In a Nutshell

Michael Rood is a self-styled "Messianic Rabbi." He gained national attention first in the year 2000. During much of that year, Rood was a popular seminar speaker around the country, and guest on the national radio program The Prophecy Club, because he was dogmatically and bombastically predicting that the prophetic "Day of the Lord" would begin on the Feast of Trumpets in the fall of 2000. His prediction failed, but he has continued to promote his speculative prophetic theories through public appearances, literature, a collection of video and audio tape teachings, and his website. At one time he used the name "Michael John Rood" almost exclusively in his ministry, but has recently dropped the middle name.

 

The Claims

1. Michael Rood currently presents himself, and is promoted in a number of "Christian" settings, as an "expert" in interpreting End Time prophetic scenarios from the Bible. His specialty is connecting the annual timing of the Feasts of Israel from the Old Testament to his own projected time schedule for events he believes are soon to come to pass.
 

2. Rood also is considered in many circles as an expert in clarifying the "Hebrew Roots" of the Christian faith, and emphasizing those roots in evaluating, in particular, various New Testament passages.
 

3. One of the factors in the popularity of Rood as a teacher of Hebrew Roots is that those who promote his ministry present him as a "Messianic Jewish" rabbi, with the obvious implication that he has a Jewish education as a "rabbinical scholar" that gives him deep insight into the Old Testament. And yet at the same time, he has come to accept Jesus/Yahshua as the Jewish Messiah so he can understand both the writings of the New Testament and the Jewishness of Jesus.
 

4. Although he seems to carefully avoid promoting his most controversial teachings in certain "Christian" settings, he clearly teaches those who are involved deeply in his ministry that any involvement of any kind in the denominations of "historical Christianity" leaves them in bondage to a Satanic counterfeit of Biblical teaching. Thus those who would not embrace exclusive observance of the seventh day Sabbath and the Biblical holy day cycle immediately upon hearing of Rood's teachings are branded as being under threat of imminent divine retribution, no matter the sincerity of their attempts to understand and serve God.

 

The Allure

Although Michael Rood is beginning to gather a following from a wide cross-section of religious groups, his earliest appeal was likely in particular to those from Sabbatarian Christian circles, including among former members of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) (see: Profile of the Worldwide Church of God elsewhere in this Field Guide), because some of his teachings line up with their own doctrinal understandings. He emphasizes the rejection of the holidays of traditional Christianity such as Christmas, and advocates a return to the Biblical observance of the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days of Leviticus.

However, the most significant factor of his widespread appeal both inside and outside Sabbatarian circles seems not to be based primarily on his doctrinal, scriptural insights, but rather on excitement and enthusiasm over his prophetic speculations.

They are very similar to the type of speculations promoted by Herbert Armstrong and his organization the WCG in the years leading up to 1972. Armstrong had strongly implied that the loyal members of the WCG would be taken to a "Place of Safety" in early 1972, and that the world would then be plunged almost immediately into the Great Tribulation for three and one-half years, followed by the return of Christ in 1975. Armstrong occasionally implied these speculations were only "possibilities." But the net effect of many, many sermons, articles, letters, and charts over the preceding two decades left the average member with an impression that the scenarios described were not just general possibilities, but highly likely probabilities ... in fact, veritable certainties in the minds and hearts of many. Decisions on long-term personal planning--financial and otherwise-- for many families were often affected by the conviction of the probability of these scenarios.

The thrill and excitement of the kind of enthusiasm that such prophetic pontifications can elicit in supporters of a dynamic teacher/preacher is certainly understandable. But the let-down and disillusionment when such prophetic speculations ultimately fail can be devastating for the supporters and followers of gurus such as Armstrong and Rood. When a whole collection of doctrines, no matter how Biblically-sound, are tied in the subconscious minds of supporters to the validity of a prophetic scenario, then the fall of that scenario can easily lead to rejection of those truly Biblical doctrines.

 

 

Concerns

Failed Prophecy Speculations--and Excuses

Michael Rood has been offering dogmatic predictions of exactly how Bible prophecy will be fulfilled in immediate contemporary history since at least 1998. From that year to this, he has promoted to his supporters yearly a number of very specific scenarios to be fulfilled within months, none of which has ever yielded any fruit of fulfillment.

