LEFT BEHIND BY TIM LAHAYE & JERRY B. JENKINS

LEFT BEHIND by Tim Lahaye & Jerry B. Jenkins is the first book in the Left Behind series.  I have read all the books in the series many times and can highly recommend them, but I feel that this first book can be read as a stand alone novel.  The others must be read in sequence to avoid confusion. It is an important book, as it explains the Rapture of believers and End Times in a way that makes it easier to understand Biblical prophecy.  This novel is a wake up call for all of us.  Whilst the characters are fictional, the novel portrays Biblical truth and strongly emphasizes the importance of being born again and having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rayford Steele is a successful pilot.  He is good looking and intelligent, has a lovely wife and two children.  Whilst all seems to be going well on the surface, he is unhappy and dissatisfied with his life.  He is selfish, spends little time with his wife and children, and is thinking seriously of having an affair with the beautiful air hostess, Hattie Durham, who is much younger than he is.  Since his wife, Irene, has become a born again believer, he uses her "fanaticism" to keep away from home as much as possible and he makes every excuse to miss church. His son Raymie is a believer, but his daughter Chloe, who is away at college, has stopped going to church as well as her father.

As Rayford is about to make a definite move on Hattie during a flight to Heathrow, he finds to his horror that people have disappeared all over the plane leaving their clothes and personal effects behind.  He enlists Hattie's help to keep the hysterical  passengers calm and is told to return to the States where he makes a difficult landing at the already full airport. 

Deep in his heart he knows that he won't find Irene and Raymie at home when he finally gets there.  He and Chloe are left to face things on their own.  Irene had told Ray many times about the Rapture of the church and about the teachings that she was getting from Pastor Billings of New Hope Church about End Times prophecy.  He knows now that he has missed out and is desperate to find out if he has a chance to make things right.

Ray, and eventually Chloe, listen to the tape that Pastor Billings left for those who were left behind and they join with Bruce Barnes, a pastor from the church who had been living a lie and was not raptured with the believers, and they form the Tribulation Force.  They are determined to make up for lost time and convert as many people as possible.  They realise that they are going to have a hard time as believers during the Tribulation, but they know that those without the Lord in their lives are going to suffer for all eternity.  Cameron (Buck) Williams is a young reporter who is also on the plane when the Rapture takes place, and once he believes he becomes a member of the Tribulation Force as well.

The world is in turmoil.  People have disappeared all over the world.  Traffic is gridlocked, airports are disaster areas, looting and vandalism is rampant.  Into this scenario comes a glimmer of hope in the shape of Nicolae Carpathia, the charismatic, young, newly appointed president of Romania, who dazzles everyone with his charm and his extraordinary intelligence.  Is he too good to be true or is he the answer to the world's problems?  Or is he, in fact, the Antichrist?  With his seeming humility he graciously "accepts" leadership of the United Nations and puts forward his plans for world peace.

The novel is fast paced and exciting and well worth reading.

MONDAY NIGHT JIHAD, BLOWN COVERAGE, BLACKOUT & INSIDE THREAT BY JASON ELAM & STEVE YOHN

These four books by JASON ELAM & STEVE YOHN are exciting thrillers with a strong Christian message. 
In MONDAY NIGHT JIHAD we are introduced to Riley Covington, defence player for the Colorado Mustangs.  Riley is not only an excellent football player, he has also spent time in the armed forces and has fought in Afghanistan.  We get to know his best friend in the army, Scott Ross, who is now in Homeland Security and who has a brilliantly analytical mind, and who works with a bunch of "misfit" analysts.  Sal Ricci is his best friend in the football team, and he spends a lot of time with Sal, his wife Meg and their daughter Alessandra.  We are also introduced to Hakeem, a militant Jihadist, who is seeking to avenge his family's death at the hands of the American army.
Riley comes from a strong Christian family, is close to his parents and to his granpa. Both his granpa and his father have been in the military.  Riley takes his Christian beliefs very seriously, and when he meets the beautiful Khadi he realizes that he can never be unequally yoked with a Muslim woman.
After the attacks at the Mall of America and the Platte River Stadium by members of the Cause, Riley joins Scott Ross, Jim Hicks,Khadi and others to capture those responsible.  The man in charge of the Cause is al'-Aqran, and they manage to take him captive.  He is put in a secret CIA prison in Poland, a prison that is not meant to exist!
Riley learns that things are not always as they seem, and he ends up killing his best friend who is  living a double life and is really his worst enemy.  He forgives him as a sick, brain-washed man, and we see the totally opposite nature of their religious beliefs.  



