The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Read online

  6. And He said, “Abraham, listen! What you see is the Temple, it is a copy of that which is in the heavens. It is glorious in its appearance and beauty. I will give it to the sons of men to ordain a priesthood for my glorious name. In it the prayers of man will be spoken, and sacrifices offered. )

  7. I have ordained this for your people, especially those who will arise out of your lineage.

  8. But the idol which you saw is the image of jealousy that will be set up by some of those who will come out of your own loins in later days.

  9. And the man who sacrifices in murder is he who pollutes my Temple. These are witnesses to the final judgment, and their appointment (reward) has been set from the beginning of creation."

  Chapter 26

  1.. And I said, “Eternal Mighty One! Why did you establish it like this, and then proclaim the knowledge (testify) of it?" And He said to me, "Listen Abraham, and understand what I am about to say to you, and answer my question. Why did your father Terah not listen to you, and why did he not cease his idolatrous (demonic worship) practices, together with his entire house?"

  2. And I said, "Eternal Mighty One, certainly because he did not want to obey me because I did not follow his (ways/deeds) works."

  3. And He said to me, "The will of your father is in him (up to him), and your will is in you (up to you), and likewise the counsel of my own will is within me (up to me/in my control), and it is prepared for (has prepared) the coming days before you have any knowledge of them or can see the future with your own eyes. Now look again into the vision, and see how it will be with your children (progeny/generations)."

  Chapter 27

  1. And I looked and I saw the vision sway. From its left side a crowd of unbelievers (ungodly people) ran out and they captured the men, women, and children and they murdered (slaughtered like animals) most of them and others they kept as slaves. And I saw them (the killers) run towards them (the slaves) through four doors which were high with stairs and they burned the Temple with fire, and they took and broke the holy things that were in the temple.

  2. And I said, " Eternal One! Behold, my progeny, whom you have accepted, are robbed by these ungodly men. Some are killed, and others they enslave. The Temple they have burned with fire, and the beautiful things in it they have robbed and destroyed. If this is to be, why have you ripped my heart like this?"

  3. And he said to me, "Listen, Abraham, all that you have seen will happen because of your progeny who will continually provoke me because of the idols that you saw, and because of the human sacrifice in the vision, through their drive and desire to do evil and there schemes in the Temple. You saw it and that is how it will be."

  4. And I said, "Eternal, Mighty One! Allow these works of evil brought about by ungodliness pass by, and instead show me those who fulfilled the commandments, show me the works of righteousness. I know in truth you can do this."

  5. And He said to me, "The days of the righteous (will arrive) are seen symbolized by the lives of righteous rulers who will arise, and whom I have created to rule at the appointed times. But you must know that out of them will arise others who care only for their own interests. These are symbolized by those (killers) I have already shown you.

  Chapter 28

  1. And I answered and said, "Mighty, Eternal One, you who are holy by your power, show mercy, I pray. Since you have brought me up here to your high place and you have showed your beloved the things about which I asked, please tell me now: Will what I saw be their lot for long?"

  2. And He showed me a multitude of His people and said to me, "Because of them, I will be provoked by them through the four high doorways you saw, and my retribution for their deeds will be accomplished. But in the fourth descent of one hundred years, which is the same as one hour of the age, the same is a hundred years, there will be evil (misfortune) among the (heathen) nations, but also for one hour there will be mercy and honor (in) among those nations.

  Chapter 29

  1.. And I said, " Eternal One! How long are the hours of the age?" And He said, "Twelve hours have I ordained for this present ungodly age to rule among the (heathen) nations and within your progeny, and until the end of the times it will be even as you saw. And now reckon (calculate) and understand and look again into the vision.

  2. And he said, "I decreed to keep twelve periods of the impious age among the heathens and among your progeny, and what you have seen will be until the end of time.”

  3. And I looked and saw a Man going out from the left side of the (heathen) nations.

  4. And there went men and women and children out from the side of (heathen) nations like many multitudes and they worshipped Him.

  6. And while I still looked, there came many from the right side, and some of these insulted Him, and some of them even struck Him, but others worshipped Him.

  7. As I watched, I saw Azazel come up to Him and he kissed Him on the face and then turned and stood behind Him.

  8. Then I said, "Eternal, Mighty One! Who is this Man who is insulted and beaten, who is worshipped by the nations and kissed by Azazel?"

  9. And He answered and said, "Hear Me Abraham! The Man you saw insulted and beaten and yet worshipped by many, He is the Relief/Liberty/Freedom granted for (by) the nations of people who will be born from (out of) you in the last days, in the twelfth hour of the age of ungodliness.

  10. But in the twelfth hour of my last (final) age of my fulfillment will I set up this Man from your tribe (generation), whom you saw issue from among my people, and all who follow will become like (imitate) this Man, and they will be called by me (and they will consider Him to be called by Me) and they will join the others, even those who desire to change within themselves.

