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Contents:

The Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs by RH Charles 1908

Lilith - Legend of the First Woman by Ada Langworthy Collier 1885

The Book of Enoch by RH Charles 1893

The Book of the Secrets of Enoch by RH Charles 1896

Assumption of Moses by RH Charles

The Book of Jasher 1887

Enoch Restitutus or an Attempt to Separate from the Books of Enoch, the book quoted by St. Jude by Edward Murray 1836

The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses: Or, Moses' Magical Spirit-art by Johann Scheible, Moses, Joseph Ennemoser 1880 (poor quality)

The Shepherd of Hermas by Charles Taylor 1906

Coptic Apocryphal Gospels by Forbes Robinson 1896
Contains:
Sahidic Fragments of the Life of the Virgin
Bohairic Accounts of the Falling Asleep of Mary
Bohairic Account of the Death of Joseph

The Acts of the Elders: Commonly Called the Book of Abraham - to which is Appended a Chapter to which is Appended a Chapter from the Book of Religious Errors by Abraham Norwood 1846

Psalms of the Pharisees Commonly called the Psalms of Solomon by Herbert Ryle 1891

The Uncanonical Jewish Books: A Short Introduction to the Apocrypha by William John Ferrar 1918

The Letter of Aristeas: Translated with an Appendix of Ancient Evidence of Origin of the Septuagint
by Henry St. John Thackeray - 1917

The Book of Adam and Eve also called The conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, a book of the early Eastern Church 1882

A Mohawk legend of Adam and Eve 1892

Ante-Nicene Christian Library Vol. 16 1870
Which contains:

THE PROTEVANGELIUM OF JAMES 1
THE GOSPEL OF PSEUDO MATTHEW 16
THE GOSPEL OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY 53
THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH THE CARPENTER 62
THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
First Greek Form The Infancy of the Lord 78
Second Greek Form The Childhood of the Lord 86
Latin Form The Boyhood of Jesus 90
THE ARABIC GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF THE SAVIOUR 100
THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS
The Acts of Pilate
The Descent of Christ into Hell Greek
The Acts of Pilate
The Descent of Christ into Hell
THE LETTER OF PONTIUS PILATE WHICH HE WROTE TO THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONCERNING OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 223
THE REPORT OF PILATE THE PROCURATOR CONCERNING OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST SENT TO ROME TO TIBERIUS CAESAR
THE GIVING UP OF PONTIUS PILATE 231
THE DEATH OF PILATE 284
THE NARRATIVE OF JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA 287
THE AVENGING OF THE SAVIOUR 245
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL 256
The Story of Perpetua 276
THE ACTS OF PAUL AND THECLA 279
THE ACTS OF BARNABAS 293
THE ACTS OF PHILIP 801
THE ACTS OF PHILIP WHEN HE WENT TO UPPER HELLAS 317
THE ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW 885
THE ACTS OF ANDREW AND MATTHIAS IN THE CITY OF THE MAN EATERS 848
THE ACTS OF PETER AND ANDREW 368
THE ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF MATTHEW THE APOSTLE 373
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS 889
THE CONSUMMATION OF THOMAS THE APOSTLE 423
THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS APOSTLE BARTHOLOMEW 429
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THADDIUS 440
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN 444
THE REVELATION OF MOSES 454
THE REVELATION OF ESDRAS 468
THE REVELATION OF PAUL 477
THE REVELATION OF JOHN 493
THE BOOK OF JOHN CONCERNING THE FALLING ASLEEP OF MARY 504
THE PASSING OF MARY

