WILD WORLD 
OF RELIGION Field Guide to the

This webpage is one portion of a much longer profile of the ministry of Michael Rood on this Field Guide website. Click here to go to Michael Rood and His "Rood Awakenings".

 

In 1999 self-styled "Messianic Rabbi" Michael John Rood (in recent years he has dropped his middle name and prefers to refer to himself as “Michael 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.

In a tape made in early 1999, later distributed as Tape 1 of The 70 Week Ministry of the Messiah tape album, Rood had the following to say:

Right now we are 210 days I believe it is, it's 211 days on the calendar, but, it is 210 days, 18 hours, 45 minutes and 24 seconds until Tishri 1, 6001, which will happen September 11, 1999 at sundown in Jerusalem this coming years. Two hundred and ten days away.  

 

Note that there was no mention before this on the tape that the statement above was "speculative" in any way. There were no comments such as "if my calculations are correct," or "If my theory of how the chronology of the End Times is correct". The statement was just as stark and bold on the tape as it is in print above. And what significance did Rood place on the Tishri 1 date?

That is when the seventh millennium begins, the Sabbath Millennium, the Day or Millennium of the Lord. That is when the Lord does the judging. That is when the Book of Revelation WILL unfold in order, in the progression, in which God has given to the Messiah for the Messiah to show unto His people the things which must come to pass.

The material on his 6001.com website in early October 1999 included the following excerpts which outlined his prophetic speculations . [PLEASE NOTE: In this and succeeding sections in this profile, red highlighting is occasionally added to the original text of quotations to emphasize the most 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 will be the first day of the millennium of the LORD. It will also be Yom Teruakh, the high Sabbath of the Feast of Trumpets.  The Day of Trumpets is the Feast of the LORD that occurs on a day and hour that no man knows.  Because this feast day is determined by the visible sighting of the new moon by two concurring witnesses testifying before the High Priest and elders, the day and hour of the Day of Trumpets cannot be determined in advance.  But, according to astronomical computer models, the new moon should appear 3% illuminated, 13 degrees above the horizon over Jerusalem, at sunset on the Gregorian date September 11, 1999.  

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. We need to step out of the paradigm of the pagan calendar initiated by Roman traditions, and we need to leave behind outdated provisions introduced into the modern Jewish calendar by Rabbi Hillel II in the 4th century.  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 the prophecies could be understood "with simplicity" ... but his understanding was proven later to be totally false. In fact, the material above was still on his website when the date of September 11 was already past. As was the following excerpt, posted under the title "Countdown to the Seventh Millennium".

For centuries, the rabbis have taught that a day with the LORD is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day: what this means is that man would have his time of rule and reign upon the earth for six thousand years, and on the seventh millennium, the Messiah would reign. We are fast approaching the Great and Notable Day of the LORD. The Biblical Hebrew year 6001 will mark the first year of the Seventh Millennium, the seventh "day," the Day of the LORD. This epoch will not begin on January 1, 2000 or 2001: those dates are inventions of man, throughly fictitious and impertinent. We must look to the Creator's calendar, which points to Tishri 1, 6001 (September 11, 1999 at sundown) as the beginning of the seventh period of one thousand years since creation ... Does this mean that the Messiah will arrive on September 11? No! In the Bible we read of the Great and Notable Day of the LORD. This Day, or Millennium, starts out with bloodshed, plagues, and all manner of pestilence.

 

However, at the time in October that the above was still on the site, September 11 had already passed. So the following "explanation" was added to the site. It appears to have been an attempt to push the speculation on events forward just one month, to October 11. However, this was still on the site after that date had also come and gone.

The Countdown to the 7th Millennium clock has been reset on the Day of Atonement - Jewish reckoning.

September 11, 1999 at 19:35 hours I was flying at 30,000 feet southwest of Paris, high above the heavy cloud cover that lay over most of Europe and the Mid-East. As the sun set behind the clouds I could clearly see the first sliver of the new moon visible at 3% illumination. I arrived in Tel Aviv at 0130 local time and was the first to load into a sharoot destined for Jerusalem. The cloud cover was complete with not a star appearing overhead. I arrived in Jerusalem at the YMCA across from the King David Hotel where Jamie and Bo Coffey had secured a room. The doors were locked and no one was attendant at the desk at 0330, so I hid my luggage in a stair well on the north side of the property and was off to the Western Wall (Kotel) to pray.

All was quiet. No rockets red glare. No bombs bursting in air. Only the noxious chants of the Arabs over their high powered bull horns atop the minarets on the temple mount. Later that morning, Bruce Brill informed me that the new moon was sighted from the Negev (southern desert area of Israel) the previous evening by one of our faithful Jewish moon watchers, just as I had witnessed from the window of my plane. In the succeeding days we explored the battle tank emplacements on the Golan Heights. They were deserted except for Leigh, Jamie, Jim Rutz, Bo Coffey, Terry Telligman, Dave and Mike Schutt, Melissa Laturno, and myself - not a formidable force by any means. We camped on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in peace. It did not appear that anything was threatening.

