John Preston

John Preston was one of the members of The Young Tribulation Force and a minor character in the Left Behind: The Kids series. He was one of the first non-original YTF members and a tribulation martyr.

Biography[]

After the Rapture[]

He and his cousin Mark Eisman met Judd Thompson Jr. on their first day at Nicolae Carpathia High School. Coach Handlesman confiscated his and Mark Eisman's Bibles during an assembly that day. John and Mark later helped Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan to distribute The Underground newspaper at that school. John was temporarily at risk, because he was on the newspaper staff at Nicolae Carpathia High School. John and Mark were in a meeting about how the newspaper managed to be distributed around the school, but Vicki pulled the fire alarm to end that meeting.

John graduated from Nicolae High in book 8 after repeating his senior year. He left Mount Prospect in Into the Storm for college. He remained there until he was drafted by the GC after the earthquake. The Global Community were looking to draft people that could walk and work at one of their naval bases. John was assigned to the Global Community ship The Peacekeeper One, which was headed to the Atlantic Ocean. It was on this ship that he met Carl Meninger. John had found mug shots of Judd, Vicki, and Lionel. John found out from Judd about the deaths of Chaya Stein and Ryan Daley. In book 16, John watches as Jim Pelton rescues five hostages from a pirate ship. When a meteor is about to hit the Atlantic Ocean, John sacrifices his life to save Carl Meninger's life during the second trumpet judgment by giving up his spot on the escape submarine for him. After the submarine heads for the bottom of the ocean, John speaks to everyone on the entire ship about God and Jesus, and a handful of the crew members believe. John is then thrown into the brig, but Jim Pelton orders his release. John then continues talking to everyone on the ship about God. After sending his last message to the other members of the Young Tribulation Force, John then prays with the other believers on the ship just before the ship plunges into the ocean when the meteor hits, killing everyone that was on the ship. John drowns with the other fallen crew members on the Peacekeeper One. John then entered heaven, seeing blessed light.

John is mentioned in Terror in the Stadium and thought of and mentioned in books 18, 19, and 20. He is thought of in books 24, 25, and 27. John is briefly mentioned in The Perils of Love. In book 39, it is revealed that Mark never really got over his death. After Mark dies, Judd thinks about when he first met John and Mark and all they had been through together.

In book 40, he is resurrected along with the other tribulation martyrs. He is the third to be called in the honoring of the martyrs, following Bruce Barnes and Mark.

Interactions[]

He was close friends with Judd Thompson Jr. and Vicki Byrne. He also was friends with Lionel Washington, Ryan Daley, and Shelly Malloy. Additional friends include Chaya Stein, Bruce Barnes, Carl Meninger, and Jim Pelton. He disliked Laverne Jenness and had a conflict with Coach Greg Handlesman, but the two were on good terms at the time of his death. John was very close with Mark, and the latter never got over John's death.

Appearances[]

Left Behind: The Kids

5. Nicolae High (first appearance)
6. The Underground
7. Busted!
8. Death Strike
9. The Search (voice)
11. Into the Storm
15. Battling the Commander (voice)
16. Fire from Heaven (only POVs, death)
40. Triumphant Return (resurrected)

Mentions[]

Left Behind: The Kids

12. Earthquake!
13. The Showdown
14. Judgment Day
17. Terror in the Stadium
18. Darkening Skies
19. Attack of Apollyon
20. A Dangerous Plan
24. Uplink from the Underground
25. Death at the Gala
27. Wildfire!
38. The Perils of Love (John was not named)
39. The Road to War

Trivia[]

