Rating: 
Summary: the very definition of a grande finale
Review: This book is, by far, the best of the series. The culminating event of the last 7 years is about to happen, and the authors do an incredible job of building up to it. The suspense is palpable as the series' surviving characters eagerly anticipate Christ's return while an incomprehensibly large army surrounds them.
When the build-up reaches it's climax and things finally get rolling, it is absolutely incredible to read through. The Battle of Armageddon. Christ's return. The defeat of Lucifer and Carpathia. It's a nonstop revelations rollercoaster as we are taken through the climax of the end of days.
this book isnt perfect, the beginning is drawn out, and while it does build suspense, you do get kind of antsy waiting for something to happen. But the payoff, which comes about halfway through, is soooo worth it. if you are a left behind fan at all, buy this book
Rating: 
Summary: A great ending.....but.....
Review: First, let it be said that I have enjoyed the Left Behind series. I am not some wet-blanket who has scoffed at each and every book, and am now taking my stab at this one as well. I have read the book, and so my review comes from experience, and not from a religious bias.The Glorious Appearing brings to a close the anticipation of Christ's return. It is a bit slow at first, but it does pick up. This is a slight turn from the pattern of the previous books; where you have drama, scripture, drama, scripture, etc. This one is more like scripture, scripture, drama, scripture, scripture, drama. There is a lot more Biblical quotation in the final book, so anyone who picks this book up without an understanding of God's final plan is going to be a bit bored by all the "archaic" language..."Bible-speak". The book does come to a powerful ending, and it was definitely worth the read! The one thing I will pick on here, is that if this is to the LAST book in the series, the ending itself is rather unsettling. Like all the other books before it, we are left with a passage of scripture that practically screams "To Be Continued!" If this was to be the last book, the scripture at the end should have been left out. As it is, it is leading us to believe there is more to come from Lahaye and Jenkins...perhaps book #13. I would not be suprised in the least if within the next six months we hear news that that by popular demand, the series will continue...with book #13 called "The Millenium". Then book #14, called "The Beast". Then book #15 called "(insert title here)" This is not a bad thing. If the readers want more from the Trib Force, I see nothing wrong with the authors delivering it. If book #13 came out today, I'd buy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Now that you have read the end...
Review: Now that you have read the end, let's here the rest of the story.
We have to remember that this is two men's projection of events to come. They have not happened yet. But! If you have not read
the Bible for yourself, then go do it. I would start with the book of Luke, then Acts. Followed by Matthew, Mark & John. Then Romans, 1& 2 Corinthians Ephesians, Then Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Daniel. Then Revelation. Then read the other books you missed.
Then you will know; the rest of the story. God's plan for man.
And his son Jesus Christ. Or if you don't want to do that; pick up your Bible and start reading from the first page you turn to.
Rating: 
Summary: Alpha or Omega?
Review: How anyone can find a series about the end of human kind as something enlightening and fascinating is beyond my comprehension. These authors have no creativity if they seek more money from your pockets for another book. Book #12? When will they stop? "The end of days." It lacks more than imagination, it also lacks morality. Their fictious tale invites you to indulge in such things, but why? Why? Why should anyone wonder at the end when amid of life so many of us have only begun?
I had read in one review of a reader who was a very zealous fan of the series. In their review he/she noted that: "A word to believers and unbelievers-this is a FICTIONAL not a literal interpretation of the prophecies in the Bible. However, they are an excellent portrayal of how things COULD happen." Who are we to fathom the end? Why must we search for answers that are not meant to be answered? And if we do find the answers we seek...what then? These answers will not stop what may happen to the world in the end. But before that end does come, maybe we can glance at reality and make the world better. Perhaps before we meet any end we may live they way God and Christ wants us to. Perhaps we can make it a little more bearable for all of us if we did not find a capacity to look for the end. But rather grow from what we have begun.
Rating:
Summary: like it!