The warning that was delivered to us in Texas by the Israeli Colonel who warned of an imminent attack seemed premature. The countdown to the 7th millennium came and went without incident. What was wrong? The year? Probably, but still I had no way to correct the date. Brill handed me an English language publication of "Israel Today" dated May 1999 - the article: "The Mystery of the 240 Missing Years." In the article, David Rohl, an Egyptologist and Archaeologist, found hieroglyphics that give a chronology that synchronize the Jewish calendar with the Gregorian and asserts that 240 years are missing from the modern Jewish reckoning, bringing us to the "prophetic year 6000."

If he is correct on the 240 years, as opposed to my 241 year assertion, the year 6000 is not a "prophetic year", but it is still one year away from the beginning of the 7th Millennium. The article does not go into all of the details, so it is not available for close scrutiny.

I doubt however, that any of us would not make good use of one more year before the Day of the LORD begins the great shaking of the earth. But the weight of evidence, at least astronomically and mathematically, would point to another explanation. And the evidence points to a month more of preparation, rather than a year.

Don't you just love these dress rehearsals for the Day of the Lord? ... ... When I say that I feel that I was led to determine September 11, 1999 at sundown to be the beginning of the 7th millennium, I see it in two ways. As Bob Wadsworth and I were setting the calendar, we prayed that we would do the right thing concerning the setting of Nisan this last year. That calendar has made news in Israel and has provoked Jewish scholars to re-evaluate not only how the months are to be reckoned, but also seriously look at the 241 year discrepancy.

If I had published the calendar to not only challenge them on the monthly reckoning - which I have successfully defended the ancient biblical position to the point that it has made headlines in Israel - but if I were out of synch with the determination of Nisan 1, which could not have been proven beyond a doubt, I seriously question whether my calendar would have accomplished anything among Jewish scholarship in Jerusalem.

To correct the calendar by a month now over the next year will be very simple, but I cannot do so unless we see the events of the 7th millennium as the indisputable benchmark by which these things can be judged. This year would give God the wonderful opportunity of showing all of us which method of reckoning the month of Nisan is His method. If it is the first new moon on or after the Vernal Equinox, and if this is indeed the beginning of the 7th Millennium, it will take all but those who watch and wait - make mistakes - and watch and wait, by surprise. The Jews, and most of the world, will have ended their harvest celebrations 11 days earlier.

I will be watching and waiting here to see what transpires. If the year 6001 does not begin on October 10th or 11th at sundown, we will continue to call God's people to repentance - The Day of the LORD is still at hand!  

 

At this point, it seemed he might be about to tone down the stridency of his speculations, admitting that he really didn't understand the details of prophecy with such "simplicity" as he first thought.

 

Back to the Drawing Board

By November 1999, the following had been added to the website:

NEW! The latest update from Michael Rood. What happened this fall? What about Tishri 1, 6001? Includes pictures from Israel and an introduction into some electrifying information. Also reconciles materials to reality. Check out Michael's latest letter to you.

 

Unfortunately, this NEW update didn't back away from dogmatic speculation at all, it just shoved the speculation forward six months:

My last month in America can best be typified by Sir Winston Churchill's statement: "There is nothing so exhilarating in life as being shot at - without result."

Since my arrival in Jerusalem I have been physically and emotionally drained. Jamie canceled my last meeting in Colorado. I was spent. It was over. These last few months have been exhausting. If I had not been convinced that September 11th at sundown began the 7th Millennium, we would not have been able to push as hard as we did. ...

Tishri 1 comes and goes in peace

September 11, 1999 at 19:35 hours I was flying at 30,000 feet southwest of Paris, high above the heavy cloud-cover that lay over most of Europe and the Mid-East. As the sun set behind the clouds, I could clearly see the first sliver of the new moon visible at 3% illumination. I arrived in Tel Aviv at 0130 local time and was the first to load into a cheroot destined for Jerusalem. The cloud cover was complete with not a star appearing overhead. I arrived in Jerusalem at the YMCA, across from the King David Hotel, where Jamie and Bo Coffey had secured a room. The doors were locked and no one was attendant at the desk at 0330, so I hid my luggage in a stair well on the north side of the property and was off to the Western Wall (Kotel) to pray. All was quiet. No rockets red glare. No bombs bursting in air. Only the noxious chants of the Philistines over their high-powered bullhorns atop the minarets on the temple mount... and not a sling shot in sight in the whole land of Israel. In the succeeding days we explored the battle tank emplacements on the Golan Heights. They were deserted except for Bo Coffey, Leigh, Jamie, Jim "Open Church" Rutz, Terry Telligman, Dave and Mike Schutt, Melissa Laturno, and myself - not a formidable force by any means. We camped on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in peace. The countdown to the 7th millennium came and went without incident. What was wrong? The year? Probably, but still I had no way to correct the date. It was time to shut my mouth and pray.   ... My words of the past six months came back to bite me with their reality:

  

..."This is not revelation from God. I have had no angelic visitation from Gabriel, and I cannot say, "Thus saith the LORD." The year calculations are based on mathematical and astronomical data that I will show you. I believe that this is the last year of the 6th Millennium and I live like it. I am here to deliver my soul. When the 7th Millennium begins, Tishri 1 will begin the prophetic fulfillment of the fall Feasts of the LORD. If this is not the year 6000, then I am going to throw up my hands on Tishri 1 and say that I don't know what year it is - and I do not have any idea how to begin figuring it out..."  

