(Part 2) Top products from r/Reformed

When you say orthodoxy I assume this is Eastern Orthodoxy.

Before getting into the problems with Eastern Orthodoxy or the most compelling evidence for Reformed theology, let’s first understand what Christianity is.

I think the best place to start is the gospels. What are your daily habits like? Maybe read the Gospel of John, or re-read it, and try to understand what the author is saying in each passage and how he brings it together and what he’s trying to tell the audience, i.e. you. (John helpfully states his purpose in John 20:31, which is why it’s a good book to read both for those exploring the Christian faith and those who need to continue believing.)

The gospels contain the words and life of Jesus, and Jesus himself reiterates throughout John how important and life-giving his words are. Take the example of Martha and Mary, where Martha was working away and complains about how Mary doesn’t help her. Jesus says Mary chose the better option, by simply sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him.

How, ultimately, are you going to settle on an answer to this? Not from Reddit answers, though they may be helpful and point you in the right direction, but from listening to Jesus himself! And Jesus’ words can be found in the gospels, and in the whole Bible. The Bible is a wonderful compilation of books written by many people over centuries for different contexts and audiences and purposes, but they all tell one unifying story of God acting through history to save his people, and all of it is God’s word. Prayer is just as vital, and we want to be asking God to help us listen to him in his word and understand him clearly, that he would change us through it and think deeply about what he’s telling us.

So I hope that introduces some foundations for our discussion. The centre of our faith is Jesus. And we’ll have greater clarity by knowing Jesus better. And how do we know Jesus better? Through his words, which we have in our Bibles.

The Reformed tradition upholds supremely the Bible as our means to hear God and know what he wants for us. I think this is absolutely right, and I think if we read the Bible itself we will get a similar impression from God of what he thinks of his Scriptures.

The Eastern Orthodox Church upholds the Scriptures, but also greatly treasures, to the point of being divinely inspired, Holy Tradition.

But how do we really know what ‘tradition’ is? Or what the right tradition is?

If there was only one Church claiming to be the original apostolic Church passed down through tradition this may help a little, but there are others. Most prominently of course is the Roman Catholic Church, which claims that Tradition and the early church fathers would actually uphold the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, over the rest of the bishops, and as such they are the true apostolic Church. This doesn’t even get started on all the other issues the early church fathers would disagree on.

We can easily get lost in the weeds here, and theologians and historians can argue over this forever... they’ve been doing it for centuries! How on earth are we meant to arrive at the right conclusion?

Well, let’s go back to the foundation of our discussion. Jesus. Listening to him in the Bible. What does he have to say? What does he think salvation is? Is it by trusting in him and his sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and nothing else? Are there good deeds involved to also merit our salvation? And what about all the things Orthodox Tradition introduced that have no explicit existence in Scripture? Should we pray to the saints?

I think the Bible has very clear answers. And we could go into those further if you’d like. But let’s try and clarify that the Bible is our go-to, and all traditions, including the Reformed one, can be helpful but will always be fallible and subservient to the authority of God’s very words.

I can go on and say Reformed theology has the biblical view of salvation - that salvation is by faith alone in Jesus by his grace alone, and the biblical view of God’s sovereignty, and the biblical view of how we relate to God.

But how are you going to test that? It’s easier said than done, but to keep going to the Bible and seeing what God has to say through the human authors of the text.

Some good resources (other than the Bible, and of course having no authority in themselves unlike the Bible, and should be tested by it!)

Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach

https://www.amazon.com/Dig-Deeper-Tools-Understanding-Gods/dp/1581349718

The above is a really helpful toolkit to read the Bible for ourselves. It contains a number of different ‘tools’, like the ‘context’ tool, and other tools to understand and digest a text and unearth the treasures that God has for us in them.

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-God-J-I-Packer/dp/083081650X

The above is an absolute classic that richly and clearly illustrates who God is and how we can know him.

God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Big-Picture-Tracing-Storyline/dp/0830853642

The above explains God’s incredible narrative throughout the entire Bible. Very helpful to understand what the Bible is all about.

Hi /u/iwillyes, I'm glad you're here! Let me start by talking a bit about what the Reformed tradition of Christianity is.

