End-of-Life Books

Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon". So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

This supernatural event happened when the rag tag band of Israelites led by Joshua entered the promised land to fight the pagan tribes which lived in Israel more than a thousand years before Christ. Before Christ's second coming, christians like myself believe that there will be signs in the heavens heralding His coming, and ultimately upon His return He will appear in the clouds, just as He did when He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of G-d in Acts 1:11. The day of the Lord (from Joel 2:2, 31) will be 'a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great people and powerful; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after...The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. Indeed, when I read Revelation, especially, I feel like the passover story, the ten plagues G-d sent to punish the Egyptians, is being replayed. G-d is making His interventions on behalf of His people in real time, in real history repeat episodes.

So much doom and gloom in the prophets and apocalyptic books like Daniel, Revelation and Zechariah. Yet, there is reason to hope for those who put their trust in this G-d who has ordered the heavens and who will subject all creation to Him. Although today, it doesn't seem that way so many times, yet 'all creation hangs on your Word' as Mercyme sings; G-d is sovereign and He is in control, though surely His Spirit is grieved by the evils that seem to be escalating all over the world. That is what this Jews for Jesus publication is all about:to offer hope and to instruct and forewarn people about what the bible teaches about this 'time of trouble'. It's a good introduction to end times prophecies, and is meant to also introduce people to G-d's saving spirit who will protect us, save us during this 'time of trouble' (much in the same way the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the angel of death which killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians). All you have to do is pray to Jesus, believing that He is the One who died for our sins, ask Him to pour out His spirit on you, and He will. It's that simple. I don't believe you need to join a congregation, pay money etc.; I do think it's critical to read scripture and pray and never doubt that He will fail you in any way, even in the darkest of times. He promises us that He will be with us to the end of times.

There are some nice diagrams in the back though they're a bit simplistic, yet for someone totally oblivious to this subject, I'd think it might help anyone understand. My favorite is the one in Appendix 2 of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 predicting Christ's crucifixion and death and the final week of seven years which will be the Great Tribulation. In the middle of that week, the two lampstands and two olive trees (in Zechariah 4:14) will be prophesying, giving their testimony in Revelation 11. The key chapters I think which signal that this tribulation is ongoing are Revelation 11-13. And, it seems there is a contest going on much in the same way as that that went on against Elijah on mount Carmel in I Kings 18. In Rev. 11-And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. The beast of Rev. 13 perform(s) great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (I don't believe we are in the great tribulation period yet, not yet, but I do take these particular prophecies literally in terms of the number of days, e.g. the 1260 days, 3 and one half years-the time that it didn't rain on the earth during Elijah's prophesying against Ahab and Jezebel).

There is much speculation on the rapture (when believers will be joined with Christ in the air found in I Thessalonians 4:16-18), when it will happen etc., and many books have been written like the Left Behind series which are fictional books based on scripture; I believe, however, that in actuality they're too speculative, since prophecy by its very nature is very sketchy. I purposefully don't read them for that very reason, though many people have recommended that I should. Will G-d's people be spared this great tribulation or will they suffer??? We know in the end, we will be with G-d, in heaven, and will witness/participate in the beginning of the messianic kingdom, and will see death finally 'swallowed up in victory'. In this book, David Brickner only briefly explains the different hypotheses about the rapture.

Most importantly to me are prophecies about apostasy among Christ's followers and this false christ. From Mark 13:22, Christ says, "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." From 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, about the false christ's appearance: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause G-d shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. Also from Daniel, the false christ will put down three kings, will throw truth to the ground, yet by no human hand he will be destroyed. (Probably much in the same way Herod died in Acts 12, or even as Antiochus Epiphanes died insane after exerting all his energies in trying to stamp out all vestiges of jewish culture.) He will THINK to change the times and the law. He will wear out the saints. Several of my bible study teachers have said that satan knows scripture too, yet, from Daniel, G-d has the upper hand and as the psalmist says in Psalm 31:15 'My times are in Thy hand."

Yet there is hope from Daniel 12:1: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people (Israel) shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

James Marshall's stories are both original and familiar. It's like getting someone else to hang out with people you're curious about, only to find we are all so similar. I might not follow forest fires, hang out in strip bars, or have a friend who looks just like Jesus, but after reading this book, I understand a world where I might. These stories are brilliant and funny, filled with a strange, lonely, and aggressive hope. I can't wait to see what this author is going to write next.

Though I have owned this two-disc triology for many years, I must confess to embarking on the project of listening through and reviewing it with some reluctance. (The album is called a 'trilogy' because it republishes three previously released albums.) It's not that I have any issues with Michael Card's intentions or modus operandi. On the contrary, I've known and appreciated his music for ages.

It's just that there's a *lot* of music here and Card's earnest but otherwise undistinguished tenor, largely unaccompanied by other voices, had me all set me up for a marathon experience. The kind where you're happy when it's over and you ramble on about the 'great experience' after you've forgotten the pain.

But THE LIFE deserves more than that. It's a herculean effort to tell the Jesus story with due attention to how the gospels and the apostle Paul interpret it, including its precursors in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. As the labors of an evangelist, even a pastor, Card's work deserves our admiration.

