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I am not a Bible scholar, and I've always felt like I COULD be getting more out of my Bible readings - this book has been such a help.
If I could, I'd buy this book for everyone I know (along with a good Bible, of course!)
You will find this book easy to read, as concise as possible, and extraordinarily helpful.
Buy it as soon as you can - you WON'T be sorry.
LaHaye provides great advice and instruction on how to gain a better understanding of God's word through self-directed Bible study. Studying the Bible involves more than just reading a few passages now and then and LaHaye shows you how you can carefully and methodically engage yourself in an enjoyable and enriching study of the Bible.
When I lead Bible studies, I often suggest others in the class use techniques described in this book to gain further understanding in their at-home studies.
Great book. Highly recommended.
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PROS: It's a great story. Reminded me of what happened earlier on in the series (I had already read the books); passed the time on my 7 hour drive to see my sister. (This set must have taken 5 hours.)
CONS: The characters are portrayed like real jerks at first (vs. the book & movie in which they seemed more "everyday"). The "acting" is sometimes very poor (some of Steve Plank's lines were terrible). The music adds to the interest but it is way too loud compared to the volume of the voices. It's hard to follow sometimes, even having read the books.
RECOMMENDATION: Read the books if you can first - you can go at your own pace and the acting/directing in your head is always better than what can came across on the CDs.
CHRISTIANITY DOES PURPORT THAT "JESUS IN THE ONLY WAY" AND THE AUTHORS PRESENT THIS MESSAGE IN A FACT SUPPORTED, BIBLICALLY BASED, WELL WRITTEN WAY. THE WRITING IN THIS SERIES IS TRUE TO THE WORD AND SUPPORTED BY THE WORD. THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT "FLAT" AS THE PREVIOUS REVIEWER NOTES, BUT ARE WRITTEN IN A WAY THAT MAINTAINS SUSPENSE AND REVEALS BITS OF THEIR CHARACTER SLOWLY, THROUGH THE EVER INCSREASING SUSPENSE OF THE NOVELS AND DRAMATIC AUDIO PRESENTATIONS.
I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW TOUCHING THE DEPICTIONS OF ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD ARE IN THIS SERIES. WHEN THE CHARACTERS INTERACT WITH THE ALMIGHTY, NOT THROUGH SOME COSMIC HOCUS POCUS, BUT IN BIBLICALLY SUPPORTED WAYS- THE READER IS INTROUDUCED TO A GOD WHO LOVES AND CARES ABOUT HIS CHILDREN AND INTERVENES IN HIS OR HER LIFE TO LEAD AND DIRECT.
PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO BUY EITHER THE BOOK SERIES OR THE AUDIO SERIES. EACH VERSION WILL TOUCH YOUR HEART AND AS UN-BELIEVERS ARE INTRODUCED TO THE MESSAGE, WHETHER BY SEEING YOU READING, OR HEARING THE AUDIO- THEY WILL BE DRAWN TO ASK QUESTIONS AND INVITATIONS TO EXPOUND ON THE BOOK WILL ABOUND. I CAN PERSONALLY TELL YOU THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME MANY TIMES AT MY PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. IT'S ALMOST AS IF THE HOLY SPRIT DIRECTS PEOPLES EYES TO THESE PRESENTATIONS OF THE GOSPEL, JUST TO STIR THEIR INTEREST AND PROVIDE YOU WITH AN OPENING TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT OF THE WORD.
PLEASE DON'T HAVE ANY HESITATION IN BUYING THESE PRODUCTS. THE AUTHORS ARE ANNOINTED WRITERS WHO HAVE SOMEHOW, WITH GOD'S HELP, BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO THE BIBLICAL BOOK OF REVELATION.
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I enjoy the adult series, but as a Sunday School teacher I have a lot of apprehensions about giving this book to children in the 9-12 age range that I so often see it listed as. This book only gets through the first quarter of the first in the adult book. The "ungodly" pasts of the characters is told to explain why they were not taken, but the story does not go far enough. The book cuts off too early and never shows the kids themselves making the realization that their actions are responsible for them being "left behind".
Be careful with this book. It should not just be handed to children, but backed up by discussions with adults who have also read the book. I would recommend using it in a group study however as the chapters are short enough that children ought to be able to read a chapter per week.
Why 3 stars? I like Jenkins and LaHaye. This book has merit and would be good in a group study. But I found certain segments of the book to be "too adult" for nine year olds.
