Left Behind Movie Explained: Why This Film Sparks Faith- Filled Convos

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Welcome back to the Coffee and Bible Time podcast. For those that may be listening for the first time, our podcast is an offshoot from our main platform, YouTube. Our channel is called Coffee and Bible Time, where our goal is to help people delight in God’s Word. We also have a website and storefront with Bible studies, prayer journals, courses, and more. Before we get started, a word from this week’s sponsors. Hey everyone, is your church group looking for a new turnkey program that you can quickly and easily put in place? Well, we have just the opportunity for you. Coffee and Bible Time has created two new teaching courses on how to pray using our prayer journal and how to pray using our prayer binder. We modeled these teaching courses after a live event that we conducted for a group of 100 women and girls in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit, this cut off our ability to do live teaching. But the blessing that came out of that time was that we now have available video teaching that can be utilized by anyone, anywhere, at any time. In one course, Ashley teaches how to pray using the prayer journal, and in the other course, Mentor Mama teaches how to pray using the prayer binder. All you need to do to implement a program like the one we conducted live in Texas is to purchase one of our video teaching courses, along with the number of either prayer journals or prayer binders for each participant in your group. This program is ideal for mom’s groups, women’s ministry events, young adults’ groups, middle school and high school groups, or even small groups. And for a limited time, we have a special offer for our podcast listeners. Buy either nine prayer journals or prayer binders and get the 10th one free using the promo code podcast on our website at coffeeandbible time.com. I’m Mentor Mama, and today we are going to be talking about the new movie, Left Behind Rise of the Antichrist, which is coming to theaters beginning January 26th. You know, I think many of us are familiar with the Left Behind series of books and movies. They have been wildly popular, they’ve captivated audiences for years with biblically based stories on the rapture and end time prophecies. This installment of the Left Behind movies, starring Kevin Sorbo, Neil McDonough, and Corbin Bursen, will bring attention again to the prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Our guest today, Sam Sorbo, who also appears in the film, is here to talk more about the movie, what drew her to the script, and why she thinks people will absolutely love it. Sam is an award-winning Hollywood actress and film producer, international fashion model, nationally syndicated radio show host, and author. After studying biomedical engineering at Duke University, Sam pursued a career as a model, which afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively and learn foreign languages. While filming Hercules’ The Legendary Journeys, she met Kevin Sorobo and they married in 1998 and have three children. As I mentioned, Sam is also an author. Her most recent book, Words for Warriors, attained number one status on Amazon shortly after launch in 2021. Please welcome Sam. Hi there. Great to be here. Hey Sam, it’s so nice to have you. I have just a little fun fact before we get into the questions, and that is Jerry Jenkins, who is the author of the Left Behind series, he actually attended the same church that we go to back when he actually wrote those books. So we’ve always had um we’ve always loved him and the book series. So and it was always so fun. Well, I want you to tell you.SPEAKER_01: 4:50

Well, a fun fact, yes, since you since you started with a fun fact. Yeah. My husband did his first faith film, which I think of as the first Hollywood caliber, fully Christian, unabashedly Christian film called What If, directed by Jerry Jenkins’ son, Dallas Jenkins, who is now doing The Chosen. Yes. Yes. So it’s all of a piece. Okay. Fun fact, my maiden name is Jenkins. Really?SPEAKER_00: 5:29

But but sadly, no relation. No relation. Oh my goodness, that’s crazy. Wow. That’s so cool. I was talking to one of my friends, and she was like, Oh, yeah, I remember when Dallas used to come to youth group. And so, oh, they’re such an amazing and talented family. Well, let’s talk about the movie. Tell us about it, Left Behind Rise of the Antichrist.SPEAKER_01: 5:58

