THE MERCIFUL GOD OF PROPHECY: His Loving Plans for You in the End Times

Avid fans of the Left Behind fictional series who expect the same action-packed prophetic scenarios to animate LaHaye's nonfiction work on biblical prophecy may come away disappointed. This presentation of future events as prophesied in the Bible is more akin to a Sunday afternoon drive through the country: the pace is slow, ploddingly so. The first two-thirds of the book deals, almost painstakingly, with setting the foundation for who God is and why prophecy is vital for today's Christian. Extra attention is given to Jesus and his role as the greatest prophet ever. LaHaye also builds a case for studying prophecy by detailing seven attributes of God's character: God is loving, faithful, patient, merciful, just, secure and the source of hope. LaHaye offers a few heartfelt personal comments for his readers, and the book improves somewhat as it goes along. In the last pages, LaHaye attempts to tie together a myriad of Scripture verses by way of a neat, concise question-and-answer section but, because it occurs in an appendix, many readers might consider this victory to be too little and too late. Overall, LaHaye succeeds in what he does best: sharing biblical prophecy. However, the droning and information-laden tone makes for dreary reading indeed. (Oct.)

Forecast:With more than 50 million Left Behind products in print and audio, LaHaye is a household name, and this book could capitalize on the marketing push for the July 2 release of The Remnant, the 10th novel in the fictional series. Warner will have major national advertising for this title, in print and on radio and television. However, even die-hard Left Behind fans may find this dry and unyielding reading. If PW were to issue a prophecy...which is of course a highly suspect activity... it would be that this will enjoy a big initial spike and then fall flat.