Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Journal Articles
→
Book Reviews
→
This Present Darkness

This Present Darkness

Posted in Book Reviews

This Present Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1988. 376 pp. Paper, $8.95.

Piercing the Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989. 441 pp. Paper, $9.95.

It was exhilarating, thrilling, reviving, rewarding—everything an angelic warrior was made for! The Host of Heaven had waited so long and had built up such fervor that when the signal finally came, they broke over the crests of the mountains on every side like a violent, shimmering ocean wave and showered down like hail upon the dark cloud of demons in the valley … .

So what are angels and demons doing while we pray, preach, and persuade? No one knows with certainty, but for an imaginative, prayer-provoking, incredibly encouraging presentation of the way it just might be, read these books.

The stories of both books are set in small towns in small churches led by very human but God-fearing pastors. In the first, the enemy is within, trying to destroy God’s work and pave the way for a New Age takeover of the town and its college. In the second, the enemy is without. A church is subjected to litigation when its administrator tries to deal with a demonized child. The major themes of these novels ring true with convicting clarity, and the theology taught throughout is stirring. God does permit believers to suffer and be humiliated, but always with a plan.

The believer is never alone, even in the darkest circumstances. And most of all, we must never underestimate or neglect the power of prayer.

There are times when Peretti may cross the line of good theology for the sake of good fiction. Do angels really cut off each others wings with lightsabers, sending them spiralling to the earth below? Do angels really infiltrate demonically-controlled territory by stowing away in the trunks of incoming cars? Who knows! But however one might feel about the imaginative aspects of the novels, Peretti is opening up a completely new genre in evangelical literature. Peretti’s ability to blend concurrent story lines is engaging, his plots are believable, and his character development satisfying.

On a more personal level, in nine years of pastoral ministry I have never read two books which have as successfully motivated me either to daily prayer for the people under my care, nor to take so seriously Paul’s statement that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” I cannot recommend these books too strongly for encouragement, comfort, and simple pleasure.

Mark A. Ellis
Editorial Board
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Wylie, TX

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn

Cart

Recently Added

May 29, 2023

What Will Believers Do Forever in Eternity? Will We Have Jobs? Families? Cars?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and David Renfro are at the broadcast desk and what an interesting question about the occupations...
May 29, 2023

Do You Recognize Subtle Attacks on the Bible When You Hear Them?

Have you ever heard this saying: “We are to worship God, not the Bible”? Or how about, “Don’t love the Bible, love God”? We can’t...
May 26, 2023

Romans–Part 22–Romans 8:38-39

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are at the end of Romans chapter 8. These last two verses of...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Romans: Deliverance from Wrath $24.99 $15.00
  • Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance $15.00 $10.00
  • A Gospel of Doubt: The Legacy of John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus $22.00 $11.00
  • The Epistle of James $15.00 $10.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube