Novel: Tribulation Force

Overview

Tribulation Force, the second novel in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, continues the story of those who remain on Earth after the sudden global disappearance of millions. It follows an emerging band of new believers who organize themselves as a covert spiritual resistance dedicated to surviving, witnessing, and opposing the rise of a charismatic world leader they identify as the Antichrist. The book blends political intrigue, prophecy-driven suspense, and intimate character drama as the world settles into a new order and the first phase of the seven-year Tribulation looms.

Setting and premise

In the wake of unprecedented upheaval, Nicolae Carpathia consolidates international authority through the United Nations, reshaping it into a single global system and partitioning the world into ten regions. He promotes disarmament and economic integration, champions a rebuilt international capital in the Middle East, and positions himself as a peacemaker after brokering a landmark agreement that stabilizes Israel. Meanwhile, two mysterious street preachers in Jerusalem command global attention with apocalyptic warnings and inexplicable power. Against this backdrop, a small fellowship in the Chicago suburbs studies biblical prophecy and prepares for escalating judgments.

Plot

Rayford Steele, an airline captain whose wife and son vanished, commits to serving Christ and to infiltrating the new regime by accepting a post as Carpathia’s personal pilot. The proximity gives the group valuable access but confronts Rayford with moral peril, constant surveillance, and the need for restraint in the presence of a man he believes to be supernaturally deceptive. His former colleague Hattie Durham is drawn into Carpathia’s inner circle, and Rayford struggles between concern for her soul and the danger of revealing his true loyalties.

Cameron “Buck” Williams, an investigative journalist who also embraced faith after the disappearances, stays in the media to track Carpathia’s consolidation of power. Navigating newsroom politics and the pressure to toe the global line, Buck cultivates sources, learns to recognize manipulation, and risks his career to preserve truth-telling. His relationship with Chloe Steele, Rayford’s daughter, deepens from cautious friendship to commitment; their growing trust and partnership become an anchor for the scattered group.

Under the teaching of Bruce Barnes, the survivors at New Hope Church formalize themselves as the “Tribulation Force.” They devote themselves to prayer, study, preparedness, and quiet evangelism while keeping watch on prophetic milestones: the strengthening of a one-world government, the rise of ten regional rulers, the protection of Israel, and the ministry of the two witnesses in Jerusalem. The Force members accept that open confrontation is premature; their mission is patient endurance, gathering intelligence from within the system, and readiness for the judgments that prophecy says will follow.

As Carpathia accelerates his agenda, the circle tightens around anyone who resists the emerging orthodoxy. Yet amid the growing threat, Buck and Chloe marry in a simple ceremony, a defiant affirmation of hope and community. Rayford steps fully into his covert role, determined to use every flight and conversation to discern the regime’s plans. The book closes with the Force more tightly knit, their cover roles secured, and the stage set for the opening waves of catastrophe.

Themes

Tribulation Force explores discernment in a world of spectacle and spin, the tension between public compliance and private conviction, and the cost of discipleship under an authoritarian order. Family is rebuilt from the ashes of loss; love, marriage, and mentorship become acts of resistance. The novel emphasizes that courage may look like patience, that infiltration can be a calling, and that prophecy provides both a roadmap and a steadying hope as the global story darkens.