Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts

by Joseph B. Lumpkin

The Lost Books of the The Great Rejected Texts - Eighteen of the most sought after books available, which shed light on the evolution of our faith, our theology, and our church. Translations and commentary by the author of the best selling book, "The Lost Book of Enoch," Joseph B. Lumpkin. - Section Lost Scriptures of the Old Testament- First Book of Adam and Eve, Second Book of Adam and Eve, First Book of Enoch, Second Book of Enoch (Secrets of Enoch), Jubilees, Jasher, The Story of Ahikar - Section Apocalyptic Writings and the End of Days- Apocalypse of Abraham, Apocalypse of Thomas 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, War Scroll (Sons of Dark vs. Sons of Light) - Section Lost Scriptures of the New Testament- Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Apocryphon of John, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Acts Chapter 29

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Reference, Christian, History, Christianity

830 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

History never ceases to entertain as long as you remember one fact: it’s not important whether what is written is true; what is important that those who wrote it and those who contemporarily read it believed it to be true. All of these stories in this book at one time were believed to be completely true and relevant and considered true for the readers of the time period.

This author does a fantastic job of putting the stories into their proper place in history and informing the reader when they were probably written and why he thinks they were written. Being always needs a ground, a relationship to the other things in its world for differentiation and a set of truths that frame the background thus giving an enframed (neologism alert) foreground.

This book as a whole does that since for most of us are already very familiar with the Bible and these stories give the reader a different perspective for what was familiar while at the same time giving the reader a deeper understanding to the Bible.

Not only does the reader get to see how cool the Gnostics were, but isn’t it obvious to everyone that the serpent in the Garden of Eden is the real hero? It gave the garden dwellers an opportunity to erase their ignorance and replace it with knowledge. Sounds like a good thing to me and as the Gnostics claim that makes the serpent the good guy in the story.

As I was finishing up this book, I was reading Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis and the stark reality of what was really said within Genesis when presented with graphical interpretations and what these stories at times amplify makes for a great juxtaposition and have gone a long way in showing me what really lies behind the Bible and how to properly interpret it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book after I read Heiser's *The Unseen Realm* since it is referenced there several times. The book itself is divided into five, seemingly disparate sections. I can see why scholars think it was cobbled together from various fragments over time. The part that I was particularly interested in is the first 36 chapters called the *Book of the Watchers*. This is the text that fits wells with *Unseen Realm* and covers the fall of the "Watchers", another name for angels. How they fathered the Nephilim (the "giants" from Genesis 6), and describes Enoch's visions of heaven.

The book is interesting not only because it is a *midrash* (exposition) of Genesis, but also the fact that there are over one hundred comments in the New Testament which find precedence in the Book of Enoch.

What I found most surprising is the clear messianic descriptions in Enoch. If Isaiah were not clear enough, Enoch virtually beats one over the head with the fall of man and his redemption through God's "Elect One" or "Son of Man", even for gentiles! I learned that the term "Son of Man" for Jesus first occurred in Enoch.

Enoch also describes how one thing that the fallen angels are guilty of is giving humans knowledge of various "technologies". "Look at what Azazel has done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were made and kept in heaven, which men were striving to learn:..." spells, "root-cuttings", astrology, constellations, knowledge of clouds, "signs of the earth", signs of the sun, the course of the moon. Apparently these are things that will cause man to look to their own devices for answers rather than turning to God.

Enoch also describes the fruit of the tree of knowledge. It isn't an apple. "The tree of knowledge, whose holy fruit they ate and acquired great wisdom. That tree is in height like the fir, and its leaves are like those of the Carob tree, And its fruit is like the clusters of the grapes."

After the Book of the Watchers things get a bit more dull with an entire book devoted to the calendar. However, the first Book was interesting to read, and was a good follow-up to *Unseen Realm*.

[Celz Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! But I recommend to read, study and understand the Holy Bible first or else this book will be worthless.