The Reformed Tradition is a branch of Protestant Christianity that developed during the Reformation in Switzerland, Scotland, France and the low countries. John Calvin was (and is) the most influential theologian in the Reformed tradition. While we share many similarities with Anglicans, Baptists and Lutherans we are usually seen as a distinct strand. We disagree on the meaning of both Baptism and the Eucharist, for example (in both regards Lutherans are closer to Catholics). Pentecostals and Anabaptist are quite different.

In terms of what makes the Reformed different from other Protestant groups, I love this quote by Cornelius Plantinga:

>>Our accents lie more on the sovereignty of God, on the authority of Scripture, on the need for disciplined holiness in personal Christian life, and finally, on Christianity as a religion of the Kingdom.

That emphasis on the sovereignty of God over all things is in my mind what most clearly distinguishes the reformed tradition. Part of that is understanding God to be sovereign in salvation - what is commonly known as the five points of Calvinism. Basically we believe that because of we are dead in our sin, man is utterly unable to do anything to save himself - even unable to turn to God. It is only through God's grace of drawing us to him that we are able to have the faith that saves us. This means that we contribute nothing to our own salvation - it is entirely a work of God.

In the U.S. there are two main groups of Reformed churches: Presbyterians (the Scottish Reformed) and the Dutch Reformed. Historically Scottish Reformed have put a bit more emphasis on personal piety (the Puritans are part of this group) while the Dutch Reformed have put slightly more emphasis on declaring the Lordship of Christ over all creation. But, we are very, very similar. The Reformed tradition is a deeply confessional one. We hold to historic documents that describe what we understand scripture to teach on a wide range of matters. The Presbyterians hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Dutch Reformed hold to the Three Forms of Unity. While different documents, the two sets of confessions essentially teach the same doctrine.

In terms of churches the large (100k+ members) Presbyterian denominations in the US are the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Presbyterian Chrurch in America. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and ECO: A Covenant Order of Presbyterians. The PC(USA) is a more "liberal" church while the others are more "conservative" to varying degrees. The two large Dutch Reformed denominations are the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church. There are also many smaller Presbyterian and Reformed denominations. Many of them are part of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council.

What complicates things a bit is that in recent years, many Christians in other traditions have started using "reformed" to mean they have a Calvinistic view of salvation, even if they don't fit into the broader reformed tradition in other ways. You will find a lot of Baptists who have a Calvinistic view of salvation, but not of the sacraments or the church, for example. This sub tends to attract both the more conservative branch of the Reformed tradition as well as those who just have a Calvinistic view of salvation.

In terms of books, my number one recommendation for you is Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition by Jamie Smith. It's a quick easy read best digested in small parts. It does a great job of providing an overview of the Reformed tradition that is accessible, theological, and pastoral. It's aimed at those who have a 'come-to-Calvin' moment from within other theological traditions (Smith was pentecostal), but would benefit everyone.

Also read through some of the Reformed Confessions. The best place to start is with the Heidelberg Catechim and the Belgic Confession. If you want a more modern approach, I'd encourage you to also read the Christian Reformed Church's Contemporary Testimony Our World Belongs To God, too.

Other good "intro" level books:

• Reformed: What It Means, Why It Matters by Bob DeMoor. This is more of a booklet that a full book. It'd be a great option for a newcomers class at church.
  
  
• Deep Down Faith by Cornelius Plantinga. This one is a devotional aimed at young adults, but an excellent explanation of Reformed Faith.
  
  
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul. This is the book that made me a Calvinist. Best explanation and defense of TULIP out there. Sproul's The Holiness of God is anothe excellent choice, as are all of his books.
  
  
• Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport: Making Connections in Today's World by Richard Mouw. Another book focused on TULIP. This one's goal is to show how the doctrines of Grace affect the way we live out our lives and correcting common misunderstandings about Calvinism.
  
  
  Once you feel ready for higher level stuff, I recommend:
  
  
• Reformed Theology by Michael Allen. If you want a book that covers the breadth of Reformed Theology at a deep level than Smith or DeMoor, this is for you (think intro college level).
  
  
• Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation by Michael Allen and Scott Swain. This book is a clarion call: “to be Reformed means to go deeper into true catholicity, not to move away from catholicity.” A must read.
  
  
• Reformed Dogmatics (Abridged) by Herman Bavink. My appreciation for Bavink grows every time I read him. This abridged version is much cheaper and more accessible than the full four volume edition.
  
  
• Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. This one needs no explanation. Get this one if you want to splurge for a nice reference edition, the Beveridge Translation is available for much less (and free online).
  

