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Rayford Steele is a fictional character and the chief protagonist in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Rayford was born 42 YBR (years before Rapture) in Belvidere, Illinois to working-class parents. While growing up in The Rising Rayford is embarrassed by his family's low socioeconomic status and his parents' relative old age, and he makes it his goal to attend college and become either a professional athlete or a pilot. He eventually obtains an Air Force ROTC scholarship to attend Purdue University; while there, he meets a fellow ROTC cadet two years his junior, Irene. They fall in love and marry in the spring of his senior year, and just a year later, his daughter Chloe is born. Over the next several years, he leaves the Air Force and begins working as a pilot for Pan-Continental Airlines; when he is thirty, he and Irene unexpectedly have a son, Raymie.

Though raised in a churchgoing family, Rayford, throughout the prequels, cannot conceive of “faith” being anything more than attending church, trying to be a good person, and helping one another, nor can he imagine what is meant by a "personal relationship" with Christ.

Three years after Raymie is born, Rayford has a brush with death when he nearly collides with another airplane while landing at LAX, and he impulsively promises God that he will go to church and pray more regularly; on the same night, Irene, after talking to a neighborhood friend, becomes a born-again Christian. They are soon at odds over her newfound faith and he reneges on his promises to God. Though his job at Pan-Con enables him to afford a large house and expensive cars, he is finds that these material things do not bring him the satisfaction he had expected, and he increasingly withdraws into himself, sullen at Irene’s constant pushing him to "receive Jesus as his Savior." As a father, he is pleased with Chloe’s questioning, independent streak, and though he loves Raymie, he is dissatisfied with what he perceives as the boy’s soft and overly compassionate nature – as well as the enthusiasm he shares with Irene for everything church-related.

By the time of the Rapture, Rayford is a self-described (afterward) “negligent father and lustful husband with a roving eye,” on the verge of an affair with his senior flight attendant, Hattie Durham. He is piloting an overnight flight to London when the Rapture happens, and in the ensuing chaos, he returns home to find – as he feared – that Irene and Raymie are among the missing, for his wife had often told him how she anticipated Jesus “calling his people home.” In desperation, he goes to Irene’s church, New Hope Village Church, to find only one member of the staff left – the visitation pastor, Bruce Barnes, who has already realized his error and urges Rayford to “receive Christ” as well. While watching a pre-made videotape left by the Raptured pastor of the church, Rayford finally acknowledges his sinfulness and accepts Christ as his Savior. He is thrilled when Chloe soon does the same, and together under Barnes's tutelage, they form the Tribulation Force to face the travails of the next seven years and to counter the plans of the Antichrist, who is soon revealed to be the new head of the United Nations, Nicolae Carpathia.

Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Rayford becomes Carpathia's personal pilot, and he marries Amanda White, takes over as the leader of the Tribulation Force after Barnes dies in World War III, and moves to New Babylon, the seat of Carpathia's new world government. While his wife, Amanda, flies to New Babylon, the Wrath of the Lamb earthquake occurs. He later finds her body in a plane submerged in the Tigris River. Carpathia's operatives attempt to discredit Amanda by planting false evidence that she was a mole for Nicolae's regime but Rayford sees through the subterfuge.

After a botched plan in Denver, Colorado, Rayford is looked on with suspicion by the Global Community. During an assignment in Jerusalem, his copilot and friend that he led to Christ Mac McCullum tells him to flee. Rayford catches a ride with Christian charter pilot Ken Ritz back to the new Trib Force safe house near Chicago.

Rayford soon dreams to be the one who will kill Carpathia, and goes as far as buying the Sabre gun from Albie just to do it. As he places himself during Carpathia's speech, he chokes, unable to go through with his plan. Although the weapon goes off, it misses Carpathia, giving the real murderer time to do the job himself.

Rayford Steele is the only original surviving member of the Tribulation Force left when Jesus returns to the earth.