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. Characters in Tribulation Force Rayford Steele – main character, Pan-Continental Airlines pilot and new head of the "Tribulation Force" Chloe Steele Williams – daughter to Rayford, wife to "Buck" Buck Williams – news reporter and confidant to Nicolae Carpathia Bruce Barnes – spiritual guide to the "Trib' Force", dies in this book Amanda White (Steele) – new wife to Rayford Tsion Ben-Judah – rabbinical scholar Chaim Rosenzweig – Israeli statesman and botanist, created the Eden formula Steve Plank – former executive editor of Global Weekly, now chief press secretary to Carpathia Hattie Durham – former senior flight attendant with Pan-Con and Rayford, personal secretary of and romantically involved with Carpathia Global Community Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia Verna Zee, head of Chicago Global Weekly office Alice, receptionist at the Chicago Global Weekly office Nicholas "Nicky" Edwards, Pan-Con First Officer, later Captain Peter Cardinal Matthews, Archbishop of Cincinnati Earl Halliday, Pan-Con Pilot Marc Feinberg, rabbinical scholar Leonard Gustufson, President of Pan-Con Gerald Fitzhugh, President of the United States 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,