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The Mark (Left Behind)
Encyclopedia
The Mark: The Beast Rules the World is the eighth book in the Left Behind
series. It was published in late 2000 by Tyndale House
. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 32 weeks
and indwelt by Satan
himself. He plans to remodel his offices and add two floors to his palace, including a glass ceiling. He also demands that the people of the Global Community worship him. Statues of himself are erected for worship. He introduces Viv Ivins to the senior staff and tells them of the loyalty mark program. The Antichrist
declares that every single person on earth must receive his mark of loyalty
and worship his image or lose their head to the loyalty enforcement facilitator.
David Hassid finally finds out that his fiancée Annie Christopher
has been killed by lightning called down by GC Supreme Commander and False Prophet Leon Fortunato
.
Albie and Rayford Steele
run across Steve Plank, under the alias Pinkerton Stephens, at Boulder, CO, where Hattie has been taken. Steve tells them his conversion story; he became a believer during the Wrath of the Lamb Earthquake, surviving but losing much of his body. He now wears prosthetic body parts and uses a wheelchair. The three then carry out the incredible rescue of Hattie Durham
, who finally becomes a believer. Before they rescue her, she tries to hang herself in her room.
Terror comes to Christians
in Greece
as they are among the first to receive the death penalty for refusing the mark. Lukas Miklos loses his wife, his pastor, his pastor's wife and dozens of fellow Greek believers to the guillotine, while Cameron "Buck" Williams
, who is in Greece in disguise along with Albie, help two Greek teenagers escape the detention center. Meanwhile, back in the states, Gustaf Zuckermandel, Jr.
also known as Zeke, is distraught to find out that his father, whom everyone calls "Big Zeke", has suffered the same fate after being caught helping and supplying other believers (subversives, according to the GC).
In New Babylon
, David Hassid, Mac McCullum, Abdullah Smith, and Hannah Palemoon
plan to leave, taking Ming Toy's 17 year-old brother Chang Wong
(who is also a believer) along with them. But Chang, a computer prodigy, was brought by his parents to New Babylon, hoping to get him hired in Carpathia's forces. Determined to "make proud", Mr. Wong has Chang drugged, carried to the mark application site, and held down, even as he protests. But even after being given the mark of the beast against his will, Chang still has the mark of the believer clearly visible because he never "accepted" the mark of the beast. In this, David and Chang discover a great advantage: Chang can now be the new Tribulation Force mole in the GC Headquarters Palace as he can come, go, and trade freely. Meanwhile, the others plan a plane crash to deceive the GC into thinking they're dead while they join up with the Tribulation force to get ready for the massive exodus for believers which they call "Operation Eagle".
Everything reaches a climax when Carpathia announces that he will be returning to Jerusalem to occupy what he believes is his rightful house: the Jewish Temple
.
) in the Global Community
, the Antichrist
-headed world government
, is given a code that is also used when the Mark of the Beast is applied to Global Community loyalists. Each number is obtained from a mathematical expression involving three sixes, the number of the beast. (Example: a citizen from the United Carpathian States
would receive a 216 on his or her right hand or forehead).
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series. It was published in late 2000 by Tyndale House
Tyndale House
Tyndale House is a publisher founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Chicago. The book appeared under the title Living Letters, and received a television endorsement from Billy Graham...
. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 32 weeks
Plot summary
His Excellency Global Community Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia has been resurrectedResurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
and indwelt by Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
himself. He plans to remodel his offices and add two floors to his palace, including a glass ceiling. He also demands that the people of the Global Community worship him. Statues of himself are erected for worship. He introduces Viv Ivins to the senior staff and tells them of the loyalty mark program. The Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
declares that every single person on earth must receive his mark of loyalty
Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
and worship his image or lose their head to the loyalty enforcement facilitator.