Okay, so you know it’s based obviously on the books. This is the sequel to the first one. So in the first one, people are raptured, they just disappear and leave their clothes and their bodies are gone. And their soul, obviously, their souls are gone. Um, and then so this one picks up where that one left off. So that one left off with people who are left behind going, what the what? And trying to trying to make sense of it. So in this movie, we reconnect with our main character, Raymond Steele, who’s played by Kevin Sorbo, um, who’s who’s trying to make sense. Yeah, uh, I think we’re about six months out, and he lost his wife, and he lost his son, but his daughter is still there on Earth, and he’s still there, and he’s just trying to make it make sense. And so he goes on this journey of um enlightenment, uh, this this journey of of discovery, if you will. Um, and so if you if you go and watch the the trailer, it gives a lot of good hints about stuff that happens in the (Left Behind)movie. It’s pretty much a thriller. Um and it’s you know, the world’s gone crazy. Uh and so what was so fascinating to me was um right before they started to to film, the writerslash producer said, wait, wait, wait, wait, I need to rewrite it a little bit. And so he took a month or so and he re rewrote the script and he worked in elements of this new normal that we’ve recently adopted with the pandemic. Um, that’s just uncanny. Like it yes, I think I think he just had an epiphany and just went, wait a minute. Like you, and and of course, you have a lot of people running around. I just heard that Pope Benedict sent a memo that said, we are now living in the end times. The Pope uh, you know, of the Roman Catholic Church says we’re living in end times. And I know there are a lot of people out there with with uh varying eschatology or what have you, um, who are saying we’re living in end times. And I would caution against sort of adopting that kind of mantra because we are called to occupy. Uh, we are not called to sort of sit back and go, okay, Jesus, I’ll just wait till you get here. Um, that is not what we are intended to do. So I so I sort of steer clear of that, but I love the play that the movie takes with this whole thing, um, weaving it in. And, you know, maybe, maybe the rapture already happened and you just don’t know anybody.unknown: 8:55

Yeah.SPEAKER_01: 8:56

Okay. I said that totally as a joke. Uh but um, but the (Left Behind) movie, the movie is uh it’s a thriller, it’s appropriate for most audiences, I would say. Um, it’s uh it’s a lot of fun. Uh it’s it kind of is a little eerie. It certainly is thought-provoking. It is not necessarily um only for a faith-based audience. I think that it’s a great film to invite people to who maybe have never even opened a Bible or considered one, you know. Uh, and and I will say this: what I love about this new paradigm for the theaters that we have is you pick the movie that you’re gonna go see. So I decided I was gonna go see Left Behind. I actually I’m gonna be in LA on the 26th, which is when it opens, and I will be back in West Palm Beach by the time of sat of Sunday. So I’m seeing it in LA with a bunch of friends on the 26th, and then I’m going with a bunch of friends in West Palm Beach on the 29th. And all I did was I went to the website, leftbehindmovie.com, and I just ordered my ticket. I found the theater that was closest to me. It’s really easy. You just put your zip code in, you pick the theater, you order the tickets, and then I just took that link and I texted it to a whole bunch of people. And so a bunch of my friends are gonna join me at the theater, which is so much fun. And the same thing with the theater here. And in fact, I think we’ve sold out both theaters now. So they’ve had to open up extra theaters at that extra screens, I should say. We’ve sold out the screens, they’ve opened up extra theaters at the Cineplexes or whatever. Um, so it’s it’s it’s exciting. They’ve gone from, I think they they started with 800 or 1,000 screens, and so now they’re at uh 1,500 screens across the United States. So it’s already showing signs of being uh hugely successful. I think people are gonna get a lot of laughs. There’s a lot of humor in the film. Um, there’s some very serious bits, and for believers, certainly, there’s enough in there to to make you go, yes, they’re finally telling the story the way that I think the story should be. And by story, I mean real life. Like, you know, we so often go to the theater and then we our values are not represented at all, right? And I think that that’s I think that’s a big struggle that we have in our culture today, is we don’t see our values hardly anywhere, except maybe when we go to church. Right. Oh, you know, people are kind and giving and forgiving and generous and gracious and all those things. Um, but we don’t see it represented in the culture very often. Um, and and most especially, I would say, in films, right? Um, they they tend to make things up that don’t make sense and try to sell it on because because they make it appear so real. And you’re like, but but nobody behaves that way. That’s just not right, or whatever you and so this is this is this is a good movie. It represents good values um in the proper context, in the proper light. Um, it also represents evil. There’s a lot of evil, as we know, in the world. Um, so it’s a you know, classic good, good versus evil. Uh, I’m very excited about it. I’m very excited.SPEAKER_00: 12:27

Uh well, I can tell you I watched the screening and it it literally captivated my attention from the minute it started until the minute it ended. And I think I’m so glad they did take the time to make that adjustment because I feel it resonated, didn’t it? It completely resonated. And I’m telling you, you almost when you’re watching the (Left Behind) movie, you’re just feeling like you’ve stepped into the near future.SPEAKER_01: 13:00

Yeah, like yeah, it’s like, well, the only thing that’s missing is the rapture. Like what? You know, it’s kind of it’s it’s really weird. Um in a in a really good way. Yeah. Well, I’m glad to hear you say that because of course when you’re in a project, you get a little bit too close. So you don’t know how it comes across to to people who aren’t involved, right? And and uh, so it’s nice to know that um that it resonated with you. I think I think it’s gonna resonate for a lot of people.SPEAKER_00: 13:31

