Volume 9, Desecration: Left Behind

Great book, couldn't put it down. Only drawback is too much brought in from previous books. If you read the entire series, you get bored about half way through, only because you've read this over and over.

This book is a good read! Definitely gets you involved with the story and also keeps you on your toes. Would recommend. But would also suggest having the next book ready and in hand to go. It's that kind of ending. Happy reading! And enjoy!

Maybe not the best literary work but still offers part of an important message in a very entertaining way. As a devout Christian I can not imagine how people withstand life's ups and downs without Christ. This book, while one man's fictional interpretation of Revelation, depicts holy vs. evil in a truly heart wrenching fashion. Quite a page turner.

I read the whole Left Behind Series 10 years ago. When I received my Kindle, for Christmas, and realized I could download these books, I started right away. I started with #1, and thought I could do one book a month. No way, I finished a book in two days. This book is a must read, because if is such an important part of the story.

I read all the series and they were really great. Since I'm a believer,it was interesting to see what's going to happen. A must read for anyone! It was very exciting to read about how all things that have happened in the past too. It's a little piece of history , present, and future.

Some parts of this book are tragic and frustrating, but of all the books in the series, this one may be the most fun. Though the antichrist desecrates the temple, things usually don’t go well for him. At one point he’s actually stuck and forced to concede to their wishes. This gets quite amusing.
Things are a little confusing at times, but also very exciting.
One item that takes place that I would consider to be a mistake is blood in the faucet. During this book, the second bowl judgment of seas turning to blood takes place. But it’s only the oceans, not lakes and rivers. And when this plague takes place, someone turns on the water faucet and blood comes out. This shouldn’t have happened until at least the third bowl judgment. And it’s not even mentioned again for a long time. Clearly this was inaccurate.
One thing that’s somewhat questionable is the role of Chaim Rosenswage. He becomes basically a Modern day Moses who leads the people out of the land. The Bible does say that they will have to leave the land halfway through the tribulation, but I’m not aware of anything in the Bible that says that they will have a Moses like leader. It’s certainly logical that they would have a leader, but I doubt that it will be like this, but you never know.
There’s one very frustrating incident in which the enemy sets up a trap and successfully kills multiple believers. Though these weren’t really major characters, but it’s still sad and very frustrating.

I love this series! The characters, the pacing and of course the message makes this series hard to beat and while this novel takes a step back from the others it is still a good read.

In one corner Tsion Ben-Judah and in the other Nicolae Carpathia! These two finally get the opportunity to have a one on one conversation about their "slight" disagreement that they have. I guess the reason why this novel took a bit of a step down was the characters don't seem to be pregressing anymore. While the heroes are still battling the dangers that is the antichrist, there does not seem to be a lot of new material right now. They get in trouble they get out of trouble. There some great moments in this novel such as Ben-Judah having words with Carpathia and some heart breaking moments (I won't spoil it but we lose a couple of heroes in this novel) but for the most part alot of action that seems to be just a filler for more yet to come. The biggest issue that I have with this specific novel is Nicholae himself. For the most part he is just silly... A lot of his dialogue and his actions don't really come across as anything but comical.

There are some good things about this novel but it is safe to say that I thought it was a sizable step down from the previous novels. I will certainly keep reading but I just hope that this was a hiccup and does not continue this way for too much longer.

Grade: B-

I geniunely love this series, but I'll agree with some of the other commenters that it's really losing it's bang. The first 5 I completely devoured and couldn't wait to move on. The last few, I've still really enjoyed, but the pace isn't what I expected. This one covered a very short period of time and was a bit repetitive. I don't know how many pages I could read about Chaim (Micah's) hesitance. I still love these characters and will continue on with this series. As always, my heart was broken at the two losses of the Trib Force. I enjoyed Chloe's discovery in this book and I also get a little tired of Rayford getting on her case for taking risks. I'm really enjoying the appearances of Michael. I think Carpathia is a fantastic Antichrist, he really is fun to love to hate. I'm hopeful the next 3 books move at a faster pace in time considering there's 3 books with 3 years still left. With such a shrort span of time in this one, you really lost that sense of urgency that this series needs.The other books really made me feel like the countdown was on and I flew through the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I know some of the day-to-day activites are important but the books could be spanned further out. I won't give up on this series and I'll begin book 10 soon. I would still highly recommend this series. With it's faults, it's still got excellent characters and plenty of drama and excitement.