  11. Regarding those who emerge from the left side of the vision, the meaning is this; there will be many from the (heathen) nations who will set their hopes on (trust in) Him. But those whom you saw from your progeny on the right of the vision who insulted Him and struck Him, many will be offended because of Him, but some will worship Him. And He will test those of your progeny who have worshipped Him in the twelfth hour at the end in order to shorten the age of ungodliness.

  12. Before the age of the righteous begins to grow, my judgment will come upon the (nations/heathen) lawless (wicked) peoples through the people of your progeny who have been separated to me.

  13. And in those days I will bring upon all creatures of the earth ten plagues, through misfortune and disease and the groans of their bitter grief. And this will be brought upon the generations of men because of the provocation and the corruption of mankind, because they provoke me. And then the righteous men of your progeny will survive in the number (amount/count) which is kept secret by me, and will hasten the coming of the glory of My Name to that place prepared before for those you saw destroyed in the vision.

  14. And they will live and be established by the sacrifices of righteousness in the age of the godly, and they will rejoice in me continually, and receive those who return to me in repentance because their inner torment will be great for those who have wrongfully misused (mocked) them in this world.

  15. And they will see the honor bestowed on those who are mine in the day of glory. Abraham, see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, and take knowledge of all that you have come to know.

  16. Go to your inheritance for behold, I am with you to the age."

  Chapter 30

  1. While He was still speaking to me, I found myself on the earth again, and I said, " Eternal One! I am no longer in the glory on high.

  2. Still there is one matter which my soul longs to know and understand that was not revealed to me.”

  3. And he said to me, "I will explain to you the things you desired in your heart to know which are the ten plagues that I prepared against the heathen nations, and which have been destined to begin at the passing of the twelfth hour of the age of the earth.

  4. Hear therefore what I tell you because it will come to pass. The first is the sorrow and pain of (ne
ed) sickness;

  5. The second, the massive burning and destruction of many cities;

  6. The third, the destruction and pestilence (sickness) of animals (cattle);

  7. The fourth, hunger of the whole world and its people;

  8. The fifth, among the rulers, destruction by means of earthquake and the sword;

  9. The sixth, the increase of hail and snow;

  10. The seventh, wild bests will be their grave (animals will kill them);

  11. The eighth, hunger and pestilence will change their course of destruction (alternate with destruction);

  12. The ninth, punishment (execution) by the sword and flight in distress;

  13. The tenth, thunder and voices and destructive earthquake.

  Chapter 31

  1. And then I will sound the trumpet in the air, and I will send my ELECT ONE (chosen one), and He will have all measure of my power (He will have one measure of all my power).

  2. He will summon my people (who were despised) from all nations, and I will send fire upon those who have insulted them and who have ruled over them in this age. And those who have chosen my desire and kept my commandments will rejoice with celebrations (parties) over the downfall of the men who continued to followed after the idols.

  3. And I will take those who have covered me with mockery and give them over to the scorn of the coming age.

  4. I have prepared them to be food for the fires of Hades, and be in perpetual flight through the air of the depths of Hades (the underworld). And they will be the contents of a worm’s belly (Azazel).

  5. For they joined (a marital or sexual term) one to whom they had not been given to, and they abandoned the Lord who gave them strength.

  Chapter 32

  1. “Hear Me, Abraham, because you will see that in the seventh generation from you will go out into a strange land and the heathen will enslave and oppress them. And they leave the land of their slavery, after they have been mistreated for an hour of the age of ungodliness, and the heathen nation whom they will serve I will judge.

  2. And the Lord said this too, "Have you heard, Abraham, what I told you, what your tribe will encounter in the last days?"

  3. Abraham heard and accepted the words of God in his heart.

  Apocalypse of Thomas

  “The Apocalypse Of Thomas” is also called “The Revelation of Thomas.” The differing names come from the fact that the word rendered “Apocalypse” means to reveal or make known. This is the same title given to the last book of the New Testament. Its title in Greek is best interpreted as “The Apocalypse of John,” however the English book carries the title of “The Revelation of John,” or simply, “Revelation.”

  Very little of the history of the Apocalypse of Thomas is known. The only reference to it in ancient writings seems to be a single citation by Jerome in his chronicles written in the eighth to ninth century A.D.

  Two versions of the Apocalypse exist in Latin, the longer version seems to be a later development. The longer text makes use of metaphors and symbols similar to those used in the Book of Revelation. Both texts describe how the Earth will be destroyed and the dead will come back to life in the final days.

  The composition of the Apocalypse of Thomas has two distinct streams of thought. It is akin to Daniel in its form of prophecy, which describes events contemporary with the author and continues them into the future; yet it is also akin to John when the text describes the signs of the end.

  Historical references in the long text suggest a fifth-century date. The text speaks of a king who is a "lover of the law." The text refers to his two sons whose names begin with A and H. King Theodosius fits the bill and his sons have Latin names corresponding to the letters as follows: “The first is named with the first letter A (as in Arcadius,) the second with the eighth letter H, (as in Honorius.) The first will die before the second.”

