The Apocrypha is rejected by Adventists and Protestants for the following reasons: 1. The Hebrew canon does not contain them. 2. The Lord and His apostles never quoted from them. Josephus rejected them, and Jerome, in translating the Vulgate, refused to acknowledge them. 3. The writers, themselves, claimed no inspiration, but rather confessed a lack of the prophetic gift. 1 Maccabees 4:46; 9:27; 14:41. 4. The Apocrypha teaches doctrines not in harmony with the Scriptures (see Isaiah 8:20; Galatians 1:8), such as purgatory and reincarnation (Wisdom 8:19, 20) and prayers of and for the dead” (2 Maccabees 12:43-46). – Principles of Life from the Word of God, p. 7, 1952 by Pacific Publishing Press Association of SDA. Ellen White and our pioneers had a liberal view of the Apocrypha as reflected in Ellen White’s writings, and so does our church today.
Ellen White recommends Apocrypha: “I saw that the Apocrypha was the hidden book, and that the wise of these last days should understand it. I saw that the Bible was the standard book, that will judge us at the last day” (15 Manuscript Releases, p. 66; Manuscript 4, 1850).
Note: It is not surprising that she drew many important teachings from Apocrypha which have no foundation in the Bible. Adventists continue to use Apocryphal works to support their teachings.
1. Christ Himself will crown the saints
Ellen White (1827-1915): “…when Jesus brought along the crowns and with His own right hand placed them on our heads” (Word to The Little Flock, p. 15, 1847).
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Then I saw very great number of angels bring from the city glorious crowns- a crown for every saint, with his name written thereon. As Jesus called for the crowns, the angels presented it to Him, and with His own hand, the lovely Jesus placed the crowns on the heads of the saints” (Early Writings, p. 288).
Ellen White contradicts herself: “I have never seen any persons crowned in the kingdom of God, only on conditions that if they were faithful they would receive the crown of immortal life in the kingdom of glory” (8 MR, p. 239, 1990).
Esdras (1st& 2nd Cen AD): “And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he sets crowns, and more exalted which I marvelled greatly…. Then said I to the angel, What the young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world” (2 Esdras 2:43, 46, 47).
2. Clouds clash against each other
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Dark heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other” (WLF, p. 19, 1847).
Esdras: “Behold clouds from the east and from the north unto the south, and they are very horrible to look upon, full of wrath and storm. They shall smite one upon another…The great and mighty clouds shall be puffed up full of wrath…” (2 Esdras 15:34, 35, 40).
3. Ellen White’s first vision influenced by Esdras
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount sat glorious temple, and about it were seven other mountains, on which grew roses and lillies, and I saw the little ones climb,….and he said, you must go back to the earth again, and relate to others, what I have revealed to you” (Letter From Sister Harmon, Dec. 20, 1845, published in The Day Star, Jan 24, 1846).
Note: This letter describing the details of the heavenly vision ends with a note: “This [vision] was not for publication; but for encouragement of all who may see it, and be encouraged by it.”
Esdras (1st&2nd Cen AD): “I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number.” “And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon there grows roses and lillies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy….then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the lord thy God, thou hast seen” (2 Esdras 2: 19, 42).
4. Jesus stood head and shoulders above the saints
Ellen White (1827-1915): “…the saints were arranged in a perfect square, with Jesus in the midst. He stood head and shoulders above the saints and the angels” (Early Writings, p. 288).
Esdras (1ST & 2ND Cen AD): “I Esdras saw upon mount Sion a great people. …And in the midst of them there was a young man of high stature, taller than the rest. …Then I said unto the angel, what the young person is it that crowneth them….So he answered and said unto me, it is the Son of God” (2 Esdras 2: 42, 43, 46, 47).
