Overtaken Unawares

OVERTAKEN UNAWARES has been written to warn anyone who will listen about where we are at in the events described in the Book of Revelation, the global disasters that are about to occur, and how to take advantage of the opportunity to escape what's coming in an event known as "the rapture." It has been put together so everyone from serious students of the Bible to those without any religious beliefs can access the information they need to not be OVERTAKEN UNAWARES by these things.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK?

OVERTAKEN UNAWARES is a ground-breaking new book about the rapture, the Antichrist, and the Book of Revelation.  Here are just some of the reasons why you need to read this book:

ISIS, Terrorists, and Mass Shootings

There are specific reasons why the atrocities of ISIS, other terrorist groups, and mass shooters are being committed now.  The answers are found in the seals in chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation.  Although every conceivable interpretation of the seals has been proposed, it’s still common for Bible scholars to refer to the events in the seals as the "seal judgments" and assign them to the tribulation.  What I have discovered, however, is that instead of being judgment from God in the future, we are in the time of the seals right now, and the pattern of events that they reveal gives us the underlying reasons for the death and destruction we are witnessing in the world today from criminal violence, terrorism, and armed conflict of every kind.  The seals also tell us where all of this is headed and what to expect next!  There is much that we will have to go through before the rapture occurs and the tribulation begins, so this information is vital to have, and without it you will be OVERTAKEN UNAWARES by what is about to happen!

The Stock Market Slides Again

We've become somewhat used to hearing that the stock market has plummeted yet again, but the latest plunge was worse than usual and the financial experts interviewed by the media have been working overtime to try and calm our fears with their standard advice:  This will pass, they say.  Stay in it for the long haul, they say.  So far, they've been right, but the day will soon be here when instead of putting on the brakes and slowly climbing back up after a steep decline, the markets will continue to slide until they tank and there will not only be a national crisis, the resulting financial collapse will be global.  When this occurs it will be the long anticipated moment that a counterfeit messiah is revealed to a panicked world that is suffering the consequences.  To get ready for this we should not only be aware of what is going to happen and why, we need the direct warning about these things that has been provided for us in the Book of Revelation, all of which is addressed in OVERTAKEN UNAWARES including whether or not believers will be “raptured” before it can occur.  Don’t be part of the majority that will be desperate for answers and easy prey for the deception that will follow when it happens by neglecting to learn about these things ahead of time!

An Imminent Global Disaster

There is a disaster coming that will shake the whole world, and it will affect everyone on the planet regardless of who they are.  It is described in the Book of Revelation, but no one is going to be able to "opt out" of this event because they don't believe in the Bible.  Teachers and scholars have interpreted it in many different ways, but what I have discovered about this event constitutes what is perhaps the most urgent warning in the book.  In OVERTAKEN UNAWARES I not only explain what this disaster is and the science behind how it will happen, I demonstrate where it occurs in relation to the rapture and the tribulation.  It is absolutely critical that you know what it is and how to escape it via the rapture, otherwise you will have no choice but to endure it along with the rest of the tribulation, if you survive!

Warnings for Believers

One of the most important topics covered in OVERTAKEN UNAWARES is also the most controversial.  Although it's undeniable that salvation is by grace through faith, we are still warned in scripture about consequences for certain things that some believers will be overtaken unawares by because they have been taught that they do not apply to them.

An Astounding Disconnect

There are ideas that certain aspects of popular teaching on the rapture rely on that seem to be able to cause our minds to shift into neutral when we consider them.  When we want to believe something badly enough we can experience a kind of collective disconnect between what we are taught and what scripture actually says.  What we are usually told about the Antichrist and the rapture is a prime example. Get ready for a shock!

Identifying the Antichrist

People have a lot of ideas about who the Antichrist is.  The usual suspects include the Pope, the Secretary General of the European Union, and even Barack Obama.  There is compelling evidence, however, that he is actually someone you may not have even heard of, and because believers will have to deal with him in spite of what they have been told to the contrary, it is vital that we know who he is and what he is up to in the world today.

The majority of the people and institutions working behind the scenes to establish the one world government that will be ruled by the Beast of Revelation chapter 13 are associated in some way with organizations that promote the philosophies of the New Age Movement.  Based on Theosophy which was founded by Russian trance-channeler Helena Blavatsky in the late 1800s, it predicts the rise of a "World Teacher" who will lead us into a "new age" of justice and peace.  This person is supposedly "the Christ" looked for by many world religions including the Messiah of Judaism, the Imam Mahdi of Islam, and the Christ of Christianity.  They claim that he is at work in the world today and goes by the name Maitreya.  In OVERTAKEN UNAWARES you will see evidence that what sets Maitreya apart from other antichrist "wannabes" is the fact that many international leaders already believe he represents the return of Christ to the world and there is involvement in his cause by organizations working towards world government including the United Nations, under whose auspices his monthly magazine is published.

Finding the Rapture in the Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation never comes right out and says "The rapture happens here."  It is possible to determine exactly where it occurs in Revelation with some scriptural detective work however.  This is very important to do, otherwise our expectations can leave us unprepared for what is really going to happen.  Besides, what is actually going on in some of the places that people usually try to put the rapture is very cool and not to be missed!

Something You Can’t Afford to Ignore

What's it all about?  Everyone has a different outlook on this, but there are events on the horizon that will sweep away everything else that people think it's all about that you simply cannot afford to be OVERTAKEN UNAWARES by.  Regardless of our opinion on the matter, Jesus Christ is Lord and He will return to reclaim the planet He created after letting the alternatives to His plans that our God-given free wills have come up with run their course. Because He loves us, however, He has told us ahead of time what to expect before it happens so we can not only recognize the truth and have the opportunity to come down on the right side of things, we can also escape the judgment that is coming on the world via something commonly referred to as "the rapture."  Jesus warned us that there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth" for many that are not ready for this event including believers who ignore certain things He said that churches sometimes try to explain away.  I urge you therefore to go beyond the mere curiosity of those who have been interested in this book but have taken no action to learn more, and become informed about these things before it's too late!

A veteran of both the Army and the Air Force, Norman Lane has a proven ability to "wrap his head around" large complex issues.  Trained in aircraft maintenance by the Air Force, he first became involved in hazardous waste management while stationed at McChord AFB, and later as a Boeing employee was tasked with researching and creating a hazardous waste management program for the 767 jetliner assembly organization for which he also developed training presentations and a supervisor’s procedural manual.  Based on the success of that program he was invited to assist the 747 production organization with development of their waste management system and then Boeing’s entire Everett Washington manufacturing plant (which at the time was the world’s largest building).  He also went on to write an official Boeing training class on the subject.

At B.F. Goodrich Aerospace's facilities at Paine Field, Washington, Norman was hired to research and create their environmental compliance plans and wrote the Facility Hazardous Material Contingency Plan, the Spill Control and Countermeasure Plan, the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan, and an 8 hour Resource Conservation and Recovery Act mandated course on handling hazardous materials, which he also taught.

During this time he also wrote articles on Christian issues for church, developed several topical Bible study guides, and began work on a book about building the kingdom of God by investing in others, but his writing ambitions were put on hold because of his music ministry.  Since 2009, however, he has become increasingly concerned about the issues addressed in OVERTAKEN UNAWARES, and in recent years became convinced that he needed to combine his research and several articles he had written into a book in time to "get out ahead of these things" and warn people about them.

Norman and his wife, Hanna Bishop (a teacher), have 6 grown children (3 apiece), and live on the Washington coast with their two cats, Veteran and Twinkle Toes, both of whom were rescued "Crusader Rabbit" style by Hanna (see the DEDICATION page in the book).