Customer Reviews

Kingdom Come (Left Behind, No. 13)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Like several of the books in this series, this should have been a chapter instead of the book. Long re-tellings of Hebrews 11, Noah, Joshua and David are used as filler, but add nothing to the development of the characters or the plot.

While I cannot say that I didn't like "Kingdom Come," it certainly left me wanting, which was unfortunate since this is the grand conclusion of the Left Behind series. Overall this was by no means a poorly written book as I truly enjoy Jenkins' style of writing and his use of imagery in not just the LB series, but also the "Soon" series. But I didn't care for the novel's progression and several series of events that took place.

The book begins well, with our usual crew about to enter the Millennial Kingdom and the theological explanations by Tsion Ben-Judah on what to expect as far as the early deaths of non-believers, everyone's new eating habits, the constant brightness, animals of all kind living in peace with people, and of course the physical presence of Jesus on his throne in Jerusalem. These were very helpful in setting the tone. We see Rayford, Irene, Tsion and co. assigned to various ministries throughout the world and Buck and Chloe have founded a millennial day care called Children of the Tribulation (COT). In addition, Jesus has cleaned up the whole earth after the horrors of the tribulation and has set up his new temple in Jerusalem where he will rule forever.

After establishing these initial key elements, the book jumps to 93 years into the Millennial Kingdom, where we learn about the formation of The Other Light (TOL), which is a Lucifer-worshipping cult whose followers hope to overthrow Christ in the final battle. After quickly reaching year 93, I thought the story would keep moving quickly throughout the Millennium in order to spend a good amount of time on the final battle between Satan and Jesus. However, the next 300 pages or so covered only years 93-97 in the Kingdom, which I found extremely tedious.

At one point, we see Rayford requesting to King David that some major biblical characters come and speak at COT, which he obliges. When Noah visits and tells his story, I found it to be a nice filler, but nothing really special. But the fact that later on, Joshua and Caleb and then later David himself each come and share their stories in excruciating detail (when one can just pick up a Bible and read the same things) was pretty disappointing and way too page consuming when other storylines could have been pursued.

One aspect that I truly did enjoy was that Buck & Chloe's son, Kenny Williams was the unofficial main character of this book at the tender age of 97. The formation of the Millennium Force was a bit cheesy, yet nostalgic to faithful LB readers who journeyed along with the original Tribulation Force. And Kenny and Ekaterina's romance was well done and makes you feel like a grandparent after having read the Buck & Chloe saga from early in the series. A big conflicting issue for me was when TOL infiltrator Qasim planted false evidence implicating Kenny as an unbeliever and a mole at COT. Kenny then loses his girlfriend and his Uncle Raymie (who has a glorified body and mind for crying out loud) initially turns on him as do several others. Kenny agonizes and feels totally alone and ostracized, which I find pretty jacked up considering this is a time of global peace and tranquility. It shouldn't have been hard for Kenny to prove his loyalty to Christ, especially with Jesus physically present right in his home town. Somehow I'd like to think Jesus wouldn't be some unaccessable VIP, sitting in his temple all alone, which is pretty much how he was portrayed in this book. Believers prayed to him, but even then, they didn't know if they were receiving his answers or making up their own. Why couldn't Kenny have said, "You don't believe me? Let's go see Jesus and he'll tell you I belong to him!" I'd like to think that Jesus would never have a problem with his own children coming to him for counsel, especially now that he was physically present with them.

Also, throughtout the Left Behind series, believers had seals of the cross spiritually placed by God on their foreheads identifying them as followers of Christ - why were they now absent?? This could've saved a lot of confusion in identifying true believers. A redeeming storyline was Abdullah's ministry to the TOL, which showed a really gracious picture of how we are to love our enemies. But throughout it, he seemed to keep second guessing himself, wondering if he was really supposed to be there. And again I wondered, why didn't he simply go and meet with Jesus and ASK him?? Rayford's kidnap and subsequent miraculous release were entertaining and brought back small flashbacks of the action in the original series. However, we know he couldn't be harmed or killed so it was a bit pointless. And it was also interesting to find out exactly who it was that blessed Tsion on the bus instead of arresting him in "Nicolae" (book 3), though I think this was done for Mr. Jenkins' own amusement as one could have gathered much earlier on that his guardian was obviously not a mere man.