As each proposed scenario has failed, he has offered excuses for that failure and gone forward to offer an alternative scenario for the upcoming year. And yet each such alternative has also failed. This process is extremely typical in the history of the "End Times Prophecy" movement. Rood is only one in a long line of men (and a few women) in the past two centuries and more who have gathered a following around their dogmatic and bombastic proclamations regarding end-times events.

And Rood's record gives no reason that anyone should give any more credence to his speculations than to those of dozens or hundreds of other such prognosticators, from William Miller who gained thousands of followers by predicting the End to come in 1844, to Edgar Whisenant who published the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.

Although many of Rood's followers seem to assume his speculations regarding the Feasts of Israel are unique to him, many prophecy speculators, including Miller and Whisenant, have indicated that crucial prophetic events would be timed to the Feast of Trumpets and other Holy Days. Ray Waugh, in Why All Church-Age Endtime Prophets are False noted about Whisenant's book: 

When they received their book and read it with care, they were informed by Edgar Whisenant that the Rapture would take place on September 12, 1988, that the 144,000 would be sealed on September 26, 1988, that WW III between Russia and the USA would end June 19, 1989, that the Two Witnesses would be killed at Sunrise on March 9, 1992." He went on to explain that the Antichrist would die and go to Hell on April 19, 1992, that Armageddon would conclude on October 4, 1995, and that Satan would be chained on that Wednesday" [This may be where Hal Lindsey gets some of his prophetic detail. RW]. He climaxed these supposedly final truths with the words that on Tuesday, January 1, 3000 A.D. "Eternity Begins" [pp. 48-5]

 

Mixing in Hebrew Roots

There is definitely a value in understanding the historical and sociological setting in which the New Testament events transpired. And thus a certain amount of teaching about the "Hebrew roots of Jesus" and the first century apostles and believers is indeed helpful. But when such teaching is tied too tightly to false predictions about prophecy, when those predictions fail it can discourage the serious Bible student from continued study. In addition, a number of "Hebrew Roots" teachers including Michael John Rood tend to blur the distinction between "Jewish customs" and apocryphal Jewish stories, and solid Biblical information.

 

Mixing Speculation and Solid Bible Content

In addition, Rood has a strong tendency toward mixing wildly speculative material in with solid Biblical teaching in a way that totally muddles just where solid Biblical or historical fact leaves off, and where his own pure conjecture starts. If his audience was made up entirely of Biblically-knowledgeable people, this would likely not cause much problem. Such listeners could filter out his speculation. But his primary appeal seems in recent times to be individuals with very little or no foundation in studying the Bible. And thus they might well be expected to swallow his teachings whole, making no distinction between Roodisms and solid Bible content.

 

Messianic Jewish Claims

All indications from both Rood's own comments in his public appearances and from investigation by outsiders of his personal history indicate that he is not Jewish at all. He was evidently brought up in a standard Protestant home in rural Michigan, and later became involved as an adult for about nine years with a fringe "Christian" religious group called "The Way, International," functioning in a position of leadership as a "minister" within that group.

Thus his self-designation as a "Messianic Rabbi" seems to be mostly designed to foster an illusion of "Biblical authority." He seems to be attempting to subconsciously reinforce this same illusion through the choice of costume (evoking not just contemporary "Jewish" religious garments, but the garb of ancient Biblical characters such as the prophets) he uses in both his public appearances and on his website.

 

Strange Bedfellows

It is not surprising that someone as dogmatic as Rood would attempt to reinforce his teachings to his supporters with extremely strong warnings that to depart from them would be to "deny God" or such. But what is surprising is what strange bedfellows he can acquire by hiding his strongest teachings from those among whom he would like to gather new supporters.

His ministry had a booth at the "National Religious Broadcasters" convention in early 2003. Yet his teachings make it very clear that he would consider almost every other participant in the NRB convention as being utter heathens.

And he has appeared on stage with a variety of speakers and teachers who do not share his narrow view of just WHO really is a "true believer" and what beliefs and practices they must adhere to. And yet his specific teachings on tape also make it clear that he would consider a number of those who have spoken on the same stage as he in recent times as being utterly false teachers deceived by the Devil.

It would be interesting to see how many teaching and speaking engagements he might lose if those inviting him knew about all of his teachings, not just the generically-interesting ones about such topics as the symbolism of the annual Feasts of the Old Testament.

 

Supernatural Claims

Although Rood has not claimed the "office of prophet," he has indicated over and over in his writings and speaking that he has been the recipient of direct divine interventions over and over which he evidently offers as validation of his ministry. And over time he has tended to make bolder and bolder claims about himself and his role in End Times events.

