I really must take issue with
all the quotes from extra - Biblical sources. If the books were not
included in the canon of Scripture there was a reason. Many arguments
can be made as to why these books were not included in the Book we know
as the Bible, but I can see from a mathematical viewpoint that the exact
number of books we know, the 66 books, is an orderly arrangement. See
the preface John includes at the opening page of the Letters.
That aside, one can argue that
the book of Enoch is quoted in the Bible in the book of Jude, and is
thus reliable. The exact quote is:
"And Enoch also, the
seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh
with ten thousands of his saints,To execute judgment upon all, and to
convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds
which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 1:14-15.
This passage does not mention
the "Book of Enoch", rather it says Enoch prophesied. Nor does the author
say we are to accept the teachings of the Book of Enoch, though if it
had been widely recognized as scripture at that time, as many
suggest, then he could have said as much and clarified the issue.We
know that our God is a God of order, and we know who the author of confusion
is. I would not seek to confuse the brethren by adding to the Words
of The Book, as we are admonished.
To "supplement" the teachings
of the Bible by reading and following as scriptural anything that is
questionable is bordering on blasphemy, in my opinion, and certainly
is confusing. We are told to test the spirits, and I can see there are
some ungodly spirits behind many of these extra-biblical books
that some would equate with divinely inspired Scripture. The Didache
has many erronious teachings that confirm some of the false
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, such as infant baptism,
the Eucharist, and the unpardonable sin, which is NOT "questioning
a prophet", but IS blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do not
be confused, Doves, by what some would regard as truth. The devil quoted
scipture when he was tempting Jesus, and many false teachers will
quote scripture. Simply inserting a few words of truth does not make
a lie true. Many will one day say "Lord, Lord, ...." and He will tell
them to depart as He NEVER knew them. The demons believe and tremble.
To question the authenticity of the Bible as it has been delivered unto
us, to pretend that some books should have been included in the canon,
but were left out by men, is to say that the Creator of the universe
made a mistake. }}}
#2.
We derive the phrase "scapegoat for Azazzel" from the writings
of Enoch as He was the first (and I think only) to mention Azazzel as
a fallen one.
#3.
Enoch is referred to also in the Books of Wisdom (Wisdom 4:10-14),
Ecclesiasticus (The Wisdom of Yeshua Ben Sirach 44:16, 49:14), Book of
Jasher (Most all of Chapter 3), The Talmud, various Targums and prominently
in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
#4.
The voice of the ecclesiastical tradition is virtually unanimous
in regarding Enoch and Elijah as the "two witnesses" in Revelation 11:3.
Thus it is antiphilolgetic and tantamount to scholastic, exegetical,
hermeneutical and intellectual myopia to haphazzardly brush off the writings
of Enoch as uninspired and/or unimportant. To be sure there are some pericopes
in Enoch Books 1-4 which may be corrupted, but are identifiable and numerable.
But a few corrupt letters/words do not necessarily demand the banishment
of Enoch's books. Also "The Didache" WAS NOT PENNED by "Roman Catholics",
as if that in and of itself was "blasphemus"
The early ecclesiastical fathers, historians, clerics,redactors,translators
and editors (Such as: Abercius Marcellus, Amphilochius of Iconium, Ariistides,
Athanasius, Augustine, Cicero, I Clement, II Clement, Clement of Alexandria,
Cyprian, Cyril of Jerusalem, Dionysius Bar Salibi, Epiphanius of Salamis,
Eusebiusof Caesarea, Euthalius, Galen, Gregory of Nazianus, Gregory of
Nyssa, Hecataeus of Abdera, Hippolytus, Iamblichus, Irenaeus, Jacob of
Edessa, Jerome, Flavius Jossephus, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Livy, Lucian,
Martial, Nicetas, Olympiodorus of Alexandria, Origen, Pausanias, Philo
of Alexandria, Photius, Polycarp, Rufinus, Tertullian, Theodoret and Theophilus)
Did NOT just sit down, make up a list of homologoumena and enact a fixed
canon.
ALL the early believers employed the Septuagint (aka the LXX) with all
its 53 books of the OT, as the HB Masoretic text had not been finalized.
Numerous books that are now in the NT canon were not on every ecclesiastical
codex. Indeed the Muratorian canon omits: Hebrews, 1&2 Peter, 3 John
and James. Many refused to include the Book of Revelation. Many geographically
large churches held the Didache, Shepherd of Hermas and The Apocalypse
of Peter as inspired and canonical. Indeed if the NT canon was to have
been fixed in the 2nd century AD, these books would be in the Bible. There
are about 2 billion "Christians" in the world today. 1.1 billion Catholics,
500 million Protestants, 400 million Greek/Russian Orthodox and with the
exception of the Protestants use the Eastern codex of 84 books in the
Bible. Indeed it was Martin Luther and others who depleted the canon sizing
the OT to the Jewish canon. The Jews did not accept books not written
in Hebrew as "canonical", hence Luther et. al. hexed them.
These books provide a rich source of knowledge, such as the details surrounding
feast days etc and provide invaluable new exegetical and hermeneutic insight.
To be sure fully 60-70% of OT citations in the NT COME FROM THE SEPTUAGINT
WITH ITS 53 BOOKS, AND SOME CITATIONS COME RIGHT OUT OF THE APOCRYPHAL
BOOKS!!! It would be unwise to cast out the Dead Sea Scrolls because
they were not part of some list of 66 books! Same for the Genizah folios,
Targums etc.
I've encountered people who sway that "if you're not using the authorized
KJV you can't be saved!!!", and by joking exaggeration "Paul preached
from the KJV". Some are into "BOOK WORSHIP" (as just cited), some are
into "Sacred name cults", insisting that the Anglicized name Jesus is
of no effect --- what a bold lie! My own testimony reinforces the efficacy
of Jesus as well as Yeshua. Some love and obsess over sports so much that
they now are watching 'Footbaal', 'Basebaal', 'Basketbaal' etc. Hezekiah
had to destroy the Brazen Serpent Moses raised in the desert as people
had started burning inscence to it,,,, IT BECAME AN IDOL. ALL the citations
in theapocryphal, pseudepigrapha, Targums, that I made MAGNIFIED GOD AND
JESUS.
It would do well if there were no idols. It may come as a surprise
that almost all publishers are getting ready to put the Apocryphal books
back into their editions and very soon!! As it was in the 1611 edition
of the KJV. It will come as a surprise that most Bibles are not merely
'diplomatic texts', but eclectic, drawing from vorlages outside the
MT to enhance translation.
Invincible ignorance has always been a problem for humanity, one would
do well to see the vorlages of their "66 books" before making sweeping
condemnations!!!
BASHEM
YESHUA SARENU SHALOM TEFE