I was at the end of my 40-day fast. I was weak, and a miserable host to our companions from Texas who were no doubt let down by the lack of apocalyptic festivities upon our arrival. There were no divine appointments for me; there was no inspiration. I knew that I was wrong on the year, but I could not correct it. Examination of my concept of reality was an ever-present burden.

A month passed... slowly. Late one evening several people were exchanging greetings with new acquaintances in the street of the old city, when I was asked by a messianic congregation leader from Canada, "Who are you?" I was stalled. I couldn't say anything. The only answer I could think was, "I am an idiot." I replied, "I don't know".

It was time to get away into the wilderness. By the third day of my stay in the Judean wilderness, my water store was nearly exhausted. The air was clear and the Dead Sea and the distant mountains of Jordan could be seen through the gap in the Judean mountains that was cut by the wadi that ran by my mountain refuge. All was quiet from Heaven - disturbingly so. I sat on the rocks in front of my cave that was once the domicile of the sheep herdsmen of Tekoa 2,600 years ago.

I again read the Prophet Amos' vision of the Day of the LORD. I gazed over the mountainside that had once been a thriving village and again plead with the LORD to answer me. A bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky to end my anguish would suffice. Anything. I wanted constructive reproof concerning my error in pronouncing the Day of the LORD beginning on Tishri 1, 6001 at sundown on September 11, 1999.

I got nothing. I had no reason to return to the States. No reason to stay here. No reason to breathe. And I certainly had no right to open my mouth with an opinion about anything. The howl of the morning wind amplified my desolation. I longed to just go home. But I had no home. The recollection of my personal choices over the last several years stung like a scorpion. I sat in the rubble of a civilization long ago destroyed when the first of Amos' prophecies were fulfilled. Clay potshards - a million fragments of that once-thriving community lay at my feet. I felt as vital as these shards - worthless in service to the Creator of the pot. Living in this grotto with over a foot of ancient compressed sheep dung that had accumulated over 30 centuries, I pondered the difficult lifestyle of those who raised generations of God fearing, Torah observant Israelites in this mountainside city of caves, looking for the coming of Messiah in each of their generations. How many righteous men sat on this mountainside and lifted up their voice to the God of Heaven desiring the coming of the Holy and Just One, but died without having seen the promised Messiah? How many generations lived and died on this mountainside, yearning for the same day I now desire?

Who was I to even sit in the dung of the sheep of the poor Tekoan prophet who died proclaiming "The Day of the LORD" and complain about my job? Who was I to bewail my ignorance to the One who answered the venerated King Solomon only twice in his lifetime? Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. A simple course became clear. I determined to not profit from my error, recall my material from bookstores and start over by keeping my mouth shut and keeping God's commandments - one at a time. But, I had no idea what to do next.  

 

That would indeed have been a simple ... and wise ... course.

Unfortunately, he did not choose to stay on that course. While still in Israel, he was introduced to a man name Nehemiah Gordon who convinced him that he had misunderstood some of the details of the Hebrew calendar. And these details could account for the miscalculations he had made regarding the timing of the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

Without time for a proper explanation of his position, Nehemiah unceremoniously repudiated the tradition of reckoning the head of the year (Rosh Hashanah) at Tishri 1, rather than Abib 1 (Nisan). Still, the importance of this concept evaded me - but that reality is about to change my life and yours. Drastically. That meeting produced a commitment to plant 3 fields of barley around Jerusalem for the express purpose of determining when the barley is Abib this next spring. Brill secured a parcel of land in front of his residence in Tekoa; Jamie bought 200 shekels of earth from the Herodian excavation site; and Bruce and I brought in two loads of sheep dung from the only Jewish herdsman left in Tekoa (also a member of the temple mount faithful). Shomare volunteered his field in Shechem, and Micah and Shoshanna Harrari have their field prepared in Ramat Razael.

Today I purchased the 30 shekels of native barley seed to plant the first kadosh barley fields for sanctifying the New Year since the destruction of Jerusalem. According to the ancient method, we tilled the soil after the (correctly determined) feast of Sukkot and we will plant the barley on the first day of the eighth month, Marheshwan. The previous evening we will be at the Hulda gate on the south wall of Jerusalem with the Temple Mount Faithful to declare the new month, and we have planned a moon sighting on Mount Scopus that evening with the Israeli New Moon Society.

For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, we will have a barbecue to honor the "two witnesses" who come up to declare their sighting. The next day we will plant in hope -hope that we will be on God's calendar at the beginning of the 7th Millennium as I had projected 2 years ago. I never imagined I would be a part of it in the land of Israel.

 

Still other new contacts convinced him of some other calendar details:

A small paperback would be required to capsulate the events of that day, but the most significant for the moment is the confirmation of Abib 1 being the beginning of the Biblical year, with the last seven days of Adar as the creation week. The stage was being set to deprive me of a great deal of sleep. Traditions die hard. When you have years of theology and a thousand chronological charts built on them, they can be especially painful to have dislodged from your cranium.

 

And reading the materials of yet another contact convinced him of further information that would allow him to "correct" his errors of 1999.

