Lost Books of the Bible (175 page)

2 He will judge those who are in His world with certainty, and visit truth on all their hidden works.

3 He will examine the secret thoughts, and those things of all the members of man which they laid up in the secret chambers. He will make them appear in the presence of all with reproof.

4 Allow none of these present things to ascend into your hearts, but above all let us be expectant because that which is promised to us will come.

5 Do not let us look to the delights of the Gentiles now but let us remember what has been promised to us in the end.

6 For the end of the times and of the seasons and whatever is with them will cease together.

7 The conclusion of the age will show the tremendous strength of its ruler, when all things come to judgment.

8 Prepare your hearts for that which you have believed or you will be in bondage in both worlds and you be led away captive here and be tormented there.

9 That which is now or which was, or which will come, is the evil fully evil, nor the good fully good.

10 For all your health of this time are turning into sickness, and all strength of this time is turning into weakness, and all the power of this time is turning into impotence, and the energy of youth is turning into old age and  death.

11 Every beauty of gracefulness of this time is becoming faded and hateful, and every prideful kingdom of this time is turning into humiliation and shame, and every praise of the glory of this time is turning into the embarrassment of silence, and every empty bragging insult of this time is turning into a mute ruin.

12 Every delight and joy of this time is turning to worms and decay, and every noise of the proud of this time is turning into dust and lethargy.

13 Every possession of riches of this time is being turned into Sheol (hell) alone, and all the yearning of passion of this time is turning into death, and every lustful desire of this time is turning into judgment with torment.

14 Every trick and craftiness of this time is turning into a proof of the truth. Every sweet ointment of this time is turning into judgment and condemnation, and every love of lying is turning to rudely to the truth.

15  Since all these things are done now does anyone think that they will not be avenged? The consummation of all things will come to the truth.

Chapter 84

1 Because of these things I have revealed to you this while I am still alive. I have said these things that you should learn the things that are excellent, for the Mighty One has commanded me to instruct you. So I will set before you some of the commandments of His judgment before I die.

2 Do not forget that Moses called heaven and earth to witness against you and said:

3  If you transgress the law you will be dispersed, but if you keep it you will be kept.” He also used to say these things to you when you, the twelve tribes, were together in the desert.

4 After his death you threw them away from you and because of this there came upon you what had been predicted.

5 Moses used to tell you tell you what would befall you, and now you see they have befallen you because you have forsaken the law.

6 Now, I also say to you after you have suffered, that if you obey those things which have been said to you, you will receive from the Mighty One whatever has been laid up and waiting for you.

7 Let this letter be for a testimony between me and you so that you may remember the commandments of the Mighty One and that there may be to me a defense in the presence of Him who sent me.

8 And remember the law and Zion, the holy land, your brethren, and the covenant of your fathers. Do not forget the festivals and the sabbaths.

9  Deliver this letter and the traditions of the law to your sons after you, as also your fathers delivered them to you.

10 At all times make requests and pray diligently and unceasingly with your whole heart that the Mighty One may hold nothing against you, and that He may not count the multitude of your sins, but instead remember the rectitude of your fathers.

11 If He doe not judges us according to the multitude of His mercies, woe to all us who are born.

Chapter 85

1 Do you not know that in the past and in the generations of old our fathers had helpers? They were righteous men and holy prophets.

2 We were in our own land and they helped us when we sinned, and they interceded for us with Him who made us, because they trusted in their works, and the Mighty One heard their prayer and forgave us.

3 But now the righteous have been gathered and the prophets have fallen asleep, and we also have gone out from the land, and Zion has been taken from us, and we have nothing now except the Mighty One and His law.

4 If therefore we direct and commit our hearts we will receive everything that we lost, and much better things than we lost by many times.

5 For what we have lost would decay, but what we will receive will not be corruptible.

6 Also, I have written to our brethren to Babylon that to them also I may testify to these very things.

7 Let all those things I said before be always before your eyes, because we are still in the spirit and the power of our liberty.

8 The Most High is long-suffering towards us here, and He has shown us what is to be, and has not concealed from us what will happen in the end.

9 Before judgment takes its own (costs), and truth that which is its due, let us prepare our souls so that we may possess and not be taken as a possession and that we may hope and not be put to shame, and that we may rest with our fathers, and not be tormented with our enemies.

