Discourse on a Lost Book of the Bible:

INTRODUCTION:

There have been many claims for lost books of the Bible, but in reality all but one of these claims is just plain spurious.  What is usually being referred to are books that were not divinely inspired nor legitimate, but not actually lost.   These will be dealt with in three sections, (1) The Aprocypha or deuterocanonical books, (2)  The external books actually quoted in the Bible by inspired writers,  (3) History books that some count as part of the Aprocypha, i.e., the 4 Books of Maccabees, the strangest case of all!

But there actually is one lost book, although obviously very short, that we do NOT have today, and I call it 4 th. John.

THE APROCYPHA OR DEUTERCANONICAL BOOKS:

First, let's consider what they are as defined by the Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, by Columbia University Press.   This encyclopedia defines the Apocrypha as, "(pk´rf) (KEY)  [Gr.,=hidden things], term signifying a collection of early Jewish writings excluded from the canon of the Hebrew scriptures.   It is not clear why the term was chosen."   In reality they were nothing but uninspired writings, many purporting to be written by other than who was actually their author, or basically illegitimate and lacking credence.   In fact, the real author of only one of the Apocrypha is actually known.   Some religions, unfortunately, have included some of the Apocrypha in their Bibles, but even these were few in number.   A list of most of the Apocrypha follows:

1 Clement, 1st Apocalypse of James, 2 Clement, 2nd Apocalypse of James, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Acts of Andrew, Acts of Apollonius, Acts of Carpus, Acts of John,Acts of Paul, Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas, Acts of Peter, Acts of Peter and the Twelve, Acts of Pilate, Acts of the Apostles, Acts of Thomas, Additions to the Book of Esther, Anonymous Anti-Montanist. Anti-Marcionite Prologues, Apelles, Apocalypse of John, Apocalypse of Peter, Apocryphon of John, Apollonius, Apology of Aristides, Aristo of Pella, Ascension of Isaiah, Athenagoras of Athens, Authoritative Teaching, Bardesanes, Baruch, Basilides, Eel and the Dragon, Book of Elchasai, Book of Thomas the Contender, Books of Jeu, Caius, Celsus, Christian Sibyllines, Claudius Apollinaris, Clement of Alexandria, Colossians, Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, Coptic Apocalypse of Peter, Dialogue of the Savior, Diatessaron, Didache, Didascalia, Dionysius of Corinth, Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, Dura-Europos Gospel Harmony, Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, Egerton Gospel, Epiphanes On Righteousness, Epistle of Barnabas, Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, Epistula Apostolorum, Excerpts of Theodotus, Fayyum Fragment, Fifth and Sixth Books of Esra, Fronto, Galen, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of the Ebionite, Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of the Nazoreans, Gospel of the Savior, Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Truth, Hegesippus, Heracleon, Hippolytus of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Infancy Gospel of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Inscription of Abercius, Irenaeus of Lyons, Isidore, Judith, Julius Cassianus, Justin Martyr, Kerygmata Petrou, Letter from Vienna and Lyons, Letter of Jeremiah, Letter of Peter to Philip, Lost Sayings Gospel Q, Lucian of Samosata, Mara Bar Serapion, Marcion, Marcus Aurelius, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Maximus of Jerusalem, Melchizedek, Melito of Sardis, Muratorian Canon, Naassene Fragment, Octavius of Minucius Felix, Odes of Solomon, Ophite Diagrams, Origen, Oxyrhynchus 1224 Gospel, Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel, Pantaenus, Papias, Passion Narrative, Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs , Philostratus, Pistis Sophia, Pliny the Younger, Polycarp to the Philippians, Polycrates of Ephesus, Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, Prayer of Manasseh, Preaching of Peter, Ptolemy, Quadratus of Athens, Rhodon, Secret Book of James, Secret Mark, Serapion of Antioch, Shepherd of Hermas, Signs Gospel, Sophia of Jesus Christ, Suetonius, Susanna, Tacitus, Tatian's Address to the Greeks, The Additions to the Book of Daniel, Tertullian, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Theophilus of Antioch, Theophilus of Caesarea, Tobit, Traditions of Matthias, Treatise on the Resurrection, Trimorphic Protennoia, Urantia, Valentinus, Victor I, Wisdom of Solomon, etc.

As can be seen many of these none illegitimate books try to give themselves credence by closely mimicking the names of actual legitimate canonical books of the Bible.  These books are often called the pseudepigrapha?  The term is a transliteration of the Greek plural noun that literally means "with false superscription".  According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary  (p. 1830), the term can be defined as, "spurious works purporting to emanate from biblical characters".  The Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines the term as, "Certain writings (other than the canonical books and the Apocrypha) professing to be Biblical in character, but not considered canonical or inspired.  These are NOT lost books, just NOT legitimate books of Bible cannon.

