The Epistle of the Apostles - Bart Ehrman

The “Epistle of the Apostles” is a bit of a misnomer in that it is not really an epistle but a Gospel. The book does start out as a letter, written by the apostles to the churches around the world; but its content involves a con versation between Jesus and his eleven remaining disciples after his resurrection—Judas having already hanged himself.

This kind of Gospel, containing a post-resurrection “dialogue” of Jesus and his followers, was quite popular among Gnostic Christians, in that it allowed them to indicate that Jesus provided secret teachings to his disciples that were different from his public teachings delivered during the course of his ministry. These secret teachings, then, could become the basis for the “true” understanding of the religion that the Gnostics set forth.

But the orientation of this particular book is completely anti-gnostic. In particular, it seeks to counter the views of Simon Magus and Cerinthus, two Gnostics most despised among the proto-orthodox heresy-hunters of the second century, by insisting on the ﬂeshly nature of Christ’s body, the reality of his incarnation, death, resurrection, and future return in glory, and the importance of his followers’ ﬂeshly existence in this world and in the world to come.1 _{It appears, then, that a proto-orthodox Christian has taken}

over a genre beloved among the Gnostics and turned it against them, to show that even after his resurrection Jesus proclaimed not a Gnostic myth but a proto-orthodox understanding of the ﬂesh.

The “Epistle of the Apostles” was unknown through the Middle Ages down into the modern period, until a Coptic version was uncovered in Cairo near the end of the nineteenth century. Later a fuller and more accurate Ethiopic version was found.

The book was originally written in Greek, probably in the middle of the second century. The following excerpt is drawn from the Ethiopic translation.

1_{On the importance of Simon Magus for the early proto-orthodox heresy-hunters, see Ehrman, Lost}

Christianities, 165–67.

Translation by C. Detlef G. Muller in Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocry-

pha, vol. 1 (rev. ed.; Cambridge/ Louisville: Lutterworth/Westminster/John Knox, 1991)

252–64; used with permission.

What Jesus Christ revealed to his

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disciples as a letter, and how Jesus Christ revealed the letter of the council of the apostles, the disciples of Jesus Christ, to the Catholics; which was writ ten because of the false apostles Simon and Cerinthus, that no one should follow them—for in them is deceit with which they kill people—that you may be estab lished and not waver, not be shaken, and not turn away from the word of the Gos pel that you have heard. As we have heard (it), kept (it), and have written (it) for the whole world, so we entrust (it) to you, our sons and daughters, in joy and in the name of God the Father, the ruler of the world, and in Jesus Christ. May grace increase upon you.

(We,) John and Thomas and Peter

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and Andrew and James and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Na thanael and Judas Zelotes and Cephas, we have written to the churches of the East and West, towards North and South, recounting and proclaiming to you con cerning our Lord Jesus Christ, as we have written; and we have heard and felt him after he had risen from the dead; and how he has revealed to us things great, aston ishing, real. . . .

And these things our Lord and Sav

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ior revealed and showed to us, and likewise we to you, that you, reﬂecting upon eternal life, may be associates in the grace of the Lord and in our service and in our glory. Be ﬁrm, without wa vering, in the knowledge and investiga tion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he will prove gracious and will save always in all never-ending eternity.

Cerinthus and Simon have come to

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go through the world. But they are enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in reality alienate those who believe in the

true word and deed, namely Jesus Christ. Therefore take care and beware of them, for in them is afﬂiction and contamina tion and death, the end of which will be destruction and judgment.

Because of that we have not hesi

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tated with the true testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, how he acted while we saw him, and how he constantly both explained and caused our thoughts within us.

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He of whom we are witnesses we know as the one cruciﬁed in the days of Pontius Pilate and of the prince Archelaus, who was cruciﬁed between two thieves;2 _{and was taken down from}

the wood of the cross together with them; and he was buried in a place which is called the place of the skull, to which three women came, Sarah, Martha, and Mary Magdalene. They carried ointment to pour out upon his body, weeping and mourning over what had happened. And they approached the tomb and found the stone where it had been rolled away from the tomb, and they opened the door and did not ﬁnd his body.

And as they were mourning and

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weeping, the Lord appeared to them and said to them, “Do not weep; I am he whom you seek. But let one of you go to your brothers and say to them, ‘Come, our Master has risen from the dead.’ ”

And Mary came to us and told us. And we said to her, “What have we to do with you, O woman? He that is dead and bur ied, can he then live?” And we did not believe her, that our Savior had risen from the dead.

