The Church View
In the Catholic Church, the Bible is the Douay Bible consisting of 73 books. In the Protestant church only the 66 books that were approved by the Synod of Dordrecht in 1618, in what is now known as the Authorized King James Bible.
The Bible View
Though there is no specific list or accounting of all the books that made up the complete Bible in scripture, there are over 20 books mentioned in the Bible, but not found there. This is proof that many have been removed and there is evidence that many more fell under the same fate.
Old Testament Apocryphal Writings
The term “apocrypha” comes from a Greek word meaning “hidden” or “secret” and the books were originally considered by the early church as too exalted to be available to the general public. As time progressed, the exalted nature of the books was lost and the books were deemed by some as false. Between the Book of Malachi and Matthew there is a gap of approximately 450 years. It is these books that fill that gap and in the time of Christ, these books formed part of the Septuagint Greek Bible that was in circulation at that time.
What is missing from most Bibles, and our understanding of it, is what happened in that 450-year gap. Prophets were still writing and reflecting on life in the Holy Land right up until the Romans destroyed the temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The world that Jesus entered in 4 BC is not the world that Daniel and Malachi experienced. One of the values of these books is how they reflect the mindset of Judaism and a Roman world that the New Testament writers faced. Malachi and Daniel leave us in Persia; Matthew brings us into a Roman world. The Apocrypha bridges that gap and gently nudges us into the reality of Roman Palestine. It was only in the fourth century AD that Christians first started to question the “canonicity” of the works, although most survived to be included in the King James translation of the Bible in 1611.
The Apocryphal, Or Deuterocanonical Books
- The Prayer of Azariah, (Song of Three Jews, AKA, The Song Of The Three Holy Children)
- The Book of Baruch
- Bel and the Dragon (in Daniel)
- Ecclesiasticus, AKA, Wisdom Sirach, son of Jesus
- First Book of Esdras
- Second Book of Esdras
- The Greek Additions to Esther
- The Epistle of Jeremiah
- The Book of Judith
- First Book of Maccabees
- Second Book of Maccabees
- The Prayer of Manasseh
- The Wisdom of Solomon
- The History of Susanna, AKA, The Book of Susanna
- The Book of Tobit
Books Mentioned, But Not Found, In The Bible
There are between eighteen to twenty-four books mentioned in the Bible, but not included. The variation is due to possible double mentions using differing names for the same book.
Book of the Covenant
Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. There are those that believe the Book of the Covenant is found in Exodus chapters 20 through 23. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of the Wars of the Lord
Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon. Certain sources believe that this is to be found by drawing text from several Old Testament books. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of Jasher
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
2 Samuel 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
The Manner of the Kingdom / Book of Statutes
1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
Book of Samuel the Seer
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Nathan the Prophet
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Acts of Solomon
1 Kings 11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
Shemaiah the Prophet
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Prophecy of Abijah
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Story of Prophet Iddo
2 Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
Visions of Iddo the Seer
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Iddo Genealogies
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually
Book of Jehu
2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
Sayings of the Seers
2 Chronicles 33:19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
Book of Enoch
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Book of Gad the Seer
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Epistle to Corinth
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Epistle to the Ephesians
Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians
Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Nazarene Prophecy Source
Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene
Acts of Uziah
2 Chronicles 26:22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
The Annals of King David
1 Chronicles 27:24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.
Jude, the Missing Epistle
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
All verses and references contained in the current Bible were assisted through the use of the following books: Books of Adam and Eve, General Epistle of Barnabas, First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa, Book of Jasher, Gospel of the Birth of Mary, Letter of Herod to Pilate the Governor, Letter of Pilate to Herod, Death of Pilate, Who Condemned Jesus, Epistle of Pontius Pilate, Report of Pilate the Governor To Augustus Caesar, Trial and Condemnation Of Pilate, Report of Pontius Pilate to Tiberius, First Gospel of The Infancy Of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Nicodemus, History of Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Azarias, Prophecy of Baruch , Shepherd of Hermas, Thomas’ Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Book of Tobit, Psalms of Solomon, Odes of Solomon, First and Second Maccabees, Third and Fourth Maccabees, Book of Judith, Additions to Esther, Epistle of Jeremiah, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus’ Son, Sirach , Book of Enoch (Ethiopian Enoch), Prayer of Manasseh, Epistles of Ignatius, Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Letter of the Smyrnaeans or the Martyrdom of Polycarp, Protevangelion, First and Second Books of Esdras.
Books Removed From the Biblical Collection – A Partial List
There are those that cling to a singular view of all things biblical. If it is not in the King James Bible exactly the way he had it translated, it is a fake, a forgery, or an insidious plot by Satan to corrupt the minds of men. Those works referenced here are not mentioned in the Bible, but are associated with it. If “every word of the Bible is true” then why mention such “unholy” books (even so far as the prophets suggesting their reading) that they were not allowed to be within the Bible’s sacred binding? To ignore this quandry is to allow circular-logic to reign in one’s life, thus ensuring the enemy’s victory over the Divine Spark.