Ante-Nicene Christian Library Vol. 20 1871
Which contains:
THE WORKS OF GREGORY THAUMATURGUS
A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastea 7
Canonical Epistle concerning those who in the Inroad of the Barbarians ate Things sacrificed to Idols or offended in certain other matters 80 The Oration and Panegyric addressed to Origen
THE FOUR HOMILIES OF GREGORY THAUMATURGUS
1 On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary 118
2 On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary 126
3 On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary 187
4 On the Holy Theophany or on Christ's Baptism 142
A Fragment on the Gospel according to Matthew 152
A Discourse on all the Saints
THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA
THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF THE WORKS AND THE EPISTLES OF DIONYSIUS
I. CONTAINING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF TILE WORKS
1 From the Two Books on the Promises in opposition to Noetus a Bishop in Egypt 161
2 From the Books on Nature against the Epicureans 171
3 From the Books against Sabellius 188
4 Fragments of a Second Epistle to Diouysius of Rome 189
Epistle to Bishop Basilides 196
II CONTAINING EPISTLES OR FRAGMENTS OF EPISTLES
1 To Domitius and Didymus 202
2 To Novatug 204
3 To Fabius of Antioch 205
4 To Cornelius the Roman Pontiff 216
To the Pontiff Stephen 217
6 To Pope Sixtus 218
7 To Philemon Presbyter of Sixtus 219
8 To Dionysius at that time Presbyter of Xystus and afterwards his Successor 221
9 To Pope Sixtus II
10 Against Bishop Germanus
11 To Hermammon
12 To the Alexandrians
13 To Hierax a Bishop in Egypt
14 From his Fourth Festival Epistle
A Fragment on John viii 12
A Fragment probably by the Alexandrian Dionysius on the Reception of the Lapsed to Penitence
THE REMAINS OF ARCHELAUS
Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiareh Manes

Pistis Sophia - a Gnostic gospel by GRS Mead 1896

The Suppressed Gospels
Containing:
Mary
Protevangelion
I. Infancy
II. Infancy
Nicodemus
Christ and Abgarus
Laodiceans
Paul and Seneca
Acts of Paul and Thecla
I. Clement
II. Clement
Barnabas
Ephesians
Magnesians
Trallians
Romans
Philadelphians
Smyrnaeans
Polycarp
Philippians
I. Hermas--Visions
II. Hermas--Commands
III. Hermas--Similitudes

The Apocryphal New Testament by William Hone 1880
Same books as the Suppressed Gospels above, but with illustrations.

The Apology and Acts of Apollonius and other monuments of early Christianity by FC Conybeare 1894
Includes: APOLOGY AND ACTS OF APOLLONIUS
ACTS OF PAUL AND THEKLA
ACTS OF S. PHOCAS
ACTS OF S. POLYEUCTES
ACTS OF SAINT EUGENIA
ACTS OF S. CODRATIUS
ACTS OF THEODORE
ACTS OF S. THALELEUS
ACTS OF S. HIZTIBOUZIT
ACTS OF S. CALLISTRATUS
ACTS OF S. DEMETRIUS

The Didache or, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles 1903 by George Allen

Diatessaron 1878

The Uncanonical Writings of the Old Testament: Found in the Armenian Manuscripts of the Library of St. Lazarus 1901

The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ by William Wake and other Learned Divines

THE PROPHECY OF ABDIAS

Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles by William Wright 1871 Volume 1

Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles by William Wright 1871 Volume 2

The Uncanonical Writings of the Old Testament 1900
Contains: The Book of Adam,
The History of Assaneth,
The History of Moses,
The Deaths of the Prophets,
Concerning King Solomon,
A Short History of the Prophet Elias,
Concerning the Prophet Jeremiah,
The Vision of Enoch the Just,
The Testaments of the XII Patriarchs,
The Third Book of Esdras
Inquiries Made by the Prophet Esdras

Apocrypha of King James Version, which contains:
I. ESDRAS
II. ESDRAS
TOBIT
Judith
The Rest of Esther
The Wisdom of Solomon
ECCLESIASTICUS
BARUCH, WITH THE EPISTLE OF JEREMIAH
The Song of the Three Holy Children
The History of Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
[The Story of Susanna is perhaps the earliest example of a courtroom drama.
Bel and the Dragon is perhaps the earliest example of a locked room mystery.]
The Prayer of Manasses
I. Maccabees
II. Maccabees
I. ESDRAS

Apocalypse of Abraham and the Ascension of Isaiah by GH Box 1918

The Five Books of Maccabees in English by Henry Cotton 1832

The Apocalypse of Baruch by RH Charles 1918

The Apocalypse of Ezra by GH Box 1917

The Value of the Apocrypha by Bernard Joseph Snell 1905

Canonical & Uncanonical Gospels, with a Translation of the Recently Discovered Gospel of Peter by William Emery Barnes - 1893

Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha by Constantin von Tischendorf 1851
Text in Greek; introductory material in Latin.

