The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts

by Joseph B. Lumpkin

  1And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

  2And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

  3And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

  Here is what we know with certainty:

  She was a woman who followed Jesus as he ministered and preached.

  Luke 8:1-3: Afterward, Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

  She was there when Jesus was crucified.

  Mark 15:40: There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

  Matthew 27:56: Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

  John 19:25: But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

  She continued to believe in Jesus after he was killed.

  Mark 15:47: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.

  Matthew 27:61: And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

  Matthew 28:1: Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

  Mark 16:1: When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.

  She was the first to realize and announce the resurrection of Jesus.

  John 20:1: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

  Mark 16:9: Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

  John 20:18: Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

  Luke 24: But at daybreak on the first day of the week [the women] took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead?

  He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day." And they remembered his words.

  Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others.

  The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them.

  It is the myth woven into the story of Mary that empowers her to us. To many, she is the captive, possessed, enslaved, caught in the midst of crime and tragedy, but at once redeemed, set free, and loved by God himself. She is hope and triumph. She represents the power of truth and love to change the life of the lowest and most powerless of us. She is you and me in search of God.

  The Reaction of Christendom

  Reaction to Gnosticism within the newly forming church was swift and bold. Beginning with a swelling defense in the New Testament itself, the writers began to define and defend doctrine. Labels, names, and descriptions of the Christian doctrine would be established later in various councils, but for now there would be decisive actions to fend off new ideas.

  Considering the fact that there were two main approaches to Gnosticism in the first and second centuries, the stoic-ascetic approach of self denial and the hedonistic-epicurean approach of self indulgence, we will find two criticisms mounted against Gnosticism in the Bible. First we will examine the pronouncements against the more hedonistic sects.

  2 Timothy 3 (King James Version)

  Keeping in mind the previous information and scripture given regarding the Gnostic sect of the Nicolaitanes, Timothy mounts an attack against Pagans and wayward Christians, including certain Gnostics, who had fallen into debauchery. The last line of the admonition targets what he sees as the Gnostic weakness of, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

  One of the most difficult passages to apprehend is found in l John chapter 4, where the writer attempts to draw a fine line between what is the error in Gnostic theology and what is the full truth of Christ on earth according to orthodoxy.

  1 John (King James Version)

  1 John 4

  With gentle and elegant words, John cuts to the bone, amputating the part of Christendom seen as heretical.

  The statement above is a direct attack against the Gnostic beliefs regarding Jesus and the Christ spirit. The Gnostic belief that spirit and matter could not co-exist makes it impossible for Christ to inhabit a fleshly body. The belief by some was that Jesus was an illusion or specially prepared body and Christ was somehow separate from Jesus. This made it impossible for the man Jesus to be the literal son of God.

  John drives home the differences and calls the differences heresies, proclaiming that those who do not hold to orthodox beliefs have the spirit of the antichrist.

  After the establishment of cannon, many incorrectly cited the following chapter to condemn Gnosticism and other religions that seemed to be gaining a notable following. Ironically, Protestants would later use the same verses to condemn Catholicism.

  Revelation 17 (King James Version)

  1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

  2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

  3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

  4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

  5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

  6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

  7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

  8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

  9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

  10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

  11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
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  12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

  13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

  14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

  15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

  16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

  17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

  18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

  Is the whore of Babylon Mary, as conservative Christians claim? If it is Mary, is it the representation of Mother Mary or that of Mary Magdalene? Is Gnosticism the great heresy that will bring about the downfall of the Christian church?

  Let us begin with the writer’s concluding statement.

  Revelation 17

  15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

  16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

  17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

  18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

  “The woman you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (Rev 17:18) The great whore is not a person at all, but a place – a city, which is a seat of power wherein kings and nations are ruled.

  It is not the purpose of this work to defend Gnosticism, but only to explain it. Within that explanation must be the church’s defense against it. After all, until the discovery of the Gnostic gospels we knew nothing of the Gnostics but what the church fathers said about the sect as they defended the church against what they considered to be a great heresy. For those who do not take time to thoroughly research information regarding the sect, they will be confronted with the same biased and limited information as was offered to the masses of the second century.

  What we can say about Gnosticism is that it does not fit the pattern to be considered the “great whore” of Revelation, as some have said.

  Are Gnostics Christian? Or, to ask the question in another way, is Gnosticism a sect or denomination of Christianity? The answer depends on what prerequisites must be fulfilled in one’s faith and doctrine to be considered “Christian.”

  If the mention or presence of a scared feminine force precludes acceptance, then all of Catholicism would be excluded. Holy Mary, Mother of God now sits sinless on the right hand of Christ as an ascended co-redeemer with him. Having been impregnated by the Holy Spirit, she carried God in her womb and gave birth to God on earth. She lived as a virgin, gave birth, yet remained a virgin, and died as a virgin. She ascended to heaven and took her place, first as an intercessor between man and Christ, then was promoted by the church to the place of co-redeemer with Christ. She is the sacred feminine within the Catholic church.

