Servant, the General and Armageddon

By R. Achel Maude and Derwent Maude

Book Overview

They called the kings together at the place, called in Hebrew, Armageddon. The seventh angel emptied his bowl into the air, and a voice shouted from the sanctuary, 'The end has come'. Then there were flashes of lightning and peals of thunder and the most violent earthquake that anyone has ever seen since there have been men on the earth. Revelation 16:16-18 The world war, which has raged across Europe, North Africa and the Ottoman Empire for four years, is finally drawing to a close. General Edmund H. H. Allenby - broad-shouldered, square-jawed man possessed of great physical strength, 'an explosive general' - marches his army north past Megiddo, 'the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon'. The goal: the town of Haifa in the north of Palestine. In Haifa the small and terrified Bah ' community gathers in the house of 'Abdu'l-Bah , the head of the Bah ' Faith. 'Abdu'l-Baha calms the excited Bah ' s and calls them to prayer. He assures them that all will be well. But His own life has been threatened by the Ottoman leader, Djemal Pasha. Here is the intriguing story of a battle foretold in the Hebrew Bible that linked the lives of two men who shaped history in very different ways. Published to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Armageddon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0853984247
• ISBN13: 9780853984245
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: George Ronald Publisher Ltd
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

An interesting episode in the Middle East

This short and readable book deals with part of the Palestine campaign of the First World War, itself part of a much greater struggle. The campaign differed markedly from much else in the war, not least in its movement and its sustained history of Allied success. The capture of Jerusalem by the British general Allenby and his forces is often seen as the high point on account of historic and holy nature of the city, but in fact the campaign went on afterwards. In the north Allenby secured a decisive victory at har-Megiddo (popularly known as Armageddon) and captured the strategically important port city of Haifa. One of the notable citizens of Haifa at the time was Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), the then head of the Baha'i religion. He had been active in trying to shield the citizens from the worst effect of the war and its attendant famine and had aroused the enmity of the Turkish occupiers who had threatened him with death before they retreated. For millions of people the saving of his life by Allenby's lightning victory was seen as the hand of Providence.The book deals with some of the history of the region and the campaign and shows what it was like to live through for both soldier and civilian. The main characters - the outstanding general Allenby, his brilliant and devious intelligence chief Meinertzhagen, and the saintly but eminently practical Abdu'l-Baha are well drawn in the space the book allows.An enjoyable and informative read.