For the next three days I dozed off on the couch when my eyes crossed from gleaning details from Faulstich's work. Then I found this treasure. A singular occurrence: the singularly significant planetary alignment that set the course of nature in motion on the week of creation, and also provided an astronomical landmark from which time from creation can be reckoned. Now you will understand that which has evaded my tradition-scarred mind for years. In short, he established the proof that creation week could not have possibly occurred in the month of Elul, as had been promoted by late rabbinical tradition in the Seder Olam. I was wrong in this very fundamental calculation because tradition is passed down with unproven truths as well as improvable errors, to which we grow up blind. Creation took place in Adar.

The year begins, according to earlier rabbinical tradition, astronomical proofs, the Biblical text, and numerous Jewish confirmations, on the first day of Abib, 0001. That means that the 7th millennium begins exactly 6 months later than I had projected.

That is the difference between Faulstich's correct 240-year correction and my incorrect 241-year calculation. When I shifted the chronology charts by 6 months everything worked with perfection. The problem of the events that didn't happen this Tishri disappeared, as the extra six months gave them enough time to transpire. This was the breakthrough for which I wasn't even looking. The Countdown to the 7th Millennium Timeline Charts remain valid except the years need to be slid forward by 6 months in relation to the Gregorian calendar, and the year begins on Abib (Nisan) 1. The Day of the LORD begins April 5, 2000 (if the barley harvest confirms our projections, of course).

All of the materials are still valid with the correction of the beginning of the year, which buys us an additional year before the fall Feast fulfillments. The extra preparation time is an unexpected blessing. The fall Feasts will not begin their prophetic fulfillment until Tishri 1, 6001 - 6 months later at sundown on September 29, 2000.

This, incidentally, is the deadline for implementing the division of Jerusalem and declaring the Philistine state according to the Oslo (Hebrew for "toilet seat") agreement of Tishri 22, 6000.

Next year an Adar bet is projected in March 2001, and will provide the requisite 7 months to cleanse the land of dead bodies before Passover. The seals in the book of Revelation will be stripped in their stated chronological progression, at the beginning of the Day of the LORD, which will initiate the havoc that brings about the 10-day war next fall. This is exactly what I detailed in The Mystery of Iniquity four years ago. Read the book and become acquainted with what the Messiah wants his servants to know about the realities of the Day of the LORD.

Again, This is NOT Armageddon. The Gog-Magog war is coming up in September, which is limited global thermonuclear war. This is nothing to get too excited about; it is NOT the end of the world. There will be NO pre-tribulation rapture. We are not to take up arms to defend anyone from God's judgment. We are not to initiate any aggressive action to bring about "the end." We are to initiate repentance from pagan practices, repentance to keeping the commandments of God, and obedience to the instructions of the Torah as they are interpreted by the Messiah in the Gospel record and the witness of the Chief Rabbi of the universe - the Holy Spirit.

The world is going to be producing a lot of death, disease and destruction. Learn to keep a kosher camp. Remember, millions of Christians died of the Black Death while the Jews who kept the commandments of God concerning quarantine, unclean meats, and purification never even got sick. So, if you don't want to take part in the diseases of the Gentiles - keep His commandments concerning these things. We have a job to do for the next several years. We have more time to get ready and to make a difference. This last September was a good Mikra (rehearsal). Are you rested up? Don your flack jacket again and let's get back on the front lines. You are called to the battle - let's go.

We had a rest after Tishri 1 this year. There will be no rest after April 5. Gird up the loins of your mind; strip down to fighting weight, the Day of the LORD is at hand. I hope to see you before the smoke clears, Michael John Rood  

 

After such a dogmatic statement, he perhaps thought better again of it, and hedged it about with an "if":  

P.S.- I will live as if next Abib 1 starts the year 6001. If it does not, I will rest up at the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem and then live as though the next year is 6001. The Fall Feasts of the LORD will be fulfilled at the beginning of the 7th month of the 7th millennium, even if it takes another 240 years - they will be fulfilled according to His Word.

 

If he would have "left it right there," it might be possible to give him credit for softening his stance on the reliability of his own speculations. But for some strange reason, he must have thought it necessary to immediately downplay that hedging with another dogmatic statement:

 

All of the Feasts of the LORD are Mikrot - rehearsals with prophetic significance. Are you Adar Bet or are you Abib? When put to the fire in the spring will you vaporize into an empty shell? Last year, God's people were not Abib. This year's planting season has begun. This will be the last planting of physical and spiritual seed before the Day of the LORD. Grow up quickly - or you will be "toast" next spring.  

 

This has been the typical tactic of many bombastic, dogmatic prophecy speculators--set a date, find that it passes without fulfillment, and then--instead of just admitting that one's speculations have not come from calculations done as a result of divine inspiration, but just from one's own fertile imaginings--juggle the figures to buy a few more months.

And when all of that fails, deny any responsibility for misleading others. For, after all, aren't others responsible for making their own decisions on whether to believe the teachings presented? Indeed they are ... but the scripture makes it clear that the greater responsibility is on the shoulders of the one presenting himself as a teacher gifted by God.

James 3:1 1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (NIV)

 

Or, as the KJV even more ominously puts it, "we shall receive the greater condemnation."

