i Catholic Compiled and written by Pat Miron What’s behind the 7 Missing Books in the King James Bible 　 My dear friends in Christ, Is an incomplete truth still the truth? “If we truly wish to follow Christ; we MUST follow Christ Logic and All of His Teachings.” Quoted from an EWTN homily. Actions have consequences. As a dad and grandfather, this is often a difficult lesson to teach. Still it is true, and it must be shared. I suspect that in today’s world it is even more important than when I was growing up. After all the New Age Philosophy of “it’s only wrong if I say it’s wrong; and don’t judge me, and I won’t judge you;” is seductively easy to buy into. So much so, that it has naturally progressed from a “Personal Philosophy” to a “cult-religion ”centered on self. “I am god” is an actual belief of the New Age Movements. It’s Rapid growth can be traced to the 1920’s , when Alice and Foster Bailey assumed control. But I wonder if the original foundation was not set in place by the Protestant Revolution led by Father Martin Luther? Luther’s timing was at the peak of the Catholic Churches World Wide Influence and salvation of souls. After all it was far and away the largest and oldest religion in existence. Faith formation was plentiful, solid in doctrine and dogma, and the bible was still the property of “The Church” who reserved the right to determine who should [and could] teach it [and for that matter even be PERMITTED TO privately read it]. …. WHY? Mt. 7: 21-23 "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [HUMILITY AND COMPLETE OBEDIENCE ARE REQUIREMENTS OF ONE’S SALVATION. PJM] On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” 2nd. Peter 1: 20-21 “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. “ 2 Pet.3: 16 “Speaking of this as he [PAUL] in all his letters…. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. “ This task then fell to “the expert’s” by training; the Church’s clergy of which Father Martin Luther was a member. So we can be assured that Luther was well trained in what the bible contained and what it actually meant, as Inspired by God Himself, and through the ever-present Holy Spirit, [John 14: 16-17]. Please hold onto this thought for a minute, while I change gears briefly. Jerusalem; the holy city, and the Temple of God and for God, the center of Jewish life and worship was destroyed twice. First about 500 years before Christ; and a second time about 35 years after the death of Christ in 70 A.D. The First destruction was caused by a continuation of disobedience to God: 2 Chronicles 5-7 Jehoi'akim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. Against him came up Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnez'zar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. Many were killed and many were taken captive as slaves. The second sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD, a few years after the death and Resurrection of Jesus, was by the Romans who were being rebelled against by the Jewish Nation who were already captives to Rome. The destruction was nearly a complete annihilation of the Jewish People and Nation. MANY Thousands were killed, crucified and slaughtered. Many were again sold into slavery and the Temple and the ENTIRE Fortified CITY was completely destroyed. …. WHY? Luke 19: 41-46 “ And when he [Jesus] drew near and saw the city [Jerusalem] he wept over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation." And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, "It is written, `My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." I wonder if today’s Protestants will not be judged in a similar manner? Too be sure; I do not know the answer to the question; but today too, “the time of visitation” is clearly being missed by a great many who follow there own man-made / modified version of Christ Laws and Teachings, formulating there own man-made religions, and at-best only partial truths of Christ Faith and Teachings clearly articulated in His Inspired Bible. Many have rejected both Christ One Church and Christ readily evident, One TRUE Faith….. Because Christ is literally His Catholic Church, as well as being ever-present in Her; this rejection is paramount to rejection of God Himself. [John 14:16-17 and John 17:14-19]. There is ONE Highly significant difference that must be pointed out however. Today’s Protestants do NOT have Jesus physically in there midst, as did the Hebrew nation at the time of Christ visitation; AND as does the Catholic Church even through the present times have Jesus Himself, Sacramentaly, yet [ Really and Physically] present to us today. Certainly this results in fewer graces to them, and consequently a lesser culpability. BUT is it sufficient for God’s necessary Justice to accept good intentions based on flawed teaching, flawed theologies, and false beliefs to merit a Godly pass? ONLY God can say. Now allow me to once again refer back to Father Martin Luther. Luther originally had no intent of separating from the CC when he issued his “Ninety Five Thesis,” which dealt with OBVIOUS Errors in the proper practice of the Catholic Faith. Keep in mind God’s personal and ever-present witness to the TRUTHS taught by His CC are limited to matters of Faith and Morals ONLY. Faith practices are graced by the Holy Spirit, but they can be, and sadly at times are rejected and even abused. Yet they MUST be separated form the Body of actual Church Teachings.. When one speaks of issues of Faith and Morals the Catholic Church cannot error. [John 14:16-17, John 17:14-19]. On matters of church practices; these are human decisions, that can be