Posted on 02/19/2010 7:42:49 AM PST by restornu
The so-called lost books of the Bible are those documents that are mentioned in the Bible in such a way that it is evident they were considered authentic and valuable, but that are not found in the Bible today. Sometimes called missing scripture, they consist of at least the following:
Book of the Wars of the Lord Numbers 21:14
Book of Jasher Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18
Book of the acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11:41
Book of Samuel the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29
Book of Gad the seer 1 Chronicles 29:29
Book of Nathan the prophet 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29
Prophecy of Ahijah 2 Chronicles 9:29
Visions of Iddo the Seer 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22
Book of Shemaiah 2 Chronicles 12:15
Book of Jehu 2 Chronicles 20:34
Sayings of the Seers 2 Chronicles 33:19
An epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, earlier than our present 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 5:9
An earlier epistle to the Ephesians Ephesians 3:3
Epistle to the Laodiceans Colosians 4:16
Prophecies of Enoch, known to Jude Jude 1:14
Book of the covenant Exodus 24:7 (may or may not be included in the current book of Exodus)
The Manner of the Kingdom, written by Samuel 1 Samuel 10:25
Acts of Uzziah, written by Isaiah 2 Chronicles 26:22
The "Acts of Abijah...in the Story of the Prophet Iddo" 2 Chronicles 13:22 (seems to not be the same as the Prophecy of Ahijah or the Visions of Iddo)
The foregoing items attest to the fact that our present Bible does not contain all of the word of the Lord that He gave to His people in former times, and remind us that the Bible, in its present form, is rather incomplete. Matthew's reference to a prophecy that Jesus would be a Nazarene (2:23) is interesting when it is considered that our present Old Testament seems to have no such statement. There is a possibility, however, that Matthew alluded to Isaiah 11:1, which prophesies of the Messiah as a Branch from the root of Jesse, the father of David. The Hebrew word for branch in this case is netzer, the source word of Nazarene and Nazareth. Additional references to the Branch as the Savior and Messiah are found in Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12; these use a synonymous Hebrew word for branch, tzemakh.
Luke noted (Luke 1:1) that "many" had written about "those things which are most surely believed among us," yet our Bible has only two earlier Gospels, those of Matthew and Mark (John having been written after Luke). The Bible doesn't contain the earlier books to which Luke had reference. The books of 1-2 Kings frequently speak of the "rest of the acts" of the kings contained in the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Some readers undoubtedly believe that these refer to the books known as 1 and 2 Chronicles in our present Bibles. But an examination of the latter shows that they generally do not reveal any of the additional information about these kings that we expect to find there. Moreover, there is good evidence that the biblical books of Chronicles are really later reworkings of 2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, with deletion of much more material than they add. Consequently, they cannot be the chronicles referred to in the earlier books.
Another reference to a writing not found in the Bible is in 2 Chronicles 35:25, where we read that Jeremiah's lamentation for the slain king Josiah is "written in the lamentations." Many Bible readers have assumed that Josiah is the "anointed of the Lord...taken in their pits," mentioned in Lamentations 4:20. There are two problems with this identification, however: 1) The book of Lamentations was written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, two decades after the death of Josiah, and 2) The "anointed of the Lord" taken in the pit clearly refers to the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, who, at the time the Babylonians took Jerusalem, was caught "in their pit" and taken captive to Babylon (Ezekiel 19:8-9). In connection with the Nazarene prophecy, we might add that the scriptural quotes by Jesus found in Luke 11:49 and John 7:38 are not found in today's Old Testament. Similar unsupported quotes are found in Ephesians 5:14 and James 4:5f, as well as in Acts 20:35, where Paul attributes to Jesus a saying found nowhere else in the Bible, including the Gospels.
Thank you...
I'm one who believes that the God Who created the entire Universe is more than able to have exactly what passages He wants in the communication He has arranged for the minds/spirits of His family in Christ Jesus. Every time a translation of the Bible is done, the message is being shared which God wants shared. Nuance is not a zoo animal.
It seems that most of the books listed are basically reference books. It’s the equivalent of me using a story from George Washington’s life to teach a spiritual or moral lesson, and then saying “If you want to learn more about George Washington, read “George Washington” by xxxxx.”
Although they might be interesting reading, God in His wisdom decided that they weren’t germaine to the point at hand.
Missing??? or left out intentionally by God?
God speaks to us every day... that doesn’t make everything He says scriptural.
I believe God was just as directly involved in the process of consolidating the books of the bible as He was in the inspired writing of each and every word in it.