Jumping the shark is a term originally used in television but has now expanded to mean any creative effort that has irrevocably gone beyond it's peak and has declined in quality. That is exactly what has happened with this installment of the "Left Behind" series aka "Desecration".

I had been following this series thus far on borrowed audiobooks... but suspect that I won't be listening any further after this point. One of the early comments suggested that this series was a "made for TV apocalypse", for which I agree. Personally I felt that the characters overall lacked depth with a couple of exceptions, storyline overall is too black and white, and relied on plot devices that became grossly overused. Despite this, the pacing of the story was fast, was easy to follow, and at least the voice talent of Richard Ferrone narrating for the first half of the series really carried the ball.

Unfortunately I can't say the same about Desecration. First and foremost without going into detail due to the touchy nature of the subjects, the authors made a few statements throughout that were politically highly charged and for that reason can see why this story would make some people angry. There were a few things said that I personally found a bit offensive. Again I wish I could go into detail, but let's just say that it touches upon some very ancient religious debates and fairly modern history that has been a sore point with many people. Another thing too is that there are some terrible assumptions being made... for someone who is well grounded in the Evangelical Christian faith, much of it is old hat. However for someone outside the faith, a lot of philosophy is being thrown out without being expounded upon. This in turn makes me question who exactly is the target audience supposed to be?

Second was the characterization of the main antagonist Carpathia. I'm sorry, but the way the authors went about it threw out any believability and sanity to this persona. In previous stories, he was portrayed as a pleasing face hiding an evil and devious heart... now he's basically morphed into this cackling idiot who has nothing better to do than talk smack and mindlessly lash out at everyone surrounding him in much the same way every other Hollywood Bad Guy stereotype gets portrayed... to say it becomes trite and boring after a while is an understatement. In a similar vein the whole portrayal of the desecration of the temple scene was really sophomoric and immature. Wouldn't it have been easier and make more sense for Carpathia to simply have walked into the temple, declare himself to be God, and demand that the priests either worship him or get out? And what's with this whole bargaining with God to remove the plagues anyway? I don't ever recall seeing such things written in the book of Revelation?

*sigh*

As a good friend of mine used to put it... "It was real, it was fun, but it wasn't really fun".

In Desecration, the ninth book in the Left Behind Series, Dr. Chaim Rosenzweig takes a major role as a modern day Moses, with Buck along as his encourager. There's even a heart-stopping confrontation between Carpathia and Chaim, patterned after the happenings with the Egyptian pharaoh in the Old Testament. As a result of the confrontation, Chaim receives divine protection from God, and Israeli Jews who believe Christ is the Messiah are allowed to leave with him. He leads them to Petra, a rock fortress in the desert. He also negotiates a place for Orthodox Jews to worship after Carpathia defiles their Temple. And to help the exodus along, the plagues allow cover for the Tribulation Saints and Orthodox Jews to make their escape by debilitating the troops of the Global Community.

This episode of the series also highlights a scene where Antichrist Carpathia defiles the temple. He sheds a pig's blood and "cavorts" in the mess for the whole world to see. Though it's becoming increasingly obvious that this world leader is an evil monster, many still would rather follow him than the one true God. This is addressed by beloved teacher Tsion Ben-Judah in the following excerpt . . .

"We often wonder, when the truth is now so clear, why not everyone comes to Christ. It is because of . . . deception. People did not . . . `receive the love of the truth.' `For this reason, God will send the strong delusion' . . . Can you imagine it? There are people who know the truth, know their futures are doomed, and yet still they take pleasure in sin!

If you are in Christ, you are eternally safe and secure, despite all that we will have to endure these next three and a half years. If you are undecided, I plead with you to make your choice while you are still able."

Similar words would be affective in our world today. I love the truths the author's share through Tsion's sermons. I'll end with this one . . .

