10 Adam and Eve’s Story

Adam and Eve’s Story, Parts One and Two DETAILED

Genesis 5:5 states, “And the total number of years that Adam lived was nine hundred and thirty, and he died.”

It’s quite an impressive lifespan. Although it tells us that Adam and Eve had children after they were expelled from Eden, only three of them are named: Cain, Abel, and Seth. There is no more mention of them in the Bible. We learn about the first couple’s fights against the unfriendly and cruel world outside Paradise from a first-century Hebrew or Aramaic literature. Two Greek translations of the book exist: one called The Apocalypse of Moses and another called The Life of Adam and Eve.

God tells his angels to worship Adam since he bears God’s likeness, but Satan disobeys and is banished from heaven in the book. He despises the first people because of this, and he brings about the fall through Eve. A sea of ice encloses Eden upon their exile. On that first night, when Adam and Eve encountered darkness for the first time, they were terrified. Realizing the seriousness of sin and its repercussions, they are frightened to touch the strange meal and weak from hunger. For forty days, Adam stands up to his neck in the river Gihon to atone for his sins, while Eve takes a dip in the Tigris.

Cain and Abel are born twins after they repent. Seth is born to succeed his brother Abel, who was killed. At 930 years old and near death, God sends Seth and Eve back to Eden to get the healing oil since he has cursed Adam with 72 illnesses. However, Michael, the archangel, declines, predicting that Adam will pass away in the next week. Adam is laid to rest with great respect in Paradise after he dies, and his soul is carried to the third heaven. He awaits resurrection. Following the end of the six days of fasting, Eve passes away and is laid to rest next to Adam in the garden.[1]

9 Enoch’s Book

Deciphering Enoch’s Book

Genesis 5:24 states, “And he [Enoch] walked with God, and he was seen no more: because God took him.”

Enoch is a fascinating and enigmatic character in the Bible. He was one of only two individuals, along with Elijah, who was spared death and taken to heaven alive. He supposedly obtained unusual revelations as he “walked with God,” according to Scripture, but the Bible remains mute on the subject of what those revelations were. We learn about the patriarch’s visions as he travels around heaven and earth with angelic advisers from the writings that make up the Book of Enoch, which were composed in the first or second century.

Following a brief account in Genesis, Enoch begins by describing the fall and punishment of the Watchers. These were celestial beings who had interbred with mankind to create a huge race. Even when Enoch tries to intervene on their behalf, they are nonetheless shackled and cast into Hades. When their gigantic progeny fight amongst themselves, the survivors of the Flood are left to bury the dead. Afterwards, Enoch receives revelations on the inhabitants of heaven, future events pertaining to Israel and the Messiah, and the afterlife.

One of the most fascinating parts of the books of Enoch is when he goes on a space tour with the angel Uriel and gets a glimpse of the heavenly kingdom that no one else has ever seen. The moon’s movements in particular are detailed by Enoch. As if from up high, he perceives topographical features and climatic events. Despite its religious origins, this section of Enoch has been proposed as the first Jewish scientific treatise.

The Book of Enoch is cited in the New Testament epistle of Jude, verses 14–15, therefore it must have been deemed authoritative by the early Christians.

8 The Last Days Predicted by Abraham

The End Times Prophecy of Abraham

From Abram’s homeland, his relatives, and his father’s household, “Go forth” (Genesis 12:1) into the place that the Lord would show him.

Abram, later called Abraham, was a polytheist from the Mesopotamian city of Ur. God did not reveal his reasoning for selecting this guy to be the progenitor of his people in the Bible. The original text of the Apocalypse of Abraham dates back to the late first century, therefore you can find the backstory there.

It depicts Abraham helping out his father, Terah, who is an idol craftsman. Even though Abraham worships the idol Merumat, he starts to question the efficacy of his sculptures after they are damaged. Despite his best efforts, Abraham is unable to convince his father of the truth. He was commanded by the true God to leave his father’s house at that moment. After Abraham leaves, a fire breaks out and kills Terah and his family.

