Global Community
 | |
| Capital | New Babylon, Iraq Jerusalem, after the fall of New Babylon |
| Government | Autocratic totalitarian theocratic dictatorship |
| Head of State/Supreme Potentate | Nicolae Carpathia, Leon Fortunato (for Three days) |
| Official language(s) | Depends on region |
| Religion | Enigma Babylon One World Faith Carpathianism |
| Surface area • Land • Water |
510,065,600 km² - 148,939,100 km² (29.2%) |
| Population | World's current population minus 3/4 casualties from World War III, the Tribulation, genocide, and the Battle of Armageddon 1,781,250,000 (October 2014 estimate) |
| Currency | Global Community Dollar (Nicks), formerly the United States Dollar |
| National anthem | Hail Carpathia, Our Lord and Risen King |
| Predecessor | United Nations |
| Creation | Nicolae Carpathia |
| Collapse | The Battle of Armageddon in Glorious Appearing |
| Succeeding state | Kingdom of Christ |
The Global Community (GC) is the fictional world government/state described in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The Global Community was established as the successor of the United Nations by Nicolae Carpathia, the series' main antagonist.
At its territorial peak, the GC controlled the entire world. Initially the state was a peaceful union of nations. As time passed by however, the state increasingly became anti-Christian and despotic. Ultimately it was destroyed after the second coming of Christ.
Origins
The Global Community was born out of the immediate aftermath of the Rapture, an event that caused millions of people to disappear from the face of the Earth. Due to the mass disappearances, the world descends into chaos and mass hysteria. The disappearances happen a week after the newly elected United Nations General Assembly starts session. On the same day of the Rapture, the United Nations Secretary-General, Mwangati Ngumo, resigns. He is immediately replaced with worldwide approval by a 33-year-old Romanian politician named Nicolae Carpathia, who was elected to the open position supposedly against his will.
After "reluctantly" accepting the office, Carpathia calls for all nations to destroy 90% of their weapons and donate the remaining 10% to the United Nations – a call that was eventually accepted by all heads of state. In less than a month Carpathia established a new, permanent, ten-member Security Council. He also moves the U.N. headquarters to New Babylon, a new city which was built over the ruins of Ancient Babylon. Carpathia finally changes the name of the United Nations to the Global Community and appoints himself Supreme Potentate, the leader of the new world government.
Consolidation of Power
As the Supreme Potentates of the Global Community, Nicolae Carpathia establishes its headquarters at the Global Community Palace in New Babylon. For the first few years Carpathia worked to unify and merge all businesses, industries and media outlets through either financial means (being the sole beneficiary of Jonathan Stonagal, the richest man in history) or by mind control and putting them under GC authority. Carpathia also established new organizations to keep control of the population, including Global Community Cable News Network (GCCNN), Global Community Peacekeepers, Global Community Morale Monitors, Global Community Aeronautics and Space Administration (GCASA), Global Community Power and Light (GCP&L), and Enigma Babylon One World Faith. A new single global currency called the Global Community Dollar, nicknamed "Nicks" (after Carpathia himself), is established. In less than a year, the Global Community is the dominant state on Earth, with Carpathia at its head. As a result of the GC’s rise, New Babylon becomes the biggest, richest, most advanced and most beautiful city in the world.
Carpathia divides the world into ten regions: the United North American States, the United European States, the United Carpathian States (Middle East; before events in The Indwelling it was called the United Holy Land States), the United Asian States, the United South American States, the United Russian States, the United Indian States, the United Pacific States, the United African States, and the United Great Britain States. This partitioning eventually comes into play as ten sub-potentates are given control over each region, representing the ten kings prophesized in the Book of Revelation. Each region is assigned a code number, which is to be the marking used for the loyalty mark system established by Carpathia. (The code is based on a mathematical equation involving three sixes; example: United Carpathian States: 6 x 6 x 6 = 216).
In Assassins, Carpathia is assassinated during the last day of the Global Gala. After three days however he is resurrected at the Global Community Palace during his own funeral, attended by four million people from around the world.
Descent into tyranny
After his return to power at the end of The Indwelling, Carpathia, proclaiming himself to be God, establishes Carpathianism as the world's only legal religion, replacing the Enigma Babylon One World Faith. Leon Fortunato the newly appointed Most High Reverend Father goes to the Vatican to establish Carpathianism with himself as its leader. Statues (varying in construction materials, color, and size) of Carpathia are erected in every possible locale; citizens are expected to worship one of these statues three times a day, on penalty of death. Eventually, Carpathia orders that all GC citizens take a mark proclaiming their allegiance to him and the state. The discipline method for refusing to take the mark is death by guillotine, nicknamed the "loyalty enforcement facilitator". As millions take the loyalty mark, Carpathia, growing tired of the resistance being put up by Christians, Orthodox Jews, and some Muslims, issues a kill-on-sight order for all non-Carpathians.
Downfall
In Armageddon, Carpathia establishes the "Global Community One World Unity Army", composed of all the GC military forces. It was created to destroy the rebel stronghold of Petra and take over Jerusalem, which was to become the new capital of Carpathia's empire after the supernatural destruction of New Babylon.
The Global Community was finally defeated at the Battle of Armageddon. In the battle, the Unity Army is destroyed in its entirety. After the battle Carpathia and Fortunato are cast into the biblical Lake of Fire, where they would be tormented for eternity.
See also
References
- Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (2003). Left Behind Collection: Boxed Set Volumes 1-5. Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8423-4252-0.
- Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (2003). Left Behind Boxed Set 2. Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8423-4253-7.
- Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (2003). Armageddon. Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8423-3236-1.
- Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (2003). Glorious Appearing. Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8423-3237-8.