Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist (Left Behind #6)

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Summary: May be best so far !!!
Review: Each title seems to improve beyond the one before.I thought Apollyon was the best but this one goes a step further . The story continues to build the exitement of the series and still dosent answer all the questions . I can hardly wait for the Glorious Appearing to solve all the mysteries .I am already passing my copy arround and telling many others to buy Assassins for their own Left Behind reading pleasure.

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Summary: and excellent addition to the Left Behind saga
Review: Good suspense, plot, and character development. It's about time this one came out.

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Summary: time freezing
Review: This is the best book in the series so far. Not only does the book give some accuate information to the book of Revelations, it keeps the reader wanting to know more and understand more. I can't wait for the next one is this series to come out.

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Summary: what a cliff hanger?????
Review: this book was the best yet. who do you think did it? i don't think i can handle another six months until the next one. it is such a page turner you can hardly put it down. you are just left hanging at the end, wondering who the assassin is... what an awesome book

Rating:
Summary: A failure
Review: I am an ardent believer in Christ, but that does not mean that anything written about Christianity should be endorsed and embraced regardless of its quality. I have read all 12 of these novels and they simply aren't very good. The writing is poor, the plot unimaginative, and there certainly isn't anything in these books that will cause a Christian to re-examine and thus more fully embrace our beliefs. Look, I don't doubt that the authors had the best intentions with these books, but quality has to count for something. There are better alternatives out there. Try We All Fall Down by Caldwell. It's well-written and extreimly intelligent. If you're going to read about Christianity, read something that is worth your time.

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Summary: A LOOK AT THE NOVELS OF REVELATION
Review: I am a very big fan of novels that deal with the Biblical Apocalypse and, with so many different types, thought it would be worthwhile to give an overview of the ones I have read.

Left Behind, by Tim Lehay- The series that started it all. These novels are, in truth, somewhat boring, but it covers the bases with a depth that none of the others do, probably owing to the fact that there are so many of them. They lack character development and deep theology, but are a fun, if shallow read

The Christ clone Trilogy by James Beauseigneur- Well written novels that focus on the scientific and political. Tom Clancy meets Left behind is not too far off the mark. I greatly enjoyed these books although I felt a little let down by the ending. Overall, a good political take on the End.

We All Fall Down by Brian Caldwell- Certainly the most controversial of these novels. The focus here is the individual and why someone would ever in their right mind reject salvation. Very brutal, although probably more realistic, in its depiction of the End. This is certainly not a book for the timid, but for the rest, I found it the most intelligent, well written, and, oddly enough, spiritual of the bunch. It's hard to walk away from this book with feeling to need to take a fresh look at one's own relationship to Christ.

Blood of Heaven, by Bill Myers- These are intelligent, character focused novels. I found the theology again to be a little weak, but really enjoyed following the distictive characters.

The Last Gentile Trilogy by Cary Bybee- Better written than Left Behind, but lacking the scope of that work. Like conquest of Paradise or Christ clone, it it based in science, but perhaps too much. Not enough religion for my taste.