Review: Well, I thought that it was a little slow at first, like they were taking their good, sweet time getting up to the Big Event of the Glorious Appearing, but that's what kept it good and exciting! I thought the reuinion at the end was very, very well done and touching. I liked Rayford's like, "we've only got a thousand years" at the very end. Good work, Lahyae and Jenkins! Just one thing: if the lion eats straw beside the lamb, why do the people still eat meat? The rest was good, and went along with scriptures. I loved with this book, and it's not only the best in the series, it's one of the best books i've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Do not believe the previous three reviews. they did not read
Review: This is truly the best out of the series. It is paifully obvious that the previous readers put out. It is obvious that while they read portions of the book, they have no clue as to how the entire book read. Yes there is battle, after all when Christ returns there will be three battles including the battle of Armageddon. Bloodless battle does not exist, it is found even in the Bible. What struck me was the love that Christ showed in the book, I could see myself in the characters having an audience with the Lord and hearing Him tell me what he told them, I was honestly moved to tears. I know that while there are going to be at least four more books, I honestly look forward to them, jealousy can even rear it's head in the heart of a christian if said christian is not vigilant enough to guard his heart. Jesus' return in thie book could not have been done in a better way. If you have never read any of the other books in this series, my advice would be to start with the first and move through all 12, I could not put this one down at all. My only fault with this book is that more time was not given for the reunion of families I wish the author could have gone into more detail concerning that.
Well done Mr Jenkins, Well done Mr. Lahaye
Rating:
Summary: A Return?
Review: I'm a bit troubled by a book that manipulates sacred scripture as though the authors actually know the meaning and assume that St. John on Patmos was writing about the United Nations and not the empire of his time, Rome, and the very real destruction of Jerusalem and the desecration of the temple. To put the Book of Revelation into a contemporary novel such as this is by any definition a profaning of the good book and sacriledge. When you consider that one could reasonably interpet scripture to make G.W.s little venture into Iraq an action of the anti-Christ where do you go next? As for me I will not be one of those who feels that my car will be driverless in the event of Rapture. I know that I am unworthy and trust in the Lord and will accept what comes. The arrogance of these books in claiming to speak for that which cannot be spoken for is terrifying.
Rating:
Summary: Junk. Complete and Utter Junk.
Review: As they look over the world's painful panorama of war and terror, some people conclude that it is too late, that no amount of information or activity could possibly report as best as possible the facts and circumstances surrounding Tim LaHaye's deplorable sermons. But those who take that pessimistic view understand neither LaHaye nor his current rung on the ladder to total power. Although not without overlap and simplification, I plan to identify three primary positions on LaHaye's platitudes. I acknowledge that I have not accounted for all possible viewpoints within the parameters of these three positions. Nevertheless, when LaHaye hears anyone say that I really assert that his opinion is a lazy cop-out, his answer is to make us too confused, demoralized, and disunited to put up an effective opposition to his utterances. That's similar to taking a few drunken swings at a beehive: it just makes me want even more to appeal for comity between us and him. He can justify anything that brings him a profit. So let him call me tyrannical. I call him smarmy. I myself can't follow LaHaye's pretzel logic. I do, however, know that his campaigns are a mere cavil, a mere scarecrow, one of the last shifts of a desperate and dying cause. Although the historical battle between good and evil is exemplified in the philosophical division between Platonic order and Aristotelian chaos, there are three fairly obvious problems with LaHaye's grievances, each of which needs to be addressed by any letter that attempts to debunk the nonsense spouted by LaHaye's goombahs. First, LaHaye's provocateurs compress LaHaye's positions into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. Second, if we submit to LaHaye's definition of "undiscriminatingness" and become spineless, we have lost the war for self-preservation. And third, LaHaye's collaborators believe that the boogeyman is going to get us if we don't agree to LaHaye's demands. Although it is perhaps impossible to change the perspective of those who have such beliefs, I wish nevertheless to summon up the courage to evaluate the tactics LaHaye has used against me. More fundamentally, he refuses to come to terms with reality. LaHaye prefers instead to live in a fantasy world of rationalization and hallucination. His claim that anyone who resists him deserves to be crushed is not only an attack on the concept of objectivity, but an assault on the human mind. LaHaye's hijinks cannot stand on their own merit. That's why they're dependent on elaborate artifices and explanatory stories to convince us that obscurity, evasiveness, incomprehensibility, indirectness, and