The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his125/refs1.lzh/REFS1.TXT

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PER:Reference Books

   Reference books are the tools of the trade for people who study
the Bible, that is, you and I.  As with any trade, there is a large
investment in tools.  Bible Study is no exception.  This is the one
place I can think of where you really can throw moderation out the
door.  Here, you can completely indulge yourself.  Buy all the books
you can afford, get into them, and learn of God!

   Some of us don't have that kind of budget though!  So where do we
start?  Hopefully, we will answer that question, or at least address
it so that we don't wander aimlessly through the local bookstore
spending lots of unnecessary money on something we don't yet need.

   These ideas are mostly my own, so remember Acts 17:11!

                       THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK

   Easily, and without debate, the most important book you will ever
own is a Bible.  What kind of bible do you buy?  What translation?

   Translations are pretty much a matter of personal taste, and
there is much to be said for each one of them, except of course the
New World Translation (from the Jehovah's Witnesses)!  In a bible to
be used for study, the choices basically come down to three
possibilities: King James, New American Standard, and the New
International Version.  An important concept to keep in mind is that
whichever translation you choose, stick to it!  Why?  Because you'll
find it MUCH easier to remember verses and figures of speech if you
stay with one text.

   The King James is the classic translation used for years by
almost all bible teachers.  The good points in choosing King James is
that most reference works key themselves to King James, almost all the
commentators quote from King James, and it is a very well known
translation - the Standard.  On the bad side, the King James is
difficult to get used to.  Many of the words used are outdated, there
are some inaccuracies in the translation (all of which by the way are
addressed in reference books), and it is by far the least readable of
the translations.

   The New American Standard sought to be a more literal translation
of the Bible.  It is probably the second most popular translation in
use today, and there are many reference books that key to it.  On the
bad side, the classical commentators did not have a New American
Standard to quote from, so not all reference works will key to it.
While the New American Standard is a definite improvement in
readability over the King James, it is not the most readable of the
three most popular translations.

   The New International Version is the most readable translation.
Modern English was used (it is the newest of the three translations).
On the bad side, almost no reference books quote from New
International ... yet!  This translation is gaining in popularity
probably faster than any other translation today.  OK, so which one do
you go for?  Well, how good are you at the English language?  How
diligent a student do you plan to be?  Are you willing to overcome the
difficulties of old English?  Perhaps you'd like two different
translations.  One for study, and one for casual reading.  I highly
recommend King James if you can put up with the old English, if for no
other reason than that almost all reference books key to it, and quote
from it.  Once you get used to the language, it becomes second nature
to you.  If you find that you have trouble with King James, pick up a
New International Version for casual reading.  But in the end, the
choice is up to you!

   Once you've selected a comfortable translation, the question is
which bible to buy.  This is the last place you want to skimp on!  A
good reference Bible is an absolute necessity!  There are many out
there, of which I'll name just a few that I'm familiar with.

                   The New Scofield Reference Bible

   This is probably the one for the serious student seeking the most
scholarly, or advanced work.  However, Scofield is quite opinionated.
Scofield's notes and outlines reflect a heavy bias towards
Dispensational Theology, and a pre-tribulation rapture.  These notes
are quite valuable if you hold these views, but I imagine would be a
pain in the neck if you don't.  Scofield has many many cross-references
which are a definite aid when studying, and there is a small
concordance in the back of the book, as well as a few maps and chain
references.  This is the Bible I use, if you haven't already guessed.

                            The Open Bible

   This is a delightful Bible for those who are just beginning in
their Bible Study quest.  It is available in King James and New
American Standard, and contains all kinds of valuable study aids which
allow you to put off purchasing many of the reference books for
awhile. There is a special edition of the Open Bible which gives an
in-depth study of the end times.  It is called the Prophecy Bible, and
is available from The World Bible Society, Box 1, Los Angeles,
California 90053.  If I couldn't have a Scofield, this is the one I'd
get.  Also, if I couldn't afford to buy a lot of reference books, or
if I was just starting out, this is definitely the Bible to get.

   Those are the only Bibles I use, but through talking with people,
I've heard many good things about The Thomas Nelson Chain Reference
Bible, and the Ryrie Study Bible.

