How Was the Bible Put Together...Apocrypha

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

"When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.....My sheep hear My voice..." (John 10:4,27...emp. added)

The bible's fundamental view of itself is that it is God's personal words to us. It is communication from Persons (tri-personality of Trinity) to persons, via the medium of human language. That would make it more precious than all the gold and diamonds in the world times infinity...because the Word of God is divine, as well as human (much like Jesus) We have the Incarnate Word and the inscripturated Word.

 How do we distinguish between words that are merely human, and those that are from the very mouth of God? God did not want that left to guesswork, so He intended all along to give us the bible.What books comprise the Word of God are an issue of canon. Canon refers to the body of writing that God has given to guide and rule the church...the constitution of His covenant community.

Recently there has been much controversy concerning books that were rejected from the canon. I read this on Facebook often, "Certain books were rejected due to church politics, but they should be included." This is not an option for Christians due to the fact that it is unthinkable that God was unsuccessful in communicating effectively to us a permanent and specific record of His personal words to us.

 I am not going to discuss the historical process of how the canon was established (as interesting as that is, and how we can see God's providential Hand), because this inductive approach can never lead to certainty. Rather, let us look at the bible itself and see what it says that would be relevant to questions of canonicity. God's intention was to speak personal words to us that would govern our use of all other knowledge. We have to have a canon so that we can know which words are divine and which are not. "...no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." ( 2 Peter 1:20-21)

God spoke personally to us from the outset (Adam/Eve), but it was not until later that He began to inscripturate His Word.

When God started the process, the words given to us were to be kept as a permanent record. Some say (Brunner, Barth, ect) that we should not see the Word as an objective canon, because this causes the personal-ness and subjective aspect of the communication to be lost. That is hogwash because the Word has to be objective first, before it can have a subjective affect.

At every stage of Israel's history there was a canon--a definite body of divine writing to guide His people. The first canon was the two tablets of the covenant--written by the very hand of God. (Ex 32:16)..later Moses added more (Deut. 31:24)...and then more via Joshua (Joshua 24: 25-28) As the OT progressed, later writers quoted earlier ones....because they had access to this precious deposit. In order for the canon to be preserved it had to be written. This Book of the Covenant was placed in the holiest place on earth--in the Holy of Holies, and deposited in the ark of the covenant, and were the basis of the covenant relationship  between God and His people..

And Jesus quoted from  the OT often...showing His belief in the divinely inspired nature of the canon of His day--which is the exact same as what is in our OT. Jesus and His opponents disagreed about many things but they never argued about which texts in the OT were authoritative. The Pharisees got that right!

God will not let His people walk in darkness, and so He made sure His personal words were put in a public place, like the tabernacle and the temple. That is, salvation depends on our access to the words of Jesus (John 6:68) and the gospel preached by the apostles (Rom. 1:16; Gal. 1:6-9; Eph. 1:13) However, in the NT the church is the temple (Eph. 2:21) But guess who the foundation is for this living temple? The prophets and the apostles! ( Eph. 2:20...this is key for understanding how the canon was formed, as we shall see)

The early church struggled with numerous controversies (the Person of Christ, the Trinity), but there was remarkably little squabbling over which books were canonical in the NT. In A.D. 367 Athanasius published a list of accepted books, and there was no clamor. From that time on,  Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestants all agreed on the NT canon.

How did this happen? (this is key) Jesus' people heard His voice! (John 10:4,27) It is self-attesting...That is, the Holy Spirit illumined the texts so that God's people recognized their divine quality. There was a supernatural element to canon formation because it is a supernatural book. How can we be sure the voice is God? Again, the answer is primarily supernatural. When God speaks, at the same time He assures us that it is He who is speaking. When it comes to the canon, our ultimate assurance is supernatural.Just as when the Lord spoke to Abraham, He assured him that it was God who was speaking to Him....same with canonicity. The Good Shepherd speaks in the prophetic and apostolic writings in such a way that is unmistakably discerned as His voice. The sheep in the early church knew when an epistle/letter was from their Shepherd because they could distinguish His voice from that which was merely human.If you are one of His true sheep, then you too can sense the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit while reading the bible--you will hear the unmistakable voice of Your divine Shepherd. I have experienced this countless times while reading God's Word--there is a singular, unmistakable sense of hearing God Himself speak. Other religious books are insightful, but they lack this quality.                                                                                                                            

