Apocrypha
On the Apocrypha
Tl;dr: Jesus revealed the apocrypha wasnt Scripture And thats all we need. Note
These are books in Orthodox and Catholic bibles; and are there for neferious reasons. Also Catholicism added some apocryphal books during the Reformation era to try and keep people from leaving RCC religion to biblical Christianity, so they added these books to make their false teachings seemed legit.
No Apocraphal book is inspired, nor even considered true. And no scholars believe the Book of Enoch in those bibles were truly written by the Enoch of the Bible.
There's no value in reading them. They arent Scripture. Jesus didnt "quote" from it but did from all the other OT books in the Protestant Bible.
The above and below are the reason that Protestants reject those apocraphal books as part of the canon. Among the reasons are also that the ancient Israelites didn't consider them to be inspired either. We have the lists of the books that were laid up in the temple and recognized as Scripture, and those were the 39 commonly accepted ones, and all of which Jesus quoted from. In Romans 3:2, Paul identifies one of the advantages of those who were jews was they were given to the Jews as being 'entrusted with the oracles of God.' I take that to mean that they were trustworthy in the area of preserving and deciding what was and wasn't an oracle of God too. Oracle meaning the Word of God; Scripture. That's not to say that the Apochryal books might not contain true things and accurate history; just that we can't consider them God-breathed Scripture. But we also dont enciurage reading then nor think theres benefit in them since they actually arent Scripture.
For further consideration...
Theres a whole discussion on why early reformers exiting Catholicism for true Christianity left some books in, and Catholicism then added others in. Remember, some reforners kept them in duringthe Bible during the printing press era. Why? Bcuz that's how people got to read them, they were all placed in one printed book. And these priests were coming out of catholicism and some of it seemed useful, but the rest wasnt Scripture. But later, the movement removed it entirely because it truly wasnt the Word of God. And 🤷♂️ people could buy those books separate if they wanted it. You have to remember from Genesis to Reformation most people were illiterate and had to learn to read before they could examine things.
Note, Augustine didnt accept these books.
Martin Luther’s 1534 Bible was the first to divide the Apocrypha as an intertestamental part with a "notice" describing they "aren’t" divinely inspired. The Geneva Bible followed in 1599. The 1611 King James Bible removed it in 1885.
The Vatican and the Roman Catholic church have a very long history of deception and corruption, which started when that religion was created in about 606 AD.
Athanasius (300?-375) excludes apocrypha from canon of scripture: “But since we have made mention of heretics as dead, but of ourselves as possessing the Divine Scriptures for salvation…some few of the simple should be beguiled from their simplicity and purity, by the subtility of certain men, and should henceforth read other books – those called apocryphal – led astray by the similarity of their names with the true books…3…to reduce into order for themselves the books termed apocryphal, and to mix them up with the divinely inspired Scripture…it seemed good to me also, having been urged thereto by true brethren, and having learned from the beginning, to set before you the books included in the Canon, and handed down, and accredited as Divine; to the end that any one who has fallen into error may condemn those who have led him astray; and…4 There are, then, of the Old Testament, twenty-two books in number; for, as I have heard, it is handed down that this is the number of the letters among the Hebrews; 5 Again it is not tedious to speak of the [books] of the New Testament…” [the apocryphal books are excluded!] (Athanasius, Festal Letter 39:2-5)
Jerome (347-420) says Judith, Tobit, Maccabees not scripture: “As, then, the Church reads Judith, Tobit, and the books of Maccabees, but does not admit them among the canonical Scriptures, so let it read these two volumes for the edification of the people, not to give authority to doctrines of the Church.” – (Jerome, Prefaces to the Books of the Vulgate Version of the Old Testament, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs).
Julius Africanus (160-240) says the apocryphal book of Susanna is a forgery: “In your sacred discussion with Agnomon you referred to that prophecy of Daniel which is related of his youth. This at that time, as was meet, I accepted as genuine. Now, however, I cannot understand how it escaped you that this part of the book is spurious. For, in sooth, this section, although apart from this it is elegantly written, is plainly a more modern forgery. There are many proofs of this…But a more fatal objection is, that this section, along with the other two at the end of it, is not contained in the Daniel received among the Jews,” (Julius Africanus, A Letter to Origen from Africanus About the History of Susanna) (2)
Catholicism added books during the Reformation era, for neferious purposes. And then much later removed 14 books from the Apocrypha in 1684 because it didnt suit "their" teachings. They kept those ones till then because it "pushed their false unbiblical teachings", which kept people trapped in RCC.
Examples:
1. Giving money to atone for sins
Sirach 3:30 “As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sin.”
Tobit 4:10 “For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps you from going into the Darkness.”
2. Praying for the dead (and giving money to atone for their sins)
2 Maccabees 12:43-45 He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection.
For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.
But if he was looking at the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.
3. Praying to saints in heaven and asking them for prayer
2 Maccabees 15:12-16 What he [Maccabeus] watched was that: Onias [dead in the time] that was high priest, a good man, of modest bearing and tender fashion, one who talked fittingly and was educated from youth in all which belongs to excellence was praying with outstretched hands for the entire body of the Jews.