The appeal of teachers like Rood and William Miller of the 1800s is often not primarily to the spiritually mature and Biblically-learned, who would indeed have greater responsibility for diligently comparing the teachings to the scriptures. The appeal is often to the brand-new Christian who has never read the Bible, or the tired, old (but Biblically ignorant) Christian who has never been taught by the leaders of his church denomination how to do systematic Bible study.

The excitement generated in the hearts and minds of many by reading and listening to charismatic, dynamic teachers and their speculations on prophecy (seldom presented as mere speculation, but as near-certainties) can easily blind the common sense of even those who should know their Bibles better. And thus how much less-equipped to "prove all things" they hear from such a teacher are those whose first real exposure to Bible study is that very teacher?   

 

History Repeats Itself

Consider this description of the ministry of William Miller (from the Field Guide Seventh Day Adventist movement profile.) And compare Miller's methods with those of Rood:

William Miller was a Baptist "lay leader" in New York state who began studying Biblical prophecy in earnest around 1820, and developed elaborate theories about the timing of the Second Coming. He attempted at first to present his theories to the ordained ministers in his area, hoping that they would preach them to the public. But his attempts to convince others to spread his ideas were mostly ineffective. So in 1831 he reluctantly started preaching about them himself.

In 1833 he published his first official pamphlet on end-time prophecy. And in 1836 his book Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ about the Year 1843 was published. Miller based his prophetic scenario in particular on Daniel 8, in which the prophet Daniel, in vision, hears two "saints" talking about some of the events he saw earlier in the vision:

Dan 8:13-14 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Miller accepted a popular theory proposed by many Bible students of his time (and still popular in many circles today) that a day in prophetic passages is almost always intended to stand for a year in fulfillment. (This theory is based on passages such as Ezekiel 4:6.) And thus he taught that this prophecy would be 2300 years in fulfillment. He believed that the 2300 years started in 457 BCE with a decree from Babylonian monarch Artaxerxes allowing those Israelites in Babylon who wished to, to return to the land of Israel and rebuild the Temple.

Thus Miller was convinced that the "cleansing of the temple" (which he believed to be symbolic of the Second Coming-- the second "Advent of Christ" when He would "cleanse the earth") would occur at some point between two spring equinoxes: March 21,1843 and March 21, 1844. Miller also established to his own satisfaction a number of other alleged "proofs" of this chronology from comparing other Biblical passages and historical events.

By the early 1830s, he was circuit-riding small-town New England with an illustrated series of lectures, and within a decade he was preaching in the major cities of the Northeast and leading the most popular millenarian movement America has seen. (The Disappointed, p. Xv)

 

Conservative estimates indicate Miller and his associates presented his theories ultimately to hundreds of thousands of people in America (Miller himself claimed to have spoken to over 500,000 people, in over 4,500 meetings), along with large numbers overseas, particularly in English-speaking countries. Many main-stream church leaders strongly criticized his teachings.

Many newspapers ridiculed his ideas as fanaticism and his supporters as fanatics, while at the same time appreciating the fact that sensational stories about his meetings increased the sales of their papers.

For the first several years of his preaching efforts, Miller encouraged his supporters to remain in their local church denominations and just attempt to share their beliefs with their brethren there. Toward the approach of the predicted dates, it became obvious that the beliefs such supporters embraced from Miller's teachings left them more and more estranged from the religious mainstream. And thus in the final years and months before the expected Advent, many left their former congregations and formed independent fellowship groups based on their distinctive beliefs.

Outsiders usually referred to such groups as "Millerites," but their preferred designation for themselves was "adventists." Since there was no specific "organization" that such individuals and fellowship groups could "join," it is impossible to accurately estimate their numbers. But it seems likely from various records of the time period that from 25,000 to 50,000 people were ultimately committed to various levels of involvement in the Millerite movement by 1843.

When both March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844 passed without the Return, Samuel Snow, one of Miller's followers, suggested that a prophetic principle regarding "tarrying" in Hab. 2:3 might be used to extend the expected date by 7 months and 10 days. This would push the Return forward to October 22, 1844, mistakenly believed by Miller and others to be the date of the annual Biblical Holy Day of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in that year. Miller accepted this reasoning and he and many of his followers once again waited in anticipation.

But that date too, passed, and Miller finally gave up the effort to pinpoint a specific date. How did Miller himself deal with what later became known as "The Great Disappointment"? From The Disappointed, p. 32 (Chapter 2, "William Miller: Disappointed Prophet" by Wayne R. Judd)

He refused to bear responsibility for deception. 'No one can honestly say that he has been deceived by me. My advice has always been for each to study the evidence of his faith for himself.' [letter from Miller to T.E. Jones, 11/29/44] He speculated that God may have designed the delay so that people would turn to the Bible to study further and be reconciled to God. After all, to have erred in the precise date did not reduce the advent urgency. Every passing day was one day nearer the end.

But many thousands of former "True Believers" who had cut ties with their former religious affiliations were now left wondering how to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. Many swallowed their pride and went back to their old churches. Others became greatly disillusioned with religion in general and drifted away from any specific faith. Some stayed together and created their own new small denominations, still convinced that the Return would be "soon," but realizing now that it was foolish to set dates. One such group developed into the Advent Christian Church, which still exists to this day.

