David Jeremiah is well-known for his more than 100 nonfiction titles, including many based on Christian eschatology, his Turning Point broadcast ministry and Turning Points magazine, devotionals, radio and television programs, and The Jeremiah Study Bible. Now, the octogenarian pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego County turns to fiction with Vanished: A Novel (Thomas Nelson, July), written with Sam O’Neal, as the start of a three-book series that finds its protagonist struggling for redemption amid a mass of natural disasters preceding the Rapture. We spoke with Jeremiah about his pivot to fiction and more.
Why write a prophecy-themed novel now?
I read an article that jolted me to the core. It said that 46% of Christians who read books read only fiction. That is a whole group of people who I want to know what I’ve been writing about. And the pastor before me at Shadow Mountain was Tim LaHaye, who cowrote the Left Behind series and gave me the first signed copy of Left Behind. I used to get on airplanes and spot two or three people reading Left Behind books. I never dreamed of doing something like that. Sam has helped me write my other books; I gave him the guts of the books and the timeline, and he put in all the fiction stuff.
Talk a little about the main character, John Haggerty.
I see him as a serious and earnest guy with human flaws. He dedicated his life to protecting his country and to stopping pandemics. He’s a picture of a guy who wants to make a difference and is frustrated by the fact that he doesn’t know what to do next. He’s a little bit of all of us. We wanted to show, through him, that prophecy and biblical truth are not divorced from the reality of daily life.
Why should a book about the end times affect readers’ lives today?
The Bible has laid out a clear presentation of what’s to come. I hope people will get past their curiosity and get serious about their personal lives, that they will take this information and apply it to their lives. Because I know what the future holds, I have a great deal more confidence in how to live today.
This is announced as the first in a series. What's next?
Two more books are planned. The second book is set during the first half of the Tribulation and is tied to Israel. The third book is set during the last half of the Tribulation and includes the Battle of Armageddon as prophesied in the biblical book of Revelation.
Do you think we are in the end times now?
Future events cast their shadows before them; that’s what prophecy is. In the first part of the book, things are happening in the world that are based on Matthew 24. 6,7 where Jesus talked about wars and rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes. This is relevant because all of these things have always happened, but they are getting more intense and frequent now. While we don’t know the day or time when Jesus will return, we can know the season. Knowing what I know, I think we’re in the season.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
