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The Rapture, a look into the future Jan 09, 2007
As reviewed by New York Times best-selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh
"The story itself is not biblically accurate," Hector Valle says in the preface to his collection of three end-times vignettes--and that is really the only thing that one could quibble with in The Rapture Trilogy. For in fiction inspired by such a heavily symbolic and abstruse book as the Revelation of St. John the Divine, what exactly does "biblically accurate" mean? It is true that nowhere in Revelation do we find the name of the Antichrist (we are only told his "number"); nowhere is the "mark of the beast" so clearly identified; nowhere is the precise nature of the One-World government specified.
Aside from such details, however, The Rapture Trilogy is a very biblical--and credible--account of how the prophecies of Revelation could come to pass, and how its seeds are present in our own time, written by an author who obviously understands the contemporary world. Consider, for instance, Valle's use of the "One Card" system in the book's post-Rapture world. "All retailers were required to accept the card," Valle writes, "and were authorized to replace all existing credit and debit cards with the One Card." The One Card is used for everything; all paychecks are direct deposited into a person's One Card account and all expenses are paid for with it--it is your pass into an airport, the ballpark, the nightclub, even your home.
This is David's scheme--David is the Antichrist of The Rapture Trilogy, his name a play on King David of the Bible--to control the world financial system, and thus the world. For as Revelation tells us, one key mark of the Second Coming is a One World Government led by an Antichrist who initially comes to power by bringing peace. In The Rapture Trilogy David restores order just like Hitler made the trains run on time. Meanwhile, in our contemporary world, credit card companies have begun to tout a "one card," by which you may accomplish a variety of tasks, but Valle--like any keen writer--has his eye on the deceptions and dangers inherent in such systems.
Consider, too, that in Valle's post-Rapture world, David makes use of cutting-edge medical technologies for world domination. For example, there are no more organ donors; instead doctors make use of stem-cell research and cloning to manipulate biology and cheat the Second Law of Thermodynamics. "David's father," Valle tells us, "was reported to have died from a mortal head wound during a major battle at sea and the new technology was able to bring him back from the grave." Again, Valle turns his ever-observant eye on the deceptions and dangers of misusing medical technology considered major breakthroughs today.
And that is the great strength of The Rapture Trilogy--that it pays attention not just to the Book of Revelation, but to the world. These page-turning vignettes are not only intriguing and credible, they also go far to accomplish Valle's real task of getting readers to turn again to the Book of Revelation and, more important, to pay attention to the world and not give in to its campaigns of convenience. For as Christ himself said: "And what I say to you all is, Watch."
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