Apocrypha Sinaitica 1896

Twenty-five Agrapha: Or Extra-canonical Sayings of Our Lord by Blomfield Jackson - 1900

The Hidden Wisdom of Christ and the Key of Knowledge Volume 1 1865 by Ernst von Bunsen

The Hidden Wisdom of Christ and the Key of Knowledge Volume 2 1865 by Ernst von Bunsen

The Sibyl and the Dream of One Hundred Suns

Sibylline Oracles by Terry Milton 1899

Gospel according to the Hebrews 1871

The Book of Jubilees or The little Genesis by RH Charles 1902

THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE LAODICEANS

The Prayer of Azariah

Fragment of an uncanonical Gospel from Oxyrhynchus by Bernard Grenfell 1908

The Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume 6, 1897
Which contains:
The Apocalypse of the Virgin
The Vision of Paul
The Apocalypse of Sedrach
The Testament of Abraham
Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena
The Narrative of Zosimus
The Apology of Aristides
The Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs
Letter of Origen to Gregory

Ante-Nicene Christian Library Vol. 3
Which contains:
Tatians Address to the Greeks
The Three Books of Theophilus
The Recognition of Clement

The Ante-Nicene fathers. translations of the writings of the fathers down to A.D. 325, Volume 1 (1913)

Which contains:

ST. CLEMENT. Epistle to the Corinthians

MATHETES. Epistle to Diognetus

POLYCARP. Epistle to the Philippians

Polycarp-Martyrdom

IGNATIUS. Epistle to the Ephesians

Ignatius Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions

Ignatius Epistle to the Magnesians

Ignatius Epistle to the Trallians

Ignatius Epistle to the Romans

Ignatius Epistle to the Philadelphians

Ignatius Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

Ignatius Epistle to Polycarp

Ignatius Appendix. Syriac Version

Ignatius Spurious Epistles

Ignatius Martyrdom

BARNABAS. Epistle

PAPIAS. Fragments

JUSTIN MARTYR. The First Apology

Justin Martyr - The Second Apology

Justin Martyr - Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew

Justin Martyr - The Discourse to the Greeks

Justin Martyr - Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr - On the Sole Government of God

Justin Martyr - On the Resurrection, Fragments

Justin Martyr - Other Fragments

Justin Martyr - Martyrdom

IRENAEUS. Against Heresies

IRENAEUS. Fragments

Simon Peter Jacobs on Exodus 3:14

This Kindle book, And the Word was a god: Conversations on the Most Disputed Text in the New Testament - John 1:1 is available on Amazon by clicking here

Visit a local listing for this book here

From: The Real Christian By Simon Peter Jacobs 1899

When God commissioned Moses to deliver the Israelites from bondage to Pharaoh, He assumed an additional name significant of His advancing self-revelation. “I am Jehovah, and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob as God Almighty [El-Shaddai], but by the name Jehovah I was not known unto them” (Ex. 6: 2, 3).

Four hundred years of bondage under Egyptian idolatry had so degraded the Israelites that among the pagan gods of Egypt they seemed in doubt as to the true God; as would appear from the following: “Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Jehovah God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (Ex. 3: 13-15).

This name, “I am that I am,” is, as Adam Clarke says: “I will be what I will be.” Likewise the German of Luther: “Ich werde sein der Ich sein werde,” -I shall be who I shall be. The tense is future. The title indicates God's eternity, and that He will reveal Himself furthermore as it shall please Him. The title Jehovah has a covenant significance for all future revelations of God, a fitting “memorial unto all generations.”

See also Exodus 3:14 in the New World Translation

https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2019/12/exodus-314-in-new-world-translation.html

The Exodus 3:14/John 8:58 Nothing-Burger

https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-exodus-314john-858-nothing-burger.html

Fred Hoyle on This Day in History

This Day In History: English astronomer Fred Hoyle died on this day in 2001. Hoyle was an interesting enigma in science. He rejected the Big Bang Theory, though he would not consider himself a Christian nor a creationist. In his book, "The Intelligent Universe" he wrote: “A junkyard contains all the bits and pieces of a Boeing 747, dismembered and in disarray. A whirlwind happens to blow through the yard. What is the chance that after its passage a fully assembled 747, ready to fly, will be found standing there? So small as to be negligible, even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole Universe.” (Similar arguments in this vein are the "Watchmaker analogy" or "Irreducible complexity")

He also added, "as biochemists discover more and more about the awesome complexity of life, it is apparent that its chances of originating by accident are so minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance."

With all this, and his rejection of Darwinism, an associate of Hoyle (Chandra Wickramasinghe) wrote in 2003: "In the highly polarized polemic between Darwinism and creationism, our position is unique. Although we do not align ourselves with either side, both sides treat us as opponents. Thus we are outsiders with an unusual perspective—and our suggestion for a way out of the crisis has not yet been considered."

