Reading for 26 JUNE 2007: Christian Apocrypha: LETTER OF BARNABAS and DIDACHE

Reading for
26 JUNE 2007
(BUT NO CLASS!)

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CHRISTIAN APOCRYPHA
(cont'd)
THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS

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Dated to about 130 CE, the writer shows a strong Greek influence and was sufficiently anti-Jewish as to make him, most likely, non-Jewish. The letter is important for its strong allegorizing of the Jewish law; that is, rationalizing the Jewish law as mere metaphors of spiritual laws, as can be seen below. It circulated widely in the early church.

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I

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

II

Since the days are evil, and Satan possesses the power of this world, we ought to give heed to ourselves, and diligently inquire into the Lord's commands. For He hath revealed to us by all the prophets that He needs neither sacrifices, nor burnt-offerings, nor oblations, saying thus,
    "What are your sacrifices to Me?" 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 [offering].
    "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."
This is typical of the later prophets, such as Michah and Amos, with its stress on social justice instead of animal sacrifice. Compare Matthew 25, when Jesus says he will judge those who fed "him" and those who did not.

III
THE FASTS OF THE JEWS ARE NOT TRUE FASTS, NOR ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

"Behold, this is the fast I have chosen, saith the Lord, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and not despise the humble."

IV
ANTICHRIST IS AT HAND: LET US THEREFORE AVOID JEWISH ERRORS.

I beg of you 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 [the Jews] 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.

V
THE NEW COVENANT, FOUNDED ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, TENDS TO OUR SALVATION, BUT TO THE JEWS' DESTRUCTION.
Note the Dispensationalism here, as elsewhere in Jesus' parables: the Covenant (the Promise) has passed from the Jews to the new followers of Jesus. The sacrifice system was based on the "firstfruits" offering to God, since to God belongs everything. In the same way, to fulfill, thus to end, the sacrifice system, God offered up the "firstfruits," his Son, the perfect sacrifice.

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.

VII
FASTING, AND THE GOAT SENT AWAY, WERE TYPES OF CHRIST.

A common typological reading of the sacrifice of Isaac, with Jesus as antitype or fulfillment of Isaac: both were miracle births (Abraham and Sarah had long past child-making age); both were sacrificed in a sense; but Jesus completed the sacrifice, Issac did not. Hence, as in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus always fulfills Jewish scripture:
. . . He also Himself was to offer in sacrifice for our sins the vessel of the Spirit, in order that the type established in Isaac when he was offered upon the altar might be fully accomplished. . . . How, then, ran the commandment? Take two goats of goodly aspect, and similar to each other, and offer them. And let the priest take one as a burnt-offering for sins. And what should they do with the other? "Accursed," says He, "is the one." Mark how the type of Jesus now comes out.
Using Leviticus 16 (the scapegoat), Jesus becomes the antitype (fulfillment) of the scapegoat; that is, the scapegoat is a type of Jesus, as is the Red Heifer (NUMBERS 19:2f.), below. The red heifer must be very special and without blemish (defect): Jesus was without blemish (sin); and never under the yoke (manual labor); one can interpret this to mean Jesus was not under the law (the "yoke"); or Jesus never worked in the sense of forced labor (like a beast). Note that Jesus is called a "carpenter" in one Gospel but only the "son of a Carpenter" in another (of course, in those days, like "young woman" probably meant "virgin," so the "son of a carpenter" probably meant "carpenter," since male children would naturally continue in the father's vocation. See NUMBERS 19:6 and compare with the typological reading below: "The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer."
    Several other points should be made: Holiness=separation. But this can become a nightmare; and the best people suffer the most, while the bad people don't suffer at all. The goal of separation (i.e. separation from evil=ritual cleanliness) might be impossible to fulfill. Hence Jesus said, "My yoke is easy." In other words, Love replaced the entire Jewish law. In one sense, the sacrifice would be continuous (St. Paul's Theology of the Cross, where the person is sacrificed on Jesus' cross and dies with Jesus and shares in the new life with Jesus); in terms of John's theology (the often called "Johannine theology"), ritual purity (=kingdom of God) is already HERE. It is NOW, as members, in brotherly love, of the new Temple (=Christian church; the Lord's Temple; Lord=Kyrios; kyrios=kirk=church). The light/life has already conquered death/darkness for those who imitate Jesus' love. Once again, now the Law becomes meaningless.