10 For the youth of the world is past, and the strength of the creation already exhausted, and the occurrence of the times is very short because they have already passed by. The pitcher is near to the cistern, and the ship to the port, and the course of the journey nears the city, and life to its conclusion.

11 Prepare your souls, so that when you sail and ascend from the ship you may have rest and not be condemned when you depart.

12  When the Most High will bring about all these things there will not be a place left for repentance, nor a limit to the times or a duration for the hours, or a change of ways, or a place to pray, or a way to send pleas, or to receive knowledge, or give of love. There will be no place of repentance for the soul, nor prayers for offences, nor intercession of the fathers, nor prayer of the prophets, nor help of the righteous.

13 There is the sentence of decay, the way of fire, and the path which leads to Gehenna (place of burning/hell/destruction).

14  There is one law (made ) by one. There is one age and an end for all who are in it.

15 Then He will save those whom He can forgive, and at the same time destroy those who are polluted with sins.

Chapter 86

1 When you receive this, my letter, read it in your congregations with care.

2 Meditate on it, and above all do this on the days of your fasts.

3 Keep me in mind by means of this letter, as I also keep you in mind in it, always. Fare you well.

Chapter 87

1 And when I had ended all the words of this letter, and had written it without tiring to its close, that I folded it, and sealed it carefully, and bound it to the neck of the eagle, and dismissed it and sent it.

               For thousands of years Israel has awaited the judgment and redemption of The Lord. When the world seemed the most unfair and brutal, hope was held out that the end must be near. The end of days was not a frightening event for the Jews of old. It was to be their greatest age, in which God himself judged all other nations as unworthy and rewarded those Jews who followed their God. Obedience to God was judged on how well one adhered to God’s law and commandments.

               The belief of divine recompense has echoed through history, changing the ways that both Christian and Jews have viewed their world and their destiny. 

               Even though the texts presented here are not in our western Christian canon, do not think they have not influenced our faith. The books provide insight into how Jews of the time thought, believed, and acted, but more than that, the texts were circulated and therefore bolstered and broadcast the doctrine and history they contained.

               If one ever questioned that non-canonical texts influenced our Bible or our faith, we need to look no further than the famous parallel between the Book of Enoch, written in the second century B.C. and the Book of Jude in the New Testament , written in the first century A.D.

Enoch 1:9 And behold! He comes with ten thousand of His holy ones (saints) to execute judgment on all, and to destroy all the ungodly (wicked); and to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

Jude 1:14-15  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

               Yes, it is true. Documents, doctrine, and points of faith not found in our Bible tremendously influenced what has come to be the Judaism and Christianity we know and practice today.

The War Scroll is a nine & a half foot scroll with as many as 19 columns, found in cave 1 at Qumran. It seems to be written as a sequel or expository to the eschatological war described in Dan 11-12. The author gives detailed instructions for a ritualized battle in which the "sons of light," led by Michael, destroy the Kittim, or the "sons of darkness," led by Satan. Many scholars identify the Kittim as an allusion to the Roman Empire.

The War Scroll
, 1QM, was one of the original seven scrolls found in cave one by the Bedouin in 1947.  The scroll has also been called "The War Rule" and "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness." It was first published by E.L. Sukenik in 1954 and was re-edited as The Dead Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew University at Jerusalem: Hebrew University and Magnes Press, 1955.

The War Scroll
contains nineteen columns and is written on five sheets. The end of the scroll is missing, but its beginning seems to be intact. At the bottom of the scroll there is damage and wear.  The total length of the scroll in its present state is 9 feet, 8 inches.  Since pieces of the scroll are worn away or missing, there are places within the translation where words are assumed to fit the flow of the sentence structure. These “best guess” words are noted by parentheses. If there are too many words missing or the meaning cannot be ascertained so that a “best guess” cannot be provided the missing words are denoted with the symbols (…). 

The scroll is a mixture of apocalyptic and legal discussion.
The scroll's main theological significance lies in the fact that this is a battle against the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. Although most scholars believe the story is about good and evil, this in itself could allude to a struggle between the forces of life and death. In the end, God will intervene, conquer, and save his people. There are parallels to the books of Revelation and Daniel in the scroll and it is assumed that the author borrowed from Daniel as well as other material of the day, according to the date of the text’s creation. All three books, Daniel, Revelations, and the War Scroll, share the common theme of life and light being victorious over evil and death.  All point to fact that the outcome is already known, however, man must participate and is thus held culpable in the outcome.