"Of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived, One stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of influence. More schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanages were founded because of Him than because of anyone else. More art was created, more music written, and more humanitarian acts performed due to Him and His influence than anyone else ever. Great international encyclopedias devote twenty thousand words to describing Him and His influence on the world. Even our calendar is based on His birth. And all this He accomplished after a public ministry that lasted just three and half years!

Centuries after His public unmerciful mocking, His persecution and martyrdom, billions claimed membership in His church, making it by far the largest religion in the world. And when He returned, as He said He would, to take His faithful to heaven, the disappearance of so many had the most profound impact on this globe that man has ever seen."

I know that the Left Behind series is controversial among Christians and non-Christians alike, but I appreciate it for what it is. First, to address some claims made against the authors that I really don't think are fair. One, they are accused of anti-Semitism. I didn't get that at all, ESPECIALLY in this installment. Chaim is a Jew. Tsion is a Jew. Thousands of converts are JEWS! How can they be anti-Semitic and still have Jews be the most important protagonists in the story? Secondly, they have also been accused of being male chauvinists, in part because of Hattie's character. Without giving too much away, let me just say that Hattie plays an important role in this installment. Meanwhile, Chloe is still the brains behind the co-op.

What I like about the Left Behind series is that it makes the book of Revelation easier to understand. I tried reading it, but much of it went in one side of my brain and out the other, mostly because I couldn't make an logical connection between the symbolism and the impact on the earth. Left Behind, even if it isn't the best interpretation of Scripture (and I know it's not), makes it easier to understand. I also somewhat admire the way the authors are able to portray the Antichrist. I wouldn't be able to come up with someone so evil as Nicolae Carpathia. They clearly put a lot of thought behind his character.

What I think could be improved is the fluff surrounding the main events of the story. Each book tends to be about 400 pages, and this one is no exception. Many of the details are really unnecessary to the plot, character development, or theology.

In sum, enjoying this series, and will continue to read it.

The ninth installment of the "Left Behind" series, "Desecration," finds the Tribulation Force preparing to lead the Saints to safety, as Nicolae looks to desecrate the Holy Temple and destroy all who serve God.

Chaim Rosenzweig finds himself a "modern-day Moses," preparing to lead the Tribulation Saints to the safety of Petra. Chaim renames himself Micah and receives authority and protection from God, even at the point of death.

Many of the Tribulation Force members receive heavenly visits throughout the book, offering strength, protection, healing and words of encouragement. Also, the group loses several members throughout the book, but gains many more, especially due to a secret mission by Chloe.

In obvious mockery, Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia takes the route of Jesus into Jerusalem, riding a pig, and then entering the Temple and its Holy of Holies, desecrating it.

God sends judgment in the form of boils and sores on those who have taken the Mark of the Beast, and then turning the ocean waters into blood.

As the book concludes, Nicolae turns his focus on destroying all Jews, at any cost. He repeatedly sends forces after the Jews at their safe place, but God has promised to protect them. We turn to book 10 to find out the result of his last attack.

Four and a half stars out of five.

"Desecration" is the ninth in the series of fiction books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins chronicling the events that take place in the world during the end times. The books follow several main characters as they fight for their lives and for their faith as the world makes its way to the last days.

In this book, Nicolae commits the ultimate desecration, angering Christians and Jews alike. As Nicolae's true colors are shown to the world more and more, the first Bowl Judgments predicted in the book of Revelation are unleashed on those who have taken the mark of the beast.

Amid the chaos, the Tribulation Force plans a mass exodus of the believers of the world, sending them to a place in the desert called "Petra." But the ones gathered at Petra do not expect what awaits them there.

I enjoyed this series of books, but this one seemed a little different from the rest. It was interesting because I was invested in the characters and because of it being about the end times, but by this book I was thinking that the books were getting too stretched out.

I also did not like that Chloe left her child to go on a mission for the Tribulation Force. I read these books before I had a child, and I did not like this part of the story even then. Now that I have a child, I am even more convinced that this was totally out of character for a mother.