The institutes are surprisingly very readable. I read that somewhere in a couple places, and my experience reading them bears out this truth. Try out this article, note this:

>1. The Institutes may be easier to read than you think.
J. I. Packer writes, “The readability of the Institutio, considering its size, is remarkable.”
Level of difficulty should not determine a book’s importance; some simple books are profound; some difficult books are simply muddled. What we want are books that make us think and worship, even if that requires some hard work. As Piper wrote in Future Grace, “When my sons complain that a good book is hard to read, I say, ‘Raking is easy, but all you get is leaves; digging is hard, but you might find diamonds.'”

There are few works in history that had the influence the Institutes had, and had the effect of changing the course of history as this work did. One more though, I also own this version of Calvin's Magnum Opus, am about 250 pages in, it's the easiest version to read, I find, because it is shorter than the 1559 version and the headers and other aides makes this translation quite a treat, for me, a Calvinist.

I would definitely start with Machen, you cant go wrong. World Magazine said it's one of the 100 best books of the millennium:

>It was named one of the top 100 books of the millennium by World magazine and one of the top 100 books of the twentieth century by Christianity Today. / “An admirable book. For its acumen, for its saliency, and for its wit, this cool and stringent defense of orthodox Protestantism is, I think, the best popular argument produced [in the controversy between Christianity and liberalism].”

One last to share, I listened (ironically) to Dr. Adler's classic How to read a book which is a great one for whatever level of reader we find ourselves to be. We read and are driven to this endeavor because we seek to grow our minds. I don't mean to pile on, but you asked hehe. A few books to add to your list, believe me, when you start asking and keeping a "to-read list" it always seems to grow. There's lots of good stuff when you know what to look for :-)

Grace and peace.

Well I've used it weekly for the last three-ish years, both from the perspective of the disciple and the discipler, and it seems to be the best model that I've seen. Most of the material is from or related to Cru, but I'll just try to include some stuff that isn't.

Here's a massive wealth of articles and videos from Cru on how to go about it. You don't have to use all (or any) of it, but there are a lot of articles for people who are new to discipleship on there, though it is definitely geared towards college aged people.

Life Concepts is another great resource from Cru if you're working with a new believer or someone who doesn't have a very strong understanding of their faith.

For books, I recommend going through the Gospel Centered Life, it's a great short book that has wonderful lessons, and a pretty Reformed view of the gospel. I highly recommend that one.

Some other great books (depending on the individual and what they're going through) would be Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung (I can't recommend this one enough), and Surfing For God if you wanna talk lust and purity.

I also know a few people who use the Bible Project and their resources to go through books of scripture--for example, Matthew. On there you'll find the videos going over the book, an overview of each section, and some different resources at the bottom of the page.

Ultimately, you have to decide on the content yourself based on the needs of the disciple and what they're going through, and you kind of just have to figure all that out as you go.

Edit: also, I have a ton of articles saved on my Drive related to specific topics for some reason, so if there's ever anything specific you want resources for, feel free to ask and I can see if I have something!

It's a wonderful desire to be a good example and leader for your wife. I think that is one of our motivations to dig deep into the Word. However, it can't be your only motivation and can't be a sustaining motivation.

You need to desire to meet with God, hear from Him, speak with Him, and fellowship with Him. It begins small, but consistent:

• can you spend 5 minutes reading the Bible every day for a month? (take off weekends if you need, though)
  
• Can you spend 10, 15, 20 minutes after you're faithful in the 5?
  
• Can you not only read, but journal and pray (I simply write my prayers sometimes)?
  
• And can you take this fellowship with God (prayer) into your day, all day? (That's a hard one, but a goal to have nonetheless)
  
  There's plenty of resources out there and some will certainly be helpful for you. The big thing you need, though, is a desire. Be praying for a desire, because it really only comes from God. But spend time with God whether you want to or not. And be honest with Him. Tell Him you don't feel like praying and ask for help from Him.
  
  I cannot recommend this book enough to you. It's simply fantastic: A Praying Life.

Book nerd, reporting to duty! Some ideas to spice it up:


Christian Living

If you've done much searching in this area, you've doubtless come across Dr. Neil Anderson - and for good reason. Anderson is the best Christian Living author I've encountered. Head of the Practical Theology department at Talbot (same school as MacArthur) for a decade, all of Anderson's teaching and core material has been "approved" by the theology department at Talbot and rooted in real world experience. Anderson specializes in giving practical steps for getting right with God and becoming more like Christ. By far my favorite author in this genre. Some of his books which changed my life the most:

• Victory over the Darkness - Powerful. Walks you through what happened to your identity when you gave your life to Christ and gives practical ways to grow in sanctification.
  
