Q: What is your book about?
A: A Half Hour of Silence is a dystopian Sci-Fi thriller. It is the first book of The Harvest at Earth’s End series. It is set in what I like to call an alternate future where the battle between God and Satan is winding down to its final conclusion. It tells the story of the men and women living through the last days and recounts their struggle to survive the last battle between God and Satan.
Q: Why did you decide to write A Half Hour of Silence?
A: I have studied Bible prophecy for many decades and just like every student of the scriptures I have often pondered on the prophecies of the end times. I would watch the news and events from around the world to see how they corresponded to scriptures. I saw himself as one of the watchmen on the tower, trying to warn friends and loved ones of what I learned. I realized that most of them were asleep, that mundane life took precedence over events regarded as fable, or too far in the future to be bothered with. So, I decided to chronicle these events in a fictional account of the last days to make it more interesting to the reader.
Q: Why do you have a guy in armor fighting demons on the cover?
A: As you noticed, the cover portrays a Roman centurion surrounded by demons. In the background is a threatening storm. The cover symbolizes the need for us to be ready for the last days and the coming storm. Paul wrote that we need to put on the whole armor of God to do that and strengthen our faith. (Ephesians 6:10-18) Paul grew up under Roman domination. It is more than likely he imagined a Roman centurion in armor when he wrote that passage. To prepare for last days we will need to put on the armor of God and fight and conquer our demons. In Half Hour of Silence each of the characters are faced with personal demons they must conquer, whether they be PTSD, addiction, divorce, etc.
Q: I noticed one of your characters, Eddie, is fighting porn addiction. Why did you choose that?
A: Eddie not only struggles with porn addiction but also the alienation from his wife and the despair of the withdrawal of the Holy Ghost from his life. Eddie represents each of us as Christians who want to feel a closeness with God. Porn harms our relationship with our spouse and with God. It separates us from the influence and direction we receive from the Holy Ghost. It will be personal revelation that will be of the utmost importance to weathering the coming storm. Porn is one the greatest factors that destroys the connection we have with God. So, Eddie is a typical Christian who struggles with the secular, sex obsessed world and tries to get closer to God so he can hear that still small voice. This is the demon he fights in A Half Hour of Silence.
Q: Rick, one of your main characters, is an atheist. Isn’t that a little strange to have a character as an atheist in a Christian Sci Fi thriller?
A: Every Christian has a friend who is either an atheist or agnostic. I wanted to include most of the points of view on religion in A Half Hour of Silence whether they be Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Mormon, or even atheist. No point of view should be ignored in a book about the last days. Rick isn’t evil because of his atheism. There are many good and honest atheists. He was raised a Christian but left because of the many trials he faced and the unanswered questions he had. Will he stay that way through the coming trials? You’ll have to wait and see.
Q: In the book you claim that Satan still thinks he can win the battle against God. Didn’t he lose when Christ accomplished the atonement and resurrection?
A: I’ve always wondered why, if Satan lost with Christ’s atonement and resurrection, then why is he still fighting and trying to destroy mankind. Revenge and hatred are motives given to his actions but are they powerful enough to last 2,000 years and more? That’s a long time to seek vengeance. In A Half Hour of Silence I have another motive for he and his follower’s efforts––they may actually think they can win. That’s what the first book is about. Satan’s and his minions’ plans to win the war that began so long ago.
Q: There is a secret cabal called the Mustirmahani, in your book. Do you really think there is a secret satanic order behind everything?
A: Using secret combinations is a common plot device in fiction. Literature is replete with ‘bad guys’ wanting to control the world. My Mustirmahani will fit right in next to Ian Fleming’s SPECTRE, the Sith in Star Wars, HYDRA in the Marvel Comics universe, and the Second Foundation, in Isaac Asimov’s The Foundation Series, just to name a few.
Is it possible that there exists a powerful and wealthy group of people who want to influence the direction this country and the world takes? Yes, of course there could. Is it possible that Satan, in his desperation to win, have chosen and called on mortals to help him in his fight against God? Again, Yes. Why would he not? If he wins, he can promise power, wealth, and immortality to his mortal servants. Do they exist in reality? I don’t know but wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they did.
Q: Why did you create a fictional valley in Utah?