THE EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLES

Then she went back to our Lord and said to him, “None of them believed me concerning your resurrection.” And he said to her, “Let another one of you go saying this again to them.” And Sarah came and gave us the same news, and we accused her of lying. And she returned to our Lord and spoke to him as Mary had.

And then the Lord said to Mary

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and to her sisters, “Let us go to them.” And he came and found us inside, veiled. And we doubted and did not be lieve. He came before us like a ghost and we did not believe that it was he. But it was he. And thus he said to us. “Come, and do not be afraid. I am your teacher whom you, Peter, denied three times be fore the cock crowed, and now do you deny again?” And we went to him, think ing and doubting whether it was he. And he said to us, “Why do you doubt and why are you not believing that I am he who spoke to you concerning my ﬂesh, my death, and my resurrection? And that you may know that it is I, lay your hand, Peter (and your ﬁnger) in the nailprint of my hands; and you, Thomas, in my side; and also you, Andrew, see whether my foot steps on the ground and leaves a footprint. For it is written: ‘But a ghost, a demon, leaves no print on the ground.’ ” But now we felt him, that he

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had truly risen in the ﬂesh. And then we fell on our faces before him, asked him for pardon, and entreated him because we had not believed him. Then our Lord and Savior said to us, “Stand up and I will reveal to you what is on earth, and what is above heaven, and your resurrection that is in the kingdom of heaven, concerning which my Father has sent me, that I may take up you and those who believe in me.”

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And what he revealed is this, as he said to us, “While I was coming from the Father of all, passing by the heavens, wherein I put on the wisdom of the Father and by his power clothed myself in his power, I was like the heav ens. And passing by the angels and arch angels in their form and as one of them, I passed by the orders, dominions, and princes, possessing the measure of the wisdom of the Father who sent me. And the archangels Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel followed me until the fifth firmament of heaven, while I ap peared as one of them. This kind of power was given me by the Father. Then I made the archangels to become dis tracted with the voice and go up to the altar of the Father and serve the Father in their work until I should return to him. I did this thus in the likeness of his wis dom. For I became all in all with them, that I, fulfilling the will of the mercy of the Father and the glory of him who sent me, might return to him.

“Do you know that the angel

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Gabriel came and brought the message to Mary?” And we said to him, “Yes, O Lord.” And he answered and said to us, “Do you not remember that I pre viously said to you that I became like an angel to the angels?” And we said to him, “Yes, O Lord.” And he said to us, “At that time I appeared in the form of the archangel Gabriel to the virgin Mary and spoke with her, and her heart received (me); she believed and laughed; and I, the Word, went into her and became ﬂesh; and I myself was servant for my self; and in the likeness of an angel, like him will I do, and after it I will go to my Father.

“And you therefore celebrate

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the remembrance of my death, which is the Passover; the one who stands

beside me will be thrown into prison for my name’s sake, and he will be very grieved and sorrowful, for while you cel ebrate the passover he who is in custody did not celebrate it with you. And I will send my power in the form of (my) angel, and the door of the prison will open, and he will come out and come to you to watch with you and to rest. And when you complete my Agape and my remem brance at the crowing of the cock, he will again be taken and thrown in prison for a testimony, until he comes out to preach, as I have commanded you.” And we said to him, “O Lord, have you then not com pleted the drinking of the passover? Must we, then, do it again?” And he said to us, “Yes, until I come from the Father with my wounds.”

And we said to him, “O Lord,

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great is this that you say and reveal to us. In what kind of power and form are you about to come?” And he said to us, “Truly I say to you, I will come as the sun which bursts forth; thus will I, shining seven times brighter than it in glory, while I am carried on the wings of the clouds in splendor with my cross going on before me, come to the earth to judge the living and the dead.”

And we said to him, “O Lord,

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how many years yet?” And he said to us, “When the hundred and ﬁftieth year is completed, between pentecost and passover will the coming of my Father take place.” And we said to him, “O Lord, now you said to us, ‘I will come,’ and then you said, ‘he who sent me will come.’ ” And he said to us, ‘I am wholly in the Father and the Father in me.”3 _Then

we said to him, “Will you really leave us until your coming? Where will we ﬁnd a teacher?” And he answered and said to us, “Do you not know that until now I am both here and there with him who

sent me?” And we said to him, “O Lord, is it possible that you should be both here and there?” And he said to us, “I am wholly in the Father and the Father in me after his image and after his likeness and after his power and after his perfection and after his light, and I am his perfect word.”