Yeah, it it hits close to home. And I think too, like it does, there’s just so many great elements because it moves you to want to tell other people. It moves you, you know what I mean, to share the good news. And there’s just clock so many greats. What are you waiting for? Yeah. Um what what actually drew you to this film when you read the script?SPEAKER_01: 13:58

Well, I’m in love with the director. No, when I read the script, so my part in this film is fairly small, but it it’s meaningful. And I um I am playing a character that is really um um representational of a majority, I would say, a majority of people in the United States. And so the idea that I could portray her, and she was very well written, um, very uh just very meaningfully written. Um the the thing that the that the writer, producer, writer does so well. And actually there was more than one writer, but the they were a team, um, so I don’t wanna I don’t wanna shortchange anybody here for credit. Um but they you know the character is there for a purpose of storytelling. And this is a this is a pitfall that a lot of Christian, specifically Christian movies, get in because they they want to convey the message, and so then they write characters who are just there to help convey the message, as opposed to writing about real people and allowing the message to simply be conveyed, right? Um and that’s what that’s what these guys did so well. So even though I’m there, obviously uh if you if you just take the mechanics of the movie, I’m there because I’m representational of a vast majority, I would say, of Americans, people worldwide, perhaps. Um I’m still I’m I’m still just a realistic individual in the (Left Behind) movie that’s completely believable, that’s well written, that who’s flawed, who um you know has failures and and uh and has to come to terms with them. Uh so it’s I think that they allowed the character organically to sort of speak for herself. So they brought in the character, but then the way that they wrote her, she she creates she is that that thing that they that they wanted to represent. Anyway, I don’t know, I’m getting a little bit too much in my head, but um yeah, I was very I was very drawn to the movie because of that. Um I’m very much as an individual, I’m very mission-oriented. And so I don’t do films because of the paycheck. I don’t do films because uh of the billing, you know, career. Uh I do films because I’m sending a message. I’m I want to change the world. I wanna I want to make people’s lives better. Uh and that this film afforded me, I believe afforded me a small role in that.SPEAKER_00: 17:06

Yes, yes. And your character is so believable because I I feel like it’s going to resonate with so many people who will think and and and be encouraged. Um well, I’m curious to know what are some of your favorite scenes in the movie and why.SPEAKER_01: 17:28

Um well, the one scene in particular that I that I have with Kevin in the church uh where I um where I’m honest. Um I I give myself an honest assessment, and uh that scene snuck up on me. Um I haven’t seen I haven’t seen it finished. Uh I saw a pre a pr uh a a rough cut. So I think I’ve seen the scene, but um I remember shooting it. So uh the film takes on several iterations, every film. The first iteration is the idea to the script, right? And the script is its own thing, and then the script gets shot, and the shooting of the script, that film, because it’s there’s several different takes for any given scene, and all of and then um the locations that you find they might not match exactly the script, they might be better than the script, they might be not as good as the script had envisioned, and and all of that. And so the the shot film is sort of its own thing, and then the edited version uh takes on whole new characteristics because you can you can change everybody’s performance through editing. You can make an actor look fantastic, you can make an actor look terrible just through editing and color correction and um music plays with people’s emotions. So you could have a scene, you know, you you’re watching a a thriller and the guy’s just walking in an empty cornfield, but you you lay the you lay the music over it, and all of a sudden it’s like, oh my gosh, what’s happening, right? So um so the film takes on different iterations. Uh the scene that that we did, the scene that was written on the page was a good solid scene. And I went in ready to play a good solid scene. And then when I was playing the scene, it it crept up on me. And I get teary thinking about it because the vulnerability of the character uh caught me because it was my vulnerability. Um, not not necessarily obviously for the same reasons, but when you’re playing a character who is that vulnerable, you have to bring in whatever vulnerability you have. And so So it just, yeah. So that’s one of my favorite scenes. Another one is the the explosion scene. My son is in that. It, you know, those are always just really cool. Um, the shootout, uh uh the I like absolutely love the character of the sort of absent-minded professor guy. He’s in the trailer. You can see him in the trailer. Um, so you probably know who I’m talking about, but um I just loved his scenes. I love Neil McDonough. Uh, just anything. Like every time he’s on camera, like the guy works all the time because he’s got such a sp a special look to him, and he’s such a good actor. Um, I don’t, I don’t know. I mean, I there are scenes that aren’t my favorites, right? It’s probably easier to pick through the ones that I’m like, well, take it or leave it.SPEAKER_00: 20:53

