The Holy War, John Bunyan's second-most popular book, has now been translated from the original seventeenth-century text and further edited and annotated by L. Edward Hazelbaker-editor of two other Pure Gold Classics by Bunyan (The Pilgrim's Progress and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners).
Hazelbaker's well-crafted works have proven to be bestsellers. This classic allegory illustrates the struggle between good and evil and the ultimate battle for the human soul. When Diabolus occupies the city of Mansoul, King Shaddai and his son, Emmanuel, develop and execute a plan to save and restore the city. Emmanuel says, "You, my Mansoul, and the beloved of my heart, many and great are the privileges that I have bestowed upon you. I have singled you out from others and have chosen you to myself-not because of your worthiness, but for my own sake. I also have redeemed you . . .This I have done because I loved you, and because I have set my heart on you to do good." But Diabolus wants Mansoul for himself. A mighty giant, Diabolus mounts an assault against the famed town of Mansoul-to take it and make it his own habitation. Seeing himself exalted to greatness and honor, he obsesses over "how he might be set up as lord over all and have the sole power under Shaddai." Diabolus and his companions decide to destroy the King's son "so His inheritance might be theirs." Though the battle continues to rage, this book will show the reader what the enemy's intentions are and what God is doing to overcome him.