Tribulation Force

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Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind
Tribulation Force Paperback.jpg
The Current Edition Paperback Cover
Author Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Cover artistChris Butler
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Left Behind Series
Genre Christian
Speculative fiction
Apocalyptic fiction
Publisher Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date
October 1996
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback) also Graphic Novel
Pages450 pages
ISBN 0-8423-2913-7 (hardcover), ISBN   0-8423-2921-8 (paperback)
OCLC 34958733
813/.54 20
LC Class PS3562.A315 T75 1996
Preceded by Left Behind  
Followed by Nicolae  

Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind (1996) is the second novel in the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It takes place from two weeks after the Rapture to 18 months into the Tribulation.

Contents

Plot introduction

In a series of events that followed the Rapture, in which Jesus Christ takes away members of His church from Earth, some find themselves left behind. Eventually they meet at New Hope Village Church, located in the suburbs of Chicago. They then meet from time to time and become immersed in study of prophecies contained in the Bible. Their study reveals that the Antichrist will establish control of the Earth, and the Tribulation period lasting seven years will start after his covenant with Israel. Jesus Christ's second coming will fall on the end of the Tribulation.

In the course of their study, some characters in the novel form a core group which Chloe Steele christens the "Tribulation Force", dedicated to fight the seven years' war with the Antichrist.

Plot summary

Rayford Steele, Chloe Steele, Buck Williams and Bruce Barnes find themselves left behind. This group of believers, as well as others left behind but becoming believers, are otherwise known as "Tribulation Saints", to differentiate from the pre-Rapture designation of Christian. The question of what to do in response to this radical change in situation arises. They propose to fight the perceived threat that Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia poses in the form of eradicating all religion and establishing a single world religion. The dogma consists of the notion that "there is no heaven nor hell, just [the left-behind]."

Upon being demoted at the end of the first novel, Buck moves to Chicago for his new job. He considers a relationship with Chloe Steele, debating whether or not it is worthwhile at this point in history. This leads to a misunderstanding which is eventually resolved. Buck is invited to visit Carpathia at the United Nations in New York City, where he is instituting radical changes. He tells Buck he is planning to buy all media and wants Buck to head one of the newspapers. Upon his new assistant's (Hattie Durham) recommendation, Carpathia also manipulates Rayford to become his head pilot, wanting only the best. Both Rayford and Buck are present for the signing of the treaty between the UN and Israel.

Nicolae twists the message of world-famous rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah about Messiah, in order to point to himself as thus. Buck flies to Jerusalem to meet Ben-Judah and present him to the two witnesses (described in Revelation) stationed at the United Nations-blockaded Wailing Wall. He converts to Christianity, believing that Jesus is the one and only Messiah; thus disproving Carpathia.

During the prophesied eighteen months of peace following the covenant with Israel, Chloe and Buck are married, along with Rayford and new believer Amanda White, a friend of Rayford's first wife Irene. However, both Buck, who becomes publisher of Global Community Weekly, formerly Global Weekly, and Rayford, who is handpicked to pilot Carpathia's jet, are in the distressing position of watching Carpathia, now Supreme Potentate of the U.N. - now reorganized into the Global Community- strengthen his grip on the world, witnessing how he orchestrates World War III to bring the former world powers under his heel and how he bamboozles Israeli botanist Chaim Rosenzweig into giving the GC his illustrious Eden formula for a GC-guaranteed peace treaty with Israel, thus initiating the Tribulation. As World War III breaks out, the Tribulation Force suffers its first casualty in the death of their pastor, Bruce Barnes, who was killed in a bombing in the now-decimated city of Chicago. [1]

Characters in Tribulation Force

Major book themes

Christian prophetic themes are explored in a fictional context taking a particular position on such topics as the Second Coming, the Antichrist, the Tribulation, and the Millennium.

Film adaptation

The story in this book has been adapted into two feature films in the same film franchise. The novel was adapted into Left Behind II: Tribulation Force and was produced by Cloud Ten Pictures. This second film in the Left Behind film series did not complete the entire story of the novel, so it was needed to make a third film based on the last few chapters of Tribulation Force, Cloud Ten Pictures did this with the third film in the Left Behind Series, Left Behind: World at War .

Related Research Articles

<i>Left Behind: World at War</i> 2005 American film

Left Behind: World at War is a 2005 American apocalyptic Christian thriller film and the third in the series of films based on the Left Behind book series. It was directed by Craig R. Baxley and produced by Cloud Ten Pictures. The film premiered in churches on October 21, 2005, before its release on DVD and VHS on October 25, 2005. It was based primarily on the last fifty pages of the 1996 novel Tribulation Force and is currently the concluding film in the Left Behind film series, as a new adaption of the first book was made and released on October 3, 2014.

