Epistle of Barnabas.pdf

The Epistle of Barnabas

http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/LostBooks/barnabas.htm

The Epistle of Barnabas 1

Chapter I.-After the Salutation, the Writer Declares that He Would Communicate to His Brethren

Something of that Which He Had Himself Received.

Chapter II.-The Jewish Sacrifices are Now Abolished.

Chapter III.-The Fasts of the Jews are Not True Fasts, Nor Acceptable to God.

Chapter IV.-Antichrist is at Hand: Let Us Therefore Avoid Jewish Errors.

Chapter V.-The New Covenant, Founded on the Sufferings of Christ, Tends to Our Salvation, But to

the Jews' Destruction.

Chapter VI.-The Sufferings of Christ, and the New Covenant, Were Announced by the Prophets.

Chapter VII.-Fasting, and the Goat Sent Away, Were Types of Christ.

Chapter VIII.-The Red Heifer a Type of Christ.

Chapter IX.-The Spiritual Meaning of Circumcision.

Chapter X.-Spiritual Significance of the Precepts of Moses Respecting Different Kinds of Food.

Chapter XI.-Baptism and the Cross Prefigured in the Old Testament.

Chapter XII.-The Cross of Christ Frequently Announced in the Old Testament.

Chapter XIII.-Christians, and Not Jews, the Heirs of the Covenant.

Chapter XIV.-The Lord Hath Given Us the Testament Which Moses Received and Broke.

Chapter XV.-The False and the True Sabbath.

Chapter XVI.-The Spiritual Temple of God.

Chapter XVII.-Conclusionof the First Part of the Epistle.

Chapter XVIII.-Second Part of the Epistle. The Two Ways.

Chapter XIX.-The Way of Light.

Chapter XX.-The Way of Darkness.

Chapter XXI.-Conclusion.

The Epistle of Barnabas

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The Epistle of Barnabas

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Chapter I.-After the Salutation, the Writer Declares that He Would Communicate to His Brethren

Something of that Which He Had Himself Received.

All hail, ye sons and daughters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us in peace.

Seeing that the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in

your happy and honoured spirits, because ye have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift.

Wherefore also I inwardly rejoice the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit

poured forth from the rich Lord of love. Your greatly desired appearance has thus filled me with astonishment

over you. I am therefore pursuaded of this, and fully convinced in my own mind, that since I began to speak

among you I understand many things, because the Lord hath accompanied me in the way of righteousness. I

am also on this account bound by the strictest obligation to love you above my own soul, because great are

the faith and love dwelling in you, while you hope for the life which He has promised. Considering this,

therefore, that if I should take the trouble to communicate to you some portion of what I have myself

received, it will prove to me a sufficient reward that I minister to such spirits, I have hastened briefly to write

unto you, in order that, along with your faith, ye might have perfect knowledge. The doctrines of the Lord,

then, are three: the hope of life, the beginning and the completion of it. For the Lord hath made known to us

by the prophets both the things which are past and present, giving us also the first-fruits of the knowledge of

things to come, which things as we see accomplished, one by one, we ought with the greater richness of faith

and elevation of spirit to draw near to Him with reverence. I then, not as your teacher, but as one of

yourselves, will set forth a few things by which in present circumstances ye may be rendered the more joyful.

Chapter II.-The Jewish Sacrifices are Now Abolished.

Since, therefore, the days are evil, and Satan possesses the power of this world, we ought to give heed to

ourselves, and diligently inquire into the ordinances of the Lord. Fear and patience, then, are helpers of our

faith; and long-suffering and continence are things which fight on our side. While these remain pure in what

respects the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Science, and Knowledge rejoice along with them. For He hath

revealed to us by all the prophets that He needs neither sacrifices, nor burnt-offerings, nor oblations, saying

thus, "What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me, saith the Lord? I am full of burnt-offerings, and desire

not the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats, not when ye come to appear before Me: for who hath

required these things at your hands? Tread no more My courts, not though ye bring with you fine flour.

Incense is a vain abomination unto Me, and your new moons and sabbaths I cannot endure." He has

therefore abolished these things, that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of

necessity, might have a human oblation. And again He says to them, "Did I command your fathers, when they

went out from the land of Egypt, to offer unto Me burnt-offerings and sacrifices? But this rather I commanded

them, Let no one of you cherish any evil in his heart against his neighbour, and love not an oath of falsehood."

We ought therefore, being possessed of understanding, to perceive the gracious intention of our Father; for

He speaks to us, desirous that we, not going astray like them, should ask how we may approach Him. To us,

then, He declares, "A sacrifice [pleasing] to God is a broken spirit; a smell of sweet savour to the Lord is a

heart that glorifieth Him that made it." We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our

salvation, lest the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, should hurl us forth from our [true] life.