This series of novels is a fictionalized account of the events of the end times. I enjoyed the whole series. While this book is geared towards Christians, there is enough action and depth to it that should appeal to all. The characters are well done, and it is easy to follow the many plots that are going on within these books.

.

The new Jewish Temple has been rebuilt, and the next step in fulfilling the Book of Revelation prophecies about the antichrist (Carpathia, in this series), is that he will defile this temple. He has now raised himself from the dead and called forth his dead prophet to life; many false prophets have arisen and performed acts of sorcery in his name. It is, however, when the antichrist goes into the temple and proclaims that he is God that brings forth the wrath of God.

This proclamation causes an uprising in the Jewish community and blood baths in streets all around the world. Many Carpathian believers, who had not yet taken the mark, begin a journey to discover who will own their souls. However, the Carpathians are targets as the plagues begin. God protects his own which are those who have not taken the mark of the beast and bear the believer's cross.

This is where Chang Wong, the young Chinese man who was drugged by his father and given the mark, flirts with suicide. He is the only one who has both marks, and it is a fascinating concept. Since he did not choose the mark of the beast, God keeps him protected with the cross of the believers. His passage through his crisis is powerful.

Water turns to blood. This was fascinating when cases of bottled water became blood, but not in the hands of those who believed. Demonic creatures attack everyone with the mark of the antichrist that causes boil like sores. What did Carpathia do during this time? He hid out in a completely self-contained building so that he would not be attacked. When the moon turns to blood and 1/3 of the sun is darkened, he can do nothing for those who accepted him as God. He can do nothing period except require that his loyal army seek and destroy any who do not have the mark. This is rather humorous since most of them cannot move without severe pain and pustules that break open.

Do not start with this book. If the series interests you, then you must start with Left Behind, otherwise no one will matter and the continuity is gone.

Each book seems richer than the last to me. I must read the next. When a book or series catches my attention like that, then I must give it five stars. Remember, it is only one person's opinion.

Victoria Tarrani

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Nicolae Carpathia continues his reign of terror over the world, destroying any who dare to oppose him. Followers of Carpathianism suffer one indignity after another with their water supply being turned to blood and their bodies breaking out in hideous boils and sores.

Angels of God appear to believers all over the world to encourage them and keep their faith strong. The tribulation Force continues to resist Carpathia as they prepare for what is expected to come... the ultimate desecration of the Church by the false god.

This story started to pick up again after the two previous books failed to keep this reviewer's interest, who was glad to discover that continued determination to read the whole series was worth it. There are more examples in this installment of what attracted millions to the Left Behind series.

Characters continue along the lines drawn for them by their personalities, with readers taking pleasure in experiencing the continued adventures along with the Trib Force and Tsion Ben Judah. However, be forewarned, the culmination of certain characters' individual stories will make readers sit up and shout "What the heck was that?" or "THAT is what happens to them?"

The story continues with plenty of adventure for the players and the natural progression of their faith... or lack thereof. Desecration will captivate readers enough to make them hold on to find out what will happen next.

? Kelley A. Hartsell, January 2006. All rights reserved.

At long last, the Antichrist takes the very throne of God and makes a gory mockery of the Temple of the Jews. Those who finally see Carpathia's diabolical nature for what it is cannot bring themselves to follow him any longer--but for those who already have the mark of loyalty, it's far too late. God's wrath begins to be poured out on an evil world in earnest, first in the form of excrutiating boils on all unbelievers and then the oceans of the world are turned to blood. An enraged Carpathia launches an all-out offensive against the followers of Tsion Ben-Judah and Chaim Rosenzweig, and the Tribulation Force must decide if it will fight...or die. Perhaps the most exciting book in the series to this point, DESECRATION piles one thrilling plot point on top of the next, making for a read that absolutely flies past. Interesting subplots involve Hattie Durham, who suddenly steps *very* much out of character, and teenage genius Chang, the only person in the world with BOTH marks. Chloe Williams goes out on a risky limb, and it appears that the Trib Force's invisibility is finally waning. Like most of the other books in this series, this one climaxes with a major cliffhanger, though a decidedly grimmer one than has come before. Fans of the saga will absolutely LOVE this entry, and I really can't help but wonder why those who profess to hate the whole story continue to "torture" themselves by reading each and every book! Go figure. Greatly enjoyable and an irresistible lead-in to THE REMNANT (Book Ten), DESERECATION is certainly recommended.

