| Matthew 19:4-5 | Adam and Eve | Genesis 1:27; 2:24 |
| Luke 11:51 | Cain and Abel | Genesis 4:8 |
| Luke 17:26-27 | Noah and the flood | Genesis 6 to 8 |
| John 8:56-58 | Abraham | Genesis 15-25 |
| Luke 10:12; 17:28-32 | Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's wife | Genesis 19 |
| Matthew 8:11 | Isaac and Jacob | Genesis 25 |
| Mark 7:9-10 | The Ten Commandments | Exodus 20 |
| John 6:31-51 | Manna and the Wilderness | Exodus 16 |
| John 3:14 | The Serpent of brass | Numbers 21 |
| Mark 2:25-26 | David and consecrated bread | 1 Samuel 21 |
| Mark 12:42 | Solomon and the Queen of Sheba | 1 Kings 10 |
| Luke 4:25-26 | Elijah and the widow | 1 Kings 17 |
| Luke 4:27 | Elisha and Naaman | 2 Kings 5 |
| Luke 11:51 | The murder of Zechariah | 2 Chronicles 2 |
| Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27 | Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter | Zechariah 13:7 |
John 21:25 "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written."It is not mentioned by name, however, there are several references to the deuterocanonical books. Some which could be nothing else.
The term Apocrypha means hidden. It would not be entirely correct to refer to these seven books as apocryphal for they were not hidden. They were always in the open. The term Pseudepigrapha means "false" as in falsely ascribed to a person. This term would also be incorrect for it refers to books claiming to be written be a person, but were not. A few of such pseudepigraphal books are Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees and Life of Adam and Eve.
While the Deuterocanonicals and the Apocrypha do overlap to a limited degree, they are not the same. The Deuterocanonicals are considered by Catholics to be canonical. The Apocrypha is considered to be not, or less than canonical. Catholic Bibles generally do not include such a section. Books that are not considered to be canon and are usually excluded. Also while considering the Deuterocanonicals, the term should not be considered a euphemism for apocryphal as several New Testament books were once classified as deuterocanonical. These books are; The Book of Hebrews, The Second Epistle of Peter, The Second Epistle of John, The Third Epistle of John, The Epistle of James, The Epistle of Jude, The Apocalypse of John.Mark 12:18 "And there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying:In Tobit, Sara was married seven times to seven men. All of them were slain on their wedding night before consummation, thus Sara could not bare any of them children. In Mark 12, the Sadducces tried to debate the resurrection with Christ. If they wanted to do so, it would be best to so with scripture. This is perceived as another New Testament reference to the Book of Tobit. It should also be noted that fragments of the book of Tobit have been found in Aramaic and Hebrew among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, that if any man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no issue.
21 And the second took her, and died: and neither did he leave any issue. And the third in like manner.
22 And the seven all took her in like manner; and did not leave issue. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
Luke 13:29 "And there shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south; and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.This passage in Baruch also bares similarities to the events described in The Transfiguration, mentioned in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9. It is important to note that this passage in John was spoken by Jesus, during His ministry on Earth. Also important to note is Baruch 3:38;
30 And behold, they are last that shall be first; and they are first that shall be last."
Baruch 4:36 "Look about thee, O Jerusalem, towards the east, and behold the joy that cometh to thee from God.
37 For behold thy children come, whom thou sentest away scattered, they come gathered together from the east even to the west, at the word of the Holy One rejoicing for the honour of God." John 3:13 "And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven."
Baruch 3:29 "Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?"
Baruch 3:38 also bares similarities to; Leviticus 26:11 "I will set my tabernacle in the midst of you, and my soul shall not cast you off.Other similarities exist in other passage;
12 I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people." 3 Kings 8:27 "Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?" Psalm 84:10 "Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land."
1 Corinthians 10:20 "But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils."
Baruch 4:6 "You have been sold to the Gentiles, not for your destruction: but because you provoked God to wrath, you are delivered to your adversaries.
7 For you have provoked him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God."
This book was also referenced by such early Church Fathers as St. Clement of Alexandria and St. Hilary of Poitiers.
