Kingdom's Dawn
Page 12
1. In this chapter, Leinad is left to die in the Banteen Desert. What does this event represent?
2. Leinad tries to loosen the straps that keep him chained to the desert floor, but only succeeds in creating small cracks around each stake. Later on in the chapter there is a thunderstorm that not only frightens the Moshi Beasts from killing Leinad, but causes rain to pour into the small cracks, loosening the stakes. Sometimes it feels as if we are at the end of our rope, but if we call out to God, as Leinad called to the King, God will provide a way to save us. Find passages in the Bible that refer to His promise to listen if we call to Him.
CHAPTER 14
1. In this chapter, Leinad comes face-to-face with the King, and it is a turning point in Leinad’s life. This event is allegorical to a specific event in the Bible regarding Moses. What is that event?
2. The King gives Leinad an arduous task: to free the people of Nan from their enslavement in Nyland. However, Leinad offers excuses because he doubts his ability to accomplish the task. This represents when Moses argued with God in Exodus 3 and 4. When God gives us tasks, sometimes it feels as if we are unworthy of the trust He puts in us. Have you ever given God excuses when He told you to do something?
3. In this chapter, the King continues Leinad’s training with the sword, saying, “What your father began, I shall complete.” What might this statement mean for you personally?
4. The King warns Leinad of his worst enemy. Who is Leinad’s worst enemy and why? Can you find Bible verses that pertain to this?
5. In the final passages of the chapter, the King knights Leinad “in the harsh landscape of the desert, the only place where a man truly begins to understand his purpose in life.” Not only does this represent when God chooses Moses after his self-reflection in the desert, but it also applies to each of us. Thinking back in your life, when did you learn the most? Was it during a time of trial or of ease?
ANSWERS TO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 1
1. The sword represents the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Leinad questions his training because everyone questions his or her purpose in life and the authenticity of faith at some point. Through prayer, wise counsel, and training, the truth of God’s Word is revealed.
2. The gulf between the spiritual world of heaven and the physical world of earth.
3. One way we can prepare is to study God’s Word and develop a close, personal relationship with Him. Second Timothy 2:15 states, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Also, Ephesians 6: 11–17 defines the battle against spiritual darkness and encourages us to “put on the whole armor of God.”
CHAPTER 2
1. Specifically, Gabrik represents the messenger angel Gabriel. However, Gabrik is also used to represent other angelic beings throughout the first two books.
2. Terra and Earth. Also, take a close look at Leinad.
3. Leinad’s symbolic calling as a prophet to be an instrument through which God talks to, leads, and guides His people.
CHAPTER 3
1. This represents the Creation, Adam and Eve, and the Fall of mankind through sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1–3).
2. As the husband, Peyton had a responsibility to protect his wife (Genesis 3:16).
3. The two great commandments as stated by Jesus in Matthew 22:37–40: Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
4. This symbolizes our free will and God’s desire that we choose to serve Him. It is important to know this because it reveals part of God’s nature: He loves us, but He will not violate the free will He gave us in order to have a relationship with us.
5. Answer based on personal experience.
CHAPTER 4
1. Cain (Genesis 4:15b).
2. This means that the hope of the coming Prince still remains and that the one chosen to deliver this message of hope is still alive. Although God’s children may be martyred for their faith, the message of truth (that Christ is coming again) will never be lost.
3. Answer based on personal experience.
CHAPTER 5
1. The promise is revealed in the next book, Kingdom’s Hope.
2. The Vactor Deluge is the Great Flood, and Leinad represents Noah. Simultaneously, Tess represents Noah’s family, the faithful few who believed Noah in spite of all the ridicule (Genesis 6:13–22).
CHAPTER 6
1. The ark (Genesis 7:1).
2. Answer based on personal experience.
CHAPTER 7
1. In the Kingdom Series, this man is the Prince, and allegorically he is the preincarnate Christ.
2. Leinad now represents Abraham. Abraham means “the friend of God.”
3. Leinad recognized the mark of the King on the man’s sword.
CHAPTER 8
1. Joseph.
2. 2 Timothy 4:18; James 4:10; Psalms 46:10; Isaiah 55:8–9; Jeremiah 32:17; Nahum 1:7.
CHAPTER 9
1. The Eminafs represent the famine in Egypt and the surrounding regions, including Canaan.
2. Tess represents the children of Israel who go to Egypt to find food.
CHAPTER 10
1. This represents Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream.
2. Answer based on personal experience.
CHAPTER 11
1. God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream so that Egypt was prepared for the famine. As a result, Joseph was given the responsibility to store food during the seven years of plenty to prepare for the seven years of famine. Likewise, Leinad’s training prepared Fairos’s men for the battle against the Eminafs.
