The Apocryphal Literature

By Mal Couch, Th.M., Th.D., Ph.D.
Founder/President Tyndale Theological Seminary and Biblical Institute, Fort Worth, Texas

The word apocrypha is of Greek origin, meaning concealed or hidden. Narrowly defined, the apocryphal literature is a term used to categorize 14 documents written from 200 B.C. to 100 A.D. The adjective apocryphal has also been used to describe dozens of books labeled as Gospels, Acts, Epistles and Apocalypses written in competition with the books of the New Testament. These books are officially called New Testament Apocrypha. This article, however, seeks only to deal with the books of the intertestamental period known as Old Testament Apocrypha.

Though often embellished with exaggeration and perhaps pure fiction, the Apocrypha still gives a panoramic view of Jewish belief regarding the first advent of the Messiah and the Jewish hopes concerning the Messiah’s coming Kingdom reign. The core of Messianic belief in the Apocrypha is based upon Old Testament prophetic books.

Since the Greek Septuagint Bible, the Old Testament of the early Church, contained apocryphal writings from its inception, while the Hebrew Old Testament did not, it is only natural some people would eventually lay claim to the Apocrypha’s canonicity. Though objections were raised, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church generally accepted certain apocryphal books as inspired Scripture. These books with a couple of exceptions make up the 14 books commonly called the Apocrypha: 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to the Book of Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, the Song of the Three Young Men, The History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.

Interestingly, it is in the area of prophecy this body of literature is of utmost interest. In the Apocalypse of Baruch, circa 70 A.D., the writer shows the Tribulation period divided into 12 parts in which the Messiah destroys the last empire, which is the Roman Empire. Though the style of Baruch is steeped in heavy symbolism, the influence of the earlier Hebrew prophets cannot be ignored.

While not included in the 14 traditional books of the apocrypha, other intertestamental documents have uncanny allusions to Old Testament prophecy. For instance, in the books of Enoch, the First Century B.C., this preFlood Old Testament character sees future Messianic visions of judgment. In the second volume, he envisions the world from the Flood down to the Messianic Kingdom. The Sibylline Oracles, circa Fifth Century B.C. to the Christian era, is a broad collection of Jewish and Christian materials which seem to bind together beliefs about the Messiah’s return. The book gives a complete picture of the Messiah, Who brings in prosperity for the righteous. It closes with the sons of God dwelling around the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

The Protestant Reformation encouraged many people to carefully consider which books were indeed authoritative and essential for the establishment of doctrine, leading to a gradual dismissal of the apocrypha as inspired Scripture.
Perhaps the most outspoken Protestant declaration concerning the apocrypha is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith, 1643, which states: “The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of Scripture and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God.” From 1629 onward, the Apocrypha were omitted from many English Bible editions and since 1827, few editions of the Bible have included these disputed books.