The Truth About The Scriptures

A Study On The Apocrypha & Lost Books

by Matthew Coover

IF YOU HAVENT READ CHAPTER 3, GO THERE FIRST!

CHAPTER FOUR:  Back To The Baby And The Bathwater

 The love of money can do great things to men, and yes... a fact that we must be well aware of is that counterfeiters have been around for a long time. All throughout the scriptures we are admonished to "beware of false prophets." We are told that the anti-messiah will be a wolf in sheep's clothing, and warned to be on the lookout for him as well. And yet we need to realize that we cannot assume that everything outside of the Old and New Testaments is counterfeit, because if we do, what will we accept if anything? Will we accept what is commonly termed as scripture today?  Or will we suspect that possibly, just possibly they were counterfeited too, that they are just a made up story, an old-time fairy tale?   If we do, then what shall we use for our standard of right and wrong? We should then become as the majority of the world, doing whatever seems good at the time, believing that there IS a supreme being, but yet, never knowing his true character, statutes, and commands. If we go through life ever seeing Yahweh's words and yet never believing that they are genuine, we will miss out on much wisdom. If we continue in that course, we will become as the Atheist of today, believing that there is no creator or supreme being, as we can find no writings which confirm his identity and presence, and in the process we will miss out on the promise of eternal life.

 I must warn you again: do not base your beliefs on what these books claim or don't claim themselves to be (although as I have found, none of them self-proclaim to be the inspired word of Yahweh anyway).  Do not base your opinion on what the the prefaces and introductions state. Such a way of determining the inspiration source for the authorship of these books would be quite worthless and incomplete, for the prefaces are merely the ideas of the man such as yourself who compiled the volume.  You must base your conclusions and beliefs upon what you discover by reading these books for yourself, taking into account all the facts, comparing them with the rest of scripture, and once this is completed, deciding (using Yahweh's spirit as our guide) as to whether they are inspired of the Elohim of truth or of his adversary, the devil.

 Interestingly enough, the Catholic church does not even retain all the books from the Apocrypha, (I Esdras, The Prayer Of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and Third Maccabees being some of them)   The reason for their exclusion from the Catholic Scriptures is evident when we find that the first topic covered in 1st Esdras is the Passover!  The Catholic Church does not want anything to do with such matters. The fact that other editions of the Scriptures  contain all the books of the Apocrypha while the Catholic  Scriptures do not refutes the theory that people only accepted the Apocrypha as scripture because the Catholics did. A better reason they were accepted was because mankind simply hadn't gotten around to their deletion yet!

 The “Lost Books” and Forgotten Books of Eden were never included in the King James Version of the Scriptures, although some of the individual books contained throughout them are included in some of the earliest manuscripts of the new testament which we have today. However, the Apocrypha itself WAS included between the Old and New Testaments of the 1611 Authorized Version.  It was not until the early 1900’s that printers began to print the scripture without the Apocrypha, and the idea continued to grow until the Apocrypha was not even known of by most.

 The Apocrypha is not Catholic, nor included only in their Scriptures.  To the contrary, much of the Apocrypha is very Jewish in nature, and it is a wonder that it is still held onto by the arch-enemy of Yahweh’s chosen people!  The Apocrypha is still included in it's entirety in some Revised Standard Versions printed today contrary to the Catholic Scriptures which only contain certain of these books, omitting the rest. As well, the Greek and Slavonic Scriptures continue to include more of the Apocrypha than the Catholics do.

 Many folks will use the Macabees for historical research, admitting that they are a great historical document. If in fact they are a great document which tells of true history, they must be correct; are they not?  If the Maccabees are historically correct, how do they differ from I & II Kings, Chronicles, and all the other top-notch historical documents which are still retained in what is termed as the “Old Testament” today? What is the difference which sets Maccabees apart from the rest of the scriptures and causes it to be "uninspired" of Yahweh? If we will say that they ARE inspired of Yahweh, why then will we state that it is not scripture?  Nonetheless, if you only go as far as the Maccabees, you may find them somewhat profitable for spiritual instruction, but much more, you will find them an account of alot of battles and war, killing, and bloodshed. These as well have their place as there are such books in the Old Testament as well, but if you want to learn more, you must go further than the titles which are spoken by the common tongue;  you must search before you will truly find.

 How does the authenticity of "The Gospel Of Peter" (in the “Lost Books”) differ from that of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) in the new testament which are still considered to be “inspired”? All five are accurate historical accounts from individuals who believed that Yahshua was the Messiah, so what causes four to be scripture and the fifth not? Yahweh has drawn an obvious line as to what is scripture and what is not, but we, in all our modern science and technology, have made a great mistake and drawn a new line miles before the original.

 I am not going to even teach, let alone push any doctrine in the Lost Books which goes against the teachings of scripture. For that matter, I am not going to "push" anything on anyone. I believe in allowing the spirit of Yahweh to work in peoples lives to convict them of such things, One plants the seed, another waters, and another (being Yahweh) causes it to take root and grow. However, I see where so many are walking on shaky ground when they do not even accept the teachings of these books which agree with their "inspired" scriptures. These books back up many things taught in the scriptures which modern day man does not want to accept and apply to his life today. This is the reason why so many are not willing to accept their authenticity as scripture. The scriptures which they claim to believe in are hard enough to contend against and they don't need any more support for them than is absolutely necessary.

