Forsaking all for Christ – a biography of Henry Martyn by B V Henry, published by Chapter Two, 2007; available from John Ritchie Ltd; price £12.95.
"Now let me burn out for God!" This fervent cry came from the lips of Henry Martyn.
Forsaking all for Christ "took many years to assemble" and the diligent work of the author is seen throughout. He informs us that "the current generation of Christians knows very little about this 'meteor' in the dark sky of the Islamic world". This book addresses that need.
Born in 1781, in Truro, Cornwall, young Henry was left motherless at the age of two. Educated at Truro Grammar School, Henry went on to study at Cambridge University, where he was an outstanding student. His conversion took place at the age of nineteen and he was greatly influenced by the godly life of David Brainerd.
Sailing from Portsmouth to serve the Lord in India, Henry left family, friends and Lydia Grenfell, the woman who had captured his heart. His great burden was to make the Word of God available to the Muslims in their own language.
The spiritual calibre of the man is shown in a diary entry of that period: "...dying daily to the opinions of men, and aiming, with a more single eye, at the glory of the everlasting God."
Henry set out for Persia to refine his translation of the New Testament. He also prepared a masterly series of tracts answering objections to Christianity which had been raised by Mirza Ibrahim, who was then known as the most able of all Muslim teachers.
His health weakening through tuberculosis, Henry headed for Tehran to lay the completed translation before the Persian ruler. Would he be accepted? Would he return home to England? Would he ever see Lydia Grenfell again? The book answers all these questions.
There are numerous photos throughout the biography, allowing the reader to enter into the atmosphere of the life and times of this godly missionary pioneer.
A helpful chapter on "The Impact of his Life" traces the influence his life has had upon others who would follow in the trail that he blazed. There is also a challenging Epilogue, a seven page Bibliography and an Index.
The noble example of Henry Martyn is relevant to every generation. Forsaking all for Christ is a fitting title to a spiritually profitable book.
AC
Millennialism: the two Major Views, by Charles L Feinberg; published by BMH Books; available from John Ritchie Ltd; price £10.99.
The first edition of this book was published in 1936, the third edition in 1985. Over that period it is clear that the author had not changed his convictions about prophetic matters. This 398-page paperback edition was published posthumously by BMH in 2006, Feinberg having died in 1985.
A younger readership may not be aware that Charles Feinberg was reared in an orthodox Jewish home. For 14 years he studied for the rabbinate before being converted. His love of the Old Testament Scriptures was enhanced by his study of the New Testament, the fruit of his labours in the Word being seen in several publications, many of which related to prophecy. The first volume from his pen the present reviewer met was based on his thesis for a degree of Doctor of Theology. Published in 1954, it was entitled Premillennialism or Amillennialism, and is still on his bookshelf.
Millennialism: the two Major Views demands much of the reader. It answers the claims of the foremost proponents of amillennialism. Even in assembly circles such teaching is reviving, seeking to scuttle "in its entirety the idea of a future Millennium, blurs the distinction Scripture presents between Israel and the Church by reinterpreting prophecies made about Israel. It also accuses of hiding behind a carefully chosen set of proof texts those who look for the Rapture of the Church before the time of Jacob's trouble and the public reign of Christ for one thousand years". The shallowness of such conclusions Feinberg exposes with careful exposition of the key passages his opponents use. He shows clearly that Old Testament saints have no part in the Rapture, and differs from Darby and Kelly in finding physical resurrection in Isaiah 26.
Feinberg sets out clearly that "the pre-millennium view is harmonious, self-consistent, and, above all, based upon the infallible authority of the Scriptures". His exposition of Scripture is rewarding to all mature believers who will follow his careful arguments.
TW
