christianityandme

Interview with Jerry Jenkins about the rapture both the book & the real deal

Filed under: News — josh @ 2:39 pm

The Left Behind series is one of greatest media phenomenon’s in years. The Christian book series that probably all of book-dome didn’t give a crap about and thought would come & go without much more than a whisper. Boy were they dead wrong, eh. The series would explode by word of mouth and Christian church-goer support, eventually selling over 100 million copies to become the fastest selling FICTION series ever! Take note that that does not say “Christian” fiction. Nope, just fiction. And there’s that key word. EVER. Nearly every book in the series has debuted at #1 on numerous best seller lists, and they have gone on to form an entire company (including a game one) based on the universe of the book, even as the authors have moved on to start other series not related to Left Behind. Of course, they are still writing Left Behind-related books. Whether it’s the Kids series, the prequels, the epilogue or other things. Here is an interview with Jerry Jenkins about the series and the rapture and more. Enjoy.

The Rapture is the last of a three-part prequel and the 15th book in the adult titles of the Left Behind series is scheduled for release June 6. In anticipation, newsletter editor Marty White and contributing writer Stu Johnson had a chance to talk with co-author Jerry Jenkins. This is the first of a two part interview.

The highlight of The Rapture is your depiction of the Rapture and its aftermath. How did you and Dr. LaHaye decide how to describe what the Rapture and heaven would be like?

We didn’t. He kind of let me run with it and had no idea where I was going to go. But he’s always been a great cheerleader, and he liked it. It was sort of like a rollercoaster ride for me; I just jumped in and wrote as a process of discovery to see what it would be like.

Obviously, the descriptions are very speculative. There are many different ways you can interpret Scripture, and there aren’t many details about what heaven will be like. I looked at several resources and commentaries that Dr. LaHaye gave me, but many of them conflict with each other. Some consider a lot of biblical details about heaven to be figurative and symbolic, while others take the Scripture’s descriptions literally. One of Dr. LaHaye’s trademarks is to be literal when we can, so I try to stay faithful to that.

It’s interesting to think the Rapture will be like your depiction, with people consciously floating up to heaven.

Well, as a rational adult, I often see the Rapture being similar on the other end to how things are here. In other words, if we disappear in the twinkling of any eye, my rational mind tells me that in the same instant we’re in the presence of Christ. But, in one sense, that’s not as much fun as flying through the air with a billion other people!

Those who aren’t taken in the Rapture face an awful moment of realization that they’ve been left behind. Was that a difficult scene to write?

It really was. People ask, “Are you tired of these books yet? You’ve been doing this for 11 years!” And while it’s been a thrill in many ways to write about characters such as Irene and Raymie who are raptured, it’s also taken a heavy emotional toll on me when I put myself in the situations of people who are left behind. That’s always the challenge for a novelist: you’re supposed to be the character. On the one hand, it’s moving and frightening to put yourself in that spot; but at the same time, it’s almost a devotional experience. You’re glad you won’t really have to go through it someday, having to see people’s belongings and clothes and things there and realize what’s happened.

For those who know the truth, the Rapture will be especially frightening. They may not have believed it before, but they will know immediately what’s happened. It’s just like any other time in life when you’ve betrayed someone or have been caught in the act. For example, when you’re messing around in junior high school and you run into the principal, you know immediately that life is going to change for the next couple of weeks. But the Rapture is the ultimate change. You realize it’s all been true and you’re lost and have been left behind.

Perhaps one of the reasons people might not be prepared for the Rapture is that many of us�including Christians who don’t face persecution�are quite comfortable with our earthly existence. Do you think this book will help readers become more conscious of heaven and eternity?

I hope it does, because I have the same feelings you do. When I visit other countries where people are persecuted, they do look forward to the escape more than we do. What do Americans have to escape? To us, persecution is if somebody snickers when we mention our faith. But in other countries, people who convert to Christianity are on trial, or they are denied food or rations or licenses to build. I got a real picture of what persecution is when I visited Romania and the Soviet Union before the fall of Communism. Since then, I’ve never used the term lightly. I’ve never been persecuted for my faith compared to those people.

But isn’t the Left Behind series often criticized because it emphasizes Christians escaping from trouble on earth?

Yes, and with The Rapture, I suppose we’ll get a little criticism of escapism again, because it is the Rapture and we’re flying away from all of our troubles! People complain, “You don’t have to suffer. You get to go. You get to escape.” And the media like to emphasize the exclusivity of Christianity and John 14:6. They often say, “Isn’t this ‘triumphalism,’ because you win and everybody else loses?” But we say, “Well, that’s the whole point. We’re not happy that they lose. We don’t want people left behind.”

So any publicity is good publicity, even if it’s controversial. If the media begin people talking about The Rapture and wanting to read it, then people will get into it and see what we’re all about. And it’s our hope that people who read the prequels but haven’t read the main series will become interested and want to find out more.

In part 2, we’ll get into a few details from the book and how Jerry approached some of the more striking scenes.

Quickly bookmark "Interview with Jerry Jenkins about the rapture both the book & the real deal" via: