Initially, it was hard for me to follow Glorious Appearing and it took me a while to realize that this was the twelfth book of the series. I ended up looking up the series to get more sense of the characters and the backstory that I had missed because we had not read the first 11 books in the Left Behind series. Compared to The Rapture, I felt like Glorious Appearing was definitely a more intricate and faithful interpretation of the Book of Revelation and the Apocalypse.

I thought that the character of the Antichirst, embodied in Nicolae Carpathia, was a highly fascinating character. I really enjoyed reading the scene in which Satan reveals his divine form to confront the way Carpathia has been acting. It was interesting to read how his physical appearance was only described as having flowing blond hair. The imagery is not something I would associate with Satan, but at the same time to Mac it was easily obvious that this was not his Messiah. It was also interesting to see the dynamics between Carpathia and Satan in this scene. Carpathia went through such a drastic change in personality, character, and appearance, and this further stressed the fact that he is only alive because of Satan.

Strozier and Boyd believe that “the literal interpretation of the apocalyptic narrative can mutate millienial thought into violent action.” This is evident in Glorious Appearing in which there is a war between the Good vs. Evil. Even before the novel begins, the character list emphasizes the fact that there is a clear distinction between the two sides, which is determined by one’s faith. Characters such as Mac, Enoch, and Chang are “The Believers” while Carpathia and Leon Fortunato are “The Enemies”.

In relation to The Rapture and our previous discussion on born again Christians, it was interesting to read about how Carmela, a minor character in Glorious Appearing, basically described the same experience as Sharon. Like Sharon, Carmela’s life was full of sex and sin, and her transformation of becoming born again was quick. Seeing another example of the transition helps me accept the fact that the portrayal of born again Christianity in The Rapture was accurate.

I thought that the two essays on the Fundamentalist Mindset also helped me better understand Sharon’s character in The Rapture. It was impossible not to think about the film while reading the essays, because the authors described her character so well. It gave me a better sense of why she took certain actions and resorted to violence.