The Way Home

The Battle for Heaven and Earth, Mark M. Yarbrough & Jerry B. Jenkins, Christian Fiction, Release Date: November 2026, 4 Stars 

 

If you’ve always wanted to know more about what happened in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth with the angels and the first people but you just couldn’t get into Paradise Lost, this highly imaginative but biblically faithful novel written by the president of Dallas Theological Seminary, Mark Yarbrough and highly seasoned Christian author, Jerry Jenkins, could be just the beginning of a new armchair journey. 

Sure, we’ve all read the opening chapters of Genesis, but the well-pummeled narrative there has been publicly reduced to either moralistic poetry on the level of Pilgrim’s Progress or sneered at on late-night cable TV. Unlike most US seminaries and Christian colleges that doubt the existence of a real Adam and Eve (never mind the “talking snake”), the authors of this new book take the Biblical account seriously. 

 The plot follows the well-known story line found mainly in the first chapters of the book of Genesis but with a vivid but well-informed prequel in heaven gleaned from many other passages found elsewhere in the Bible. The book opens with Michael the archangel enthusiastically describing innumerable angels enjoying heaven and its highly imaginative settings along with their joyful and creative adoration of Almighty God.  

 Two familiar names—Gabriel and Michael—narrate the story as they work together with an angel new to us—Paroketh—as they discover and battle a growing rebellion in paradise under orders from God. The battle scenes will be especially tantalizing to Frank Peretti fans as the threesome organize the faithful angels and fight Lucifer and General Sâr leading thousands of rebellious angels. 

 Yarbrough and Jenkins insightfully grapple with Lucifer’s motives as well as Michael’s own thoughtful questions. Their probing helps reveal some of the reasons behind the creation of a second realm to Heaven—the earth and the universe—as well as the expulsion of Lucifer and the permission given to him to tempt the first humans to also rebel against God. 

 Many readers will enjoy delightful reminders of Perelandra and Robinson Crusoe as they follow the enchanting discovery story of the newly awakened Adam and Eve and agonize over a naïve but fateful decision. 

 For Yarbrough and Jenkins, this battle to trust God (or not) has a very real and profound meaning. 

I loved the exquisite poetry which the angels, Adam and Eve, and even the deceptive demons sang at various points. I could almost imagine a heavenly opera at times. 

 The story line made me question my own viewpoint on the motives behind the sins of Lucifer, Eve, and Adam, and I admit to being left confused by the permanent imprisoning of most (but not all) of the rebellious angels. I understand from Scripture that all the rebellious angels were cast down to earth and only later, after the flood, were some imprisoned. Hopefully, another story is in the works. 

 On page 326, God explains to Eve that death “is the opposite of . . . life. Eventually you would cease to exist.”  I find this explanation very troubling. Scripture speaks of death as only a separation from our corruptible body followed by a first and second resurrection when we are all reunited with a body for all eternity and no one “ceases to exist.” Even in hell there is eternal conscious torment where no one ceases to exist. 

 Some might complain that the scenes of the adoration of God are too lengthy and might contribute to the idea that heaven is boring unless you play the harp. However, no one (except Satan) was ever bored in this story. Instead, the worshippers were always filled with joy and highly anticipated being in the very presence of God.  

 The extremely brief chapters could serve as a launch pad for daily devotions that investigate the Scriptures for oneself. High school and college students will benefit greatly from an introduction to a real-life spiritual battle and all of us can whet our appetite with anticipation and joy in the life to come. 

 Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing an advance copy of the book for review consideration via Net Galley. The opinions are my own.