(For an overview of the psychology of the choices people make when confronted with the fact that they have believed in a false prophecy, see the When Prophecy Fails section of the Field Guide.)  

 

Forging Onward

At this point in Rood's ministry, he was again predicting a cataclysm was imminent, connected to the fall Feasts, this time for September 29, 2000.

Throughout 2000 he once again made many public "Rood Awakening" appearances, promoting this new scenario, including an 80-city tour sponsored by The Prophecy Club radio program. And once again, the fall Feasts came and went without fulfillment of his predictions. And once again he treated his followers to a mixed response: he was confused, couldn't account for the error, and implied strongly that he would shift the emphasis of his personal ministry away from prophetic speculation. On December 19, 2000, he wrote the following, excerpted from a newsletter posted on the 6001.com website:

Sundown, September 28, 2000, I stopped on a hill north of Dallas and stood on the roof of the car to watch the setting of the new moon. It was Elul 1, 6001, on the corrected calendar, which started the 40 Days of Repentance leading to the Day of Atonement. It also started our 40-day fast.

The week before, I stated that, "If I have corrected the calendar accurately, we will see violence erupt in Israel on Elul 1, and escalate into full-blown warfare during the 10 Days of Awe." The moon, which I was now watching in Dallas, had set in Jerusalem eight hours earlier, just after Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount that gave the Palestinians an excuse to begin their violence. It looked as if 'THIS IS IT'.

... The violence began to subside in Israel. The 10 Days of Awe were relatively quiet. It was obvious that I was wrong on either one of two points. Either the calculated year was wrong (in which case I don't know yet how to correct it) or the events that I maintained to occur at the onset of the 7th Millennium would occur deeper into the Day of the LORD. I now knew that the order of events detailed in the Fall Feasts would not be forthcoming THIS YEAR. We have at least one more year before the MAJOR shake-up goes down.

To be frank with you, I was not looking forward to being right this year. I know these things must come to pass, but I do not desire the trouble that is on the way. I cannot blame "the LORD", an "angel", or anyone else for my being wrong. I'm wrong all by myself. Some people have attached prophetic weight to my personal interpretation of scenarios that would transpire if the Fall Feasts were to begin their intermediate fulfillment this past fall. The Feasts of the LORD are prophetic. I am not.

Time will prove whether my interpretation of HOW they will be fulfilled is reality, or if reality will surprise us all. I do not foretell the future. I did project geo-political scenarios, which (in my opinion) were very sound at the time. I do not give flowery, euphoric, soothing sayings about the future fortunes of those who line up to hear a prophet. I call people back to the Torah of God. I call people away from pagan practices. I call people out of the systems of religion. I tear down, root out, plow up and then I plant and water. THAT is how I prophesy, (to use the terminology 'prophesy' in a Biblically literate context).

 

Yes, this sounded as if he was finally going to admit that he really had no clue about when the actual end-time events would be occurring!

Once again, if he had decided to just shift to "calling people back to the Torah," it would have been a wise course.

If he would have quit saying at the end of every presentation "I'll see you when the smoke clears" (an obvious reference that he was sure "the end" was excruciatingly imminent) he might have regained some measure of credibility to his ministry.

If he would have quit implying that his every move was being orchestrated by God, and admitted that he was just a plain old "Bible Teacher" (not even a "Messianic Rabbi") and not a man on a very specific "Mission From God," he might have become believable.

But it appears that he had become totally addicted to using prophetic speculation to gather crowds, and had no clue how to just let go of his thrice-failed schemes and his tendency to aggrandize his ministry by constant references to "divine intervention." This is clearly indicated by the rest of this letter, and his course of action throughout 2001.

After the Day of Atonement (and the U.S. election) Jamie, Joshua, Bill, Herb and I were making the last whirlwind preparations before our plane left for Israel the next morning. On day 41 of my fast (I determined to break my fast in Israel) I was flooded with incredible energy. Everything worked with perfection that day. I knew that I was in God's will.

At the last minute, the State Department refused to renew my washing-machine-destroyed passport. I knew that I was being held back by the hand of God; not the State Department. Jamie and the other men took our (and your) tithes over to Israel along with a collection of flak jackets (personal body armor for Israeli Defense Force reservists who were being shot at with weapons given to the Palestinians by the Israeli government) high-powered walkie-talkies (to help patrols communicate with each other) and a few pairs of binoculars.

The IDF reservist and Levite, Bruce Brill, asked me to express his appreciation for your help. I hope that we can do more for them. As the Torah commands concerning the tithe: "remember the Levite" and that is what we do with what is shared with us. When we return to America after each Feast, we start over from financial ground zero. I was stranded in America. My voice and my passport were gone.

I prayed for direction and ended up in the top floor of the old train station in Two Harbors, Minnesota with a 30 degree below zero wind howling past my window. Clayt Sonmore sent me some books, which I devoured three at a time, while taking a break from reading the Torah and the Prophets day and night. At the end of the week, I wrote on the board 10 things that were moving in my spirit. A couple days later, the enumerated items appeared as an outline, which was already in order.

