Victory Through the Lamb

You can hardly turn on the news or open the paper without seeing signs of the world in unrest –floods and drought, earthquakes and extreme natural disasters. Along with these headlines are Christians martyred for their faith–Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, China–the list goes on and on. When you consider all that is going on in the world, it’s not a far stretch to consider the Revelation and its prophecy of Christ’s second coming. Many have considered this book to be difficult to understand and less approachable than other books of the Bible. Scholar and author, Mark Wilson has penned a new book, Victory Through the Lamb with a unique perspective. He lives in present day Smyrna,  (Izmir) Turkey, one of the seven churches John addresses in Revelation. Wilson’s goal is to introduce his readers to Revelation by pointing them to Christ’s ultimate victory detailed in Revelation. Each chapter begins with a vignette of victory that martyrs of Christianity experienced in earlier centuries. The final chapter also includes the deaths of recent martyrs that impacted Wilson in Turkey.  He also penned his own translation of Revelation for his reader to accompany his teaching.

 The Bottom Line

Wilson’s choices of biographical accounts of the martyrs is outstanding. Their witnessing through their death was often sad but inspiring all the same. I found myself captivated by their lives and left seeing martyrdom as less tragic and truly a witness to believers and non-believers alike.  Wilson would next present a section of Revelation followed by exposition of the Scripture. These sections were insightful and written in a more scholarly format, which was quite different from the personal accounts in the martyr stories. While both were good there was not a transition linking them together so the format of the book didn’t really work well for me as the reader. I believe there is very good content in his book, but I was bogged down by the lack of transitions between each section. As a result, I missed the overarching point of his book.  I admire Dr. Wilson’s intent and his heart, but unfortunately the book as a whole fell flat for me. I give it 3 of 5 stars. Book Description

The book introduces Christians to the book of Revelation through a study of one of its key themes: victory. Running counter to Revelation’s prevailing interpretation, it proposes that Christians, represented by the audience in the Seven Churches, have been in tribulation since the first century and that Revelation was written to help Christians be victorious over the challenges of life. Each chapter opens with an account of martyrdom. The final account tells the story of the three believers in Malatya, Turkey, who were brutally killed in 2007. The book is dedicated to the three. The volume also features a new translation of Revelation by the author, a scholar who has worked on Revelation for over two decades and who lives in the land of the Seven Churches—Turkey.

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Weaver Book Company (September 1, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1941337015
• ISBN-13: 978-1941337011
• Retail Price: $17.99

Available at these retailers for less: Amazon Weaver Book Company

About the Author

Mark Wilson (D.Litt. et Phil., South Africa) is the founder and director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, a country in which he and his wife Dindy have lived since 2004. He serves as Visiting Professor of Early Christianity at Regent University, Associate Professor Extraordinary of New Testament at Stellenbosch University, and Research Fellow in Biblical Archaeology at the University of South Africa. He is the English editor of the Turkish archaeological journals Adalya and Anmed. He also blogs for the online Bible History Daily. He is the author and editor of numerous books, articles, and reviews including a commentary on Revelation (Zondervan), Charts of the Book of Revelation (Kregel), The Victor Sayings in the Book of Revelation (Wipf & Stock), and Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor (Ege Yayıları). Wilson is a member of twelve academic societies, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Association, the Institute of Biblical Research, and the New Testament Society of South Africa. His particular research interests are the ancient Jewish communities, Roman roads, and biblical history in Turkey. He has been married to Dindy for forty years. They have four adult children, four granddaughters, and four grandsons. Notice: I received a complimentary e-book for an honest review of this title through Shaun Tabatt at  Cross-Focused Reviews and Weaver Book Company      

 

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