This is one of the later books in the Left Behind Series. Similar to all the others. Fortunately is a story in itself, so if you don't get the whole series you can still get a good read.

I've read this series over and over. It's a good easy reading and I think most of the books are good. I don't agree with the writer and the fundamentalist point of view. I don't see how you can get a whole theroy for a "Rapture event" out of one passage of scripture but, whatever. I'm a Chrstian, that's probably why I kind oflike these. But, this book in particular shows how whimpy a leader Raford Steele is. They should've put Albie in charge. He was willing to do what was necessary to get the job done. Steels only concern seems to be whether he can pull rank and be above others that really should be incharge. I find is VERY annoying they all refer to him as "Captain" Steele; leader in his own mind and the writers didn't do it justice. I know he's an airline captain but now they're giving it military significance. That's a stretch. He doesn't even want to arm his subordinates against the enemy. Freak! That and he thinks it's his call to tell them if they should defend themselves or just get slaughtered. It's a ludicrous idea. Thinking people, with faith or without, would neither follow a man like that or put up with him. I wouldn't. There were some good points to this book but it definately wasn't their best work. Chloe is as annoying as usual, a basic brat. The more I re-read the series the more aggrevated I get.

It has taken me two months to read this book, it never takes me that long to read 1 freaking book. I had to force myself to read it and I was trying to finish this series by the end of the year, doesn't look like it's going to happen..The authors should be ashamed of themselves for milking people by dragging this story out. I hope they don't think they can take all the money with them. And I refused to pay full price of any of the books, so I'm not contributing to their wealth. Thank God for library book sales.

Another one of those Christian Fictions that bespeaks doom and destruction for all who don't turn their lives over to Jesus. If you can get past the religious psychobabble, its a good book. Otherwise, Buddha is a much better choice and his followers are typically less intolerant and war-like.

From the very first letter of the alphabet that my eyes looked upon inside this series of books, until the very last period of the very last sentence, I was hooked. Each one of these books absorbed my attention like no other book has ever done in my life. Biblically sound, theatrically entertaining, and brilliantly written, the Left Behind books will inspire you to dig into God's word and take the pieces of news from your T.V. screen and match them right smack-dab up with the prophecies of the Bible. Your hair will stand up, your heart will race, and you will find yourself helplessly caught in the suspense. Once you finish one of these books, you will desperately race to your computer screen or your local library to pick up the next one!

Carrie Lynn Jones
Author of It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers

We were buying all of the Left Behind books and Amazon had them at a great price. Great reading!

I've read the entire series, I've watched two of the three movies, and I've listened to most of the dramatized audio series. (the first 6 anyway) So for those of you that are insisting that this is all unbiblical please listen closely.

THIS IS FICTION!!!!! CLAIMING THAT THIS IS UNBIBLICAL IS LIKE SAYING THAT STAR WARS DOESN'T FOLLOW THE LAWS OF SOUND IN SPACE!

And if in retrospect it brings ONE person to christ, does it matter? The pre trib/post trib "war" has been going on forever, if this is how these authors wish to portray the return of christ more power to them.

Oh and as in a review, all the books rock!

LIKE THE PREVIOUS LEFT BEHIND BOOKS, YOU CANNOT PUT THIS DOWN. I READ IT
IN ONE SITTING AND AM MORE DETERMINED TO GET THE WORD OF JESUS CHRIST
TO OTHERS SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THE TRIBULATION.

Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins, and others in the Pre-Trib circle, such as Ed Hindson, Tommy Ice, Chuck Missler, etc., continue to put forth the same deceptions that Hal Lindsey popularized decades ago. The notion of a pre-tribulation rapture is foreign to scripture, it is foreign to the teachings of the early Church, and it is grooming the Church for destruction through ignorance and lack of preparation for what is really coming. These men are novices and not prophecy "experts" or "scholars" by any stretch of the imagination; they are those who tickle the ears of gullible Christians. Why continue to be deceived? Tim Cohen, in his excellent book, "The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea," provides biblically sound and testable evidence to show that the coming AntiChrist is known NOW. Not only that, the same author (Tim Cohen) has now put out the strongest presentation on the whole issue of the rapture EVER offered to the saints of God in Christ: "The REAL Rapture". If you really want to know the truth about the timing of the coming rapture, then you need to hear Tim Cohen's "The REAL Rapture" (based on a volume in his forthcoming "Messiah, History, and the Tribulation Period" series (see Prophecy House's web site, prophecyhouse dot com, for details on these items).