Yeah, yeah. I think, you know, for me, it just made me realize things and thought about things that you know could happen with the rapture that I hadn’t thought of. And even going back, you know, to the original book of a pilot, you know, flying a plane and half the passengers disappearing, or in one, you know, another case, you know, the planes going down because the pilot didn’t make it. And it’s just it there are things that happen in this movie too that sort of expand your thinking of what that could look like and how scary it might be, and and how twisted um the messaging um of how you know, did the rapture really happen or not happen, or all the those different things that can play out in the media? So it’s really incredible.SPEAKER_01: 21:55

Yeah, I love the subtitle of the movie. So it’s left behind Rise of the Antichrist, a true story that hasn’t happened yet.unknown: 22:05

Yeah.SPEAKER_00: 22:06

So it makes you true, it makes you think. Yes, yes, it definitely does. Well, who do you think um will will like this movie?SPEAKER_01: 23:11

Oh uh I think I think thoughtful people. I think people who are a little bit unnerved perhaps by the way our culture is going, um, I think it will resonate with them and they will maybe feel like they’ve learned something as well as been entertained. But I think I mean the movie has broad appeal because it’s just entertaining, it’s just a good thriller. Um, it’s sort of like who who would like the Avatar movie? Uh people who like movies. Or you know what I mean? Like I I don’t know. I I got a good combination of drama and yeah, it’s it’s a very the I think it has a very broad uh audience base. And so any by certainly anybody who likes the book series, this movie really brings it. Um you won’t be disappointed. You won’t go, that’s not like in the book or whatever.SPEAKER_00: 24:15

Yeah.SPEAKER_01: 24:16

Uh so I guess, but I think that the movie will really resonate with people who are, you know, a little bit awake to what’s happening in our world today. Um, and people who are searching certainly, yes, uh more specifically.SPEAKER_00: 24:35

Yes, yes, absolutely. I think it will exceed your expectations for sure. Well, I guess if you had to kind of wrap it up, what do you hope that people seeing it will actually take away?SPEAKER_01: 24:51

I hope they get saved. I mean, that’s really what I that’s that’s my hope. That’s not why I I that’s not the whole purpose of the film, but that would be my my personal hope. Um, I think that and and you know, by saved, don’t we just mean that people would know the truth? Um, and I mean that in a very in the in the broadest sense, right? Because um in the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God. And Jesus said when Pilate asked him why he had come, he he said, I came to bear witness to the truth. He is the truth, right? And so we just hope that people have truth in their lives, that they stop lying to themselves and to each other. Um and and I think that’s been sort of my a little bit my mission my entire life is in pursuit of truth. Because otherwise, why learn anything if you’re not learning the truth, if you’re just learning a lie, what’s the point? Yeah, so I guess I guess that’s what I mean by people are saved, that they learn truth because the truth will always lead you to God. Yeah, um, it certainly did me.SPEAKER_00: 26:11

So yeah, and the truth can set you free, and so many people have great testimonies to that.SPEAKER_01: 26:17

And and the truth is freedom. That’s that is freedom. That’s what it that’s that’s what it is. So yeah.SPEAKER_00: 26:25

Oh, well, I’m so excited for this movie to come out. Where can audiences go to find information about the movie and get the tickets?SPEAKER_01: 26:34

Easy peasy. Go to leftbehindmovie.com and um just just click on tickets and you can buy the tickets, and it’ll take you to the ticket sales website, and it’s all set up for you.SPEAKER_00: 26:48

So I love your suggestion. I never thought of like getting the link and sending it to all your friends, and let’s just meet up. I think it’s a good thing.SPEAKER_01: 26:56

Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be like a huge party at the theaters, it’s gonna be a huge party because everybody’s gonna know every well, every basically most people will know other people, like you’ll just see you’ll see your friends there. And then I think I’m sure that the people I sent it to sent it to other people to also see them. And in fact, um, there’s a group of us that’s good. We’re gonna go out to dinner afterwards or before. I can’t remember um however it works out with the scheduling of the film. Uh, so that’ll be fun too. But I think we’re gonna fill up a restaurant, which will make them happy.SPEAKER_00: 27:33

Yes. Oh, how fun. Well, before we go, I want to ask you some of our favorite Bible study tool questions because people are always curious to know what Bible is your go-to Bible and what translation is it?SPEAKER_01: 27:49