changed and can be wrong. Father Martin Luther was absolutely correct in his admonitions of the Church hierarchy and there misguided attempts to raise funds for a good cause, in a manner that was not becoming of Christ Leaders. Good intent can never be justified by a sinful action. The Pope and others were attempting to raise funds to build a new Cathedral and decided to sell indulgences. An “Indulgence ” is a God-approved way to eliminate or at least lessen the “latent” effects of already forgiven sin. [we have covered this before, but if anyone has questions just contact me.] It is a legitimate practice; BUT NOT for SALE! They are to be “earned” according to long set Church practices of piety and sacrifice, [Mt. 16:19 and Mt. 18:18.] as had always been the case. So what happened from Father Martins attempt to correct an obvious wrong? It would seem that BOTH sides were arrogant hard-headed, and unreasonable. Humility was clearly lacking from both sides! When we give Satan “an inch,” you know what happens! He often takes control of the situation; and Father Martin Luther decided, one assumes, ON HIS OWN [clearly NOT a God, not a Holy Spirit guided decision] to not only leave the 1,500 year old One True Church, One True Faith, but to found his own man-made religion in competition to it. And so a pattern was set that continues to be followed to this very day. Luther led the way to what has become today a quite common practice in the Revolt against Catholicism. Namely making Christ into Ones personal Image of Themselves [or at least formulating there image of Christ and His Teachings in a way that was “comfortable” to and for themselves] . This is paramount to actually denying Christ. WHY? Because Christ goal, Christ purpose for all that He is and all that He has done, is to build you and me into HIS IMAGE as our God, as His ONE Truth, and as Divinely required in Justice. We are Created in the “image of God” [Gen.1:26-27] and what is taking place is actually a denial of this FACT, and the precise reason we are Created precisely as we are. I have mentioned often, but I’m unsure that the message is actually understood. That ONLY humanity, amongst the hundreds of thousands of living THINGS on planet earth, have the necessary elements, the necessary God-provided-GIFTS to Know, Love, Serve, Thank and Obey God. [Isaiah 43: 7-21]. The fact that we are so endowed and have the POWER to freely choose to do so; not do so, or to do so according to OUR Personal wills, Not God’s Divine Will is evidence of Both God’s enormous love for us; but also gives clear evidence that God’s POWERFUL desires to be in a Personal relationship with us, His Created, FAR more than we do with Him. From God’s perspective there is a condition that must first be met. We MUST do it according to His Will, His Way, His Truth, His Light in-order to participate fully in His Life. [All of these terms are “singular tense.”] Thus we have the very human “recent” [relative to the longevity of the CC] inventions of Sola Scriptura, Faith Alone, denial of many of the sacraments, denial of Just One Church, Just One Faith [Eph. Chapters 2 and 4], Forgiveness of sin and a bible missing seven entire books, and, with a great many unwarranted edits. These events are the polar opposite of what God desires, and what God demands in TRUTH, in an absolute sense to happen IF we are to participate in Salvation. “Wisdom [a GIFT from God] is identified through Her Works…” Quoted from a EWTN homily. The books removed were Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom (of Solomon), Sirach, and Baruch. Parts of existing books were also removed including Psalm 151 (from Psalms), parts of the Book of Esther, Susanna (from Daniel as chapter 13), and Bel and the Dragon (from Daniel as chapter 14). The books that were removed supported such things as + Prayers for the dead (Tobit 12:12; 2 Maccabees 12:39-45) + Purgatory (Wisdom 3:1-7) + Intercession of saints in heaven (2 Maccabees 15:14) + Intercession of angels (Tobit 12:12-15) ALL issues that Luther and his co-hearts took issue with. The books they dropped are sometimes called the Apocrypha. Certainly Luther was “no dummy.” he had to understand the enormous task he had chosen for himself; namely unseating the ONLY Christian Religion that dated back directly to Jesus Christ “time of our visitation” on earth. His plan of attack [later accepted, modified and implemented by every other man-made religion and cult to follow], by Calvin, John Smith, Wycliffe , Zwingli, Thomas Munzer, Knox, and Joseph Smith and numerous others even through the present day. Prudently they keyed on a few simple principles. Including that They HAD TOO make the practice of the new religions easier to understand and to follow; they had to create significant differences in theology and philosophy; which in turn required there “own version of the Bible.” They would accomplish this by not only permitting but BOLDLY encouraging self, personal interpretation . [Which accomplished their goal, and then led to today’s MANY THOUSANDS of different Protestant churches and set’s of belief and practice in the present day.] IF THERE CAN ONLY BE A SINGLE TRUTH Logically, ON ANY SPECIFIC ISSUE; HOW CAN THIS BE? CLEARLY IT CAN’T BE BLESSED BY A PERFECT -All-Knowing- GOD! 2nd. Peter 1: 20-21 “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. “ 2 Pet.3: 16 “peaking of this as he [PAUL] in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. “ 2Cor.3 Vs.15 to 16 “ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when a man [IF and with humility…PJM] turns to the Lord the veil is removed 2nd. Tim. 3:16-17 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work This was no simple or no easy task. The population had grown up with the CC, it’s teachings and practices. Luther had to formulate a “solid” reason to remove seven entire books. It was a form of genius to accept the Older Hebrew Formulation, rather than the Catholic, BLESSED by God [2 Tim. 3:15-17] more recent formulation; thus creating a “scape-goat” and because the Bible to this point had only been read, studied and understood by the Catholic Clergy; they were free to make as many text changes as they desired without fear of reprisal [except from the hated CC]. Here are some quotes from the missing books. [based on a debate of which was strongest: Wine; Women or Truth]. 