Alexander Zephyr is the author of The State of Israel: Its Friends and Enemies. Prophetic Future. Like his previous work, Rabbi Akiva, the Bar Kokhba Revolt and the Ten Tribes of Israel focuses on the fate and destiny of the so-called Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. It is a fascinating and climactic story told with passion, conviction, and extensive knowledge of Scripture, the Talmud, and Rabbinical literature. While the Ten Tribes is a key theme of the book, the main hero is Rabbi Akivahis life, his students, and particularly his association with Bar Kokhba and the Jewish Revolt of 132-135CE. One of the few rare scholars with the courage to present the authentic story of R. Akiva, Zephyr covers the legendary figures involvement in the Jewish-Roman war as well as his dramatic and mistaken announcement of Bar Kokhba as the God-chosen Messiah. This book is the story of a massacre of the Jewish people in an unparalleled historical tragedy, the consequences of which are still suffered today. It is also a testament of life-affirming faith in the Scriptural promise of a Messianic Era and the World-to-Come.

The State of Israel; Its Friends and Enemies. Prophetic Future This is an indispensable work telling us all we need to know on several matters. Discusses various issues succinctly summarizing different schools of thought with their pros and cons. What are the Wars of Gog and Magog? What will cause them? Which forces will be involved? Who and what is the Messiah and the Messianic Age? Will there be a physical Resurrection of the Dead? How old is the earth? Were there humanoid-type beings before us? Jewish and non-Jewish scholarship on all issues is quoted and compared. The author then brings his own opinion and the reasons for it. Whether you are a full-time researcher in this field or just an interested layman you will find in this work information and points of interest of great value. Zephyr is not afraid to face controversy. He brings sources and argues well with passion, eloquence, and conviction. He has carried out a work of serious scholarship with nerve and passion. The writers interest and thirst for knowledge concerning his theme comes bursting through on every page. Today most of the World unjustly goes against the Jews. Anti - Semitism, hatred and racism have reached unprecedented levels. The very survival of the Jewish state of Israel is at stake. All people of good will, who believe in the Bible as the Sacred Word of the Almighty, should make a choice and stand firmly on the side of Israel. That is what God wants them to do. In turn, they will save themselves and help God to advance His Divine Plan for the World-to-Come, which would be absolutely impossible if Israel did not exist. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you (i.e. Israel) shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

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Marks' painstaking investigation into the figure of Bar Kokhba in traditional Jewish literature has indeed provided a corrective to those on both sides of the Zionist political spectrum and in doing so he has once again shown that historical investigations are often quite useful in elucidating and clarifying various modern debates.-Jewish Political Studies Review"This is a very significant contribution to both Jewish literature and history. The materials which Marks works through are well-known, but at many points he offers original interpretations. He provides a comprehensive synthesis of all the historical interpretations of Bar Kokhba."-Richard D. Hecht, University of California, Santa BarbaraBar Kokhba led the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 132-135 A.D., which resulted in massive destruction and dislocation of the Jewish populace of Judea. In early rabbinic literature, Bar Kokhba was remembered in two ways: as an imposter claiming to be the Messiah and as a glorious military leader whose successes led Rabbi Akiva, one of the great rabbinic authorities of Jewish tradition, to acclaim him the Messiah. These two earliest images formed the core of most later perceptions of Bar Kokhba, so that he became the prototypical false messiah and the paradigmatic rebel of Jewish history.The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature is a history of the perceptions that later Jewish writers living in the fourth through seventeenth centuries formed of this legendary hero-villain whose actions, in their eyes, had caused enormous suffering and disappointed messianic hopes. Richard Marks examines each writer's account individually and in the context of its period, exploring particularly political and religious implications. He builds a history of images and looks at larger patterns, such as the desacralizing of traditional imagery. His findings raise timely political questions about Bar Kokhba's image among Jews today.