I started reading this series because I was attracted to apocalyptic visions based on The Bible. I found the first few books very entertaining. Desecration barely entertains, and was only finished because I'd like to finish the story, eventually. It gets a middle-of-the-road rating because it seemed far less preachy than books #7 and 8 (come on Jenkins/LaHaye -- you are preaching to the choir this far into the series, ease up on the editorializing and work on the plot!).
The big weaknesses in this installment are the lack of character development/depth, evidenced mostly by Carpathia's extremely transparent single dimension, and a lack of depth in exploring "mistakes" made by Trib Force members and their reactions to these blunders. These are Christians in the end times: they are going to care about whether they are choosing rightly or wrongly. Either they aren't very worried about messing things up, prayer to God provides clearer answers during the tribulation than it does today, or we aren't allowed to share in their inner-turmoil and how they deal with it. If an entire book is to cover 3 days in the middle of the tribulation, I expect some deeper character development (oh, and maybe smaller margins).
There are several surprising twists for two characters in this volume, which raises it far above the previous volume or two -- which were entirely predictable. No volume yet has been able to touch the story development and twists of the first two books of the Left Behind series, and I don't expect that any subsequent volumes churned out will be. If you can, pick up "End Times Fiction" by Demar; you'll also start to wonder why these FICTION writers ignore their characters. Based on literal reading of the Word, the series *is* pure fiction and should be judged for its style and story development.

The 9th book in the Left Behind series, "Desecration" gets us a bit closer toward Armageddon & shows us just how far Carpathia is willing to go to make people follow him. The Tribulation Force's mission continues as the prepare for the final showdown & twists & turns that come along with this. This is another worthwhile entry in the series as we see good fighting for ways to stay alive & to keep ahead of the GC & with evil doing everything within it's power to stay in control. LaHaye continues his excellent job in mastering of the characters & events as we get ever closer to the final battle just around the corner.

My understanding was that the "Left Behind" series was only supposed to span eight or nine books. Now we're already to No. 9, and there are still at least three more books to come.
The padding is beginning to show.
The first few books kept me riveted, and I couldn't wait for the next one to come out. At this point, I feel like I'm reading through the series out of obligation -- if I quit now, I'd be admitting that I've wasted my time on something I'll never complete.
Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy reading these books ... somewhat. There are segments of "Desecration" which I tended to enjoy for a while. But they are separated by larger segments which alternate between being over-imaginative and outright boring. It almost seems as though LaHaye and Jenkins seem to be biding their time in order to make the series last longer. Even the type size and the spacing between the lines indicate that there's not as much in "Desecration" as the reader might hope for.
I also have a hard time believing that Carpathia could continue to be so stupid. How, for example, does his plane continue to be bugged while believers all around the world are able to tap into his most private discussions? How do the believers get ahold of DEWs -- Directed Energy Weapons -- which don't kill people but only heat up the skin (when such weapons don't even exist!)? There are only so many things which we can take on faith before we feel the need to return to some form of reality.
Again, I will continue to read the rest of the series so I can see how it concludes. However, I will likely seek to borrow future copies from friends and family members, since I doubt I'll ever re-read them after the first time through.

Chang Wong is becoming a valuable asset to the work of the Tribulation Force. Rayford and his team assembles believers to take a stand at the Temple Mount where Carpathia followers are set to worship Carpathia's image and take the mark of the beast. Yet more Tribulation members perish as new members are introduced. Chaim and Buck go to battle for the Lord as unbelievers are plagued by festering wounds in an attempt to bring more away from Satan's hold over them. Chloe ventures out and becomes more involved bringing more members to the effort. A search and rescue is underway but will the efforts prove futile? Will it cause more danger to Tribulation Force members?
Another explosive addition to the series! As the ones before it this one also challenges my faith and I was highly entertained. Scene and dialogue work book flows well and the overall message is inspiring. I would highly recommend this series to others especially for the times in which we live.