                     Bible Handbooks and Surveys

   These books are really great.  They contain background,
archaeology studies, histories, explanations, mini-commentaries,
notes, outlines, maps and all kinds of information you would otherwise
have to pour through volumes and volumes of books to get.  This is the
basic reference book.  There are two pretty much standard works used
by almost everyone.  Halley's Bible Handbook (about $10-15), and
Unger's Survey of the Bible ($11).  There are many others that are
quite good, but these two seem to me to be the most useful.

                 Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

   A Bible Dictionary or Encyclopedia lists just about any concept
or topic in the Bible and seeks to explain it, or give background on
it.  You might look up chariots and find out all kinds of things about
a chariot.  You might look up Paul and get a brief biography of him.
These books are not just parallel passage works (although they contain
that as well), but also contain archaeologic and historic information
not found in the Bible.  You could spend many a fulfilling evening
browsing through one of these books.  Some names to look into are
Unger's Bible Dictionary, Smith's Bible Dictionary, New Bible
Dictionary, Davis Bible Dictionary, Harper's Bible Dictionary and many
many others.  Depending on where you go, and which one you like,
you'll spend between $10 and $25 for these.  Unger's Dictionary is
also available in a generic softcover for less than $10 when you can
find it.

                             Commentaries

   A Commentary seeks to explain the scriptures to us.  There are
many many many commentaries out there.  The list is endless.  Their
focus ranges from devotional to expository, from practical to
prophetic, from surface level to in-depth, from complete sets to
individual books, from one-volume commentaries to 20, 30 and 40 volume
sets.  Everyone should probably have a one-volume commentary, at least
most people think so!  The classical, standard one to have is Matthew
Henry's one-volume commentary, but deserving of mention is the
Wycliffe One Volume Commentary.  These are pretty much basic,
devotional commentaries that will help with insights that you can use
every day.

   But you don't just buy a one-volume commentary thinking that
you'll never buy another one! A one-volume commentary is of very
limited use.  More useful is to buy a commentary on a book you are
studying.  For this, you'll have to become familiar with authors until
you find your favorites.  I probably have five or six commentaries on
the book of Revelation alone, not to mention at least that many sets
of commentary tapes on the book of Revelation!  The best I can do to
stretch your commentary dollar is to list a few authors I like.  To
name just a few out of literally hundreds, I'd say Ray Stedman, Arthur
W. Pink, Donald Barnhouse, G. Campbell Morgan, M.R. DeHaan, and John
Walvoord.  But don't go out and buy a million commentaries right
away.  Just pick up a one-volume commentary, and gradually acquire a
collection later.

                             Concordances

   Now we get into reference books where YOU do the work instead of
benefiting from work already done.  It is important to get an
exhaustive concordance.  An exhaustive concordance will list EVERY
word in the Bible alphabetically.  There are many uses for this.  When
you can't find a certain passage, but you know a couple of the words,
look it up in the concordance.  When you do a word study of, say the
word gold, you can find ALL the places where gold is mentioned.  A
good concordance will also give you the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic
definitions of all the words in the Bible.

   Despite their size, concordances are not all that expensive.  If
you shop around, you can find concordances for $10.  There are two
popular concordances: Strong's and Young's.  I guess I should just say
to go for the best deal.  Just make sure it is an exhaustive
concordance.

                      Manners and Customs Books

   These books give insight into the backgrounds of the culture and
practices of Bible times.  There is no real set standard here, but a
valuable feature in one of these books is that it is keyed to the
Bible reference rather than by topic.

                        Expository Dictionary

   An expository dictionary differs from a Bible Dictionary in that
we actually look up a word used in the Bible and get a complete
definition of that word as used in the text, as opposed to a general
definition as you find in a concordance.  Here, the standard and basic
work is Vine's Expository Dictionary.  Available in a single volume,
the price is quite modest.  Also, there is Wilson's Dictionary of Old
Testament words, and others.  Often, these works are not exhaustive,
but will contain just about any word you'd like to look up.

                          Interlinear Bibles

   An Interlinear Bible will have the actual original language of
the Bible and a literal, word for word translation right below it,
with a King James (or other) text on the facing page.  The word for
word translation will be in all its glory of being in bad english
grammar (obviously) and sometimes misleading, but nevertheless QUITE
valuable when you need to know the exact word, or you'd like to see
what the text says literally.

