Babylon 5: In the Beginning is a 1998 science fiction film set in the mid-23rd century. It tells the story of the Earth Alliance, consisting of a close coalition of 24 human outposts and colonies in more than a dozen star systems, and how its ambitious expansion throughout the galaxy led to an encounter with an advanced alien race called the Minbari and a tragic misunderstanding that threatened the existence of the human race. This film provided the backstory for the television series Babylon 5, which ran five seasons from 1994 to 1998.

In 2245, when the Earthforce heavy cruiser EAS Prometheus and other task force ships jumped out of hyperspace just outside Minbari space, Minbari ships detected them and approached with gunports open, which, in their culture, was a sign of good faith and respect. The Earth ships did not understand this and thought that it was a sign of imminent attack. They fired on the unsuspecting Minbari ships, severely damaging them, before activating their jump drive engines and escaping. The Minbari, enraged at what they viewed as an unprovoked attack, declared war on the human race. Not for conquest, but destruction.

The superior Minbari technology soon overwhelmed the human forces, and they started systematically destroying one outpost and colony after another, their unrelenting advance exacting a huge death toll.

Though the humans came to believe that their doom was inevitable, they would not surrender to despair but fought back with even greater strength. They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space. Men and women would weep, pray, say farewell to their loved ones, and throw themselves without hesitation into the face of death. When they ran out of ships, they used guns. When they ran out of guns, they used knives, sticks, and bare hands. For two years they did this. They never ran out of courage, but in the end they ran out of time.

With the Minbari attack on Earth itself eminent, the Earth Alliance President Elizabeth Levy addressed the remaining Earthforce personnel:

"This is the President.

"I have just been informed that our mid-range military bases at Beta Durani and Proxima III have fallen to the Minbari advance. We have lost contact with Io and must conclude that they too have fallen to an advanced force.

"Our military intelligence believes that the Minbari intend to bypass Mars and hit Earth directly, and the attack may come at any time.

"We have continued to broadcast our surrender and a plea for mercy, and they have not responded. We therefore can only conclude that we stand at the twilight of the human race.

"In order to buy more time for our evacuation transports to leave Earth, we ask for the support of every ship capable of fighting to take part in a last defense of our homeworld. We will not lie to you. We do not believe that survival is a possibility. We believe that anyone who joins this battle will never come home. But, for every ten minutes we can delay the military advance, several hundred more civilians may have a chance to escape to neutral territory. Though Earth may fall, the human race must have a chance to continue elsewhere.

"No greater sacrifice has ever been asked of a people, but I ask you now to step forward one last time, one last battle to hold the line against the night.

"May God go with you all."

Of the 20,000 people who stepped forward to fight at the Battle of the Line, only 200 survived. But their sacrifice allowed many evacuation transports to escape.

To the surprise of everyone remaining on Earth who expected to be annihilated, the Minbari mysteriously ceased their attack and sued for peace. Why they did this remained a subject of speculation and debate for many years, but the end of the war and the survival of Earth were most welcome.

President Levy worked with the Earth Senate to appropriate funding for the construction of what would come to be called Babylon 5, a large space station in neutral space that would function as a place where humans and representatives of other alien races could meet to peacefully resolve their differences and avoid misunderstandings that could lead to war.

As we look around us and see the growing and seemingly invincible dark godlessness and corruption of our culture, it is easy to become discouraged and accept the idea that no progress is being made to roll it back and it is useless to get involved to make society a better place. If it is all on its way to destruction anyway, why bother seeking to make where God has placed you better? Why vote or run for office in an apparently rigged system? Why volunteer at a soup kitchen or crisis pregnancy center? Would it not be better to lie low or hide out somewhere in the country or in a bunker?

In Luke 19:11-27, the Lord Jesus emphasized the importance of using and building on the talents He has given us until He returns rather than doing nothing with them. The early Christians, facing overwhelming persecution and death from a seemingly all-powerful Roman Empire, still at great risk to their lives, held the line against the night by using the talents granted to them from above to share the gospel and save the lives of babies discarded and left to die of exposure on garbage heaps. Christians today in countries like Iran, Libya, Nigeria, and Somalia, where the entire country or a large portion of it is controlled by Islam, and communist countries like China and North Korea also face enormous threats to their lives, but they continue to hold the line against the night by investing their talents in sharing the love of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel message.

The people of the Earth Alliance in the Babylon 5 film fought against an unbeatable foe not out of fatalism but with hope that their efforts and sacrifices would save the souls of others and allow them to escape to survive and thrive in a place of safety. All the more, those of us redeemed by the Lord Jesus hold the line against the night by being salt and light in the world to allow greater opportunities to share the gospel message so that lost souls may believe in Him and be saved, escape from the wrath to come, and arrive at the safest and best place to be: in the presence of Jesus in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16; John 14:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Regardless of the challenges we face now and in the future, do not be like the wicked servant in Jesus' parable who refrained from building on what was given to him and miss out on the blessings of being a part of the Lord's work. Wherever God has placed you, be involved and use the talents He has given you for your good and the benefit of those around you, and so that room will continue to be made for the gospel to be proclaimed and souls saved (Jeremiah 29:7).

Do not be dismayed by or in despair of the dark powerful forces seeking our destruction (Ephesians 6:10-17). In Christ Jesus, deliverance, victory, and reward are sure. Hold the line against the night!

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)