VIII

THE RED HEIFER A TYPE OF CHRIST.

This is a typological reading of Numbers 19, again "fulfilling" the "old" Law (the Old Testament). The ritual cleansing of Numbers is now complete (fulfilled), in the same way that the 12 apostles fulfill the 12 tribes of Israel.  The Letter to the Hebrews is a key text in a tyypological reading of the OT: By NT times, the Hebrew law is called a "strange teaching" (Hebrews 13:9). After all, "We have an altar from whch those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. The high priest carriest the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the campl. and so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13: 10-14) This is the end of this-worldly salvation, as also of the sacrifice system, since Jesus is the final sacrifice: "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name" (Hebrews 13:15).

The calf is Jesus: the sinful men offering it are those who led Him to the slaughter. But now the men are no longer guilty, are no longer regarded as sinners. And the boys that sprinkle are those that have proclaimed to us the remission of sins and purification of heart. To these He gave authority to preach the Gospel, twelve in number, like the twelve tribes of Israel.

IX
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF CIRCUMCISION

And again He saith, "Hear, ye children, the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Therefore He hath circumcised our ears, that we might hear His word and believe, for the circumcision in which they trusted is abolished.
The goal (above) is to show, in all cases, that the Old Law is canceled in the New Covenant.

X
SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRECEPTS OF MOSES RESPECTING DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD.

The following is a brilliant or tedious (depending on one's point of view) allegorical reading of the Mosaic law, a type of reading influenced by Hellenistic thought. In this reading, the Law of Moses is rationalized in ways that the Hellenistic (Greek-like) mind can understand. By that time, the Hebrew Law must have seemed "unfashionable" in the same way that traditions seem unfashionable in today's hip hop and postmodernist culture. So when God said don't eat pork (pigs) he meant don't associate with porcine (piggish) people, etc.! The eagle, by the way, is probably the vulture (Jews had only one word for both eagle and vulture). Once you get the idea the following should be easy (and even pleasant) reading.
Now, why did Moses say, "You shall not eat the swine, nor the eagle, nor the hawk, nor the raven, nor any fish which is not possessed of scales?"  Is there then not a command of God they should not eat [these things]? There is, but Moses spoke with a spiritual reference. For this reason he named the swine, as much as to say, "You shall not join to men who resemble swine." For when they live in pleasure, they forget their Lord; but when they come to want, they acknowledge the Lord. And [in like manner] swine, when it has eaten, does not recognize its master; but when hungry it cries out, and on receiving food is quiet again.
    "Neither shall you eat," says he "the eagle, nor the hawk, nor the kite, nor the raven." "You shall not join yourself," he means, "to such men as know not how to obtain food for themselves by labour and sweat, but seize on that of others in their iniquity, and although wearing an aspect of simplicity, are on the watch to rob others." So these birds, while they sit idle, inquire how they may devour the flesh of others, proving themselves pests [to all] by their wickedness. 
    Moses then issued three doctrines concerning meats with a spiritual significance; but they received them according to fleshly desire, as if he had merely spoken of [literal] meats. David, however, comprehends the knowledge of the three doctrines, and speaks in like manner: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly," even as the fishes [referred to] go in darkness to the depths [of the sea]; "and has not stood in the way of sinners," even as those who profess to fear the Lord, but go astray like swine; "and hath not sat in the seat of scorners," even as those birds that lie in wait for prey.
    Take a full and firm grasp of this spiritual knowledge. But Moses says still further, "Ye shall eat every animal that is cloven-footed and ruminant."
    What does he mean? [The ruminant animal denotes him] who, on receiving food, recognizes Him that nourishes him, and being satisfied by Him, is visibly made glad. Well spoke [Moses], having respect to the commandment.
    What, then, does he mean? That we ought to join ourselves to those that fear the Lord, those who meditate in their heart on the commandment which they have received, those who both utter the judgments of the Lord and observe them, those who know that meditation is a work of gladness, and who ruminate upon the word of the Lord.
Below, the righteous man is "cloven" (split) in the sense that though he lives in the world he is not of the world, as Jesus says in the Gospel of John:
    But what means the cloven-footed? That the righteous man also walks in this world, yet looks forward to the holy state [to come]. Behold how well Moses legislated. But how was it possible for them to understand or comprehend these things? We then, rightly understanding his commandments, explain them as the Lord intended. For this purpose He circumcised our ears and our hearts, that we might understand these things.
For the above, consider Psalm 19: "May the words of my mouth and them editation of my heart be pleasing in our sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (v. 14).

