Watchman on the Walls of Zion (eBook)

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Simon van Velzen was a powerful preacher of the gospel. He was a reformer of the church of Christ in the Netherlands in the Secession of 1834. He was a seminary professor who influenced hundreds of future Reformed ministers. He was a faithful husband and devoted father.

In his own day, he was held in high regard by such notable figures as Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck, and was respected as a spiritual father and John Calvin-like figure by Reformed believers both in the Netherlands and America. Sadly, many Reformed Christians in the twenty-first century have little, if any, idea who he is. Where he is remembered, he is often branded as being “unyielding, obstinate, and domineering,” and he is dismissed as being of little significance in the history of the church. This biography corrects such ignorance and misconceptions by setting forth the fascinating life of an influential figure in the history of Christ’s church.

What others are saying about this book:

"This readable story of the Afscheiding leader who most impacted orthodox Dutch Calvinists in North America should be in every church library." - Robert P. Swierenga

"Simon vanVelzen. Who is the man? Many readers likely are unfamiliar with him, for the name Simon vanVelzen is not a household name. And if we should know the man, then how are we to view him? Many historians consider him to be an imbalanced, even radical man, while few hold him up as a wise and balanced warrior. What ought our assessment to be? Was vanVelzen a courageous servant who is to be commended for his unbending defense of the truth, or was he a stubborn fellow who is to be criticized for continually arguing and refusing to heed advice from those around him? Such are some of the difficulties one faces when writing a biography on a controversial historical figure; such difficulties Rev. Engelsma is to be commended for capably handling in his biography, Watchman on the Walls of Zion: The Life and Influence of Simon vanVelzen. The reader who was previously unaware of vanVelzen should not be afraid to pick up and read the book; the book is neither daunting nor boring. You will find that Engelsma’s recounting of vanVelzen’s history is clear, engaging, and even moving at points. You will rejoice with vanVelzen as he graduates from seminary, receives a call into the ministry, and marries the love of his life. And you will weep with the man as he endures persecution, is rejected of his friends, and buries his wife after only a few years of marriage. You will become acquainted with a renowned preacher and affectionate seminary professor, and you will stand in awe of God’s work of defending and developing the truth through the work of this Dutch patriarch." - Stephan Regnerus

Read reviews by Robert P. Swierenga (Protestant Reformed Theological Journal), Stephan Regnerus, and Jerome Julien (The Outlook). 

Joshua Engelsma is a minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches of America. He is also the author of Dating Differently: A Guide to Reformed Dating.

• 240 pages
• ISBN 978-1-959515-16-6
  

Hardcover version available