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
David Hassid finally finds out that his fiancée Annie Christopher
Annie Christopher
Annie Christopher is a fictional character from the Left Behind series.Annie grew up in an atheist home in Canada. After losing some friends in the rapture she began searching but became a fan of Nicolae Carpathia...
has been killed by lightning called down by GC Supreme Commander and False Prophet Leon Fortunato
Leon Fortunato
Leonardo "Leon" Fortunato is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of Christian novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. He is in fact the False Prophet, and he is a key member of the inner circle of Nicolae Carpathia, businessman, financier, politician and Antichrist.-Character...
.
Albie and Rayford Steele
Rayford Steele
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 elaborated character in the series....
run across Steve Plank, under the alias Pinkerton Stephens, at Boulder, CO, where Hattie has been taken. Steve tells them his conversion story; he became a believer during the Wrath of the Lamb Earthquake, surviving but losing much of his body. He now wears prosthetic body parts and uses a wheelchair. The three then carry out the incredible rescue of Hattie Durham
Hattie Durham
Hattie Durham is a fictional character in the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.Hattie was a senior flight attendant, young and beautiful, working for Pan-Continental Airlines. She seemed to be attracted to Pan-Con pilot Rayford Steele, perhaps wanting an affair with him...
, who finally becomes a believer. Before they rescue her, she tries to hang herself in her room.
Terror comes to Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as they are among the first to receive the death penalty for refusing the mark. Lukas Miklos loses his wife, his pastor, his pastor's wife and dozens of fellow Greek believers to the guillotine, while Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Buck is a celebrated news reporter who, after being left behind following the Rapture, becomes one of the founding members of the Tribulation Force.-Pre-Rapture:Buck was born 30...
, who is in Greece in disguise along with Albie, help two Greek teenagers escape the detention center. Meanwhile, back in the states, Gustaf Zuckermandel, Jr.
Gustaf Zuckermandel, Jr.
Gustaf Zuckermandel, Jr., also known as Zeke, is a fictional character in the Left Behind series. He is the only son of Gustaf Zuckermandel ....
also known as Zeke, is distraught to find out that his father, whom everyone calls "Big Zeke", has suffered the same fate after being caught helping and supplying other believers (subversives, according to the GC).
In New Babylon
New Babylon
New Babylon may refer to:*Neo-Babylonian Empire , a period of Mesopotamian history that is also known as the Chaldean Dynasty*New Babylon , the anti-capitalist city designed in 1950 by artist-architect Constant Nieuwenhuys...
, David Hassid, Mac McCullum, Abdullah Smith, and Hannah Palemoon
Hannah Palemoon
Hannah Palemoon is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. She is a Native American nurse working for the Global Community in New Babylon....
plan to leave, taking Ming Toy's 17 year-old brother Chang Wong
Chang Wong
Chang Wong is a fictional character of the Left Behind series of books. A brilliant young man with skills in computing, 17 at the time of Global Community Supreme Potentate and Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia's temporary death, he is groomed by David Hassid to replace him as the Tribulation Force's...
(who is also a believer) along with them. But Chang, a computer prodigy, was brought by his parents to New Babylon, hoping to get him hired in Carpathia's forces. Determined to "make proud", Mr. Wong has Chang drugged, carried to the mark application site, and held down, even as he protests. But even after being given the mark of the beast against his will, Chang still has the mark of the believer clearly visible because he never "accepted" the mark of the beast. In this, David and Chang discover a great advantage: Chang can now be the new Tribulation Force mole in the GC Headquarters Palace as he can come, go, and trade freely. Meanwhile, the others plan a plane crash to deceive the GC into thinking they're dead while they join up with the Tribulation force to get ready for the massive exodus for believers which they call "Operation Eagle".
Everything reaches a climax when Carpathia announces that he will be returning to Jerusalem to occupy what he believes is his rightful house: the Jewish Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
.
Region Codes
Each of the ten regions (prophesied in the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
) in the Global Community
Global Community
The Global Community is a the fictional world government/state described in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The Global Community was established as the successor of the United Nations by Nicolae Carpathia, the series' main antagonist.At its territorial peak, the GC...
, the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
-headed world government
World government
World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...