Posted on his website in August 2002 was a description by him of an incident some time earlier when he had a sudden revelation from God of a "mistranslation" of a portion of the book of Zechariah. He goes to great pains in this article to explain the events surrounding this revelation…

Now, I must remind you of the scenario. I am laying in bed on the Sabbath during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. I am scribbling in the oversized margins of my freshly printed 8.5 X 11 inch paper, as I am translating this text without so much as a dictionary with me. I am seeing a picture develop that I had never entertained in the thirty years that I have been studying the prophet. I came to this verse, sat up in bed and shouted out, "This is not a woman – this is a fire. This is not a woman in a basket – this is a fire in a container." Going down a couple verses I said, "These are not two women, these are two fires."

Now, I know what a hare-brained idea is. I have had more than my share. But I saw something that did not come from my mind at that moment. I have had a few experiences in my life when I was given a revelation so clear that I can still tell you the day, hour and moment that it occurred. It is infrequent enough that each incident changed my life. This was one of those moments.

… I took you through this chain of events so that you can judge for yourself the validity of what I am about to show you. The Word still goes forth from Zion.

 

There is no question that he is offering this material as validation that he has unique insight from God into matters separate from just "diligent Bible study."

The bottom line of this article was to "prove" that the passage regarding a "woman in a basket" in Zechariah had been mistranslated for centuries, and it really meant a "fire" in a "projectile." And he further interprets this to mean nuclear missiles being fired from Iraq on the modern nation of Israel … an event which, at the time, he was predicting to occur soon …

In the coming months we will see that Iraq has nuclear warheads that were produced outside of the country, and brought into Iraq after the U.N. inspectors conveniently left the Job in the late 1990’s. The warheads were flown into Iraq and sealed into the rocket-propelled flying containers, which will be launched from the land of Shinar against Israel. The land of Israel, the house of the LORD, will be judged first. But the judgment will continue into the Christian world, which has been profusely swearing falsely. In order to bring America into the battle theatre with Iraq, a major incident will be necessary. Zechariah records that incident – he saw it take place – and so did I. [The attack on the World Trade Center towers.]

Unfortunately for Rood's "revelation," this scenario about the warheads in Iraq never panned out. Was God confused when He "inspired" Rood with this new translation of Zechariah, leading to the dogmatic claims in the paragraph above … or was Rood confused by his own delusions of grandeur? The article was still up on Rood's website as of November 2005. In fact, there have been no "news updates" on the site for a very long time, and no explanation of this particular speculative failure.

 

Connections to the Claims of the Late Ron Wyatt 

An extensive proportion of Rood's speculations are based in part on unconditional acceptance of the highly questionable archaeological claims of the late amateur archaeologist Ron Wyatt. Ron Wyatt claimed to have discovered (or positively identified--at least to his own satisfaction--for the first time in modern history) a large number of locations and objects in the Middle East which would corroborate the events of the Bible.

Some lists of such discoveries by Wyatt include close to 100 such claims made by him. The most significant of these are what he insisted were the "real" Noah's Ark and the "real" Mt. Sinai, the location of Sodom and Gomorrah, the location of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites, debris (chariot wheels, chariots, bones of horses and humans, etc.) under the water there of the pursuing Egyptian army, and the Ark of the Covenant and other temple artifacts of Solomon's temple. For a detailed examination of Wyatt's sensationalistic claims, see the Overview of the Archaeological Claims of Ron Wyatt elsewhere on this Field Guide website.

 

 

Examining the Claims

 

Documentation of a brief overview of Rood's ever-changing predictions.

In 1999 Rood was teaching dogmatically that the "Day of the Lord," the Sabbath millennium, the beginning of obvious, public fulfillment of the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, would commence on September 11, 1999. (Red highlighting has been added to the following excerpts from his website at the time to call attention to the significant points.)

March 29, 1998 at sundown, the first new moon after the vernal equinox appeared. The first sliver of the new moon was sighted at 3% illumination, 18 degrees above the horizon, over the city of Jerusalem. At that moment, for the first time in this millennium, we knew where we were on God's sacred calendar. It was Nisan 1, in the Biblical year 5999, precisely 5,998 1/2 years after the creation of Adam. At that moment, we were exactly 18 Biblical months from the beginning of the 7th, or Sabbath millennium: the Day (or millennium) of the LORD. Our countdown to Tishri 1, 6001: September 11, 1999 at sundown, had begun.