As a musical achievement, it flies at a lower plane. But not very low.

A lot of acoustic guitar and solo voice spin out songs like the ones that the Jesus people sang in the 70s before others of us joined in at church youth groups and adolescent summer camps. Through it all, Card's emphasis fall upon the humanity, even the personality, of 'the Nazarene', as the second track on the second cd is titled:

'For the fact of his humanity
Was there for all to see
For he was unlike any other man
And yet so much like me'

What one must take for Card's own discovery of the Nazarene still shines through the processed product that is performed and recorded music. The same can be said on literary grounds of the New Testament materials.

If Card's precedents go back that far, he also sings in the tradition of the medieval Passion Plays, an art form that has been fairly singled out for its anti-Semitic spin on Jesus' murder. There is no hint of such malice in Card's work, but one can imagine a 14th-century audience nodding along with the occasional smile of recognition as Card lingers over some detail of Jesus' life, death, or resurrection.

In the end, it is an endearing and uplifting project, like going to a Christmas Eve service and remembering what's important. I think I'll listen to it once a year.

I picked up this book for a required course reading, but am so glad that I did. The topics addressed are all relevant for anyone with family and friends. The book helps you address grief head-on-- It doesn't tip toe around the difficult topics. The book helped make me a more supportive listener for my patients, but also a better person for myself.

The layout of this book suggests that it began as a campaign biography and that, after Garfield's death, the author and publisher brought it out again with chapters added about Garfield's presidency, shooting, decline and death; and extensive coverage of the nation's mourning. It is thus entirely pro-Garfield, and laid on pretty thick. Not for the political scientist, historian or serious student.
Still, you can learn a lot about someone from their friends; and you'll come away from this book knowing Garfield as more than a name on the list of Presidents. The price is a bargain; and the book is arguably in better condition at 126 than I am at half that age.

Somehow it's hard not to like a book where the photograph facing the title page shows your mailbox and the road leading onto your property (although at a distance, I confess). I expect that most residents of the North Fork of Long Island will feel the same way about this book.

This is a book of iconic photographs of the northeast end of Long Island, New York, bounded on the north by Long Island Sound and the south by Peconic Bay. Each of the photographs is bound to stir the hearts of the people, both full-timers and weekenders, who believe that they have found a hidden and enchanted garden just two hour's drive from Manhattan. Here are lovely color pictures of this still rural area, showing farms in Riverhead and oyster fields in Orient, as well as the small towns strung out along Route 25 from one end of the North Fork to the other.

Books like this are usually accompanied by a narrative, and here Haralambou waxes enthusiastic about the joys of the place, including even the adventure of Saturday morning tag sales. (Somehow he avoids mentioning the run-down sections of Riverhead or the deer that seem to attack every garden on the Fork, except, perhaps, the author's.) Little tidbits about the Fork are sprinkled throughout the pages, including the relationship between David Rothman of Southold and Einstein.

I suspect that some of the full-timers may be upset that the author has shown us the wonders of winter on the North Fork. I suspect that most weekenders wipe the North Fork from their mind on Labor Day, or certainly after the Columbus Day weekend. Now those weekenders will have a chance to consider how inviting the place looks under a blanket of white.

The book made me consider a photographic dichotomy between art and reporting. Haralambou's pictures, while striking and beautiful, seem mostly concerned with content and telling a story that arises from the content of the picture rather than being directed by the form. The best way to understand what I mean by this is to compare this book with another recent book of photographs of the North Fork, "Between Sea and Sky" by Jake Rajs Between Sea and Sky: Landscapes of Long Island's North Fork. In many of Rajs' works, the pictures seem to have lives of their own, while in this work most pictures derive their force from the viewer's vision of the place. For those who love the place "North Fork Living" may well prove more satisfying than some almost-mystical vision. I'm not so certain how those who have no experience of the North Fork will feel, but it may well be that perusing this book will create a sense of chauvinism for a place they've never been.

In this volume edited by Forbes and Kilde, we have six contributors who walk a fine line. On the one hand they objectively point out the main points that LaHaye and Jenkins make. On the other hand they observe where they and others differ from the perspectve and biblical interpretation of LaHaye and Jenkins. Above all, they strugle to explain the series' popularity! A wonderfully balanced treatment that anyone interested in the Left Behind series should read!

A probing analysis of international politics which forces Christians to re-examine the assumptions we all have about the true meaning of peace. Aukerman is clearly an independent evangelical thinker in the purest sense -- he cannot be claimed for the left or right; rather, he shows that true Christians stand as a witness against the world's politics when such politics call us to kill one another. If only half of the so-called "Christian ethicists" in the world would read this book, the Church would be much better for it.

Mike has unlocked the secret to understanding the end times with his convincing presentation of the "sign" of the Son of Man and the rapture. You've got to read this one.

When I picked this book up off the shelve at my college library, I was looking for garb idea for my local SCA chapter. What I found instead was a wonderful resource of information regarding 15th & 16th century everyday life. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants more info on the everyday objects (glassware, jewelery boxes, etc) people used.