Rating: Summary: An E for Effort Review: The intent was good. I got into the series for the way it conveyed what might be the End Times scenario in an action-packed thriller format. It was a fun change of pace. When the first few books exhibited that style, it was reasonable to expect the rest to follow suit. Yet somewhere along the line, I was metaphorically falling asleep in church to a long-winded sermon, on a topic I'd heard before, from a perspective that wasn't all that believable... To those of us who feel we should perk up and be thankful for a-n-y thing religious, I ask how long you'd read a review w/ line after line of Scripture quotes you already know? Would you be skimming, too? In trying to please all the people all the time, in my humble opinion, the series tanked. I love Scripture and good church teaching/fwp; I take exception to those who think complaints of sermonizing and filler quotes in this series are a negative indication of eternal status. It's just that this series changed gears midway thru from a real page-turner to a veritable Cliff's notes of Bible prophecy---fictionalized of course, which didn't make sense. Finishing it became an effort-filled devotion, not the series I couldn't put down. It never was all that believable (Buck jumping from a jet taking off, rolling to the ground relatively unscathed...). There were boring tangents (Oh how beautiful was the pregnant Chloe, the pregnant Chloe, the preg...). Style bordered on your grandfather's era, lending it an antiquated, old-school feel (people ran "to and fro"). The setting often changed rapidly/awkwardly, in made-for-TV fashion, w/o developing the reader's ongoing interest in bit-part characters or seemingly insignificant filler moments. Yet for all this, in the earlier books at least, the drama was intense, and knowledge of prophecy was acquired effortlessly. Gradually this changed. I feel like the kid who went to my neighbor's youth group because they offered pizza and an entertainment-style format---only to find there are fifteen minutes of gender-segregated rollerblading to the serene sound of the Bob Jones worship choir, each of us gets a quick slice of cold pizza, then (saved or lost) we're all herded into the same arena for three hours of evangelistic preaching. Not inherently wrong; I just expected something else.
Rating: Summary: Awesome Ending to a wonderful Series!!! Review: I loved the Glorious appearing and I cried through the whole second half of the book. It was so cool to imagine Jesus's return to the earth. It was great. I thought they did an awesome job!
Rating: Summary: Read it in five hours Review: I don't have the words to describe it - read it for yourself.
Rating: Summary: Yea! We win; they loose. Review: Glorius Appearing is great. This is the book all us good Christians have been waiting for. It's revenge time, revenge in the godly Christian sense; the good kind of revenge. Remember all those people who made fun of our WWJD bracelets and True Love Waits rallies? Remember all those kids in high school who laughed at our Christian music CDs? They all get killed. Remember all those people who didn't want prayer in public schools? This is where Jesus slaughters them. Remember all those people who refused to accept God's gift of truth and salvation? This is where they are all punished for their sinful wickedness. With the help of our loving god, we get to watch all those evil, bad, fornicating people crushed under the hand of justice. Jesus kills them in all sorts of godly ways: he slaughters, maims, decapitates, disembowels, crushes, burns, and makes them explode. Millions upon millions of them: whole families, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, even sheep and horses are slaughtered till the streets are filled with blood. Animals are sinners, too, you know. Reading about this carnage, you'll be touched by how much Jesus loves us. I loved Glorious Appearing. Praise Jesus. Come quickly, Lord. The world is evil and we pray for you to destroy it.
Rating: Summary: Very Disappointed Review: The many pages of scripture simply appear to be a way to fill space - this book could have been included in the last one. And then the obvious plan for ANOTHER book. The authors just gave credence to the critics who said they were just dragging out an obviously profitable serier.I'm disappointed, the readers deserve better & the authors could have provided it.
Rating: Summary: The Glorious Appearing Review: I liked the book...it was probably my third best in the series...the first being Apollyon...I was a little disappointed in the ending...there were a few "goofy" areas too..but all in all it was enthralling....I wished there had been more time spent on the new Jerusalem and life there...but I did enjoy it and will miss the series...I hope the authors come out with something more !!
Rating: Summary: Glorious Appearing? Disappointing Story. Review: I received the first book in the series as a gift and got hooked. I found the story line very interesting and think anyone who has a close relationship with God would find it that way, too. I learned a lot and flew through each book and was bummed when I finished the 11th book last fall that I would have to wait until 9 months for the next one. I reserved it at the library and picked it up the second it was available. Up until this point, I thought the authors did a wonderful job of teaching the bible and keeping the story exciting and interesting and suspenseful. Then, in this book, it seemed like they lost the desire to write a good story, but rather became fixated on cramming as much of the bible into the book as they could, not caring that the story line suffered. I suppose this is an okay read if people pick up this book to learn primarly about scripture and secondarily for a good story, but if you are reading this book for pleasure as I was, I think that you will be let down. Other reviewers have described being emotional as they read, and I can see how some parts with Jesus are touching, but overall, I was disappointed. I WOULD recommend that anyone who has read the series read this book simply for closure to the series, and because I heard there will be a prequel and sequel coming and you probably want to have read all the books before moving onto those. The title "Glorious Appearing" really made me look forward to this book and while Jesus' return is a VERY glorious thing to look forward to, this book is not.
Rating: Summary: Glorious Appearing Review: "Glorious Appearing" does a beautiful job in concluding the fabulous "Left Behind" series. As a fan of the series, I had been waiting for this one for a long time. To the Christian, parts of this book will touch your heart and bring you encouragement as you see a perspective on the wonders that await when Christ returns. Jesus descends and has the ability to talk personally to each person. Regardless if you agree with the details or how the end of days were portrayed, it should inspire you to study your Bible and make comparisons between this great line of fiction and the Revelation. It felt like the book needed to spend more time with the reunion. The only problem with it was that it left you wanting to know more...
Rating: Summary: Disappointed Review: I was disappointed in the quality of this book. It's hard to explain but just trying to repeat verses in the bible as opposed to conveying how people would be at the second coming. I just couldn't relate. If you are an "in Christian", one could see that this is from the bible, but I thought these books were also for the mass market, and people could gain so much of Jesus through these books. I'm aware of some people who have become engrossed in these books, and I don't think they will be able to understand the last book. It just wasn't in simple enough language. And Jesus just was too distant. He is so much more than was conveyed.
Rating: Summary: Extremely encouraging!! Review: For years, I have wondered how these authors would write this book, as it must have been the hardest to fictionalize. I think that Lahaye and Jenkins did an amazing job, using scripture to tell the story of the end of days rather than using their own creativity. While no one knows what the appearing of Christ will be like, I think that these two have given us all something to look forward to as we join our Savior in His millenial rule. While I haven't always cared for the sermons in previous books, the "sermons" in this book were uplifting, and definitely made me think deeper about who I am and what I am doing with this life. Definitely one of the series that I could read over and over again!
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