1Esdr.3: 35-41 "Gentlemen, are not women strong? The earth is vast, and heaven is high, and the sun is swift in its course, for it makes the circuit of the heavens and returns to its place in one day. Is he not great who does these things? But truth is great, and stronger than all things. The whole earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses her. All God's works quake and tremble, and with him there is nothing unrighteous. Wine is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all the sons of men are unrighteous, all their works are unrighteous, and all such things. There is no truth in them and in their unrighteousness they will perish. But truth endures and is strong for ever, and lives and prevails for ever and ever. With her there is no partiality or preference, but she does what is righteous instead of anything that is unrighteous or wicked. All men approve her deeds, and there is nothing unrighteous in her judgment. To her belongs the strength and the kingship and the power and the majesty of all the ages. Blessed be the God of truth!" He ceased speaking; then all the people shouted, and said, "Great is truth, and strongest of all!" 4Ezra.5: 22-29 “Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High. And I said, "O sovereign Lord, from every forest of the earth and from all its trees thou hast chosen one vine, and from all the lands of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one region, and from all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one lily, and from all the depths of the sea thou hast filled for thyself one river, and from all the cities that have been built thou hast consecrated Zion for thyself, and from all the birds that have been created thou hast named for thyself one dove, and from all the flocks that have been made thou hast provided for thyself one sheep, …. [refernce here is to Christ ] and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou hast given the law which is approved by all. And now, O Lord, why hast thou given over the one to the many, and dishonored the one root beyond the others, and scattered your only one among the many? And those who opposed thy promises have trodden down those who believed thy covenants. This is typology for the coming of Christ One New Church and a prophesy for future Protestantism. [PJM] 4Ezra.7 11-19 “For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged. And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships. But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality. Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them. But now why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish? And why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal? And why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?" Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, behold, thou hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish. The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones." And he said to me, "You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High! “ This of course explains that we ought NOT to expect to be able to participate in God’s Glory without ALSO participating in Christ suffering. In simple terms God will require certain works. PJM Tobit: 12: 11-15 "I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, `It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.' And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you. Wen you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you. So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One." Prayers of :“intercession by God’s Angels” PJM Wisdom of Solomon 1: 2-8 “Because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him. For perverse thoughts separate men from God, and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish; because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin. For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness. For wisdom is a kindly spirit and will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words; because God is witness of his inmost feelings, and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said; therefore no one who utters unrighteous things will escape notice, and justice, when it punishes, will not pass him by.” Wis.3: 1-7 [ON PURGATORY] “But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;” like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.” Wis. 4:20 “They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up, and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.” Wis.6: 17-20, 7: 28-30 “ The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her, and love of her is the keeping of her laws, and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality, and immortality brings one near to God; so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.” …. for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.” 