Renardo T. Newton is a member of the Assemblies of God, and in this book, he seeks to convince the reader that Pentecostal power is real, the gift of the Holy Spirit, that it will give the believer the power to accomplish what only God can otherwise accomplish, that it can be sought by purifying the believer through obedience, and that it is the goal Christians should be seeking in preparation for the end times, which Newton believes are coming very soon.
Newton writes with verve and vigor, as a committed and devout Christian, and his logic is reasonably internally consistent if you accept the premises that he puts forth – namely, the validity of Biblical scripture and his interpretations thereof. Whether the reader finds this book stirring and moving will, of course, depend on the reader’s own beliefs, but Newton certainly demonstrates passionate belief himself. At times his logic falters, as when he cites Adam’s godlike powers in naming the animals, commenting on the perfection of words like “dog” or “donkey” or “bird” for the animals they describe – but Adam was hardly speaking English, which had not been invented yet. Nor does he explain why these words are perfect, more perfect than, say, “chien” or “burro” or “Vogel”.
A quick proofread might help the professional appearance of the book – he has a tendency to get caught up in his preaching and lose track of grammar and punctuation, as when he describes people who “jump up and down in a frenzied” without providing a noun for that adjective. His argument that Armageddon is approaching rests mainly on the growing acceptance of homosexuality, and the existence of ISIS, and he says not a word about failures to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, or tend the sick, which some Christians may reasonably consider higher priorities. In the long run, of course, the only test of predictive abilities is time – it will at least be clearly visible in time whether or not what he predicts will actually come to pass. Though gay and lesbian people will no doubt, quite reasonably, be offended by his assertion that in the future they will be beating down Christians’ doors in order to rape their children, they can render his predictions false by simply not doing so. In any case, his advice to Christians is to live together in unity and love, seek purity and holiness in their own lives, and pray for everyone.
RELEASING END TIME POWER is a sermon that is motivated by intense and committed faith, but is less likely to persuade those who do not share that faith.
~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader