by Les Martin (Meadville, PA: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., 2021) 228 pp., $18.95
In this finely crafted volume, Dr. Les Martin traces the revelation of God to mankind throughout the entirety of Scripture. The ultimate aim of the book is to determine if God continues to speak today, and, if so, how. The final chapter provides his answer to these questions, but his conclusions are richly informed by his careful analysis of the full canon of Scripture. Unlike most works on this subject, Martin does not focus on related themes, or merely offer an overview of supporting proof-texts. Rather, he marches the reader through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation addressing, and often quoting, the key texts pertinent to God speaking. What he reveals aligns perfectly with his central passage, Hebrews 1:1 & 2: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son…”.
When all the evidence is presented, Martin writes, “God’s revelation is complete, but He continues to speak through the written text…God speaks exclusively through the Scriptures [today]” (p 189). In drawing this conclusion, Martin critiques leading continuationists such as Wayne Grudem and Sam Storms and reveals the weaknesses in their argument. He believes, at least to some extent, that many continuationists are confusing revelation with illumination. Martin writes, “Those who accept additional revelation are in effect communicating that God has more to say which did not make the first edition” (p 223)!
For anyone looking for a thorough, but readable, study of the revelation of God, both historically and presently, I would highly recommend The History of God Speaking.
Reviewed by Gary E. Gilley, Pastor-teacher at Southern View Chapel