CHAPTER XI
BAPTISM AND THE CROSS PREFIGURED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Let us further ask whether the Lord took care to foreshadow the water [of baptism] and the cross. He saith in another prophet, "The man who doeth these things shall be like a tree planted by the courses of waters, which shall yield its fruit in due season; and his leaf shall not fade, and all that he doeth shall prosper." Mark how He has described at once both the water and the cross. For these words imply, Blessed are they who, placing their trust in the cross, have gone down into the
water. . .

XII
THE CROSS OF CHRIST FREQUENTLY ANNOUNCED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Yet again He speaks of this in Moses . . . that he should make a figure of the cross, and of Him about to suffer thereon; for unless they put their trust in Him, they shall be overcome for ever. . . . For since sin was committed by Eve through means of the serpent, [the Lord] made it so  every [kind of] serpents bit them, and they died, that He might convince them, that on account of their sin they were given over to death. Moses then makes a brazen serpent, and places it upon a beam, and assembles the people. When they were come together, they besought Moses that he would give sacrifice for them. And Moses said, "When any are bitten, let him come to the serpent placed on the pole; and let him hope and believe, that though dead, it is able to give him life. . .

XIII

CHRISTIANS, AND NOT JEWS, THE HEIRS OF THE COVENANT.

But let us see if this people is the heir, or the former, and if the covenant belongs to us or to them. Hear what the Scripture says about the people.
    Isaac prayed for Rebecca his wife, because she was barren; and she conceived. Furthermore also, Rebecca went forth to inquire of the Lord; and the Lord said to her,
    "Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples in thy belly; and the one people shall surpass the other, and the eider shall serve the younger."
    You ought to understand who was Isaac, who Rebecca, and concerning what persons He declared that this people should be greater than that. And in another prophecy Jacob speaks more clearly to his son Joseph, saying,
    "Behold, the Lord hath not deprived me of thy presence; bring thy sons to me, that I may bless them." And he brought Manasseh and Ephraim, desiring that Manasseh should be blessed, because he was the elder. With this view Joseph led him to the right hand of his father Jacob. But Jacob saw in spirit the type of the people to arise afterwards. And what says [the Scripture]? And Jacob changed the direction of his bands, and laid his fight hand upon the head of Ephraim, the second and younger, and blessed him. And Joseph said to Jacob, "Transfer thy right hand to the head of Manasseh, for he is my first-born son." And Jacob said, "I know it, my son, I know it; but the eider shall serve the younger: yet he also shall be blessed."
    Ye see on whom he laid [his hands], that this people should be first, and heir of the covenant. If then, still further, the same thing was intimated through Abraham, we reach the perfection of our knowledge. What, then, says He to Abraham? "Because thou hast believed, it is imputed to thee for righteousness: behold, I have made thee the father of those nations who believe in the Lord while in [a state of] uncircumcision."
Above, note the dispensationalist thinking, similar to the Letter to the Hebrews; namely that the law of primogeniture, or first-born, is violated in the OT; in the same way, the younger Jews (Christians) will replace the older Jews (Israelites). This is similar to several of Jesus' parables, such as the new wine in old bottles (skins), the planters of the vineyard, the prodigal son, etc.

