The Ezekiel Option

"The Ezekiel Option" is a bestsellingFact|date=February 2008 and Gold Medallion Book Award winning [ [http://www.ecpa.org/christianbookawards/cba2006.php 2006 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners - Fiction category] ] Christian apocalyptic novel by Joel C. Rosenberg. It involves the War of Ezekiel 38-39.

Plot introduction

The story takes place after "The Last Days" and "The Last Jihad", set in 2014 it depicts the story of Russia becoming a dictatorship and subsequently forming an anti-American alliance with Iran. The book describes the author's interpretation of the War of Ezekiel 38-39.

Plot summary

Shootdown of Aeroflot Flight 6617

This book starts off with an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York being hijacked and diverted toward Washington. The flight carries several Duma members, the CEO of Lukoil, forty-one children. The plane gets shot down by the United States military on live television at the order of the President of the United States before it reaches Washington and causes significant damage.

Russian coup

At the same time, Jon Bennett, an envoy of the President and main architect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, is in Moscow in preparation for treaty related discussions with the Russian government. However, the airplane shooting incident causing a significant cooling of relations between the U.S. and Russia, and gives a boost to the right wing LDPR party which calls for cutting off relations with the US while enhancing Russia's military. When Mr. Bennett is summoned to meet with the Russian President Mr. Vadim, the LDPR with support of the Russian military orchestrates a coup and kills the President. The new Czar Gogolov of Russia severs all diplomatic relations with the US, removes Russia's embassy from the US and expels all US citizens from Russian soil. Mr Bennett is injured and is sent back to the US. However, his fiance (a CIA operative) who was with him in the Kremlin at the time of the coup is kidnapped by the new Russian government in order obtain CIA encryption codes.

Via a secret envoy, Russia proceeds to sell twenty five nuclear warheads to Iran to formalize the military alliance that has been growing between the two countries since the 1990's. Russian President/Czar Gogolov then proceeds to convince or in some cases blackmail European countries into support Russia's upcoming fight vs. the United States and Israel (the blackmail is made possible by the fact that Russia is a major gas supplier to Europe). At the same time, Russia convinces Cuba to sign the NPT.

Preparing war on Israel

Mr. Gogolov then speaks at the United Nations proposing UNSC resolution 2441 which gives Israel thirty days to disarm itself from nuclear weapons, allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in and sign the NPT. This is done in a fashion similar to how the U.S. proceeded against Iraq. Russia also proceeds to turn world opinion against the US by painting that nation as a war monger which shot down a civilian airplane without any proof that a hijacking was in fact in progress. Additionally, Russia asks for one billion dollars/passenger killed reparation payment from the US before resuming diplomatic relations (for a total of $173 billion). Most US allies abandon the US, and side with Russia including EU countries.

UN resolution to disarm Israel

Meanwhile the US prepares to expose the Russia/Iran relationship regarding nuclear weapons in order to make Russia lose prestige in the eyes of the world before the UNSC vote takes place. However, the President's speech is pre-empted by Iranian announcement of renouncement of all nuclear energy and agreeing to unrestricted inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (having obtained nuclear weapons Iran no longer needs the civilian nuclear energy program). Mr. Bennett takes the brief back to the US and hands it over to the President prior to the UNSC vote on resolution 2441.

When the resolution comes to vote, the resolution passes 12 to 2 with one abstention (USA).

Going into Russia

After the UNSC vote, Mr. Bennett storms the Oval Office to question the President about the vote. After a heated argument, he resigns and leaves. After a trip to visit his mother in Florida, he smuggles himself back into Russia with the help of Dr. Mordechai in order to find and save his fiance. After crossing the border to Iran, Mr. Bennett sends a letter to Dr. Mordechai pleading with him to make the Ezekiel Option public information by sending his brief to a New York Times reporter. Meanwhile his fiance manages to escape her captors and flee to the streets of Moscow with a massive manhunt underway for her.

Mr. Mordechai decides to go to the NY Times with his brief. However, the NYT keeps delaying the publication of the story until Drudge leaks it to the world. Following the leak, NYT publishes the story followed by interviews on numerous television stations. The Russian president laughs at the brief:

The Jews were always a pathetic lot. Let them pray to their god.

Eventually Mr. Mordechai is invited to the Israeli command bunker where he discusses the brief with the Israeli PM. At the same time Mr. Bennett finally reaches Moscow where he is reunited with his fiance. Mr. Bennett and his fiance are chased by security forces in Moscow which is empty of most citizens who have fled to escape the expected nuclear strike by Israel. At the same time, Dr. Mordechai is trying to convince the Israeli PM not to launch nuclear weapons but rather execute The Ezekiel Option which calls for letting God save Israel. The Russian Czar Gogolov and his second in command meanwhile evacuate Moscow via helicopter to a secure command bunker in the Ural mountains. The book ends with the helicopter carrying the Russian czar and his second in command, Jibril, being destroyed by a fireball, and the Russian president czar being carted off by demons. At the same time Mr. Bennett and his fiance, Erin, escape the burning city of Moscow via a speed boat in the Moskva River.

References