expertise to follow along. I personally feel you will get more out of it if you have a basic familiarity with the stories, prophesies, and biblical figures contained in this book prior to reading it, but it’s not necessary to know anything beforehand because the author writes without any expectations of prior knowledge.
Roadmap to the End of Days is both instructive and illuminating. By the time you finish this densely packed read full of concrete events that seemingly fulfill ancient prophesy, you will understand why God created the world, where we currently are in the biblical timeline, what to expect in the future, and how current events are all part of the pattern that has repeated over and over since the beginning of time. It’s very interesting and an excellent read for scholars and theologians looking to expand their knowledge of prophesy and prophetic timelines.
******
Roadmap to the End of Days
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Momiji1987's review? Post a comment saying so!