Answer by Randy Alcorn
I deliberately portrayed Joshua early on in a way that would make readers assume he was Jesus. Not only by the name (Hebrew for Jesus) but by his actions. It was to demonstrate how effective Satan is at disguising himself as an angel of light—and even as Jesus Himself. We are so blind and gullible. We need to be more aware of Satan's skill at deceit (Jesus spoke of that in John 8), and his strategies to mislead us. Frodo is just Frodo, a dog. I love dogs. He's a cross between our two-year-old Dalmatian, Moses, and our eleven-year-old Springer Spaniel, Champ. I felt Nick needed an animal to bring out his kindness and emotional vulnerability which he wasn't inclined to show to people. The bags of stones—The stones are works of service done for our Lord, some of which have the feel of a burden or "cross" which we are to pick up daily, but which have a joy to them that lightens the load. Hence, Shad is happier carrying several bags than Nick carrying one partially-full bag. The Lord gives us supernatural strength to do what He calls us to. These stones were picked up at night, and they couldn't open the bags, partly because they can't see what they're picking up, just as we can't see the eternal value of our works as we're doing them here in the darkness of the Shadowlands. We won't see the gold and silver and precious stones clearly for what they are until we stand before the Lord (1 Cor. 3). Friend carried stones a while in sense of Galatians 6—"bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Food was just food for the most part, but deliberate emphasis on the longing and the simplicity of provision. There was a hunger for the King, for Charis. Senaba was something my 20-year-old daughter used to say as a two-year-old. She would point to anything and everything and ask "Senaba?" It meant, "What is that?" (Don't ask me why.) At first it was just a fruit, but then it came to be more the fruit of the vine, connected with the wine of Passover and communion, which the King shares with us and we with each other. Thuros is Greek for window, skia is darkness, so Skiathorus is "window of darkness." Periasmos is trial, Aletheas truth, and as you said, Charis is grace. You may wish to read this additional information about the book Edge of Eternity.
