Are the cunning of Hyena and the strength of his
dogs any match for King Lion and his Son? Who will
ultimately win control of the village of Perfect?
A n a l l e g o r y, n o t j u s t o f g o o d v e r s u s e v i l , H y e n a ,
King Lion and the Prince spans all of human and
C h u r c h h i s t o r y, s h o w i n g h o w G o d h a s w o r k e d i n H i s
Creation to redeem it from the schemes of Satan and
the corruption of sin. Set in a rural African village,
the riveting storyline and charming illustrations
make this epic tale an instant classic for the whole
f a m i l y t o e n j o y.
Marc and Cynthia Carrier are missionaries serving in East
Africa with their eight children. Marc’s interest in teaching Kingdom Christian history and passion for missions work among
storytelling cultures were the impetus for Hyena, King Lion and
the Prince. Their life in East Africa also inspired the setting of
the allegory. For more information about their mission, visit www.KingdomDriven.org or connect with
the Carrier family at www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com.
Hyena, King Lion
and the Prince
The Battle for Perfect
Marc and Cynthia Carrier
Hyena, King Lion
and
the Prince
The Battle for Perfect
Marc & Cynthia Carrier
“Hyena, King Lion and the Prince: The Battle for Perfect”
Copyright © 2014, Marc and Cynthia Carrier
All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured by the publisher to reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or
articles.
Published by Values-Driven Publishing
www.ValuesDrivenPublishing.com
Artwork by Bonventure, Kitale, Kenya
Contents
The Establishment and Fall of the Kingdom
4
The Rise of Hyena
24
Perfect Peace?
32
The Influence of the Hippos
36
Conflict in Perfect
42
Heavenly Asleep
46
Hyena Gains Control
62
A New Dawn Rising in Perfect
72
The Final Battle
82
Epilogue
94
The Establishment and Fall of the Kingdom
M
any years ago, before the days of our ancest o r s , t h e r e w a s a v i l l a g e c a l l e d H e a v e n l y. A s
you can imagine, based on its name, it was a
beautiful place where maize grew tall and strong , shade
t r e e s ke p t a w a y t h e a f t e r n o o n s u n a n d h e a t , a n d t h e r e
were springs
with cool,
clean, plentiful
w a t e r. T h e
righteous and
just King Lion
was Chief of
Heavenly and
wanted it to be
a place where
everyone was
s a f e a n d h a p p y.
For a long time,
it was so.
O n e d a y,
h o w e v e r, H y e n a
decided he had
had enough of
H e a v e n l y. H e
wanted everyone to love him
as much as they
loved King
Lion—in truth,
he was jealous!
4
Hyena wanted to
be as powerful as
King Lion and was
confident he
could be just as
g o o d a C h i e f. H e
d i d n ’ t l i ke K i n g
L i o n ’s w a y s a n d
thought his own
w a y s w e r e b e t t e r.
He drew a great
number of
H e a v e n l y ’s
citizens to
h i m s e l f, a n d
promised them
that if they would
fight with him to
overthrow King
Lion, they would
win positions of
influence under
H y e n a ’s
leadership.
As you can imagine, King Lion (who was a very wise Chief)
found out what the sneaky Hyena was up to. Hyena, understanding his deceit was discovered, departed Heavenly in
disgrace and eventually made his way to a new place, a faraway village called Perfect.
5
6
P e r f e c t w a s p a r t o f K i n g L i o n ’s d o m a i n a s w e l l , a n d h e h a d
already established a community there. It was a place
m u c h l i ke H e a v e n l y — a b e a u t i f u l p l a c e w h e r e i t s c i t i z e n s
could live in peace.
Ever yo ne in Perfec t loved King Lio n, from the Little B ug to
the Giant Elephant, because they knew he wanted the very
best for them. King Lion created laws which would
e n s u r e o r d e r a n d s a f e t y. K i n g L i o n ’s r u l e s w e r e f a i r a n d
good. No one could steal from anyone else. If anyone was
c a u g h t d o i n g d a m a g e t o s o m e o n e e l s e ’s p r o p e r t y, t h e v i o lator would repair or replace what was damaged.
