Product Description

When the trumpet sounds, where will you be? Passengers in an airborne Boeing 747 find out in this riveting novel by renowned Christian speaker Tim LaHaye and master storyteller Jerry Jenkins. Without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun. This fictional account of life after the Rapture delivers an urgent call to today's readers to prepare their own hearts and minister to others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2073 in Books
• Published on: 1996-01-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com
Piloting his 747, Rayford Steele is musing about his wife Irene's irritating religiosity and contemplating the charms of his "drop-dead gorgeous" flight attendant, Hattie. First Irene was into Amway, then Tupperware, and now it's the Rapture of the Saints--the scary last story in the Bible in which Christians are swept to heaven and unbelievers are left behind to endure the Antichrist's Tribulation. Steele believes he'll put the plane on autopilot and go visit Hattie. But Hattie's in a panic: some of the passengers have disappeared! The Rapture has happened, abruptly driverless cars are crashing all over, and the slick, sinister Romanian Nicolae Carpathia plans to use the UN to establish one world government and religion. Resembling "a young Robert Redford" and silver-tongued in nine languages, Carpathia is named People's "Sexiest Man Alive." (This reviewer, a former People writer, finds this plot twist plausible.) Meanwhile, Steele teams up with Buck Williams, a buck-the-system newshound, to form the Tribulation Force, an underground of left-behind penitents battling the Antichrist.

Ex-presidential candidate Pat Robertson briefly outsold Michael Crichton with his apocalypse novel The End of the Age (now available on audiocassette), and the similar The Third Millennium sells well, but the Left Behind series is the absolute champion in the race to make the Book of Revelation into racy thriller reading. --Tim Appelo

From Library Journal
On a flight from Chicago to London, several passengers aboard Capt. Rayford Steele's plane suddenly and mysteriously disappear. When Steele radios to London to report the situation, he discovers that the incident on his plane is not an isolated phenomenon but a worldwide occurrence. As Steele begins his search for answers, he learns that the Christ has come to take the faithful with Him in preparation for the coming apocalyptic battle between good and evil and that those who have been left behind must face seven dark and chaotic years in which they must decide to join the forces of Christ or the forces of Anti-Christ. Jenkins, writer-in-residence at Moody Press, and LaHaye (A Nation Without a Conscience, Tyndale, 1994) have written a gripping thriller that captures the anxiety and fear that interpretations of Revelation often inspire. For most libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Rayford Steele concentrates on landing his plane despite mass hysteria over the disappearance of millions of people. Glasses, hearing aids and empty clothes are all that remain of 50 of his passengers. Reader Sondericker depicts Steele in commanding tones, befitting a pilot. He also portrays Steele's uncertainty regarding his family's welfare. Sondericker, using his voice like an instrument, sounds hysterical as an elderly passenger, then questioning as a reporter hot on the story. Next he switches to a thick Jewish accent, portraying a man discussing the mysterious Carpathian from the Middle East, a central figure in the denouement. Edge-of-your-seat entertainment. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

I Like It
I love this book. I had to force myself to but it down so I don't read though it all at once. I find that the characters are very real, and other than the initial event (the Rapture) all of the following events sound realistically possible (in a novel). I have read many negative reviews from Christians denouncing that it doesn't exactly follow the Bible. And from others saying that it's nothing but religious evangelicalism. To all of those I say "It's a novel". It's fiction. It doesn't have to follow other sources and the writers can say what they want.
To me it is a perfect mix, not too far out there and not too much preaching.
I would recommend it to anyone interested. If you don't like the first book then don't read the rest.

Don't Take This Book Too Seriously!!!
If you want soap opera-style melodrama with a "Christian" twist, then maybe this series is for you. If you want the truth, then keep right on walking. I have studied Bible prophecy for the past 40 years, and though I do lean toward a belief in a "catching away" of believers (rapture) and a seven year tribulation on earth, this book is about 10 percent truth and 90 percent total balderdash. There is no reason to get so wrapped up in something that will not happen the way the authors describe. What we as Christian believers are to do is to live our lives loving the Lord and our fellow man and leave the rest to Him. I'm sorry I read this book, it was a waste of my precious time that could have been spent doing something productive.

You'll need the patience of an angel to get through these books
The Rapture and biblical prophecy are fascinating subjects that could be the basis for a roller coaster modern story. Unfortunately the authors dilute the potential with long, boring, inconsequential text. I trudged through the first 2 books, then finally threw in the towel on the 3rd after reading a *chapter* describing a traffic jam! The best of this series could be distilled to just a few books but, keeping with the theme, it's already too late...