This book is so flawed in every which way, it is hard to know where to begin. First of all, we are living in the end times, and when Jesus comes, that's all she wrote, folks. There's no seven years, no Christians being zapped up, etc. This is our Second Chance on Earth. No tribulation. This book takes figurative visions and tries to apply it literally, and does it poorly. Reading this book made me think that if this was true, then what's the point of trying to be a Christian. Why not just live your life the way you want to, and then when people zap out of thin air, change your life. It's ridiculous and sends the wrong message. Plus, the writing is for second graders with no redeeming characteristics to it. But I really don't think the author's care at this point (seeing how many millions they've made printing lies). My recommendation is to read the bible instead of this series; then you'll get truth and the bible is probably shorter (and much better writing). Man, not even Kirk Cameron could save this train wreck.

i think it is unfair to give this book low ratings like some of the other reviewers have done (easy to critisise, but what have they ever written?) i have enjoyed the series although it is a little slow in places and the characters have still not been fleshed out enough. Not as fast paced and brutal as lucifer wars by stuart vowell, but still a damn good read and one of the best in the series. As a loyal fan i cant wait for the next installment.

I read Volume 8, "The Mark", way back in 2001. So, when I began reading Volume 9, I did so with some trepidation. I knew the preceding books had been interesting, but I really couldn't remember much detail about them. I was pleased, however, to see that Volume 9 didn't rehash what had gone before as some of the earlier books had done. Instead, it simply listed the principal characters who were still alive and stated their situations and locations. With this as a reference, I soon began to recall the preceding events and before long was again caught up in the action. At the same time, I once again marveled at the imagination of the authors.

So, even after a gap of almost five years, I found "Desecration" to be just as interesting and intriguing as the preceding volumes. Like those volumes it is rapidly paced and the authors somehow manage to juggle two or three story lines without losing the readers attention. Best of all, like any good serial the book leaves the reader with a cliff-hanger ending. (Now, on to Volume 10)

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.

This was supposed to be the major turn in the series. In some ways, I liked it. In other ways, it fell short.

The Antichrist, in this book, desecrates the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, mocking God and Jesus' entry into Jerusalem just a week before he was crucified. The Antichrist rides into the city on a large pig, thus making fun of the journey Jesus made. Then he sacrifices said pig in the temple and smears blood all over a holy shrine, which the Jews rebuilt 2000 years later.

The character development was more adequate than some other books in the series. One of the things I enjoy about these books is that they are ok to read out of order. In some ways, this series reminds me of "The Last Martyr" by John Mackowicz. Fans of this series should also check out this book. Mackowicz has an original twist on this series that runs a little more concise.

This the ninth book in the Left Behind series kept me turning pages. This book is actually filled with adventure. Though the characters are still two dimensional, the writing very simple, and the text font large. It was a page-turner and the best book of this series so far.

In this book we see the Antichrist desecrate the Holy Temple of Israel. And the Mark of the beast being officially placed on worshipers. And the first two bowls of wrath are poured upon the world. The changing of water to blood again and the worshipers of the beast who have the mark inflicted with sores and boils.

The Tribulation Force uses the Co-op to get all the pilots they can into Israel in order to help with the mass Exodus of the Jews out of Jerusalem. And the Chosen People of God who have accepted Christ come under his divine protection. And we see this protection as the forces try to stop these evacuees from reaching Petra. And once again when the Global Community Military tries to assault Petra. The book ends with a devastating attack on Petra that the results are left as a cliffhanger.

As usual, this was a great suspense novel with all the memorable characters and storylines one could possibly desire. However, I wish we could see the end of Nicholas because he stirs such hatred in me!

I have all 9 books of the series and they are thought provoking and very well but easy reading

Mark Moore has it wrong. This book is Christian, but it is not propaganda. It tells about something that I (and many others) believe will happen.
Mark says that it is ludicrous to believe that the world would go into chaos if all of the Christians disappeared. Yeah Right! Let's see millions of people around the world disappear at the same time and without warning and not have chaos!
I think that Mark's accusations are what's ludicrous. "An evil religion perpetuated by zealous idiots"?!? Give me a break! Christians are as normal as anyone else!
In the Bible, the book of Revelation takes only about "20 pages" because it tells what is going to happen, but does not put the events into actual situations. The Left Behind books are much longer because they put the happenings into real life situations.
Okay, one more. Mark says that there are no non-Christian records of Jesus. Wrong again! There was a historian named Josephus who lived at about the same time as Jesus and who mentioned Him in his writings.
As for the other reviewers? Well, some of them are wrong too:
1. These books closely follow the Bible's account in Revelation.
2. The writers are not trying to lead people from the truth and they are definitely not being used by Satan.
3. The purpose of the books is not to just explain the New Testament prophesies.
Also, the books have to present a feeling of hatred between God and unbelievers because God WILL be angry! He will have provided them with the way to salvation for so long that there will be no reason for them to still be holding out. Back off on these books because they are not misleading.