King Lion, though not a permanent resident of Perfect, spent a lot
of time there when he established this new village, in order to
show its citizens his good example. He visited those who were sick
and tried to cheer them up and help them get well. He was always
kind and willing to help. Because King Lion was such a good Chief
and Perfect was such a peaceful place to live, its citizens lived good
lives and abided by the Perfect laws.
King Lion decided that he would do his best to make sure that Perfect would be full of citizens who would continue to behave kindly
and righteously toward one another. He did not want the rebellion
that had occurred in Heavenly to repeat itself in Perfect! When Hyena left Heavenly to reside in Perfect, he himself—King Lion—
followed, and continued to order things in the village so that everyone would remain loyal to him and experience a good life.
7
H y e n a , h o w e v e r, h e l d a g r u d g e a g a i n s t K i n g L i o n a n d
wanted nothing but to destroy him —and Perfect. What
would be better than turning the citizens of the village
against their good King and his laws, to recruit them for
his planned battle to overthrow King Lion? Hyena was
still very embittered that his evil intent had been made
public when in his former home. Since everyone in
Perfect was loyal to King Lion, though, Hyena knew he
w o u l d h a v e t o b e v e r y c r a f t y. K i n g L i o n w a s a s m a r t
c h i e f, a f t e r a l l .
As Hyena was building his house in this new village,
some of his neighbors came to help him cut sticks and
m i x m u d . W h i l e t h e y w o r ke d , t h e y s p o ke t o H y e n a , a
stra nger to them, a bo ut w hat a wo nderful plac e Perfec t
w a s : “ H e r e , H y e n a , y o u w i l l n o t f i n d a n y s t e a l i n g . Yo u
can plant your maize, and it will grow strong , and when
you harvest it there will be not an ear missing!”
H y e n a a s ke d , “ B u t w h a t i f o n e d o e s n ’ t h a v e e n o u g h
f o o d ? S u r e l y i t w o u l d n o t b e w r o n g t o t a ke a n e a r o f
c o r n f r o m h i s n e i g h b o r ’s f i e l d . A n d w h y w o u l d a n y o n e
mind, since the citizens of Perfect are all such good
people?”
Antelope commented, “Here, if you are sick, you can be
sure that your neighbors —and perhaps even King Lion
h i m s e l f — w i l l v i s i t y o u w i t h s o m e s o f t f o o d s a n d t e a .” To
w h i c h t h e c r a f t y H y e n a r e p l i e d , “ C e r t a i n l y, t h a t i s v e r y
nice. I will be happy to live in such a place. The giving
of gifts, though, must be returned in kind, and I am not
a man of means. It would almost be better if my
n e i g h b o r s w e r e n o t s o g e n e r o u s .”
8
9
10
B y t h e t i m e H y e n a ’s h o u s e w a s b u i l t , c e r t a i n d o u b t s h a d
begun to turn his neighbors’ thoughts away from the
community o f Perfect a nd a ll the goo d that King L io n and
its citizens were doing. Indeed, if Hare had more than
Tu r t l e a n d Tu r t l e w a s h u n g r y, w a s i t r e a l l y w r o n g f o r h i m t o
g r a b a n e a r o f m a i z e o f f a s t a l k i n H a r e ’s f i e l d a s h e w a l ke d
by? And perhaps Hyena was right —receiving a gift or a
f a v o r w o u l d c e r t a i n l y o b l i g a t e o n e t o a n o t h e r. A n d w h a t i f
he had nothing with which to repay the good deed? It
might be better to serve oneself instead of being so concerned with others.
These thoughts, and others, went round and round in the
h e a d s o f H y e n a ’s g o o d n e i g h b o r s , a n d b e f o r e t o o l o n g t h e
thoughts became words. They began to talk to their
neighbors, asking questions and wondering if the Perfect
way o f life wa s rea lly the best. So o n, feeling s of do ubt a nd
disco ntent fell over the atmo sphere o f Perfec t.
