Is it Fiction, or is it Real?

As an English major I am fascinated by literature. I love reading. I enjoy many different genres. I feed on fiction and non-fiction alike. But it’s important to know the difference.

A number of years ago I read a book entitled The Last Battle by C.S.Lewis. As the finale in the series The Chronicles of Narnia, it depicts the classic struggle between good and evil. It describes the ultimate war in which the shroud of wickedness which has prevailed for many years in the land of Narnia is confronted and finally thrown off. It depicts the mighty clash between light and darkness, faith and fear, truth and deceit. But is it fiction, or is it real?

Just the other day I finished reading a more recent book entitled The Tehran Initiative by Joel C. Rosenberg. It too depicts the classic struggle between good and evil. This is a quotation from the book jacket: “The world is on the brink of disaster. Iran has just conducted its first atomic weapons test. Millions of Muslims around the world are convinced their messiah – known as the Twelfth Imam – has arrived on earth. Israeli leaders fear Tehran, under the Twelfth Imam’s spell, will soon launch a nuclear attack that could bring about a second Holocaust and the annihilation of Israel …” The book is a thought-provoking thriller. But is it fiction, or is it real?

There is yet another book that I have read a number of times. Its title is The Revelation of Jesus Christ and it’s found in my Bible. This book gives us a glimpse into the final battlefield of this world’s history. As one of my favorite authors (Max Lucado) describes it, “all hell breaks loose as all heaven comes forth. The two collide in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Left standing amidst the smoke and thunder is the Son of God. Jesus, born in a manger — now triumphant over Satan.” But is it fiction, or is it real?

Three great stories focused around a similar theme. Two of them are fiction; only one of them is real. I know which is which. Do you?