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Prelude to Dawn,
which is a study of two principle characters for the End Time (Satan and the
False Prophet), sets the stage for the Doomsday Chronicles. Most of the main characters, including
those whom are manifestations of the devil, itself, reappear in subsequent volumes.
Evident in the
first volume is the author’s own perception of this period, which becomes
increasingly apparent as the story progresses. Many of the traditional notions of the End Times and its
chief antagonist are revisited and given a new twist. Though seemingly unorthodox in the story’s physical
depictions of the devil, Satan’s internal nature is dealt with in accordance
with both Medieval and modern perceptions, which correspond to the basic
conservative Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Mormon views of
this arch fiend. At no point in
this unfolding story are the scriptures distorted for the sake of plot
development or story line.
The basic
notions of heaven, hell, salvation, and the miracles of God and the devil are
not based upon any particular eschatological theory, and yet they would be
recognizable to most major religious faiths today, which is not to say that
basic Christian notions such as the Trinity have been watered down in order to
be agreeable to all religions and religious sects. Such a sacrifice would be too great even for the sake of
being politically correct or being in sync with the mores of today. Despite its unambiguous Christian
characterizations of good and evil, there will be fundamentalist Protestant
groups who disagree with the apocalyptic chronology and geography of the story
and its interpretation of concepts such as the Rapture, just as there will be
mainstream Roman Catholics and Protestants who disregard the entire notion of
the End Times. Such disagreements
might seem justified, of course, since the Holy Scriptures, while black and
white on basic issues, seems deliberately unclear about the latter days. If we consider the punishment that
might have been dolled out to Daniel and John, the Divine, if their
contemporaries deciphered their writings, which, in poetic symbols, condemned
the powers of their day, we can understand why they wrote in such a bizarre and
cryptic fashion. What is less easy
to understand in this modern age of scholarship are the deliberate distortions
made by translators in order to support their brand of religion or modern
trends in thought. Though there is
absolutely no intention of espousing any one brand of religious thought,
myself, this book is unequivocally Christian in tone and, as such, the most
important messages for all Christianity—damnation for sinners or salvation
through the Lord Jesus Christ—are still intact.
Because End
Times research is primarily, though not exclusively, a Protestant enterprise, a
Protestant Bible was used as the basis for research, with added inspiration
from Protestant and Roman Catholic tracts, many of which had different
interpretations of the latter days.
During the research for this undertaking, it was discovered that
countless versions of the Christian Bible, including the most current Roman
Catholic version, don’t agree on Biblical terminology or concepts and the
original interpretations of Greek and Hebrew scriptures, yet they agree on the
basic principals of Christianity.
It seemed clear from the beginning that, since my vision of the End
Times, even at this early stage in the tale, is clearly grounded in modern
Protestant eschatology and, ironically concepts originating in the Medieval
Catholic Church, I should at least use one of the most accepted and well read
Protestant Bibles. For all its
supposed errors, The Authorized King James Version's language, style, and
poetry could be the only choice for a novel based upon the Apocalypse and on the
subject of the End Times.
Aside from the aesthetic reason for using the
Authorized King James Bible, there is a logical reason for using this
masterpiece of scholarship. By
relying on this work, I have used the most accurate books available on Holy
Scriptures. The Authorized version
is more faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek sources, because there was
never an attempt to interpret and give new meaning to the ancient texts. They were translated using the formal
equivalence or word-for-word method of translation (literal interpretation) of
ancient documents as opposed to the dynamic equivalence or thought-for-thought
method (what the translators think the passage my mean) used by many modern
Bible translators today. Bible
students, such as myself, distrust unauthorized versions using the dynamic
equivalent methods for a very obvious reason. If translators, using this thought-for-thought method are in
error in their judgment, the passages will not be translated correctly. How many times this may have happened
in the new bibles is becoming evident as scholars compare these translations to
the original King James Bible. The
New International Version, for example, while insightful in the definitions of
Hebrew words, has deleted many passages and cast doubt on others because of the
dynamic equivalence method of translation.
Because of the errors inherent in the revisionists
methods, which, in fact, disagree with each other on original misconceptions,
the original King James Bible must be considered the final authority concerning
discrepancies between bible translators.
Despite minor disagreements on using such terms as demons for devils and
whether or not John, the Divine, was literally or figuratively warning
believers in Revelation, the Gospels and the Holy Bible, which must remain pure
in spirit and purpose, are greater than any fictitious, historical or
speculative volume, including my own humble works. Many claim to have revelations and a few televangelist have
prophetic visions. Some even dare
to alter Holy Writ. Though it was
written by mortal men, I bow to the beauty and authority of the Authorized
Version of King James as the most accurate rendering of God’s unerring words.
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