The feeling I had when I read this book was that a I was reading the largest collection of nonsense ever. It is a surrealistic story even more fantastic than The Lord of the Rings. It has an internal coherence however that may explain the attention it deserves even today. But it is nothing to be taken seriously by any intelligent person. John Smith was a religious version of a snake-oil salesman that decided to write a book. He was a creative guy, no doubt about it, because it is not easy to put all these words together. But from there to "revelation" there is a long way to go.