The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession (Left Behind #7)

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: The Indwelling
Review: As many of you have also done, I waited for months to read this next addition to the Left Behind series. While I found the "action" to be somewhat lacking, the book flowed very nicely. To make the prophetic facts seem more real to me, I enjoy keeping my Bible next to me and looking them up as they occur. One important thing to remember about this series is that it is FICTION based on FACT of what will happen when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ comes again to claim his children. You can make fun of the characters as much as you want to, but what would any of us do who were put in the same situation? This is a battle of good vs. evil; if you lose, you die. While dying as a Christian means eternity in heaven, I can't think of anyone who actually looks forward to death. During the tribulation, the only two things that will matter will be witnessing for Christ and survival. I praise Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins for their lifelike casting of the Trib Force. Here are perfect examples of sinners, just like me, who were saved by putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The authors are not afraid to make the characters human, like Rayford and Chloe. Both had strong, sinful desires that show them for what they are -- sinners saved by grace. I can't wait until this fall to read the next book. Hopefully, Jesus will return before then and we, who are truly born again, can leave this old world behind. I also highly recommend Are We Living in the End Times. This is written by the same authors. If you are like me, this book will send chills up your spine when you see how close we truly may be to the rapture! Hopefully, it will spur you as it did me to be a better witness for Christ!

Rating:
Summary: Content vs. Theory vs. Writing
Review: I am going to put the same review on each of the "Left Behind" series books because my reaction to each of them is basically the same. (For actual content, read Amazon's description above. For my bent on the series, read on.)

There are basically three main theories concerning Christ's return, based off scripture, and though I won't get into them here, this one is off the pre-tribulation theory. (Which is actually the same one I believe in.) The problem is, I know why I believe in this particular theory, whereas other Christian may simply read this book and say, "Oh, so that's what's going to happen!" Well, before you do that, check your Bible and other sources, and don't just base it off these books. OK, time to step off my soapbox...

As far as writing talent, I have been VERY disappointed with all the books in this series. At first, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking the writing was so simplistic so younger kids could read them too, until I discovered they have a young kids version out for this series, at which point I was just saddened. So don't expect a well-written novel, as I feel each book's writing has become more and more simple with each release. And by this, I don't mean the story doesn't flow, because it does. It's just written in such simply words that even a grade-schooler could read it without any problems.

As far as content, you'll find stuff in here you like, I don't doubt that, but if you're like me, you'll be skimming many areas because you don't care about every single step that every single person takes to get from point A to point B. It's a tedious read at parts, but if you like the study of the end times, as do I, or like reading Christian novels, as do I, then these books will suffice. But don't base your belief system off them until you know more than just what's presented here, and certainly DON'T read them if literary content is your main goal as you won't find well-WRITTEN novels here. If it weren't for that fact alone, I'd be devouring these books as they came out, but as it is, I've read them after friends buy them and are done with them since I am interested in the story, but not the work it takes for me to constantly forgive the writing.