Sanctuary of the Chosen

by Dave Hunt

A well-written, tightly woven novel for our times, The Sanctuary of the Chosen is the story of Ari Seibel--an East German whose goal is to topple the communist regime in his country. Expelled to Israel for his subversive activities, Ari discovers that there is a religious as well as a political conspiracy at work.

Genres: Christian, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dave Hunt was an American Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. He was in full-time ministry from 1973 until his death. A prolific best-selling author, international lecturer, and Bible teacher, his writings have been translated into at least 50 languages. More than four million copies of Dave’s books have been sold. For nearly a decade, Dave also co-hosted a weekly radio program, Search the Scriptures Daily, broadcast on over 400 stations in the U.S. and worldwide.

Reviews

[Yibbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and its companion, the Archon Conspiracy over and over as a young teen. Together they build a thrilling speculative tale of the beginning of the end. They are spooky, almost chilling, yet throughout each was the sure authority of God displayed in the words and actions of various believers. Some of the political conflicts are a little dated, but still thrilling and interesting.
Unfortunately, I was still so familiar with the story lines of both books, that, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, the long discussions contrasting a New Age or atheistic worldview with a Biblical one were a little repetitive. They are very good, and, from what I remember about the first time I read them, timely to the story. For a young believer unfamiliar with Biblical answers to various conflicts raised in this book they are an exciting way to cement those answers in your mind and heart.
I would heartily recommend both books.

[JR Boutwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book, I found it captivating as I was drawn intro the characters and the story about them. I appreciated that TBC made it into an audio book which is how I read/l lol listened to it, I usually like to actually read my books, but this was kinda cool, I might try another audio book sometime, This book as with any book by Dave Hunt is true to scripture wherever it is mentioned and the storyline and topics that play-out in it are too. It I as a novel so of course it’s not all literal but, I think it’s a great read for everyone who likes thrillers, especially one with a hint of truth throughout. Enjoy and be Blessed!

You can find it and any other of Dave’s books for free on the free App from The Berean Call in the app store on Apple or Android devices.

[Linda Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and complex story.

This story with its revelations of demons working behind the scenes rings true for our times. I couldn’t put it down.

[Nathan C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The improbable story of Ari Thalberg, an anti-Marxist conspirator who brings about the student revolutions of '68 (were those anti-Marxist?), gets involved with the world's most powerful mafia, and keeps tabs on the CIA's psychic investigations--without their knowledge.

Besides being--at least from my perspective--absolutely unlikely, the story seems lacking in other ways. There are no characters in the book, there are only agents who take us where the author wants us to go and bring up the topics the author wants to talk about. I had no sooner begun to think that I had gotten a feel for who Thalberg was supposed to be when he would say something completely out of character. Or, he would suddenly seem ignorant of a subject he had been knowledgeable about earlier.

For example, with his friend/nemesis Roger, he argues for the possibility of psychic mind control, but later appears to be completely ignorant of the subject with his girlfriend, who argues for the existence of the psychic world with the same language and arguments Roger had previously used and now opposes. No explanations. It's obvious the author is just using characters to spout what he wants to say, without granting them any personhood at all--very much like the Calvinist "god" Hunt argues against in other writings.

Another complaint I have against this book--the complaint I have against most "Christian literature" I see on the shelves--is that not only does it fail as literature, it threatens to fail as Christian. Of course, Jesus Christ is mentioned in the book, and anyone you care about becomes a "Christian" and is "saved," but--the acid test for me--if we were to isolate all the mentions of Christ or Christianity, we are left with no substance at all. Archons and international conspiracies weigh much more heavily, both in space dedicated to them and in the impression left at the end, than does Christ. One is left wondering whether Christ is real to the author at all, or whether the devil is more real to him after all. The characters who are "saved" repeatedly ask (and I find it most intolerably obnoxious and arrogant) whether their detractors ever considered them "unintelligent" or "illogical," arguing that since they are intelligent, their choice for Christianity must be, too; but, they never explain why belief in Christ is logical. Instead, they resort to emotional appeals--"You are biased if you believe the Bible is illogical and contradictory, but I'm not about to prove the contrary; why don't you just believe me and read it?"

In short, if this book were all I knew of Christianity, I'd have no desire and feel no duty to know anything more about Christ. For a person who claims to believe Christ is the center and the purpose of the universe, the author is very silent on His merits.

I think I'll go back to my George MacDonald.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the Mind Invaders, I thought this book would be a sequel, but it is instead a another story-line the ends where Mind Invaders ended.

What made the book interesting is that the author brought his deep research of true world events and weaved them into this nice piece of fiction. It was interesting to probe some reputable websites for more information on events that I was completely ignorant about and it has sparked an interest to follow-up in the future with non-fiction works. As an aside, the other day I was exploring a used bookstore and happened to run across a book that goes into detail of the political collaboration of Reagan, Thatcher and the Pope, that was mentioned in the Dave's book.

Those who deny the prophetic significance of Israel being regathered as a nation, or those who hold man's doctrine on equal or greater footing than the bible, will probably dislike the work, as the book makes use of biblical themes.

I found this book to be light reading, and less heavy spiritual warfare that was presented in Mind Invaders. I enjoyed it as a spy thriller, and particularly enjoyed Dave expressing the thoughts of unbelievers and then during the course of the book providing logical reasons for faith. Some of these very reasons, I had actually myself as an atheist and even some even as a Christian.