48 pages • 1 hour read
Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHayeLeft Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Israel
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of reductive and stereotyped views of ethnoreligious groups in Israel.
Israel functions in Left Behind as a symbol of changing global politics and a herald of the end times. In terms of biblical context, the book of Revelation highlights conflict in Israel as a precursor to the apocalypse, suggests that the Antichrist will make a seven-year deal with Israel, and predicts the conversion of 144,000 Orthodox Jews to belief in Jesus as the messiah. The catalyst for Israel’s position in global politics is the invention of Rosenzweig’s fertilizer formula, which is heralded as a lifesaving invention that allows Israel to become “an export capital, the envy of the world, with virtually zero unemployment” (8). This description is significant because it emphasizes the burgeoning fertility of Israel, both in terms of produce and financial potential. Israel is represented as needing protection, and it becomes a target for other world powers after the invention of the fertilizer.
The authors also emphasize Israel as a chosen nation, which is used as proof of God’s existence. Both the Russian attack and the emergence of the two prophets at the Wailing Wall are considered key proofs that the disappearances were actually the Rapture. The novel also includes reference to historical perspectives on Israel as chosen, for the narrative states, “To win against the mighty Russians was an upset, of course. […] Yet to not defend yourself and suffer no casualties? That was beyond all comprehension—apart from the direct intervention of God” (395). However, the symbol is problematic in part because of the authors’ emphasis on the conversion of 144,000 Jews to Christianity. The insinuation is that ethnoreligious groups in Israel have the potential to be a chosen people, but only if they convert to Evangelical Christianity.
Bibles
Alongside references to biblical prophecy in Left Behind, physical Bibles are referenced throughout the novel. They symbolize a connection between God and the people who were raptured and those left behind. In a general sense, the Bible is represented as a warning, for the narrative states, “God had tried to warn his people by putting his Word in written form centuries before” (312). The function of the quoted Bible passages in the text, primarily from the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation, is to confirm that the events of the novel are reflective of the biblical view on the end times.
The symbol becomes more specific when Rayford finds Irene’s Bible. At that point, the object begins to function as a conduit between their past relationship and his present mindset. Seeing Irene’s prayer list in her Bible, with his name listed at the top, is a significant moment of realization for Rayford. Before the Rapture, he considered his wife a , but now, he realizes that she was right and that she didn’t give up on him. He also recalls that the Bible had been a gift from him on their first anniversary and marvels that he could have forgotten this detail. The Bible thus represents the history of their relationship. It also symbolizes the transformation that Irene undertook, for when he first gave her the Bible years ago, neither of them were particularly religious. Thus, Irene has also completed a journey from not being devout to receiving salvation, and this realization foreshadows the conversion experience that Rayford will soon have. The Bible therefore functions as a source of security and a ward against evil for Rayford, who now takes it wherever he goes. In addition to the expected function of the Bible as source material for the novel’s conceit, Bibles also symbolize connection to God and to those family members who have disappeared.
Airplanes
Airplanes are a prevalent motif throughout Left Behind. Rayford’s career as a pilot is an important plot device because it facilitates the movement of characters in a post-crisis world that has hampered many people’s mobility. Similarly, Buck’s news career means that he often has cause to fly in the course of the novel. Because the novel opens with the Rapture taking place during Rayford’s overnight flight to London, the airplane setting emphasizes the universality of the event. Though the characters are miles above the ground, the Rapture affects them in the same was that it does others. That Rayford is separated from the destruction on the ground also heightens the effect of assessing the turmoil when the plane reaches the ground. Chloe’s conversion experience also happens during a flight. Therefore, the motif of airplanes suggests metaphorical as well as geographical transition.
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