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4 out of 4 stars
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Daniel Friedmann, in his non-fiction book Roadmap to the End of Days, carefully links the history of the world to a Divine Plan which is set out in the Bible. He shows why it is connected and how those connections have been maintained throughout humanity, often giving us the impression that history is repeating itself. Finally, he dares to give us insight into the future, based on occurrences of the past.
Roadmap to the End of Days uses the biblical writings of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths to develop a historical time-line. A close observation of these events indicates a cycle of historical activity: similar types of events have occurred in world history within similar time frames. Mr. Friedmann believes that this cycle of activity has been pre-ordained. He bases his book on the premise that God created the world in order to have an abode on the earth, and has established a Divine Plan for the world.
The book is informative and intriguing in its examination of history. It divides the history of the world into three eras of time: the six days of creation which lasted 13.74 billion years, human history which began in 3760 BCE and, according to Friedmann, will end in 2240 CE; and the Messianic Era which will last one thousand years, starting from the year 2241 CE. He affirms that the six millennia between 3760 BCE and 2240 CE coincide with the six days of creation, and the Messianic Era coincides with the Sabbath, or day of rest.
Mr. Friedmann notes that although God has a Divine Plan, man has freedom of will, and can make changes to his life which will affect the plan. He indicates that this has occurred previously in history: when Adam ate the fruit of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, his actions affected the plan, and caused him and Eve to be evicted from the Garden, leading to suffering in the world. Similarly, he suggests that while the Divine Plan denotes that there will be a period of calamity before the Messianic period, man can forego this period of trial by focusing on developing a close relationship with God, and helping his fellow man.
This book will appeal to those persons who have an understanding of the Bible, an appreciation for research, and who maintain an open mind. Persons who believe the Creation story and are curious about biblical history will find it fascinating. Since the work is based on the scriptures of three religions, there may be some terms and events which are unfamiliar. Mr. Friedmann has provided several appendices and an extensive glossary to explain the terms which he has used. The work includes many tables and illustrations to showcase the various timelines, and to give the reader a visual depiction of the information presented. However, this work will inspire the reader to do his own research, not only to understand the work, but also to form his own opinion.
The book has been professionally edited, with no errors to be noted, and is quite easy to read. The author sometimes asks questions in the same way that the reader will, and then provides the answers. He also indicates where there are people or places which are still unknown: for example, he notes that in the Bible the Jews have recurrent battles with the Amalekites, but no one knows who they are today. Mr. Friedmann does not seek to convince or persuade the reader; he states his terms in a matter-of-fact manner, provides the evidence for his premise, and leaves the reader to decide whether to accept it.
I was curious whether Mr. Friedmann would provide a forecast for the future, and he did not disappoint. Using the historical cycle which he used for past events, he then placed future events in perspective. He has described the End of Days, or the Messianic period, as the period when the Messiah will return and there will be global peace. Man will focus on the best aspects of his nature: in that era doing good will be the norm. Unfortunately, we are currently in the midst of a period which will end in 2240 CE, the end of Day 6 or the 6th millennium, hence for us who are alive today, we will not be able to verify whether the future truly maintains the same historical cycle as Mr. Friedmann has suggested.
Daniel Friedmann has taken a look at the world from a macro level to develop this work. It could be easily dismissed as improbable. But we know that whether we live or die, the world has cycles: a day consists of morning and evening, the tides come in and go out, and the earth orbits the sun. There is an order to the world which we are constantly seeking to explain. Mr. Friedmann suggests that there is also an order to history. Only time will tell whether he is right. I give this work 4 out of 4 stars.
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Roadmap to the End of Days
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