5. What happened to the Ark of the Covenant
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Among the righteous still in Jerusalem, to whom had been made plain the divine purpose, were some who determined to place beyond the reach of ruthless hands the sacred ark containing the tables of stone on which had been traced the precepts of the Decalogue. This they did. With mourning and sadness they secreted the ark in a cave, where it was to be hidden from the people of Israel and Judah because of their sins, and was to be no more restored to them. That sacred ark is yet hidden. It has never been disturbed since it was secreted” (PK, p. 453, 1917).
2 Maccabees 2:1-7: “It is also found in the records, that Jeremy the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified: …It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy” (2 Maccabees chapter 2:1, 4-7, 124 BC).
6. The Ten Commandments will be brought to view at the second coming
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet: “The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself.” Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire” (GC, p. 639).
Ellen White: “When God’s temple in heaven is opened, what a triumphant time that will be for all who have been faithful and true! In the temple will be seen the ark of the testament in which were placed the two tables of stone, on which are written God’s law. These tables of stone will be brought forth from their hiding place, and on them will be seen the Ten Commandments engraved by the finger of God. These tables of stone now lying in the ark of the testament will be a convincing testimony to the truth and binding claims of God’s law” (Letter 47, 1902; 7BC, p. 972).
Meccabees (124 BC): “And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord shew them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified” (Book 2, Vs. 5, 7, 8).
7. Adam pleads for mercy
Ellen White (1827-1915): “They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden” (SR, p. 41, 1947; PP, p. 61, 1890).
Ellen White (1827-1915): “They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden. They promised that they would in the future yield implicit obedience to God. They were informed that in their fall from innocence to guilt, they had gained no strength, but great weakness” (ST, January 23, 1887).
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Holy angels were sent to drive out the disobedient pair from the garden, while other angels guarded the way to the tree of life. Each one of these mighty angels had in his right hand a glittering sword” (3SG, p. 45).
Gary A. Anderson (Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology): “After saying these things he commanded the angels to cast us out of paradise: and as we were being driven out amid our loud lamentations, your father Adam besought the angels and said: “Leave me a little (space) that I may entreat the Lord that he have compassion on me and pity me, for I only have sinned.” And they left off driving him and Adam cried aloud and wept saying: “Pardon me, O Lord, my deed”” (Apocalypse of Moses, Chapter 27: 1-3, Translated from the Greek text, 1987).
Alexander Walker (1825-1903): “He commands His angels that we be cast out of paradise. And as we were being driven along, and were lamenting, your father Adam entreated the angels saying, Allow me a little, that I may entreat God, and that He may have compassion upon me, and pity me, for I only have sinned” (Apocryphal Gospels, p. 461, 1870).
8. Seth resembled Adam
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Seth was of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than any of his other sons” (3SG, p. 60, 1864).
Solomon Caesar Malan (1812-1894): “And Eve brought forth a son perfectly beautiful in figure and in countenance. His beauty was like that of his father Adam, yet more beautiful” (The Book of Adam and Eve, p. 105, 1882).
9. Sinfulness of the sons of men (Gen 6: 2)
Ellen White: “Neither the marriage relations nor the rights of property were respected. Whoever coveted the wives or the possessions of his neighbour, took them by force”(Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 92).
Book of Jasher (First published in 1625. English translation in 1840): “And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice” (Book of Jasher 4:18).
10. Intermingling of the sons of God and sons of men
Ellen White (1827-1915): “As the sons of God mingled with the sons of men, they became corrupt, and by intermarriage with them, lost, through the influence of their wives their peculiar, holy character” (3 Spiritual Gifts, pp. 60, 65).
Saint Augustine (354-430 AD) Bishop of Hippo: He wrote that the problem [the cause for flood] was that the family of Seth had interbred with the family of Cain, intermingling the bloodlines and corrupting the pure religion (Comment on Genesis 6, in his book The City of God, 5th century).
11. The confused species?
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Every species of animal which God had created were preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood” (3SG, p. 75).
Ellen White: “But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere” (3 Spiritual Gifts, p. 64, 1864).
