The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon (Left Behind, 10)

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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: The Big Let Down in the Series Begins....
Review: I guess it had to happen. Books Six, Seven, Eight and Nine were absolutely excellent. Halfway through this book, I was getting excited about what was promising to be a strong end to the series. But as I noted, halfway through this book, everything hit the brick wall with a loud, resounding splat. The first half of this book continues an excellent storyline, and continues working phenomenal character growth. But for some odd reason, this book quickly degenerates into a Bible tract. Much like Books Four and Five, the second half of this book destroys the excellent promise and progress of Six through Nine. I have hopes that things will turn around in the last two books of the series, but somehow I see the preachy Bible tract aspect continue through to the end. What a shame if it does...this series had so much potential to be more than just a scare tactic towards witnessing.


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Summary: BOOK TEN: THE REMNANT
Review: THE REMNANT is every bit as exciting, fluid, and even inspiring as fans of the spectacular Left Behind series have come to expect these books to be. Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia leaves no stone unturned in his ongoing attempt to dominate every human on the planet and wipe out the believers assembled at Petra. Somehow God's own remain beyond his grasp, and angels appear to proclaim the gospel and protect defenseless believers. Despite the obvious hand of God moving upon the world, many remain unaccountably stubborn and refuse to submit to Christ, sealing their own regrettable but inevitable fate. The Tribulation Force is forced to evaluate whether or not there really is such a thing as a "safe house" anymore, and George Sebastian struggles to escape a seemingly impenetrable GC trap in one of the most thrilling episodes of the whole series. Though engaging on almost every level, THE REMNANT does have some flaws. The authors take a couple of unfortunate digs at non-evangelical Christians, at one point implying that even Jesus wouldn't want to go to their churches. There's still a lot of jetting around in the series' ongoing over-reliance on airborne escapes, and Chloe Williams continues to annoy with her adolescent desire to never miss out on any of the "action" even though it's clear she's of greatest benefit as head of the international co-op. And Carpathia's ruling cadre (and most of the rest of the GC) is composed of so many hapless dunderheads that it defies credulity. No organization handled with such incompetency could ever even survive, let alone conquer the world. Despite these shortcomings, THE REMNANT flies along at a rapid clip highlighted by fun dialogue and breakneck action. The characters are for the most part likeable and you can't help but pull for them. The basic message remains pertinent and urgent as ever, even if one disagrees with some of the details. Overall yet another easy-to-recommend entry in this astonishing series.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed....
Review: After hearing so many good things about this series, I decided to borrow The Remnant from the library. Now, normally, I can read just about any book; however predictable the storyline may be, I make myself finish the book. With this book however, I read a few chapters, skimmed a lot, and just completely gave up about two-thirds into the book. I think the part that really ruined it for me was pages 314-316. That scene was just right out of the book of Numbers(Korah's rebellion) and written practically word for word. That was blatant plagiarism. What would the author(Moses) think? (half j/k) Couldn't they come up with their own ideas?

If the other books are as bad as this, then I really don't get why this series is so popular.To be fair, maybe I should read the 1st book. Hopefully, it'll prove to be more exciting.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I love the Left Behind series. I own all of the books. This is very entertaining and captures your interest from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the end. Wonderful book!

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Summary: The Remnant is Gathered and Protected in Petra..
Review: I just finished Armageddon, and I am writing a review for both of these books right now.

This series did seem to drag a little slower in the middle books, but this book, The Remnant, and Armageddon both kept my interest rivetted to the pages and I am thirsting for more.

The series picks up in this installment and takes some giant leaps in the next book. I am still VERY hooked on this series!

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Summary: Who is left after the desecration and devastation?
Review: .
The safety once found in the city of Chicago is lost, and the groups must divide and try to get to build new safe communities. I wish I had some of the technological devices that the Tribulation Force did. The techie in me loved the descriptions and wanted more. These tools allowed Chloe to manage her international conglomerate of Christian traders without slowing. Now, some of the shippers who supported the trading cause have been caught and killed. This is a time when only those with the mark of Carpathia can buy, sell, get medical aid, or go out without expecting to be captured.

This book is powerfully visual, but I would still like to know more about Petra, and if it does fit the Biblical place of refuge. It probably does since LaHaye and Jenkins have obviously done extensive Biblical research to put the series together. More descriptions, I think, would be helpful.

Millions of Judeo-Christians are living in this arid place where there is no source of water or food. However, just as God provided for the Israelites as they spent forty years wandering the deserts in the Old Testament, God provides manna and a continuous fountain. If it seems that the authors have used a deus ex machine process for the miracles, remember this is a series about God protecting his own and showing His miraculous intervention.

Carpathia sees millions of people in Petra, so he must try to destroy the city. A target so ready that how can he resist? But, just as he was unable to kill the two prophets in the streets of Jerusalem until their time was fulfilled, he is stopped by God's power. Frustrated, the antichrist's forces work to lure the undecided who reside in Petra into their fold.

More characters become primary, and I found many of them unique and fascinating. Intrigue and action are still the driving force for this book as Christians try to save other believers and those who have not yet taken the mark, which was required in book eight of the series. With millions of people still on earth, Carpathia's forces have not been able to compel everyone to receive the mark or die. It is still gory, and there are a lot of believers who are captured and killed. The antichrist's soldiers were hampered by the boils and sores, and perhaps this was God's way of giving aid to His remnant.

Hurry I need the next book. As I have stated previously, I am a captive audience; therefore, it is five stars for me. That is just my opinion.

Victoria Tarrani


Rating:
Summary: Losing interest in the series
Review: This book was quite boring, and to be honest so was Desecration, but if it can bring people into Salvation, I will support it. As far as the series is concerned, I think Jenkins/LaHaye have made the GC brass into a bunch of dimwits, that are truly too incompetent to be running a local county commission or school board, much less running the New World Order. Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union would be the type of regime to expect from the Antichrist. I think that Zeke and his ID cards are unrealistic, as retinal scans, face scans, fingerprinting, DNA, GPS-tracked implanted microchips, and other biometrics will be THE source of ID in the coming one world government. This getting past checkpoints will not happen. One would expect widespread concentration camps for extermination of undesirables and political prisoners. I've also wondered where the resistance keeps getting this endless supply of jet fuel, that, in reality ,would be controlled by the Antichrist's militaristic government. I think that the Antichrist will use technology to try to become as omniscient as he can possibly be in order to maintain control of the population. Like Big Brother in Orwell's 1984. I would expect the Antichrist's police department to be absolutely brutal to the public. Their just doesn't seem to be a great deal of fear of the Antichrist and his agents in this novel. The Antichrist will rule with an iron fist until Jesus Christ returns to Earth to establish his 1000 yr kingdom. That is the Good News of the story. I will finish out the series and hope it is more exciting in the last 2 books. The dialogue in this book sometimes reads like a screenplay, i get lost in who is saying what and have to turn pages back and see who started the conversation, and who is saying what in the conversation. that is quite annoying. But overall i would give the first 6 books a 3.5 star rating and books 7 -10 a 2 star rating.