There was an objective criterion as well--in the OT it had to be written by a prophet, and in the NT it had to be written by an apostle, or from the apostolic circle--certified by the apostles (e.g. Mark, Luke-Acts, and Hebrews...though I think Paul wrote Hebrews, regardless of vocabulary and stylistic differences). Mark was a close associate of Peter, Luke traveled with Paul, and James and Jude were blood brothers of Jesus and leaders in NT church). When inspired by the Holy Spirit they spoke as Jesus' plenipotentiaries...Jesus spoke with His full authority through them. "whoever receives you receives Me." (Mat.10:40)

Here is another crucial point--the canon does not rest on the authority of the church. For example, Roman Catholics claim that the authority of the canon rests on the church's pronouncement. But the unanimous church's conviction (since at least AD 367) precedes any RC statement by pope or council.Also, God intends to rule His church by a book, and not on a church's authority. THIS IS KEY...the authority of the church rests on the authority of the canon, not the other way around. That is why the apostles are referred to as the foundation of the church, with Jesus as the cornerstone. The church simply recognized what was patently obvious; the canonical books were those which had unique, intrinsic authority. They recognized what was already true, so they did not create the authority of these books. God forbid, because He rules over us through His Book, and not us over His Book! The apostolic word gave birth to the churches (Rom. 1:15-17;10:14-15; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23-25)

From the outset, God communicated to us as people communicate. We should not doubt that God's intention to provide a written revelation was successful.We can be sure that the 39 books of the OT and 27 books of NT are God's personal words to us.

As the redemptive work of Christ was once for all, so the words of Christ through His apostles and prophets is once for all. For God to add more books to the canon would be like His adding to the finished work of Christ, something which the bible says cannot be done. God Himself will not add to it, and humans dare not add to it. Though the canon is closed. God continues to speak to us through Scripture day by day. These 66 books are the pastures to which Jesus' sheep from many folds continually come to hear their Shepherd's voice and to follow Him.

Application...remember that God's intent is that the bible act as the church's constitution; we are to be ruled, guided, and spiritually fed by a Book. Since the absolutely sovereign God has given His covenant community its constitution, then it creates an absolute ethical obligation in us. All other knowledge (paranormal or otherwise), all other experience, all of our gut-feelings or intuition or inclinations of our hearts, and all other truth-claims must be subject to the sacred deposit that our Lord has entrusted to us...the Holy Bible.Christians who are involved or interested in the paranormal often get tripped-up here due to the overwhelming power of the immediacy of direct encounters with the supernatural. But it is the sacred canon, and not our experience, which has the final word. And any experience (or interpretation of it) we have that runs counter to the Word, must be corrected in its holy light.

Despite claims to the contrary, I think that many (if not most) professing Christians who are paranormally involved, invoke their personal experience as having primacy over the clear teaching of God's Word. "When my mother died, she appeared to me a couple days later and assured me that she would be with me constantly...appearing from time to time to encourage me when needed." Uuummm, NO! Something like this is being said all the time, and it shows the dire need for Christians to realize that we have a canon which rules and overrules when needed.

THE APOCRYPHA

As originally used by Jerome (400 AD), the Apocrypha essentially meant "highly esteemed, though uncanonical. (lit. "hidden") The Jewish canon did NOT include these books (15 books written after the close of the OT canon). Around 400 AD, Jerome translated the bible into Latin and he included the apocrypha because it was useful for study, but he was careful to point out that they were uncanonical. Slowly over time, it became more and more accepted, until at the Council of Trent  (1545-1563) put it on same par as inspired OT books. The reasons for this are:1. Rome's exalted doctrine of oral tradition, 2.it's view that the church creates scripture, 3. its acceptance of certain controversial ideas (esp. the doctrines of purgatory, indulgences, and works-righteousness as contributing to justification) that were derived from passages in the Apocrypha. This Council was part of the counter-reformation, and it supplied support to the replies to Martin Luther and the other reformers. I should point out that the Council of Trent officially damned to hell anyone who believed in the notion of justification by faith alone. Indeed, it damned the doctrine itself to eternal perdition.

The Apocrypha is useful in a number of ways: early understanding of the OT, understanding of ancient customs, and history of what happened after close of OT (Malachi).They were all written after the close of the OT, written between 3rd cent BC and first cent AD. Considered individually, there are 15 apocryphal books. The following are doctrinal errors gleaned from some of the apocryphal books.

1. In Tobit 12:15 seven angels are said to stand before God and present the prayers of the saints.
2. In 2  Maccabees 15:13-14 a departed prophet is said to pray for God's people on earth.
3. In Wisdom 8:19-20 and Sirach 1:14 we are told that the righteous are were given good souls at birth.
4. In Tobit 12:9 and Sirach 3:3 we are told that our good deeds atone for our evil deeds.
5. In 2 Maccabees 12:40-45 the reader is told to pray for the sins of the dead to be forgiven.

