Product Description
Heaven Taken by Storm, or, The Christian Soldier is a call to arms. In it Thomas Watson expounds and applies, in his own unique and much-loved style, the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 11:12: ‘And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.’ ‘Heaven,’ he says, is like a ‘town or castle that holds out in war, and is not taken but by storm. … Though heaven be given us freely, yet we must contend for it.’ What that means for the believer forms the substance of this book. The author shows us the nature of this ‘holy violence’ – ‘resolution of will, vigour of affection, strength of endeavour.’ His aim throughout is to awaken the reader to the urgency of the gospel’s call. ‘Our work is great, our time short, our master urgent; we have need therefore to summon together all the powers of our souls, and strive as in a matter of life and death, that we may arrive at the kingdom above: we must not only put forth diligence, but violence.’
‘Though heaven be given us freely, yet we must contend for it.’ — Thomas Watson
Paperback, 144 pages
Publication Date: 1669; Banner Publishing Date: 2025
Table of Contents
Introduction: Heaven is to be Taken by Force or Violence
1. He Must Offer Violence to Himself
2. We Must Offer Violence to Satan
3. We Must Offer Violence to the World
4. We Must Offer Violence to Heaven
Reproofs Arising from the Text
Questions for Self-Examination
Objections to this Duty
Further Exhortations
A Necessary Cautionary Note
Rules and Directions for Getting this Violence for Heaven
Concluding Applications
Author
Thomas Watson (ca. 1620-1686) graduated from Cambridge University and became one of the leading Puritan minsters of London.
