Descent to Darkness — Kenneth John Marks

Set in Jerusalem in 446 B. C., Descent to Darkness recounts the story of a man's spiritual journey, which takes him down into the depths of darkness and despair. The man is Phinehas, and he was born to Eli, a prophet of God, who was sent to the people during the reign of the Persian King Darius to call them to repentance. As were all of God's prophets before him, Eli was murdered by evil men; then Phinehas' brothers and sisters were sold into slavery to pay the family's debt's, and his mother died of a broken heart; but God preserved Phinehas' life. Now Satan, who hated Eli and his whole family and had them killed by his servants living in Jerusalem, wanted his son dead also. Since the prophet's son harbored hatred and outrage in his heart and blamed God for his misfortune, he was Satan's easy prey. Despite many warnings from his godly wife and friends, he let himself be controlled by his bitterness and eventually succumbed to the devil's temptations, forsook his God, and took a path that eventually led him to great personal tragedy.