CHAPTER XIV
THE LORD HATH GIVEN US THE TESTAMENT WHICH MOSES RECEIVED AND BROKE.

Moses then received [the Law], but they proved themselves unworthy. Learn now how we have received it. Moses, as a servant, received it; but the Lord himself, having suffered in our behalf, hath given it to us, that we should be the people of inheritance.

XV
THE FALSE AND THE TRUE SABBATH

Further, He says to them, "Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure." See how He speaks: Your Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead.
Note the symbolic significance of Sunday: the New Day after the day of rest; the new beginning: a "morning, like the first morning," like the hymn sings; the rest the Bible has been aiming for since Genesis and the promise of rest in Exodus, Joshua, etc.

XVI
THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE OF GOD

The old physical temple is fulfilled in the new spiritual temple:
[Jesus] dwelling in us; opening to us who were enslaved by death the doors of the temple, that is, the mouth; and by giving us repentance introduced us into the incorruptible temple. This is the spiritual temple built for the Lord.

XIX
THE WAY OF LIGHT

The two ways were a commonplace of early Christianity; and even earlier of course when Moses preaches, "Choose ye this day": the way of life, the way of death. These ideas are fulfilled in the Gospel of John, when Jesus becomes the Light and the Life: the "I Am"[=God] amongst us; thus "Immanuel" ("God with us"), fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy.

XX
THE WAY OF DARKNESS

[The wicked] who are murderers of children, destroyers of the workmanship of God; who turn away him that is in want, who oppress the afflicted, who are advocates of the rich, who are unjust judges of the poor, and in every way sinners.

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THE TEACHING OF THE TWELVE
Like the Shepherd of Hermas and the Letter to Barnabus, the "Didache" ("didactic" in English meaning "teacherly"), as it is commoly called, is almost certainly from the first century, thus making it a key early Christian writing. Discovered in 1873 and published in 1883, it was a well-read text of early Christianity, and loosley considered part of Holy Scriptures until the Canon was officially closed in 367 CE, with only 27 books. Again, Bible students should keep in mind that the "canon" is an historical construct, and subject to debate not merely over years, but over centuries.Moreover, many books (Ecclesiastes, Ezekiel, Song of Songs, Esther, Revelation, James, Hebrews, Jude, and even the Gospel of John) now comfortably part of the canon also were hotly debated until final inclusion. We also know that what are called "canonic" in the Catholic Church (such as the deuterocanonical books of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Wisdom, 1 & 2 Maccabees are not considered such by other churches; while the Eastern church accepts even more books than the Catholic church. But plain reading will show the greatness of the deutterocanonical books, as well as the apocrypha we've read last week and this week. Below we get the commonplace of the "Two Ways":

1
THE TWO WAYS;THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

    1) There are two ways: one of Life - one of Death, each having great differences between them.
    2) The way of life is this:
    First, You must love the One who formed you;
    Second, you must love your neighbor in the same manner as yourself. Do not do to others, what you yourself would not want done to you.
Another example of the Golden Rule in its negative form (as in Tobit and Confucious). The reader will see many of Jesus' sayings in this text, very popular among early Christians. Note again, since the Jewish Christians had given up the Jewish Law, it soon became necessary, as the Second Coming (Parousia) of Jesus was delayed, to lay down new laws.
    3) And these are our teachings: Bless the ones who curse you. Pray for your enemies.
    4) If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the left to be likewise stiked.
    6) Let your gifts rest in in your sweaty hands, until you know to whom to give.
Note that early Christians were already becoming suspicious of greedy takers, who really didn't need; hence caution is advised in giving.

2
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: GROSS SIN FORBIDDEN

    1) This is the second commandment of the Teaching;
    2) You must not murder; nor given to adultery; nor molest children; nor practice immorality; nor theft; nor a practicioner of black magic; nor a practicioner of witchcraft; nor a killer of unborn children [abortion]; nor any infanticide; nor one who unlawfully seek to take ownership of your neighbor's possessions,
    3) You must not commit perjury nor be given over to false testimony, nor speak evil, nor hold grudges.
    5) Your speech must never be false, nor meaningless, but confirmed by action.

