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Book Review of

Allen S. Nelson’s Before the Throne: Reflections on God’s Holiness

Reviewed by ClarityArticles.com

Allen S. Nelson is a Christian pastor and author. He penned his first work, From Death to Life: How Salvation Works, in 2018. He followed this effort up with his most recent book, Before the Throne. This book serves as a wonderful exploration of God’s majesty and grandness. Here is a detailed review.

Premise of the book

In Before the Throne, Nelson writes with the goal of exposing readers to various elements of God’s holiness. This exposition serves to bring readers to a grander understanding of God and thus greater worship of Him. As the book description states, Nelson attempts to “warm readers’ hearts toward the awesomeness of the triune God.” What is unique about Nelson’s work is that he writes about God’s holy nature through twelve chapters, with each chapter covering an element of God’s holiness using a word starting with the letter “U.” To list a few examples:  “God’s Untamable Holiness, God’s Unchangeable Holiness, God’s Unapproachable Holiness.”

With these realities forming the skeleton of the book, Nelson builds his foundation upon two sections of Scripture:  Isaiah 6:1-7 and Revelation 4:5-11. Here are two portions of those passages.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”(Isaiah 6:1-3).  

From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumbling and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!” (Rev. 4:5-8).

Nelson provides these two visions from the Bible to remind readers of the Lord’s awesome glory. He further exegetes the passages throughout the book in order to expose readers to multiple elements of God’s holiness. The entire work centers around Nelson’s desire to see men and women grow in their practical, everyday (though never casual) worship of the Most High. He functions from the premise that a real encounter with the living God produces life change by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Highlights of the book

Here are some characteristics of Before the Throne that make it enjoyable and worth the read:

It’s Worship-oriented. Nelson never loses sight of the fact that the purpose of living in God’s world is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). Nelson writes to edify readers’ minds in order to move them to greater worship of the Lord. To quote Nelson, “Read these pages with both humility and a hunger to learn more of who God is. Read these pages with an awe as to who He is in all His holy splendor. We were made to adore Him” (Nelson 3). Nelson presents a high view of God so that looking to Christ becomes an absolute pleasure. How wonderful is it that an unapproachable God allows sinner to approach him through his Son, the Great High Priest!? Before the Throne maintains a constant dedication to adoration of God from start to finish.

It’s thorough. Nelson reflects on the holiness of God using multiple angles, defining holiness in various ways. He provides realties such as the Lord being in a category of his own and being set apart. At one point, Nelson profoundly writes, “…in the purest sense of the word, holy, is basically a synonym for God” (35). By exegeting multiple Scripture passages, Nelson provides readers with abundant examples of God’s glory.

It doesn’t pull punches. Many churches today ‘pull punches,’ or pacify God’s holy nature, due to an imbalanced or low view of Him. They rob congregants of heavy conviction of sin, and thus congregants cannot experience the true weight of God’s kindness that leads to repentance and life change! What poses as love proves to be hate. In reality, clarity leads to comfort, even if that clarity initially stings. Just consider the love that it takes to warn a brother against the consequences of adultery. Pulling punches, failing to speak out, and refusing to act may cost that brother his marriage! But a warning, prayer, and wise action may save the relationship. Presenting the truth in love (see Ephesians 4) is what Christ-followers are called to do. Sometimes, this means lovingly presenting harsh realities.

Nelson presents God’s holiness in ways that will convict readers of their unworthiness before Him and their need for mercy. In an age where salvation teeters on the edge of becoming rescue from a bad life or low self-esteem, Nelson reminds readers that the salvation Christ provides is rescue from sin and God’s wrath. As Nelson writes, “to separate [God’s] holiness from His Lordship is to gut the gospel proclamation of its true intention and power” (113). One of the most convicting statements is found in the chapter called Unapproachable Holiness: “…what we cannot have as believers is a merely casual relationship with the Lord of hosts” (149). Before the Throne provides the right amount of force to express the weightiness of God’s holy nature.

It’s extremely quotable. Nelson writes in such a way that each chapter contains three or four profound statements that explain important truths concisely. Readers will enjoy these spiritual nuggets and grow by using some of them as they speak to others in their daily lives. Nelson gives insight into his ministry philosophy through this profound statement, for example: “…the church that looks long into the face of God in Scripture will find that the quest for ‘relevancy’ is no longer all that relevant” (2). A confidence in the holiness of God and the sufficiency of His Word to accomplish his purposes for all people for all time will end this quest that Nelson mentions. Nelson displays the ability to articulate what many know to be true based on their careful study of Scripture but cannot express adequately. Consider this statement:  “We must resign ourselves to the wonderful truth that God’s holiness is untamable by man, angels, or the power of evil. He will not be manipulated. He cannot be controlled” (57). Before the Throne is full of helpful statements like these.

Unique qualities of the book 

Here are some characteristics of Before the Throne that make it unique.

It’s written to individuals. One reader can gain much from reading Before the Throne. Nelson provides the truth of Scripture, which pierces a man’s heart and changes him from within (see Hebrews 4:12). Any person will gain from this reality.

It’s written to groups. A small group Bible study, a work group, or a family can corporately read Before the Throne and benefit.

It contains discussion questions. Every chapter ends with 5-7 discussion questions centered around God’s holiness. These questions would work great for family conversation or personal reflection! The questions serve as one of the best elements of the book.

It provides Scripture review. Each chapter in Before the Throne lists four Scripture passages that summarize what every chapter is about. Readers can memorize these Scriptures to better understand God’s glory.

The only drawback of the book

One reality about Before the Throne that can be overwhelming is the chapter titles. Twelve different chapters are written, all containing very similar names, such as “Unblemishable holiness, Unmatchable holiness, Unborable holiness, and Unapproachable holiness.” There are points where readers may confuse chapters by mistake. With careful reading, however, they can avoid this problem.

Overall Recommendation

Allen S. Nelson provides the body of Christ a wonderful work centered on God’s holiness. Before the Throne is extremely well written and can be enjoyed by both individuals and groups. The discussion questions and Scripture review passages provide great structure to aid in reader learning. In short, Before the Throne is fantastic.

Most importantly, the book magnifies the God of Scripture. Nelson presents God as He truly is:  the King on his throne. Readers will grow in their worship of the one true God as they encounter Isaiah 6, Revelation 4, and other Scriptures. Writing about the holiness of God must be one of toughest task a person can take on. The Lord is serious about His own glory, after all! To God’s praise, Nelson “presents [himself] to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). In Before the Throne, Nelson succeeds in calling readers to bow the knee to the Lord as they look to Christ as their Redeemer. Put this book at the top of your list.

Before the Throne can be purchased on Amazon for $14.99.