Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne (Left Behind Series Book 9)

Rating:
Summary: Heart wrenching!
Review: Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have done it again! This installment in the Left Behind series is even better than the last. They have done their homework on the book of Revelation and their account (although fictional) very closely follows what the Bible says will happen in the end times. One should read Revelation along with this series to see how closely they are related. I finished it in 3 sittings! I could not put it down. What gifted authors using their talent to the glory of the Lord! I look forward as always to the next book!

Rating:
Summary: Desecration, Indeed!
Review: Similar to the previous eight books, "Desecration" follows suit in its (somewhat Biblical)accuracy and entertainment value. If you have read (and enjoyed) any of the preceeding installments, you know what to expect, and will get your money's worth. Having only read half it so far, I find only one aspect that may be questionable, and that is the character of Chaim Rosenzweig being presented with duties and characteristics of Moses(see Chapter One). Now, I do not view this as negative in any sense, but I wonder why the authors chose this route. Carpathia is one dastardly evil guy (duh!) and it is amazing how "human" he acts at times. Suprises, humor, and heart abound in this ninth installment of the "Left Behind" series.

Rating:
Summary: Better than people give it credit for
Review: A lot of the reviews I have read of these books tend to put it down by comparing it to other end of the world books. And while I will admit that these are not as smart or engaging as some of the the better books that cover the same topic like Fire of Heaven or We All Fall Down, I still really enjoyed them. A friend introduced me to the first book and I cut through all 12 books over the past two months. In a way, it's not really fair to compare them to some of the other books because they are trying to do different things. Left Behind seems to me to try to simply tell a great story about the end of the world. It's light, but what's wrong with that? I really felt like I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next when I finished a book and the very next day would order the next one. I call that a success. A book like We All Fall Down is obviously much more intense and thoughtful, the characters seem much more like real people, and it gives you more to think about, but why does that make Left Behind bad? Can't The Ten Commandments and The Passion both be good movies?

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: this book my be boreing at times but it is a sequel of other books and the ending books the ones after this are great. This is a goog one but i sitll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: First, I have to say that Mark Moore has it wrong. This book is Christian, but it is not propaganda. It tells about something that I(and many others) believe will happen.
Mark says that it is "ludicrous" to believe that the world would be in chaos if all the Christians disappeared. Yeah right! Let's see millions around the world disapear at the same time and without warning and not have the world go into chaos. Especially if top leaders disappeared. Give me a break!
I think that Mark's accusations are what's ludicrous: "An evil religion perpetuated by zealous idiots"?! Give me a break! Christians are as normal as everyone else.
His comparison to Stephen King's book is completely useless. King's book sounds ridiculous, and it would never happen. This will at least happen sometime!
In the Bible, the book of Revelation takes only "20 pages" because it only gives you enough detail to understand what is going to happen. These books are much longer because they put the book into situations that, for then, would be real life.

As for the quality of the book? I found the whole series to be a very good read. Each book ended at a place that would make you want to read the next book. These books are the kind that you don't want to put down. Read them and enjoy.

Rating:
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.


Rating:
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".

Rating:
Summary: How very sad
Review: The Left Behind series is an unfortunate symptom of hubris running amuck.

Two questions for you Christians who believe that everyone except you are damned: Do you actually think if Jesus returned to earth, he'd damn everyone who didn't accept him as God's only son? Why do you insist on interpreting the Bible to say that -- when other, more Christ-like interpretations are possible?

But when people like me say things like this you immediately go to Biblical judgment, don't you? It's easier to close your mind than open yourself to the message Jesus tried to spread: Patience, understanding, forgiveness, and tolerance.

This series goes to show that fear and ignorance sell.



Rating:
Summary: BOOK NINE: DESECRATION
Review: At long last, the Antichrist takes the very throne of God and makes a gory mockery of the Temple of the Jews. Those who finally see Carpathia's diabolical nature for what it is cannot bring themselves to follow him any longer--but for those who already have the mark of loyalty, it's far too late. God's wrath begins to be poured out on an evil world in earnest, first in the form of excrutiating boils on all unbelievers and then the oceans of the world are turned to blood. An enraged Carpathia launches an all-out offensive against the followers of Tsion Ben-Judah and Chaim Rosenzweig, and the Tribulation Force must decide if it will fight...or die. Perhaps the most exciting book in the series to this point, DESECRATION piles one thrilling plot point on top of the next, making for a read that absolutely flies past. Interesting subplots involve Hattie Durham, who suddenly steps *very* much out of character, and teenage genius Chang, the only person in the world with BOTH marks. Chloe Williams goes out on a risky limb, and it appears that the Trib Force's invisibility is finally waning. Like most of the other books in this series, this one climaxes with a major cliffhanger, though a decidedly grimmer one than has come before. Fans of the saga will absolutely LOVE this entry, and I really can't help but wonder why those who profess to hate the whole story continue to "torture" themselves by reading each and every book! Go figure. Greatly enjoyable and an irresistible lead-in to THE REMNANT (Book Ten), DESERECATION is certainly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Series Thus Far
Review: Definitely the best of the series thus far. Book 9 takes the excellent plot and character growth from books 6 through 8 and expounds on them even further. Simply one of the best books in the series - the plot will leave you wanting to turn the pages even faster. Be forewarned, this particular book is very difficult to put down - and the character growth is phenomenal with some of the best "second-guessing" on G-d's Will by the characters as they encounter death, destruction and mayhem as never before. A real page-turner, that's for sure.