                    Hebrew and Greek Concordances

   What?  Another concordance?  Yes, this time instead of looking up
a word in english and finding all the occurrences of a word, we can
look up the original Hebrew or Greek word and find all the
occurrences!  So what if you don't read Greek or Hebrew?  No problem
if you bought Strong's Exhaustive Concordance!  You look up a word in
Strong's and get Strong's word number (there is a number for every
word in Strong's) then, you take that number, and if you buy Baker's
Hebrew and Greek Concordances, look it up.  The book will list ALL the
places that exact word is used.  Of course, I'd definitely recommend
the Concordances published by Baker.  The official titles are: The
Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament
numerically coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by George V.
Wigram, and; The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament
numerically coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by George V.
Wigram.  Both are published by Baker Book House and go for $20 each.

                               Lexicons

   Now that we can look up all the occurrences of the original
words, we can get even more complete definitions of words!  Again,
coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and published by Baker Book
House, there are Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to The Old
Testament - a dictionary numerically coded to Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance with an exhaustive English index, and Thayer's Greek-
English Lexicon of the New Testament - a dictionary numerically coded
to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.  Again, these two books are $20
each, and match the two concordances previously mentioned.

   Now, understand that you aren't locked in to purchasing only
these works.  There are lots of others.  The advantage to these is
that you don't need to read Greek or Hebrew, otherwise, good luck!

   That about sums up a BASIC reference library, although I'd be
quick to add that there are a few books worth getting that don't
really fit into a reference classification per se, but nevertheless
are great references.  A partial list is below.

 Topical Bibles
 Harmony of the Gospels
 History of Christianity
 Foxe's Book of Martyrs
 The Works of Josephus
 Chronological Bibles
 Meredith's Book of Bible Lists
 Number in Scripture (E.W. Bullinger)
 Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
 The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah (Edersheim)
 Systematic Theology
 The "All The..." series by Herbert Lockyer
 Bible Atlases

                          Saving Your Money

   One of the most frustrating things is to not be able to afford
the reference books you need to indulge in a certain study.  I have
two possible solutions to this problem.  One way of getting reference
materials free is to resort to commentary tapes.  There are many many
good sets of commentary tapes available free from one of two sources:

     Philologos Tapes
     4901 Green River Drive #9
     Corona, California  91720

     Firefighters for Christ
     8866 Barcelona Plaza
     Westminster, California 92683-5495

   Both places have catalogs available, just write to them.  The
other solution is purchasing your books through the mail via one of
the Discount Book Distributors.  One source is:

     Christian Book Distributors
     P.O. Box 3687
     Peabody, Massachusetts   01961-3687

    They always have great deals on their books.  Usually, you can
get 30-50% off or more!

   The following is a list of books that I've found to be quite
helpful in understanding God's Word.  Hopefully, these will serve you
as well as they've served me.  Also, hopefully this list will save you
a few bucks worth of books that look really informative, but weren't
what you expected.

THE INVISIBLE WAR by Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse

   This should have a subtitle, "Required Reading for all Christians
intending to be Serious at all."  Aside from the Bible itself, I find
this to be the single most important book I've ever read.  Dr.
Barnhouse explores the situation man is in since the Garden of Eden
affair.  Barnhouse was one of those people who were unsurpassed in
gleaning insights from the Bible.  Absolutely profound.

EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT by Josh McDowell

   This is the definitive apologetic work on Christianity.  An
apologetic is a defense of the faith.  In this book, Josh McDowell,
probably one of the greatest Christian minds living today, gives
irrefutable evidence for the Christian faith.  The book was not
written for casual reading.  Rather, it was written with documentation
to be used in debates, college papers, witnessing and basically
anywhere Christianity might be challenged.  Josh McDowell's tape
series that goes along with this book (or used separately) is
available free on Manna BBS.

KINGDOM OF THE CULTS by Walter Martin

   If you don't already know Dr. Walter Martin, you will find him to
be probably the best authority on Comparative Religion in Christianity
today.  This, his best selling book is a survey of the most popular
cults around today.  He doesn't go into A LOT of detail, but there is
enough here to gain an understanding of the many false teachings in
the world today that claim to be Christian.  The book was written in
the 60s, and has been revised at least once since then, in order to
keep current with our changing world.  Dr. Martin has also written
other books about specific cults (Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.)
which are also available at your local Christian bookstore.

