There is a titanic conflict going on around us
Part 1 of an
interview with Terry Brennan,
Author of Ishmael
Covenant
The
inspiration behind Terry Brennan’s Ishmael Covenant started with
one idea: that three ancient empires of the East—Persian, Ottoman, and
Islamic—appeared to be on the cusp of rising again. The idea caught fire when
he was introduced to the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, who was
the most revered Talmudic scholar of the late eighteenth century Brennan took
the idea of the rising empires and the premise of an unexpected treaty between
Israel and all its Arab neighbors, wrapped it up in the Vilna Gaon’s messianic
prophecy, speculated about a second prophecy that was yet to be revealed, and
started writing.
Not only does Empires of Armageddon borrow from
numerous threads of actual history, Brennan did an extensive amount of research
into the US State Department, NATO policy, and the Diplomatic Security Service
to make sure all aspects of the story were as accurate as possible. However,
Brennan hopes readers will find even more within the pages of Ishmael
Covenant.
Learn more about the message Brennan hopes readers
glean from the new Empires of Armageddon series in part 1 of his interview.
Q: Is there a scriptural or spiritual theme
that inspired the writing of Ishmael Covenant?
My Bible is an NIV Study Bible with extensive explanatory
notes on almost every page. One of the longest notes and—for me—one of the most
impactful refers to Ephesians 1:3 where Paul writes about “heavenly realms.” In
part, the note explains that Christians are in a real, tangible war, what it
calls a “titanic conflict”: “In the Christian’s union with the exalted Christ,
ultimate issues are involved. . . . At stake are God’s eternal
eschatological purpose and the titanic conflict between God and the powerful
spiritual forces arrayed against him. . . . As a result, the
spiritual struggles of the saints here and now are not so much against ‘flesh
and blood’ as against the great spiritual forces that war against God in
heaven.”
I was struck by the idea that there are great spiritual
forces that war against God in heaven. More sobering is the idea that my
spiritual struggles here on earth have, in some way, an impact on that war in
heaven. Not all of us will come face-to-face with evil incarnate, as Brian
Mullaney and the other characters of Ishmael Covenant do. However, agents
of evil are at work in the world today, just as they have been since Lucifer’s
rebellion was crushed and banished to earth.
Q: How did your studies while writing the
book change your thoughts on the spiritual warfare we face in daily life as
Christians?
I don’t generally live my daily life conscious of the
part I play in this great spiritual battle in heaven. I most often perceive the
evil I face as personal. So, my wife and I pray against the spirits of evil
that try to steal, rob, and destroy in our lives, in our family, and in our
marriage, which is good to do.
Through digging deeper into the concept of spiritual
warfare for this book, I’ve learned that I need to reach beyond the personal
conflict of good and evil in my life and be more conscious of the vastness of
this titanic conflict around me. I need to be an example, a reflection, of
Jesus and his love for all souls. And I need to stand up for light—to be a
warrior-ambassador for light—in a dark world that often seems to be getting
darker.
But the bottom line is inevitable. Good triumphs. The end
of the Book will never change.
Q: What are some of the faith struggles your
main character, Brian Mullaney, faces?
Right from the outset, Mullaney is grappling with a great
chasm in his life. He desperately desires the forgiveness and affirmation of
his father, but now it is impossible to attain because the elder Mullaney has
died. Even though he is a man of character and integrity, admired by many,
reliable and effective in his career as an agent for the Diplomatic Security
Service, Mullaney struggles personally and spiritually with the insecurity that
he’s just not good enough.
Now, unfairly accused and banished to Israel from his
post in Washington, Mullaney is emotionally crippled by the fractures occurring
in his marriage. Add to that, he’s enlisted in a tangible, life-threatening
conflict with evil incarnate. A devoted, mature Christian, Mullaney openly
wrestles with and challenges God’s plan as he tries to save the lives of the
ambassador and those around him in the field while desperately trying to save
his marriage back home. His trust in God’s faithful provenance is ultimately
tested when he is tasked to obey an implausible heavenly command—hand over the
box of power while face-to-face with Satan’s emissary.
As Christians, one of our foundational beliefs is that
Jesus Christ will return. Many believe his second coming will usher in the
final countdown to the end of time as we know it. There are many parts of the
Bible that prophesy about the second coming. Many scholars believe the creation
of the nation of Israel in 1948 started the “end-times clock” ticking. So, most
likely we are in, or on the cusp of, the end of days. The end really is near—whatever
“near” means in God’s timing. I believe any novel that weaves into its plotline
elements relating to how or when Christ will return, or its impact, qualifies
as end-times fiction.
It’s important to remember that end-times fiction is not
the book of Revelation. It’s not theologically deep or hard to understand.
Ishmael Covenant can be
characterized as an end-times thriller because there is a strong thread
connecting the plot of the book, and the series, to last-days events such as how
the quest of the protagonist may ultimately affect biblical prophecies. But
primarily it is simply a story of the conflict between good and evil, and how
that conflict plays out in the life of an ordinary guy.
At its core is an everyman protagonist—a Christian man,
accomplished and successful in his career, who is enlisted in a
life-threatening situation beyond his sphere of experience and understanding.
This lethal danger, projected not only against the man himself but also against
his family, is perpetrated by the Turk and his disciples, a shadowy gang of
murderous thugs who ruthlessly pursue our hero from one country to the next.
One complicating factor is that our protagonist realizes the spiritual
implications and consequences of the deadly conflict into which he was
recruited. As a result, his faith and character are challenged to the utmost as
he confronts a relentless string of obstacles to fulfilling his call.
Q: Can you give us just a tease of what to
expect from the rest of the series?
The
entire series takes place in the span of a few days, so each book in the
trilogy picks up right where the other left off. The fight for power and
dominion between the empires escalates. The theme of spiritual warfare expands
as the series progresses and intensifies as the battle for the Gaon’s second
prophecy continues. And readers will find Brian Mullaney torn apart by
conflicting loyalties—protecting
the ambassador, salvaging his marriage and his family, unmasking a traitor in
the highest echelons of the State Department—while entangled in a lethal battle with the
emissaries of incarnate evil.
More on Brennan can be found at www.terrybrennanauthor.com. He is also on Facebook (Terry Brennan) and Twitter (@terrbrennan1).
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