I felt compelled to again address the saints that I met on the Prophecy Club tour concerning these issues, but the Prophecy Club monthly meetings were no longer extant. Jamie called Don Visser at the Prophecy Club headquarters and found that they too had desired for me to do a singular tour concerning the same issues that had been burning in me. It appears that the "Boss" is still in charge.

When we get together again, it will be a different format. If at all possible, we will set up in an ancient synagogue style forum - as an interactive assembly, rather then the "performance theater" that has become so common among modern Gentile Christianity.

Unfortunately, his plans for an "interactive assembly" like an "ancient synagogue style forum" went quickly by the wayside. When I attended a live "Rood Awakening meeting" on May 1, 2001, it was most assuredly not "interactive," and most assuredly was "performance theater."

He spoke in his usual rapid-fire delivery from 7 PM until after midnight with only one short break around 9. There was no interaction with the audience at all, except during the break, when some went down to the stage to talk to him one on one. (Click here for a more detailed description of this meeting.) And, as he had since 1999, he ended the presentation with "I'll see you when the smoke clears"... for by then he was once again promoting a prophetic scenario to be fulfilled in the fall.

This clearly shows in the following excerpts of a letter written on 9/7/01 :

September 7th, Elul 18, 6001 - 21 days to Yom Kippur - and the Confirmation of the Covenant.

In the fall of 1951 the Rabbinic Court in Jerusalem ruled that the land of Israel was to observe a Sabbath year until the fall of 1952, in accordance with the instructions recorded in Leviticus chapter 25. In the Fall of 2000 the court declared the 8th Sabbath year rest since their re-entry into the land in 1948. The Fall of 2001 would then commence the first Jubilee year since returning to the land. Since both 1951 and 2000 were designated as Sabbatical years, it is mathematically obvious that 1951 was regarded as a Jubilee year:

In 53 years, two Jubilees are possible, and one jubilee is required. If any year after 1951 were considered a Jubilee, it would have pushed subsequent Sabbath years ahead by one year, and the Fall of 2000 would not be a Sabbath, using the Rabbinic court´s reckoning. According to our astronomical calculations, the corrected Day of Atonement will fall on either the 27th or 28th day of September - sundown in Jerusalem.

This will begin the 120th Jubilee year from creation. Counting creation year (001) as the first Sabbath year, just as Adam´s first full day was the Sabbath, the Jubilees conveniently fall on the 51st and 1st years of every century. Each century has exactly 14 Sabbath years and two Jubilee years. 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. For the next ten days there will be a shaking of the earth that will cause all to tremble as Israel is brought to the brink of destruction. The leaders of Israel, who have done wickedly against God´s covenant with Abraham, will see their covenant with death turn into a flood of troops that will pummel their peace and security dreams into smoldering ash.

For ten days there will appear to be no hope for the nation of Israel as 2/3 of their inhabitants are gathered to their fathers. BUT, on the 10th day, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet will sound that will announce the 120th Jubilee. The LORD of Hosts - YHWH T´savaot will do battle for His people Israel. He will save the tents of Judah and Jerusalem first, as he decimates the armies of the enemy.

YHWH will be sanctified in the eyes of all nations as he rewards those who would divide Abraham´s land for a spoil. His right arm will be revealed against those who have conspired against YHWH and against His anointed! The heathen have had their days of rage since Ariel Sharon read the last days prophecy concerning the reunification of Judah and Israel from the temple mount a year ago. But YHWH will laugh as He has their conspiracy in derision (Psalm 2).

On the Day of Atonement - the day of the national redemption of Israel, the Ark of the Covenant will be revealed. The Ark, which is the testimony buried in the earth which confirms the Covenant made in the blood of Messiah, will be revealed at the culmination of this war. Judah will see that testimony and weep for Him whom they have pierced, and wail in repentance as one grieves over the death of their only son. Israel will see that testimony and cry out in repentance over the lies that they have inherited through their father´s paganized, polluted religious systems.

The sheep will be released from the bondage of false shepherds who have been clothing themselves with fine Italian wool suits - or Borsallino´s acquired by fleecing the flock (Ez 34). All those who have taught the pre-tribulation rapture - doctrine of devils, will be exposed as paid professional false prophets. Those who want to continue to chase after those highly coifurred hair-dos´ are welcomed to stay in their early out delusions until a new leader - with a bigger hair-do, sits in the temple proclaiming to be God. Either way, you have 7 years from the confirmation of the Covenant until the first train out on Tishi 1, 6008.

Get ready mountains of Israel. Get ready Judah Get ready Israel

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.

ARE YOU READY!

Each year the Fall Feasts of YHWH have been a rehearsal for the exciting events that transpire at the beginning of the 7th millennium - the Day of YHWH. It will not start off with the lion and lamb taking a nap. It will begin with those things that turn the stratosphere black as the ceiling of a desert goat hair tent. I hope to see you when the smoke clears, Michael John Rood San Jose, Costa Rica  

 

At this point, Rood traveled to Reyjavik Iceland, and was there when the Twin Towers were demolished by terrorists on 9/1/01. And from there he wrote the following:

September 13th, Elul 24, 6001 - 15 days to Yom Kippur - and the Confirmation of the Covenant.   ... 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.