Chapter III.-The Fasts of the Jews are Not True Fasts, Nor Acceptable to God.

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The Epistle of Barnabas

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He says then to them again concerning these things, "Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that

your voice should be heard with a cry? I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should humble

his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an

acceptable fast." To us He saith, "Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a man

should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh

agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry

with thy bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house, not despise the

humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn

break forth, and thy healing shall quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory

of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking,

He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching

forth of the hands [to sweat falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread to the hungry,

and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled." To this end, therefore, brethren, He is

long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His

Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash

acceptors of their laws.

Chapter IV.-Antichrist is at Hand: Let Us Therefore Avoid Jewish Errors.

It therefore behoves us, who inquire much concerning events at hand, to search diligently into those things

which are able to save us. Let us then utterly flee from all the works of iniquity, lest these should take hold of

us; and let us hate the error of the present time, that we may set our love on the world to come: let us not give

loose reins to our soul, that it should have power to run with sinners and the wicked, lest we become like

them. The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches, concerning which it is written, as Enoch

says, "For for this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten; and He

will come to the inheritance." And the prophet also speaks thus: "Ten kingdoms shall reign upon the earth,

and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings. In like manner Daniel

says concerning the same, "And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful, and more savage than all the

beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it

subdued under one three of the great horns." Ye ought therefore to understand. And this also I further beg of

you, as being one of you, and loving you both individually and collectively more than my own soul, to take

heed now to yourselves, and not to be like some, adding largely to your sins, and saying, "The covenant is

both theirs and ours." But they thus finally lost it, after Moses had already received it. For the Scripture saith,

"And Moses was fasting in the mount forty days and forty nights, and received the covenant from the Lord,

tables of stone written with the finger of the hand of the Lord; " but turning away to idols, they lost it. For the

Lord speaks thus to Moses: "Moses go down quickly; for the people whom thou hast brought out of the land

of Egypt have transgressed." And Moses understood [the meaning of God], and cast the two tables out of his

hands; and their covenant was broken, in order that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed upon

our heart, in the hope which flows from believing in Him. Now, being desirous to write many things to you,

not as your teacher, but as becometh one who loves you, I have taken care not to fail to write to you from

what I myself possess, with a view to your purification. We take earnest heed in these last days; for the whole

[past] time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming

sources of danger, as becometh the sons of God. That the Black One may find no means of entrance, let us

flee from every vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness. Do not, by retiring apart, live a

solitary life, as if you were already [fully] justified; but coming together in one place, make common inquiry

concerning what tends to your general welfare. For the Scripture saith, "Woe to them who are wise to

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The Epistle of Barnabas

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themselves, and prudent in their own sight!" Let us be spiritually-minded: let us be a perfect temple to God.

As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon the fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may

rejoice in His ordinances. The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons. Each will receive as he

has done: if he is righteous, his righteousness will precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is

before him. Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall asleep in

our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the

Lord. And all the more attend to this, my brethren, when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and

wonders were wrought in Israel, they were thus [at length] abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found

[fulfilling that saying], as it is written, "Many are called, but few are chosen."

Chapter V.-The New Covenant, Founded on the Sufferings of Christ, Tends to Our Salvation, But to

the Jews' Destruction.

For to this end the Lord endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption, that we might be sanctified through the

remission of sins, which is effected by His blood of sprinkling. For it is written concerning Him, partly with

reference to Israel, and partly to us; and [the Scripture] saith thus: "He was wounded for our transgressions,

and braised for our iniquities: with His stripes we are healed. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and

as a lamb which is dumb before its shearer." Therefore we ought to be deeply grateful to the Lord, because

He has both made known to us things that are past, and hath given us wisdom concerning things present, and

hath not left us without understanding in regard to things which are to come. Now, the Scripture saith, "Not

unjustly are nets spread out for birds." This means that the man perishes justly, who, having a knowledge of

the way of righteousness, rushes off into the way of darkness. And further, my brethren: if the Lord endured

to suffer for our soul, He being Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the foundation of the world, "Let

us make man after our image, and after our likeness," understand how it was that He endured to suffer at the

hand of men. The prophets, having obtained grace from Him, prophesied concerning Him. And He (since it

behoved Him to appear in flesh), that He might abolish death, and reveal the resurrection from the dead,

endured [what and as He did], in order that He might fulfill the promise made unto the fathers, and by

preparing a new people for Himself, might show, while He dwelt on earth, that He, when He has raised

mankind, will also judge them. Moreover, teaching Israel, and doing so great miracles and signs, He

preached [the truth] to him, and greatly loved him. But when He chose His own apostles who where to

preach His Gospel, [He did so from among those] who were sinners above all sin, that He might show He

came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Then He manifested Himself to be the Son of God.