See: 300 Books on Darwinism, Eugenics, Creation & Evolution on DVDrom
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/300-books-on-darwinism-eugenics.html

Read (or download) Fred Hoyle's "Frontiers Of Astronomy"

More John Milton on the Trinity

Buy on Amazon for only 99 cents by clicking here - see a local listing for this here

More Milton on the Trinity

The other passage, and which according to the general opinion affords the clearest foundation for the received doctrine of the essential unity of the three persons, is 1 John v. 7, there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. But not to mention that this verse is wanting in the Syriac and the other two Oriental versions, the Arabic and the Ethiopic, as well as in the greater part of the ancient Greek manuscripts, and that in those manuscripts which actually contain it many various readings occur, it no more necessarily proves those to be essentially one, who are said to be one in heaven, than it proves those to be essentially one, who are said to be one on earth in the following verse. And not only Erasmus, but even Beza, however unwillingly, acknowledged (as may be seen in their own writings) that if John be really the author of the verse, he is only speaking here, as in the last quoted passage, of an unity of agreement and testimony. Besides, who are the three who are said to bear witness? That they are three Gods, will not be admitted; therefore neither is it the one God, but one record or one testimony of three witnesses, which is implied. But he who is not co-essential with God the Father, cannot be co-equal with the Father.

But, it is objected, although Scripture does not say in express words that the Father and the Son are one in essence, yet reason proves the truth of the doctrine from these, as well as from other passages of Scripture.

In the first place, granting, (which I am far from doing,) that this is the case, yet on a subject so sublime, and so far above our reason, where the very elements and first postulates, as it were, of our faith are concerned, belief must be founded, not on mere reason, but on the word of God exclusively, where the language of the revelation is most clear and particular. Reason itself, however, protests strongly against the doctrine in question; for how can reason establish (as it must in the present case) a position contrary to reason? Undoubtedly the product of reason must be something consistent with reason, not a notion as absurd as it is removed from all human comprehension. Hence we conclude, that this opinion is agreeable neither to Scripture nor reason. The other alternative therefore must be adopted, namely, that if God be one God, and that one God be the Father, and if notwithstanding the Son be also called God, the Son must have received the name and nature of Deity from God the Father, in conformity with his decree and will, after the manner stated before. This doctrine is not disproved by reason, and Scripture teaches it in innumerable passages.

But those who insist that the Son is one God with the Father, consider their point as susceptible of ample proof, even without the two texts already examined, (on which indeed some admit that no reliance is to be placed,) if it can be demonstrated from a sufficient number of Scripture testimonies that the name and attributes and works of God, as well as divine honours, are habitually ascribed to the Son. To proceed therefore in the same line of argument, I do not ask them to believe that the Father alone and none else is God, unless I shall have proved, first, that in every passage each of the particulars above mentioned is attributed in express terms only to one God the Father, as well by the Son himself as by his apostles. Secondly, that wherever they are attributed to the Son, it is in such a manner that they are easily understood to be attributable in their original and proper sense to the Father alone; and that the Son acknowledges himself to possess whatever share of Deity is assigned to him, by virtue of the peculiar gift and kindness of the Father; to which the apostles also bear their testimony. And lastly, that the Son himself and his apostles acknowledge throughout the whole of their discourses and writings, that the Father is greater than the Son in all things.

