Jeremy Payton writes here about the texts the canon left outside: the Apocrypha and the Gnostic Gospels, the Books of Enoch, the Book of Revelation, and the world of Second Temple Judaism that produced them all. Each article takes one text, one figure or one question, then reads it closely, with the manuscripts in view and conjecture labeled as conjecture. The newest articles are below; the eleven sections collect them by subject, so a reader who wants only the Apocrypha and Gnostic Gospels, or only Enoch, can follow a single thread from beginning to end.
Apocryphal Studies · Deuterocanonical Books · Enoch and the Watchers · Giants and Nephilim · Gnostic Beliefs · Sayings of Jesus · Mary Magdalene · Early Christian Writings · Revelation Explained · Apocalyptic Visions · Second Temple Judaism
Gnostic Jesus vs Canonical Jesus: How the Secret Gospels Portray Christ
For billions across the globe, the four canonical Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—define the figure of Jesus Christ. They present…
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Mary Magdalene in Gnostic Tradition
Mary Magdalene in Gnostic Tradition is a different woman from the one in the four gospels. There she watches the…
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Giants in Ancient Texts
Giants in Ancient Texts begin with four verses of Genesis and a word nobody has fully explained. The Nephilim were…
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Gnostic Beliefs About Salvation: Knowledge, Not Faith
The Question Every Second-Century School Was Trying to Answer Around the year 150, a Christian in Rome could walk into…
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Book of Enoch Prophecies
The Oldest Apocalypse Nobody Kept Long before Revelation, a Jewish writer put the Book of Enoch prophecies in the mouth…
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Apocryphal Books Timeline
Apocryphal Books Timeline is a phrase that promises dates, and dates are the one thing most guides to the Apocrypha…
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Who Wrote the Gospel of Mary Magdalene?
Who Wrote the Gospel of Mary Magdalene? The honest answer fits in one line, because the text never says. No…
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Revelation Beast Symbolism: Every Piece Comes From Daniel
Revelation Beast Symbolism looks like the most original thing in the New Testament, and it is almost entirely borrowed. In…
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Nag Hammadi Library Summary: What Is Actually in the Thirteen Codices
Any Nag Hammadi Library Summary tends to arrive as a list of famous titles. The Gospel of Thomas sits at…
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Enoch Nephilim Connection
The Enoch Nephilim Connection begins with four puzzling verses in Genesis and unfolds across centuries of Jewish and Christian interpretation….
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Apocrypha Bible Meaning: Hidden Books, Disputed Canon
A Word That Began as a Verdict Around the year 400 Jerome sat in Bethlehem, translating scripture into Latin, and…
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Is the Gospel of Thomas Gnostic?
Is the Gospel of Thomas Gnostic? Framing the Debate Few ancient Christian works provoke a question as persistent as Is…
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Gospel of Thomas Meaning Explained: Why One Saying Holds Two Readings
Anyone offering the Gospel of Thomas Meaning Explained owes the reader an admission before anything else. The book withholds its…
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Who Wrote the Gospel of Thomas?
Who Wrote the Gospel of Thomas? The surviving evidence points toward an anonymous compiler, not a securely identified apostle. However,…
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Gospel of Thomas Original Text
The Gospel of Thomas Original Text survives in scattered Greek papyri and a nearly complete Coptic manuscript, but not an…
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What Is the Gospel of Thomas Saying? Understanding Its Hidden Spiritual Teachings
What Is the Gospel of Thomas Saying? The question matters because this apocryphal gospel presents Jesus almost entirely through 114…
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Woman with Seven Sons: The Stoic Heroism of the Maccabean Mother
Most heroes of the Bible win battles or call down fire. The Woman with Seven Sons does neither. She stands…
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Secret Gospel of Mark
The Secret Gospel of Mark occupies an unusually uncertain place among early Christian writings. A letter attributed to Clement of…
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Gospel of the Egyptians
Few titles in early Christian writing cause as much confusion as the Gospel of the Egyptians. The name belongs to…
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Judith in the Apocrypha
Judith in the Apocrypha presents a widow who answers military terror with prayer, deception, and startlingly direct action. Her victory…
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