2. Answer based on personal experience.
CHAPTER 12
1. Leinad now represents Moses (Exodus 2:11–12).
2. Ephesians 4:26: “ ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”
CHAPTER 13
1. Moses living in the wilderness after his exile from Egypt.
2. 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 50:15; 55:16; 86:7; 91:15; 116:2; Jeremiah 29:12; 33:3.
CHAPTER 14
1. Moses and the burning bush.
2. Answer based on personal experience.
3. Answer based on personal experience.
4. The King warns Leinad of himself. The King continues by telling Leinad that if he becomes arrogant in his skill with the sword, he will fall. In the same way, God hates pride in His children and has warned us through these following passages: Psalm 119:21; 138:6; Proverbs 6:17; 16:5; 16:18; 21:4; Isaiah 13:11; Luke 1:51; James 4:6; 1 John 2:16.
5. Answer based on personal experience.
AUTHOR’S COMMENTARY
The Old Testament tells the story of mankind from its beginning to the dawn of a redeemer … a deliverer. Its pages reveal to the world the promise that someday One would come who could defeat the evil one. If the Old Testament was categorized as a drama, it would be classified as a tragedy. However, it is a tragedy that ends with hope and a promise. Although the Jews have endured tremendous trials and persecution, it is through these chosen people that this hope and promise came from God.
Divine wisdom made manifest the need for a Savior. God granted this wisdom to a select few men who were consumed with the zeal of the Holy Spirit. It was their mission in life to reveal God’s will to His chosen people, the Jews. These men were respected, feared, and persecuted for this throughout Bible history. Ultimately they brought the message of a Savior who would redeem mankind and eventually usher in an age of peace and prosperity.<
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Kingdom’s Dawn is the beginning of an allegorical novel series that attempts to capture this incredible true story of the Bible. The prologue and epilogue are given by a man named Cedric as he looks back to the time of his mentor, Leinad. Later, in Kingdom’s Edge, more is revealed about Cedric and his important role. Suffice it to say that the entire Kingdom Series is told by him. Kingdom’s Dawn and Kingdom’s Hope are told by Cedric from a third person account as he passes along the story Leinad (and also Tess) told him. But Kingdom’s Edge is told from Cedric’s point of view as he gives us a firsthand account of the events recorded there. Cedric represents all of the believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the time of Peter up to the present.
The central character in Kingdom’s Dawn is Cedric’s wise old mentor, Leinad, when he was a young man. He represents all the select men who were instrumental in revealing God’s message to the people either through their lives, their dreams, or direct revelation. Through the development of the novel, you can see many of the biblical characters that Leinad represents. Some include Seth, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. In the next novel, Kingdom’s Hope, Leinad represents most of the Old Testament prophets.
The sword throughout the Kingdom Series represents the Word of God. The challenge in Kingdom’s Dawn was differentiating between the real swords used in the Old Testament battles and the “Word of God” sword used by the prophets to reveal God’s will to the people. Extreme care was taken to create allegorical content centered on the sword that directly symbolized God’s Word through the prophets. For example, God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream that allowed him to store up food for the forthcoming famine, which ultimately strengthened Pharaoh’s rule. Allegorically, it was Leinad’s skill with the sword that saved Nyland from the Eminafs and increased Fairos’s rule.
Tess represents the faithful remnant that stayed true to the Lord and did not abandon the prophets even when the rest of the nation turned its back on them. One could speculate that there was a special understanding and relationship between the faithful and the prophets. In this novel, Tess represents Enoch, Noah’s family, Joshua, Caleb, and many more.
The evil forces of the Dark Knight are obviously Satan and his fallen angels. Zane represents the unrepentant mass of mankind that begins with Cain and carries through to the evil people at the time of Noah’s flood and beyond.
A discerning mind will see many significant biblical events allegorically portrayed, such as the Creation, Paradise, the Fall, the Flood, and the four hundred years of captivity in Egypt. Kingdom’s Hope continues this line of symbolism to the end of the Old Testament.
My hope and prayer is that your reading of this novel will inspire you to explore the infallible Word of God as you investigate the incredible journey of mankind and our arrival at the realization that we all desperately need a savior … the Savior, Jesus!
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
PSALM 18:2