  
• Freedom from Fear - If you've ever had issues with anxiety, this book will break it. For the first time in my life, I experienced "the peace that surpasses all understanding" through this book.
  
  
  Theology
  
  
• What's Wrong with Protestant Theology - This remains one of the best books I've ever read, regardless of genre. The author was a professor of Theology at Regent Theological (J.I. Packer's old school). In this book, Ruthven slaughters a few sacred cows in a quest to just see "what does the Bible say?" The basic problem is this - during the Reformation, the primary debate was over salvation: "what must I do to be saved and how much does it cost?" We focused so much on this question that we omitted many of the main themes of Scripture (namely the experiential aspects of the New Covenant). Ruthven ruthlessly marches through most of Bible to answer questions like: What does it mean to "know God"? What is "the word of God"? What does it mean to "be like Christ?" What am I supposed to do now that I'm saved? A masterpiece. One of the only books I've ever read that made me sit up, sweating and saying "oh my...he's right...woe is me."
  
  
  Evangelism
  
  A few years ago, I came across a list of the top 50 books which have shaped Evangelicals. I saw a book that interested me: Power Evangelism by John Wimber.
  
  
• Power Evangelism - This book is what actually got me up off my rear end and start doing real, in person evangelism. Not only that, this book motivated me to share Christ with others out of excitement. Led a few people to Christ, seen a few cool miracles - and it all started here.

You're going to get a lot of advice regarding "what God wants," "where God leads," and "God's will for you."

> For this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV)

God is far more concerned with your holiness than your occupation or income. Love God and make wise choices in life. The counsel of your elders is just a part of making wise decisions. Looking for a leg twitch or a burning sensation to tell you what to do like some pagan mystic is not walking in the Spirit.

I recommend a short book on the topic by DeYoung. Here's a non-referral link. It brings a lot of clarity and freedom to the issue, and is very grounded in Scripture. If you feel safe enough to PM me your address, I will buy it for you and have it shipped to you.

Elements of Exegesis the guy is a moderate evangelical, but the ideas here are pretty good.

How to read the Bible for all its worth by Fee and Stuart Great intro to reading the different genres of scripture. Two evangelical scholars.

Invitation to Biblical Interpretation Written by two heavy hitting scholars, it's a big book with a ton of info on how to interpret all parts of scripture.

Grasping God's Word Probably a good place to start as it is a workbook/textbook rolled into one. You get a lot of great info with tons of exercises.

I live in Louisville, and I know a lot of people affiliated with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary here. It is definitely uniformly reformed in terms of soteriology. As far as full adherence to 1689, you will find some diversity. Some profs are definitely down with it, some are a bit looser. For instance, regarding Covenantalism, the authors of Kingdom through Covenant are both professors there. The sacramentology tends to lean towards a Zwinglian memorialist view, but I don't think a spiritual presence view would be out of line there. All in all, I'm pretty sure it is a great Baptist seminary, and it is certainly welcoming to 1689ers, but is not exclusive to 1689ers.

Most everything I've heard about Southeastern Baptist (in NC) is in keeping with what I've heard about The Southern Baptist.

Out west, I've heard good things about Western Seminary. It was founded as a Conservative Baptist school, though I'm not sure if it is fully affiliated anymore. And there is Golden Gate Baptist in the Bay Area, which is an SBC school, though not nearly as reformed as the other two I mentioned.

Here are some ideas.

RC Sproul's Essential Truths of the Christian Faith is a great summary of many key ideas.

His The Holiness of God is a classic that packs quite the punch.

Also by Sproul, The Crucial Question booklet series is a great series of shorter booklets that explore a few important topics in a bit more depth without being overwhelming.

Sproul's What is Reformed Theology? is a decent overview that is pretty approachable.

Beeke's Living for God's Glory is a decent introduction that I think can be helpful in that it starts to unpack some of the broader implications.

Looking at creeds and confessions is also solid. Here are decent ones for the Westminster Confession of Faith (and this one too) and Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism.

In case you want to watch instead, Ligonier Ministries will post 1 free video from their teaching series every day.

