From the end of the world to New Testament beginnings. The authors of the controversial but best-selling apocalyptic"Left Behind" series have gone back in time.

In a new series, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins take on the four evangelists, starting with the John, the youngest and the one who lived the longest.

"We really went to the other end of the Biblical calendar," Jenkins said from his office in Colorado."Really, everything we've written, especially together, is based on Christ so this fits in with that emphasis even though its 2000 years in advance of the 'Left Behind' setting."

The new series is a departure from the"Left Behind" books which now number 12 plus three prequels and a final sequel, cataloging doomsday chaos and world conflict attending the"rapture," the time when many Christians believe the faithful will be swept off the earth and into heaven.

The series also spawned a video game with 63 million books, cassettes, videos and related products sold in 32 languages, -- all but 1.7 million of them in the United States.