Young Tribulation Force

The Young Tribulation Force is a group of believers formed during the Tribulation consisting of teenagers and children that were left behind during the Rapture. This group was modeled after the original Tribulation Force.

In the ending of Volume Six of the dramatic audio of Left Behind: The Kids, other potential names for the group, mentioned in jest, was "the Holy Rollers", "the Quad God Squad", and "the Final Four". These names also came up at the End of Volume One of the dramatic audio.

Name of the Group[]

Ryan: But we got to think of some cool name, though. Like the "Holy Rollers" or something.

Lionel: Sorry, Ryan. I ain't call us no "Holy Rollers".

Judd: Bruce says that they call themselves the "Tribulation Force".

Ryan: So we're the "Junior Tribulation Force"?

Lionel: I ain't calling us no "Junior Tribulation Force" neither.

Ryan: Wait, no. I am good at this kind of stuff. How 'bout "Earth Angels"?

Judd: How about no?

Ryan: "The Comeback Kids"

Lionel: You got a horse tied up outside or something?

Ryan: "The Leftovers"?

Vicki: No!

Ryan: "The Rookies"?

Vicki: No!

Ryan: "The Quad God Squad"

Vicki: No! No! No!

Ryan: No. I got it! "Barnes' Stormers"!

Judd: Huh?

Vicki: What? Bruce Barnes?

Ryan: Yeah.

Vicki and Judd: Oh... No...

Judd: Ryan, who put a quarter in you?

Ryan: Ok, ok. Here it is: "Trib Force JV".

Vicki: Huh. That's...

Lionel: Well, I heard worse.

Ryan: "The Final Four".

Judd: That's a lot better than "The Earth Angels".

Ryan: Ok, so why can't we be the "Trib Force Two"?

Lionel: Because it's already taken.

Ryan: No, no. I mean "Trib Force Two". T-W-O.

Lionel: Yeah, I knew that.

Vicki: I don't hate it.

Judd: I've heard worse.

Ryan: Are you sure you guys don't like "Holy Rollers"?

Vicki: Yeah, pretty major, late-ure.

Ryan: I got it! "The Underground".

Judd: You know that's not bad either.

Vicki: Ah, "the Underground".

Ryan: On the T-shirt, it's going to say...

Judd: Ryan, Ryan... that's great. Thank bud. It's obvious you have a gift, but we have work to do. So we're going to let the name thing hang for now, and it will come to us in time. You okay with that?

Ryan: I was kinda on a roll there.

Judd: And I am sure we'll use one of your gems to identify us to the world. In the mean time, seriously. There's work to be done.

Original members of the Young Trib Force[]

Judd Thompson Jr.- Judd was 16 years old at the start of the series. On the night of the disappearances, Judd stole his dad's credit card and ran away, telling his parents that he was going to the library to study. He instead went to O'Hare airport and boarded a one-way flight to England. When some of the people on board the plane disappear, leaving only their clothes, Judd realizes that Jesus has come back and he has been left behind. When he returns home and discovers that his entire family had disappeared in the Rapture he becomes a believer in Christ. He goes to his old church, where he meets Bruce Barnes, Vicki Byrne, Lionel Washington and Ryan Daley. He allows them all to stay at his house. He falls in love with Vicki early on but does not show his love for her until later. In Book 38 they are married in the desert fortress of Petra. Judd survived to the Glorious Appearing, presumably at the age of 23.

Vicki Byrne Thompson- Vicki was 14 years old when the series began. When her whole family disappears in the Rapture, she calls her brother in Michigan but find out that he was taken too. She calls Lionel remembering that his sister was a Christian and they set up a meeting at New Hope Village Church. She becomes a believer and leads many people to Christ, in person and web links (like their underground newspaper). Like Judd, she possesses deep feelings for him but does not let him know until much later. Vicki is considered to be the leader of the Young Trib Force members that were in Wisconsin. Vicki was alive at the Glorious Appearing presumably at the age of 21.