It's about four kids: #1: Judd, who runs away from home. #2: Vicki, who doesn't like going to church with her parents. #3: Lionel, who lies about loving God. #4: Ryan who doesn't like going to church with his friend.
First, Judd runs away from his home because he wants to be 'free.' He takes a plane to London but then has to go back to his home when there is a mysterious disappearance of Christians.
At that same moment, Vicki and her parents including many other people were listening to a visiting preacher. Her father becomes a Christian and her mother (who was already a Christian) started going to church. Vicki doesn't want to go to church but then just goes reluctantly.
Meanwhile, Lionel also has some trouble because he lied to his mother. Ryan doesn't want to go to church with his friend who had just become a Christian.
One morning, each of them wake up to see that their parents, brothers, and sisters are gone! What's left is only their clothes. They then realized that only the Christians were gone and went to heaven, while the four kids and other people were left behind.
Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan go to church to talk with the pastor's friend. After talking about the disappearance, they become Christians.
This book is good because it's a Christian fiction book. You should read this book!
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Both Gary's and Tim Lahaye's theology gets Left Behind once you finish the book and ponder the question "What of it?" because if you can show or point in the bible where it states any of the following, then Demar has gone astray.
A. Jesus Christ did not return in 70AD.
B. the words "at hand," "quickly," "near," "a little while" - are from God's perspective, not man's.
C. the Book of Revelation was written in 90 AD not before 70 AD
D. the return of Jesus Christ will be global, not local.
A. Jesus Christ did not return in 70AD. Let's start with the Trinity = God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The scriptures say that God the Father destroys Jerusalem.
Psalm 110:1 says The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies they footstool. Acts 7:56 says Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right Hand of God. If Jesus is on the right hand of God, then he's not on his left. Therefore, the one that would "make thine enemies thy footstool" is God the Father.
If you read Deuteronomy 18:1819, God the Father says "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. "And it shall come to pass, whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I WILL REQUIRE OF HIM." God the Father is the one that would deal with Israel in 70 AD.
Gods word doesn't come back void and this is possibly the reason why Jesus wept for the city. I also believe this is a reason why God the Son, Jesus Christ, could say, in Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
In addition to that, we have Matthew 22:2-7: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king [God the Father], which made a marriage for his son [Jesus Christ], And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king [God the Father] heard thereof, he [God the Father!] was wroth: and he [God the Father] sent forth his [God the Father's] armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city; therefore, it's my belief God the Son's Second Coming didn't happen in 70 AD.
Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder [God the Father], which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son[God the Son, Jesus Christ] saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. WHEN THE LORD THEREFORE OF THE VINEYARD [GOD THE FATHER] cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
The words "at hand," "quickly," "near," "a little while" - are from God's perspective, not man's.
2 Peter 3:8: Peter said, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" Thus, to God, time is relative. To Him, a thousand years are like one short day.
A "little while" of over 500 years: The book of Haggai was written around 500 BC, "in the second year of Darius," a Persian king (vs. 1). Notice carefully: "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come..." (2:6,7). The phrase - the desire of all nations - is clearly a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Not only was Christ's coming to be "in a little while," but so was the shaking of the heavens and the earth. First of all, Christ didn't come for another 500 years; and secondly, Hebrews quotes the "end of the world" aspect of Haggai 2:6 as definitely still future! (See Hebrews 10:27; 12:26,27). Thus Haggai 2:6,7 is biblical proof that "a little while" doesn't mean only a few days or years from man's perspective.
I am so thankful for Gary Demar and his ministry at American Vision and that he has taken up the task of writing this new book, End Times Fiction. I think this book will prove to be a valuable tool in the life of the Christian in defending the truthfullness and integrity of Scripture by exposing those who refuse to believe because of the wrong thinking that Jesus Christ was not correct in His predictions concerning His coming in Matthew 24:1 through at least 34. If Jesus is wrong about His coming according to Matthew 24 and the other synoptics, then it cast Him in a shadow of doubt and of being untrustworthy, and gives Him a lack of credibility. This is one of the reasons for Bertrand Russell's rejection of Christianity in his book "Why I am not a Christian". Gary has done a masterful job in comparing Scripture with Scripture and shows why and where the futurist falls short. There is much that needs to be studied concerning this subject, but Gary's writing is an intelligent, easy to read book that outlines several of the problems that lie within the futurist view, (those that say that these prophecies are still yet future. As an intro to the preterist view I know of none better. However, I urge you to continue to study others who hold to this view and others who don't all in the microscope and light of Scripture.
