Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden

Thomas Nelson

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9780310140290
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Literary Collections

In Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden you can read for yourself many of the manuscripts which were excluded from canonized Scripture and discover new appreciation for those which were chosen.

Though apocryphal in nature--many of them suppressed by the early Church Fathers--these forgotten books, gospels, testaments, and epistles are fascinating and beautifully written.

Included in this volume are:

• Apocryphal gospel accounts, such as The Gospel of the Birth of Mary, Thomas's Gospel of the Infancy of Christ, and Peter's Gospel.
• Apocryphal epistles, such as Paul's letter to the Laodiceans, Clement's letter to the Corinthians, and the general epistles of Barnabas.
• Letters from Ignatius to groups of early Christians, including the Ephesians, the Romans, and the Trallians.
• The early 2^nd century Christian work, The Shepherd of Hermas.
• Roman letters and reports from Herod and Pilate.
• Fables from Old Testament times, such as The Books of Adam and Eve, The Secrets of Enoch, and the Psalms of Solomon.
• Historical accounts, including the fourth book of the Maccabees.
• and more...

Included before each book are some notes on its origins. Also included are frequent black-and-white images of etchings from early manuscripts.

THE
Lost Books
OF THE
BIBLE

EING ALL THE GOSPELS, EPISTLES, AND OTHER PIECES NOW EXTANT ATTRIBUTED IN THE FIRST FOUR CENTURIES

TO

JESUS CHRIST

HIS APOSTLES AND THEIR COMPANIONS

NOT INCLUDED, BY ITS COMPILERS, IN THE AUTHORIZED NEW TESTAMENT; AND, THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED SYRIAC MSS. OF PILATE’S LETTERS TO TIBERIUS, ETC.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL TONGUES

ILLUSTRATED FROM ANCIENT PAINTINGS AND MISSALS

“Christ was the joyous boy of the fields. We are not permitted to think that the shadows of Calvary darkened His pathway as a youth, and the Apocryphal Books of the New Testament show a great deal of the early life of Christ not to he found in the four Evangelists.”

—Dr. TALMAGE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF NICE PRESENTING THEIR DECISION TO THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE: FOURTH CENTURY

THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE PRESENTING THE LABORS OF THE COUNCIL OF NICE TO CHRIST FOR HIS BLESSING

THE BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN

ELIZABETH RECEIVING THE VISIT OF MARY

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE

MARY OFFERING IN THE TEMPLE

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST IN THE JORDAN

THE LAST JUDGMENT

HELL

CHRIST’S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM, AND CHRIST BEFORE PILATE

THE TWO SPIES SENT BY JOSHUA TO JERICHO, AND THEIR ESCAPE FROM THE HOUSE FROM RAHAB

CHRIST IN THE PRÆTORIUM AND MOCKED, AND HIS DESCENT INTO HELL

THE RED SEA SWALLOWING UP THE ARMY OF PHARAOH, AFTER THE ISRAELITES HAD PASSED THROUGH

CHRIST PRAYING IN THE GARDEN

PETER CUTTING OFF THE EAR OF MALCHUS, AND THE KISS OF JUDAS

CHRIST BEARING HIS CROSS TO GOLGOTHA, FOLLOWED BY HOLY WOMEN

VERONICA AFFLICTED WITH AN ISSUE OF BLOOD

CHRIST ON THE CROSS BETWEEN THE TWO MALEFACTORS

MARRIAGE OF CANA IN GALILEE

THE BURIAL OF CHRIST

MARY SUPPORTING THE DEAD CHRIST ON HER KNEES

THE INTERMENT OF CHRIST

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

CHRIST AS A GARDENER APPEARING TO MARY MAGDALENE

JESUS CHRIST ASCENDING TO HEAVEN WITH TWO ANGELS

JONAH CAST INTO THE SEA, AND HIS COMING OUT OF THE WHALE

INTRODUCTION TO
THE LOST BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

By DR. FRANK CRANE

THE great things in this world are growths.

This applies to books as well as to institutions.

The Bible is a growth. Many people do not understand that it is not a book written by a single person, but it is a library of several books which were composed by various people in various countries. It is interesting to know how this library grew and upon what principle some books were accepted and some rejected.

Of course we may take people’s word for the reasons why certain books were chosen, but it is always satisfactory to come to our own conclusions by examining our own evidence.

This is what this Lost Books of the Bible enables us to do. We can examine the books of the Scriptures which we have in the authorized version, and then in this book we can read those scriptures which have been eliminated by various councils in order to make up our standard Bible.

It is safe to say that a comparison of the accepted books with those rejected may be relied upon, for those books which were accepted are far superior in value to the others.

These others which are included in the Lost Books of the Bible comprise all kinds of stories, tales and myths.

No great figure appears in history without myths growing up about him. Every great personage becomes a nucleus or center about which folk tales cluster.

There are apocryphal tales about Napoleon, about Charlemagne, about Julius Cæsar and other outstanding characters.

It is impossible that a man representing so great a force as Jesus of Nazareth should appear in the world without finding many echoes of His personality in contemporary literature—many stories which grew up about Him as time elapsed.

What these tales and stories are, just how He appears to the fictional minds of His day and afterwards, it is interesting to note.

Very often the fiction writer depicts life and the great truth of life better than the historian. He does not pretend to write down what is exactly true, but he tinges all things with his imagination. His feelings, however, may be just and reliable.

The reading of this Lost Books of the Bible is interesting as a matter of course. All who in any way are attracted by the personage of Jesus are interested to know any stories that may have grown up about Him.

They are also valuable because they enable us to get many a point of view which otherwise would have been lost.

History may be true, but in a sense tradition is even truer. It has been said that history records what has been, but tradition tells what ought to have been.

It must be remembered also that such a thing as historical accuracy is a comparatively novel product. The older writers never dreamed of it. They wrote in order to be interesting, not to tell the truth. And it is a remarkable fact that the events recorded in the Holy Scriptures, as far as we can find out, were most of them veritable, and the chroniclers were truthful.

In this volume all these apocryphal volumes are presented without argument or commentation. The reader’s own judgment and common sense are appealed to. It makes no difference whether he is Catholic or Protestant or Hebrew. The facts are plainly laid before him. These facts for a long time have been the peculiar esoteric property of the learned. They were available only in the original Greek and Latin and so forth. Now they have been translated and brought in plain English before the eye of every reader.

The ordinary man has therefore the privilege of seeing upon what grounds the commonly accepted Scriptures rest. He can examine the pile of evidence and do his own sifting.

Thousands of people to-day look to the New Testament narrative as their leader and guide. It is important to know upon what authority this rests, and many a man will be delighted to find the evidence thus clearly presented before him.

The Lost Books of the Bible present all sorts of matter before the curious eye. There are stories about Mary and instances of her personal life. There are other stories about the boyhood of Jesus and instances about His crucifixion. All of these become important because of the central figure about whom they revolve.

No man has ever appealed to the imagination of the world and so played upon its feelings as has Jesus of Nazareth.

It is interesting to know what forms of stories and speculations about Him took place in the early period of the Christian era.

In other words, the ordinary man is invited to take his place in that council chamber which accepts and...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• The Lost Books of the Bible
• The Forgotten Books of Eden