As for listening, there is Renewing Your Mind

Sure! Most of what I learned wasn't in a class. College/seminary is super overrated outside of something to put on a resume imo (unless you want to get ordained).

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years REALLY good overview book.

The Early Church is really good. Might be a bit dry? But good information.

Christianizing the Roman Empire was pretty interesting and helpful.

Popular Religion in Late Saxon England is as cool as it sounds. My main complaint is that after chapter 3, she essentially just keeps repeating her thesis was more, similar, examples. Very good first 3 chapters tho!

Sayings of the Desert Fathers is good. Sometimes very odd, but at the least interesting.

Augustine's Confessions a must read for many reasons.

On the Holy Spirit can be dry and repetitive at points, but is really good.

Essentially any primary source (i.e. something an author actually wrote, not what someone wrote about them) is great to read. Look for stuff by Augustine, Jerome, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil, Maximus the Confessor, Aquinas, Lombard, Vermigli, Luther, Calvin, etc.

>suggest a (roughly) two-month reading plan to get through the Old Testament? Ie, how much to read per day, in what order to read the books

I'd suggest reading one whole book at a go, i.e. finish reading Genesis either in one sitting, or in a few sittings. The Old Testament is such that you need the big picture before you can fully understand each part.

>recommend extra-biblical resources to help me understand the OT? I know the [1] Rose Book is a good one, any others?

I'd suggest two books. Graeme Goldsworthy's Gospel and Kingdom and Vaughn Roberts' God's Big Picture. Those two are very short and easy to understand books. These two books help you understand that the role of the OT is to point to Jesus, and gives you a very quick big picture and central message of the OT and thus the whole Bible. I'd highly recommend them first before you start your OT reading.

>give general advice/tips on how to make the reading time most productive/effective and not cause me to burn out?

Read the OT narratives as stories, rather than trying to do a Bible study on them every single time. You can do your bible study after you have finished reading it. :) Secondly, when reading wisdom books or prophecies, keep in mind the timeline of Israel and when it is written and the history behind it. It will illuminate the prophets for you, otherwise they'll be a mystery to you.

Recently a combination of A Praying Life and Spiritual Depression has completely changed the way I pray. Daniel 9 is also beginning to hold a formative place in my prayer life.

You'll be amiss to search for a book that will change your actions... Look for something to help you change the bent of your heart more towards God and God's grace, flowing out of that relationship, will enable repentance and real change.

A risk of contradicting myself, I hold both authors of this book, How People Change, in very high regard. I've only read the first few chapters but it has a good focus. Again, on the heart and its relation to God over and above mere actions.

If you want something super simple, but still very useful I remember doing [The Westminster Shorter Catechism Study] (https://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Shorter-Catechism-Study-Classes/dp/0875525210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503095609&sr=8-1&keywords=westminster+shorter+catechism+study+williamson) by G. I. Williamson. Since it follows the WSC, it is very systematic but it is written at a level that a high schooler can understand it. I think it's one of the best simple and systematic introductions to the Reformed faith.

I haven't found anything yet that is a good in-depth narrative of the split. At a high-level, it happened over several centuries and was driven by geographic separation, linguistic and cultural differences (Greek vs. Latin), the Pope's claim to primacy, the rise of icons in the eastern church, and the western church's addition of the Filioque clause to the Nicene creed. Honestly, Wikipedia has some good stuff (search for "The Great Schism" and "Filioque") for an introduction to the issues.

The Orthodox Church touches on the issues from an eastern perspective and is a great introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy.

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years is a great single-volume work covering many aspects of church history. It's a large book, but a great place to start if you're a history buff.

I greatly enjoyed A Praying Life by Paul Miller. It is not just about the mechanics of praying, but focuses on how prayer can become a natural impulse of the heart.

RC Sproul has a lot of excellent books for the layman.

Recommended reads would be:

The Holiness of God - Free copy from Ligonier

Chosen by God

What is Reformed Theology?

I also recommend Knowing God by JI Packer

I highly recommend reading the Apostolic Fathers. These were people who either knew the Apostles or were just a generation offset from them (abt 70AD - 150AD). The things they say are amazing and show the rich diversity of thought among some of the earliest Christians. Michael Holmes has a really nice, inexpensive translation into English with introductory notes on each book that explain the authors, dates, occasion for writing, etc.