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OTHER SINS FORBIDDEN

9) Never seek self-exaltation, nor be over-confident in your own self. You must not be joined with the worldly upper class, but with the righteous and humble.
Note the stress on class distinction, but from the reverse point of view.
10) Whatsoever things that happen to you should be taken as good, after all we know that nothing happens apart from God.

5
THE WAY OF DEATH

1) The way of death is this:
2) loving vanities, chasing temporary reward, having no mercy for the poor, not working for the afflicted, not knowing their Creator, murderers of children, destroyers of creation, turning away from the needy, oppressing the afflicted, prejudiced in favor of the rich and against the poor, utterly sinful.

7
BAPTISM

    1) Concerning baptism, baptize this way: After reviewing all of this teaching, baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in living (running) water.
    2) But if living water is not available, then baptize into other water; and cold is prefered, but if not available in warm.
    3) But if neither is available, pour water three times upon the head in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
    4) But before the baptism, let the overseer fast, and the one being baptized, and others who are able; Be sure to instruct the one baptized to fast one or two days before.

8
FASTING AND PRAYER
I've edited the Lord's prayer; but note the "realized eschatology" in the pharse, "Your will is accomplished" (not your will "be" accomplished). This is the same as "Thy kingdom come," which then would mean, "Thy kingdom has already come."

    2) Likewise, don't pray as the hypocrites, but as commanded in the Gospel in this manner: Our Father in heaven, Your will is acomplished,
on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!
    3) Pray this way three times per day.

9
THANKSGIVING SACRAMENT

    1) Concerning the Thanksgiving meal, give thanks this way.
    2) Concerning the cup: We thank You, our Father, For the Holy Vine of David Your servant, Whom You made known to us through Your Servant;
Below, recall that Jesus had the left-over crumbs of his miracle feeding gathered into 12 baskets (=12 apostles), thus a symbolic action since the 12 apostles will gather the separated nations in the body of Jesus, as the reading below makes clear:
    3) Concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father,
As this broken bread was scattered over the mountains, And was gathered together to become one, So let Your Body of Faithful be gathered together From the ends of the earth into Your kingdom;
for the glory and power are Yours forever.
    5) But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving, unless they have been baptized; for concerning this is taught, "Do not give what is holy to dogs."

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The early Chrsitian community, following the delay of the Parousia, found the need to start makig strict rules for when to give charity and when not to:

Traveling Preachers:

    4) Let every traveling preacher that comes to you be received.
    5) But he must not remain longer than one day, unless it is absolutely necessary, in which case he may stay another. But if he stays three days, suspect him as a false prophet.
6) When the preacher leaves, send him with only bread to sustain him to his next place. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet.

PROPHETS:

    8) Be warned; not everyone who speaks according to the Spirit is a prophet, but only those who walk in the Spirit.
    9) And every prophet who commands food to be brought to him in the Spirit will not eat from it, unless he is a false prophet;
    10) Every prophet will teach the truth, but if he doesn't practice his own words, he should be regarded as a false prophet.
    12) Whoever says in the Spirit, "Give me money," or something similar thing, do not listen to him. But if he solicits that you give to the needy, none should judge him.
Televangelists take heed!

12
RECEPTION OF BELIEVERS

    1) Everyone who comes should be received, but then you should watch him. Under scrutiny you will gain insight into his character.
    2) If he is a traveler, help him according to your ability. But he should not be allowed to stay with you more than two or possibly three days.
    3) But if he desides to stay longer, and is a craftsman, put him to work.
    4) But if he is not skilled, make a careful judgment as to his living conditions as a fellow believer among you, making sure that he is not allowed to be idle.
    5) But if he doesn't cooperate, he is a user - even trading on Christ for profit. Beware of this.

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