I am aware of the answer which will be here made by those who, while they believe in the unity of God, yet maintain that the Father alone is not God. I shall therefore meet their objection in the outset, lest they should raise a difficulty and outcry at each individual passage. They twice beg the question, or rather request us to make two gratuitous concessions. In the first place, they insist, that wherever the name of God is attributed to the Father alone, it should be understood hOUSIWDWS, not hUPOSTATIKWS, that is to say, that the name of the Father, who is unity, should be understood to signify the three persons, or the whole essence of the Trinity, not the single person of the Father. This is on many accounts a ridiculous distinction, and invented solely for the purpose of supporting their peculiar opinion; although in reality, instead of supporting it, it will be found to be dependent on it; and therefore if the opinion itself be invalidated, for which purpose a simple denial is sufficient, the futile distinction falls to the ground at the same time. For the fact is, not merely that the distinction is a futile one, but that it is no distinction at all; it is a mere verbal quibble, founded on the use of synonymous words, and cunningly dressed up in terms borrowed from the Greek to dazzle the eyes of novices. For since essence and hypostasis mean the same thing, it follows that there can be no real difference of meaning between the adverbs essentially and substantially, which are derived from them. If then the name of God be attributed to the Father alone essentially, it must also be attributed to the Father alone substantially; since one substantial essence means nothing else than one hypostasis, and vice versé. I would therefore ask my adversaries, whether they hold the Father to be an abstract ens or not? Questionless they will reply, the primary ens of all. I answer, therefore, that as he has one hypostasis, so must he have one essence proper to himself, incommunicable in the highest degree, and participated by no one, that is, by no person besides, for he cannot have his own proper hypostasis, without having his own proper essence. For it is impossible for any ens to retain its own essence in common with any other thing whatever, since by this essence it is what it is, and is numerically distinguished from all others. If therefore the Son, who has his own proper hypostasis, have not also his own proper essence, but the essence of the Father, he becomes on their hypothesis either no ens at all, or the same ens with the Father; which strikes at the very foundation of the Christian religion. The answer which is commonly made, is ridiculous—namely, that although one finite essence can pertain to one person only, one infinite essence may pertain to a plurality of persons; whereas in reality the infinitude of the essence affords an additional reason why it can pertain to only one person. All acknowledge that both the essence and the person of the Father are infinite; therefore the essence of the Father cannot be communicated to another person, for otherwise there might be two, or any imaginable number of infinite persons.

The second postulate is, that wherever the Son attributes Deity to the Father alone, and as to one greater than himself, he must be understood to speak in his human character, or as mediator. Wherever the context and the fact itself require this interpretation, I shall readily concede it, without losing anything by the concession; for however strongly it may be contended, that when the Son attributes every thing to the Father alone, he speaks in his human or mediatorial capacity, it can never be inferred from hence that he is one God with the Father. On the other hand I shall not scruple to deny the proposition, whenever it is to be conceded not to the sense of the passage, but merely to serve their own theory; and shall prove that what the Son attributes to the Father, he attributes to him as God of God, and not to himself under any title or pretence whatever.

With regard to the name of God, wherever simultaneous mention is made of the Father and the Son, that name is uniformly ascribed to the Father alone, except in such passages as shall be hereafter separately considered. I shall quote in the first place the texts of the former class, which are by far the more considerable in point of number, and form a large and compact body of proofs. John iii. 16. so God loved the world, that he gave his own Son, &c. vi. 27. him hath God the Father sealed. ver. 29. this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. xiv. 1. ye believe in God, believe also in me. What is meant by believing in any one, will be explained hereafter; in the mean time it is clear that two distinct things are here intended—in God and in me. Thus all the apostles in conjunction, Acts iv. 24. lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God which hast made heaven and earth......who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage......against the Lord, and against his Christ? Rom. viii. 3. God sending his own Son. 1 Thess. iii. 11. now God himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. Col. ii. 2. to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. iii. 3. your life is hid with Christ in God. 2 Tim. iv. 1. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John iv. 9. the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son. So also where Christ is named first in order. Gal. i. 1. by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, 2 Thess, ii. 16. now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father. The same thing may be observed in the very outset of all the Epistles of St. Paul and of the other apostles, where, as is natural, it is their custom to declare in express and distinct terms who he is by whose divine authority they have been sent. Rom. i. 7, 8. 1 Cor. i. 1–3. 2 Cor. i. 1–3. and so throughout to the book of Revelations. See also Mark i. 1.

The Son likewise teaches that the attributes of divinity belong to the Father alone, to the exclusion even of himself. With regard to omniscience. Matt. xxiv. 36. of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only; and still more explicitly, Mark xiii. 32. not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

See also: The Interpolated Text of the Three Heavenly Witnesses (1 John 5:7)
https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-interpolated-text-of-three-heavenly.html

Tischendorf's List of Spurious Bible Passages
https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2019/09/tischendorfs-list-of-spurious-bible.html

Buy: And the Word was a god: A New Book on the Most Disputed Text in the New Testament - John 1:1  and The Dark History of the Trinity, is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and both are only 99 cents

See also Unitarianism & Universalism - 100 Books on DVDrom and Over 200 PDF Books on the Christology & Deity of Christ on DVDrom

Rabbi Tovia Singer Unmasks the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Church’s Self-inflicted Sin

Watch video above

The reason the Trinity needs so much explaining is because it is inexplicable.