Firstly, if she's an adult then she has the responsibility of attending a faithful church regardless of her family's opinion. Following God is more important than following man, so I would encourage her to be committed to following God over worrying about doing what her family is happy with.

Reforming her Christianity depends on what theological differences she has, really. Is there anything in particular that stands out as a theological difference? For example, some people make a really big deal about their works being unimportant and thus a holy life being unimportant, so you could start with understanding the law and gospel. Others have an overemphasis on eschatology such that it consumes their thought, or the continuance of revelatory gifts, so you might want to start with those. Maybe a Reformed understanding of worship if that's a hang-up for her joining a confessional church.

Maybe just work through the Heidelberg Catechism with her, or use something like G.I. Williamson's study book on the Westminster Shorter Catechism (https://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Shorter-Catechism-Study-Classes/dp/0875525210).

Maybe talking about guidance is a good way into sola scriptura. Everyone (especially a youth group?) wants to know what God wants them to do - so if you work through the principles in a book like this you end up with a strong case for sola scriptura, and you also give them something practical to think about as well - keeping it a sermon, rather than a lecture.

>I guess I'd say I'm still a Continuationist and a Credobaptist

There are several of that variety around here. Welcome.

>Do most reformed people believe that the majority of the events depicted in Revelation have already taken place?

No, I don't think the majority of us hold to the partial-preterist view. In my view, for instance, the events of Revelation are taking place and have been since the book was written. Though, the book ends with Jesus coming back, which hasn't taken place, it starts by saying the book is about "what must soon take place". So it makes sens to read it as what has been and is still happening.

>Where is the easiest place to start to read up on some of this stuff?

The easiest place to start getting a Reformed view of eschatology, I would say, is from Kim Riddlebarger. Go to his website, look at the side bar on the right and scroll down to see the "Amillenialism 101". Obviously this presents a specific view, but it's a great place to start with non-pre-trib, non-pre-mil views.

>Any similar resources/commentaries from someone in the reformed camp?

If you want a straight-up Reformed commentary on the book, you can't go wrong with Revelation: A shorter commentary by G.K. Beale. Don't let the name fool you, it still weighs in at 552 pages. In the commentary, Beale shows that the things described by Revelation are not all past and not all future, but shows, "The goal of Revelation is to bring encouragement to believers of all ages that God is working out His purposes even in the midst of tragedy, suffering, and apparent Satanic domination. It is the Bible's battle cry of victory."

If you want a work that's about half that length and available to read at no price, take a look at The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation by Vern Poythress, where he writes, "You can summarize its message in one sentence: God rules history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ." This one seems more similar kind of resource to the one you linked, as far as accessibility and organization.

>Maybe you could briefly explain to me some of the different eschatological beliefs and views on the book of Revelation.

In the Reformed camp, I've encountered several positions. These positions are usually defined as some combination of a general view of Eschatological revelation and a specific view of the Millenium in Revelation 20. I think I've encountered these:

|Millennium|Partial-Preterist|Historicist|Idealist|Futurist|
|------------|-----------------|-----------|--------|---------|
|Pre-mil |X | | |X |
|Amil |X |X |X | |
|Post-mil |X | |X |X |

• Partial-Preterist Views most of eschatological revelation as having been fulfilled already.
  
• Historicist Views it as fulfilled in specific events through the history of the church.
  
• Idealist Views it as being continually fulfilled through the church age
  
• Futurist Views it as being almost entirely fulfilled in the future
  
• Pre-millennial Expects Jesus to come back before the Millennium, which will be a golden age on the earth under Jesus' direct rule
  
• Amillennial Expects Jesus to come back after the Millennium, which is symbolic of the Church Age where Jesus is building His kingdom
  
• Post-millennial Expects Jesus to come back after the Millennium, which will be a golden age on the earth as Jesus' kingdom as the church pervades the world.
  
  The pre-trib view of Calvary Chapel and others is a specific kind of Pre-millennial Futurism that's distinct from the Historical Pre-millennial view.
  
  >I think that the secret rapture is probably not true.
  
  You're on the right track there.
  
  EDIT: missig lettrs

I suppose you could start here:

Q. 58. How do we come to be made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured?

A. We are made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured, by the application of them unto us,[249] which is the work especially of God the Holy Ghost.[250]

Q. 59. Who are made partakers of redemption through Christ?

A. Redemption is certainly applied, and effectually communicated, to all those for whom Christ hath purchased it;[251] who are in time by the Holy Ghost enabled to believe in Christ according to the gospel.[252]

For more on this, you could see John Murray's first section "Redemption Accomplished and Applied" which he speaks about the atonement.

