Is very in keeping with Tolkien's theology, apparently. It goes from the Garden
of Eden, this perfect world, and then spirals down into all of the stuff that
happens in Revelations, with the Antichrist coming to rule, etc. Finally, God
comes back, and saves everything.
It is obvious to me that without Eru's intervention, Melkor will eventually
win. Even if he weakens and defeats himself in the creation of things evil, he
nonetheless successfully destroys the world, leaving it all up to Men, who in
their short-sightedness must ultimately corrupt and destroy themselves.
After all, it all leads to a world like that of today, where the Elves and
Dwarves (noble creatures as they were) are extinct, the Valar are powerless,
and Humans slay themselves with an ever-"improving" array of deadlier and
deadlier weapons.
I think it would be interesting if there was a way to turn this all around -
although after the Luthien incident, that being so badly handled by the Powers,
I think that was genuinely
impossible.