  Must one believe in original sin to be a Christian? The Eastern Orthodox Church does not hold to this doctrine. They believe we have a predisposition to sin, but they do not believe we are born into sin. Are those who follow one of the oldest Christian churches in the world Christians?

  Must one believe in the doctrine of the trinity to be a Christian? The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe God and Christ are one and the same.

  Although these denominations did not exist at the time the Council of Nicea met at Constantine’s behest, when Constantine legalized Christianity, the same problem existed. What constitutes Christianity? To answer this question church leaders came together and by majority consent, the Nicene Creed was developed. The creed, written below, became the measuring rod which decided admittance into Christendom. But before and after the great council there have been creeds, and they all have been different.

  History of the Gospel of Philip

  The Gospel of Philip is assumed to be one of the sources of Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, about Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and their children. The Gospel is one of the Gnostic texts found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945 and belongs to the same collection of Gnostic documents as the more famous Gospel of Thomas.

  It has been suggested that the Gospel of Philip was written in the second century A.D. If so, it may be one of the earliest documents containing themes that would later be used in apocryphal literature. This is literature that describes the end of the world or the coming of the heavenly kingdom.

  A single manuscript of the Gospel of Philip, written in Coptic, was found in the Nag Hammadi library. The collection was a library of thirteen papyrus texts discovered near the town of Nag Hammadi in 1945 by a peasant boy. The writings in these codices comprised 52 documents, most of which are Gnostic in nature.

  The codices were probably hidden by monks from the nearby monastery of St. Pachomius when the official Christian Church banned all Gnostic literature around the year 390 A.D

  It is believed the original texts were written in Greek during the first or second centuries A.D. The copies contained in the discovered clay jar were written in Coptic in the third or fourth centuries A.D.

  From the time Gnosticism was labeled a heresy, the church began a policy of conversion or extermination. Beginning around 390 A.D. and continuing until the Cathar extermination, the church opposed Gnosticism and all movements, forms, and sects that proceeded from it.

  In 1209 Pope Innocent III proclaimed a crusade against the last vestiges of “Gnostic-like” sects, the Cathars. For years the church discussed the Cathars, attempting to decide if they could be considered Christian or not. Eventually they would be labeled heretical and ordered to come into line with the orthodox beliefs of the Catholic Church. The Cathars held to their beliefs. Their doctrine included the belief that the world was split along lines of matter and spirit, good and evil. As with many Gnostic sects, they believed in abstaining from the world by purifying themselves, living a life of chastity and poverty. They believed in the equality of the sexes. The Pope saw the Cathars as a danger to the church since the members were admired for their modest lifestyle and the Cathar membership was growing.

  Even though the Cathars were an ascetic sect, leading lives of peace and abstinence, they were hunted down and killed. Twenty years of carnage and warfare followed in which cities and provinces throughout the south of France were systematically eradicated. In an attempt to kill every Cathar, one of the worst episodes of the war ensued when the entire population of Toulouse, both Cathar and Catholic, were massacred. In 1243 the Cathar fortress of Montsegur in the Pyrenees was captured and destroyed. Those who refused to renounce their beliefs were tortured or put to death by fire. In spite of continued persecution, the Cathar movement continued through the 14th century, finally disappearing in the 15th century. Still, the church could not find or destroy all Gnostic literature. Books such as The Gospel of Philip remained.

  The Gospel Of Philip is a list of sayings focusing on man’s redemption and salvation as framed by Gnostic theology, and is presented here based on a comparative study of translations from the Nag Hammadi Codex by Wesley W. Isenberg, Willis Barnstone, The Ecumenical Coptic Project, Bart Ehrman, Marvin Meyer, David Cartlidge, David Dungan, and other sources.

  Each verse was weighed against the theological and philosophical beliefs held by the Gnostic community at the time in which the document was
penned. All attempts were made to render the most accurate meaning based on the available translations and information.

  Exact wording was secondary to the conveyance of the overall meaning as understood by the contemporary reader.

  When the wording of a verse held two possible meanings or needed expanded definitions, optional translations were placed in parentheses.

  The Gospel of Philip

  1. A Hebrew makes a Hebrew convert, and they call him a proselyte (novice). A novice does not make another novice.

  Some are just as they are, and they make others like themselves to receive. It is enough for them that they simply are as they are.

  2. The slave seeks only to be set free. He does not hope to attain the estate of his master. The son acts as a son (heir), but the father gives the inheritance to him.

  3. Those who inherit the dead are dead, and they inherit the dead. Those who inherit the living are alive. They inherit both the living and the dead.