Part 4 Conclusions Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Plasma, Other Dimensions and how they May Prove The Supernatural

By Lisa Grace

Continued from Part 3

What do flame, lightning, the sun, and space all have in common? They are all made of the most abundant state of matter in this universe, plasma. If certain creations (creatures) are made of light, could it be they are made of plasma?

http://physics.about.com/od/glossary/g/plasma.htm

Could supernatural beings (angels, demons, principalities, dominions) be made of dark energy, dark matter, plasma, or live in a different dimension? They all are possible, and none contradict what the Holy Scriptures say. There is proof for any or all of these suppositions to be correct. Since we are dealing with more than one type of creature, each could exist in a different state and/or dimension.

Ÿ  We know God and his supernatural creations exist outside of time. (Genesis, Hebrews)

Ÿ  We know his supernatural creatures were created first (according to the Bible they were present at the creation of the universe) (Genesis)

Ÿ  We know they exist outside our universe (since they were in existence before it was created.)

Ÿ  We know this means they have other natural rules they follow that supersede our natural known laws that "trap" us within our universe.

Ÿ  Trying to measure supernatural creatures by our laws of physics and nature will only lead to an incomplete view of them, since we are clearly told in the Holy Scripture they are not of this realm, and neither are believers. (We will be freed, when we are resurrected or caught up.) (Job 19:26, 2Cr 12:2, 2Cr 12;4,1TH 4:17, Rev 12:5)

Our God is an awesome God who has made this universe for us to explore and understand, yet everything points perfectly back to our Creator.

Desert Flower

By V.K. Bronz

Ella was raised with her own mammy and with the finest of founding fathers heritage. As a young adult she married an anointed man of God and they settled in a beautiful home on St. Simons Island, off the coast of North Carolina.

When the anointing of God was poured out in the sixties and seventies this couple took young people into their home to bring salvation and set the captive free. Bible studies worship and praise were heard continually throughout the home.

Then the unthinkable but predictable happened; a young lady set about to seduce the man of God. She would pry and question to find out what he liked to eat what was his favorite this or that until she stole him away.

Ella and the man of God were riding in a car when a horrible accident occurred. Ella was thrown through the window; her face ripped off and landed paralyzed on the ground. As Ella lay in critical condition her husband would bring her paperwork to sign having to do with the home finances and the accident, unaware and trusting her husband she signed away all proceeds from the home, accident and finances to him. He left town with the money and the young lady leaving her scarred, paralyzed, broke, no home and children to care for. Thus began her journey in the desert circling the mountain.

When Ella got out of the hospital she attended a Home gathering of saints in her wheelchair. The spirit of the Lord came mightily pouring out upon her, her face was healed and she jumped out of the wheelchair totally healed!

During this time her husband was also being dealt with; he was in a hardware store walking down the aisles when suddenly he went blind. Horrified he cried out to the Lord and the Lord told him to return to his wife, he agreed and the Lord in his mercy restored his sight.

As he returned to his Ella he insisted to her he had to go to the young lady’s house and get his things; Ella was not happy with this idea but couldn’t talk him out of it. Sure enough when he returned to the young lady he never returned to his wife! You would have though fear of the Lord would have taken over but it didn’t.

He stayed with this woman the rest of his life and the presence of the Lord lifted from him. In later years he had cried out to the Lord for the anointing and presence but to no avail. Unaware of these details at the time the Lord sent me with a word for him out of Leviticus about returning what was taken plus fifteen percent. This of course was rejected; it amounted to quite a bit of money, I was attacked and I left. At this point in time the man has been diagnosed with cancer and not expected to live long.

Ella’s life as an anointed wife was stolen, her ministry with him was stolen, her home the security for her and her children all stolen, her union in Christ. Thus began years of deep struggles and suffering, where oh where are you Lord her heart cried.

The Lord still used her she moved around place to place looking without knowing what she was looking for; that union in Christ she once had; going in this and that direction as the world does; seeking, making mistakes but searching for what was lost.

Most of us have similar stories, that one thing that caused us to search for what we felt in the beginning, that union with Christ now seemingly lost; That one thing that sent us to the desert.

The Hebrews wandered in the desert forty years, searching for that city made by God: that place God has for each one of us; the land he has promised that is filled with milk and honey; the land of abundance that land of fullness, the land of peace, our inheritance.

The Lord was with them, showing himself faithful, showing himself strong, showing himself a provider for his sheep, a protector of the helpless, showing himself a loving father. Yes he kept his sheep in the desert; the strangest of places for sheep.

