It is now a year before the Glorious Appearing. As a Tribulation Force contingent enter into New Babylon to rescue Chang Wong without being seen or recognized during the plague of darkness from the Fifth Bowl Judgment, Chloe Williams gets captured by the Global Community and is interrogated for any information that she has concerning her compatriots. Realizing that the San Diego safehouse may be compromised, the Tribulation Force flee from that location, although Rayford Steele and Buck Williams go off in the hope that they may rescue Chloe before she is executed. Failing that, they all flee to Petra, where they stay protected by God as Nicolae Carpathia gathers up forces to storm both Petra and Jerusalem in the hopes of flushing out God's Son so that they may destroy Him. The Sixth Bowl Judgment takes place shortly before Jesus' return from heaven, and also New Babylon is destroyed. Rayford and Buck both end up in critical condition near the end of the story, and one of them dies...but which one?
This story provides examples of:
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: The three fallen angels who take on Carpathia's appearance in this story are Ashtaroth, Baal, and Cankerworm.
- Badass Israeli/Badass Preacher: Tsion Ben-Judah becomes both in this story during the battle of Armageddon.
- Beat Still, My Heart: In the Dramatic Audio version, Nicolae Carpathia holds the still-beating heart of a Global Community loyalist that he personally murdered for calling him "impotent". In the book, Carpathia simply gives him a Neck Snap.
- Berserk Button: Do not call Nicolae Carpathia "impotent".
- Blatant Lies: The Global Community news channel spreads misinformation about Chloe Williams, her immediate family, and her associate Albie, claiming that he has committed suicide when he was actually murdered by Mainyu Mazda.
- Blasphemous Boast: Nicolae Carpathia in the Dramatic Audio version, right after confessing that he is the Antichrist."I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will be like the Most High...for I AM THE MOST HIGH!"
- Bloodier and Gorier: The Dramatic Audio has Nicolae Carpathia ripping out Vajpayee's heart whereas in the original book he simply snaps Vajpayee's neck.
- Composite Character: In the Dramatic Audio version, GC officer Anita Sanchez is one for two female officers (a Hispanic and an African-American) working in the San Diego headquarters where Chloe Williams was incarcerated.
- Cutting the Electronic Leash: As Rayford suspects that his cell-phone would now be tracked by the Global Community after receving the phone call from Chloe during her incarceration, he has his cell-phone be put into the well of the speed brake of the plane he's riding in so that when Mac McCullum activates the brake in mid-flight, the phone would be jettisoned into the ocean.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: A Global Community loyalist calls Nicolae "impotent" for not having the stones to kill him himself for speaking his mind, and Nicolae responds by personally ripping out his heart.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: The Petra technical crew interrupt the Global Community network feed with a message from Tsion Ben-Judah about the coming battle of Armageddon.
- Doomed Hometown: New Babylon gets destroyed by fire from above near the end.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After Chloe gets captured, she reminds her father about the trip to Red Rocks in Colorado. Rayford is stumped, but it's Mac who realizes the hidden meaning behind Chloe's words. She is telling them that the San Diego safehouse is compromised and that the believers there should relocate to Petra.
- Final Solution: Nicolae Carpathia's reference to the battle of Armageddon being one for dealing with the Jews in Israel.
- Interestingly, in this story, Nicolae Carpathia alludes to "the final solution" that was attempted on the Jews during World War II that failed to destroy them completely, succeeding only in giving back their homeland Israel, during his private conference with the ten subpotentates where he reveals himself to be the Antichrist.
- Final Speech: Chloe Williams gives one before her public execution.
- Firing in the Air a Lot: How Tsion, Buck, and the Jewish rebels in Jerusalem tell Carpathia what he can go do with his ultimatum.
- Food Interrogation: Global Community officer Jock Ashmore tries to break Chloe Williams after she's been captured by ordering a breakfast — just one breakfast — and then proceeding to eat it before her, saying that if she's willing to divulge any information about the Tribulation Force and their whereabouts, she would be given a breakfast to eat as well.
- Foreshadowing: Albie's death is foreshadowed by Mainyu Mazda getting an M tattoo for the next person he has killed, saying that sometimes he even gets them in advance.
- Give Me a Sign: After being rescued from New Babylon, Chang Wong asked Tsion Ben-Judah if he could pray that God could remove the Mark of the Beast from his forehead, and Tsion and the elders of Petra willingly do so, with Tsion warning Chang that it is entirely up to God if He wants the evil mark removed. Fortunately for Chang it all works out for him, as after the prayer session Chang could see that the evil mark was removed, and everybody else could only see the seal of God on his forehead.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Chloe William's televised death was purposely blanked out on the screen by the angel of the Lord.