The Hebrew rabbis have taught for thousands of years: "In that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and on the 7th day he rested...man will have his time of reign on earth for 6,000 years and the Messiah will reign in the 7th millennium." When speaking of the last days before the Messiah's return, Peter wrote, " Do not be ignorant of this one thing: a day with the LORD is as a millennium, and a millennium is as a day." Tishri 1, 6001 [Sept. 11, 1999] will be the first day of the millennium of the LORD ... That day will not be the much anticipated rapture of the church. At that time, the intermediate fulfillments of the fall feast will commerce with Yom Teruakh ... When we understand God's method of reckoning time, and get a working knowledge of the Feasts of the LORD, which are all prophetic shadow pictures, we will see the prophecies that were sealed until the time of the end can now be be understood with simplicity as we peel 1,900 years of pagan traditions from our eyes and look at the Hebrew scriptures through a Hebrew lens.

 

Note that Rood said that understanding the prophecies would be "simple" ... but that his understanding was proven later to be totally false.

Below is an excerpt from Michael John Rood's book The Mystery of Iniquity which laid out his prophetic scenario. Of course, as with most modern prophecy pontificators, in other portions of his writings he occasionally adds "fudge words," such as "may" and "possibly." And he may even include on occasion subtle disclaimers such as "I do not claim to be a prophet" that soften ever so slightly the dogmatism of the statements here.

But the overall effect of both his writings and speaking leaves his audiences with the distinct impression that he has a corner on the understanding of the prophecies of the Bible and unique insight into their fulfillment not available from just the run-of-the-mill Bible commentators of the past 2000 years.

You will note that the dogmatic dates set in the following material have come and gone without fulfillment. Yet again, as with most latter-day prognosticators, this seems to have had little effect on his credibility with his supporters and followers. He has come up with various excuses and "apologetics" why he was just slightly off with his calendar calculations, and why one still ought to look to him as the Ultimate Guru--and not as just a run-of-the-mill False Prophet.

From The Mystery of Iniquity

On Tishri 1, 5994 (Biblical reckoning) Israel entered into a covenant with the world government of the United Nations, with the United States acting as guarantor. The "Covenant with Death" was signed on the White House lawn in front of about 3,000 dignitaries on September 13, 1993. Israel entered into a covenant that caused them to pledge land to the UN that had been given to Israel by an everlasting covenant with God. That covenant was made in response to the UN's promise for peace and safety from their enemies.

God will annul this covenant when the overflowing scourge of troops passes through the land on Tishri 1, 6001 (October 29, 2000). The Messiah will confirm the covenant that was made in his blood, when the Ark of the Covenant is brought forth at the height of the invasion of Israel.

Just as the spring Feasts of the LORD were fulfilled to the day, hour, and moment at his first coming, the fall Feasts will be fulfilled with the same exactitude. The Feasts are all shadow pictures of that which is to come.

As with the Feast of Trumpets itself, we will never know the day or hour that the Messiah will return until it happens, but astronomically we can narrow it down. Why do his servants know in advance? Because he said the Holy Spirit will show us things to come. We can see the finish line and have hope, but it will be too late to do anything but trust in the Lord and do the work of the ministry. We can't change the course of history no matter how hard we try. This is it! When Judah takes Jerusalem and the Ark of the Covenant is brought forth we are eighty-four prophetic months from the Day of Atonement on the sea of fire and glass.

The following schedule will be in effect in fulfillment of the fall Feasts of the Lord at the end of the first seven years of the seventh Millennium.

1 Tishri, 6008 The Feast of Trumpets

The Last Trumpet Gathering Together

The Judgment Seat of Messiah in heaven

The Wrath poured out on the earth

 

10 Tishri The Day of Atonement

Judgment is executed, preparation for the marriage supper in heaven

Wrath is finished, preparation for Armageddon on earth

 

15 Tishri The Feast of Tabernacles

The Marriage Supper in the Throne Room

Armageddon logistics executed by Destroyer

 

22 Tishri The Last Great Day

The Battle of Armageddon

Millennial Reign Begins

Aviv 1, 6001 (May 5, 2000 at sundown in Jerusalem) began the Day of the Lord - The 7th Millennium. Tishri 1, 6001 (October 29, 2000) begins the fulfillment of the fall Feasts of the LORD. Tishri 10 will be the confirmation of the covenant by Messiah. That begins the last Shevua (7 years) prophesied by the Prophet Daniel. The Latter Rain outpouring of the double portion of Holy Spirit will occur on Tishri 22, at the time of the water oblation on the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Below is an excerpt from some of the claims Rood was making on his website, 6001.com, in May 2000.