The Protestant Church and the Apocrypha - John Hall 1890

For more Apocrypha see Over 100 Lost, Hidden, & Strange Books of the Bible on DVDROM, and Over 180 Forbidden & Lost Books of the Bible on CDROM - For a list of all of my digital books and books on disk click here

THE PROTESTANT CHURCH AND THE APOCRYPHA.
BY JOHN HALL, D.D.. LL.D. 1890

IT is interesting evidence of the quickening influence of inspired Scripture that, even when the Jews were far below the standard set up for them by the Lord, through Moses and Joshua, they yet produced and valued books of history, ethics, proverbs and religious fiction so highly prized that when the Greek translation of the Old Testament was made they were also rendered into Greek, and placed beside the divine oracles.

The Septuagint having thus given the apocryphal books a place, they passed on into the Vulgate, and were retained where the Latin Bible was the standard, even by Protestant Churches-though with such explanatory notes, or inferior type, as indicated that they did not occupy the same plane with the inspired Word.

The controversy regarding the degree of authority to be given to these sections of religious literature, of course, early engaged the attention of Christian writers, and has its place in patristic discussions. With some inconsistency in appearance, at least-Jerome, Eusebius and Origen denied their canonical authority, although making frequent references to them of a very respectful character-one other evidence to us Protestants that we must not mix up "the Fathers" with Apostles and prophets.

Before stating the attitude of the Churches, especially of the Protestant Churches, to these books, a sentence or two may be permitted as to their worth. They differ widely As a contribution to the history of the people of Israel in the period-which Prideaux has named and written on with great learning-of the connexion between the Old and New Testaments, the books of Maccabees are of great interest and value. No one can read Ecclesiasticus without seeing what good use the writer had made of the Book of Proverbs, and of his own observation. So the author of the Book of Tobit had evidently been a diligent student of the Book of Job, and Hengstenberg valued his production so highly as a "didactic story" that, admitting geographical, chronological and historic mistakes, he would have it circulated with the canonical books. On the other hand, the Prayer of Manasses and the first and second Books of 'Esdras (Ezra) even the Church of Rome, in the Council of Trent, put in the doubtful place of an appendix to the Vulgate, while, curiously enough, the Church of England, in 1562 and 1571, puts 1 Esdras as the "third book of Esdras," making Ezra and Nehemiah the first and second. This book Josephus used to a large extent, notwithstanding the fact that it contains blunders so gross that DeWette and Hervey describe them as hopelessly irreconcilable with historic fact. In a word, we may examine the Apocrypha, associated with the Old Testament (we do not now refer to the corresponding claimants for a place in the New), as interesting exhibitions of the mental and moral development of a people grounded in the inspired Word, but influenced by outside thought and life, these developments being infallible men, working as did Augustine, Tertullian, Josephus, and in later times, Bunyan, Beston and Martin Farquahar Tupper.

As to the estimate formed of the Apocrypha by the Churches, it is curious and interesting that the Greek Church-notwithstanding corruptions that are deplorable-from the time of Origen down, held to the Old Testament canons, and sometimes forbade the reading of the Apocrypha. So the Greek Church declared against the Apocrypha at the time of the Reformation, taking Protestant ground, although the need of some defence for certain views and usages akin to those of Rome has of late modified her attitude. Churches when off the lines of loyalty to Christ-like politicians, welcome aid from any quarter, and shut their eyes to the moral disqualifications of their supporters. The Church of Rome claims to have the unanimous approval of "the fathers" for her doctrines, a unanimity on most subjects-like the philosopher's stone yet Jerome, Hilary, Rufinus, Cyril, and Gregory of Nazianzen took ground against the Apocrypha, and not only so, but great men from Gregory the Great in the sixth century, Venerable Bede in the seventh, and others down to Cardinal Ximenes and Caictan in the sixteenth century, held with Jerome and shut out the Apocrypha from the canonical literature.

For the first time in the history of Christendom the Council of Trent, after much discussion, received our canonical books and the Apocrypha "with an equal feeling of devotion and reverence." History repeats itself. When the Donatists quoted 2 Maccabees (xiv., 17), Augustine replied by denying its authority; but he is alleged, in three African synods, to have sanctioned the ecclesiastical use of the Apocrypha. With a like uncertain position, when the Church of Rome found Luther and his followers pronounced against the Apocrypha, and at the same time that certain parts thereof supported its policy, it went against its most influential "fathers," and put the book alongside the inspired oracle. They are made to be, like the writings of David and Isaiah, "sacred and canonical." All sorts of casuistry, special pleadings and nominal distinctions (such as between canonical and deutero-canonical) have been resorted to, and no greater mass, of confused and confusing self-contradictions can be found anywhere than in the oracular utterances of so-called Roman authorities on this matter.

