Last updated on May 14th, 2018
An oddly satisfying and exciting journey, The Evangelist in Hell by Jimmy Leonard, gives a curious insight into what Heaven and Hell may be like.
The Good
- Interesting characters
- I enjoyed the interactions and backstory between Joe Platt and his brother David.
- Good character development
- Leonard did a great job helping us understand Joe Platt
- Great writing
- Suspenseful and good imagination
- “Joe found the Drive across the desert to be quite nerve-racking, and strangely enough, it had nothing to do with Nora Barnes’s daredevil maneuvering. His thoughts held him captive as the truck hurtled toward its destination, desperate to arrive before nightfall. For better or worse, they were involved in the place of Hell now and were no longer just outsiders looking in.”
- I’ll be honest, I found Jimmy Leonard’s Hell to be fascinating.
The Bad
- A couple issues I had with “The Evangelist in Hell” is the perception of demons being “in charge” of Hell. There is no Biblical evidence to conclude so, in fact, in Luke 12:4-7 it states:
I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
In Revelation 1:18 Jesus says:
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
So what happens to demons in Hell?
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. – Revelation 20:10
- Hell is not a state of mind but a real place. Jesus himself said in Matthew 13:40-42:
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
The Unsure*
- N/A
*My opinion: what I didn’t care for or do not prefer. This will not lower a rating unless it overly distracts from the story.
Don’t let my 4 star rating fool you, I highly recommend “The Evangelist in Hell” for the meaningful and very interesting story, but I am weary of some theology.
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