Obituary Note: Tim LaHaye

Tim LaHaye, co-author of the bestselling Left Behind series, died yesterday of a stroke, which his family described as him having "graduated to heaven." He was 90 and was also the founder and president of Tim LaHaye Ministries and founder of the PreTrib Research Center.

The Left Behind series, consisting of 16 novels published between 1995 and 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers and written with Jerry B. Jenkins, have sold some 80 million copies. The series has been made into four movies and inspired several computer games. LaHaye also wrote some 60 nonfiction titles.

Christianity Today ranked Left Behind "among the landmark titles that have shaped evangelicalism. LaHaye and Jenkins not only had readers rethinking the rapture, but also the potential popularity of Christian novels. The book launched a series that launched a marketing empire that launched a new set of rules for Christian fiction. The series spent a total of 300 weeks--nearly as long as the Tribulation it dramatized--on the New York Times's bestseller list."

Mark D. Taylor, chairman and CEO of Tyndale House, said, "Tim LaHaye's history as a published author is intertwined with the entire history of Tyndale House. His first book, Spirit-Controlled Temperament, was published 50 years ago in 1966. It was the very first book published by Tyndale House apart from the Living series of Bible paraphrases. And Tyndale's highest-selling series of trade titles has been the Left Behind series.... Tim was a wonderful Bible teacher and pastor and an inspiration for our entire industry. We will miss him."

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