Book of Jasher (1840 English translation): “The sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all the flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth, all men and all animals”(Jasher 4:18).
Roger W. Coon: “A debate between Dr. Harold Clark, founder of the Pacific Union College biology department, and Dr. Frank Lewis Marsh, longtime biology teacher at Union College and later a member of the Geo-Science Research Institute team, took place on Sept. 8, 1947, near San Francisco, CA. Clark took the position that EGW meant “amalgamation between man and animals” with offspring being born as a product of such union. Marsh held, contrarily, that EGW meant “amalgamation of man with man, and of beast with beast”” (Ellen G. White and Science: The problem Statements, May 29, 1996).
12. Enoch prophesied about the Flood
Ellen White (1827-1915): “God communed with Enoch through his angels, and gave him divine instruction. He made known to him that he would not always bear with man in his rebellion – that his purpose was to destroy the sinful race by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth” (3SG, p. 54, 1864).
Solomon Caesar Malan (1812-1894): “He [Enoch] then said to his son, ‘O my son, I know that God intends to bring waters of the Flood upon the earth and to destroy our creation” (The Book of Adam and Eve, p. 141, Translated into English in 1882).
13. Methuselah and Enoch preached along with Noah
Ellen White (1827-1915): “God granted them one hundred and twenty years of probation, and during that time preached to them through Methuselah, Noah and many others of His servants” (Review And Herald, April 23, 1901).
Ellen White: “…while the ark was in building, the voices of Noah, Enoch, and many others were heard in warning and entreaty” (Australian Conference Record, Vol. V, September 15, 1902).
Ellen White: “Enoch first received instruction from Noah, and he observed the law of God, and served him with singleness of heart” (RH, Apr 29, 1875).
Note: It is interesting to note that according Bible chronology Enoch was translated 69 years before the birth of Noah!
Book of Enoch (2nd Cen BC): According to the Book of Enoch Noah had learned from Enoch his grandfather of God’s purpose to destroy the world by a flood and that He would save him and his family (Chapter LXV: 1-12).
Book of Jasher: “God said unto Noah and Methuselah, sating, speak ye, and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, Thus saith the Lord, return from your evil ways…and Noah and Methuselah spake all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day” (Book of Jasher 5:6-7, 9, 1840).
Note: The Book of Jasher was printed in Hebrew in 1625 AD and was translated into English in 1840.
14. Some who believed in the preaching of Noah died before the flood
Ellen White (1827-1915): “There were others who believed the preaching of Noah and aided him in building the ark, who died before the flood of waters came upon them” (Story of Redemption, p. 63).
Jasher: “All men who walked in the ways of the Lord, died in those days before the Lord brought the evil upon man which he had declared” (Jasher 4:20; 5:5, 6, 1840).
15. Enoch sometimes would seclude himself from society
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Distressed by increasing wickedness of the ungodly….Enoch avoided constant association with them, and spent much time in solitude, giving himself to meditation and prayer….He continued to exclude himself, at certain periods, from all society. After remaining for a time among the people, laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, he would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude” (PP, pp. 85, 87, 1890).
Book of Jasher: “And the soul of Enoch was wrapped in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in understanding; and he wisely retired from the sons of men, and secluded himself from them for many days” (Chapter 3: 2, 1840).
Book of Jasher: “And Enoch taught the wisdom, knowledge, and the ways of the Lord… And during the three days that he was in his chamber, he prayed to, and praised the Lord his God” (Chapter 3: 11, 19, 1840).
16. Enoch’s face was radient with a holy light
Ellen White (1827-1915): “His face was radient with a holy light, even the light that shineth in the face of Jesus. As he came forth from these divine communings, even the ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance” (PP, p. 87, 1890).
Book of Enoch: “…all the kings, princes and some of men sought for him, and desired again to see the face of Enoch, and they feared to approach him on account of the Godlike awe that was seated upon his countenance; therefore no man could look at him fearing he might be punished and die” (Chapter 3: 20, 1840).