I hope others chime in on this thread, but since you are currently studying theology, might I recommend a few books.

1. The Bible.
   
2. The Westminster Confession of Faith [Link]
   (https://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Confession-Faith-Study-Classes/dp/0875525938/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498266473&sr=8-4&keywords=westminster+confession+of+faith)
   
3. The Shorter Catechism [Link]
   (https://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Shorter-Catechism-Study-Classes/dp/0875525210/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0875525210&pd_rd_r=W404ZWCAQ8CDBHZDTBSZ&pd_rd_w=KwuFQ&pd_rd_wg=TtA6X&psc=1&refRID=W404ZWCAQ8CDBHZDTBSZ)
   
4. The Larger Catechism [Link]
   (https://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Larger-Catechism-Johannes-Geerhardus-ebook/dp/B004MDLJO2/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498266588&sr=1-2&keywords=westminster+larger+catechism) ( I haven't read the commentary on this one)
   
5. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion Link
   
   

G.K. Beale Commentary on Revelation or his Shorter Commentary on Revelation as well as many of the other books he's written on Thessalonians, New Testament use of Daniel, etc. are some of the best resources for an amillennial, idealist interpretation. He also has a lot of shorter articles and lectures available online, if you're lazy like me.

I know how you feel sister. I texted a friend and mentor the other day asking for some prayer and he reminded me of the simplicity of Philippians 4:6. I often recite it to myself and proceed to pray in times of anxiety.

>I know that this is a part of what's meant for me.

Also, God's will for you is peace. Don't believe this lie. ^
I've not read it yet but it's written by an author thay I really like called Neil Anderson. He writes one called Victory Over The Darkness: Realize the Power of Your Identity in Christ that I really like but another that's on my wish list may be even better for you. Freedom from Fear: Overcoming Worry and Anxiety

The Covenant of Redemption was a covenant of love involving our Triune God.

Here’s a book recommendation for you and your pastor
https://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Accomplished-Applied-John-Murray/dp/080287309X/ref=nodl_

I'd recommend two versions of essentially the same resource by R. C. Sproul:

1. Chosen by God - This is the book version. It's a fairly short, accessible read, and it'll probably answer a lot of your questions. I can't recommend this enough.
   
   
   
2. Chosen by God - If you want to watch a series of sermons/lectures which covers much of the same ground, Ligonier has Sproul's video series up for free.

Nice! Just picked up another on my wish list, Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Paul Miller has a really helpful section breaking down cynicism in his book The Praying Life. I'd highly recommend reading those chapters.

The best resource that I own and have used is F.F. Bruce's 'The Canon of Scripture'. Pretty accessible, but won't win awards for entertainment.

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Don't let the fact that the author is a Gay, former Christian scare you. This book is one of the best books I have read in church history. It reads very nicely.

Start with the Apostolic Fathers. This includes Didache, Clement, Polycarp, Barnabas, and Ignatius, among others. These works represent Christian thought during and immediately after the time of the Apostles, up until around 150 AD.

The Apostolic Fathers in English is a great place to start.

Read Kevin DeYoung's book Just Do Something. It's a fantastic, short book on God's will. It deals exactly with the things you're struggling with in a way that is biblical and freeing.

The textbook I used in my hermeneutics class was [Grasping God's Word] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0310492572/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=30968505261&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11654403599380140192&hvpone=22.16&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1x21vrvqwq_b) with a supplement text of [How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth/dp/0310246040). Both I would suggest, they take a position of inerrancy and do an excellent job of teaching Scriptural study.

if you want a nice little book to read i reccomend
https://www.amazon.ca/Christianity-First-Three-Thousand-Years/dp/0143118692

or the two volume set

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JOGB2DU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.amazon.com/Story-Christianity-Reformation-Present-Day-ebook/dp/B00JOGB276/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V8M4VV04NQ9QNT8QRV1Z

i've read both and they provide an easy(ish) to read concise history of christianity

Look for this book, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. It's a good, short book about working through God's purpose.

On a more practical note, what you're feeling isn't uncommon.

