Lahaye, Tim

Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (Left Behind No. 1)

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

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.

Glorious Appearing (Left Behind)

Thousands of years of human history stained by strife, death, and sin come to an end when the King of Glory returns to earth. The satisfying conclusion of the seven years of tribulation covered by the Left Behind series portrays the return of Jesus Christ to earth in both glory and judgment at the height of the battle between the forces of evil gathered at Armageddon and the remaining Christian believers at Petra and Jerusalem. Nothing seems to be able to stop the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia. But God is in control. Street date: Tuesday, November 16, 2004.

Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory (Left Behind Sequel)

The horrors of the Tribulation are over, and Jesus Christ has set up his perfect kingdom on earth. Believers all around the world enjoy a newly perfected relationship with their Lord, and the earth itself is transformed. Yet evil still lurks in the hearts of the unbelieving. As the Millennium draws to a close, the final generation of the unrepentant prepares to mount a new offensive against the Lord Himself--sparking the final and ultimate conflict from which only one side will emerge the eternal victor.

Armageddon (Left Behind #11)

The scattered Tribulation Force is drawn inexorably toward the Middle East, as are all the armies of the world, when human history culminates in the battle of the ages. During the last year of the Great Tribulation, safe houses are no longer safe, and the cast of characters dramatically changes. By the time of the war of the great day of God the Almighty, the globe has become a powder keg of danger. Except those already in Petra, everyone has been forced to relocate as Antichrist ratchets up the pressure in the world's most treacherous game. Who will be left standing when the battle leaves the Tribulation Force on the brink of the end of time and the Glorious Appearing?

The Remnant: On the brink of Armageddon (Left Behind)

The success of Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye's fast-paced apocalyptic Left Behind thrillers is built on a straightforward Christian message and a blend of dialogue and action; the 10th installment of the series, The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon, sticks to the same proven formula that has captivated legions of fans. It's one month into the Great Tribulation, and a million people gather in the ancient city of Petra to await the foretold "Glorious Appearing." The Global Community loses no time in bombing the city, which is completely engulfed in flames, guaranteeing certain doom for those assembled unless a miracle occurs. In other parts of the world, martyrdom continues for the remnant of believers as Global Community potentate Nicolae Carpathia's thirst for blood escalates. There are lots of slick escapes, plenty of intrigue, some genuinely gory moments, and enough gruesome plagues straight out of the biblical Book of Revelation to keep readers turning the pages. When the Chicago believers are forced to scatter and discord breaks out among those gathered at Petra, changes accelerate for the Tribulation Force and other series characters, leaving an ample number of loose ends to be picked up in the next episode. --Cindy Crosby

The incredible tenth book in the international best-selling Left Behind series is now available in paperback. The Great Tribulation unfolds as the forces of evil and the armies of God prepare for mankind's ultimate battle. Millions of Christians are protected by God as the anger of the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, burns against them. Over 2.5 million copies sold in hardcover.

Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne (Left Behind No. 9)

Amidst the glitzy fanfare of a new world regime, control is unraveling for self-proclaimed god and Global Community potentate Nicolae Carpathia in Desecration, the ninth installment in the Left Behind series. It's 25 days into the Great Tribulation, and the newly resurrected Carpathia evinces an increasing fondness for gruesome killing. He's thrown into turmoil when the first two "bowls of wrath" from the biblical book Revelation are poured out on the world. Water turns into blood, and those who are branded with the mark of loyalty become covered with loathsome sores. When Carpathia commits the ultimate act of desecration against the Judeo-Christian community, chaos ensues. Meanwhile, the Tribulation Force soldiers on, receiving visitations from heavenly messengers that prod the team to greater acts of courage. Jenkins's characters seem almost comic book-like in their actions; the author relies on pages of slangy, slapstick dialogue rather than character development or descriptive settings to flesh out his tales. It's the angst of wondering what disaster will occur next and the fascination with end times that keep loyal fans turning the pages. And there's no shortage of angst here. Chang Wong flirts with suicide. Hattie Durham risks her life in a confrontation with Carpathia. Tsion Ben-Judah inadvertently gives away a secret location. Chloe Williams uncovers a remnant of believers. There are touches of the standard Left Behind humor, and even some romance in the last days. As always, readers are left hanging at the edge of disaster, which should keep appetites whetted for the promised next installment. --Cindy Crosby

The exciting ninth book in the Left Behind series that has sold over 2.5 million copies in hardcover is now available in trade paperback. In November 2001 Desecration was #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and CBA Marketplace best-seller lists. With 50 million products sold, the Left Behind series is an international phenomenon.

Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist (Left Behind No. 6)

Is it right to kill Satan's hit man? Would it help God's work? This installment in the Left Behind series picks up with Rayford Steele--"believer" and international fugitive--as he struggles with a plan to assassinate Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia. Meanwhile, Carpathia has been busy rebuilding roads, airports, and a cellular/solar satellite phone system--all designed to help him become supreme ruler of the world--and even claim himself to be God. We also find ace reporter Buck Williams anonymously preaching to the masses of believers and converts through his cyberspace magazine The Truth. All the believers in the safe house, including Buck, Doc, Chloe, and Tsion, are suspicious of Hattie--former mistress of Carpathia--who claims to be a believer but may have already compromised their secret location when she tried to buy her way to Europe months before.

