I must confess, when I read the previews on Ted Dekker’s blog, or when I read reviews of Green, I was confused. Everything I read about Green insisted that this volume both begins and ends the Circle series. Green brings everything full circle. How could that be? Dekker’s own blog says that you can begin to read the series with Green, and then follow it with Black, Red, and White. Or you can read Black, Red, and White, and then finish the series with Green. It makes no difference.

Green brings full meaning to the Circle Series as a whole, reading as both prequel to Black and sequel to White, completing a full circle. This is Book Zero, the Circle Reborn, both the beginning and the end. The preferred starting point for new readers… and the perfect climax for the countless fans who’ve experienced Black, Red, and White.

This is book Zero.

What?!?! How is that possible? And yet, as I read Green, I was overwhelmed by Dekker’s masterful artistry. What I’d read on the blogs was true. Green really does bring the series full circle. I won’t explain how; I don’t want to throw any spoiler surprises in here. Just rest assured, Green both begins and ends the series, or maybe Green both ends and begins the series…

If you aren’t familiar with Ted Dekker’s Circle Series, here’s a short recap.

It all happened just as the ancient prophets foretold. The prophets Daniel, Ezekiel and John. Earth was destroyed in the twenty-first century by an apocalypse. But Elyon (God) created a new Adam, two thousand years into the future. However, this time humanity had an advantage. What was once unseen became seen. The spiritual became physical and tangible. Good was physical. One could touch it. One could see it.

And evil was physical too. But it bided its time, waiting in the Black Forest.

And then, when least expected, a young man named Thomas Hunter fell asleep in the twenty-first century and woke up in the future world where the spiritual had become touchable. And as a result, a gate was opened, and evil was unleashed upon the earth. Thomas Hunter and his band of followers, called the Circle, were forced to fight the presence of evil until Elyon should return and set things right.

But now, there is betrayal. The enemy has grown strong. The Circle has lost hope. And Thomas has to find a way to link back to the twenty-first century to find the one hope that could save them all.

Ted Dekker has continued to create a world that is easy to get lost in. Green is a book that is impossible to put down.

I think the reason Dekker’s writing is so compelling is that it touches us where we live. We are each Thomas Hunter. We are each ready to follow Elyon, but we lose hope so quickly when we can’t see him clearly.

When we read about the Circle fighting victoriously, we are victorious. When we read of the Forest Guard’s trials, we despair along with them. And when Thomas Hunter experiences Elyon’s love fully, we crave it as well. We are able to live vicariously though Thomas Hunter.

But we don’t have to. Because the truths that Dekker has shown us through the veil of a fictional story are a reality that is only a step away. A step of faith away. A step into a love that drowns us like Thomas Hunter in Elyon’s lake.

We serve a God that is just like this. And so much more. He is waiting for us to enter into the Great Romance with him.

Dekker describes Elyon at one point with an insightful phrase. He said,

A wink from this boy and the hardest heart would break into pieces, shattered by love.

Shattered by love. What an incredible image! My prayer is that my life reflects that same reality: that I’ve been shattered by God’s love.

Go ahead. Plunge into Green. But don’t just read a fascinating story. Read it and be ready and open to the shattering love of God, hiding just behind the veil of the seen, ready to jump out and overwhelm you.

If you are interested in reading Green, by Ted Dekker, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
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