“Before the first installment in Tim LaHaye's and Jerry Jenkins' modern-day stories based on the book of Revelation appeared in 1995, Christian fiction was typically tucked away in Christian bookstores,” observed the newspaper, which noted that the 43 million copies of the “Left Behind” series “have paved the way for these books and others like them to be sold in chain outlets, discount stores and big-box retailers.”

The Times also said the series “has been a blessing to the book world, where a variety of Christian genres is flourishing,” including Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life. Additionally, the newspaper pointed out that Tyndale “has become a major publishing player” because of the “Left Behind” books, and “the series has also been a wake-up call for the normally secular-minded, New York-based book business.”

LaHaye told the Times that the books didn't break into mainstream stores until sometime in 1998-1999 because of the publishing world's bad attitude toward evangelicals. “In some cases it was because of religious bias, people didn't want to give Christians a corner of the market,” he said. “ 'The Left Behind' series just blew that away.”

In addition to the Times article, LaHaye and Jenkins appeared on ABC's Good Morning America Tuesday, and both were interviewed on the The Glenn Beck Program radio show on the same day.

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