Soul Harvest is part of the Left Behind series. The entire series contains concepts about Christianity and the end of times. Soul Harvest contains ideas about the Tribulation period, the Trumpet Judgment, and the soul harvest prophesied in the scriptures of Revelations in the Bible. The ideas, though fictional, seem very literal. Soul Harvest is an attempt to describe the periods/stages of judgments that will occur after the rapture, but the book is only fictional. We cannot truly explain or even comprehend what the end of times will be like; however, the ideas presented seem real. The authors� motif of the novel might be that they want to persuade the reader to fear God and serve him faithfully.
One example of how the authors explain their ideas is by using a global earthquake (the wrath of the Lamb) to describe the period of Tribulation. They also use a character to describe the antichrist and how deceiving and evil he is. I feel that these ideas and examples were very effective in getting the point across to the reader. The novel was very gripping and revealing. The ideas presented in the novel were good correlations with my beliefs and feelings.
The roles of the characters represent sinners and those saved by God�s grace. Throughout the novel many sinners who were left behind become saved and some even join the Tribulation Force (a group of Christians who are a witnessing force). The Tribulation Force consists of: Rayford Steele, Tsion Ben-Judah, Cameron �Buck� Williams, Chloe Williams (Rayford�s daughter), Mac McCullum, and Ken Ritz. Both Mac and Ken join the Force after their salvation. The Tribulation Force is the protagonist in the novel. The antagonist in the novel is Nicolae Carpathia, who is thought to be the antichrist. He is the potentate of the Global Community (a world-wide organization that the world is becoming dependent on).
�Buck felt as if he were in a dream, unable to move faster. He made the mistake of holding his breath as he ran and soon had to gasp for air, his heart cracking against his ribs (Jenkins and Lahaye 348).� This passage was very well written. It is so detailed and gripping. �He ran. With every step he feared the next sound would be a bullet crashing into his head (Jenkins and Lahaye 349).� This is another well written passage. It is very detailed and just makes you read on. It draws you to read more.
I loved Soul Harvest! I enjoy reading books that just consume you; the ones you just cannot put down. There are so many gripping passages in this novel. It kept me going the entire time. I would definitely recommend this novel to someone else. Soul Harvest taught me that sometimes you get so caught up in the book and it seems so real, but you have to remember that it is only fiction.
By
Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
