Co-author of the best-selling 'Left Behind' series dies aged 90

Rev. Tim LaHaye, a leader of the Christian fundamentalist movement and co-author of the best-selling “Left Behind” series of apocalyptic novels prophesying mass slaughters and the end of the world, has died at the age of 90.

He died in a San Diego hospital following a stroke last week, his ministry and his family said.

The "Left Behind" novels, co-written with Jerry B. Jenkins, were enormously popular, it was ranked among the landmark titles that have shaped Christian evangelicalism.

“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.” New York Times reported.

Crashing mainstream best-seller lists in the 1990s and the 2000s, the series, whose first title released 21 years ago this month, still sells in the six figures annually, according to Jenkins.

Left Behind books have been adapted into multiple films, including three starring Kirk Cameron and one featuring Nicolas Cage and Chad Michael Murray. The brand also gave birth to video games and graphic novels.

Aside from Left Behind, LaHaye has written more than 60 non-fiction books on a wide range of subjects such as: family life, temperaments, sexual adjustment, Bible prophecy, the will of God, Jesus Christ, and secular humanism with over 14 million in print, some of which have been translated into 32 foreign languages.

LaHaye received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Literature degree from Liberty University. He and his wife were once named by Time magazine as the "The Christian Power Couple."

LaHaye is survived by his wife, 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

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