I have pastor Matthew (“Matt”) Hagee to thank for taking me down a trip to memory lane to a time when I immersed myself in Left Behind books, watched those types of movies, and was terrified of the return of Jesus. I would do in turn what the authors of end-times books (end times “experts”) taught me, and that is, butcher the Bible beyond recognition, abandon context, and connect dots where there were none to connect.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First, here are my positive comments:

It’s Not the Worst “End-Times” read…

It Isn’t Dogmatic

Hagee here isn’t out to try to convince his readers that his personal views on eschatology are true (though he does assume they already share his beliefs). An appreciated sense of gentleness can be detected.

Now here’s the negative:

Confuses “Bible Code” with Bible Study

I grew up hearing (and believing!) all kinds of crazy connect-the-dots theories about the Bible; as a younger Christian I read my fair share of books that taught that Russia and America were prophesied about in Scripture, and the book at hand has brought all such memories back.

Exegetical Gymnastics

The author has to exegetically jump through hoops to support some of his claims while proceeding to ignore a great pile of verses that actually challenge the “case” he has made. This treating of texts with an imbalance and double standard is by far the most irritating thing to me about Your Guide To The Apocalypse.

In Closing…

Don’t waste your money; he definitely has a more gentle tone than his father (John Hagee), but that’s not saying much.

*I received a complimentary copy from WaterBrook Press in exchange for an honest assessment