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Survivors (novel)
Encyclopedia
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Zion Ben-Jonah.
Distributors are found mainly on busy high streets in city centres. A donation is asked for to pay towards the printing and binding costs, otherwise, the book is free of charge. A digital copy may be found on the organization's website.
The novel was written as a response to the Left Behind
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series, and corrected what were perceived as errors in these books. Many of the characters closely parallel the characters in the Left Behind series. The main difference between the two is that in Survivors, the rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
(or spiriting away of all of God's faithful believers) comes after the great trials and plagues on Earth, which some believe is what the Bible actually prophesies.
Each chapter is followed by commentary relating the events of the chapter to prophecies in the Bible.
The book was first published in January 2002 and has since sold over a million copies in English, mostly in three major cities: London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. It has been translated into Spanish and Swahili (for use in Kenya). A sequel to the novel, called "Listening" is planned for release in January, 2008. The books are now being distributed more widely, in the Eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Brief Synopsis
The book starts in the USA which is suddenly devastated by a nuclear strike launched from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. One of the main character families is described, they are the Straits. Rayford Strait is an airline pilot with the fictional Pan-Continental airways. At the beginning of the book he is flying a transatlantic flight to the UK and is away from his home when the strike hits. His wife Irene, Daughter Chloe and son Raymie are all at home in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
when the strike hits. After the strike, Irene is convinced to leave the family home by the local pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
but Chloe does not believe the words of the pastor and stays at the family home. Meanwhile in England, Rayford meets up with a group called the Jeseans, who tell him that the happenings in America have been predicted in the bible. Rayford is convinced the Jeseans have the answer to future happenings and tries to resign from his job to join them, but is not allowed to resign, and henceforth spends his days off travelling with the jeseans and distributing literature.
Meanwhile, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
under the auspices of chairman Xu Dangchao have sprung up as the next world power in the absence of the USA and begin a series of programs of aid that put them in a favourable position with the whole world. The UN broker a Middle East peace deal and plan to build a temple in Jerusalem which will encompass the three faiths of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
Rayford, along with another man, Chaim Rosenberg, have begun recruiting members to the Jeseans. These members include a former nun and an atheist. Many of these potential members are not convinced of all that the men are saying at first but an unintentional display of supernatural powers by Rayford Strait convinces them that he speaks the truth.
The UN develops a plan that all citizens of the world must be implanted under the skin with a microchip called 'the mark' or a barcode tattoo which, it is explained, will do away with the need for identity documents, and will make life all but impossible for those who don't have it. The Jeseans view the mark as the symbol of evil, after Rayford adds up the characters in the tattoo and finds they add up to the Mark of the beast.
The temple in Jerusalem is completed and Chairman Dangchao reveals his true identity. He is the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
. Rayford and Chaim travel to Jerusalem and confront him. The book describes the battle.