Tribulation Force

By Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Tyndale House, $12.99

ISBN 0842329218

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Audio available on 2 cassettes
Abridged, $14.99

Audio ISBN 0842317872

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Review by Stephanie C. Strunk

Imagine the awesome responsibility of being a new believer in the perilous times of the Tribulation. After the fear and grief of witnessing the Rapture of your loved ones, you are left behind with the realization of the truth which the majority of the world still denies. The new world leader promises peace and the nations are enamored of him, but as much as you'd like to trust him, you know the truth -- he is the Antichrist foretold in Scripture, and the peace is a deception and a prerequisite for the terror to come.

This is the situation facing a group of new believers who call themselves The Tribulation Force as this gripping novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins opens. The Force includes Rayford Steele, an airline pilot, his 20-year-old daughter, Chloe, and Bruce Barnes, former visitation pastor who repents of his phony faith and becomes a Christian and a Bible study leader of this core group "determined to challenge the forces of evil during the Tribulation period predicted in the Bible." Cameron "Buck" Williams, a senior staff writer for a prestigious news magazine assigned to make sense of the worldwide disappearances, comes to Christ and later joins the group as its fourth member.

As strange as it may seem, the four members of the Force are the only ones on the planet who know United Nations Secretary Nicolai Carpathia's identity as the Antichrist with certainty, although others may suspect him. Rayford and Buck are pressed into service for him, positions they reluctantly accept only after much prayer and with the desire to forward the cause of Christ. The authors hauntingly weave everyday concerns into the lives of the members of the Force. The rest of the world tries to go on with business as usual while prophecies continue to be fulfilled. The Antichrist assures the world of peace as he strives for a one-world government, one-world religion, one-world currency, ownership of the world's media, and disarmament of the nations.

The Antichrist's power of mind control is frighteningly illustrated throughout the book. In the beginning, he convinces an assemblage at the United Nations meeting room that they witnessed a murder/suicide when they actually witnessed a double murder with him presiding. In another vivid illustration, the U.S. President denounces the U.N. Secretary General's ways one minute and becomes his puppet the next.

A sequel to LaHaye and Jenkins' best-selling novel Left Behind, The Tribulation Force also stands alone as a great read. The fictionalized presentation gives readers a fresh understanding to the Tribulation period; yet its basis in Scripture sets it apart from others in the genre. Since this account leaves us at the beginning of the Tribulation, look for another book by this talented duo in the near future.

Stephanie C. Strunk reads voraciously at her home in Eubank, KY.