Left Behind - Jerry Jenkins, Tim LaHaye

...A transportation and communications gridlock left most to fend for themselves.

Some said the world had been invaded by aliens. Some that it was the result of an enemy attack. Rayford Steele’s wife and son disappeared. He and his daughter were left behind. The warning that his wife had given was that Christ had returned to take away his own.

Within weeks of the vanishings a mysterious, hypnotic and charismatic figure ...
...a church minister who was left behind. Between them they start to unravel the mystery of what has happened and come to develop their own faith. They put a small band of similar minded people together as the Tribulation Force, a core group determined to challenge the forces of evil during the Tribulation period predicted in the Bible.

Their studies show that the Tribulation will last for seven years and that only one person in four ... more

Rayford Steele is an airline pilot. Approaching middle age, he lives in middle American suburbia and has become disenchanted with his job. He has drifted away from his wife who has been spending increasing periods of time at Church and quoting the Bible at him. He has a rebellious twenty year old daughter – Chloë – and a twelve year old son upon whom he dotes.

On a routine overnight transatlantic flight to London, Captain Steele is idling away the hours considering whether to arrange a tryst with his senior stewardess – Hattie Durham. They have exchanged flirtatious glances and hints for some time but had not done anything more about it.

Before he can make up his mind, Hattie comes into the cabin to report that several of the passengers are missing – that they seem to have just vanished. Where they were sitting were now neatly folded piles of clothes. An incredulous Rayford tells Hattie that initially he does not believe her and then that he does not know what is going on. However he can only think of the warnings that his wife has been giving him over the previous months and deep down in his heart knows only too well….

THE BACKGROUND TO THIS BOOK

“Left Behind” is the opening salvo in a literary saga that is still unfolding. It is set in the near future and is a dramatisation of perhaps the most terrifying horror story ever written – the Book of Revelation; the final book of the New Testament. This is a work which has generated controversy for nearly two Millennia; about who wrote it, why it was written and what it all means. In simplest form it is a vision about the return of Christ to take his people into Rapture and to create his everlasting Church. It also describes the Great Tribulation – the series of terrors and calamities that mankind will have to face, the rising of the Antichrist and the ultimate battle between good and ill (Armageddon).

Go into any branch of the major bookstores in America (Books-a-Million, Barnes and Noble) and you will find large displays of the “Left Behind” phenomenon. Apart from books – hardback and paperback – there are reference books, audio cassettes, videos, calendars, trivial pursuit packs. The flash on the front cover of the latest instalment shows the penetration of these books worldwide: "Over 50,000,000 sold in series”. Since the first book was published in 1995, we have now reached episode ten.

THE PLOT OF THE FIRST BOOK:

At the start of the story, there have been ominous manoeuvrings on the World’s political and economic stage. A major war has broken out in the middle east with the threat of a full scale invasion of Israel. Major geographical blocks are coalescing to protect trade and in their own defence. The pound has been subsumed into the German Deutschemark (remember this was written in 1995)

Then in one cataclysmic instant, millions of people all over the world disappeared. They simply vanished, leaving behind everything material: clothes, glasses, hearing aids, teeth fillings … Millions vanished. But millions more remained – adults, but no children. All babies, including the unborn, disappeared – some during birth.

World chaos ensued. Planes, trains, cars crashed. Ships sank. Grieving survivors committed suicide. A transportation and communications gridlock left most to fend for themselves.

Some said the world had been invaded by aliens. Some that it was the result of an enemy attack. Rayford Steele’s wife and son disappeared. He and his daughter were left behind. The warning that his wife had given was that Christ had returned to take away his own.

Within weeks of the vanishings a mysterious, hypnotic and charismatic figure from Romania charmed his way into the spotlight and swept to power as head of the United Nations promising to unite the devastated globe as one peaceful village. He had a formula that would make crops grow in the desert and as an inducement for its use he persuaded the major world leaders to scrap most of their nuclear weapons and armaments and put the rest under his UN control.

In the meantime Rayford and Chloë are introduced to a church minister who was left behind. Between them they start to unravel the mystery of what has happened and come to develop their own faith. They put a small band of similar minded people together as the Tribulation Force, a core group determined to challenge the forces of evil during the Tribulation period predicted in the Bible.