The Lord poured out in the sixties and the seventies, we reveled in our new found relationship and power seemingly unaware of our pride and fleshly strength, but then He took us to the desert. We lived and were used by the Lord in a small degree and our Father began our journey round and round the mountain; the mountain of God! Come to my mountain He cried but the Hebrews said no you go Moses. Come to my mountain cries God.

We have found out who he is; with some he has been a high tower to many a lifter of our head and still more a loving Father. Yes we have been in the desert to learn who our Father is, the great warrior the tender lover…..

Moses was chosen to lead Gods people and in his pride and the strength of his own hand he struck and killed the Egyptian.

Moses ran to the desert to hide. All the years in the desert broke him of the flesh and mans’ prideful strength until Moses said who am I Lord I can’t do that! Yes we have been in the desert being sifted and broken becoming one with our God even though it doesn’t feel that way.

We have learned who our God is, we feel weak and lost because we are no longer walking in our strength. We feel we can no longer fight or no longer want to.

He has not forgotten us he has come to our desert he is calling once again but now, as Moses, we have no strength of our own.

As I come to the end of this article I began worshiping to Robin Marks song “All is Well”

I’m held firmly in his grasp the rock of all ages
All is well with my soul
He is God in Control
I know not all his plans
But I know I’m in his hands

Weeping before the Lord soooo grateful being washed in his presence I saw John the Baptist standing in the desert proclaiming “make straight the way of the Lord” then as I could see the pathway through the desert I heard John say ”can you see him, look he’s coming.”

I Was ... Wrong

By Bridgette O'Hare

I was wrong.  Deep down I knew I was wrong...but I did it anyway.  And this wasn’t the first time...I’ve done it before. 

Justifications swirled around in my mind, muffling the little voice that was trying to remind me to do the right thing. Man, those self-righteous justifications sure are loud...aren’t they? 

Have you ever wondered why the voice of reason - the voice of truth - never seems as loud as those arrogant, sanctimonious voices that often drown it out?  Have you ever wondered where that subtle voice comes from and why it doesn’t just shout at you:

“Hey...dummy...yeah, you... STOP THAT!” 

Why does that voice speak so quietly when so many other voices are barking loudly around you?  I have asked that question - many times. Always after the fact, I hate to say.  The catch is, if I listen to the right voice I don’t have to ask myself that question afterwards.  Yet somehow I find myself asking it time and again.

Have you ever done something that you were pretty sure was wrong, but you justified your actions to yourself?  Hard to drown your own voice out, right?  I know you have.  We all have.  It goes with the territory of being human.  We make mistakes.  Sometimes big ones.  Sometimes we do things that we feel like God couldn’t possibly forgive us for.  But He will, He does, He has.  If we have truly gone before God in prayer and confessed our sins, asked Him to forgive them truly from the heart, then we are fully forgiven....no questions asked!!! 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Don’t you wish it were that easy with people?

I know from personal experience that sometimes it doesn’t seem so simple to us.  We wrestle with those voices in our head that say God couldn’t possibly forgive us for something so horrible.  Those voices are liars!  Those voices are Satan-sent and want nothing more than to see you suffer and not TRUST GOD.  It’s this point that I personally would like to say:

“Hey...dummy...yeah, you... STOP THAT!”   

(ok...I really don’t think you’re a dummy...just trying to make a point)

No matter what you have done, no matter how horrid you think it is, no matter how repulsive it truly is...God has already forgiven it if you’ve already sincerely asked.  What you are dealing with now is guilt.  Guilt is a powerful weapon in Satan’s arsenal.  I should know...I’ve been attacked with it over and over.  But God’s forgiveness trumps any weapon Satan has - every time.  You only need to have faith in God’s forgiveness.

If you aren’t sure how to come humbly, yet boldly before God to ask for His forgiving grace...keep reading.  As always, He has already given us the instructions.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

God wants us to approach His throne with boldness...boldness He bestowed in us when we became His children.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Guilt is nothing more than heavy chains Satan wants to keep draping around your neck as he pushes you closer and closer to the edge, hoping to push you over and watch you drown as they anchor you beneath the dark waters. Matthew 11:28 tells us that God doesn’t want us to carry that weight around.  He wants our burden to be light.  He wants us to give that burden to Him.  Hand over the chains...they don’t belong to you anymore.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

Jesus has already shouldered the sin, He has already paid the price of forgiveness, He has already bore your guilt as His own...He has done all of this through the blood that He shed for all of us on Calvary.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

We still have to make amends for our wrongs, we will still have to face the consequences of whatever our actions bring, but that doesn’t mean God will never bless us again.  It does mean we are forgiven and we can go on knowing that by His blood, we are forgiven, we are healed of our transgressions, we are new in the eyes of Christ, all of our sins are passed away and our slate is wiped clean.  

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)