2 Mac. 39-45 On the next day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchres of their fathers. Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin. “ From Son of Sirach: Chapter 1: 12-18 “To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; she is created with the faithful in the womb. She made among men an eternal foundation, and among their descendants she will be trusted. To fear the Lord is wisdom's full measure; she satisfies men with her fruits; she fills their whole house with desirable goods, and their storehouses with her produce. The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish. He saw her and apportioned her; he rained down knowledge and discerning comprehension, and he exalted the glory of those who held her fast. To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom, and her branches are long life.” Baruch 3: 9-14 “Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom! Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead, that you are counted among those in Hades? You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. If you had walked in the way of God, you would be dwelling in peace for ever. Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.” Here we see the absolute need for God given Divine Wisdom; which is a Fruit of God’s One true faith. There is also evidence of the CC Teaching on Purgatory. I had hoped to be able to fine a BRIEF set of altered Textual verses to share; but after an extensive search proved how well covered are Luther’s deceits, I settled for a Lutheran site on there beliefs and practices, proving the same points. Lutheran Beliefs [QUOTED from a Lutheran web site.] “Lutheran Sacred Narratives Martin Luther's emphasis on the claim that forgiveness of sin is entirely a gracious (free) gift from God, and that humans can do nothing to earn or even prompt this gift, sets Lutherans' narrative of salvation off from that of many other Christians. This denies what the bible clearly and explicitly states. 1 John 1: 8-10, 1 John 5: 16-17 and John 20: 19-23. It denies the sacrament of known Forgiveness: Reconciliation. Lutheran Ultimate Reality and Divine Beings Lutherans believe in God, Jesus Christ, and angels. Some Lutherans continue to believe in angels, while for others they seem implausible or simply irrelevant. Lutheran Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence Human nature was created good, but is sinful, that is, fundamentally self-centered, as a result of the fall. The purpose of existence is to enter heaven, which is possible only through God's free forgiveness for sin. See comments above. This position is actually “anti-biblical” in that it apposes actual bible teaching. Lutheran Afterlife and Salvation Martin Luther believed in a traditional idea of an immortal soul that spent eternity either in a literal place of blessedness called heaven or a literal place of torment called hell. Your destination depends on whether or not you are saved, that is, by God’' grace forgiven for sin. Lutheran Rites and Ceremonies One of the most profound changes Luther made in the rituals of Christianity was in the sacraments. Lutherans have two, [baptism and Marriage] in contrast to the seven of Roman Catholicism, and the theology used to understand what they mean differs significantly from the sacramental theology both of Roman Catholicism and of other Protestant denominations. Given Father Martin Luther’s educational formation in the One True Faith; he would have clearly known that ALL Seven of the sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself. Four explicitly, and three implicitly. This accounts even today to a HUGE shor-coming of potential graces from God. The Geneva Confession (1536): Proclamation of Sola Scriptura First we affirm that we desire to follow Scripture alone as a rule of faith and religion, without mixing with it any other things which might be devised by the opinion of men apart from the Word of God, and without wishing to accept for our spiritual government any other doctrine than what is conveyed to us by the same Word without addition or diminution, according to the command of our Lord. The French Confession of Faith (1559): We believe that the Word contained in these books has proceeded from God, and receives its authority from him alone, and not from men. And inasmuch as it is the rule of all truth, containing all that is necessary for the service of God and for our salvation, it is not lawful for men, nor even for angels, to add to it, to take away from it, or to change it. Whence it follows that no authority, whether of antiquity, or custom, or numbers, or human wisdom, or judgments, or proclamations, or edicts, or decrees, or councils, or visions, or miracles, should be opposed to these Holy Scriptures, but on the contrary, all things should be examined, regulated, and reformed according to them (Art. V).” END OF QUOTES Nowhere in the bible is there a statement supporting Sola Scriptura. However there are MANY passages that oppose it. So again we see a position held that is factually anti -biblical. The reason this position is CRITICAL to Protestant belief is that it is the foundation for there claim of the CC authority to teach and LEAD as being incorrect. NOTE: It WAS correct for fifteen hundred years, and now all of a sudden it’s not? Go figure. It is my prayerful hope that this aids your understanding? Behold the Lamb of God…. Make straight the way of the Lord, soon and very soon we shall celebrate the Incarnation of our God. AMEN! let us rejoice and be glad in it! God’s continued Love, Wisdom and Understanding, Pat