For if He had not come in the flesh, how could men have been saved by beholding Him? Since looking upon

the sun which is to cease to exist, and is the work of His hands, their eyes are not able to bear his rays. The

Son of God therefore came in the flesh with this view, that He might bring to a head the sum of their sins who

had persecuted His prophets to the death. For this purpose, then, He endured. For God saith, "The stroke of

his flesh is from them; " and "when I shall smite the Shepherd, then the sheep of the flock shall be scattered."

He himself willed thus to suffer, for it was necessary that He should suffer on the tree. For says he who

prophesies regarding Him, "Spare my soul from the sword, fasten my flesh with nails; for the assemblies of

the wicked have risen up against me." And again he says, "Behold, I have given my back to scourges, and my

cheeks to strokes, and I have set my countenance as a firm rock."

Chapter VI.-The Sufferings of Christ, and the New Covenant, Were Announced by the Prophets.

When, therefore, He has fulfilled the commandment, what saith He? "Who is he that will contend with Me? let

him oppose Me: or who is he that will enter into judgment with Me? let him draw near to the servant of the

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Lord." "Woe unto you, for ye shall all wax old, like a garment, and the moth shall eat you up." And again the

prophet says, "Since as a mighty stone He is laid for crushing, behold I cast down for the foundations of Zion

a stone, precious, elect, a corner-stone, honourable." Next, what says He? "And he who shall trust in it shall

live for ever." Is our hope, then, upon a stone? Far from it. But [the language is used] inasmuch as He laid his

flesh [as a foundation] with power; for He says, "And He placed me as a firm rock." And the prophet says

again, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner." And again he

says, "This is the great and wonderful day which the Lord hath made. I write the more simply unto you, that

ye may understand. I am the off-scouring of your love. What, then, again says the prophet? "The assembly of

the wicked surrounded me; they encompassed me as bees do a honeycomb," and "upon my garment they

cast lots." Since, therefore, He was about to be manifested and to suffer in the flesh, His suffering was

foreshown. For the prophet speaks against Israel, "Woe to their soul, because they have counselled an evil

counsel against themselves, saying, Let us bind the just one, because he is displeasing to us." And Moses also

says to them, "Behold these things, saith the Lord God: Enter into the good land which the Lord swore [to

give] to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and inherit ye it, a land flowing with milk and honey." What, then,

says Knowledge? Learn: "Trust," she says, "in Him who is to be manifested to you in the flesh-that is, Jesus."

For man is earth in a suffering state, for the formation of Adam was from the face of the earth. What, then,

meaneth this: "into the good land, a land flowing with milk and honey? "Blessed be our Lord, who has placed

in us wisdom and understanding of secret things. For the prophet says, "Who shall understand the parable of

the Lord, except him who is wise and prudent, and who loves his Lord? " Since, therefore, having renewed

us by the remission of our sins, He hath made us after another pattern, [it is His purpose] that we should

possess the soul of children, inasmuch as He has created us anew by His Spirit. For the Scripture says

concerning us, while He speaks to the Son, "Let Us make man after Our image, and after Our likeness; and

let them have dominion over the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea." And

the Lord said, on beholding the fair creature man, "Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth." These

things [were spoken] to the Son. Again, I will show thee how, in respect to us, He has accomplished a

second fashioning in these last days. The Lord says, "Behold, I will make the last like the first." In reference to

this, then, the prophet proclaimed, "Enter ye into the land flowing with milk and honey, and have dominion

over it." Behold, therefore, we have been refashioned, as again He says in another prophet, "Behold, saith the

Lord, I will take away from these, that is, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw, their stony hearts,

and I will put hearts of flesh within them," because He was to be manifested in flesh, and to sojourn among

us. For, my brethren, the habitation of our heart is a holy temple to the Lord. For again saith the Lord, "And

wherewith shall I appear before the Lord my God, and be glorified? " He says, "I will confess to thee in the

Church in the midst of my brethren; and I will praise thee in the midst of the assembly of the saints." We, then,

are they whom He has led into the good land. What, then, mean milk and honey? This, that as the infant is

kept alive first by honey, and then by milk, so also we, being quickened and kept alive by the faith of the

promise and by the word, shall live ruling over the earth. But He said above, "Let them increase, and rule

over the fishes." Who then is able to govern the beasts, or the fishes, or the fowls of heaven? For we ought to

perceive that to govern implies authority, so that one should command and rule. If, therefore, this does not

exist at present, yet still He has promised it to us. When? When we ourselves also have been made perfect

[so as] to become heirs of the covenant of the Lord.

Chapter VII.-Fasting, and the Goat Sent Away, Were Types of Christ.

Understand, then, ye children of gladness, that the good Lord has foreshown all things to us, that we might

know to whom we ought for everything to render thanksgiving and praise. If therefore the Son of God, who

is Lord [of all things], and who will judge the living and the dead, suffered, that His stroke might give us life,

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