We shall see, later, that there was reason, avowed reason, for this human addition to the divine "law and testimony."

Now as to the Protestant Churches-in Luther's Bible the "Apocrypha " had a place as appendix, under this name with the explanation "books that are not held as equal to the Holy Scriptures, and yet are good and useful to read." While Luther's occasional lack of clear discrimination appeared here, and his course had great influence in the Lutheran Church, the Form of Concord, fifty years after the Augsburg Confession, set up the Scriptures as the only rule of faith.

For more Apocrypha see Over 100 Lost, Hidden, & Strange Books of the Bible on DVDROM, and Over 180 Forbidden & Lost Books of the Bible on CDROM

The Reformed Churches took more decided ground. Westcott compliments the Calvinists for setting up the Old and New Testaments as "the outward test and spring of all truth." The French Bible (1535) while giving the Apocrypha, gives it no higher place than as found in the Vulgate. The Confession of Basle, the Helvetic Confessions. and the Belgian Confessions only recognize our Scriptures, and the French Reformed Church, in 1561, guarded itself against any appearance of evil in this matter.

The Synod of Dort (1620) characterized the Apocrypha in the severest language and raised the point, should it be translated and bound up with the Scriptures; which was decided, to put it colloquially, "It is not Scripture; but let it go with it," only marked off from it by a wide fence; or, they might have said, "drain," with different paging and type, and with notes pointing out the blunders. It ended by putting it at the end of the New Testament.

The Anglican Church-the Church of England that is-occupied unique ground on this matter since 1562, the "other books," i.e., than the canonical, being read for "example of hfe and instruction of manners," though not for the support of doctrines. Against this plan strong protests were often made; yet the Apocrypha had place in authorized English versions until 1629. In 1643 Bishop Lightfoot described the Apocrypha to the House of Commons as "wretched," a "patchery of human invention," and without formal legislation the authorized version continued to go forth without this appendix.

The controversy was revived in our century by the craving for Bibles with the Apocrypha, from communities on the continent needing aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society. Scotland revolted against this concession, and in 1819 Edinburgh took such ground that the society severed its connection with the Apocrypha in 1822, making some little compromises to the effect that any continental people who wanted it with their Bibles must pay for it themselves. But even this the Edinburgh people would not stand; and in 1827 it was decided that the society would not help anybody who put the Apocrypha with his Bible, and to prevent trickery it would, only circulate "bound Bibles." The Scottish friends had such a firm hold of the Westminster decision of 1643, that "the books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of Scripture; and therefore, are of no authority in the Church of God, or to be otherwise approved of or made use of than other human writings." This part of the Confession will not, we hope, be changed by revision.

Any one anxious to study the details of this little international war, as it affected Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain, will find the details in Dr. Edwin C. Bissell's Introduction to the Apocrypha, in Langi's Commentary. of which I have made much use in this paper.

The Church of England, in her sixth article, states that the Scriptures only are to be appealed to for doctrine, but gives a list of the Apocryphal books-as of the Old Testament with this prefatory note-I quote from the English Prayer book-"and the other books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth not apply them to establish any doctrine." Accordingly the books are set down in her Calendar for "Sundays and other Holydays" throughout the year, and the same in her Calendar with the table of Lessons, in which Baruch, Tobit, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Bel and the Dragon stand along with Isaiah, Paul, Matthew and John.

I may add that the Book of Tobit is used twice in the Communion service in the same way as Scripture, and that in the Book of Homilies, Tobit and Wisdom are quoted as Scripture, and Baruch is called a prophet. (The American Prayer Book.)

To any policy of this kind there appear to be the following objections:
( I ) The authority of the inspired Word is lowered by its being put on the same plane with the confessedly uninspired.
( 2 ) The Apocrypha countenances, and is used to sustain, usages and views contradictory to inspired Scripture. For example, Tobit xii., 12, 15, sanctions the doctrine of the, intercession of angels: there is but one mediator. Raphael is not a second. 11. Macc., xv., 14. and Baruch iii., 4, put the intercession of saints in the same category, against Christ's sole priesthood.

The inherent merit of good works is taught in Tobit iv., 7-11, and Ecclesiasticus iii., 30, "alms make atonement for sin." Purgatory and the propriety of prayers for the dead are rested on 2 Macc., xii., 42 and onward.