[Hanna Brisbois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost Scriptures of the Old Testament
First and Second Book of Adam and Eve
This is very similar to the version of the story that is explained in the accepted Bible, only there is more of a supernatural vibe. There is also much more detail and dialogue. Satan appears in physical form, multiple times. It is also mentioned that Adam and Eve live in the Cave of Treasures, which is seen as a holy place. This story drastically veers off from the Bible in regards to Adam and Eve's children and why Cain kills Abel. The second book of Adam and Eve goes into further detail of their children and lineage. Seth's family lives on a holy mountain while Cain's descendants live in a corrupt valley. Seth and his people live pure lives, while Cain's people are sinful, violent and seductive. Cain's people lure Seth's descendants down the mountain, toward sin and corruption. Music and dancing is depicted as having evil influences. There's a prophecy of a god-like savior who will come one day to end the corruption.

First and Second book of Enoch
Enoch is the great-grandfather of Noah and his books consist of visions, parables, heavenly journeys etc. The most notable story is the one where fallen angels come to Earth and marry human women. Together, their children become "giants" called Nephilim. The fallen angles also teach the humans forbidden knowledge. God sends a flood to destroy the giants and the angles are imprisoned. Enoch travels to the heavenly realms and is told of the Messiah to come. He is taken up through 10 levels of heaven (1) clouds and weather, (2) dark/ chaotic realm of the fallen angels, (3) paradise for the righteous, (4) sun/moon/timekeeping, (5) Grigori/The Watchers/Limbo, (6)Angels in charge of seasons, natural laws, human souls, and governance, (7) pure light, where the highest and holiest angels dwell, (8) constellations and planetary systems, (9) boundary between realms 8 and 10, (10) Gods throne, secrets of creation, time and the final judgement. In the 10th realm, Enoch is transformed into a being of light.

Jubilees
A retelling of the revelation given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Jubilees are periods of 49 years (7x7 years) and this book covers 50 Jubilees from Creation to Moses. Jubilees also says that angels brought The Law to Moses, where the Bible says that God delivered them. This book outlines very strict laws about keeping the Sabbath and condemns intermarriage with Gentiles. This book is much more precise with dates and details than the Bible is, however some stories are shortened or emitted.

Jasher
This book is a retelling of the biblical narrative from Creation to Joshua's conquest of Canaan. In this book, Adam and Eve were said to have 23 pairs of twins, boy/girl twins, who were meant to marry each other. Cain was jealous of Abel's twin because she is especially beautiful. This changes Cain's motive of murder to be more than just jealousy over gods favor, but of jealousy over a girl. Nimrod and the story of Babel are expanded upon. He is seen as a man who challenges God and seen as a charismatic villain. Abraham and his father: Abraham is depicted as smashing his fathers "false idols" and trying to convert his family. Nimrod (Abrahams uncle) tries to burn him in a furnace, but God saves him. Sibling rivalry again: Esau(wild/bloodthirsty) and Jacob(wise and spiritual) are the twin sons of Isaac. Esau was born first and therefore was supposed to receive the "birthright blessing". Instead, Jacob and their mother (Rebekah) deceive the elderly Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing(doesn't sound very godly and wise in my opinion). This book also expands on Joseph and Moses in more detail.

Ahikar
Ahikar is the advisor to the Assyrian king, known for his great wisdom and counsel. His successor is his nephew Nerva, who is jealous of his uncle and seeks to undermine him. Nerva is able to gain favor with the king and has his uncle exiled. Through his exile, he uses his wisdom to advise the kings successor. His story is told through parables and proverbs. In the end, Ahikar gains his favor back, exemplifying wisdom an dintegrity.

The Apocalyptic Writings
The Apocalypse of Abraham
There's a recap, in more detail, of Abrahams early life and his covenant with God. Abraham is shown a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil. He gets to glimpse the heavenly temple. This prophecy emphasizes the importance of Israel and Abraham's descendants, to restore the world and bring peace (HA, the irony). Sign of end times: The end will come in the twelfth hour (each hour is 100 years). The twelfth hour will be marked with widespread corruption and moral decay. This period is marked by the coming of a man from Abraham's lineage. He will be worshiped by many nations, but later insulted and beaten by some of Abraham's own descendants. He is associated with relief granted to the people in the last days and he serves as a test of faith for the righteous. The ten plagues: sickness, conflagration of cities, destruction and plagues of animals, global hunger, destruction of rulers though earthquakes and war, extreme hail and snow, wild beasts killing people, alternating hunger and plagues, extreme punishments, and finally thunder and destructive earthquakes. After that, God will send his Chosen One to deliver judgement.

