Christ's Last Disclosure
Puritan Book Reviews
How did the Puritan's call men to
Jesus Christ? We have much to learn from Mr. Greenhill.
Christ’s Last Disclosure of Himself
by William Greenhill.
Soli Deo Gloria Publications, Morgan, PA: 1999.
211 Pages, Hardback.
If you were
the Lord of Glory, what would be the last thing you would say to your
church? William Greenhill
expounds and apply the words of Christ in Revelation 22:16-17,
demonstrating that Christ is calling sinners to himself.
He is particularly insightful in bringing to light the title of
Christ as “Root and Offspring of David” which entails the very first
chapter. His writing style
is forceful and full of life, laying out his heart as a classical
puritan preacher.
The work
itself was a series of sermons preached to his congregation, though now
it stands in “print form” as a treatise on the subject.
It is worth
noting that the title which Christ used as his last designation of
Himself was the “Root and Offspring of David.”
For those who need stability under great persecution these words
speak of establishment, power, authority, the source of all life (the
root) and so on. It is a
very helpful work to the suffering soul of the Christian.
In reading
this volume (and knowing Greenhill from his excellent commentary of
Ezekiel), his insight and observation on the subject were excellent.
Where many preachers mistake the words of Christ here in
Revelation 22, Greenhill does them justice.
Many times preachers will use this as an “invitation” to all,
where Christ uses it as an invitation to the sinners (in comparison to
the righteous) and Greenhill expounds who sinners are and their
disposition before Christ.
He does make
a classic blunder, though, in one section of his chapter on
“Christ’s willingness to save sinners, part 1.”
He says that one of the texts used to call men to Himself
evangelically is Revelation 3:20 (“I stand at the door and
knock…”) Unfortunately
Greenhill missed that Christ, at this point, is speaking to the church,
not to the lost. It is a
text often used out of context. Otherwise
his chapter on this was excellent. Also, I disagree with use of the term invitation, and would
rather use the word “command”.
Christ commands men everywhere to repent, but nowhere do we find
him inviting. Even in the
text in hand (Rev. 22:16), Christ first states that we should
“Come!” and then continues with an exhortation do so.
I would
heartily recommend this book to preachers who desire to know how a
Calvinist calls men to repentance and sets forth Christ in the form of
the Gospel before a lost and dying generation.
Some Quotes:
“OBJECTION:
But surely these invitations are in vain if a man cannot come when he is
invited. To what end are
they. ANSWER: The sun
shines upon the rock, and the rain falls down upon the rocks, yet no man
expects that the sun should melt the rocks or that the rain should makes
the rocks fruitful. But the
adjacent parts of the fields have the benefit; and so, though
invitations fall upon the rocks, yet the other persons may have the
benefit.”
“Both the
Spirit of God and the whole church are desirous of Christ’s Coming.”
“It is an
argument that the Lord Jesus is very desirous of saving sinners if you
consider that the Lord takes sinners at the last moment, at the end of
their days, when they have no time left to serve Him (such as the thief
on the cross).”
“Does
Christ invite us to come unto Him? Then let us examine and make inquiry
whether we have come to Christ or not.”
“The
offer of the water of life is free.” |