Most unfortunately however, at the end of the second to last chapter, in a matter of two pages and in completely past tense, we find Kenny exonerated, and the next 900 years quickly glossed over in minor detail, disappointingly bringing us to the final battle in the last few pages of the book. This makes no sense to me since the 7 year tribulation took up 12 books, yet 900 years in the Millennial Kingdom took 2 pages?! The final battle with the armies of Satan, the casting of Satan into hell, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth were quickly done in a few paragraphs and much of it was by directly quoting Revelation. I mean, I understand that the final battle won't even be a true fight, but this is a fictional account and as the CLIMAX of the whole series, it should have been drawn out and paraphrased rather than spending so much time early on rehashing old stories by not one, but four Old Testament characters. I was glad however, to see the final moments in the book being told from Rayford's viewpoint, as he is the star of the series.

Overall, this was not a horrible book, but I expected much more from the finale to this amazing and heartwarming series. "Kingdom Come" is certainly a must if you have read all the previous books in the series, though on its own, it's not very strong. My overall thought, as others have also stated, is that if a trilogy was going to be written, it should have been done on the Millenial Kingdom, with perhaps only a single book for the prequel after the initial series was complete.

I absolutely loved the original 12 books of the Left Behind series. Yes, some of them were better than others (my personal favorite was I think the second book, Tribulation Force), but as a whole the series has been a huge part of my life, because it not only allowed me to learn more about what the end times will probably be like, but it also offered an easy and interesting way for me, as a young and sometimes shy person, to witness to others.

From what I always heard, this series was originally supposed to be only twelve books--then they pushed out the prequels, which were terribly boring, and now...this. I didn't even know this book was coming out until I saw it in the bookstore, which led me to believe that it was probably rushed to publication, and after reading it, I feel that that has to be the case. I also wanted to stay away from accusing the authors of "cashing in" on the success of the original twelve books, but at this point it's nearly impossible for me to NOT believe that that is what they are doing with Kingdom Come (and most likely the prequels, as well).

I'm not saying it wasn't interesting to get an idea of what the Millennial Kingdom will be like--it was. However, the fact that this book spent a few pages covering the days right after the Glorious Appearing, then leapt forward nearly 100 years, spent most of the novel discussing the happenings of a few months' time, and then leapt forward to the end of the Millenium in order to cover the true battle of the end of the world in just a couple pages, was ridiculous. Also, throughout the "meat" of the book, Biblical heroes would show up to tell their stories, which seemed to literally be taken out of an "easy" version of the Bible, such as the New International Version. I understand not wanting to mess with Biblical accuracy, but the authors did not try in the least to make them even the slightest bit more dramatic. These parts were obviously used as filler and I would rather pick up my Bible and read these stories there.

As a whole, I am severely disappointed in the authors. I am glad I did not purchase this book, and while I might force myself to read any others they come out with for old times' sake, I will certainly not purchase any future Left Behind books.

I have read the first 12 books in the Left Behind series multiple times. They are fantastic! The first books I ever read that I could not put down.
The prequels were boring.

This book is entertaining in parts, and sometimes interesting. But in the end, it's a big wasted oppurtunity. Why give the final battle only one chapter in the book? 95% of the book takes place about 100 years into the millenium. Why? The most important and interesting stuff is the final victory. Why not spend time on the huge army building up, instead of skimming over it in a few paragraphs? Not to mention cramming the final judgements and victory into a couple pages. Why skim over all the most interesting parts, but spend endless pages on Biblical characters telling their stories? And endless detailed description of life during the millenium? I really can't figure out what the point of the book was. I thought it would tbe about the final victory, as the cover says. But so little of the book is actually about the final victory.

I don't want to consider this the last book in the Left Behind series. It's more like a postquel (haha). This is a hard review to write because I just love the series. As bad as this book was, it can't change the first 12 books, which are simply amazing reads.

The Left Behind series has always been polarizing to the masses, but I've always found myself sitting somewhere in the middle. The prose is utterly pedestrian and the characters sometimes ridiculous, but I've always found the series appealing because of the sheer scope of the apocalyptic vision. Even though I believe all of this to be nonsense, as fiction its generally been entertaining. The imagery in the middle books in particular was fascinating and captivating, and the 11th title was a great build up to an explosive finale. Unfortunately, the 12th and supposedly final installment was a bit of a letdown and came off as very hokey to me.

Anyway, after the two spin off series and the prequel series, it should surprise absolutely nobody that LaHaye and Jenkins dove back in for one final cash-in. And also not surprisingly, it's easily the worst book in the series. This is really nothing but a glorified rehash of the first twelve books. At first its a treat to see all of the characters in the series alive and talking to each other, but the novelty wears thin very quickly, and then you're left with nothing but (as usual) painfully bad dialog. And what does it lead to? A rehash of book 12's finale, only vastly inferior and a couple hundred pages shorter. The Final Battle(deja vu, huh?) lasts about two pages(Jesus says a few words, and Satan's army is vaporized, and then Satan joins the Beast and the False Prophet), then the earth is destroyed and and everyone lives forever in the New Temple.