ESSENTIAL CHRISTIANITY by Walter Martin

   Again, Walter Martin has written what I think to be the perfect
balance between a statement of faith, and a Systematic Theology.  A
Systematic Theology can weigh you down with thousands of pages of
doctrine, and defense of that doctrine.  They are generally hard to
read, harder to understand, and even harder to stay awake through, not
to mention a few of the weird ideas of the day!  This book solves that
problem quite nicely.  This is a little paperback which discusses the
'essential' doctrines of the Christian faith.  Dr. Martin shows from
the Bible why these are doctrines, and how we defend these doctrines
without getting completely boring!  This is a fantastic book for a new
Christian since it explains all the basic Christian doctrines we hold.

THE TWO BABYLONS by Alexander Hisslop

   I hesitate to mention this one since it definitely upsets our
Catholic brothers and sisters.  This book goes into many of the old
pagan rituals and shows the similarities to current Roman Catholicism.
He gets a bit radical at some points, but there is a lot of
interesting reading here.

A CHRISTIAN MANIFESTO by Francis Schaeffer

   In this book, the late Dr. Schaeffer examines our current society
and shows how we've fallen spiritually as a country in just the past
50 or so years.  He shows why it happened and what we can do to
reverse the trend.  Dr. Schaeffer calls for each one of us to stand up
to the shocking effects of humanism in our country today.  This is a
pretty heavy book to read in that Dr. Schaeffer deals with complex
thoughts, but is well worth the effort.

MADE ACCORDING TO PATTERN - THESE ARE THE GARMENTS - THUS SHALT THOU
SERVE by C.W. Slemming

   This set of three books is very inexpensive (about $3 each) but
worth their weight in gold!  They are hard to find, but again, worth
the effort.  In 'Made According to Pattern', Slemming looks at the
Tabernacle and its spiritual significance.  In 'These are the
Garments', he studies the High Priest's robes.  He considers the
colors, textures, and all the accessories, and shows the significance
of each one.  In 'Thus Shalt Thou Serve', the topic is a study of the
offerings and feasts of early Jewish worshipers, and how this applies
to us.  Together, these three books will help you come to appreciate
the Torah more than you ever did before.  This is a wonderful
demonstration of just what you can get out of using typology as a way
of understanding all the more tedious parts of the Bible.

THE TEMPLE by Alfred Edersheim

   Primarily focused on the Temple at the time of Christ, this is a
fabulous study on the Christian significance of the Levitical
observances by a noted Rabbi who became a famous Episcopal Bishop.

A PROPHETIC WALK THROUGH THE HOLY LAND by Hal Lindsey

   Hal Lindsey is the most popular writer in Christianity.  He has
sold more books on prophecy than anyone else.  He is easy to read, yet
is quite informational.  His books are timely, so I'd suggest reading
the newer ones like 'There's a New World Coming' and 'The Rapture'.

ADDICTED TO MEDIOCRITY by Franky Schaeffer

   In this book, Franky Schaeffer discusses how so many of us
Christians insist on separating our spiritual life from our secular
life, and how this can cause so much trouble.  He discusses the error
of reading books, going to movies, or listening to music and
appreciating art only if it has some kind of 'Christian Stamp of
Approval'.  A very thought-provoking book, he has also given a lecture
that is parallel to it which is available on Manna BBS.

SATAN IS ALIVE AND WELL by Hal Lindsey

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis

   These books discuss how Satan works in the world today, and the
games he loves to play with us Christians when we are basically too
stupid to recognize these games.  Hal Lindsey's book is more on the
factual, scriptural side, while C.S. Lewis' book is more of an
imaginative scenario of a demon assigned to hassle a believer.

THE LIGHT AND THE GLORY by Peter Marshall and David Manuel

   Don't ever let anyone tell you that God does not have a plan for
this country!  This book examines the lives of the founding fathers of
our country from Columbus to Washington.  This is not a fictional
book, but rather, is written from actual diaries and documents written
at the time.  This is a highly exciting and readable history of the
United States where you can re-learn our heritage from a Christian
perspective.