(3) And finally, there appears to be a solemn threat in the closing chapter of the inspired Apocalypse against adding to the Scriptures-whether it be that one book or the whole volume, and it is the Church's duty to avoid even "the appearance of evil," and especially when, as expressed by Tanner the Council of Trent treated the Apocrypha as canonical because "the Church found its own spirit in these books." The Bible makes the Church, and not the Church the Bible.

For more Apocrypha see Over 100 Lost, Hidden, & Strange Books of the Bible on DVDROM, and Over 180 Forbidden & Lost Books of the Bible on CDROM

Eugene Sue and the Wandering Jew on This Day in History

This Day In History: French novelist Eugene Sue died on this day in 1857. Famous for writing the serialized "Mysteries of Paris" he also popularized the legend of "The Wandering Jew." The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 1200's. The original legend tells of a Jew who taunted Jesus before his death and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. According to some sources, the legend stems from Jesus' words given in Matthew 16:28: "Believe me, there are those standing here who will not taste of death before they have seen the Son Man coming in his kingdom." (Knox)

In the 1988 film The Seventh Sign the Wandering Jew appears as Father Lucci, and in the third episode of the first season of The Librarians, the character Jenkins mentions the Wandering Jew as an "immortal creature that can be injured, but never killed". The Wandering Jew even made it into video games. Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned presents The Wandering Jew as a childhood friend and, later, disciple of Jesus, who drank drops of his blood during the crucifixion and was thus cursed with immortality. The video game series Assassin's Creed features a group of individuals known as Sages, who share a number of supernatural abilities. In the game Assassin's Creed Unity, one of the sages is named the Wanderer and is linked to the Wandering Jew, described as "a Jewish Sage born in Judea. He was believed to have encountered Jesus Christ on his way to Golgotha".

See also: Jewish History and Mysteries - 220 PDF Books on DVDrom
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/11/jewish-history-and-mysteries-220-pdf.html

Zombies in the Bible

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See also: King Nebuchadnezzar the Biblical Werewolf

Just for fun, I have listed some verses that seem to indicate that there were zombies in the Bible.

Matthew 27:51-53: "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were split, the tombs were opened, and a number of bodies of the saints who slept the sleep of death rose up—they left the tombs after his resurrection and entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people." Moffatt New Testament

Revelation 20:5: "The rest of the dead did not come to life again till the thousand years were ended. This is the first coming back from the dead." The Bible in Basic English

Ezekiel 37:5: "Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones: Lo, I am bringing into you a spirit, and ye have lived" Young's Literal Translation

Daniel 12:2: "Many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and abhorrence." The Complete Jewish Bible

Zechariah 14:12: "And this shall be the plague where with Jehovah will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." American Standard Version

John 6:53-57: "Believe me," Jesus answered, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have not Life within you. Those who take my flesh for their food, and drink my blood, have enduring Life; and I will raise them from death at the Last Day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood true drink. Those who take my flesh for their food, and drink my blood, are always in union with me, and I with them." 20th Century New Testament

Isaiah 26:19: "Your dead will live, their corpses will rise, and those who dwell in the dust will shout for joy. Your shadow is a shadow of light, but you will bring down the ghosts into the underworld." Common English Bible

Revelation 9:6: "And at that time people will seek death, but will by no possibility find it, and will long to die, but death evades them." Weymouth New Testament

1 Corinthians: 15:51-53 "Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality." English Standard Version

Ezekiel 37:7-10: "And 1 prophesied as I was commanded: and there will be a voice as I prophesied, and behold a shaking, the bones will draw near, bone to his bone. And I saw and behold, upon them sinews and flesh came up, and the skin will draw over them from above: and no spirit in them. And he will say to me, prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, wind and blow upon these slain, and they shall live. And I prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit will come upon them and they will live, and they will stand upon their feet, an army great, exceedingly, exceedingly." Julia Smith Bible

Isaiah 13:6-8: "Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every man's heart will melt, and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in travail. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame." Revised Standard Version

Luke 24:5: "And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?" King James Version

Jeremiah 19:9: "And they shall eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and distress with which their enemies who seek
their lives shall oppress them." Ferrar Fenton Bible

John 11:43,44: "And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, 'Untie him and let him go.'" New American Bible

Before the Bible: "I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld, I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down, and will let the dead go up to eat the living! And the dead will outnumber the living!" The Epic of Gilgamesh

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