 

The Neverending Story

But, of course, 2001 also came and went without the fulfillment of Rood's predictions. Did that finally convince him to quit setting dates? Of course not.

The following was posted on his website in August 2002:

We are concluding our filming for the fall season, and getting ready to go into our concrete closet and shut the doors behind us for a little time, until the indignation is past. I will be here in Jerusalem--ready to begin hauling the dead bodies from the Temple Mount to prepare for the Feast of Tabernacles and the "Latter Rain"-- please join me ... When the smoke clears Michael John Rood

 

Still on his website in March 2003 was the following statement, written in the spring of 2002 ...

Whereas we may have expected that the land (from the Euphrates to the Nile) would go back to its owners (the sons of Israel) at the beginning of the Jubilee, we hope that we will see that reality come to pass before the end of the year. This would indicate that a war of apocalyptic proportions is due from Tishri 1 to Tishri 10 in the fall of 6002 / 2002. Waiting for you in Jerusalem, Michael John Rood

 

The following, written by a Mark Aaron Robinson,  was put on his website in October 2003, and was still up there in August 2004. It was some rambling speculation that the Tribulation might begin on Tishri 1 2003,  based in part on the controversial so-called "visions" of Dimitru Duduman.

It is well understood by Messianic believers that Ya’Shua was born on Yom Teruah in 3 BC (Tishri 1, 3759) –you may research this elsewhere, at http:www.aroodawakening.tv or at http://www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm, for example. Passover in His 12th year would have been Aviv 10, 3771 (9/25/10). "After two days" would then be after Passover in 5771 (2010). Most Messianic believers hold that the Tribulation, or the 7-year Time of Jacob’s Trouble, will begin on Yom Teruah (Tishri 1) or Yom Kippur (Tishri 10). I tend to think it will begin on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Judgment for those without atonement). For one reason, it seems clear that His first earthy ministry began on Yom Kippur. You may remember that after his baptism, Ya’Shua fasted 40 days, and then was tempted by Satan. The clearly ordained period for 40 days of fasting on God’s calendar is the 40 days of Awe (Elul 1 to Tishri 10). The appropriate day for Satan to take Him to the pinnacle of the temple and suggest he cast Himself down (like the scapegoat) was Yom Kippur. And after all, Yom Kippur is the Day the Redeemer will come to Zion..." (Isa. 59:20). And clearly the Day when Ya’Shua will return as King of Kings with His vesture soaked in blood. If this day is Yom Kippur in 2010, then the Tribulation (and the destruction of America as Gabriel said to Dmitru) should begin on Yom Kippur in 2003 –next week on October 6-7 (per New moon sightings in Jerusalem). Are there other reasons to think this might be the case? Yes! Gabriel told Dmitru to read Hosea 4:6-9.  Hosea 4:6 reads:  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children [emphasis added].  Note that the reason God said He would cast us off was that we had rejected knowledge and forgotten the Law of our God! The Hebrew word translated "because thou hast rejected" is Strongs Number 03988, ma’ac, and it can also be translated "to despise or to ignore." The Hebrew word translated "forgotten" is Strongs number 07911, shakach, and it can also be translated, "to cause to be forgotten, to ignore, and to cease to care." On August 27, 2003, the day of Mars’ (Michael’s) closest approach since creation, and the day Michael stood up (see http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/jan2003/RoadtoEmmaus-Final.pdf, page 11), the United States poked its national finger in God’s eye by casting the 10 Commandments from Judge Roy Moore’s courthouse in Alabama, and by judicial precedent, from all Public places in America. We have truly despised the Law of our God. He, in fact, sent us Isabel (a Spanish name derived from Jezebel) immediately afterward as confirmation of our status. And note that August 27th was the day immediately preceding the 40 Days of Awe. One more thing –many were expecting the Tribulation to begin with the Millennium. Lots of us waited with baited breath (good expression for Believers) as Aviv 1, 6001 came and went. Trouble in Israel started on Tishri 1, 5761 (October 28, 2000), but it was clearly not the beginning of the Tribulation. Many of us wondered where God was and why He was tarrying this last four years –Mary and Joseph wondered where Ya’Shua was for 4 days also.  In Luke 2: 48 we read: And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. Perhaps we are right on the cusp of another reply: Know ye not that by God’s decree, I must have been in (or present with) my Father (sitting at His right Hand)?!  We’ll find out soon….

 

What is bewildering is that this appears to have been put on the website only days before the suggested date was to arrive, and yet when the date came and went with no fulfillment, it was left on the site indefinitely. It was still there in November 2005. To what purpose? ... other than to give moot testimony to the constant fruitless speculations of the Rood ministry.

Since 2005, Rood’s ministry has undergone two major upheavals. Twice he has been expelled by his closest associates from Rood Awakening ministries, under serious accusations of wrong-doing. Each time he has re-grouped, slightly re-named his organization, gathered new helpers, and plowed right on with his bombastic self-aggrandizement. And continued to gather a following. In spite of the history of miserable failure of everything he has predicted, documented here.

 

The Bottom Line

Can Michael John 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, 2005 ... 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?   

 

 

Unless otherwise noted, all original material on this Field Guide website
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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Examination of the History of

Michael Rood's

Prophetic Speculations