A: I wanted a place that was a microcosm of America and a future safe haven in the coming storm. I thought that a valley in the Rocky Mountains would make a great place to weather the storms of the end times. Of course, no place will be without its differences or troubles. The Sanpedro valley will have many future plotlines during the hard days ahead. Sanpedro has it all––ranchers vs developers, white supremacists vs Hispanic workers, Polygamist extremists vs Mormons and their Christian friends, gangs of looters vs the Sheriff Pose. Besides America, The Harvest at Earth’s End will also deal with the events in the Middle East and Jerusalem in the series.
Q: How long have you been interested in Bible Prophecy?
A: I’ve been fascinated with Bible prophecy ever since I read Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth in High School. After that I was hooked and began searching the scriptures for answers to the many questions I had. That was 50 years ago, and I am still searching for answers.
Q: You write a great deal about a future Third Temple in Jerusalem. Why?
A: The building of the Third Temple is the canary in the coal mine. Its fulfillment will be one of the key prophecies that will alert us that the time is close at hand. Just a few decades ago the Jews were scattered all around the world. Now they have a homeland where they speak the same language and worship the same God as they did 4,000 years ago. This too was fulfillment of prophecy and accomplished against great odds. As persecution continues to increase, millions more Jews will flee to the Holy Land for safety. It’s only a matter of time when the prophesied Third Temple is built. Many Jews are clamoring and preparing for that day as we speak.
Q: Is A Half Hour of Silence one of those typical Pre-Trib Christian Sci Fi novels that are on the market today?
A: Actually no, it is not. A Half Hour of Silence and the entire The Harvest at Earth’s End series explores the possibility that the rapture, or the taking up of believers to heaven, occurs at Christ’s coming rather than the more popular pre-trib theory where it occurs 7 years prior to the tribulations. Instead of escaping the tribulations of the last days, in my book, Christians will live, suffer, and hopefully overcome the trial of the end times. I like to refer to it as an alternate future. Fiction is all about the big ‘What If’. My series is ‘What If’ Christians must live through the tribulations of the last days rather than be lifted up to escape it. Jews and Christians have endured intense persecutions in the past under Antiochus Epiphanes, Hitler’s Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and now in today’s atrocities against Christians in the Middle East and North Africa. I believe we will all experience it again. This is what The Harvest at Earth’s End series explores.
Q: So, do you know when Jesus Christ will return? Many others have tried. When do you think it is?
A: As Jesus said, no one knows the day or hour, but it is not hard for a student of the Bible to know that we are close to that time. If you use the Book of Revelation as a timeline, I would say that the 7th seal has been opened and we are now living in the half hour of silence that occurs before the seven angels begin to sound the trumpets. Thus, the name of the book.
Q: Why do so many people try to predict that date of the rapture or the Second Coming?
A: I think we all want to see the marvelous times Christ will usher in when he returns. A thousand years of peace and harmony sounds great just about now. The hope for the end of strife, war, murder, crime, is a powerful desire. Some have twisted the meaning of many scriptures and taken them out of context to use that hope the people feel to gain notoriety, fame, and fortune for themselves. Some of it is misguided. Others are deceivers. On the other hand, there will be those who will lose heart, seeing and then experiencing the great tribulation and will lose heart and complain that the Lord delays his coming. (Matt. 24:48)
Q: Isn’t that what you are trying to do with your books and prophesy website?
A: I’ve stayed away from the minefield of predicting the date of the Second Coming. My books are set in the near future, 10-20 years from now. On The Harvest at Earth’s End prophecy site I don’t set a time for the Second Advent. My main purpose is to prepare those who are looking forward to Christ’s return, what they may face, and to prepare for it both spiritually and mentally.
Q: What’s the best way to prepare for the last days?
A: Two things: Be ready spiritually and temporally. There is a great effort to have food, medical supplies, guns and ammo, but that will mean nothing if we don’t prepare spiritually and have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. It will be He, if we listen, who will warn us of danger, guide us to lost loved ones or a path to safety. It will be indispensable to have the personal revelation of that still small voice. In my free monthly newsletter, I have two sections on being prepared. One is called, Come Follow Me, with faith promoting articles and about the importance to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The other is on Emergency Preparedness, how to prepare you and your family for any disaster.
Q: What are the ways that we can connect with you?
A: You can email at, jksellers@theharvestatearthsend.com or you can contact me on either one of my websites; theharvestatearthsend.com or jksellers.com