Christian Apocrypha

The Vision of Enoch the Righteous is largely a forgotten first-century text, not being connected to any of the numbered versions of the Book of Enoch. It is part of a tradition referred to as Apocalyptic Literature. The content of The Vision of Enoch the Righteous alternates between the voice of Enoch and that of a chorus of cherubim, who have descended from heaven, in order to deliver a message to Enoch. Includes a prologue discussing the text.

That, which is usually presented as the first 36 chapters of The Book of Enoch was originally known as the Book of the Watchers and dates to around 200 BC. This translation of the Book of the Watchers comes to us from notable scholar of apocryphal literature, R. H. Charles, who published it in 1917. The narrative of the Book of the Watchers is told from the point of view of Enoch and not surprisingly focuses on a class of angels known as the Watchers.

The Book of Astronomical Secrets, sometimes translated with the title of the Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries, dates between the third and second century BC. It is the oldest of the collected Enoch texts and comes to us from notable scholar of apocryphal literature, R.H. Charles.

The content of this piece covers Enoch's journey through the multiple heavens, meeting the angels Gabriel and Michael, Enoch instructing Methuselah and his other sons on moral and ethical lessons, which he had written out in 366 books and which he eventually passes on to Methuselah and his other sons, so that his teachings wouldn't be lost and finally, Enoch's eventual assumption into heaven. This is essentially the sequel to the fabled Book of Enoch.

Unlike the First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, the events here deal primarily with the birth of the Virgin Mary herself and her own life during pregnancy and up to the birth of Jesus.

Esoteric scholar Manly P. Hall discusses the life of Christ, early Christianity, related symbology and the ancient mysteries in general, as well as the Christian Apocrypha, the Holy Grail, the Arthurian legend and other related topics.

The Apocrypha are a loosely knit series of books, written by early vanguards of Christianity, a large majority of which were removed from the Bible by Emperor Constantine, following the meeting of the Council of Nicaea, in AD 325. The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, however, dates to the seventh century, and is part of a genre of biblical writings known as the Infancy Gospels.

This banned and largely forgotten biblical book, dating to the first century, is a series of secret messages and instructions, which Moses revealed to Joshua, prior to the act of passing leadership of the Israelites on to him, and it includes apocalyptic descriptions in addition to prophecies. It is a fascinating look at one small piece of a much larger, rich history of the myths surrounding Moses.

The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, also commonly referred to as The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (not to be confused with the apocryphal book simply called the Gospel of Thomas), dates to AD 185 and tells stories of the early events in the life of Christ, including miracles; although, also included are stories depicting the childhood Jesus behaving less sacredly than one might expect, which may be exactly the reason why the infancy gospels were never considered canon by the Church.

This book covers the material which has been removed from the Book of Daniel, over time. There is a lengthy and historical introduction, discussing the various pieces and explaining their content and finally, the text of the passages themselves. This includes: The Prayer of Azariah, The Song of the Three Holy Children, the story of Susanna and the Elders, the story of the Priests of Bel, the story of Daniel Slaying the Dragon, the story of Daniel Returning to the Lion's Den and the rarely seen Seventh Vision of Daniel.

The Lives of Adam and Eve belongs to a class of Apocrypha that could be described as books written, or claimed to have been written, before the time of Christ, as part of the Old Testament, and which frequently contain prophecies. Jewish legends about Adam were numerous and very old, and the Jewish literary custom of writing ethical works in the form of a survey of history was well established.

Long ago removed from the Bible, these visions of Enoch are apocalyptic dreams of the end of the world, brought on by the sins of man. The dreams of Enoch contain characteristics that lend themselves to a larger symbolic reading and seem to share the same ancient, cosmographical interpretation of the world, which is outlined in the Book of Genesis. Complete with a brand new introduction and analysis.

Generally, when we hear the word “psalm”, we tend to think of the traditional 150 psalms that collectively comprise the Book of Psalms of the Old Testament. Of those 150 psalms, about half of them are traditionally attributed to David. But, King Solomon is also remembered for being a prolific writer, as the author of numerous biblical books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Wisdom of Solomon, as well as this one. Presented here are King Solomon's lost 18 psalms that make up this apocryphal book.