  The reference to the Latin alphabet would suggest that it was the original language of composition. This would place the earliest possible date of writing (and most scholars agree) at about 300 – 400 A.D.

  Several manuscripts and fragments of the Apocalypse of Thomas have been found. The text presented here is the best combination of many texts. Since some are shorter than others and many are fragments, it was thought that by combining all of the better known texts a complete, longer and more complete version could be presented.

  The version presented here is based on a combination of the best manuscripts and translations found. They include the F. Wilhelm text of 1907, the E. Hauler work on the fifth century Vienna fragment, the Verona manuscript of eighth century, the 1755 Dionisi work, 1911 Dom Bihlmeyer text from Munich, and the Anglo-Saxon Old English version at Vercelli.

  THE APOCALYPSE OF THOMAS

  Chapter 1

  1. This begins the letter of (from) the Lord to Thomas.

  2. “Hear about the things that must happen in the last times. The world will be shared between kings, then after that when the hour of the end draws near there will be seven days of great signs in heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be moved.

  3. There will be famine, war and earthquakes in various places, snow, ice, and tremendous drought. There will be many open conflicts among the peoples, blasphemy, unrighteousness, envy, evil, laziness, pride and excess, and everyone will speak in the manner that he wishes.

  4. And my priests will fight among themselves, and will sacrifice to me with minds of deceit. Because of this I will not look upon them. The priests will see the people forsaking the house of the Lord and turning to the world.

  5. They will venture into restricted places in the house of God. And they will claim many things and places for themselves that were lost and those things and places will become subject to Caesar in the way they were given before as poll-taxes in the cities, as it is with gold and silver.

  6. And the chief men of the cities will be condemned and their possessions will be brought to the treasury of the kings, and it will be filled.

  7. There will be disturbances throughout all the people, and there will be death. The house of the Lord will be forsaken, and their altars will be despised, so that spiders weave their webs on them.

  8. The place of holiness will be dishonored and violated, the priesthood contaminated. Distress will increase and righteousness will be overcome.

  9. Happiness will die and gladness will leave. In those days evil will abound. People will cater to those of status and wealth. Hymns will stop coming from the house of the Lord. Truth will cease. Greed will abound among the priests. No upright man nor an upright priesthood will be found.

  Chapter 2

  1. Near the last days a king will arise. He will be a lover of the law who will not hold office for long but he will leave two sons.

  2. The first is named with the first letter A (as in Arcadius,) the second with the eighth letter H, (as in Honorius.) The first will die before the second.

  (Arcadius died in 408 A.D.- Honorius in 423 A.D. The somewhat uneventful life of Arcadius is of less importance than the significant developments that occurred during his reign. Born around 377 A.D. to General Theodosius, Arcadius and his younger brother, Honorius, ruled the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire respectively from 395. Arcadius was proclaimed Augustus in January of 383 at the age of five or six. In the following year, his younger brother was born. Honorius achieved the office of consul posterior in 386. The chance for having his own two sons ruling both halves of Rome not only seemed practical and feasible, but such an arrangement would establish their father as the head of a new dynasty. With thoughts in that direction, Honorius was made Augustus in 393 and accompanied his father west in the summer of 394. Even though Arcadius was nearing maturity and the age of consent he was placed again under the guardianship of the Prefect of the East. In January of 395, Theodosius the Great died and his two sons took theoretical control of the two halves of the Roman Empire.).

  3. After this, two princes will arise to oppress the nations. Under their ha
nds a very great famine will occur. The famine will take place in the right-hand section of the east and that nation will rise up against another nation and be driven out from their own borders.

  4. Again another king will arise. He will be a deceitful man. He will order a golden image of Caesar to be made, set up, and worshipped in the house of God. Martyrdoms will be widespread.

  5. Then the faith will return to the servants of the Lord, and holiness will greatly increase but so will distress and pain increase.

  6. The mountains will be comforted (will comfort them?) and will drop down the sweetness of fire from its face, so that the (predestined) number of the saints may be completed.

  7. After a little space of time a king will arise out of the east. He will be a lover of the law. He will cause all good and necessary things to be in supply within the house of the Lord. He will show mercy to the widows and the needy.

  8. He will order that a royal gift to be given to the priests. In his days (the days of the king) there will be abundance of all things.

  9. After that a king will arise, this time in the southern section of the world, and will rule for only a short time. In his days the economy will bankrupt (treasury will fail) because of the wages of the Roman soldiers. And he will order the substance of all the older citizens be taken and given to the king so it could be distributed.

  Chapter 3

  1. After that there will be plenty of corn and wine and oil, but a tremendous lack of money, so that it would take the substances of gold and silver to buy corn, and there will be tremendous hunger (dearth). (Hyper-inflation is indicated here.)

  2. At that time the sea level will rise greatly and communications will be cut off from man to man. The kings, princes and the captains of the earth will be nervous (troubled/ fearful), and no man will speak freely.