102 of 111 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Please Tell Me This is the End, April 13, 2007
The tribulation is over and the millennium is beginning. Christians who have died have returned to earth in their glorified state to help those Christians who are still alive rule the earth. The earth's population is made up entirely of adult Christians and children who haven't yet made up their mind.
There is a huge need to evangelize the children, so Chloe and Buck, both glorified, set up a day care. They children play games and learn Bible stories. Rayford, the only surviving member of the original Tribulation Force, reunites with old friends and works to further Christ's kingdom by doing whatever is needed. 100 years in, he leads a group that sets about revitalized Egypt after it is judged for turning from God.
But in the background, there is resistance building. Calling themselves The Other Light, they set about convincing unbelievers that, if enough of them believe, Satan can win when he is freed. Is there anything our heroes can do to stop them?
Okay, I'll admit I have had a love/hate relationship with these books. Some books I've loved, some I've hated, and some I've loved and hated. This book definitely falls into the hated category.
After some boring set up, we advance to almost the 100 year mark, where we spend almost the entire time. There really is no central villain to the story, which makes the conflict very weak. As with GLORIOUS APPEARING, there are long passages that are direct quotes from the Bible but do nothing to advance the story. And this includes three times they stop their story to tell us a Bible story quoted almost completely from the Bible. The characters seem even weaker then normal, too.
And that leaves out my biggest complaint. A major plot point is that all people who haven't accepted Christ will die on their hundredth birthday. I've been asking around, and no one I've talked to has ever heard that before. Furthermore, the verse they use to justify it sure doesn't seem to say that to me.
Now all this sounds like I hated it. The last 100 pages had some great conflict that almost redeemed the book for me. If the rest of it had been that way, I would have enjoyed the book more.
GLORIOUS APPEARING felt like a great conclusion to the series. I should have stopped there.
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68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The final adventures of the Trib Force, April 7, 2007
The sixteenth book in the "Left Behind" series covers the one thousand years after the Glorious Appearing. Jesus reigns from the holy temple in Jerusalem, David is his prince, and peace prevails throughout the world. All adults in the world are either "naturals" (believers who were alive at the time of Jesus' coming), or "glorifieds" (those who returned to earth from Heaven), and will live out the Millennium and then proceed to heaven. Children (those under the age of 100) must make the choice to be followers of Christ, or die on their 100th birthday. The members of the Tribulation Force have a children's day care ministry which serves hundreds of children and aims to bring the youth to Christ. But there are pockets of dissent, even in this paradise. A growing number of hedonistic "children" are members of The Other Light, a group that rejects Christ and longs for the return of Satan.
I found this book poorly written and disappointing. The narrative is awkward, the dialogue is stilted, the characters are stereotypes, and the plot suffered without a villain. The authors admit there is scant scriptural information about the Millennium, so their detailed description of events come across as fantasy not grounded in prophesy. The first hundred years is described in excruciating detail, and then in one sentence, 900 years passes and it's time for everyone on earth to either ascend to heaven or descend to the lake of fire with Satan. The earlier "Glorious Appearing" was a good book that wrapped up the series for me; this book was shallow, dull, and pointless.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kingdom Come is better than expected., April 13, 2007
I was unsure what to expect with the 16th and final book of the Left Behind series. Prequels never seem to be as good as the original, and the only prequel book I thought should have been written was "The Rapture." Still I was pleasantly surprised with this final book. I actually think they should have made a sequel trilogy of the melenial kingdom instead of a trilogy on pre-rapture. I loved the private story or Kenny and Kat and even tho they became the main characters, they included many of our favorites from the original series. They kept it exciting by making us doubt the loyalties of some of the main characters, but it's not overdone either. They also tackle some big and popular issues and questions people have with God. Such as, "If he is all powerful and all loving why do people still go to Hell and why doesn't he fix all of my problems." I loved that this book tackled such issues, and as Abdullah did, treated those asking with love and respect.
The one thing I didn't like with the book was the portrayal of Jesus. He just lives in the temple like an untouchable king and does not seem to have much interaction with believers. He quotes himself a lot from the Bible and when he isn't quoting himself, he talks in flowery language like he popped out of the NIV version of the 4 gospels. I understand if they did anything else people may think of it as sacrilegious, but Jesus was as relate able as possible 2,000 years ago, and I happen to think he will be exactly that same way during the Melenium. He is God but that doesn't mean he has to talk the such distinguished snob. I think Jesus will be one of the most relatble persons you'd ever meet, and I can't wait to meet him in person. But I hope he won't be as boring as he was in this book. The book also treats the OT Biblical Heros in this exact same fashion, and when they tell their own stories, they don't expand on the bible at all on each story. I also don't think Satan seems very scary. He just walks around and seems like a raving lunatic if anything, but I've thought that since "The Indwelling". I'd recomend this book because the story is good, but now I wish there was more books. Oh well I can always re-read them.
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