Sunday, November 27, 2005
LORD OF THE WORLD
by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson.
The book, first published in 1907, is the story of the last days of earth during the rise of the antichrist; and it's online here for anyone who wants to read it. There is no charge for doing so.
Anyone with an interest in apocalyptic literature has heard of Fr. Benson's book. He was a good writer, and the story moves at a fast pace keeping the reader's interest.
I was struck by a significant correlation between this story of the Last Days, Soloviev's "Short Story of the Antichrist", and Michael O'Brien's FATHER ELIJAH. In each case the site of refuge for the Pope when he must leave Rome is Israel, a nation which did not yet exist at the time Benson wrote, and which is therefore presented rather differently than it would be today.
Early in the story the pope forms a new religious order, The Order of Christ Crucified, which is to be a force for the Church as the rule of the antichrist escalates. It brought Opus Dei immediately to mind, and that thought stayed with me throughout the book. There are notable similarities.
There are other curiosities in Benson's novel. Volors, Benson's name for airships which resemble in part both trains and boats, were largely imaginary, since the Wright brothers had made their first flight just four years prior to the release date of the book. Though he had most likely never flown, his description of flying given from the vantage point of looking out the window of the airship was rather close to the actual experience.
Euthanasia plays a part in the story, with Benson placing the legislation that makes it legal in 1998. Strangely prophetic. But even though he predicted euthanasia so accurately, ironically he failed to anticipate air-conditioning.
His antichrist figure rises to power mysteriously, and Benson doesn't attempt any logical explanation for this rise. The riots that follow the takeover of world government bear a similarity to accounts of the French Revolution. Benson was convinced that Freemasonry would give birth to the movement for the antichrist and mentions Masonry several times in the story. He does not mention Theosophy, however; and esotericism plays a very small part in his tale. His last pope is named Sylvester, not Peter the Roman.
If you can spare the time and like apocalyptic novels, this book is a good read.
