Biblical Apocrypha
John 20:30 states, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.”[1] Those who practice the religion of Catholicism believe this verse points to inspired scripture beyond the sixty-six books commonly accepted. No evidence has been found, however, that John was referring to added scripture. Nevertheless, the Apocrypha was added to the canon by the Roman Catholic Church. Why is the Apocrypha not added to Christianity’s canon? The Bible and some of the Apocrypha were both written generally in the same time periods, they both claim to be true accounts of real people, and they both give glory to God. The differences and contradictions, however, are astronomical in comparison to the similarities. Every story of the Bible points to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but the Apocrypha does not. The Apocrypha teaches that by morality a person is saved; the Bible teaches that only by Christ can people be saved. The Bible says suicide is wrong, but the Apocrypha teaches suicide as a noble thing to do. But why is it not placed in the canon? Unlike the sixty-six books, the Apocrypha was not added to Christianity’s canon because it is considered to be uninspired by God.
The Apocrypha was not added to the canon as inspired scripture for many reasons; one such instance is the redemptive history of Jesus Christ. This redemptive history is an arc that stretches from the beginning of time (Genesis) to the very last day (Revelation). Each book of the Bible, chapter, and verse points to Jesus as the savior of mankind from eternal torment in Hell. Tony Merida states, “Every text will point to Christ futuristically, will refer to Christ explicitly, or look back to Christ implicitly.”[2] The Apocrypha does not contain any connection to Jesus Christ whatsoever, nor does it glorify Jesus Christ as the savior of all. Instead of pointing to Christ, the writers of each book of the Apocrypha focus more so on themselves. In the canonical Scriptures (The Bible), every author of every book gives glory to God and boasts in Him alone; the non-inspired scriptures (The Apocrypha) give glory to God but write more so about themselves than God. This is discovered as another reason why the Apocrypha is not inspired by God and why it should not be in the canon.
The canon did not admit the Apocryphal writings as inspired because the Apocrypha does not claim to be inspired by God. None of the books of the Apocrypha say, “Thus says the Lord” or “As it is written,” like the Bible declares. Ben Sira states, “Wherefore, let me intreat you to reade it with fauour and attention, and to pardon Vs, wherein wee may seeme to come short of some words which we haue laboured to interprete” (1611 KJV)[3] Based on this sentence, it declares the whole Apocrypha non-inspired and insufficient. Unlike the Apocrypha, the Bible declares several times that the book is inspired by God, and through man He wrote. 2 Peter 1:20–21 says, "Knowing this first of all, that 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;”[4] and John 16:12–13 says, "I have yet many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you things that are to come."[5] These are only but a few verses declaring the Scripture to be inspired by God. The literal meaning of the Apocrypha is “hidden things” and the Bible means “authoritative” and “library.” R. K. Harrison pointed out, “But the word ‘Apocrypha’ was also applied in a less complimentary sense to works that deserved to be concealed. Such works contained harmful doctrines or false teachings calculated to unsettle or pervert rather than edify those who read them.”[6] The Apocrypha keeps hidden what the Bible reveals – Jesus Christ’s redemptive history.
The canon’s main concern with the Apocrypha being added in as scripture was doctrine. The Bible’s doctrine teaches many things opposite to what the Apocrypha teaches. The doctrine of the Apocrypha includes aberrant beliefs such as moral wisdom, praying for the dead in order to forgive the dead’s sins, and that suicide is a noble act.
The Apocrypha is not inspired by God but, like the Bible, it contains much morality–knowing right from wrong. Charles Spurgeon supposedly said, “Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell.” The Bible teaches that only Christ can save people from hell and not by moral wisdom. Some of the Apocrypha teaches good morality, Wisdom of Solomon 1:11 says, “Therefore beware of murmuring, which is vnprofitable, and refraine your tongue from backbiting : for there is no word so secret that shall goe for nought : and the mouth that || belieth, slayeth the soule” (1611 KJV).[7] Some of the Apocrypha contains moral wisdom that is helpful and good to read to gain knowledge and discernment but ultimately, not a source Christians should bank their eternity upon.
Unlike the Bible, the Apocrypha is not added to the canon because it teaches a dead man’s sins can be forgiven through prayer. Catholicism, as well as many other religions, believe heavily in this practice. In the Apocrypha, when a person dies on earth and he is not “holy enough,” they will enter purgatory; a person in purgatory can spend a long time there, so it is a Catholic’s responsibility to pray for the person to speed up the process of becoming purified. The only way to speed up the process is to pray for the person’s sins to be forgiven. Having said that, the Bible teaches, in many different occasions, that only Jesus Christ can forgive sins and that He is the only way to Heaven. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (NIV).[8]
The Apocrypha is considered to be uninspired by God because it teaches suicide to be manly and noble. 2 Maccabees 14:37-46 speaks of a Jewish man named Razis, who was about to be captured by a hundred seasoned soldiers. These soldiers were going to take Razis to the streets and brutally beat him in front of all the Jews. Before he was captured, he decided it would be nobler to kill himself. 14:42 says, “Chusing rather to die manfully, then to come into the hands of the wicked to be abused otherwise then beseemed his noble birth” (1611 KJV)[9] He tried killing himself three times, but the last time was most brutal. 14:46 says, “When as his blood was now quite gone, hee pluckt out his bowels, & taking them in both his hands, hee cast them vpon the throng, and calling vpon the Lord of life and spirit to restore him those againe, he thus died.”[10] In the Bible, King Saul would have rather died before the “uncircumcised” killed him, but he did not think nor believe this action was noble. The Bible speaks of suicide many times, but never once was it noble or manful. King Saul killed himself out of hopelessness (1 Sm 31:3-5), Abimelech killed himself out of pride (Jgs 9:50-55), Zimri killed himself out of cowardice (1 Kgs 16:15-20), and Judas killed himself out of shame and guilt for betraying the Messiah (Mt 27:3-4). The Bible does not rejoice in suicide, nor does it believe it is a noble act but a coward’s way out.
God breathed Scripture into human instruments and through their fingertips onto paper. Absolutely no more inspiration is taking place. Christians have the Word of God and have all the Word of God. The Apocrypha is a living and breathing contradiction walking around blasphemously as heresy–dressed as truth. The Apocrypha is not inspired by God nor should it hold any place in the Holy Bible. This false book is Satan’s tool to take Christians away from Christ. The Apocrypha does contain helpful content such as wisdom, as many books do, but never should it be used as scripture. To the end, the Apocrypha will continue to lie to all fools but never will it become biblical.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]Jn 20:30 (ESV)
[2]Tony Merida, “Love the Christ-Centered Scriptures,” in The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers (Nashville: B&H Academic, October 1, 2016), 52
[3]Sir prologue (1611 KJV)
[4]2 Pt 1:20-21 (ESV)
[5]Jn 16:12-13 (ESV)
[6]R. K. Harrison, “Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha,” in The Origin of the Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Authority and Inspiration of the Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, January 17, 1992), 83
[7]Ws 1:11 (1611 KJV)
[8]1 Jn 1:9 (NIV)
[9]2 Mc 14: 42 (1611 KJV)
[10]2 Mc 14:46 (1611 KJV)