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People, people,people. There are scriptural arguments that can be made for several points of view and timelines regarding Christ's coming for his church. Left Behind does a pretty good job of presenting the pre-tribulation rapture, 7 year tribulation, and defeat of Satan. It ain't Holy Scripture, but it's a pretty good job.

I do think Jenkins and LaHaye stretched the series out further than necessary - shoot, I thought Christ would come before they got the thing finished. And frankly, a couple of the books were snoozers, at least for me. It may have led some to think a bit more about whether Christ's claims are true - and maybe even scared a few folk into repentance.

What is glorified in the Christian faith is also presented well in these books - the salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. I believe we all agree on that. For the rest - we may think we know, but God's got the only "vote" that counts.

I heard once that perhaps God would arrange for each believer to get what they expected - the pre-tribbers would be raptured before the tribulation, mid-tribbers in the middle, and post-tribbers at the end. Those Christians who don't believe in the Rapture would just hang around on earth. We do know that God will give us the grace and strength necessary to stand, whichever of these is true.

May I add my voice to the cacaphony?

I grew up in very conservative holiness churches. And I've heard more than my fair share of hell-fire and brimstone sermons. I heard them from a very young age...too young, in fact. I wasn't ready to hear about Revelations, what I needed was the rest of the book first! As a result, every time Mom was late from work, or lingered too long in the grocery (we all heard that one -- "I'll only be a minute..." Yeah, right, LOL) I thought I'd been left behind. I vividly remember racing through supermarket aisles searching for Mom, my heart pounding out of my chest! I simply wasn't ready to hear about the end times...and I was terrified. These feelings continued into adulthood. Although I'd asked Jesus into my heart years before, satan used those old feelings to keep me from the fullness of joy in watching for Christ's return.

How does all this relate to the books? I read the first one reluctantly. Then the second. And so on. Then I started reading THE book -- specifically in Revelations. You know what? I'm not scared anymore. I find myself looking heavenward and wishing He would return. I catch myself looking at unusual cloud formations and wondering if today is the day...and the feeling in the pit of my stomach isn't fear. It's anticipation. That's what the books did for me.

Call me crazy if you wish, but the Lord used those books to heal a wound that was many years old. Yes, I'm still concerned about the world. Of course. But now I'm confident in my salvation, and looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face.

My two cents' worth...