Table Of ContentTHE
A N T I C H R I S T I S B O R N
RISING
B E F O R E T H E Y W E R E L E F T B E H I N D
T L H
IM A AYE
J B J
ERRY . ENKINS
What People Are Saying
about the Left Behind Series
“This is the most successful Christian-fiction series ever.”
—Publishers Weekly
“TimLaHayeandJerryB.Jenkins...aredoingforChristian
fictionwhatJohnGrishamdidforcourtroomthrillers.”
—TIME
“Theauthors’stylecontinuestobethoroughlycaptivating
andkeepsthereadergluedtothebook,wonderingwhatwill
happennext.Anditleavesthereaderhungryformore.”
—Christian Retailing
“Combines Tom Clancy–like suspense with touches of
romance, high-tech flash and Biblical references.”
—The New York Times
“The most successful literary partnership of all time.”
—Newsweek
“Wildly popular—and highly controversial.”
—USA Today
“Christian thriller. Prophecy-based fiction. Juiced-up
moralitytale.Callitwhatyoulike,theLeftBehindseries...
nowhasalabelitscreatorscouldneverhavepredicted:
blockbustersuccess.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“They can be fun and engaging, with fast-paced plotting,
global drama, regular cliffhanger endings, and what has to
be the quintessential villain: Satan himself.”
—abcnews.com
“Notjustanyfiction.Jenkins...employedthetechniquesof
suspenseandthrillernovelstoturntheendoftheworldinto
anexciting,stay-up-late-into-the-night,page-turningstory“
—Chicago Tribune
Tyndale House products by
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Left Behind® bookseries
Left Behind®
Tribulation Force
Nicolae
Soul Harvest
Apollyon
Assassins
The Indwelling
The Mark
Desecration
The Remnant
Armageddon
Glorious Appearing
The Rising
Other Left Behind® products
Left Behind®: The Kids
Devotionals
Calendars
Abridged audio products
Dramatic audio products
Graphic novels
Gift books
and more . . .
Other Tyndale House books by
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Perhaps Today
Are We Living in the End Times?
The Authorized Left Behind Handbook
Embracing Eternity
Forthelatestinformationonindividualproducts,releasedates,
and future projects, visit www.leftbehind.com
Tyndale House books by Tyndale House books by
Tim LaHaye Jerry B. Jenkins
How to Be Happy Though Married Soon
Spirit-Controlled Temperament Silenced
Transformed Temperaments
Why You Act the Way You Do
THE RISING
THE
A N T I C H R I S T I S B O R N
RISING
B E F O R E T H E Y W E R E L E F T B E H I N D
Visit Tyndale’s exciting Web site at www.tyndale.com
Discover the latest about the Left Behind series at www.leftbehind.com
TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Tyndale’s quill logo is a trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2005 by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of boy by Michael Hudson. Copyright © by Tyndale House Pubishers.
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of flame copyright © by Photodisc. All rights reserved.
Author photograph of Tim LaHaye copyright © 2004 by Parker Photography. All rights
reserved.
Designed by Julie Chen and Jessie McGrath
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc.,
7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980,
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©
1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LaHaye, Tim F.
The rising : Antichrist is born before they were left behind / Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins.
p. cm. — (Left behind series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-4143-0683-0
1. Steele, Rayford (Ficticious character)–Fiction. 2. Rapture (Christian eschatology)—
Fiction. 3. Antichrist—Fiction. I. Jenkins, Jerry B. II. Title.
PS3562.A315R57 2005
813′.54—dc22 2004027674
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To Frank Muller*,
audio reader nonpareil
Special thanks
to David Allen
for expert technical consultation
*Mr. Muller’s career as the world’s most celebrated reader of audiobooks, including
the Left Behind series, was interrupted in 2001 by a motorcycle accident, which left
him incapacitated. His wife, Erika, cares for him and their two young children.
Contributions to his astronomical medical expenses are tax deductible, and checks
should be made payable to The Wavedancer Foundation (memo: The Frank Muller
Fund) c/o John McElroy, 44 Kane Avenue, Larchmont, NY 10538.
P O S T – T W E N T I E T H
C E N T U R Y
Prologue
The sun hung just below Rayford Steele’s glare shield,
making him squint even behind his dark gray lenses. His
first officer, Chris Smith, pointed and said, “Oops, how
long has that been there?”
Rayford shielded his eyes and found the message
screen reading “ENGINE #1 OIL FILT.”
Oil pressure was normal, even on the engine in ques-
tion, the one farthest to his left. “Engine number one
oil-filter checklist, please,” he said.
Chris dug into the right side pocket for the emergency
manual. While Chris was finding the right section,
Rayford grabbed the maintenance log he should have
checked before pulling back from the gate in Chicago
and heading for Los Angeles. He speed-read. Sure
enough, engine number one had required an oil filter
change in Miami before the leg to O’Hare, and metal
ix
