Victory Through The Lamb: A Guide to Revelation in Plain Language

Jesus is called the lamb 29 times in Revelation.

Revelation made easy. Reading or studying Revelation has always felt daunting and overwhelming to many Christians. But Mark Wilson has written "a guide to Revelation in plain language," as the title states. In the non-technical language of non-seminarians, Wilson explains Revelation's many intriguing mysteries, which is so characteristic of apocalyptic literature. Most of the confusing signs, symbols and varied imagery of Revelation find its origins from the Old Testament. Victory Through The Lamb is readable, understandable and insightful, even for those who have not previously read or studied Revelation.

Martyrdom. Each and every chapter begins with a martyr account, followed by Wilson's own English translation of the Greek text of Revelation. The martyr stories are gut wrenching, in particular the recent martyrdom of three Christians in eastern Turkey in the city of Malatya on April 18, 2007. This shocked Turkey's small Christian community as well as many Turkish citizens. Wilson and his wife have lived in Turkey since 2004 and were able to attend their funeral, together with many other Christians from around Turkey. The vivid stories of these and earlier martyrdoms set the mood of the reader into the correct frame of mind for understanding and interpreting Revelation.

God is Higher than the king (Prov 21:1)

King of kings: A king who thinks he knows what's always best is proud (Prov 21:4); he'll one day come to a shocking realization that God is a much higher judge than he (Prov 21:2). Prov 21:1 says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." To see God above a king or boss or leader who is above you and who may rule over you is to have faith in God and to fear God, not man (Prov 29:25). Otherwise, we'll exalt and worship a mere man for favoring you, and curse him for being against you.

God is always the final answer, never man: Variations of Prov 21:2 is repeated through out Proverbs (Prov 16:2), because we are so easily self-deceived, while God exposes our true deepest inner motives: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart."

Many Advisors Make Victory Sure (Proverbs 11:14)

In Proverbs 11 (1-31), as in 10:1-32, there are many sayings that contrast the ways of rigteousness and wickedness. (As is often the case in the Bible, the chapter divisions are rather arbitrary and do not aid the analysis of the text.) 11:14 and 11:30 address 2 important aspects of life and how to attain them: Victory and a Measure of our Wisdom.

• "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisors make victory sure" (11:14 NIV).
• "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (11:30 NIV)

11:1 "(Dishonesty--no fear of God) is an abomination to the Lord." (11:20)

11:2 The proud must have everything their own way--"It's my way or the highway." True humility is NEVER self-generated. Ultimately, humility must be before God and directed toward God, and that genuine humility comes from God, expressed through Jesus who is "gentle and lowly (humble) in heart" (Matthew 11:29).

11:3-9 Righteousness delivers (3-6,8,9), implying that God delivers the righteous, while the wicked fall by their own wickedness (5b).

11:10,11 A city benefits or suffers from the presence of the righteous or the wicked. If our cities are deteriorating and declining, what does it tell us about its inhabitants and its rulers?
11:12,13 Would you belittle or slander someone else to make yourself feel better and superior, or remain silent?

11:14 From counsel and advice, wisdom emerges. So, get all the advice you can. It's just fatally too easy to shut out disquieting voices. (15:22; 24:6)

11:15 Treated at length in 6:1-5. For the most part, don't do it.

11:16-21 The consequences of righteousness and wickedness is not a small matter; it's a matter of life or death (19). Getting rich deceptively might seem rewarding for the time, but not in the end (20,21).

11:22 Beauty and the Beast. There's always more to beauty than meets the eye. How tragic, even monstrous, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion or modesty!

11:23-31 The ultimate destinies of the wicked and the righteous is determined by God (23,31).

11:24-26 The rewards of generosity. The paradox of life that you must sometimes lose to gain (24). Jesus, the kernel of wheat is the ultimate example (John 12:24).

11:30 A righteous man has a life giving influence, and a wise man wins others to wisdom. Only in Christ, can a Christian "be catching men" (Luke 5:11).