So, my go-to Bible sits on my kitchen table because I do Bible with my kids most mornings. And I started this practice years ago. I felt inadequate to teach my children Christianity. I came to Christianity later in life, um, after my teens, shortly after my teens. So, not too late in life, but late enough for me to feel completely inadequate to teaching my children Christianity. And so we started with uh community Bible study, which was a very well-known, very large uh Bible study group. And they had, because I home educated my children, they had a homeschool sort of section of the Bible. So I would bring my kids to our Bible study, they would go and do theirs, I would do mine, they coordinated so we were in the same book at the same time, and then um we would prepare our Bible studies together. We’d sit at the kitchen table and we’d fill in our little worksheets or whatever they gave you, answer the questions. And we did that for several years, and then I got too busy because I had to put a movie in theaters, and I was like, wow, this is I can’t I can’t give up three hours on a Thursday morning anymore. And so, and at the same time, I had somebody who was, I don’t know, decided to pour into me, I guess, and say, you know, you should read the Bible with your kids every day. Are you reading the Bible with your kids every day? And I was like, Well, not really. I mean, we do the Bible study and that’s really good, but yeah, we tend to like do all of our Bible study on Wednesday for Thursday morning, you know. And so I just I thought, you know, she’s right though. What if I instead of cramming on Wednesday night everything for Thursday morning? What if we just read the Bible? And so that’s what I tell people now. You think you can’t teach the Bible? There’s a really good book, it’s a bestseller, it’s called the Bible. Yeah, you just read it, yeah. So we use a MacArthur version that is annotated uh very nicely. I really like it. It was given to me as a gift. It’s um it’s uh English standard version. Okay. I also like the NIV, um, but I but I quite like this version. And uh um, so we do so we do Bible study pretty much every morning, and um and it’s been an amazing journey to read through the Bible with my children. They’re all Bible reading kids. Um, they at one time or another have each initiated a Bible study uh for them for their own peers, for their friends. Um and I just I thank I thank God that I had the impetus to get that started when they were young enough. Yeah, I don’t know, we did maybe three or four years of CBS before I I was just compelled, like it the the the chips fell, fell, you know. Yeah, yeah, coincidence is another word for God, uh, you know, and and um it’s just been an enormous blessing. And so I’m a home learning advocate, so I don’t advocate homeschool, but home learning, which runs parallel, but it’s not school because school is so detrimental for kids. Um, and so I teach on that. And one of the things that I tell parents is, you know, education is doctrinal. You should be instilling your doctrine in your children. And if you send your children away from you, someone else will put their doctrine in there. And so uh, so I call it home learning. And um, the Bible study has been a huge part of my learning experience to come to the views that I have today, which I think, you know, over time I’ve gotten closer and closer to the truth. Um, so that I feel like I’m hovering over it right now, like I’m right there. Uh, and it’s very exciting.SPEAKER_00: 32:02

Oh, I love that you do that with your kids. And that MacArthur Bible is a great Bible. That my husband actually has that one. So nice. How about journaling supplies? Do you have anything that you like to use to enhance your Bible study experience?SPEAKER_01: 32:18

I don’t journal. That’s not something I did for years, um, but I’ve fallen away from it because um I just there’s too much else that I have to do. I write a lot because I’m a writer. Oh, yeah. Uh, and so that’s just not that’s not my forte. I was never into all the colored pens or whatever. Now my daughter, uh yeah, she does a lot. And she has so well, she’s an artist, so she has all the art supplies. She does watercolor in her journals, like she’s like way out there. So yeah.SPEAKER_00: 32:55

Oh, I love that. She would love coffee and Bible time. All right. So last question. What is your favorite app or website for Bible study tools?SPEAKER_01: 33:05

So I just have the Bible app on my phone. Um, but I don’t, I don’t I use it if I need a Bible and I’m out and I need to look something up in the Bible. Um, and I also use the websites um Bible Gateway, and uh there’s another one that always pops up. Um, but they’re not really my go-to. I really like the book. I like I like the folding it. Yeah.SPEAKER_00: 33:30

So oh well, thanks for sharing. Sam, it’s just been such a blessing to talk to you today to speak about the the movie with our audience. So thank you. Thank you for having me. Yes, it’s just such a huge blessing that people like you and Kevin continue to bring us biblically based movies to enjoy with our family and friends. So we are so grateful. And we just, I know people are looking forward to seeing this movie and and seeing what else might be coming in the future to the faith-based entertainment. Thank you.SPEAKER_01: 34:08

Thank you so much for having me. And if anybody wants any information on the home learning or my playbook for home learning, they can go to samstorbo.com. Such a pleasure to be here with you today.SPEAKER_00: 34:18

Oh, yes, absolutely. We will definitely include that in the links in our show notes. Well, lastly, friends, head over to the Coffee and Bible Time website, and we would love to have you be a part of our community. Thank you for joining us on our podcast today. We love you all. Have a blessed day.