Through a strange series of events, I've ended up reading through the "Left Behind" series lately. I don't normally read Christian fiction, but I found a used copy of Book 1 from a little free library, and have been reading through the series ever since.
For those of you who don't know, Left Behind is a book series that was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins back in the early 90's. I can remember when they first came out, as well as seeing my friends' parents having the books on their shelves, but I guess they just never really interested me.
I'd long forgotten them until a friend at church mentioned them in passing.
"Wow, I should read those. I'd probably learn a lot about Revelations and Daniel from them."
The book randomly pops up the next day on a bookshelf that has barely changed in months, and now I'm on book 5.
Here are my thoughts so far:
Book 1 was good. I didn't think it was mind-blowingly good, but it was good enough to keep my interest in the series. If you're a Christian interested in learning more about the Rapture, I highly recommend it. Even if you're not a Christian, I highly recommend reading through this one to get a better grasp of what Christians believe about end times.
The Tribulation Force was pretty cruddy, in my opinion. The conversation made me angry quite a number of times due to 1) Chloe's being an obnoxious, emotional monster, and 2) what I thought was some misguided spiritual sounding stuff (e.g. if you trip over a dead body, I don't think you have to feel guilty about desecrating it). I almost quit reading the series because of this one.
But then I made it to book 3; Nicolae. Now that one was fantastic. You can really see how the authors grew as writers in making the series by this point. The ending and epilogue to this one left me sitting on my couch with my mouth wide open, thankful that I could continue the series any time I made it to my nearest library.
Book 4 had me wondering with the title. Was this going to be corny? It wasn't. It was really, truly good. The only thing that didn't make sense to me here was how at the very end, roughly 2 pages cover what I've always thought was one of the most interesting judgments in Revelation. Regardless, I finished this one, and drove to the library that night to check out the next two in the series
I've just started Apollyon, book 5, and this one starts off fast. The conversation and characters have only grown in depth, and I'm fully looking forward to continuing on through the series.
As I had hoped, I've learned a ton regarding end-times prophecy through these books in what has been a very entertaining and easy-to-read format. Many times, reading through old commentaries isn't exactly the most captivating of ways to understand something. LaHaye and Jenkins educate in a manner that leaves you with a better understanding as well as a hunger for more.
Once again, I highly recommend starting into the series. Christian or not, I think you'll enjoy flipping through these pages, and I encourage you to give them a try. Yes, the series is long (12-17 books, depending on how you count), but I do believe that it is well worth your time.
I'll have future thoughts and updates as I continue on through the series.