It's not postmil, by any stretch of the imagination, but I highly recommend Hendriksen's interpretation of Revelation - More Than Conquerors - to anyone who's struggling with Revelation.

I also think it's worth remembering that Revelation was written as an encouragement to the Church. So if you are assured of your salvation but are experiencing anxiety about Revelation, I'd suggest you might be taking the wrong message from it somewhere.

• According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy
  
• God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts
  
  These books helped me to get my bearings right when I look at a particular passage in the Bible. I now ask questions like, "Where is this passage in relation to the redemptive history?" and "How does this OT passage point to Jesus?"

Two that I like:

• William Hendriksen - More than Conquerers
  
• Paul Gardner - Revelation
  
  The first has become something of a standard in Reformed circles. The second is a more recent, pastoral approach.

How to Read a Book. This would have saved me a lot of time and I would have gotten a lot more out of my reading had I read it before seminary.

David Murray has a very readable book - Jesus On Every Page that might help.

Other reviewers on Amazon beg to differ.

Martyn Lloyd Jones - Spiritual Depression

When folks discuss the gospels as eyewitness testimony, they're not saying that they were written by eyewitnesses, merely that eyewitnesses were the sources of the information (rather than a game of telephone.)

Have you read Jesus and the Eyewitnesses?

And this one: http://www.amazon.com/The-Westminster-Confession-Faith-Classes/dp/0875525938

Check out Kingdom Through Covenant by Gentry and Wellum (both professors at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).

Here's one, for starters.

After many verbal recommendations from him, I finally borrowed How To Read a Book from a friend. It's an incredible book, and it has a lot to offer especially if you've never been trained in logic, liberal arts, or just how to read arguments well.

I'm an engineer by training and trade (with the reading/writing skills of one to boot) but enjoy reading 10-15 (mostly nonfiction) books a year. I've never known there was more to reading than just starting on page 1 and plowing through. With the advice from this book, you'll be able to cut to the core propositions of a theological, philosophical, historical, and even fictional argument without losing appreciation for the work as a whole.

Praying for you brother. Have you spoken to your pastor or leaders in your church? You might also need to get some professional help.

I also recommend you check out Spiritual Depression its causes and cures D Martin Lloyd-Jones

Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802813879/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kh.hDb7K9M3A7

I recommend Chosen by God or What is Reformed Theology?, both by RC Sproul.

Something that might be useful to keep in mind is that Calvin did not write down the five points typically attributed to him. Instead, the Arminians challenged the traditional Reformed theology, and were refuted at Dordt with these five points. (You can read the Canons of Dordt at www.reformed.org under "Historic Documents").

The reason I point this out is that these 5 points do not stand on their own really. They start to make a lot more sense when you keep them in the context of the rest of reformed theology (e.g., the idea of the covenant, and the means of grace).

As far as Limited Atonement, the idea is that Christ's death actually accomplished our redemption, not just made it possible. It's also called "particular redemption". It's really a question of efficacy and intent, though - Dordt taught that Christ's death "is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world" but that "it was God's will that Christ through the blood of the cross (by which he confirmed the new covenant) should effectively redeem from every people, tribe, nation, and language all those and only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given to him by the Father."

Here are some of my favorite books outside of the Reformed tradition.

These are books which didn't just tickle my brain with interesting ideas but rather utterly changed my life. I owe a debt of gratitude to these authors for how God used their works in me.

• Power Evangelism by John Wimber - This book is about reaching the lost through demonstrations of the power of the Holy Spirit. This book got me out on the street sharing Christ with people and I have since been privileged to lead a few people to Christ.
  
  
• What's Wrong with Protestant Theology by Jon Ruthven - This book is about comparing the main themes of Scripture to the main themes of Protestant Theology. This book pushed me back into a personal relationship with God in which I hear God's voice and obey.
  
  
• Surprised by the Power of the Spirit by Jack Deere - This book demolished many of my misunderstandings of the gifts of the Spirit. It set a hunger in me to see the miraculous power of God in and through me.
  
  
• Freedom from Fear by Neil Anderson - this book is about how to overcome fear and anxiety by the power of the cross. Through this book, a fear / anxiety pattern of nearly 2 decades was broken over the course of a few hours.
  
  And many more along these fronts. I'm not Reformed, so here's a snapshot into what is feeding someone outside of your stream!

I've not only answered you, but given you sources after you demanded them. I'll even add another:

F.F. Bruce.

But you do you, Tanhan.