Most of John's family was taken in the Rapture except for his aunt, Mark, and himself.
John's first appearance was in book 5.
John's death was in book 16.
John and Mark repeated their senior year at Nicolae Carpathia High School. The reason why is unknown. It is possible, however, that all the seniors in their grade had missed so many days of school because of the disappearances, forcing them all to repeat the 12th grade.
John's only POVs were in book 16.
John and Mark were both 17 years old when the Rapture occurred, making them the oldest named students at Nicolae Carpathia High School.
The Search, the 9th book of the series, is the only book in which John appeared without Mark.
During the second trumpet judgment, the captain of the Peacekeeper One drew seven names to pick the Peacekeeper One crew members that would occupy Peacekeeper One's small submarine. John Preston's name was the sixth name to be called. John refused to enter the submarine, however, and allowed future believer and Young Tribulation Force member Carl Meninger to have his seat and survive.
John was a believer before the Tribulation began.
John received Vicki's message when Alice Weems tried to trap the Young Tribulation Force.
Bruce Barnes is the only member of the adult Tribulation Force to have any interaction with John.
John is the second Young Tribulation Force member whose first name begins with the letter "J", the first being Judd Thompson Jr.
John shares the same initials as fellow believer and Peacekeeper One crew member as Jim Pelton.
John shares the same first name as John Mallory, former vice president of the United States.
John shares the same first name as John McCarty, another believer.
John was the first crew member of The Peacekeeper One to become a believer.
John was the only fallen Young Tribulation Force member to be drafted by the Global Community.
John is one of two martyred Young Tribulation Force members that worked for the Global Community. The other one was Natalie Bishop.
John and Chaya were the only members of the Young Tribulation Force not to be on the run from the Global Community.
John is one of the least spoken of members in The Young Tribulation Force.
John drove Judd Thompson Jr. and Bruce Barnes to the airport for their first trip to Israel together.
John estimated that 500 students at Prospect High School were taken in the Rapture.
John and Mark were both attending a church in Arlington Heights before attending New Hope Village Church.
John's aunt died at the same makeshift hospital Ryan Daley died in.
John's aunt outlived him by at least eleven weeks.
John's aunt survived the earthquake but died from her injuries shortly after Trumpet Judgment #3.
John is the earliest Young Tribulation Force member to not be involved in any hugs in the series.
John is the first male YTF member that had his final line in his own POV.
John was the only YTF member that attended Nicolae Carpathia High School that also expressed interest in attending college.
John is mentioned less times than Mark in the series.
John was impressed by the outlook of the Atlantic Ocean.
John shares the same first name as John McCarty, another believer.
John is the first martyred Young Tribulation Force member whose death was not caused by the Wrath of the Lamb earthquake.
John did not approve of his cousin Mark Eisman getting involved with the militia's rebellion against the Global Community and advised him against doing so.
John is the first non-original male Young Tribulation Force member to die.
John was the only Young Tribulation Force member from the United States to die outside of the States.
John gave Ryan Daley the idea to name his dog Phoenix.
Fire from Heaven, the 16th book in the Left Behind: The Kids series, is the only book in the series in which John's name appears in the synopsis.
John is the first non-original YTF member whose name appeared in the synopsis of one of the books. This happened in Fire from Heaven, the 16th book in the Left Behind: The Kids series.
John was the first former student from Nicolae Carpathia High School to die.
John is the earliest YTF member not to have any interaction with Tom Fogarty.
John was the only YTF member who had POVs in only one book in the Left Behind: The Kids series.
John is only one of two characters in the Left Behind: The Kids series to have POVs in only one book. The other character was Phoenix.
It is unknown what college John was attending until he was drafted by the Global Community.
It can be assumed that John inherited his knowledge and expertise about computers and technology from his father, Mr. Preston.
Of all the Young Tribulation Force members that had POVs, John had the smallest role.
John was not arrested by the Global Community up until his last hour alive on earth.
John was the youngest named crew member of The Peacekeeper One.
Both John and Mark were forced to work for the Global Community. The only difference is that Mark was temporarily helping to fix the Global Community satellites and was able to escape while John served the Global Community Navy until his death.
John and Mark both created an untraceable website for the YTF.
John indirectly revealed to Judd Thompson Jr. the truth of what happened to the bank account belonging to the latter's father.
John initially scoffed when he heard from Carl Meninger about Trumpet Judgment #2, sarcastically saying, "Big deal."
John is the first Young Tribulation Force member in whose POV heaven is shown. This happened in Fire from Heaven, the 16th book of the Left Behind: The Kids series.
John was the earliest non-original Young Tribulation Force member not to be listed in any of the introductions in books 29 through 40, due to being deceased.
John is one of the three Young Tribulation Force members to be mentioned the least amount of times in the series, the other two being Tom Gowin and Luke Gowin.
Of the three members of the Eisman-Preston family that were left behind at the Rapture, John was the first one to die.
John is the only Young Tribulation Force member that had his very first POV in the same book that he died in. This happened in Fire from Heaven, the 16th book of the Left Behind: The Kids series.
John is the second Young Tribulation Force member to have blond hair. The first was Ryan Daley.
John is the first Young Tribulation Force member to leave Illinois without ever returning.
John is the first non-original Young Tribulation Force member to leave the United States before the Glorious Appearing. The second was Carl Meninger.
John is the only Young Tribulation Force member to die as a result of one of the trumpet judgments.
John is the only Young Tribulation Force member to have been given permission by loyal Global Community workers to speak to others about God.
John is the first Young Tribulation Force member that directly sacrificed his life to save someone else.
John is the first Young Tribulation Force member to die outside of Illinois.
John is the first YTF member that died after the seal of God was placed on the foreheads of the believers.
John is the only martyred YTF member whose body was never recovered.
John is the only YTF member to drown to death.
John is the first martyred YTF member not to be given a proper burial.
John is the second male Young Tribulation Force member to die.
John is the last martyred Young Tribulation Force member that was not murdered by someone else.
John is one of two Young Tribulation Force members to die outside of the United States, the other was Nada Ameer.
John is one of three Young Tribulation Force members to give a farewell message just before his death. The other two were Ryan Daley and Mark Eisman.
John and Chaya were the only members of the Young Tribulation Force to attend college. Neither of them were college graduates.
John was a first-year engineering student when he was drafted by the Global Community.
The last words of both John and Mark were prayers to God before their respective deaths.
John never interacted with Darrion Stahley despite the fact they were both believers and Young Tribulation Force members at the same time.
In the dramatic audio presentation, one of the last things John says before he dies is, "When the times comes for you to die, make sure that's all you have to do. Well, that's all I need to do."
In the dramatic audio presentation, just before John dies, he gives Mark some advice when he says "I know you have a lot of ideas about fighting the enemy, but you got to let God handle it."
In the dramatic audio presentation, John verbally interacted with Judd, Vicki, Lionel, Mark, and Carl before his death. In the book. John only interacts with Carl and Mark.
In the dramatic audio presentation, John's death is never shown. All that can be heard is a video call that John has with Mark just before the former's death.