ambiguity are marks of depth and brilliance. If LaHaye's exegeses get any more pushy, I expect they'll grow legs and attack me in my sleep. LaHaye's smears have been a millstone around our neck for quite some time. The mere mention of that fact guarantees that this letter will never get published in any mass-circulation periodical that LaHaye has any control over. But that's inconsequential, because LaHaye is always prating about how he can ignore rules, laws, and protocol without repercussion. (He used to say that space aliens are out to lay eggs in our innards or ooze their alien hell-slime all over us, but the evidence is too contrary, so he's given up on that score.) If he had done his homework, he'd know that he would have us believe that genocide, slavery, racism, and the systematic oppression, degradation, and exploitation of most of the world's people are all utterly justified. Yeah, right. While there is no evidence that I'm honestly tired of hypersensitive snobs, it is clear that just because LaHaye and his minions don't like being labelled as "paltry nabobs of propagandism" or "grotesque insurrectionists" doesn't mean the shoe doesn't fit. While it's true that this is a very real and serious concern, LaHaye has yet to acknowledge that fact. I'm not very conversant with his background. To be quite frank, I don't care to be. I already know enough to state with confidence that we must learn to celebrate our diversity, not because it is the politically correct thing to do, but because maladroit, putrid dweebs often take earthworms or similar small animals and impale them on a pin to enjoy watching them twist and writhe as they slowly die. Similarly, LaHaye enjoys watching respectable people twist and writhe whenever he threatens to create an atmosphere of mistrust, in which speculations and rumors gain the appearance of viability and compete openly with more carefully considered theories. From a purely technical point of view, if I didn't think LaHaye would grant a free ride to the undeserving, I wouldn't say that I try never to argue with him, because it's clear he's not susceptible to reason. If you can make any sense out his catty maneuvers, then you must have gotten higher marks in school than I did. In closing, all that I ask is that you join me to stop Tim LaHaye and carve solutions that are neither sententious nor manipulative.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Series
Review: I've read them all. The previous volumes build and build to an unbelievable climax in this 12th volume. No doubt, this is the best one yet. I can't imagine how Jerry Jenkins crafted such a riveting portrayal of what it might be like when Jesus returns to earth. It's imaginative, creative, and engaging. If you've followed the plot to this point, you will experience great satisfaction as the tension is resolved and the pieces all come together. One of my favorite parts is the way Jerry weaves actual Bible quotes into the text. I love the portrayal of the Trib Force members meeting Jesus in person. I'll let the readers discover how Jerry paints the picture, but let me say that there were tears flowing down my cheeks as I read it. I started the book one night, and couldn't put it down until five and a half hours later. In my opinion, Glorious Appearing is Jerry Jenkins' finest works to this point in his illustrious career. Don't miss this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, this one is an embarrassment
Review: I was so looking forward to GA, really I was. I've read all eleven previous books in the Left Behind series, and enjoyed them all for the most part. The earlier books are clever and fascinating reads; the later ones begin a downward spiral of superficial characterization and cartoonish plotting. GA is waaaaaaaaay over the top, and the preachiness overwhelms and makes totally ineffective the characterization of Christ's opponent, Satan. Nick Carpathia is no more than a caricature in a slapstick cartoon; so are his bumbling henchmen. The grand battle is not only not a battle, it's not even a rout--the 'enemy' hasn't a single chance to prevail, so there is no drama inherent in a potentially very dramatic biblical scenario. Blood, destruction, revenge--at God's hands. Page 336 capped it for me, when the butcher, in his bloodstained apron, happily complains that all the cattle and sheep seem to volunteer themselves to be slaughtered; apparently the man has too much meat to keep fresh. SO WHY INDULGE IN A SLAUGHTER FEST? Offensive, really, and ridiculous. Does the God of these books revel in the blood, butchery and slaughter of His creations? I don't think so. I certainly hope not, because if so, He's not a god I can worship. Some people complain about the brutality of Christ's ordeal in "The Passion." At least Christ was not **committing** that brutality. In that movie, violence was used as a statement against violence, and to show the love of Christ in sacrifice, IMHO. The Christ of this book is as brutal and vengeful as could be conceived, and the authors even make the senseless painful slaughter of sinless animals a God-given right. (As Ghandi said, the character of a nation (and of a person) is revealed by how it/they treat animals.) But enough of about that. I don't know this GA version of God, thank God. And I don't think I'll be reading any more of the Left Behind books, sad to say. I'm so disappointed--GA could have been uplifting, and instead I found it disturbing and depressing, and overall a poor read.
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