Armageddon (Left Behind)

infobox Book |
name = Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of The Ages


image_caption = The Paperback Cover
author = Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
country = United States
language = English
cover_artist =
genre = Christian, Speculative Fiction, Novel
series = Left Behind Series
publisher = Tyndale House Publishers
release_date = April 2003 (Hardback),November 2003(Paperback)
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback) also Audiobook
pages = 432 pp (hardcover edition) & 432 p (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-8423-3234-0 (hardback edition) & ISBN 0-8423-3236-7(paperback edition)
preceded_by = The Remnant
followed_by = Glorious Appearing

"Armageddon" is the 11th novel in the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was first published in 2002 and covers the final year of the Tribulation leading up to the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ.

Plot summary

In the final days of the Tribulation, Nicolae Carpathia prepares to launch the greatest military conflict the world has ever seen, against none other than Jesus Christ himself, raising the largest army in the history of mankind, the Unity Army. Believers all around the world are in hiding to avoid the Mark of the Beast and execution.

Rayford Steele leads a rescue mission to New Babylon to extract GC mole Chang Wong from New Babylon, now eclipsed in a supernatural nightfall that blinds all unbelievers. In Al Barash, Albie is murdered by a former associate for the bounty posted on those who have not taken the Mark.

In San Diego, Chloe Steele Williams falls into the hands of the GC, and the underground safe house is found out, causing everyone to relocate, this time to Petra. Chloe is taken to an execution sight to be put to death. Before the mass execution, Chloe's testimony leads several convicts to salvation. Accepting her fate as a martyr, Chloe is executed.

There is a brief interlude as friends and loved ones gather at Petra for the funerals of Chloe and Albie. Their time of mourning is short-lived, however, as believers must prepare for the coming battle, set to come at the final day of the Tribulation.

The sixth Bowl Judgement hits and the Euphrates river dries up to open the way for the East's mighty armies to come and join the forces of the Beast. As prophesied, God destroys the city of New Babylon with fire that rains from the heavens, and spares all believers inside through the acts of Mac McCullum, who leads a rescue mission into the heart of the city before it is annihilated.

On what is expected to be the final day of the Tribulation, the GC Unity Army attacks the city of Jerusalem, breaking the peace treaty Antichrist made with Israel. Tsion, along with Buck, decides to go to Jerusalem and join the fight. Rayford and the others find themselves in the middle of this greatest conflict in history as the bulk of the Unity Army surrounds Petra and stands poised to annihilate all remaining believers. In Jerusalem, Tsion and Buck are killed by Unity Army Forces as the GC overrun the Holy City. Rayford Steele, now the last of the original Tribulation Force, is critically wounded and on the brink of death.

It has been over seven years since the Rapture, and almost exactly seven years since the unholy treaty between Antichrist and Israel. The world is on the brink of total destruction as the tribulation nears its end and believers look to the heavens for the Glorious Appearing of Christ.

Characters in "Armageddon"

* Rayford Steele
* Cameron "Buck" Williams
* Tsion Ben-Judah
* Chloe Steele Williams
* Mac McCullum
* Abdullah Smith
* Chang Wong
* Nicolae Carpathia