RULERS OF NEW TESTAMENT TIMES by Charles Ludwig

   This is a great shortcut to understanding the times of Jesus and
Paul from a historic perspective.  Its greatest value is that it is so
easy to read.  Again, a very inexpensive book ($2.25).

SPIRIT-CONTROLLED TEMPERAMENTS - TRANSFORMED TEMPERAMENTS by Tim
LaHaye

   Tim LaHaye is one of the best authors to read.  He has great
experience in counseling which gives him a lot of experience in
understanding people.  In these two books, he examines the
temperaments of human beings, and how God can actually use each
temperament.  In the second book, he examines four examples of the
four basic temperaments, which is an interesting look at the
personalities of Abraham, Moses, Peter and Paul.

THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF THE RAINBOW by Constance Cumbey

THE SEDUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY by Dave Hunt & T.A.  McMahon

   These two controversial books are extremely good to have just to
wake us up to the times we live in.  These are quite controversial
books in that many people object to them.  You can cut the air with a
knife whenever Dave Hunt lectures on his book in some places.
Nevertheless, we should be aware of the issues discussed in both of
these books since they are discussed so often today.

   To find these, you have to check out one of the secular
bookstores.  They are not generally found in Christian bookstores.

WORLDS IN COLLISION - EARTH IN UPHEAVAL - AGES IN CHAOS by Immanuel
Velikovsky

   Imaginative and scholarly classic; caused major uproar when
originally published, but has captured increasing respect in recent
years.  Stimulating background reading, although not a Christian
apologetic.

PROPHECY IN STONE by David Webber and Noah Hutchings

   If you ever wondered about the Great Pyramid in Egypt, this is an
inexpensive and easily read little book that discusses it.  To get it,
you need to write to:  The Southwest Radio Church, P.O. Box 1144,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  73101.

Also:

 THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH
 COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON
 THERE'S A NEW WORLD COMING
 THE RAPTURE

   Now, I'd like to take some time to list a few of the authors that
whenever I see their books, I buy them on sight because their insights
into the scripture are just that valuable.

Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse

   Dr. Barnhouse has written commentaries on Romans, Genesis, and
Revelation.  He is quite readable and probably one of the best
devotional authors.

Arthur W. Pink

   My favorite author, this guy gets more out of a single verse in
the Bible, than most people get out of the whole chapter.  He isn't as
readable as a lot of other writers, but he packs more information into
a book than anyone else.

M.R. DeHaan

   Another one like Pink, but DeHaan also keeps the big picture in
view.  He's more apt to look at things chapter by chapter.  A bit
easier to read than Pink, DeHaan was also a doctor.

G. Campbell Morgan

   His books are transcribed from his sermons (like many other
authors).  He, like Pink and DeHaan examines things using typology
when applicable.  He has a great set of commentaries out on the
gospels, and another great book on the Parables and Metaphors of Our
Lord.

Ray Stedman

   Ray Stedman is a teacher in central California who is always
writing new books.  He is quite readable and the first choice when it
comes to the New Testament in particular.  He also has one of the best
commentaries on the Book of Esther, which is a book still debated
about today as to whether it belongs in the Bible at all.  Reading this
book will confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that Esther VERY MUCH
belongs in the Bible.

John F. Walvoord

   This man is one of the editors of the Scofield Reference Bible,
is president of Dallas Theological Seminary, and has written a couple
of really good commentaries.  The value to his commentaries are that
they are contemporary.  His commentary on Daniel deserves to be in
everyone's library, as is his book 'The Rapture Question'.

   There is another source of information that you should be aware
of, that is the Southwest Radio Church.  This ministry broadcasts
interviews and Bible Studies all over the country.  They frequently
feature books in their newsletter at reduced prices.  They also have a
monthly newsletter called the Gospel Truth where they examine one
issue each month, usually quite timely.  Also, they have a monthly
booklet called Bible in the News, where they examine the news events
of the month and how they relate to Christianity.  In addition to all
of that, they have a whole list of intriguing and fascinating studies
written by a host of authors available at quite reasonable prices.  You
can write to them at P.O. Box 1144, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101.

 Contributed by The Manna System