Rabbi Shaul [Paul] spoke of the millennium of the LORD coming upon the inhabitants of the earth, "as a thief in the night." They cry out for the world government to deliver peace and security while the freedom to govern ourselves according to God's Torah is being wrestled from us. The inhabitants of the world are about to enter into the birthpangs of the Messiah, but are oblivious to the fact that the "Day of the LORD" is at hand. God's time reckoning and God's seasons (moedim) have been forsaken by most of the world and they have no idea what time it is on the clock of the heavens. Time has run out. In months, millions of lives will lay in ashes without a single warning - unless you speak up.

I will see you when the smoke clears,

Michael John Rood

 

When Prophecy Fails

Rood's ministry in the past was is conducted through the website michaelrood.com/ which no longer exists.

The original name of the site was "6001.com" but the ministry evidently lost the claim to that domain name at some point. The "6001" of the URL was a reference to his belief that the "6000 years since creation" were complete on the new moon of the first month of the Hebrew calendar in the year 2000, and that we then entered the year 6001--and the seventh millenium.

However, this calendar date did not synchronize with the current Jewish calendar, as Rood also has declared that he has rediscovered the only True Calendar since the time of Christ. In the year 2000 he claimed to have been part of harvesting the only legitimate "green ears" of barley in Jerusalem that indicated the proper month for the year to begin ... one month after most other Jews and Holy-Day-keeping Sabbatarian Christians. This put his Feast of Tabernacles clear into the month of November in 2000.

Rood is not at all unique in his claims for his own role in End Times fulfillments. This Field Guide website provides history, profiles, and documentation about a number of teachers and groups which have predicted the Return of Christ to occur in their own time and/or declared that they had a unique role in the plan of God and were His primary spokesmen on earth in their own time, revealing truths hidden or lost by previous generations.

One particularly significant social-psychology book about this phenomena is titled When Prophecy Fails. It was written in the 1950s at the height of the enthusiasm for Flying Saucers. The authors stumbled on a small cult just then forming around a woman who claimed to be in contact with Space Aliens. She declared a date when her followers would be taken to space by the aliens and then disaster would fall upon the rest of mankind.

The authors of the book were able to infiltrate the group with their own research-associate college students, and thus were able to track what happened as the date for the End came and went. They were thus able to test some of their social psychology theories of how the human mind deals with dis-confirmation of an expected event.

Click here for details on the conclusions of the When Prophecy Fails book.

 

In spite of the miserable failure of Rood’s bombastic pronouncements in 2000, he was right back at it the next year. On September 13, 2001, the following was on Rood's website. It was written on September 7.

The world will be in a panic in a few short days, but you will know what to do. If you do not, gather your family and friends and watch the following videos in order:

The Great Secret of Solomon´s Temple

The Feasts of the LORD and their Prophetic Fulfillment (10 hours)

The Mystery of Solomon´s Laver

I have sounded the alarm since my release 7 years ago this month. Last fall my throat was bleeding after sounding the warning for over 500 hours in 100 cities in 9 months. I have been on a forced Sabbath year since my health failed last October. But I had given my best in front of the television cameras in a final warning as to what is about to transpire. Get the videos now! Do not wait until this whole thing goes up in smoke and you are ready to grasp for any plausible concoction that shows up on "Christian" television.

 

This was in the midst of a long letter. As with most date-setters before and since, there were a couple of phrases buried in the context that would give him a way out if all this bombastic dogmatism didn't bear out.

"Depending on atmospheric conditions in the land of Israel, we will witness the first sliver of the 7th new moon at sundown on either the 18th or 19th of September. The date, if all of my calculations are correct, will be Tishri 1, 6001. I expect that the new moon will not be witnessed until the 19th at sundown which will cause all of the Feast days in my calendar to be shifted one day into the future. If this is the year that we have calculated, the night of Tishri 1, the skies will glow red over the land of Israel."

