From The Passion to the Return of the Christ, an open letter to Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson Icon Productions, Inc.
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038February 15, 2007
Dear Mr. Gibson,
Another powerful, true story waits to be told. It’s the story of events yet to take place but long prophesied: The Return of the Christ!
You’ll remember that during the very week of His Passion, Jesus detailed for His disciples the dramatic signs and world developments that would lead up to His return to this earth. Those sweeping and momentous occurrences will bring about the end of this present age and Christ’s final victory over evil.
Many of the key details of this future drama, including Christ’s Return, the Final Battle and the Coming Kingdom, are graphically described in Scripture. But this information tends to be scattered through the Bible like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Ever since I first became a follower of Christ in 1980, God has given me a strong interest in this subject, and I have long meditated on those pieces of Scripture. Recently, our Lord gave me the privilege of putting those puzzle pieces together in book form, when Penguin Group publishing asked me to write The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to the Last Days. It was in assembling the biblical puzzle pieces for this book that the cinematic potential of the Return of the Christ became vividly apparent to me.
I have asked my publisher to send you a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to the Last Days for your review.
Mr. Gibson, let me be quick to say that I am not trying to sell you anything. I only want to convey the idea which I believe God has put on my heart: That now is the time that a powerful movie needs to be made that depicts the triumphant Return of the Christ.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come ... on earth", and His followers have prayed that prayer for almost two thousand years. On some not-too-distant day, Jesus will return as the mighty King to claim His kingdom. Many people today are aware that He is returning, just as many were aware that He was crucified before you made The Passion of the Christ. But, as viewers’ experience of The Passion of the Christ revealed, it is one thing to know a fact about the Christ and it is quite another to have the power of that truth impact your heart! The Return of the Christ is a story that needs cinematic expression just as The Passion of the Christ did.
I have conveyed what is on my heart, and it only remains for me to say that I would be happy to help you or your associates in further considering or developing this idea.
With sincere regards,
Richard H. Perry
