The Lord of the Rings ends with all the bad guys destroyed and only good guys left. Why can’t my Bell Mountain series end that way? At least one reader has called for me to stop the series and cap it with some kind of “final victory.”
Sorry, but I just can’t do it. My world-view won’t let me.
In the Bible, how many times did God have to give victory to Israel and Judah over their enemies? Mesopotamians, Moabites, Philistines, Ammonites, Midianites… Lost count, didn’t you? There was no final victory. No sooner had they vanquished one enemy than they faced another.
In recent world history: We beat the Kaiser, and Hitler came along; we beat Hitler, and there was Stalin; the Soviet Union fell, and now we’ve got Red China and the Democrats. One enemy falls, another one rises.
Final victory can only be achieved, and will be achieved, by Jesus Christ. The hard part of Revelation even tells us the enemy is going to win for a while, or at least appear to be winning–until Christ Himself puts him down, once and for all, forever.
But in the meantime, God does intervene in history to guide it toward the end which He has ordained for it. So the Nazis win big for a time, but in 1943 it all goes south and by 1945 it’s over. Someday we’ll look for Red China and not be able to find it. Assyria, Babylon: nothing but ruins and memories.
Bell Mountain is a make-believe history, created to provide a new vantage point from which to view real history. I admit I haven’t gotten much traction for the newest book in the series, His Mercy Endureth Forever. But I can’t let a couple of bad reviews put me out of business. The Wind from Heaven will be published next, and I’m writing Behold!
And I’m wondering if I ought to try writing a prequel or two: to go backward into Obann’s history, instead of forward into its future. I think it would be fun to meet King Ozias and share in his narrow escapes. If I never try it, I’ll bet I wind up kicking myself.
My series is similar in that there is no “final victory” in the Teharan Cycle. Evil is like the Hydra – you cut off one head and two spring up to take its place.
Oh, I’d really love to see some prequels!!
I’ve been chewing over that idea for quite a while now. It appeals to me.
I’m sure all Bell Mountain fans will really love the prequels!
My wife wants me to do prequels while somehow continuing the story in the present time. I don’t know that I have the skill for that.
I’m sure the Lord will give you the ideas for the stories!
Eventually, Christ will give the final victory and we, the human race, will be freed from this cycle. A few days ago, Watchman bore some great testimony with regard to what sets this time apart.
I was taught that all future prophecies regarding Israel were figurative and believed that for decades. The, I read Zechariah 12:3 where the ESV tells us: “On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.”
The NIV is even more explicit: “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”
What convinced me to rethink my supercessionism was the fact that I could see this shaping up in world events and had noted this from the time on the Six-Day War, in 1967, which surprised me at the time, and seemed to coincide with an escalation of tensions in the region that has never let up since.
As to exactly when this will culminate; I’ll defer to Acts 1:7, where Jesus told his disciples: “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
I was just about to cite that verse, but you beat me to it.
It’s something too often forgotten. God has let us know what will happen and there are things we can recognize, but He hasn’t given us a date. The Restoration of Israel would seem to be part of this, but it’s not enough to set a date.
BTW, setting a date would not be a good thing. I’ve met people whom are convinced that they have insight into this matter and the results of this opinion are not usually good.
In Jeremiah chapter 29, there is a message to the Israelites sent into captivity in Babylon. Starting in verse 4: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,[a] 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
So the message was simple; get on with life in the meantime. I believe with all my heart that the pieces are in play for Christ’s return. However, I also am quick to realize that a lot of others in the past have thought the same thing, and were wrong about the timing. When do I want Christ to return? I’d be fine with today, but it’s not my call, and my timetable might deny any number of people the opportunity to learn about Christ, so my sentiments are not important.
Well said.
Indeed, I agree with your post, Unknowable. The timing is not ours to know, but keeping an eye on the beginnings of the “birth pangs” is part of our instruction. We are to win as many lost souls while we wait and watch. The current mess in the world is getting the attention of more people than ever; those who have not given it a thought before. Now is our opportunity to explain and invite people into the Kingdom of God before it is too late.
Some 40 years ago, it occurred to me that the issues would have to be very stark before God acts. Simply stated, He is not going to judge someone in an unreasonable or unjust fashion. People will know the issues. The attack of Gog of Magog shows us that some will openly defy even the most obvious will of God and be willing to attack His possessions. They will be made to know His name.
A Prequel sounds like a great idea. Even during the Millennium when the world has been Christianize, there will still be sinners trying to thwart the ways of the Lord.
Conquerers don’t destroy our oppressors, they become them.
Victory is a thing of the past. This time around, I doubt God will enable 100 of us to win a war against 10,000 of them. This might elicit His last intervention: VIDEO: TRUMP: “This May Be The Last Time You See Me For A While” – 8/7/20 DAHBOO77
“You Can Prove the Bible’s Authority” David C. Pack
https://rcg.org/worldtocome/you-can-prove-the-bibles-authority