The Holy War made by Shaddai upon Diabolus, for the Regaining the Metropolis of the World; Or, The losing and taking again of the Town of Man-soul.

The Holy War is a short novel (approximately 200 pages), written as an allegory by John Bunyan. While not as famous as his earlier allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, I found it nearly as valuable.
The story is structured around one Town of Mansoul. This town, built perfectly, bears the image of it's builder, King Shaddai (Almighty). Now a rebellious servant of this King, by the name of Diabolus, was disowned and dismissed from the King. This Diabolus in revenge, goes to Mansoul and through deceit, gains entry to their town by convincing them to overthrow the rule of Shaddai. Once inside, he distorts the town from it's former semblance, for he mutilates the image of the King and sets up his own image. He also causes the eyes of the mayor of the town (Understanding), who had permitted his entrance, not to see the light. The recorder (Conscience), he also causes to sin, making him a madman, at times sinning and at other times condemning sin of the city. Also the allegiance of Lord Willbewill changed from one that did righteousness, to one who serves Diabolus.
Because of the fall of these three men, the voluntary surrender of Mansoul to Shaddai is impossible. Besides, Diabolus strengthened his stronghold in the city by bring into it all manners of Diabolians (sin), who pollute the city. He also fortifies the Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate, so that enemy penetration will be made even more difficult.
Despite this treachery Shaddai's son, Emmanuel, takes a vow to restore the City for the Glory of his Father.
To tell much more could reduce your desire to read the book, which would be antithetical to my goal. Suffice it to say, The Holy War is a brilliant exposition of many intricate doctrines. Mainly, the fall, conversion, salvation, and perseverance of the soul, not to mention, fellowship with God, the discipline of God in the life of a believer, and sanctification. The list could go on but my explanation of the book will not compare to you going and reading it, for indeed this book review is merely scratching the surface of this magnificent parable.
You can find the entire book online, here. http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.John.Bunyan/Sermons.Allegories/The.Holy.War/index.html

Pilgrim's Progress

Before I read Pilgrim's Progress I did not understand why it is so loved. I had imagined, that for the most part, it was merely a conjectured parable, one based more on emotion and experiences than on scripture. I had suspected that it was not an allegory that could be ranked very comparable with the Christian Life. I was totally wrong! While it is true that every analogy breaks down at some point, the thought that Bunyan put into the allegory of Pilgrim's Progress, makes it line-up SHOCKINGLY well with Scripture.(It also helped that Bunyan didn't just draw thoughts from his mind, but was constantly using scripture as a basis for his analogies!)

There are two parts to Pilgrim's Progress, the first which deals with Christian's journey to Heaven, and the second which deals with Christiana, Christian's wife, and her journey to Heaven along with her children.

In the first part Christian, convicted of sin, and shown the way to go, sets off alone to live the life of a Christian. As he was one of the first from his country to take up the Pilgrimage, he meets few other true Pilgrims on the way, for most of those he meets are either obvious enemies, or hypocrites. Each person has a name, normally describing who they are. (Though there are some whose names are found in scripture, such as Moses and Adam-the-first.) When ever Christian meets another person, the reader is shown how their name indeed describes, both their character and whether or not they are fellow pilgrims. The reader is normally shown this through a conversation between Christian, and the other character. The conversations Christian has with Talkative and Ignorance, were favorites for me. Also throughout the Pilgrimage many trials and dangerous places are met with, places were previous pilgrims had been persecuted and killed and places where the trials separated the wheat and the chaff. One of the most intriguing place was Mount Sinai where Christian seeks relief from his sin. Lastly, on the journey are met places of refreshment and rest where the servants of the True King offer lodging and advice to the Pilgrims. Such was the Delectable Mountains, a place of Peace where Christian met with Shepherd of the King, who gave him many warnings and encouragement.

And that's just the first half!!! The Second half while similar in many ways, as to the places that the Pilgrims come to, and how characters are introduced, but it is also much different. Instead of a lonely pilgrimage like the one of Christian, the group of Pilgrims grows exponentially through the Story which started with only Christiana, Mercy, and Christiana's 4 children. Such was a glorious picture of the growth of the church through history. Also many of trials Christian had gone through now, are safer because of his testimony. While in part one, more evil was met than was good, in part two more good is met with than evil, and much of the evil that is met with is defeated.(Those pilgrims slew 4 giants through their pilgrimage.)Part two also shows many believer all at different stages of their sanctification. Some like good Mr. Fearing see so clearly the grievances of their sin, they are inclined to doubt the grace of God, yet He gives them power to trust him.

In Conclusion Pilgrim's Progress is more than a cute bedtime story, it is a VERY theologically sound book, that shows hypocrites for what they are, the sin of believers for what it is, and the Grace of God for what it is! It deals with the issues of doubt, assurance, lust, and trust. In this short book review I do not feel I can adequately praise it!