, is given a code that is also used when the Mark of the Beast is applied to Global Community loyalists. Each number is obtained from a mathematical expression involving three sixes, the number of the beast. (Example: a citizen from the United Carpathian States
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
would receive a 216 on his or her right hand or forehead).
- United North American StatesNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
: 6-6-6 = -6 - United South American StatesSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
: (6-6)x6 = 0 - United Great Britain StatesUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
: (6+6)/6 = 2 - United European StatesEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
: 6+6-6 = 6 - United African StatesAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
: (6/6)+6 = 7 - United Pacific StatesOceaniaOceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
: 6+6+6 = 18 - United Asian StatesEast AsiaEast Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
: (6x6)-6 = 30 - United Indian StatesSouth AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
: (6x6)+6 = 42 - United Russian StatesRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
: (6+6)x6 = 72 - United Carpathian (Holy Land) StatesMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
: 6x6x6 = 216
Characters
- Rayford SteeleRayford SteeleRayford 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 elaborated character in the series....
- Cameron "Buck" WilliamsCameron "Buck" WilliamsCameron "Buck" Williams is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Buck is a celebrated news reporter who, after being left behind following the Rapture, becomes one of the founding members of the Tribulation Force.-Pre-Rapture:Buck was born 30...
- Chloe Steele WilliamsChloe SteeleChloe Steele, a fictional character from the Left Behind series of novels, was a Junior at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California until the disappearance of millions of people worldwide.-Fictional Biography:...
- Dr. Tsion Ben-JudahTsion Ben-JudahTsion Ben-Judah, pronounced "[z'ai-an]" or "Zion", who is a character in the Left Behind series, is a Jew, a rabbinical scholar, and former student of Chaim Rosenzweig. Ben-Judah was commissioned by the Israeli government three years before the Rapture to undertake a study as to how the Jews would...
- David Hassid
- Annie ChristopherAnnie ChristopherAnnie Christopher is a fictional character from the Left Behind series.Annie grew up in an atheist home in Canada. After losing some friends in the rapture she began searching but became a fan of Nicolae Carpathia...
- Mac McCullum
- His Excellency Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia
- Supreme Commander / Most High Reverend of Carpathianism Leon FortunatoLeon FortunatoLeonardo "Leon" Fortunato is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of Christian novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. He is in fact the False Prophet, and he is a key member of the inner circle of Nicolae Carpathia, businessman, financier, politician and Antichrist.-Character...
- Dr. Chaim RosenzweigChaim RosenzweigChaim Rosenzweig is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels. In the Left Behind films he is portrayed by Colin Fox.Dr. Rosenzweig is introduced as a chemical engineer and politician from Israel. The reader first meets Dr. Rosenzweig as he is being interviewed by Cameron "Buck"...
- Hattie DurhamHattie DurhamHattie Durham is a fictional character in the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.Hattie was a senior flight attendant, young and beautiful, working for Pan-Continental Airlines. She seemed to be attracted to Pan-Con pilot Rayford Steele, perhaps wanting an affair with him...
- Leah RoseLeah RoseLeah Rose is a fictional character in the Left Behind series. Former head nurse at Arthur Young Memorial Hospital in Palatine, Illinois, she helped Cameron "Buck" Williams get Ken Ritz out without compromising the Tribulation Force's cover, and after helping deliver Hattie Durham's stillborn baby...
- Kenny Bruce Williams
- Mr. and Mrs. (Lukas) Laslos Niklos
- Ming Toy
- Chang Wong
- Guy Blod
- Al B (aka: Albie)
- Abdullah Smith
- Viv IvinsViv IvinsIn the Left Behind series of novels, Viv Ivins is the woman who brought Marilena Carpathia to Lucifer, and is the surrogate "aunt" to Nicolae Carpathia. She is also able to channel "spirits" , and receives information and writes out messages from Lucifer himself...
- Hannah Palemoon
- Pinkerton Stephens, aka Steve PlankSteve PlankSteven Plank is a minor character in the Left Behind series. At the outset of the original 12-book series, Plank is the executive editor of Global Weekly magazine, and the boss of Cameron "Buck" Williams...