Lionel Washington- Lionel was 13 years old at the start of the series. His whole family disappeared in the Rapture except for his Uncle André, who died in a fire set by LeRoy Banks, and at the end of the series Lionel finds out that he became a believer right before he died. Lionel is the only African-American main character in the series. Lionel becomes a believer in Christ. He later loses an arm in a rock slide, but later gained it back in the Glorious Appearing. Lionel survived to the Glorious Appearing, presumably at the age of 20.

Ryan Daley- Ryan was 12 years old at the start of the series. His mother and father died in accidents caused by the Rapture; one died in an explosion and the other in a plane crash. He was the last one to become a believer in Christ because of his atheistic background and his grief in the loss of his parents. He was best friends with Rayford "Raymie" Steele Jr. (Raymie was Raptured) who was Rayford Steele's son. He found a dog and named it Phoenix. During their stay at Judd's, Ryan developed feelings for Vicki, the others thought they were displayed in a joking way. Ryan died in the Wrath Of The Lamb earthquake in Book 13. Ryan was the only original member of the Young Tribulation Force to die.

Other members[]

Shelly Malloy- Old friend of Vicki before the Rapture. She was babysitting during the Rapture and the two children vanished as she was holding them. This made Shelly scared, and she was reclusive for a long time, until Vicki helped her become a believer after she tried to kill herself by overdosing on sleeping pills. Shelly is now a believer in Christ. Shelly has helped the Young Trib Force publish the Underground, fight the Global Community, and has helped lead multiple people to Jesus. She later falls deeply in love with Conrad. Shelly was one of the first non-original members of The Young Trib Force. Shelly also spent the longest time as a non-original Young Tribulation Force member. Shelly was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Mark Eisman- A senior at Nicolae Carpathia High School when he met Judd Thompson Jr. for the first time. After graduation he joined the militia, but after World War III, Mark permanently joins the Young Trib Force. He is influential in the making of www.theunderground-online.com. He is later executed in Book 39 for refusing the Mark of the Beast, just six months before the Glorious Appearing. He is the last member of The Young Trib Force to die. He falls in love with Vicki, but she is in love with Judd, so he takes his jealousy out on her. Mark was rewarded by Jesus in book 40 for enduring the guillotine. Mark was one of the first non-original members of The Young Tribulation Force.

John Preston- Mark's cousin who also went to Nicolae High and met Judd Thompson Jr. for the first time there. After graduation, he attended engineering college until he was drafted and forced by the GC to work for them. He works on the GC ship Peacekeeper 1 until a meteor kills almost everyone on board the ship. The exceptions were six crew members inside a submarine, including Carl Meninger, who was a young friend of John and a later believer. John enabled Carl to escape by giving Carl his spot in Peacekeeper 1's submarine and staying behind. John was rewarded for his heroic act by Jesus in book 40. John was one of the first non-original members of The Young Trib Force.

Conrad Graham- Taylor Graham's younger brother. He was a Global Community Morale Monitor, until he met Lionel, who convinced him that Jesus was God, and he became a believer in Christ and member of the Young Trib Force. He falls in love with Shelly and they remain together to the end of the series. Conrad was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Janie McCanyon- Skeptical in the beginning and was placed North Side Detention Center where she met Vicki. Janie was adopted by Bruce Barnes. She kept on traveling with Vicki and later became a believer and became a member of the Young Trib Force. Janie was one of the many Young Tribulation Force members to survive to the Glorious Appearing.

Melinda Bentley- Former Global Community Supporter and Morale Monitor. She was taken in by the Young Trib Force when her partner Felicia died after drinking poisoned water. She was stung by the locusts and was unsure of becoming a believer, but finally did make the decision to follow Christ. Melinda was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Carl Meninger- Worked for the Global Community. He was on the Peacekeeper 1 with John Preston, and was saved by John when John gave Carl his place on the escape submarine. Carl set out to find John's cousin, Mark, who helped him become a believer seconds before the locusts attacked him. Vicki taught him all he needed to know about the Bible, then he went back to the GC to work on the inside and help the Young Trib Force. After helping Vicki speak to young believers via satellite, he fled the GC and joined the Southern Contigent of The Young Tribulation Force with Tom Gowin and Luke Gowin, which is how he exited the series. Carl was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Natalie Bishop- A Global Community Morale Monitor and believer in Christ. She met Vicki and help her escape from the GC and from then was the Young Trib Force's link inside the GC. She helped Charlie escape from GC clutches, as well as several others. She was executed by guillotine (loyalty enforcement faciliator) for refusing to take the Mark of the Beast.