<i>Nicolae</i> (novel)

Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist is the third book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1997 and was published on Wednesday, October 1 of that year. It takes place 18–21 months into the Tribulation.

<i>Left Behind II: Tribulation Force</i> 2002 American film

Left Behind II: Tribulation Force is a 2002 Christian apocalyptic/thriller film, and the second in a series of films based on the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was produced and distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures and Namesake Entertainment. The film was directed by Bill Corcoran, and stars Kirk Cameron and Brad Johnson. It was released directly to home video on October 29, 2002. The film's executive producer was Andre Van Heerden.

<i>Soul Harvest</i>

Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides is the fourth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1999. It takes place 21–27 months into the Tribulation.

<i>Assassins</i> (LaHaye novel)

Assassins: Assignment:Jerusalem, Target:Antichrist is the sixth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1999. It was released in August 1999 and was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 39 weeks. It takes place 38–42 months into the Tribulation.

<i>The Indwelling</i>

The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession is the seventh book in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, published in May 2000. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 35 weeks. It takes place 42 months into the Tribulation and at the end of the novel 3 days into the Great Tribulation.

<i>The Mark</i> (novel)

The Mark: The Beast Rules the World is the eighth book in the Left Behind series. It was published in November 2000 by Tyndale House. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 32 weeks. It takes place 42 months into the Tribulation and 3–25 days into the Great Tribulation.

<i>The Remnant</i> (novel)

The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon is the tenth book in the Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins and published in July 2002. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 19 weeks. It takes place from 43 months to 6 years into the Tribulation and a month to 2+12 years into the Great Tribulation.

<i>Armageddon</i> (novel)

Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages is the 11th novel in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was first published in April 2003. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 20 weeks. It takes place 6–7 years into the Tribulation, 2+12 to 3+12 years into the Great Tribulation, and at the end of the novel the day of the Glorious Appearing.

<i>Glorious Appearing</i>

Glorious Appearing: The End of Days is the 12th book in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Released on Tuesday, March 30, 2004, this book sees the surviving believers awaiting the return of Jesus Christ as the war of Armageddon and the seven-year Tribulation period draws to its climax. It was on The New York Times Best Seller list for 22 weeks.

<i>The Rapture</i> (novel) Book by Tim LaHaye

The Rapture: In the Twinkling of an Eye/Countdown to the Earth's Last Days is the 3rd prequel novel in the Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 2006. This book is the final of the three prequels and covers events leading up to the first book Left Behind. The narrative of the novel The Rapture includes events that take place during the first chapters of Left Behind and provides a backdrop story for the book Left Behind. The book was released on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 (6/6/6), which is the Number of the Beast, a concept that plays a large part later in the series. It takes place from 14 months before to the day of the Rapture.

<i>Left Behind: The Movie</i> 2000 Canadian film

Left Behind is a 2000 Canadian-American religious thriller film directed by Vic Sarin and starring Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Gordon Currie, and Clarence Gilyard. The film was based on the best-selling 1995 Christian eschatological end-times novel of the same name written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, adapted for the screen by Alan B. McElroy. The film was released first direct-to-video, followed by a limited theatrical release.

<i>Left Behind</i> (novel) 1995 novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days is a best-selling novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins that starts the Left Behind series. This book and others in the series give narrative form to a specific eschatological reading of the Christian Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation inspired by dispensationalism and premillennialism. It was released on Sunday, December 31, 1995. The events take place the day of the Rapture and the two weeks following.

<i>Apollyon</i> (novel)

Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed is the fifth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1998. It was published on Monday, February 1, 1999, and was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 20 weeks. It takes place 27–38 months into the Tribulation.

<i>The Regime</i> (novel)

The Regime: Evil Advances/Before They Were Left Behind is the second prequel novel in the Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was released on Tuesday, November 15, 2005. This book covers more events leading up to the first novel Left Behind. It takes place from 9 years to 14 months before the Rapture.

<i>Desecration</i> (novel)

Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne is the ninth book in the Left Behind series. It was published on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 by Tyndale House. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 19 weeks, and was the best selling novel in the world in 2001. It takes place 42–43 months into the Tribulation and 25 days to a month into the Great Tribulation.

<i>Kingdom Come</i> (LaHaye novel)

Kingdom Come: The Final Victory is the sixteenth and final book of the Left Behind series, released on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. It takes place from the day after the Glorious Appearing to the last day of the Millennium.

Rayford Steele is a fictional character and the de facto protagonist in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. He is the leader of the group known as the Tribulation Force, and is the most fully developed character in the series.

Chloe Steele is a fictional character from the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Chloe was a junior at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, during the vanishing of millions of people during the Rapture.

References

  1. Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins copyright 1996