17. Translation of Enoch
Ellen White (1827-1915): “God would not permit Enoch to die as other men, but sent His angels to take him to heaven without seeing death” (SR, p. 59).
John Milton (1608-1674): “Him the most High Rapt in a balmie Cloud with winged Steeds
Did, as thou sawst, receave, to walk with God High in Salvation and the Climes of bliss, Exempt from Death” (The Paradise Lost, Book XI, 705-709, 1667).
Robert Henry Charles (1855–1931): “And there appeared to me two men very tall, such as I have never seen on earth… their wings were brighter than gold… And these men said to me: “Be of good cheer, Enoch, be not afraid; the everlasting God hath sent us to thee, and lo! to-day thou shalt ascend with us into heaven” (The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, p. 2, 1896).
18. Search for Enoch
Ellen White (1827-1915): “In the presence of the righteous and the wicked, Enoch was removed from them. Those who loved him thought that God might have left him in some of his places of retirement; but after seeking diligently, and being unable to find him, they reported that he was not, for God took him” (ST, February 20, 1879).
Book of Jasher (Hebrew version, 1625): “And they urged so much to go with him, that he ceased speaking to them; and they went after him and would not return; And on the eighth day all the kings that had been with Enoch sent to bring back the number of men that were with Enoch, in that place from which he ascended into heaven. And all those kings went to the place and they found the earth there filled with snow, and upon the snow were large stones of snow, and one said to the other, Come, let us break through the snow and see, perhaps the men that remained with Enoch are dead, and are now under the stones of snow, and they searched but could not find him, for he had ascended into heaven” (Chapter 3, Vs. 35, 37, 38, Published in English, 1840, 1887).
The Christian’s Penny Magazine: ““He was not found, “says the inspired writer: by which it seems manifest, that there was anxious search after him. His friends did not find him; and some of whom seeing weak in faith, and not understanding this marvellous dispensation, appear to have sought him around adjacent country, as “the sons of the prophets” sought for Elijah during three days, after his translation”” (Issue 1, 1832).
19. Reaction of animals in Noah’s ark
Ellen White (1827-1915): “The beasts within expressed, by their varied noises, the wildest terror, yet amid all warring of the elements…the ark rode safely” (Story of redemption, p. 68).
Book of Jasher: “All the creatures that were in the ark were terrifies, and the lions roared, and the oxen lowed, and the wolves howled, and every living creature in the ark spake and lamented in its own language” (Jasher 6:30, 1840).
20. The storm breaks
Ellen White (1827-1915): “But upon the eighth day the heavens gathered blackness. The muttering thunders and vivid lightning flashes began to terrify man and beast. The rain descended from the clouds above them. This was something they had never witnessed, and their hearts began to faint with fear. The beasts were roving about in the wildest terror, and their discordant voices seemed to moan out their own destiny and the fate of man” (SR, p. 66, 1947).
Book of Jasher: “And all the animals, and beasts, and fowls, were still there, and they surrounded the ark at every place, and the rain had not descended till seven days after. And on that day, the Lord caused the whole earth to shake, and the sun darkened, and the foundations of the world raged, and the whole earth was moved violently, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth were broken up, such as was not known to the inhabitants before” (Jasher, Ch. 6: 10, 11).
21. People attempt to break into the Ark
Ellen White (1827-1915): “They called upon Him earnestly, but His ear was not open to their cry. Some in their desperation sought to break into the ark, but that firm-made structure resisted all their efforts” (SR, p. 68, 1947).
Book of Jasher: “And they called to Noah, saying, Open for us that we may come to thee in the ark–and wherefore shall we die?…And the sons of men approached in order to break into the ark, to come in on account of the rain, for they could not bear the rain upon them” (Jasher, Ch. 6: 18, 24).
