The Oldest Enemy by Michael J Webb

A Spiritual Battle Reigns

The Oldest Enemy by Michael J Webb is a complex Christian novel about the spiritual battle between good and evil. It is a battle that has been raging since the dawn of time. The Oldest Enemy is grounded in historical facts that Michael J Webb has blended with his imagination to produce a tale that consumes.

The novel shows there is a very real spiritual battle as a character made an oath with the Prince of Darkness. Evil cannot be defeated in our human strength. We must call on the name of Jesus. “Rely upon our Lord … and you will not fail.”

The novel is covered with the love of God. The God who whispered names in the Bible still whispers names today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Portions of scripture intersperse with the action and are familiar to the reader.

The novel spans from Germany in 1944 to the ovens of Auschwitz to present day. The evil still needs to be defeated. Sadly the Jewish nation still has people wishing its demise as hate is spread. “Demonising us makes it easier to hate us.”

There are cries to God in times of great pain. “Where were you in all the desperate moments of my life when I needed you most?” The truth is that God was with us, walking beside us whether it is on the streets of America or into the ovens of Auschwitz. God walks alongside us. He never leaves us alone.

We may walk away from God but once we have known Him we will be aware of the God-shaped hole in our lives. “She’d had enough of a God who allowed so much pain and suffering… at the same time, she knew something vital was missing in her life.”

We need to beware of what we dabble in. Things like ouji boards are not harmless fun, they are dangerous and we may “ unwittingly open[ed] a spiritual door and unleashed something evil.” It is wise to stay away from what we do not know.

Michael J Webb has created a cosmopolitan epic story that spans nations and years. Actual events, real life figures and clearly much historical research adds an element of realism to the novel. As a historian with a passion for WWII and the Jewish people, I connected on a personal level.

Michael J Webb is clearly a talented author and I look forward to reading much more by him.

May we never forget the six million innocents who perished in the Holocaust. May we have eyes that see and hands that help and lips that speak up for those who cannot.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON

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