The Apocalypse of Thomas
The Seven Days of Judgement
Day One: thunder, earthquakes, mountains and valleys tremble, people fall to the ground.
Day Two: seas rise and flood the land, sea beasts come to the shores and roar
Day Three: plants and trees ooze blood, rivers and fountains flow with blood
Day Four: the heavens open, the sun and moon darken
Day Five: birds and animals cry in distress, people mourn, demons and evil spirits appear
Day Six: the sky burns, the stars fall, the dead rise from their graves
Day Seven: Christ returns with a host of angels and the final judgement begins. The righteous are saved and the wicked are cast into outer darkness.
Day Eight: Peace is restored

The Apocalypse of Ezra
Kind of similar to the story Job(only Job was provoked by God to question him), where the main character Ezra is questioning God and God's message is simply 'trust in me because I said so'. Ezra receives visions of monsters, eagles (representing Rome), and a lion (the Messiah). Ezra sees a man rising from the sea (the Messiah) and he brings peace. Ezra is told to rewrite the lost scriptures.

[T.S. Hottle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting for the Books of Enoch, which give clues to earlier Jewish beliefs than we are used to. Some of the Old Testament books here amount to Bible fanfic.

The Gnostics were.. um... They were strange.

[Sandra King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the Bible first and then read this. Adds to cultural, social and theological understanding of ancient age. I found it fascinating. Yes, 40 hours is long so don't lose your place. It may take a while to find it!

[Tony Martello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dive into the forbidden books that were rejected by the cannon. Super interesting to navigate and paint a context of why the mainstream would not want these books included in the cannon.

[Steve Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let down when it gets into the New Testament. The books given belong to another religion, not like the OT missing books which amplify the actions of God in the past.

[Kimberly Harig · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the best organized, written, and edited of all of the lost books that have been written (that I have personally read or examined) so far.

[Analee KK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blurry ⚡️

[Adrian Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compendium of the apocryphal texts that were set aside when what we now know as the Holy Bible was first compiled as not being canon, or corresponding with the agreed upon ideas of the divinity of Christ and other debated matters. The Catholic Bible contains some of these, but not all. The majority of this collection is taken up with books that would belong in the times of the Old Testament, with alternate versions of the creation of the world and the lives of Adam and Eve after they left the Garden of Eden, the stories of Nimrod and the descendants of Esau, and the life of Abram before he left the city of Ur. The books that should be in the New Testament are those that tell of the childhood of Jesus and those texts that were supposedly written by some of his followers, including the fabled Book of Mary Magdelene, which authors such has Dan Brown have taken and made into a sensation by declaring that it is proof that Mary Magdelene and Jesus were married (something that is remarkable considering that the majority of this text has been lost and it is thus one of the shortest in the volume).
I found that some of these texts, especially those considered Gnostic in origin, were somewhat hard to read, basically because the editors have taken it upon themselves to insert words or phrases in certain places to supposedly clarify the meaning of the passages. While these were set off by being placed in paratheses, it gave the impression of trying to read several different interpretations of the same scriptures all at the same time. The thing I did find enlightening about this was the introductions for each of the books, particularly the Gnostic section, where they went to great lengths to introduce the reader to the Gnostic belief system (which was not at all what I had been led to believe by either orthodox Christians or those who claim to believe in the current Gnostic faiths). For this reason alone, the intros, I would recommend this book to those who study religions. The texts themselves are mostly simply reiterations of ones that any student would be familiar with, perhaps with a few additions or changes. Large and unwieldy, I would only give this to a serious student. The average curious layperson may be a little dismayed and rather confused by its weight.

[Patrick Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting exploration into additional written works that, while not necessarily certain on their authenticity, add some intrigue to known stories that have been taught since child Sunday school. Taken with the right amount of discussion and interpretive license, this would be a good book for a biblical study.

[Dan Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I love Jasher especially; fills in many blanks from the OT. Not all of the "lost books" should be accepted as possible scripture but may give some insight into scriptural happenings. Others are pure bunk. A nice addition to a study library.

[dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needs a good proofreader

I enjoyed the book but I did see a lot of editing errors. A good proofreader could have helped catch the mistakes.