 

But it is undeniable that the average Rood supporter at that time would not focus on these words at all, but would rather breathlessly devour the rest of the hype in the letter. Such as the following excerpts:

For seven years I have been separated to sound the warning of the Times and Seasons of the Day of the LORD. My job is finished. I have a new assignment, but I need serious full time help from those who have taken heed. This next assignment will cost us our lives, and the dead wood is going to get burned. Interested? Grab your execution stake and give me – or better yet, give Jamie Louis a call ….

… Watch the sky over Israel on September 18th and 19th. Tishri 1 begins the last phase of our countdown to the Confirmation of the Covenant on Tishri 10.

Do not faint. Stay faithful to the end and I will see you when the smoke clears.

 

Although Rood has stumbled over and over in his own "theories" that have led to his failed date speculations, he has very little tolerance for the theories of others, and doesn't hesitate to take them to task in very strong words …

But, due to circumstances beyond my control, I have been forcibly self-introduced to hundreds of overbearing, pseudo-intellectual, anal-retentive couch potatoes who want to beat me over the head with their half-baked theological drivel, demanding that I not only listen to them, but I must agree with them on every harebrained idea that they concoct. [spring 2000 newsletter posted on Rood's website]

 

Click here for a more detailed chronology of Rood's failed predictions.

 

 

Web Documentation

Click here for documentation of Rood's tendency to seamlessly mix fact and speculation in his presentations .

 

The following website has extensive and detailed documentation in a series of articles about some of the most controversial aspects of Michael John Rood's ministry, including his former affiliation with the "Way, International" cult.  

http://www.seekgod.ca/rood.htm

 

 

Personal note from the webauthor

 

When Rood's predictions of a great war in the Mid-East to begin in the fall of 2000 failed, I was convinced this would barely slow down his ability to gather new followers and keep his old ones. My conclusion was correct. Although a number of fringe supporters may have decided to no longer be affiliated with his ministry, a significant proportion of those who had invested most heavily into his teachings appear to be undaunted in their enthusiasm. And thus he continues to gather crowds to his seminars around the country, and find buyers for his books and tapes to this day.

My husband and I attended a live seminar by Rood in 2001. The schedule indicated Rood intended to speak from 7 PM to 11 PM. As I just wanted to get a flavor of what the man's teaching was like, I assumed we could just go for a couple of hours and leave perhaps at "half-time." But when it became obvious that I was having the opportunity to see a possible "cult in the making," I felt it would be valuable for my research to stay for the whole event. This ended up being a grueling effort--Rood continued his fast-paced presentation until well past midnight. And there was only one short break of about 15 minutes around 9 PM--during which most in attendance went to an adjoining room to purchase Rood tapes and books.

Click here for an unabashedly candid, subjective, and opinionated "snapshot" of my experience at one of Michael John Rood's "Rood Awakening" lectures

 

Evaluation

Can Michael Rood be "forgiven" for setting false dates and misleading people by his teachings to look to those dates? Of course. The question is not "forgiving" Rood.

The question is this:

Rood has had an unending record of setting dates which prove over and over again … 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 … to be utterly meaningless. Not one thing that he has dogmatically and bombastically declared to audiences who hang on his every word has come to pass. Yet he refuses to quit using loaded words such as "See you in Jerusalem when the smoke clears" to his audiences.

 

Given this track record, why should anyone give credence to the idea that the man has credentials as an "expert" in the area of Biblical prophecy? And why should anyone continue to look to him for his opinion on events of the future?

 

2011 Update:

Michael Rood’s Latest “Personal Rude Awakenings”

In August 2007, almost all of Rood’s associates in the Rood Awakening Ministries, with headquarters in Oregon, joined in rejecting his leadership of the organization, accusing him of “inappropriate behavior,” financial irregularities, and heavy-handed leadership.

Rude Awakening Rocks the Rood Crew

A group of leading Hebrew Roots individuals was called together as a panel to investigate and arbitrate between the two sides of the Rood problem.

Those arbitration efforts failed. The panels findings went against Rood’s interests, and he rejected them totally.

The Final Publication of the Committee Investigating the Dispute Between Michael Rood and Jamie Louise

Those opposing Rood’s leadership had the legal ability to remove him from his role in the ministry, so he moved his base of operations to Michigan, where one of his loyal supporters set him up with a new office and studio space to record his programs. He was soon back in business on the Web.

The following sources provide considerable revealing documentation and commentary regarding the events surrounding the 2007 breakup of the Rood Awakening ministry.

