The Redeemer
Looking at the story of the Bible through a different vantage point can illuminate the truths and make them come alive in a new way. Such is the case with
The Redeemer
. It brought to life the reality of the life we mortals live and reminds us that life is not merely flesh and blood.
The Redeemer
is an extraordinary creative story rooted in truths we must be reminded of to fight the good fight. A great book that combines the power of story with biblical truth.
—O
S
H
ILLMAN
A
UTHOR OF
T
HE 9 TO 5
W
INDOW
AND
TGIF: T
ODAY
G
OD
I
S
F
IRST
Astounding! The literary skill that Linda Rios Brook displays throughout her four books is Pulitzer Prize quality. This final volume,
The Redeemer
, marvelously caps things off with an unforgettable burst of imagination! I am enthralled! We have a classic!
—C. P
ETER
W
AGNER
A
POSTOLIC
O
VERSEER
, G
LOBAL
S
PHERES
, I
NC
.
The Redeemer
, the final book in Linda Rios Brook’s Reluctant Demon Diaries series, brings to a conclusion a powerful fictional account of biblical truths from Genesis through the Gospels. Told through the eyes of a “reluctant demon,” the stories in each book are so real and Linda’s storytelling skills so extraordinary that I quickly forgot the demon was a work of fiction. I believe this series is equal to the magnificent storytelling of C. S. Lewis, especially
The Screwtape Letters
, and will be loved and shared in the years to come. My advice is to purchase copies of the entire four-book set—destined to become classics—as gifts for family and friends. Make sure you keep one for yourself!
—D
IANE
N
OBLE
B
EST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
T
HE
B
RIDES OF
G
ABRIEL
Most C
HARISMA
H
OUSE
B
OOK
G
ROUP
products are available at
special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions,
premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. For details, write
Charisma House Book Group, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary,
Florida 32746, or telephone (407) 333-0600.
T
HE
R
EDEEMER
by Linda Rios Brook
Published by Realms
Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
www.charismahouse.com
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by
any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or
otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher,
except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
All Scripture quotations and spellings of biblical terms and places
are from the Holy Bible, New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used
by permission.
The characters portrayed in this book are fictitious unless they are
historical figures explicitly named. Otherwise, any resemblance to
actual people, whether living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover design by Justin Evans
Design Director: Bill Johnson
Copyright © 2011 by Realms
All rights reserved
Visit the author’s website at
www.reluctantdemondiaries.com
.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Brook, Linda Rios.
The redeemer / by Linda Rios Brook. – 1st ed.
p. cm. – (The reluctant demon diaries ; bk. 4)
ISBN 978-1-61638-206-3
1. Bible. O.T.–History of Biblical events–Fiction. 2.
Manuscripts–Fiction. 3. Demonology–Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.R64273R43 2010
813’.6–dc22
2010051943
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61638-435-7
First Edition
11 12 13 14 15 — 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
M
Y SON
C
HRIS
recently graduated from Baylor University with a PhD in religion. At his doctoral dinner, he opened his remarks with the following quote: “If you see a turtle sitting on a fencepost, you know he had some help getting there.”
This book concludes a marvelous four-year journey in writing the Reluctant Demon Diaries. It has been a joy to hear from people from many walks of life and faith as to how these books have enhanced their understanding of stories they thought they knew so well. As such, it seems appropriate to say, “I had some help getting here.”
I want to thank the incredible team at Charisma Media (formerly Strang Communications)—starting with Stephen Strang, a friend of many years, and Debbie Marrie for shepherding and defending the project through its evolution. Ann Mulchan, Deborah Moss, Wood-ley Auguste, and so many others contributed greatly to the success of the series, as did Justin Evans, who was responsible for the stunning covers of each book.
I especially want to thank Diane Noble, who not only edited
The Deliverer, The King
, and
The Redeemer
but who also greatly encouraged me by her belief in the books, for her gentle but insistent coaching to rewrite and rewrite to tell the story a better way.
I want to thank my friend Dr. C. Peter Wagner for his generous endorsement, theological counsel, and faithfulness to lend his support to the worthiness of a purely fictional undertaking.
Thank you to Dr. Norman Benz, my husband, Larry, and my colleagues at Covenant Centre International for giving me the time to write. To my circle of faithful prayer partners—David and Lana, Jerry and Sherry, Jack and Angela, Earl and Kathy, and Nancy and Laura—as well as to Chuck Pierce, who prophesied over these books before the first one was written, thank you all.
See you at the movies.
M
ANY READERS HAVE
contacted me to tell me how the Reluctant Demon Diaries series has expanded their thinking about a loving God in relentless pursuit of His creation. These comments have enriched me deeply, and I am grateful for how so many have engaged with our woebegone fallen angel. As we come to the final book of this series, it seems timely to remind the reader that this is a work of fiction. No such character ever existed. While I have been diligent to follow the chronology of Scripture in telling a story of how things might have been in biblical times through
Lucifer’s Flood
,
The Deliverer
, and
The King
,
The Redeemer
presented a special challenge: the challenge of reconciling separate accounts of the same events by four credible authors—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. How does one begin to sort out what actually happened?
When I worked in the corporate world, by necessity I became familiar with the reality of civil lawsuits—how judges and juries sort through evidence and testimony to arrive at a verdict. The most persuasive proof was the account of eyewitnesses—the more there are, the better. However, I soon observed that where two or more sworn persons give accounts of the same incident, there is always considerable variance in the detail. What I learned from the attorneys was that witnesses who tell the same story in different ways are the most credible. Testimony that does not vary from witness to witness is often contrived and/or the result of coaching from a script.
Such is the reliability and the truth of the Gospels. For example, the accounts differ considerably in telling us what happened after Jesus was placed in the tomb. In a court of law, which testimony would stand? The answer would likely be all of them. Each author is telling the story from his point of view, citing what was most important to him by including details that, while not included in the other Gospels, do not contradict the other versions. For example, Jesus appeared to the disciples in several places after His resurrection: a room where the men were gathered, a mountain, by the sea, on the road to Emmaus, and so on. We cannot be certain of the chronology. So, in telling this part of Jesus’ story in
The Redeemer
, I took the varying accounts of each Gospel writer and made them part of one story.
Let me also offer a word of explanation when it comes to the miracles of Jesus. At one point the demon attempts to explain the difference between a “miracle” and a “wonder.” A miracle is reaching a resolution to a problem by correcting or speeding up natural processes. Wonders are supernatural interventions to problems for which no natural remedy is possible. Jesus did both. For example, healing the sight of a man by rubbing mud in his eyes is a miracle. Restoring sight to a man born without eyeballs is a wonder. Where possible, I believe the miracles Jesus did were with the intent of demonstrating how His disciples through the ages could go and do likewise.
Finally, as to the fate of the angel who fell by mistake, what is the support for the resolution to his debacle? I appeal to Scripture. Colossians 1:19–20 states, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
My goal throughout the four books of the Reluctant Demon Diaries has been to provide you, the reader, with a new perspective of God’s love for His children and to demonstrate to you His relentless pursuit of a personal relationship with each of us.