Matthew 27:43 "He trusted in God; let him now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God."The Book of Matthew, the passage spoke of Jesus being the suffering servant of God. The language used in Matthew more closely resembles that in The Book of Wisdom. Particularly the words "Son of God" which does not appear in Psalm 21.
Psalm 21:9 "He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him."
(This may be enumerated at Psalm 22:8 in some books as the enumeration of the Psalms varies from book to book) Wisdom 2:13 "He boasteth that he hath the knowledge of God, and calleth himself the son of God."
Wisdom 2:17 "17 Let us see then if his words be true, and let us prove what shall happen to him, and we shall know what his end shall be.
18 For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will deliver him from the hands of his enemies."
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned." Wisdom 2:24 "But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world:This passage describes the entrance of death into humanity as a result of sin and an inheritance of original sin.
25 And they follow him that are of his side."
Hebrews 11:35 "Women received their dead raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection."This passage speaks of the actions of various Biblical figures and the actions they took, or sufferings they endured for God. The verse, Hebrews 11:35, is similar to the mention of seven brothers who were martyred before their mother, who was also martyred. They were tortured and martyred because they would not break the laws of God, and they expected to be resurrected for dying faithfully to Him. There is a perceived similarity between 2 Maccabees 12:44 and 1 Corinthians 15:29;
29 Otherwise what shall they do that are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not again at all? why are they then baptized for them?We can see that people were acting on behalf of the dead in the New Testament, and "thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection." Another example can be read in John 10:22;
22 "And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: and it was winter.This of course refers to the Jewish celebration of Hanukah. Hanukah is the annual celebration of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire. Jesus celebrated this feast, which would indicate that it was given His patronage. However, there was no (common canon) written record of this until the third century AD, in the form of the Talmud. The Talmud might be considered "extra-Biblical" as it is not part of the Bible, but it based on both the Bible and oral tradition. There was a written record of this event in the form of The Book of Maccabees, which is not considered common canon. This could illustrate either;
23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch."
- Maccabees could accurately transmit The Word of GodIn either case, whether it was based on Maccabees or oral tradition, Hanukah is an example of accurate transmission of Sacred Tradition. It should also be noted that the early Church Father, Origen, attested to a Hebrew original of 1 Maccabees. When considering when the books of the Old Testament were gathered, we should consider such a reference in Maccabees;
- that oral tradition from that time could be accurate
- both
2 Maccabees 2:13 "And these same things were set down in the memoirs and commentaries of Nehemias: and how he made a library, and gathered together out of the countries, the books both of the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings. and concerning the holy gifts.
14 And in like manner Judas also gathered together all such things as were lost by the war we had, and they are in our possession.
Judith 8:24 "But they that did not receive the trials with the fear of the Lord, but uttered their impatience and the reproach of their murmuring against the Lord,It should also be noted that the early church fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen and St. Clement of Rome referenced this book.
25 Were destroyed by the destroyer, and perished by serpents." 1 Corinthians 10:9 "Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents.
10 Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Ecclesiasticus 27:6 "The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.
7 Be the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man." Matthew 7:16 "By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them." Ecclesiasticus 10:16 "Therefore hath the Lord disgraced the assemblies of the wicked, and hath utterly destroyed them.
17 God hath overturned the thrones of proud princes, and hath set up the meek in their stead." Luke 1:52 "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble."
Jude 1:14 "Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh with thousands of his saints,This reference in Jude comes from a book that is not part of the common Biblical canon. This is believed by some to be from The Book of Enoch. This says that more books than are part of the present day common canon were treated as scripture, and that some things may have been passed down by oral tradition. This passage in Jude shows, with out a doubt, that more books that those that are in the Masoretic text were considered scripture, and that there were other prophets or at least people who were considered to be prophets. The idea of excluding the seven deuterocanonical books from canon but keeping them as supplementations or "interesting reading" can be indicative of incomplete canon. Why keep them if they are not canon? What good could be derived from them if they are not The Word of God? However, the Bible frequently makes reference to books that are not part of the Bible, which could indicate that these books are suggested reading. But, if as some claim, the seven deuterocanonical books are flawed in doctrine, how can they be used as a supplementation? The idea of keeping them as supplementations to the Bible seems more like a fail safe than as suggested reading. An interesting point is that if we exclude the six chapters of Esther found only in Catholic Bibles, The Book of Esther doesn't mention God at all. Thus the argument of the seven deuterocanonical books not claiming to be from God can not be entered as evidence against them, for such opponents are content to keep books that don't mention God at all in the Bible. To support the exclusion of the deuterocanonical books, it has been argued that the books contain errors in doctrine or contradict other parts of the Old Testament. Some of these perceived errors in doctrine are; - prayer for the dead and sacrificial offerings, both to free the dead from sin
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against God."
"Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them."1 Corinthians 12:13 and Romans 8:38-39 has made it clear that we are baptised into one body and nothing, not even death, can separate us from that. Why then, if God is the God of only the living, and we are all in one body that we can not be separated from, even in death, should we not pray for the dead? Or more appropriately, those who have been called from this life. This is also important to consider the concept of the saints. The saints are those holy people who are in Heaven. We should remember passages such as;
Matthew 25:21 "His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." John 14:12 "Otherwise believe for the very works' sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do."Through out the Bible, The Will of God has been done through others. Be it through angels or human beings. Such as the parting of The Red Sea. Or the miracles performed by The Apostles. Remember Acts 4:16;
16 Saying: What shall we do to these men? for indeed a known miracle hath been done by them, to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: it is manifest, and we cannot deny it.As for the issue of contradictions of history (as discussed in The Book of Judith), these may have simply been translation errors. Clearly that book was quoted by a New Testament writer, someone more likely to have read an original or a book closer to the original. An original that may not have been subject to such a copist error. Biblical inerrancy only states that the original transcribed copy of scripture will be protected from error. As for the merits of the martyrs, Jesus Himself spoke of doing things for God, and having a "treasure in Heaven" being built. This is less a discussion of Biblical canon, and more of a discussion of synergism. Also been cited as an argument against the deuterocanonical books, is the subject of angelic intervention. If this were such an un-Biblical concept, even such interventions as in war, then we must also exclude other books from the common canon. Angelic intervention can be found in such passages as; 2 Samuel 24:17, 2 Kings 19:35, 2 Paralipomenon (Chronicles) 32:21, Isaiah 37:36 and Daniel 6:22.
If the Bible requires the Church for its Canon (list of Books to include), I would think that the decision process to decide on the Canon would have to be "inspired" by God. I think the same kind of Grace would be required to decide on what books to include in the Bible Canon as was required to write the books in the first place. To me there are 4 possibilities.There are two things that have become common belief in the Christian community that are taken into account when making a determination on canon, and arguing against the seven deuterocanonical books, the time canon was determined and that will God protect scripture. The first belief is that Christian Biblical canon was not determined until the 16th century. Some have even gone as far as to say that these books were added to the Bible in this time by the Catholic Church to support their doctrine. This could not be farther from the truth, and the later accusation is frankly, a lie to support their own doctrine. That is, the doctrine that opposes the inclusion of the deuterocanonical books, and what they teach. In 382 AD Pope Damasus started the process of determining a universal canon. By 397 AD the Council of Carthage determined Biblical canon. Also, before either of these happened, the Septuagint contained the deuterocanonical books. In 787 A.D. The Ecumenical Council of Nicaea II, adopted the canon of Carthage. In 1442 AD, the Council of Florence canonised recognized the 27 books of the New Testament. This made them recognised by the whole Church. This council also confirmed the Catholic Canon of the Bible which Pope Damasus I had published a thousand years earlier. These books were not "added" after the Reformation. To the contrary. The Reformers removed these books. In the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent met and further discussed Biblical canon. In 1546 AD they reaffirmed Catholic Biblical canon. Several times in the last 2000 years, the Catholic Church met to decide, and reaffirm its canon. Even Martin Luther, the famous Reformer, acknowledged the Catholic Church as the custodian of sacred Scripture when he wrote, "We concede—as we must—that so much of what they [the Catholic Church] say is true: that the papacy has God’s word and the office of the apostles, and that we have received holy scriptures, baptism, the sacrament, and the pulpit from them. What would we know of these if it were not for them?" For The Jewish people its is forbidden to destroy anything that has the name of God written on it. It is for that reason, even in their own writing, they spell it "G_d." This should be done in case an error is made, and the work has to be redone. This shows that even