This is, when he was cruciﬁed,

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had died and risen again, as he said this, and the work that was thus accomplished in the flesh, that he was crucified, and his ascension—this is the fulfilling of the number. “And the won ders and his image and everything perfect you will see in me with respect to re demption which takes place through me, and while I go to the Father and into heaven. . . .”

And we said again to him, “O

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Lord, but it is necessary, since you have commanded us to preach, prophesy, and teach, that we, having heard accurately from you, may be good preachers and may teach them, that they may believe in you. Therefore we ques tion you.”

He answered and said to us,

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“Truly I say to you, the ﬂesh of every one will rise with his soul alive and his spirit.” And we said to him, “O Lord, then can what is departed and scattered become alive? Not as if we deny it do we ask; rather we believe that what you say has happened and will happen.” And he said to us, being angry, “You of little faith, how long yet do you ask me? And inquire (only) without anguish after what you wish to hear.

“Keep my commandments, and do

THE EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLES

what I tell you, without delay and without reserve and without respect of persons; serve in the strait, direct, and narrow way. And thereby will the Father in every re spect rejoice concerning you.”

And we said again to him, “O

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Lord, look; we have you to de rision with the many questions.” And he said to us, “I know that in faith and with your whole heart you question me. And I am glad because of you. Truly I say to you I am pleased, and my Father in me rejoices, that you thus inquire and ask. Your boldness makes me rejoice, and it affords yourselves life.” And when he had said this to us, we were glad, for he had spoken to us in gentleness. And we said again to him, “Our Lord, in all things you have shown yourself gracious toward us and grant us life; for all we have asked you you have told us.” Then he said to us, “Does the ﬂesh or the spirit fall away?” And we said to him, “The ﬂesh.”

And he said to us, “Now what has fallen will arise, and what is ill will be sound, that my Father may be praised therein; as he has done to me, so I (will do) to you and to all who believe in me.

“Truly I say to you, the ﬂesh

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will rise with the soul, that they may confess and be judged with the work which they have done, whether it is good or bad, in order that there may be a se lection and exhibition for those who have believed and have done the command ment of my Father who sent me. Then will the righteous judgment take place; for thus my Father wills, and he said to me, ‘My son, on the day of judgment you will not fear the rich and not spare the poor; rather deliver each one to eternal punishment according to his sins.’ But to those who have loved me and do love me and who have done my commandment I will grant rest in life in the kingdom of my heavenly Father.”

of Peter

There are three surviving apocalypses allegedly written by Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus (One other is included in this collection); the one given here was discovered at Nag Hammadi (see page 19). The book contains a series of visions given by Jesus to Peter (hence the title “apocalypse” or “revelation”), which Peter then records in the ﬁrst person. In these visions, Christ issues dire warnings against the teaching of heretics who propagate falsehoods. Strikingly, the heretics here are the bishops and deacons of the proto-orthodox churches, and their false teaching is that Jesus was himself the Christ who suffered a literal death on the cross. The author deems this staunchly proto-orthodox view laughable; he labels its proponents blind.

For this author, the true signiﬁcance of Jesus’ death goes much deeper. Even though Jesus’ ﬂesh was killed, Christ himself was far removed from suffering; those who beheld the cross with full knowledge (gnosis) did not see the suffering Jesus but the living Christ, who was himself laughing at the entire proceeding. Jesus was merely his outward appearance, just as simple-minded Christians are nothing but the outward appearance of the living ones who have been fully enlightened by the spiritual truth of the immortal Christ.

Most scholars have dated this gnostic treatise to the third century.

And when I said these things, the Sav- will be despised in these ages, since they ior said, “I have told you that these (peo- are ignorant of you. But you will be ple) are blind and deaf. Now then, listen praised in (the age of) knowledge. For to the things that are being told to you in many will accept our teaching in the be a mystery, and guard them. Do not tell ginning. But they will turn away again in them to the children of this age. For you accordance with the will of the father of

Translation of James Brashler and Roger A. Bullard, from Nag Hammadi Codex VII (Nag Hammadi Studies, 30) ed. Birger Pearson (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996); used with permission.

THE COPTIC APOCALYPSE OF PETER

their error, because they have done what he wanted. And he will make manifest in his judgment who the servants of the word are. But those who became mingled with these will become their prisoners, since they are without perception. And the guileless, good, pure one is pushed to the executioner, even into the kingdom of those who praise a restored Christ. And they praise the men of the propaga tion of falsehood, who will succeed you. And they will hold fast to the name of a dead man, while thinking that they will become pure. But they will become greatly deﬁled. And they will fall into an explicit error and into the hand of an evil, cunning man with a multifarious doc trine. And they will be ruled heretically. For some of them will blaspheme the

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