- Hand Gagging: Jock Ashmore has Chloe Williams hand-gagged to keep her from talking about how she was captured and then transferred from San Diego to Illinois, then later has tape put over her mouth when she proves to be a biter.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Some residents of New Babylon with the Mark of the Beast pretty much know that they're screwed. In particular is Nicolae's secretary Krystal, who after discovering what kind of person her boss really was decides to offer help to the mysterious person that turned out to be Rayford Steele. He promised that he would help get her out of New Babylon before its destruction, but she was killed before that could even happen.
- Hellish Horse: Nicolae Carpathia's mount in the Battle of Armageddon was referred to as "the horse from hell".
- Incessant Music Madness: "Hail Carpathia" becomes musical torture for Chloe Williams when she is held in custody by the Global Community in the book Armageddon. She counters this somewhat by singing "Fail Carpathia".
- Chloe gets even in this area when she sings a bunch of Christian hymns in her solitary confinement cell, which annoys the GC guard.
- I Want My Mommy!: A dramatic one by Kenny Bruce Williams in the Dramatic Audio version when he learns from his dad that his mom has died and went to be with Jesus.
- Kill the God: Nicolae Carpathia's plan regarding the forces he is amassing in the Valley of Megiddo during that period. Unfortunately for him, as the following story reveals, that plan never comes to fruition.
- Motive Rant: Carpathia confesses to Leon and the 10 subpotentates that he is the Antichrist.Carpathia: Am I Antichrist? Well, if he is Christ, then yes! Yes! I am against the Christ who was falsely crowned by the pretend creator. I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will be like the Most High! (...for I AM THE MOST HIGH!)
- One Phone Call: Chloe is given a cell-phone by a janitor working for the GC while she was incarcerated, saying that she could make one phone call with it if she desired, like police departments used to allow their prisoners. Chloe takes the opportunity to use the cell-phone to call her father and warn him in a coded message about the San Diego safehouse.
- Power Glows: Nicolae Carpathia lets off a burnt-orange glow that only allows those close to him to see in his light.
- Public Execution: Chloe Williams' execution is televised, though Caleb the angel blanks out the screen at the time she is put to death.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Nicolae's secretary Krystal, who is left behind in New Babylon while her boss and the higher-ups move to Al Hillah, turns against the Global Community and secretly provides Rayford Steele with whatever information she may provide about Chloe Williams during her capture. However, she dies of lethal gas poisoning when a GC agent discovers what she has been doing, and her body was discovered by Otto Weser and reported to Mac McCullum when he came to transfer Otto's cell of believers out of New Babylon to Petra.
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Buck Williams was ready to go on this when his wife Chloe was captured by the Global Community and then transferred from San Diego to Illinois while she was drugged, but Rayford Steele and the Tribulation Force contingent in San Diego had to talk him down and have him let God handle her fate.
- Say Your Prayers:
- A woman in New Babylon who took the Mark of the Beast is left desperately saying prayers to God during the supernatural Big Blackout caused by one of God's Bowl Judgments, despite the fact that she's utterly screwed.
- Chloe Williams leads an unsaved woman in a prayer of salvation right before her execution.
- Screw Your Ultimatum!: Carpathia issues the following to the defenders of Jerusalem: by the count of three, if there is silence for fifteen seconds, then that means that the defenders will surrender to the GC. The defenders' response: shooting their guns into the air, Tsion and Buck included.
- Sequel Hook: The story ends in the middle of the battle of Armageddon, with Buck and Rayford in critical condition and one of them dying.
- Slipping a Mickey: Chloe Williams drank a milkshake with a drug in it that put her to sleep, enabling the GC to transfer her from San Diego to Illinois.
- Spiteful Spit: Mainyu Mazda, at Albie's thought that the region mark he has is an authentic "mark of loyalty", though he still serves the GC by collecting bounty for the disloyal.
- Tattooed Crook: Mainyu Mazda. He gets a new M tattoo around his neck every time he kills someone. When Albie pays him a visit in an attempt to pay him for bugging the Global Community meeting place at Al Hillal, Mainyu is in the process of getting another M tattoo, saying that sometimes he even gets them in advance. The crook part comes when he has Albie give him all his money before he gets killed off.
- Time Skip: A few of them take place throughout the story, bringing it up to the day of the Lord's return.
- Tongue Trauma: Mainyu Mazda's tattoo artist had her tongue cut out, which is why she rarely talks.
- Truth Serum: Chloe Williams was given one by the GC while she was incarcerated in a Statesville, IL prison. However, with God's help, Chloe was able to not give the GC any answers regarding the Tribulation Force.
- Wartime Wedding: Ming Toy and Ree Woo tie the knot at least six months before the Lord's return.