There is almost nothing compelling in this last installment of the series, only fleeting novelties. For the most hardcore of the hardcore followers only.

Let me begin by saying that I am a hardcore fan of the left behind series, having read them all including the prequels. I loved each and every book in the main series...UNTIL 'Kingdom Come'. What an anti climax to years of reading a book series. Most of the book covers the first 100 years of the millenial kingdom and then...in a few brief pages, 900 years have passed, it's the final day of the millenium , the Lord Judges the wicked and welcomes the saved to the new heaven and earth. the end!!! I was so annoyed that a lot of the book was just 'filler', for example long, drawn out chapters of old testament biblical heroes telling their stories to children in the day care centre buck and chloe are running. This made me feel ripped off as much of the endless pages of text in these parts of the book were taken right from scripture.
If you are a left behind fan and have not yet read Kingdom Come - DONT!!! It will ruin the series for you. Read 'Glorious appearing' and leave it at that- trust me!

As I have in the past, I begin with a caveat, for those who will wish to immediately bash me as an anti-Christian kook. I am a devout Christian, and have been all my life. I am a lecturer on the University level and a children and youth minister. I run the Christian Formation program at my church for both children and adults. I am well-trained in Scripture, Church history and theology. I want to share the love of Jesus Christ to a broken world. Furthermore, I believe that "Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that His Kingdom will have no end."

This being said: As anyone who has read my reviews knows, I am not a fan -- to say the least -- in the "Left Behind" series, and have bothered with the books only because of the number of students who have asked questions. In my review to "Glorious Appearing" I predicted that this book would eventually be written.

I could re-hash my criticisms of the entire series here -- but this is not the time nor the place. Suffice it to say that the premillenial dispensationalism which this book (and the entire series) touts is a recent historical anomaly (mid 19th century) and represents an understanding of "Last Things" which was unknown to the Early Church; was unknown to the Protestant Reformers; was unknown to the leaders of the Great Awakening. Today, this view is limited to a particular form of biblical fundamentalist. This view is not now, nor has ever been the Faith of the Church.

Criticisms particular to this book:

1) The padding: Readers of this review will recall my earlier review of "John's Story" in which I criticized the authors for "padding" the length of the book. I see the same sort of "padding" here. Much of the early material is repeated from "Glorious Appearing". Another example of padding would include Jesus reciting lengthy passages of Scripture. (The Hebrews 11 scene comes to mind.) One gets the feeling that the authors really didn't know where to go with the plot, yet had to fill out a requisite number of pages.

2) Character silliness: One of the most irritating parts of the 2nd "Left Behind" novel was the Jr. High "puppy love" type of relationship between Buck and Chloe. (Remember the "eating cookies over the phone" episode?) Frankly, Buck and Chloe may now have "glorified bodies" but the level of their emotional depth has not seemed to noticeably increase. The little conversation in which Buck marvels at his lack of a sex drive toward Chloe, yet rejoicing that they will still be living together, raising their son in platonic happiness was, frankly, nauseating.

3) Interpolations: Several times within the novel, the action stops suddenly, and the reader is "treated" to a exhortation on LaHaye's views of the End Times, and how the next chapter will fit into those views. Um, excuse me "Dr." LaHaye -- if you need to continually stop and explain details of your views, perhaps either your views -- or your plot -- was not well planned out.

4) Weird time sense: Okay, let me see if I get it. Those who had been raptured, or who died as martyrs during the tribulation get "glorified bodies" which do not age and do not reproduce. Those still alive at the Glorious Appearing, still have natural bodies which can age (and presumably reproduce) but not die. Children born to those witnesses of the Glorious Appearing have to accept Jesus Christ by their 100th birthday or they will die. Where do you find all this in the book of Revelation? You don't. Where do you find all this in the commentaries on Scripture by the Early Church Fathers? You don't. Which of the great Reformers would have bought into this? None of them. This is made up of whole cloth out of the imagination of the authors.

Conclusion: Why do I think that these books are so dangerous? Because the uninformed reader -- Christian or otherwise -- will read these, and believe that this represents "What Christians Believe". And it doesn't. It presents a distorted view of a tiny minority. It is NOT the "Faith Once Delivered To The Saints".

Not at all recommended.