Nicolae Carpathia
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| Nicolae Carpathia | |
 Nicolae Carpathia from the film Left Behind II: Tribulation Force played by Gordon Currie. |
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Global Community Supreme Potentate
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| In office Tribulation Force – Assassins |
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| Deputy | Leon Fortunato GC Supreme Commander |
| Preceded by | Himself (as United Nations Secretary-General) |
| Succeeded by | Leon Fortunato |
| Constituency | Global Community |
| In office The Indwelling – Glorious Appearing |
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| Preceded by | Leon Fortunato |
| Succeeded by | Position dissolved, Jesus Christ |
| Constituency | Global Community |
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| In office Left Behind – Tribulation Force |
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| Preceded by | Mwangati Ngumo |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Global Community Supreme Potentate) |
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| In office Prior to Rapture – Left Behind |
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| Preceded by | Gheorghe Vasile |
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| Born | February 16 Cluj County, Romania |
| Died | February 16 Har Megiddo, Israel |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Carpathianism |
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 Antichrist, and leader of the Global Community, a world government which he ultimately marshals against the followers of Jesus Christ.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Cluj County, 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", when translated, means "victory of the people", although this is far from Carpathia's actual goals.)
Through his parents, Carpathia possessed a unique bloodline, dating back to Ancient Rome so he could actually claim to be a Roman descendant. This is partly in keeping with the early Christian belief that the Antichrist would come in the form of a Roman emperor in addition to the current PreMillenialist Christian view that the Antichrist will emerge from a "New Roman Empire", the European Union.
As a young child, Carpathia showed remarkable intelligence 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 24, Carpathia stepped into the political scene as a member of the lower house of the Parliament of Romania. 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 (an event which would run contrary to the current Constitution of Romania; the Romanian President is directly elected, and in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the President, the presidency is assumed ad hoc by the President of the Senate until new elections are held). 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 as that government's Supreme Potentate. After he raised Fortunato from the dead, he styled himself "His Excellency Global Community Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia." Eventually after World War III, Carpathia became a dictator, while still portraying himself as a benevolent pacifist.
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] Final 3½ years
Carpathia eventually proclaimed himself God in the desecrated 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 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 was to destroy the remnant stronghold of Petra and 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 to suffer for all eternity. Before his eternal sentence is carried out, Satan was cast out of Carpathia, who then kneels before Christ and declares him as Lord. He also admits, at the feet of Jesus, that everything he ever did was for personal gain and that his entire life was a waste.
[edit] One thousand years later
One thousand years later, we see a brief glimpse of Carpathia and Leon Fortunato as the Lake of Fire opens to swallow up Satan. Carpathia is still writhing in agony as he is tortured in fire and sulfur, repeating over and over that Jesus is Lord. The scene closes, and Carpathia's suffering—along with that of his master and his underling—is resumed for all eternity.
[edit] Character Basis
Nicolae Carpathia is most likely based on Nicolae Ceauşescu, the last Communist leader of Romania. This is evidenced by both Carpathia's and Ceauşescu's use of cult of personality in their rules. Also, both hail from the country of Romania, and moved up the political ladder in that country with incredible speed and ease. Finally, a nickname for Ceauşescu is "The Genius of the Carpathians", and that is even the name of his biography.
[edit] In other media
In the Left Behind movies, Carpathia is portrayed by Gordon Currie. In the Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC game, he is portrayed by Trevor Parsons.
[edit] Quote
"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."
[edit] See also
- Left Behind series
- Tim LaHaye
- Jerry B. Jenkins
- Dispensationalism
- Futurism (Christian eschatology)
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
[edit] External links
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