NICOLAE CARPATHIA

'Nicolae Jetty Carpathia' is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''Left Behind'' book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.
Carpathia is the leader of a world government known as the Global Community. He is secretly the Antichrist and will one day attempt to marshal Community forces against the followers of Jesus Christ.

Contents

Biography

Death and resurrection

Final 3½ years

In other media

See also

Biography

Born in the county of Cluj in Romania, Carpathia's birth is the product of genetic engineering and artificial insemination. His mother, Marilena, is unwittingly convinced by the followers of Satan to become the mother of a child who they assure her will change the face of the world. Marilena stays with her husband, Sorin, until the baby is born, insisting that her "son" keep the strong "Carpathia" name. (In the prequel novels it is explained that the name "Nicolae Carpathia", translated, means "victory of the people". Ironically, however, Carpathia himself cares little for such things.)
Even as a young child, Carpathia showed remarkable intellect and athletic ability, and also proved to be extraordinarily manipulative, able to bend others to his will with relative ease. His handlers arranged for his mother to be eliminated, and Nicolae himself eventually demanded the dispatch of his "father," a key to his rise to power. With his advisers and counselors, Carpathia formed a successful import-export business, which quickly made him a millionaire. However, he quickly grew bored with business and finance and, guided by the "kingmaker" Leon Fortunato, set his sights on politics.
At the age of 33, Carpathia stepped into the political scene as a junior senator in the lower house of the Romanian Parliament. Falling victim to Fortunato's blackmail, the President of Romania soon resigned in favor of Carpathia, with the unanimous support of that country's parliament. Shortly thereafter, in the chaos following the Rapture, Carpathia was appointed United Nations Secretary-General. Throughout his swift rise to global prominence, he feigned humility, saying he wished only to serve and denying that he ever sought power. Carpathia quickly began effecting changes to the U.N., converting it into the Global Community, and appointing himself G.C. Supreme Potentate. Eventually after World War III, he became a dictator, while still portraying himself as a peace-loving, benevolent pacifist.

Death and resurrection

After three and a half years in power, Carpathia was assassinated by Chaim Rosenzweig, an Israeli botanist and statesman whom he once pretended to befriend, prophetically suffering a lethal head wound from a blade which Dr. Rosenzweig had concealed. His demise was short-lived, however, as after three days of lying dead, Carpathia's body was indwelt by Satan himself, thus making Carpathia appear to rise from the dead and further cement his power.

Final 3½ years

Carpathia eventually proclaimed himself God in and desecrated the Temple of the Holy of Holies and demanded that everyone on Earth worship him. With his reign secure, he ordered that golden statues of himself be constructed in every locale possible and commanded that all should worship these statues three times a day, with death as the penalty for failure to obey. Carpathia established "Carpathianism" as the only legal religion on Earth and, following the events in the Book of Revelation, decreed that all were required to bear a mark (the biblical Mark of the Beast) signifying their loyalty to him and the Global Community in order to buy or sell. At last, he gave out the decree that those who did not accept the mark, along with any who refused to proclaim him as God would be beheaded by a guillotine, known as a "loyalty enforcement facilitator". In a final surge for complete domination of Earth, Carpathia created the One World Unity Army, composed of all G.C. military presence on the planet, their mission to destroy the remnant stronghold of Petra and to take over the city of Jerusalem as the world's new capital after the supernatural destruction of New Babylon. He also gathered the armies of the world at the valley of Armageddon for the battle with Jesus Christ and His army.
In accordance with the series' interpretation of biblical prophecy, Carpathia was overthrown with the return of Jesus, who cast him, along with his False Prophet Fortunato, into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.

In other media

In the ''Left Behind'' movies, Carpathia is portrayed by Gordon Currie.

See also

★ Left Behind series

★ Tim LaHaye

★ Jerry B. Jenkins

★ Dispensationalism

★ Futurism

★ Summary of Christian eschatological differences