It wasn’t long before neighbor began to speak against
n e i g h b o r. E a c h o n e l o o ke d o u t o f t h e c o r n e r o f h i s e y e s t o
see if he could catch his friend doing some evil —for of
co urse, no o ne was goo d a ll the time, no t even in Perfec t!
They began to build fences a ro und their fields of ma ize a nd
use dogs to protect their homes and possessions. Some
s t i l l t r i e d t o d o g o o d a n d e n f o r c e K i n g L i o n ’s j u s t l a w s , b u t
much was done in such a sneaky manner that it was
difficult to know who was good and who was bad, and who
had committed the wrong deeds that were observed.
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Epilogue
T
his allegory is loosely based on the true biblical story of the battle between God
and Satan. God created all things in Heaven and on Earth. Initially everything was
in perfect harmony. Earth was a perfect place where dominion was granted to
man—the culmination of His Creation, and where God walked with man. However, man
was deceived by Satan and he (God’s enemy) became the rightful ruler of this world. Man
therefore became enslaved to him, and Satan began building his army to unite in rebellion
against God to overthrow him.
God returned to Heaven and in his stead sent prophets to guide men in His perfect ways.
But most men continued to reject his ways and follow the ways of Satan, sin and the
world. God ultimately sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, as a ransom to free man from his
bondage to Satan, sin and the world. Satan accepted Christ’s sacrifice (we presume with
the intent to deceive man yet again), but was unaware that since Jesus was without sin,
Death had no power over him. As a result, Jesus plundered Hades and rose from the dead.
While on Earth, Jesus taught the perfect laws of Heaven. He rescued men from enslavement and gave them an opportunity to walk in freedom from sin. Through faith, repentance, and water baptism for the forgiveness of sins, man could be born again in the Holy
Spirit and enter the Kingdom of God. Henceforth, the Kingdom would dwell on the Earth
within the hearts of its citizens.
But the citizens of the Kingdom would suffer greatly at the hands of governments (the
Dogs) and eventually religious institutions (Barns) guided by the theologians (Hippos).
(Constantine, Augustine, Anselm, Luther, and Calvin were the most influential at supplanting the Kingdom of God with something different.) However, throughout history,
there always existed a remnant who remained obedient to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Powerful Hippo (Founder of Islam) emerged as a challenge to both the followers of
Jesus’ teachings and cultural Christians alike. The Catholics and Protestant Reformers likewise were guilty of many atrocities against the loyal followers of Christ, at their time called
the Anabaptists. But the Anabaptists persevered under great pressure at the hands of
these persecutors. In the end, it was not the governments or the religious zealots who
crushed the Anabaptist period of Kingdom Christianity—it was peace and complacency,
with accompanying infighting amongst themselves.
12
In the wake of the collapse of the Anabaptist zeal, Protestants shifted closer and closer
to Biblical truth. Awakenings and revivals resulted in missionary movements not seen
for some time. Cultural Christianity was steadfast in the developed world and rising in
the remotest lands. But secular humanism, entertainment, and other institutions and
vices were on the rise. Cultures were changing, and fast, in the 20th century. With the
shifts in culture followed changes in the churches as well—not many of them favorable.
However, in the latter decades of the 20th century a wave of discovery was underway;
the proliferation of Ante-Nicene (early Church) and Anabaptist writings was stirring
the hearts of many sincere church-going Christians. At the same time, the missionary
house church-planting and discipleship movement was underway in much of the
world. Historic Anabaptists, the renowned “quiet in the land” also were rediscovering
their roots. These concurrent movements reignited a fire for true historic Kingdom
Christianity and Kingdom expansion.
The balance of the book is simply the author’s speculation of where things will go from
there. Time will tell!
The intent of this book was to write a simple story that would teach history, and that
will serve as an impetus to launch a desire for discovery in the reader. I pray you will
be led to research more and find the truth. For too long, a false history has been presented to us, and we have blindly accepted it. I urge you to not trust anyone, but rather go to the primary sources for yourself. May the Lord God Almighty give you wisdom in your journey.
13