In BLOWN COVERAGE we find that al'-Aqran has been freed from prison by Abdalayev, a member of the Chechen Freedom Militia and is now in Istanbul.
Riley, Khadi and Skeeter, the latter army friend being Riley's bodyguard, are resting in Costa Rica after their ordeal in tracking down al'-Aqran, where they are attacked whilst having a meal.  Riley is worried that he is bringing danger to his friends and to his family, and he doesn't know what to do about his football career.  He decides to go back and there is a media frenzy when he goes to football camp, and he is afraid that wherever he is he will be a danger to those around him. 
The team  realize that al'-Aqran has escaped when they capture Naheed Yamani, after what seem to be random sleeper cell attacks.
When Riley's father is murdered by terrorists, he goes to his friend Simmons' cabin in the woods with Skeeter in order to draw them after him so that he doesn't put anyone else in danger.  The man who is after him's name is Abdullah, and Riley manages to escape.  He isn't even able to go to his father's funeral, but he is determined not to become vengeful or full of unforgiveness and hatred for his enemies, although it is quite a struggle for him.  He is helped a lot by good counsel from his grandfather.
The two "black ops" teams go after Abdalayev who tells them where al'-Aqran is, after being interrogated by Hicks.  Scott kills al'-Aqran.  While on this mission they hear that the Cause is planning attacks on schools in the U.S.  
Riley learns that things are not always as they seem, and he finds out that his best friend  is  living a double life and is really his worst enemy.  He forgives him as a sick, brain-washed man, and we see the totally opposite nature of their religious beliefs.  
Riley is tortured by Hakeem's men and learns Hakeem is planning another attack.  He is rescued by his team, and once back home, he tracks him down and is responsible for his best friend/worst enemy's death, saving many lives.






BLACKOUT is the third book in the Riley Covington series.
On the football front, Riley, Keith Simmons and Ashfin (an Arab Christian) are great friends and they pray together regularly.  Zerin is a Muslim Arab and is a rookie footballer who is living his dream, having always wanted to play professional football, until his father interferes with his plans.
Scott Ross is in charge of Homeland Security now that Jim Hicks is dead, and he arranges for Riley to be fetched from a holiday at his home in Alaska, where he and Skeeter are on a clam digging expedition, and taken directly to meet the president of the United States.  There is word of a threatened EMP attack against the United States and Scott wants Riley on his team, so he tells the president that Riley did research on EMT's when he was in college.  Scott needs him in Washington so he arranges for him to play for Washington Warriors instead of his beloved Mustangs.
He has made quite a name for himself on the football field as well as being a hero on the battlefield and is known as Captain America by many.  His new football boss uses the term in a derogatory manner, unless he is using Riley's fame to his own advantage. This upsets Riley, who just wants to get on with his life, following the Lord's leading and keeping his friends and fellow Americans out of danger wherever possible.
The ops team with Scott, Riley, Skeeter, Khadi and others, manage to destroy the second EMP after the first one hits the New York area.  The result of the New York hit is disastrous. There is mass hysteria, looting, lack of food and water, greed and selfishness.  Keith and Ashfin, who are trying to help where they can, are attacked when they are taking food that they have managed to buy back to the bus, and Ashfin is mistaken for a terrorist and killed by the crowd.  Keith is devastated. Ashfin is his friend and a really committed Christian who showed his Christian belief by the way he lived.  As he is dying, Ashfin forgives his attackers and tells Keith to run while he can.  Keith stays to help his friend but can do nothing help Ashfin as he is badly beaten up.  
After the disaster, Riley, Skeeter and Keith help with the general clean up and rescue. Keith feels he has found his real ministry amongst the homeless children at the refugee camps.  He goes on to take the children to his home until their parents can be found, and those who are apparently orphaned to live with him permanently.








INSIDE THREAT is the fourth book in the Riley Covington series.  In all four books of the series we see Riley trying to live out his Christian beliefs to the best of his ability, but this comes out even more in this book.  We see his patriotism and his preparedness to literally lay down his life for those he loves and for his country.  We see him make difficult choices as He follows in the footsteps of his Lord.  His motto is WWJD or "what would Jesus do".
Riley is back with the Washington Warriors after taking time to transport refugees of the EMP attack to safety.  Scott and Tara are married and have a baby son called James, named after Jim Hicks. Khadi has left SOG Bravo, as there are too many memories of Riley there, and is working security for Senator Andrews.  Khadi is trying to move on and even has a boy friend, as she realizes that she and Riley can never be together because of their difference in beliefs, even though they are desperately in love with one another.  She comes from a loving Muslim family and is totally against terrorism.  She is a loyal American citizen and her lifestyle and beliefs contrast drastically with those of the Jihadists.  The terrorists in Inside Threat are American citizens whose leaders have been trained in terrorist camps overseas.  They have been worked up to a frenzy of hatred towards Americans and Zionists by their leaders.  While it is true that they have often been unfairly treated by uninformed people because of their Muslim beliefs, they have been born and educated in America and are American citizens.
There is a lot of action in this book, and it finishes off the series with quite a climax, so I don't want to spoil it for anyone by giving any more details!  All I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole series, and whilst you could read each book as a stand alone,  you wouldn't get as much out of them as you will if you read them in sequence.