Is it possible that God directed an early day christian to write what He told them with the intent of including it in scripture, and for whatever reason it did not get included in the list? Sure it is. But whatever that reason is, it is God’s reason. If such a scenario unfolded that we don’t know about, or suspect (your list of missing books) was left out or became “Missing”, it is most likely because that particular author in that particular book decided to interject his/her own views alongside what God directed them to write. THAT alone would disqualify it as scripture, even if it was a single sentence that did not come from God. Absolute perfection in scripture cannot come from anyone except God... and frankly I would not be surprised one bit if one or more of those books in your list were originally intended to become scripture, but were rejected by God in the end due to human error (not following God’s inspiration perfectly and completely)
Hi, Nana, this is a little weird, isn’t it? Discuss, but tiptoe ever so carefully, or you will be yelled at for ANTAGONISM!
An earlier epistle to the Ephesians Ephesians 3:3
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No Ephesians 34:3 does not mewntion an earlier epistle to the Ephesians...
It just mentions that Paul had written eaqrlier the saqme thing he was now writing to the Ephesians...
and he did...to the Romans, Corinthinians, Galations, etc...
The churches would have sent copies of Paquls letters to other churches...
After telling the Ephesians in Chapters 1 and 2 about who Jesus is and how they fit into the “household of God” Paul goes on in Chapter 3 to explain why he has told the Christians the prior background...
Ephesians Chapter 3...
Eph 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
Eph 3:2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, (Note: from other Christians)
Eph 3:3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (Note 1: Romans 16:25, 26 Note 2: “written BRIEFLY” not a whole book)
Eph 3:4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, (Note: Paul is saying that THIS letter contains all the Ephesians need to know so there would be no need for any other “lost book of Ephesians”)
Using only this one verse that was listed as an example of “lost books” of the Christian Bible, I believe I have proven that the authors have taken the Bible scropture out of contxt by cherry picking here and there in a vain attempt to prove some point...
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— Romans 16:25, 26
Most people who complain about the so-called “missing” books of the Bible have never bothered read all the books that are currently in the Bible.
Just because other books are mentioned in the Bible, does not mean they are to be considered Scripture.
Paul quotes pagan philosophers, we don’t include those in scripture.
The Bible is complete.
Meh,
I can’t follow every discussion on this subject. If some goofy beliefs are at risk of becoming mainstream, then I take notice.
God being in control does not interfere with free will. However, if we conclude that the Bible is ‘incomplete’, when God tells us His word is sufficient, or that ‘traditions of men’ corrupted the Bible, THEN we are saying that God does NOT have the power to keep His Word together or keep His Church together.
Either God is all powerful, or He is not. If He is, then we can trust that His word (the Bible) is complete and infallible in matters of faith and doctrine. If He is not all powerful, then He is not God.
To say that there is ‘extra’ scripture is to demean God and suggest He is not capable of preserving His truth.
***Just because those books are mentioned they don’t have to be included in the Bible ***
We could muddy the waters more by demanding, yes, DEMANDING, that those pagan Greek and Cretian poets that St. Paul quoted be included as sacred scripture.;-)
mormon infatuation with atheists like Bart Ehrman when it comes to attacking the bible.
These are not missing scriptures the LDS already knows that we only have 1/3 of the Book of Mormon the rest is yet to come forth in the Lord due time!
Source?
I don’t care who you are, that there was funny!
The fact that they are not to be found ANYWHERE is the definition of MISSING. and what lds authority has made the claim that they will come at some later time?
Most people who complain about the so-called “missing” books of the Bible have never bothered read all the books that are currently in the Bible.
***
How would they know they were missing if they didn’t read the scriptures because reason makes one wonder when they come across a passage and the references can be no where found!
In John 1:1 we find the theological term Logos applied to God.
Any Christian who has read Heraclitus knows that the answer is a resounding no. After reading just the remnant book in which the two proverbs the Bible states are true, any Christian could plainly see that much of it is in direct opposition to that which the Bible teaches.
So why are noncanonical sources quoted in the Bible? The same reason you or I would quote from some book today. We use it as an illustration in which we are both familiar so that we might make a more important point. Just because we quote from some book does not mean that we agree with the book in it's entirety, just what was quoted. And it is the same with the Bible.
Truth can be found in most any book, but that does not mean that the book is all truth. Just because prophecies, proverbs or quotes from other sources are in the Bible does not elevate the status of that book to that of God's word. Truth is not exclusive to the Bible, but God's word is.
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