Description: In the biblical letter of 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul reflected on his passing life. It was but a vapor. He was a pilgrim, passing through this life and into the next. Moments 'til Midnight creatively peels back the curtain of Paul's final hours. Author Brent Crowe imaginatively retells the last twelve hours of Paul's life, from the perspective of the apostle himself. Along the way, readers will be encouraged to live with purpose, to redeem the time, and to embrace the awesome reality that they too are on a sacred journey.
With no more letters to write, no more churches to plant, no more sermons to preach, and no more missionary journeys to embark upon, Paul awaited his death sentence. What were his final reflections on life? How did he view the race he had run? How should you view the race set before you?
My Thoughts: The blurb of this book implies that this is a form of retelling of Paul's final moments, going through the book of 2 Timothy. This would have made it similar to books like Remarkable Faith, where a portion of each chapter is written in a fictional manner, but the chapter as a whole discusses ideas from scripture. This ended up not being the case, with only a short section at the beginning of the book which met this description.
The rest of the book focuses on potential ideas which Paul could have dwelt on in his last hours, However, few of the chapters touched on 2 Timothy, which the blurb would lead one to believe was going to be the focal point of the book. The chapters are instead on subjects like friendship and grace, referencing verses from other books that Paul had written, as well as C.S. Lewis and stories Crowe has heard. C.S. Lewis' influence was particularly felt when the author references Heaven as 'heaven country', a nod to Aslan's Country.
I did not find this book to be particularly close to what I was looking for when I picked it up. I anticipated an in depth study of 2 Timothy, with some imaginative imagery to set the scene. The topics broached in this book are ones that could have entered Paul's mind in his final hours, however, I find that somewhat unlikely.
Other reviewers have pointed out that this book may be useful for newer Christians, as it summarizes a number of points from Paul's ministry. This is something I can agree with, as personally I did not find much that was new or engaging, but I also did not find really anything that I disagreed with.
I have provided an honest review after having received a copy from the publisher.
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