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“In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the globe disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. In summer 2024 we overviewed the series. Yet now we’ll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release.

Episode sponsors

1. Of Dawn and Embers by Gillian Bronte Adams
2. The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole
3. Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett

Mission update

• Review: Sons of Day and Night by Mariposa Aristeo
• Behold Our Top Most Anticipated New Books and Movies for 2026
• New article releases this Thursday: Discern the Top Three Negative Evangelical Myths about Popular Culture
• Next week, Lord willing: we announce the Lorehaven Authorship
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild

Quotes and notes

Fantastical Truth podcast series: Left Behind Legacy

• 216. Why Do Christians Fight Over End-Times Prophecies? | E. Stephen Burnett vs Zackary Russell
• 217. How Did Publishers Steward the Blockbuster Left Behind Series? | with Dan Balow
• 218. How Did The Kids Get Left Behind? | with Chris Fabry
• 219. How Did GAP Digital Turn Left Behind Into Cinematic Audio Drama? | with Todd Busteed
• 220. How Did the ‘Left Behind’ Kids Audio Drama Speed-Run the Tribulation? | with Darby Kern
• 221. How Did The Left Behind Series Enrapture Millions of Fans? | with Jerry B. Jenkins

Other Lorehaven resources on the Left Behind series

• Lorehaven.com search keyphrase: LEFT BEHIND
• Left Behind (1995) in the Lorehaven Library
• From the archives, Stephen’s article series: Twelve Reasons the ‘Left Behind’ Series is Actually Awesome
• How to Make a ‘Left Behind’ Streaming Series That’s Actually Awesome, Daniel Whyte IV

Secular endorsements of the Left Behind series

“This is the most successful Christian fiction series ever.”
―Publishers Weekly

“Combines Tom Clancy–like suspense with touches of romance, high-tech flash, and biblical references.”
―New York Times

“Call it what you like, the Left Behind series . . . now has a label its creators could have never predicted: blockbuster success.”
―Entertainment

Back cover of Left Behind, book 1, published in late 1995:

A novel of the Earth’s last days.

In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the globe disappear.

Vehicles, suddenly unmanned, careen out of control. People are terror stricken as loved ones vanish before their eyes.

In the midst of global chaos, airline captain Rayford Steele must search for his family, for answers, for truth. As devastating as the disappearances have been, the darkest days may lie ahead.

1. Left Behind proclaims gospel truth*

• Let’s start with the true. This book really wants to get you saved.
• It’s a product of deep Biblical Christian desires to redeem souls.
• Two authors (largely) make this work: the nonfiction author Tim LaHaye (The Act of Marriage) plus fiction author Jerry B. Jenkins.
• Both men, however, are evangelicals who want the gospel spread.
• So the novel shares a goal with others thriller based on possible futures: to tell a plot-driven story yet also provoke reader action.
• At times the threat of sin does feel lesser than that of Antichrist.
• All biblical Christians agree to repent and receive Jesus as Savior.
• Yet not all biblical Christians agree with “pray the sinner’s prayer.”
• And certainly only some Christians accept this end-times scenario.
• The late LaHaye, and Jenkins as well, would surely agree with this.
• Let readers, then, always discern what in the book is gospel truth and what are opinions (however deeply studied) about prophecy.

2. The story has unbelieving ‘good’ heroes

• Left Behind is underrated for this—its protagonists are good guys.
• Buck Williams has high ethics in his newsmagazine journalism.
• Rayford Steele has been (until now) a loving husband and father.
• Chloe Steele is a young college student free of remarkable sin.
• And finally, Bruce Barnes is a decent pastor at his local church.
• And yet … all these men lack Jesus, and they’re drifting into sin.
• The novel’s opening spells out the lurking evil in one man’s heart:
• “Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he’d never touched.”
• It seems that Rayford’s family-man decency only lasts so long.
• For the authors, then, the Rapture is as much a warning trumpet blast to his heart as it is a measure of mercy for existing Christians.
• Many fans reacted strongly to this theme. How could such good people, even a pastor at a church, be left out of any pre–Second Coming event? Weren’t they by all accounts decent people?
• Conversely, lest any Christians suppose unbelievers are all wanton sinners, Jenkins answers that no, we can root for these people.
• Even without the label, Left Behind shows common grace in action.
• Common grace can make you decent, but only Jesus will save you.

3. Left Behind stays functional and practical

• This novel is written, by design, to be as widely read as possible.
• Jerry B. Jenkins has spoken on this as the authors’ express goal.
• This isn’t literary fiction. Chapters are short. The style is simple.
• The original Left Behind is a rather thick book at 468 pages, but with large font face, wide margins, and lots of white space.
• All these invite as many readers as possible; this story is populist.
• Therefore, critics who fault the book for not meeting the goals they have migrated over from other books are revealing their ignorance or possibly elitism. Left Behind isn’t trying to be a timeless classic.
• In fact, many of the original moments quickly felt very timebound.
• Characters use dial-up modems; cell phones show up sporadically.
• Later revised versions updated the technology. Yet as Jerry B. Jenkins told us in 2024, he’s content to leave the series as it is.
• However, Left Behind also feels oddly distant from some moments.
• Rayford’s finding of his vanished family is an emotional high point.
• Other scenes, like a car bombing, get summarized at a distance.
• This creates plot accessibility, but not so much character access.
• With some exceptions, then, Left Behind values truth (and its own strong opinions) and goodness in substance over beauty in style.
• Again, this was likely by intention on the creators’ part.
• Sometimes what the prosaic style sacrifices for speed still creates deep emotions because the momentum draws in more readers.
• Later volumes, like book 6, delved deeper into emotional journeys.
• You feel (even in passing) the weight of hero deaths and struggles.
• Ultimately, Left Behind offered a different kind of beauty—brisk and efficient pro writing, repetition, and popular accessibility, all of which set a course for this runaway successful late-1990s series.

Com station

Top questions for listeners

• Do you expect the Rapture at any moment? Or some other event?
• What did you (or your parents?) think about the novel Left Behind?
• Email us podcast@lorehaven.com or tag as on the social medias.

Mandi W. wrote in reply to an unspecified episode:

So I am not really a sci-fi/dystopian reader, but follow LH/Enclave for my veracious teen readers. My shocking love was The Chaos Grid and Crier Stone books from Lindsey Llewellyn. Well done!!! I actually read them each in 1 sitting and stayed up WAY too late doing so. ;o)

Lydia sent this about last week’s episode 294:

Your point about sci-fi/fantastical exploration and dominion-taking being a huge part of our future in the new heavens & new earth reminds me of my favorite quote from Wayne Thomas Batson’s Door Within trilogy: the last chapter of the last book ends with the hero asking the God figure, the King, if there will be adventures in His kingdom. The King smiles and says, “More than you can possibly imagine.” That line changed my perspective on eternity completely. Several educational years later, I’m a postmillenial and eager for stories that can transcend time and inspire generations to take dominion of the world for Christ’s kingdom. Here’s to an increase of that in the years to come!

Next on Fantastical Truth

This podcast and other resources from Lorehaven focus on readers. That’s why, when aspiring writers send us questions like, Where can I find an agent? or Will you look at my unpublished manuscript?, we haven’t had much to share in that area. Until now. This month we launch the Lorehaven Authorship in the Lorehaven Guild on Discord. Let’s explore how these new digital discipleship channels, pro livestreams, and fan-focused Book Festival will help authors cultivate their God-given creative purpose.

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