Fans of the series won't be disappointed. Jenkins's signature writing is at full force. Readers can count on a suspenseful plot, imaginative futuristic thinking, and familiar characters, all of which appear in the opening pages and are sustained until the last cliffhanger scene when God unleashes another earth-shattering disaster.

After selling nearly two million copies since its release in August 1999, Assassins in now availabe in trade paper! The seven-year Tribulation reaches its halfway mark in the sixth book of the blockbuster Left Behind series, Assassins. Nicolae Carpathia is assassinated, setting the stage for the Great Tribulation.

Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides (Left Behind No. 4)

Having survived the wrath of the Lamb--a global earthquake in the 21st month of the Tribulation--pilot Rayford Steele and reporter Buck Williams now embark on a journey of absorbing adventure and Christian triumph. Soul Harvest is book four in the enormously popular Left Behind series (seven books are planned in all), based on those who are left behind in the Rapture. Written with the same gripping pace of Tom Clancy and John Grisham (film rights have already been sold for the first two books), the authors take us to Iraq, America, underground shelters, and the bottom of the Tigris river as Steele and Williams search for loved ones. Meanwhile, biblical prophecies are fulfilled at every turn, including the great soul harvest. For many Christian followers, this series has become a tangible and thrilling testament to the Book of Revelations. --Gail Hudson

The fourth book in the popular Left Behind series from Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is now available in trade softcover. In Soul Harvest the world is reeling from a great earthquake. As Nicolae Carpathia begins a worldwide rebuilding campaign, his rage is fueled by an evangelistic effort resulting in the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever seen. Meanwhile, Rayford Steele and Buck Williams search for their loved ones who haven't been seen since before the earthquake.

Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist (Left Behind No. 3)

Antichrist. The very word send shivers through us. And Nicolae Carpathia certainly does not disappoint as Antichrist. Nicolae is the third book in Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and is preceded by book one, Left Behind, and book two, Tribulation Force.

Nicolae Carpathia becomes the focus as he continues to consolidate his power, unifying political states ("Global Community"), media ("Global Community Network," "Global Weekly"), and religions ("Enigma Babylon One World Faith") under a Nicolae-appointed supreme pontiff. Nicolae himself is grand potentate of the global community.

Our heroes, pilot Rayford Steele and journalist Buck Williams, along with the rest of the Tribulation Force, continue their struggle to survive and protect their families in the midst of global war and destruction. They have come to recognize Nicolae Carpathia to be the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible, and to them it comes as no great revelation that this man, who presented himself as a charming and benevolent leader, has been unmasked as a ruthless and cruel tyrant, manipulating people and events to serve his own ends. And his ends are undoubtedly evil.

It becomes apparent that the chaos and turmoil created by Nicolae are the fulfillment of John's prophesy of the seven seals as recorded in the book of Revelation. And it becomes also apparent they are now facing the sixth seal, a great earthquake which is sometimes called "the wrath of the lamb." This upheaval of the earth, with its accompanying death and destruction, is familiar apocalyptic imagery: a blood-red moon, a sun turned black, and the stars falling from the sky. And the Tribulation Force discovers that these incredible descriptions turn out to be not so very far from the truth.

Who survives? How? What does Nicolae have in mind for the world? Readers of the first two books should not be disappointed with this third installment to this chilling tale.

It has been nearly two years since the day of the mass disappearances. In one cataclysmic instant, millions all over the globe simply vanished, leaving everything but flesh and bone behind. Nicolae begins as global war has erupted. The Red Horse of the Apocalypse is on the rampage, and the Tribulation Force sets a suicidal course that places them in direct opposition to the rise of Antichrist.

The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession (Left Behind No. 7)

The Antichrist is dead... or is he? The city of Chicago lies in ruins, the safe house is blown, and the Global Community police are hot on the heels of the Tribulation Force. And who assassinated Nicolae Carpathia?

It's a formidable challenge to keep the attention of an audience midway through a projected 12-volume series, but with their trademark blend of humor and gripping suspense, authors Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye continue to captivate readers with The Indwelling, the seventh installment of the Left Behind series.

Carpathia's funeral takes a hair-raising turn for the 4 million people who attend. Over the crowd looms the centerpiece of a new world religion, a 24-foot bronze statue of Carpathia, belching black smoke and demanding obedience. Woven through the fast-paced drama are the ongoing stories of people struggling amid the end-times mayhem: Chloe Williams wrestles with the moral implications of killing her toddler Kenny to avoid having him fall into enemy hands; her father Rayford Steele is brought face-to-face with the consequences of his pride. Dr. Chaim Rosenzweig, a prominent Jewish Israeli statesman, ponders a conversion to Christianity.

The strength of the series comes from Jenkins's ability to keep the action moving and readers caring about the characters. And there's a hook: The end of The Indwelling promises, "If the last three and a half years are your idea of tribulation, wait until you endure the Great Tribulation." The bad news is just beginning. But, the Tribulation Force believes, good news is also on the way. --Cindy Crosby

Nicolae Carpathia is dead. But who killed the Antichrist? The answer may surprise you. Book seven in the best-selling Left Behind series marks the beginning of the second half of the seven-year Tribulation period. In dramatic fashion, readers are exposed to the horrors of God's judgment and the hope of salvation. Rayford, Buck, Chloe, and the rest of the Tribulation Force find themselves at the center of heart-stopping action. Number one on the New York Times Best Sellers List for four weeks.