As for the quality of the book? It was good, but could have been better. The first few books in the series had a good writing quality, but the further the series goes, the less that good quality is apparent. Even so, I would recommend not only this book, but also the rest of this series. Read and enjoy.

I'll start off with the positive. In spite of the relative predictability and shallowness, I find that Mr. Jenkins does keep my interest, at least for the first few books. The action and the writing taper off after the first 4 books and by book 10 it's difficult to force your way any further. If one ignores the anti-Catholic and anti-nonChristian bias, there is actually a little bit of good story in there. Even the cliffhangers are extremely unexciting by book 9. They really should have done the entire storyline in 6 or fewer books. Plus another reviewers comment about margins is valid. There is an unncecssary amount of left and right margin, making these books thicker than their content would require. Pathetic... Theologically, I should point out that the Rapture is not a belief supported by most Christians. Certainly this 'doctrine' is rejected by Catholic and Orthodox believers as well as many if not all mainline Protestants. Read The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen (sp?) for an explanation of why such a literal interpretation is not consistent with the rest of scripture. LaHaye's work also shows a surprising lack of kinowledge about scripture in general and the writing style of prophetic works. It makes for an interesting story, but please don't label this as "Christian fiction" because it gives the wrong impression of Christian beliefs and embarasses most of us. It is blatantly offensive to Catholics and Orthodox (who understand their faith). BTW, it is NOT thebeilef of Christians that all non-Christians will go to Hell. That attitude is wrong. It is un-Christian and very un-Biblical. Do not confuse LaHaye's beliefs with Christian beliefs...

The Left Behind series is an unfortunate symptom of hubris running amuck.

Two questions for you Christians who believe that everyone except you are damned: Do you actually think if Jesus returned to earth, he'd damn everyone who didn't accept him as God's only son? Why do you insist on interpreting the Bible to say that -- when other, more Christ-like interpretations are possible?

But when people like me say things like this you immediately go to Biblical judgment, don't you? It's easier to close your mind than open yourself to the message Jesus tried to spread: Patience, understanding, forgiveness, and tolerance.

This series goes to show that fear and ignorance sell.

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.

Definitely the best of the series thus far. Book 9 takes the excellent plot and character growth from books 6 through 8 and expounds on them even further. Simply one of the best books in the series - the plot will leave you wanting to turn the pages even faster. Be forewarned, this particular book is very difficult to put down - and the character growth is phenomenal with some of the best "second-guessing" on G-d's Will by the characters as they encounter death, destruction and mayhem as never before. A real page-turner, that's for sure.

.
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

Yes, I am still reading these books and I am still enjoying them. I found alot more positive reviews for this book than for the last few, and I am happy that I am not the only person who enjoyed this book.

The Antichrist, in this book, desecrates the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, mocking God and Jesus' entry into Jerusalem just a week before he was crucified. Antichrist rides into the city on a large pig, thus making fun of the journey Jesus made. Then he sacrifices said pig in the templr and smears blood all over the Holy of Holies, which the Jews rebuilt after the veil was torn more than 2000 years ago. I'll refrain from going of on that tangent and just say that the veil does not hide the presence of God in the temple as it once did.

I enjoyed the character developement in this book. The characters are not very deep in this series, but I felt that Rayford matured as a leader and some others played more serious roles also.

The arguement about lying to and killing the enemy of God, known as the GC in this book, in this WAR that the Trib Saints are playing in. Wow, I could write a novel on that one. But I'll leave that interpretation up to each reader and refrain from making a political statement here that might in fact offend some people. Let me ask a few questions, however;
1)Is this a war?
2)Are soldiers required to kill or be killed in a war?
3)The original Hebrew commandment "Thou shalt not kill" is more accurately translated "Thou shalt not murder". What is the difference?
4)Wasn't King David, a man after God's own heart, one of the most ruthless killing machines during times of war?

Anyway, I don't want to get into all this here. But in a nutshell, I don't see a problem with lying to Satan and his minions or killing them, should they threaten me or my loved ones. I hope I never get the opportunity to find out how I would really react.