THE EXTERNAL BOOKS QUOTED IN THE BIBLE:

There are many external books quoted by inspired Bible writers as references.   Many are, "not aware that the Old Testament authors depended upon other writings as their sources which they freely admit.  Among these are: the Book of the Wars of Yahweh (Num. 21:14), the Book of the Jashar  (Josh 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18), the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Ki 14:19; 2 Chr 33:18), the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah (1 Ki 14:29, 15:7), the Annals of Samuel the Seer (1 Chr 29:29), the History of Nathan the Prophet (2 Chr 9:29), the Annals of Shemaiah the Prophet and Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 12:15), the Annals of Jehu the Son of Hanani (2 Chr. 20:34), and others.    Some teach that Moses compiled the Book of Genesis from other writings that surely had to have been handed down and preserved by his forefathers.  Genesis can be broken down into eleven separate history books, each being separated by colophons at the conclusion of  the books.  This is known to have been a popular style for such ancient writings.  ...According to this theory we have eleven separate books having the following authors: Adam, Noah, and eight other authors which Moses merely compiled into one book.  [source= Ronald G. Fanter Cutting Edge Ministries].

One of these books is still existent today, the Book of Jashar or as it is sometimes called the Book of  the Just, and another, the Book of the Wars of Yahweh, is actually thought my most scholars to actually be the Book of Jashar.    The Book of Jashar is quite interesting, but one must be careful in obtaining a copy as there are counterfeit books masquerading as the Book of Jashar which are not.   Also, there is a counterfeit Book of the Wars of Yahweh which is of course a fake since as previously said, this book is thought to just be another name for the Book of Jashar.

THE 4 BOOKS OF MACCABEES:

This is by far the strangest case of all.   The 4 Books of Maccabees are ranked by many as part of the Apocrypha; however, they should be ranked as history books of the 1 st. and 2 nd. Century roughly before the incarnation of  our leader and savior, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ.   Very strange is the fact that the Catholic church accepted only two of them into their Canon of Bible Books; whereas, there are four of them.  The Greek Orthodox, however, accepted three of them, and only the Cathars accepted the fourth.   Strange to say the least, but none should have been accepted as canonical as they are history books, and one would NOT THINK of accepting H. G. Wells, 'Outline of History," into the Bible cannon; we are getting into the absurd.  However, they make excellent reading as history books that fill in the history of these two centuries.

THE REAL LOST BOOK OF 4 JOHN:

However as testified to in the Bible there is a book that is totally legitimate having been written by none other than the Apostle John as a letter to a congregation just as were The First Epistle of John, The Second Epistle of John, and The Third Epistle of John.   It is the lost Fourth Epistle of John referred to in The Third Epistle of John  that the Revised Standard Version states at 3 John 9, "have written something to the church; but Diot'rephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority." (Revised Standard Version; RSV).

Let's look at this text in context in the Douay Rheims Catholic Bible, 3 John 9-14, and get a better understanding of the circumstances that existed at the time that the Apostle John wrote this letter (epistle):

9 I had written perhaps to the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, doth not receive us. 10  11 Dearly beloved, follow not that which is evil: but that which is good. He that doth good is of God: he that doth evil hath not seen God.  12 To Demetrius, testimony is given by all, and by the truth itself: yea and we also give testimony. And thou knowest that our testimony is true. 13 I had many things to write unto thee: but I would not by ink and pen write to thee. 14 But I hope speedily to see thee: and we will speak mouth to mouth. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Salute the friends by name.

Let's also look at this text in context in the Good News Translation, 3 John 9-14:

I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say. 10 When I come, then, I will bring up everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive the Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church! 11 My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.  12 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius; truth itself speaks well of him. And we add our testimony, and you know that what we say is true. 13 I have so much to tell you, but I do not want to do it with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk personally. 15 Peace be with you.

This letter was directed to the church (congregation) of which Gaius was a member as shown at 3 John 1-2, "To my dear Gaius, whom I truly love. 2 My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that you may be in good health-as I know you are well in spirit." (the Good News Translation; GNT), but due to Diotrephes it failed in its purpose since Diotrephes loved to be pre-eminent in the congregation and not a servant as a minister should be according to Matthew 20:25-26, " But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;" (American Standard Version; ASV).   The facts presented are affirmed in 100s of different translations.   A. Plummer, in the book, "The Epistles of Saint John," made the following comment, "Perhaps the meaning is that Diotrephes meant to make his Church independent; hitherto it had been governed by Saint John from Ephesus, but Diotrephes wished to make it autonomous to his own glorification." [source="The Epistles of Saint John," by A. Plummer, Cambridge: The University Press, 1886, page 149].

As all can see, this is really a lost book that should be in our Bible, but is not due to the fact that it was not preserved.  Whereas, all the so called other lost books of the Bible are not lost; they exist, but have no place in the Word of God (YHWH), the Bible, as they were NOT written under divine inspiration, hence not legitimate with respect belonging to Bible canon.