On his way to sacrifice to God on Mount Horeb, the angel Yahoel accompanies Abraham. In the shape of an impure bird, Azazel (Satan) tempts Abraham to turn back. However, Abraham turns him down, and Yahoel bestows upon him the heavenly robes that the fallen angel formerly wore. Following this, a dove carries Abraham into space, where he, like Enoch, beholds Earth from above.

Every day, fresh angels appear to Abraham, but they all go after they sing their hymn. He sees the future of Israel, including their tribulation and the fall of their Temple due to transgression, and their eventual salvation in the era of the Messiah.

7 Asenath and Joseph

The Condensed Version of Joseph and Aseneth’s Book

This passage from Genesis 41:45 states that “and he [Pharaoh] gave him [Josep] to wife Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare priest of Heliopolis.”

The fact that Joseph wed Asenath troubled subsequent Jewish authors. Asenath was probably a devout Egyptian since she was the daughter of a pagan priest. She may have been a monotheist like her spouse, although the Bible doesn’t say so. Still, two of Israel’s most prominent tribes—Ephraim and Manasseh—were born to her.

Someone had to explain this. Joseph and Asenath, a Hellenistic Jewish book from Egypt composed in Greek between 100 BC and AD 100, reads like contemporary Greek romance novels and fills in the blanks left by the Bible.

Joseph, in his role as a government official, starts the novel by traveling the nation and stockpiling grain in anticipation of a famine. Upon reaching Putiphare’s Heliopolis mansion, the priest is so moved by Joseph’s exemplary character that he quickly arranges for him to be wed to his daughter Asenath.

A lot of guys want to be with the stunning Asenath, but she keeps to herself in a tower. Even Asenath doesn’t think much of Joseph; she points out to her father that he is an immigrant and a former criminal. But her feelings for Joseph are immediately captivated the moment they meet. Joseph, however, is unconcerned since he knows that Asenath worships Egyptian deities.

Asenath surrenders to Joseph’s love and trust by destroying her idols, weeping, and fasting in repentance; she also renounces the worship of Egyptian gods. In order to grant Joseph permission to marry her, God sent an angel to confirm her conversion. However, Pharaoh’s son plots to murder Joseph and abduct Asenath in order to claim her for himself. His accomplices in this scheme are Simeon and Levi, who are brothers of Joseph. Even though Dan, Gad, Naphtali, and Asher, Joseph’s other brothers, refuse, but the prince manages to convince them that Joseph plans to exact revenge on them for selling him into slavery.

But Joseph’s other brother Benjamin stays true to him and foils the plot. The prince takes a knockout blow and passes out as Dan and his rebellious brothers run for cover. They stumble into Asenath and try to murder her, but she is miraculously spared. In the meantime, Benjamin aims to eliminate the prince, but he is restrained from retaliation by Levi. The prince passes away nonetheless, and Pharaoh also succumbs to his sorrow.

Joseph ruled Egypt for 48 years after receiving the diadem from Pharaoh.[4]

6 The Myth of Jannes and Jambres

Fan Fiction from the Ancient World in 2 Timothy about the Magicians Jannes and Jambres

“Aaron then presented the rod to Pharao and his attendants, and behold, it was transformed into a serpent. The pharaoh also summoned magicians and wise men, who, using Egyptian enchantments and other mysteries, performed the same. According to Exodus 7:10–12, “And they all let go of their rods, and they were transformed into serpents.” However, Aaron’s rod consumed their rods.

In 2 Timothy 3:8, the pseudo-Pauline author draws a comparison between the false teachers of his time and the magicians who served Pharaoh. This has baffled many casual readers, for as Jannes and Mambres fought Moses, so too do these people fight the truth. Jannes and Jambres were given names by whom?

It is never made clear in Exodus. The tale of the two magician brothers was well-known in early Jewish, Christian, and even Gentile communities due to legends and tradition. Apocryphon means “secret writing” in Greek, and the fact that the Greek text only exists in pieces is the main problem with the Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres. It omits crucial details from the tale. But if we go to other traditions and literature, we can put the pieces together.