Sam Goldberg- Friend of Judd and Lionel in Israel and a believer in Christ. He was also a friend of Tsion Ben-Judah's stepchildren. Sam's father works for the Global Community, and attempts to use Sam as bait to catch Lionel and Judd several times before Sam leaves Israel with them. Sam also falls in love with a much older girl in Petra named Naomi, but she does not feel the same way for him. Sam serves as the Young Trib Force contact in Israel during the second half of the Tribulation period. Sam was one of the many Young Tribulation Force members to survive to the Glorious Appearing.

Nada Ameer- Also a friend of Judd and Lionel in Israel, Judd and Lionel stay at her house during their stay in Israel; she falls in love with Judd, and Judd, while thinking of Vicki, falls partially in love with her. She was shot to death by the GC while trying to save Mitchell Stein.

Charlie- A young boy who did not know what happened when the Rapture occurred. He met Vicki at the shelter that had survived the Wrath of the Lamb earthquake and helped Vicki carry Ryan Daley's body. He meets the other members of the Young Trib Force and wonders what the Mark of the Believer was that the others were talking about. He later became a believer in Christ and a member of the Young Trib Force after mysteriously escaping the locusts. Charlie was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Darrion Stahley- Became a Christian after talking with Ryan Daley while they were being held hostage by two mysterious men who wanted a ransom from Darrion's father. Her father is killed by the captors, and Darrion and her mother are taken in by the Young Trib Force. The Young Trib Force used her family's cabin in Wisconsin as a hideout from the GC before it was burned down. Darrion was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Tanya Spivey - Daughter of Mountain Militia leader, Cyrus Spivey. She was led to Christianity by Vicki. She has a brother named Ty. Tanya was alive at the Glorious Appearing.

Chaya Stein- Mr. Stein's daughter, who is the first in their family to become a believer, because of this her parents "disown" her, and tell everyone she died. She leads her mother to Jesus right before she dies, and helped Vicki escape her parents house when they take her in as a foster child. Chaya is killed in the Wrath of the Lamb Earthquake while trying to convince her father that Jesus is God. She was a member of the Young Trib Force before she died. Chaya was the first member of the Young Tribulation Force to die.

Tom Gowin- One of the members of the southern Young Tribulation Force in South Carolina. Vicki and the others from Illinois first met Tom and his brother Luke in book 20 when they arrived to warn the group of believers in South Carolina that the Global Community knew about them. Vicki, Carl, and the others helped everyone living on their island to receive the mark of the believer. In book 25, Tom and Luke helped Carl when he was hiding from the Global Community. Tom was with Judd and Lionel when they were all captured by bounty hunters in book 35, but Luke saved their lives. Not long afterwards, Tom and Luke try to fight against the bounty hunters but are both killed by the bounty hunters while doing so. Vicki later sees Tom and Luke after the honoring of the martyrs in book 40.

Luke Gowin- One of the members of the southern Young Tribulation Force in South Carolina. He was first seen holding Conrad Graham's arm behind his back, but only because he didn't know Conrad and the others from Illinois were believers. Vicki Byrne helped the people living with Tom and Luke in South Carolina become believers after Carl Meninger warned them about The Global Community. Until book 35, Tom and Luke remained Young Tribulation Force contacts in South Carolina. Luke and Tom helped Carl Meninger hide from The Global Community in book 25, Death at the Gala. In book 35, Luke helped Judd Thompson Jr., Lionel Washington, and Tom escape bounty hunters. Luke and Tom decide to take action against the bounty hunters after losing one of their safehouses. Unfortunately, the bounty hunters killed Tom and Luke while they tried to set fires against them. Luke was the seventh member of The Young Tribulation Force to die. Vicki later met with Luke and Tom in the Valley of Jehoshaphat in book 40.

Fallen Young Tribulation Force members[]