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Nicolae Carpathia becomes the focus as he continues to consolidate his power, unifying political states ("Global Community"), media ("Global Community Network," "Global Weekly"), and religions ("Enigma Babylon One World Faith") under a Nicolae-appointed supreme pontiff. Nicolae himself is grand potentate of the global community.

Our heroes, pilot Rayford Steele and journalist Buck Williams, along with the rest of the Tribulation Force, continue their struggle to survive and protect their families in the midst of global war and destruction. They have come to recognize Nicolae Carpathia to be the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible, and to them it comes as no great revelation that this man, who presented himself as a charming and benevolent leader, has been unmasked as a ruthless and cruel tyrant, manipulating people and events to serve his own ends. And his ends are undoubtedly evil.

It becomes apparent that the chaos and turmoil created by Nicolae are the fulfillment of John's prophesy of the seven seals as recorded in the book of Revelation. And it becomes also apparent they are now facing the sixth seal, a great earthquake which is sometimes called "the wrath of the lamb." This upheaval of the earth, with its accompanying death and destruction, is familiar apocalyptic imagery: a blood-red moon, a sun turned black, and the stars falling from the sky. And the Tribulation Force discovers that these incredible descriptions turn out to be not so very far from the truth.

When authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins first imagined Left Behind, their goal was to create "...the first fictional portrayal of events that are true to the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy." Left Behind began as a sleeper, starting slowly and building steadily, selling by word of mouth. Eventually the book became a bestseller and LaHaye and Jenkins discovered that the story would take more than one book to tell, so they continued the tale in Tribulation Force.

Set against the backdrop of the Rapture, in which Jesus has returned as promised to gather his followers and remove them from this world, the characters in Tribulation Force must confront life without their loved ones, struggle with evil unleashed on the world, and ultimately embrace God's truth for themselves.

Pilot Rayford Steele, his daughter Chloe, journalist Buck Williams, and pastor Bruce Barnes band together to study the Bible, pray, and support one another through this time of terror and uncertainty. They realize that Nicolae Carpathia is the prophesied Antichrist, as they watch him consolidate his power. Buck and Rayford find themselves employees of Nicolae, keeping their faith in Jesus secret so that they can continue to work and share their faith unhindered while secretly fighting the Antichrist with the other members of the tribulation force.

"The God who calls you to the ultimate sacrifice will also give you the power to endure it. No one can receive the mark of the beast by accident. It is a once-and-for-all decision that will forever condemn you to eternity without God," writes Tsion Ben-Judah in his daily newsletter with its cyberaudience of more than a billion. Heavenly power may be the only hope for the Tribulation Force, as it struggles to survive amidst new terrors, the death of more loved ones, and some unexpected twists in its plans.

It's a formidable challenge to keep the attention of an audience midway through a projected 12-volume series, but with their trademark blend of humor and gripping suspense, authors Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye continue to captivate readers with The Indwelling, the seventh installment of the Left Behind series.

Carpathia's funeral takes a hair-raising turn for the 4 million people who attend. Over the crowd looms the centerpiece of a new world religion, a 24-foot bronze statue of Carpathia, belching black smoke and demanding obedience. Woven through the fast-paced drama are the ongoing stories of people struggling amid the end-times mayhem: Chloe Williams wrestles with the moral implications of killing her toddler Kenny to avoid having him fall into enemy hands; her father Rayford Steele is brought face-to-face with the consequences of his pride. Dr. Chaim Rosenzweig, a prominent Jewish Israeli statesman, ponders a conversion to Christianity.