In their prophecy about the birth of Moses, “the destroyer of the land of Egypt,” Balaam’s sons Jannes and Jambres urge Pharaoh to have the newborn killed, but Moses manages to elude capture. Reportedly, their advice goes unheeded, and they end up fleeing to Ethiopia before making a triumphant return to Egypt.

According to the Apocryphon, Jannes is abducted to Hades by four enigmatic beings, and their mother receives a vision of impending national tragedies. Luckily, Jannes is spared by one of the beings who feels sorry for him. However, he does as ordered and goes to the palace to fight Moses and Aaron. He falls ill right in the midst of the magical competition. Jannes recognizes that Moses is being empowered by a divine force.

Jannes goes to his Memphis estate in his last days to advise Jambres not to join Pharaoh in his pursuit of the Hebrews, knowing full well that he is dying. As a result, the Egyptian army’s annihilation in the Red Sea does not affect Jambres. Jannes names Jambres to succeed him before passing away. Jambres eventually summons Jannes’s ghost from beyond the dead when he is at a loss for what to do. Accusing his brother of wrongdoing and describing the tortures of Hades, Jannes’s spirit begs him to repent.[5]

5 The Book of Moses

Regarding the Referendum in Jude 9 and the “Assumption of Moses”

“And the servant of the Lord, Moses, died in the land of Moab at the Lord’s commandment. He was buried in the valley of Moab, over against Phogor, and no one has known his tomb until this present day.” — Deuteronomy 34:5-6.

Moses conveyed hidden prophesies concerning Israel to his successor Joshua in a document called the Testament of Moses or the Assumption of Moses, which has only survived as a Latin text from the 5th century. The people will commit idolatry once Joshua leads them into the promised land, according to the prophecy. After capturing Jerusalem, an eastern monarch will captive the Israelites for seventy-seven years.

A handful will regain possession of their homeland, but throughout that time a line of wicked priests and kings will rule, with one dictator holding office for an unprecedented 34 years. A man named Taxo will opt to die rather than defy the law in the midst of the growing anarchy and lack of order. God will save Israel and punish the Gentiles at the end of the story.

The missing section from the text, which was known to the church father Origen, describes Moses’ ascension to heaven and includes the scene when Michael, the archangel, and Satan argue over Moses’ body. Since Moses was unworthy of eternal life due to his murder of an Egyptian and disobedience of God at Meribah, Satan may be fighting Moses’ physical assumption.

This episode is mentioned in verse 9 of the Epistle of Jude, which implies that the early Christians believed the Testament to be trustworthy.

4 Isaiah’s Ascension

The Isaiah’s Ascension and Martyrdom

“For in coming down from heaven I did not come to do my own will, but rather the will of him that sent me.” — John 6:38

It may come as a surprise, but there is a book that describes the actual flight of Christ from heaven to earth.

Isaiah, who was in a coma at the time of writing, recounts his ascent through the seven heavens in his book The Ascension of Isaiah. As he climbs higher and meets the heavenly people of each heaven, he notices that they are becoming more and more magnificent. After ascending to the seventh heaven, Isaiah has a vision of the future in which he hears the highest commandment for Christ to descend to the firmament above Earth, where Satan and his demons reside, and then go to Sheol.

On his descent into heaven, Christ takes on the appearance of its residents in order to remain undetected. The right password is given to each gatekeeper by him. Christ assumes the appearance of a fleshly human being as he reaches the firmament and earthly airspace. The devils mount a cross over his head because they fail to recognize the visitor.

This is how Christ goes down to Sheol, the place where the dead reside. Satan has no idea that this is all a ruse to undermine their authority. For all the angels to see, Jesus returns victorious, but this time in his own gorgeous form. Along with him goes every righteous person he has rescued from Hades. The demons understand that they have lost and that death is no longer an enemy. As hinted at in Hebrews 11:37, Satan is enraged that Isaiah has received these visions of prophecy and convinces the wicked King Manasseh to cut Isaiah in half.