The Michael Rood Brand of Ministry

A Real Michael Rood Awakening

 

In 2009 and 2010 Rood went back to his standard ministry activities.

And then suddenly in August 2010 the Grand Rapids WOOD-TV website reported that another Rood breakup had occurred.

‘Rood Awakening' founder fired by board

August 24, 2010

BYRON CENTER, Mich. (WOOD) - The man who started A Rood Awakening, a worldwide educational ministry, was fired by his board and now is accused of embezzling and failing to pay taxes -- leaving the organization on the hook to the IRS.

The sign on the door of the Byron Center ministry's office used to say 'A Rood Awakening,' for Michael Rood. His name has since been removed.

[Full story at link above]

 

By September 1 the TV site reported that some sort of court negotiations were ongoing between the two factions.

[Full story at link above]

 

Public notice of the ongoing battle ended at that point. Rood shifted his operations to North Carolina, and was soon back on the Web, now with a website titled “Michael Rood on the Loose.”

 

Postscript

Beyond concern about Michael Rood’s false prophecies and related issues these days, and beyond his latest legal troubles,  are his turn further and further towards rejecting the integrity of the New Testament. He has for several years appeared around the country and on videos with Nehemia Gordon, a non-Christian, non-Messianic Jew who rejects Jesus.

For an explanation of the significance of Rood’s partnering with Gordon, and the serious concerns it raises, see:

Found a Book, But Lost the Gospel

Raiders of the Lost Book Equals Raiders of Nothing of Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Michael Rood is just one of many would-be prophecy pundits in the Wild World of Religion. The following books contain documentation and commentary on the many varieties of End Times Prophecy speculation, and assist the reader in evaluating the validity of the claims of the pundits.

 

Armageddon Now! The Premillenarian Response to Russia and Israel Since 1917
Wilson, Dwight
Baker Book House, Gr. Rapids MI
1977
(history of prophetic speculation from 1917-1977)

 

Doomsday Delusions: What's Wrong with Predictions About the End of the World?
Pate, C. Marvin; Haines, Calvin B. Jr.
Intervarsity Press, Downer's Grove IL
1995

 

The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology and Christ’s Return
Jonsson, Carl Olof
Commentary Press, Atlanta GA
1983, 1998
(evaluation of the Jehovah's Witness speculation on End Time prophecy)

 

The Last Days Are Here Again
Kyle, Richard
Baker Book House, Gr. Rapids MI
1998
(history of prophetic speculation)

 

Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession
Fuller, Robert
Oxford University Press, New York NY
1995

 

The Sign of the Last Days: When?
Jonsson, Carl Olof and Herbst, Wolfgang
Commentary Press, Atlanta GA
1987
(overview of Jehovah's Witness speculations on prophecy)

 

Soothsayers of the Second Advent
Alnor, William M.
Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan NJ
1989
(Profiles of a number of current prophecy teachers)

 

When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World
Festinger, Leon; Riecken, Henry W.; Schachter, Stanley
Harper & Row, Publishers, New York NY
1956

Author Festinger, a social psychologist, coined the term "cognitive dissonance," and introduced it to the general public in this work. The book is considered a classic in the field of Social Psychology. Festinger and his social-psych team were interested in testing a theory they had about how people in religious groups which dogmatically predict a date for "the end of the world" respond when the prediction fails. They happened to stumble on a small group just forming around a woman who claimed to be receiving messages from extra-terrestrials. She declared that a great series of natural disasters would occur on earth on December 21 of the current year, and that only those who heeded the messages of her unearthly contacts would be rescued. The book first surveys the history of "End Times prophecy" teachers and groups from the first century to the 20th. And then it describes how they were able to infiltrate this growing cult with research assistants and obtain reports of the reactions of the members before and after the date of the predicted "End." For more details on the book, see the When Prophecy Fails section of this Field Guide.

 

When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture
Boyer, Paul
The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA
1992

 

End Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon?
Abanes, Richard
Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville TN
1998
(history of prophetic speculation)

 

Check out the Field Guide Profile on the End Times Prophecy Movement for more information on related topics.

 

 

 

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is © 2001-2011 by Pamela Starr Dewey.

Careful effort has been made to give credit as clearly as possible to any specific material quoted or ideas extensively adapted from any one resource. Corrections and clarifications regarding citations for any source material are welcome, and will be promptly added to any sections which are found to be inadequately documented as to source.

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Michael Rood

and His "Rood Awakenings"