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And when I say that, the interviewers are intrigued. It's not what they expected to hear.

I know this sounds like false modesty when I say it, but I really do wish that if God was going to do this, he'd have picked a better writer for it. But I guess I have been prepared for sharing some of these truths on the air.

What are you commonly asked about?

They really home in on the whole idea of believing that Jesus is the only way to God. What does that say in our pluralistic society, in our tolerant age? You know, so you're better? You've got the inside track, and everybody else is going to hell?

It would be more newsworthy for us to just trumpet that and act proud about it and smug about it. And I try to say, you know, there should be no smugness. It should break our hearts. Yet we need to share this because we do believe it.

How has 9/11 affected your writing?

It was a tricky thing for me in the Left Behind series, because those books are set in the future, so you can't all of a sudden start talking about 9/11 because it pre-dates it.

But of course, 9/11 changes the whole tenor. It's all the country's thought about for the last two years. You can't shake it. Any time anything happens—when the power goes out, you think, was it terrorism?

Soon is set in the future, after World War III, and I refer to 9/11. It's 45 years before the events in the book, and people are still talking about it as something that helped start World War III. I hope it isn't true, but that's the scenario.

Why did you write Soon? What is it that drew you to this story?

I saw a couple of letters to the editor of Time magazine after 9/11, where people said, "It's these religious extremists that have caused all of our wars. If you really study war, you're looking at people who think God is on their side. Therefore, eradicate religion and you'll eradicate war."

Now, obviously that's short-sighted. But I got to thinking, as most novelists do, what would that world look like? What would the ramifications really be?

I did an online chat recently and someone said, "With Left Behind, you and LaHaye are clearly saying this is going to happen someday. What are you saying about Soon? Did God tell you this is going to happen?"

No. I'm hoping and praying it won't happen, but we're on a slippery slope. And if we don't find compassionate ways to share the truth of John 14:6, or if the tolerance police get their way and tolerate everything except the exclusivity of Christ, we're going to lose our freedom to share our faith. And this is what's going to come of it.

The premise for Soon is that World War III is so devastating that the planet barely survived it. And everybody says, "Whatever we have to do, we have to eliminate war. What does it take?" And the international government says, "No more religion." And most people say, "Fine, if that's what it takes." And only the true believers are forced underground. And that strengthens the church, because you have to mean it if you're going to live it there.

Your faith only grows for real when you're really persecuted. I've been laughed at and smirked at. But compare that to what people go through in prison and overseas. I'm saying, "Be careful because we may get tested."

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September (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47