then, they were prepared for the fact that errors in transcription can be made. All that the mention of God allowing the Bible to be written properly means, is that the original copy, God's copy, would be correct. It does not say (as history has proven) that each subsequent copy would be correct. History has proven that errors can be made in the transcription and translation of additional copies. Perhaps the worst example of such an error in Biblical translation and discernment is The Luther Bible. The removal of the deuterocanonical books from Christian Bibles came as a work of his preaching. Martin Luther also pushed for the removal of four New Testament deuterocanonical books. These are; - Epistle Of Saint Paul To The HebrewsI can't imagine God being OK with there being two Canons floating around so I would rule out #1. I can't imagine God waiting 1550 years until the Reformation to inspire a decision on the Canon. So I also would rule out #3. That leaves me with the option that either the Jews were given that Grace in the 2nd century A.D. or the Catholic Church was given that Grace at Carthage. I have difficulty believing God would give more grace to the Jews after they rejected his Son the Messiah than they would give the early Christians who used the Deuteros. So I believe that Grace was given to the early Christians who used the Dueteros and ratified their inclusion in the Canon in 397 A.D. at Carthage.
- God did not inspire the decision on the Canon.
- God gave the Jews that Grace in the 2nd century A.D. when they chose the Masoretic Canon (after they rejected his son, the Messiah)
- God gave the Reformation that Grace in 1546
- God give the Catholic Church that Grace at Carthage in 397 A.D.
"...I praise [the Epistle of James] and consider it a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God.... However, ...I do not regard it as the writing of an apostle, and my reasons follow. "In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works [2:24].... "In the second place its purpose is to teach Christians, but in all this long teaching it does not once mention the Passion, the resurrection, or the Spirit of Christ..."We can see flaws in Luther's doctrine, thus becoming evident in his translation and interpretation of The Bible. These such differences of opinion are acknowledged by Lutheran Church. This shows plainly that his oppostion to the book was due to its opposition of his doctrine. Luther claimed that The Epistle of James set forth no doctrine, but it has in fact discussed the concept of Anointing the Sick, Confession and Synergism. All these were concepts opposed by Luther. Martin Luther's claim that James didn't mention Christ is false for James did mention Jesus' Passion and the awaited return of Christ in James 5;
James 5:6 You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.The Protestant Biblical canon is largely an innovation of Luther. Martin Luther said in Of God's Word: XXIV "I am so great an enemy to the second book of the Maccabees, and to Esther, that I wish they had not come to us at all." Esther is part of the Hebrew Biblical canon, that which was claimed to be supported and returned to when his Biblical canon was determined. Other examples of such writing against New Testament books that are part of Biblical Canon can be found in Luther's Works volume 35. Only after pressure was applied from his friends in the religious community did he end his push to remove these four New Testament books. However, the Luther Bible reflects his desire to have them removed, as they are all moved to the back. Much as most Protestant Bibles move the deuterocanonical books to the back and dub them "apocryphal." Some speculate, this came to pass as each of these books (both Old and New Testament) contain passages that work against the doctrines of Martin Luther. Such as Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura. Also of note is the passage Romans 3:28. The Luther Bible has the line translated as "by faith alone" where as other Bibles do not. The only place faith alone or faith only appear together, is in James 2:24 which says "Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?" This however is a book Luther pushed for removal. With all these taken into consideration, it begins to appear (as many suspect) that his canonical innovations were less to reject what he considered less than inspired, but to remove all that opposed his doctrinal changes. The arguments against Tobit, Wisdom, Ben Sira, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Baruch and Judith have been addressed. This evidence shows that there is good reason to include these books in the Bible, and for them to be considered scripture. Reviewing this evidence, the arguments against them quickly fall to pieces. There is other reading material to read and consider;
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.