Their studies show that the Tribulation will last for seven years and that only one person in four of the Earth’s population will survive. The odds against the Tribulation Force must be far greater.

DRAMATIS PERSONNAE:

Important characters in the book are:

Rayford Steele, Chloë Steele, Hattie Durham.

Nicholae Carpathia: former President of Romania , becomes secretary general of UN, takes Hattie firstly as his secretary and then lover. The Antichrist.
Cameron Williams: Journalist, founder member of the Tribulation Force, later marries Chloë
Tsion Ben Judah: rabbinical scholar and Israeli statesman.
Chaim Rosenzweig: Israeli botanist and Nobel prize winner.

THE AUTHORS

The series is by Dr Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Tim LaHaye is a doctor of literature and doctor of ministry. He is an author, minister and international speaker. He is a renowned scholar and researcher on the Bible, prophecy, the Rapture and the Tribulation. It was he who conceived the idea of the “Left Behind” series.

Jerry Jenkins is a prolific writer of both fiction and non fiction subjects (biographies – including Billy Graham - and marriage and family matters). He also edits a sports comic strip which appears in American newspapers.

THE LEFT BEHIND SERIES AND OTHER MATTERS.

The titles (and bye-line) are as follows:

LEFT BEHIND: A novel of Earth’s last days
TRIBULATION FORCE: The continuing drama of those left behind.
NICHOLAE: The rise of Antichrist
SOUL HARVEST: The world takes sides
APOLLYON: The Destroyer is unleashed.
ASSASSINS: Assignment: Jerusalem; Target: Antichrist
THE INDWELLING: The Beast takes possession.
THE MARK: The Beast rules the world
DESECRATION: Antichrist takes the throne
THE REMNANT: On the brink of Armageddon

The first and second four titles have been collected into boxed sets.

There is an accompanying reader entitled: “Are We Living in the End Times”.

There is a spin-off series for younger readers (“Left Behind – Kids”) which has to date reached twelve episodes.

There are a number of cinematographic projects and one minor movie studio did issue “Left behind – The Movie” starring Brad Johnson in 2000. This was a low budget film which has been released on video and DVD but as the accompanying documentary explains there was hope that they could attract a big name Hollywood director to take up the series.

I understand that a movie of Tribulation Force has also been completed.

CONCLUSION.

“Left Behind” and the rest of the series are a monumental phenomenon. They can be read at several levels. As pure fiction, the story line races along at a frenetic pace. The writing style is very easy to get along with. Once started, it is most likely that you will want to obtain the next volume. The sense of excitement, terror, frustration and anguish is palpable and ongoing. The characters are quite believable – whichever side they are on. Nicholae Carpathia is a classic plausible ingratiating but vicious villain. The interweaving of world events, particularly those from recent history, into the scriptural timeline of the Book of Revelation is uncanny and often unnerving.

Clearly there are very significant religious overtones throughout this series. It is after all a dramatisation of part of the Bible. It is put into the context of the interpretations of the mysteries by Evangelical church (I have since read some of the author’s book “Are We Living in the End Times”). However there is no attempt here to thrust religious messages, thump tubs or carry out mass conversions. The storyline starts with the assumption that Christ has returned to take away his chosen people (The Rapture). This is the story of those who are “Left Behind” and the terrors and choices they have to face in the final battle for the Earth (The Tribulation). Where you, the reader, fit into this is entirely your own choice – as indeed it will be IF AND WHEN – this actually happens. Let me put myself into context here and state that the nearest I could come to describing my own religious doctrine would be as a lapsed agnostic with evangelical existential leanings. I WILL certainly be left behind. I strongly commend this book to you.

Bear in mind that this is a serial (and not a series) and really should be read in the correct sequence. It is available for order on line from Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk). The format is hardback or large sized paperback.
Prices vary through the series between £7.99 and £12.99.
The boxed collections are currently on offer at £31.35 each.

Left Behind – The Movie is available from www.amazon.com (the American branch) on DVD for $16.99

There is a whole website dedicated to the series and interpretations of the prophecies that underlie it at www.leftbehind.com

Dr LaHaye also has a highly personalised and informative site describing how he conceived the series and an account of his ministries at www.timlahaye.com

 

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