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Summary: Christian Propaganda
Review: This series of novels is inspired by "The Revelation to John", the last book in the New Testament, the third section of the Bible, the Christian holy book. "The Revelation to John" (which is often misnamed "The Book of Revelations") tells the Christian myth of what will happen at the end of the world. Basically, the authors took this story, which is barely 20 pages long, and turned it into a series of 12 novels plus a spin-off series that deals with kids. The Christian view is that only the people that believe that Jesus lived 2,000 years ago and died for their sins will be saved and receive an eternal reward in Heaven. What makes this worse is that individual merit based on good or evil deeds is not taken into consideration, because Christians believe that human beings cannot be put right with God except through Jesus. Christians believe that they are saved through faith alone; no amount of good works can win God's approval. So, all of the people that don't believe in Jesus will receive an eternal punishment in Hell, regardless of how many good deeds they do and how caring they are to other people. Meanwhile, the Christians will be saved no matter how evil they behave, because they've got Jesus on their side. "The Revelation to John" tells of an event known as the Rapture: all of the Christians are taken up to Heaven, and everyone else is left behind on Earth. After an event known as the Tribulation and world rule by someone known as the Anti-Christ, Jesus finally returns to Earth and defeats his enemies. Then the old Heaven and the old Earth go away, and a new Heaven and a new Earth are established - with God as King, of course. This took 20 pages in the Bible. Imagine reading the same story stretched over thousands of pages. As a non-Christian, I'm alarmed at what I consider to be an evil religion perpetuated by zealous idiots. Christians base their beliefs on documents that are close to 2,000 years old but don't quite date back to the time period that the events within allegedly occured. There is no physical evidence of the existence of Jesus. There are no non-Christian records of Jesus (not even in Roman execution records). There are no records by astrologists of the time period that describe such an event as that which supposedly occured during Jesus' crucifixion. I belief that the reason that Christianity has endured and grown as much as it has is because it's the only religion in the world that threatens the non-believer with an eternal punishment. Christianity is, at its core, a religion that rewards the "yes" people and punishes the nonconformists. The Bible itself orders Christians to spread the religion throughout the world. Christians feels that it's their duty to convert all non-Christians to Christianity. They pity non-Christians and "pray for their souls". They place themselves into a group of the elite - the saved. They start missions to convert the "heathen" non-Christians and "bring them over to Jesus". The Roman Catholic Church even has a division, called Propaganda, that specifically tries to establish churches in non-Christian nations. An example of a Christian mission is this book series. The authors are trying to bring readers to Jesus through these novels, which have, sadly, become best-sellers. I think that Christians should abort their missions and just leave people of other religions in peace. I'm so glad that there are billions of non-Christians in the world. It would be horrible if the Christians converted everyone. The world needs a balance of beliefs. Otherwise, it would lose its diversity. If you want to read a good book of a battle between good and evil, then read "The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition" by Stephen King. It tells a similar story, only better and in only 1,000 pages. The premise is that a superflu kills millions of people (we don't see what's going on in the whole world, just the United States), and those that are left band into two opposing camps of good and evil. The thing that makes King's book a lot better than this series is that no explanation is ever given for why these people are immune to the superflu. All types of people are left behind, both Christians and non-Christians. The authors of the "Left Behind" series make it seem like the world would fall into chaos if all of the Christians disappear, which is ludicrous. King wisely avoids this in his book. Buy it and enjoy it. Skip the "Left Behind" series. If you want to know what happens, take an hour to read "The Revelation to John".

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Summary: BOOK SIX: ASSASSINS
Review: If you could kill the Antichrist, would you? That's the central question at the heart of this, the sixth novel in the blockbuster end-times series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins, and the answer is more complicated than you might think, as several of the series' familiar characters discover for themselves. Normally rock-solid Rayford Steele takes a ride on a downward spiral in this one, and Nicolae Carpathia's evil continues to escalate. Meanwhile 200 million supernatural horsemen ride the earth wreaking terrifying havoc, and the fate of the two Witnesses is revealed. Critics of this evangelical phenomenon won't like this book either, but fans of the enormously popular series will find it's one of the most exciting entries in the series, right up to the chaotic cliffhanger ending. Just what happened, and who did it? ASSASSINS also boasts some of the most introspective and best writing since LEFT BEHIND itself, as we really get to see what's going on in the characters' turbulent minds. A great uplifting thriller, and certainly recommended.

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Summary: Finally Back to Moving the Plot and Characters Along
Review: The first three books in the series did an excellent job of moving the plot along, while riding a delicate balance with strong character development. Then books four and five hit -- more preachy material than story or character development. Total busts, IMHO. Book six, on the other hand, jumps back to the excellent writing style of plot/character development that the first three books promised. At this point in the series, this is the best book of the six.

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Summary: LOSING STEAM BUT STILL COMPELING
Review: The first 300+ pages are basically filler and catch-up for the real action that occurs at the end. As the title implies, there are several assassins here. Carpathia guns down the Jerusalem Twosome witnesses on their prophesied last day. Lying dead for three days while celebrants dance around their bodies, the two begin to stir and rise to Heaven.

Surprisingly, two diametrically opposed characters, Rayford Steele and Hattie Durham, decide independently and separately to kill Carpathia. In the closing pages, during the culmination of the celebration in Jerusalem Carpathia is shot in the head and is clearly dead.

Unclear, is who is responsible; Rayford, Hattie, or one of the ten under-potentates on the stage with Carpathia. Though the authors go out of their way to makes us think it's Rayford, I'm not so sure. And it probably doesn't matter--Carpathia, though dead here is destined to return in INDWELLING.