One of the biggest problems for LaHaye is his spiritualizing of the time text. LaHaye takes great pride in saying he interprets the bible literally. He does so, except during the time text indicators. When dealing with the time text, he spiritualizes them. If he would interpret the time text indicators LITERALLY then he would have to come to the conclusion that many of the prophecies have already taken place in the first century. He refuses to take the time text indicators literally and so must push those events into the future. Near does not mean near, at hand does not mean at hand, shortly does not mean shortly, quickly does not mean quickly, right at the door does not mean right at the door, soon does not mean soon, and so on. I believe that Gary Demar is right when he says that a faulty conclusion comes from a faulty premise. I believe that Tim LaHaye has those faulty premises because of his faulty presuppositions concerning eschatology.
I hope everyone reads this book. I know I have said this a few times already, but this book is a clear introduction to the basic thought of the preterist view. I too was once on the futurist side, but after reading and studying for myself I cannot see AT ALL the futurist side of these passages discussed in End Times Fiction. In fact I had always been confused until I heard some other view points concerning this subject. I must mention this before I conclude, I am not a full preterist and do look for the Glorious return of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ in the second coming, the consummation of His kingdom.
Thank you Gary for a valuable tool for introducing to the lay person a better underatanding of the preterist view point.
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The books are not scarey and should be read by any child, especially those in Christian homes! We never quite know the extent of our children's faith, these books may help them to think more themselves.
I have read both the adult and kid Left Behind series and recommend them! The kids books are almost better than the adult ones!
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The strangest thing is that BeauSeigneur does such a good job of presenting the antichrist that you actually find yourself pulling for him. It's weird, but exactly as Matthew 24:24 says it will be. In Left Behind you know that Nicolae is the Antichrist right from the beginning (though the characters seem a little thick-headed in not being able to see what's so obvious to the reader) and there's no way in the world I would ever follow ol' Nick. If I weren't a Christian, though, I'm sure I would follow BeauSeigneur's Antichrist. He's that good, I mean bad . . . oh you know what I mean.
One other big difference is that Left Behind is obviously written for a Christian or near-Christian audience; the preaching is pretty thick and I think turns off many nonChristian readers. (I've tried to get nonChristians to read Left Behind and none have read past the first book.) The Christ Clone Trilogy is written for a secular audience (it even has an occasional curse word) but when the truth is revealed (book 3 of the series) the Christian world view and the presentation of the Gospel is unmistakable.
"Nicolae" focuses on the consolidation of suspected antichrist Nicolae Carpathia's power as he creates the infamous Global Community to consolidate political power, the Global Community Network to oversee the media, and the Enigma Babylon One World Faith to unite the world's religions. Carpathia appoints himself grand potentate of the Global Community and moves closer to becoming absolute ruler.
Meanwhile, the Tribulation Force continues to search for ways to undermine Nicolae's regime. Only they realize his true identity is that of the antichrist, but the Sixth Seal of the Book of Revelation is about to be poured out upon the earth. Will our heroes survive? Will they accomplish their mission to undermine Carpathia?
I can't wait to find out what happens next. I look forward to reading books four through twelve, and I encourage other Left Behind fans to pick up "Conquest of Paradise: An End-Times Nano-Thriller" as additional reading. It's the book that got me into this series, and whoa, what a book! What "Left Behind" lacks in realism, "Conquest of Paradise" adds in abundance. A little less subtle than the Left Behind series, the antichrist isn't readily identifiable from the beginning. In fact, since I wasn't expecting to read a tribulation novel, it totally blew me away. The prose is more advanced and the international politics is identical to the current world scene and the war on terror. Peppered with biblical verses, "Conquest of Paradise" will turn even the most hardened skeptics into believers, or at least it will make them think twice. No one can afford to miss it.
Book four brings the "Soul Harvest". If the Tribulation Force can't stop Carpathia, then maybe they can at least win a few souls for Jesus Christ!
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This second book in the Left Behind Kids series kept me on the edge of my seat. This book, like the first one, ends with a cliffhanger ending, that will shock you and keep you guessing until you read book 3 . . .
I recomend this book to enyone who likes excitement and adventure books because that was really all the book was about. If you guys are looking for a good book get this one because it is an awsome story. I hope I can get to read all of the books in the series because the second book was that good and because I want to find out what happened to Ryan and Judd when they went to indenitfy Andrea's body.