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Information About

Left Behind




  Author Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins
  Country United States
  Language English
  Series Left Behind Series
  Genre Speculative Fiction
  Publisher Tyndale House Publishers
  Release Date 31 December , 1995
  Media Type Print ( Hardback , Paperback & Graphic Novel )
  Pages 320 p (hardcover) and 468 p (paperback)
  Isbn ISBN 0842329110 (hardcover), ISBN 0842342702 (paperback)
  Preceded By The Rapture
  Followed By Tribulation Force


Left Behind: a Novel of the Earth's Last Days is a novel in the series '' Left Behind '', by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins . It is the first book in the series.


PLOT INTRODUCTION

Taking as its premise the pretribulationist teaching of a Rapture which takes from the earth all believers in Jesus Christ , the story is from the viewpoint of those who are not. The initial group have family or friends that believe, and they experience the event having been "Left Behind".


PLOT SUMMARY


Rayford Steele , Chloe Steele , Buck Williams and Bruce Barnes are going about their normal business and lives when huge numbers of people and all children just vanish. Most of these have links to people who have disappeared and the conviction grows in some of them that it is the "Rapture" that they have been told about by some of those who are now missing. Further changes start to happen such as power shifting into the hands of a small group led by Joshua Cothran and Jonathan Stonagal , then just one man, Nicolae Carpathia and an attack takes place against Israel that is mysteriously thwarted. These events start to convince the group that what they have experienced is an "Act of God" and that they are about to enter a period that the Bible has called the Tribulation .

Some weeks earlier Israel had been attacked by Russian, Iraqi, and Syrian forces. However, the attack fails as thousands of planes fall from the sky, unable to destroy Jerusalem, providing evidence that God would protect his ancient people's homeland.


CHARACTERS IN "LEFT BEHIND"



MAJOR THEMES

Christian prophetic themes are explored in a fictional context taking a particular position on such topics as the Second Coming , the Antichrist , the Tribulation , Millennium .


FILM, TV OR THEATRICAL ADAPTATIONS

The story in this book has been adapted into a feature film, "".
In a very unusual marketing scheme, the studio released the movie on video and DVD first, and then released it to the theatres. Though the movie fared poorly in theaters it was the video release that "stunned" Hollywood [http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/movies/oct02/86859.asp?format=print . The movie starred former '' Growing Pains '' star Kirk Cameron as Buck Williams. Cameron, who finds the series inspiring, is a practicing evangelist (and co-host with Ray Comfort on the TV show The Way Of The Master ).


RELEASE DETAILS

  • 1995, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0842329110, Pub. date 31 December 1995, Hardback

  • 1995, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0842316752, Pub. date ? December 1995, Audio Cassette

  • 1999, USA, Tyndale House ISBN 0842329129, Pub. date ? February 1999, Paperback

  • 2000, USA, Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & Co ISBN 0786224681, Pub. date ? September 2000, Large Print

  • 2000, UK, Tyndale House ISBN 0842342702, Pub. date 30 September 2000, Paperback

  • 2001, USA, Sagebrush ISBN 0613138252, Pub. date ? October 2001, Graphic Novel



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