In precisely the same manner, a difference appeared, distinguished by his grey eyes and hair, and of great majesty and authority. And Onias talked, stating, “This is a man who loves the family of Israel and prays much for the people and the holy city Jeremiah [deceased at the time], the prophet of God.”
Jeremiah stretched his right hand and gave Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it, he addressed him thus: “Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.”
Jesus invalidated these 3 RCC teachings by saying it is not God's Word. So what is it then? Man's word. Which means it is lies not truth and not from God.
These 3 points are a couple of the significant problems that Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other reformers also revealed. Uneducated illiterate catholics (99%) assumed these books were legit and trusted these religious leaders blindly. They had no access to the Bible to investigate it. Fortunately the Reformers did that for them, and today you can freely investigate it too.
Luther’s noted in the 1534 Bible:
“Apocrypha: These books are not held equal to the Sacred Scriptures, and yet are useful and good for reading.”
In 1522 he removed Hebrews, James, Jude, and the Revelation because "he" wasnt sure about them.
Most today would disagree with the last part of his quote, because it is clear several books are just myths, tales, superstition or false prophecy. They also contain errors in history, geography, and theology. And today we know those 4 books Luther questioned are and always were Scripture.
We don't go by what people decide os Scripture, but what was always considered Scripture by Jesus and the Apostles and 2st Century Christians who had all the Scriptures.
A couple more examples as to why those other books arent reliable and the Apocrapha should be tossed out, in Enoch it was claimed there's 10 heavens... contradicting what God has said in Scripture - that there's 3.
Enoch also is not the one referenced in NT.
Now the only book with slight value is Maccabees, which talks about history of the revolt, the temple and Hanukkah and because that is the Festival of Lights celebrated in Jesus time and he used that celebration to illustrate He is The Light.
But...Jesus never quoted of it. He did for the other OT books. But He never quoted from the Apocrapha. Maccabees was not inspired by God. Jews recorded it because it was general history, (just like if the ones they revolted against recorded it). But it also has things contrary to the 1st Book of the Maccabees showing ut is a mix of fiction and history. 👉God's Word never contradicts.
And Enoch doesnt count. The Enoch talked about in the Bible isnt the books of Enoch RCC has today. Catholics are taught theres 10 direct quotes of Enoch in the Bible. But theres not. There appears one direct quote in Jude, and multiple possible allusions that are hotly debated. It’s easy to see that Jesus isn’t quoting Enoch when you read the verse in context. Enochs vision of heaven also contradicts the vison Paul gives in his letters, so that shows these Enoch books are false. Theyre not of God. So Enoch would be a false prophet. And we know he wasnt. Conclusion, these supposed Enoch books are a fraud. They arent the original book of Enoch. It was destroyed due to decay and wasnt Scripture, otherwise God wouldve preserved it.
Also note, Paul quotes pagan poets in Acts but that doesn’t mean those poets are inspired by God!
Those Apocrypha books include 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees, and their additions to the books of Esther and Daniel.
These books are not quoted by Jesus at all, nor the Apostles. If they did, they would have NT cross references. They dont. Not a single one. Pick up any Protestant Bible, and you will see not one of these is referenced in the NT at all. That should be enough for you to throw away the Catholic Bible, and its religion.
Grab a Christian Bible that only has God's Scriptures in it, and find a biblical church.
Apocryphal writings have their origins outside of Israel. God only spoke to Israel, the oracle holders.
Throughout the years of expansion, the Greek civilization appreciated in Palestine; the Jews wrote many books. These novels were not regarded as Scripture.
Apocryphal books weren’t recognized as the word of God by Christ, or the Apostles. And they arent today either.
Our time is better spent studying the 66 Books that are the Word of God, and only trusting what God has said in them.
Challenge yourself to do that this year. Read only the 66 books. Every 90 days you should've completed a full read thru Scripture. So you should read thru the Bible 4x this year....Cover to cover.
Related resources
Here are fun reading plans for you, for starting again next year.
How do people today know what is actual canon?
The OT canon was generally agreed upon by the people of God from the time the last OT book was written. How did the Jewish people know which books were inspired? They chose the books written by those known as spokesmen for God. They studied those books carefully and found no errors in history, geography, or theology.
Christians in the early church applied similar tests to prove which NT books were authentic and which were not. A key test was apostolic authorship. Every New Testament book had to be written by an apostle or a close associate of the apostles. For example, Mark, who was not an apostle, was a companion of Peter. Luke, who was not an apostle, worked closely with the apostle Paul.
A second test used by the early church was content. Acts 2:42 tells us that the first time the church met, they gave themselves to prayer, fellowship, breaking of bread, and the apostles’ doctrine. Later, in considering which writings were to be revered as Scripture, they asked, “Does it agree with apostolic doctrine?” This test was very important because of all the heretics that tried to worm their way into the church. But their doctrinal errors were easily spotted because they contradicted the apostles’ teaching.
A third test was the response of the churches. If God’s people accepted it, used it for worship, and made it part of their lives, and if Christians were universally being taught and blessed by the book, that was another important stamp of approval.
By A.D. 404 the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible was complete. It was the earliest known translation of all 66 books of the Bible. They were the same books we still have in our modern English Bibles. God spoke once for all, and His Word has been preserved through the ages(1)
More research & answers
Related topics
(1)Jmac journal 14
(2) carm.org
Comments
Post a Comment