 I am quite familiar with how the King James (or Authorized Version as I prefer to call it) came into being. I also know what a wretch King James himself was and I know that he got 40 some translators together..... 40 some different minds and ideas, and told them that if they couldn't agree they would get their heads chopped off! I am also familiar with the fact that the Church of England was the equivalent to the Catholic church of Rome. While true believers were being murdered for their faith around the world by the "set apart church of Rome", the same thing was happening in England.  It was for this reason that our forefathers came to this country to begin with... to be free to worship Yahweh as they felt they should... to be out from under the thumb of an unrighteous king who translated the scriptures, YES, but most certainly, in many places to his own liking as well. After reading some of the errors in the King James (which you can do by going to www.biblestudy.org/basicart/kjverror.html) you can see that man, with all his technology and "knowledge" cannot be trusted for long. With some of the errors in the KJV (which is supposedly the "best" translation in print today), I feel that I would be in great error to base my beliefs on what is inspired scripture and what is not solely on what any of the translations of today include and/or omit.

 I’m sure that many of us would love to read such books mentioned throughout the scriptures as "The Acts Of Solomon", which we have never found yet. However, if we were to find it, but would never read it ourselves to determine if it was genuine or a counterfeit, we would never find the real truth of the matter. If we are not willing to look into such matters, we will stay where we are, content with what we know, learning more in the "knowledge" of the world, but less than would be otherwise possible in the wisdom of Yahweh. People are willing to read just about anything, things that are fiction, made up, twisted, distorted, etc. This includes magazines, so-called "Christian" books from every perspective, commentaries, good novels, bad novels, trashy novels, and on and on the list goes. Yet throughout all of this, they don't even want to take a peek at what may possibly be a continuation of scripture.

 Does this all sound radical to you?  Dear reader, hear and understand that ‘radical’ is breaking out of a mold, and this is what we as believers are called to do.  I am well aware of the fact that I will be discredited by most everyone if I push these books, but not only this, I am aware that I will be discredited (in the eyes of man) if I even show an interest in them, if I even speak of them or mention them slightly. Most will discredit me in their own minds if I so much as make an implication towards their authenticity as scripture, but guess what?  They discredit me anyway. They discredit me when I believe Shabbot, Yahweh’s festivals, the Food laws, homeschooling, modest apparel, decency, purity, simplicity, a lack of knowledge of the evils in our world, etc. What will a few more critical eyes hurt? I'm not after the crowd who will discredit something without ever reading it anyway. It is only Yahweh's support that I am concerned about.

 Many believers study the works of such men as Josephus, and suggest that I do likewise.  Why will man accept anything but what the world rejects?  If I were to only study things accepted by everyone else my spiritual life would be down the drain. Josephus himself was not a believer in the Messiah. He was simply an historian who did not know the Messiah. Are his writings inspired? Are they better history than the Apocrypha and other such books? Whatever the answer to this question, the knowledge of history is not even my goal. The writings of Josephus are missing something far more important.

 II Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture (#1124 in Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, meaning "a document, set apart writ, or it's contents or a statement in it") is given by inspiration (#2315 in Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, meaning "divinely breathed in") of Yahweh and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness:". For clarity it can be worded in this manner: "All set apart writings are divinely breathed into the mind of the author by Yahweh, and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness."

 This is what I base my conclusions on as to what is and what is not scripture. The Apocrypha in it’s entirety is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for righteous instruction. The same may be said about a number of other ancient writings as well.  Some contain history throughout, and others do not. For those which are found to be unprofitable for these things, it can safely be concluded that they are not set apart writings (scripture) divinely breathed in (inspired) of Yahweh Elohim. The works of Josephus and such like works are not profitable for these things either. These works may be valuable and informative in their proper place, but they do not make a man wise toward his maker.

 If you desire inspiration, wisdom, and spiritual knowledge try "Sirach", "The Wisdom of Solomon", "The Shepherd Of Hermas", "The Odes of Solomon", "The Twelve Patriarchs", etc. I have named just a few. Once you begin to read, you will desire to learn more and discover for yourself the real worth of these spiritual gold mines overlooked by our society.

 Do not misunderstand me.. If you are unsure of these ancient writings, you are not alone; you share these feelings and convictions with the majority of believers. These books are something new and different in the eyes of most.   I was in your place not so long ago at all.  I had heard slight mention of the Maccabees... there was even an old edition of the Scriptures in the house which included them in it’s volumes, but I never read it!  I thought the Maccabees were it... I did not know there was anything else.  If you never get any farther that what you hear, you will be in the same situation that I was in; you will be misinformed and you will not know the truth, for the truth is not what the world will tell you.  When I finally got around to looking into it deeper I was surprised that there were many more books than I had ever imagined, and it was not long until I began to realize the truth of the matter, and the crime of removing these books from the hearts and lives of the followers of HaMoshiach Yahshua.

 Upon beginning this study, did I forsake caution and righteous discretion?  By no means... such elements are fundamental to obtaining wisdom... without them I would not be where I am now, and dear reader, neither would you.

 My goal is not to force anything upon you, neither am I out to tell you everything that these books contain.  Search out the hidden treasure on your own, and experience the richness of the experience firsthand. If I attempt to force it on you or shove it down your throat, I will do nothing but defeat my purpose, and helping to close the doors of your mind.   The ultimate decision remains up to you... It is your choice and your responsibility.

Continued In Chapter 5:  A Fellow Believer's Concerns