The progenitor of Jesus Christ, who is known as Christ, was born to Mary and Joseph, who were both begotten by Jacob (Matthew 1:16).

Joseph bore the immense burden of being Jesus’ human father, however the Bible provides us with very little information about him beyond this. Jesus remembers his father and gives us additional information in the fourth-century chronicle, the Life of Joseph the Carpenter.

The holy priest Joseph was born into a household from Bethlehem. Not only that, but he’s also quite good with woodworking. He weds and has a brood of four kids: two boys and four girls. Mary, whose parents had given her to the Temple when she was three years old, is entrusted to Joseph by the other priests after the death of his wife. Mary is twelve years old.

The priests, aware of Joseph’s piety, ordered him to keep Mary chaste until their marriage. After Joseph brings Mary to his home, she resides there for two years until the angel Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus.

From the classic Nativity story all the way to the return to Nazareth following Herod’s death, Jesus tells it all. Joseph will continue to work hard and honestly in his profession for the remainder of his life. He maintains an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm as he ages. Joseph, however, receives the news of his imminent death from an angel when he is 111 years old, because death is a part of life. Joseph, having prayed in the Temple to get ready, is struck down with the same illness that killed his first wife and passes away while Jesus and Mary are there.[8]

2 Thomas’ Gospel of the Infants

Explanation of Thomas’s Gospel of the Infant Jesus

The kindness of God was upon the child [Jesus], and he grew and became strong and wise (Luke 2:40).

Jesus is teaching in the Temple at the age of twelve when his story is next told. The early church wanted to know how Jesus was when he was a little boy. An apparently typical, carefree infant with extraordinary abilities is shown in the 2nd-century Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

Clay sparrows and dried fish are brought to life by Jesus. When he breaks a jar by accident, he finds himself with water in his cloak. He aids Joseph in completing a project by stretching a tiny piece of wood. He protects his brother James from a snake bite and helps a wounded guy. In his most miraculous act, Jesus brings back to life three people who had died—a friend who had fallen from a roof, a guy who had been in another accident, and a sick kid.

There is a shadowy side to Jesus as well. In addition to blinding the parents and cursing the death of one son, he curses the death of another boy. Even though this enrages Joseph, Jesus retaliates violently. That he pushed his companion off a roof is hardly surprising. This child’s outbursts can be as lethal as they are angry and spoiled. When did Jesus become so docile and gentle? It goes without saying that the Infant Gospel would join the other discarded texts due to this depiction of their Savior.[9]

1 Chapter One: Paul and Timothy

Acts of Paul and Thecla, the Female Apostle Whom Christianity (Intendedly) Ignored

Romans 16:7 says, “My brothers and fellow prisoners, Junias and Andronicus, who are notable among the apostles and who were in Christ before me, salute you.”

Scribes sex-changed the female Junia with the addition of one letter, turning her into a male Junia. The concept of a female apostle was greatly reviled by the male-dominated church leadership. Even if Junia were to be removed from the record, it would not change the reality that the apostle Paul had several female followers. The Bible understandably minimizes their significance in the early church.

A second-century author speculates about life as a female follower of Paul in The Acts of Paul and Thecla. A young woman named Thecla finds her life changed by hearing Paul preach in Iconium about the importance of virginity and celibacy. A miracle downpour rescues her from her prison cell and the penalty of being burnt at the stake.

They travel to Antioch with Thecla and Paul. Leave her there to await baptism, Paul says. On her own, Thecla survives a nobleman’s attempted rape, ends up in prison, and faces the death penalty once more for protecting herself. As she leaps into a pool of seals to baptize herself, a lioness shields her from the wild monsters that were thrown into the arena with her. Then, fire from heaven killed the beasts.

Thecla disguises herself as a man and travels to Myra to find Paul. She joins the mission as a celibate woman who encourages other women to leave marriage behind and wins over many followers. A recluse for the remainder of her life, Thecla performs miracles, preaches the gospel, and prays constantly. In the hopes of being reunited with Paul, she departs for Rome after 72 years. By the time Thecla gets to Paul’s grave, it is too late; he has already been executed.[10]

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