06/24/2026
"๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐
'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐." - ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐?
What is canon?
Whenever we study the subject of Biblical canonicity, we are exploring the following:
1. Which books were revealed by God through a prophet or apostle.
2. Recognition and use by God's people as God's authoritative words.
3. Such books functioning as a closed collection of authoritative, divine revelation for all time.
Theologian Wayne Grudem notes of what we mean by a book of the Bible being canonical on page 1502 of the second edition of his "Systematic Theology":
"A term describing the preserved writings that are deemed to have divine authorship and therefore which are to be included in the canon of Scripture as God's authoritative words in written form."
The term "canon" itself derives from a Hebrew noun "qaneh" and a similar sounding Greek noun "kanon" meaning "measuring rod". The term came into use by Jews and Christians as they recognized which books were Divinely inspired and considered Divinely authoritative.
The canon in the formal sense came into existence as soon as each book was revealed and written down under Divine inspiration. The designation, use, and recognition of the books as a collection came over a period of time, with almost immediate recognition in virtually all cases as soon as the book or books were revealed by God through a given prophet (Old Testament, example Joshua 8:32-35) or apostle (New Testament, example 1 Thessalonians 2:12-13).
Even in our secular culture this term "canon" is used when determining whether a given scene or character in a movie is "canon", following the sequence and storyline in whatever book the movie was based. For the sake of this post, I'll use the definition of "canon" set forth in John MacArthur's and Richard Mayhue's "A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth - Biblical Doctrine", page 926:
"Canon. The collection of books accepted by the church as authoritative".
An interesting set of verses that mention books that never made it into our Old or New Testament canons.
Readers may find it interesting that through the Bible there are quotations or allusions to at least seven or eight books that we do not find in our Bibles.
1. The Book of the Wars of the Lord. Numbers 21:14
2. The Book of Jasher. Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18
3. The Book of Enoch. Jude 1:14-15
4. Jude 1:9 makes reference to Satan and Michael the Archangel disputing over the body of Moses, which derived likely from the Pseudepigraphical "Assumption of Moses".
5. Paul three times cites various secular philosophers (Epimenedes in Titus 1:12; Aratus' work "Phaenomena" in Acts 17:28; and Menander's Thais 218 in 1 Corinthians 15:33).
There are other places in the Bible that make references to what sound like non-canonical books or records composed by a prophet or apostle, yet would quite likely using different titles to refer to books already in our Bibles. Take for example "The Book of the Acts of Solomon" mentioned in 1 Kings 11:41. This is likely referring to the canonical account of Solomon's reign we read in 1 Kings 1-11. Other examples we find seem to refer to material already found in the books of Samuel, Kings, or Chronicles (1 Kings 14:29; 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34; and 24:27).
As I read the verses I listed above, it got me to thinking about a book I remember seeing as a young man entitled "The Lost Books of the Bible". Over the years various volumes have been published bearing similar titles. Depending on which of those sorts of books one reads, some contain what Protestants would call "The Apocryphal books" found in Roman Catholic Bibles but not found in Protestant ones, such as the Book of Judith. Other sorts of these so-called "lost books" volumes included what are called by scholars today "Second Temple literature" or "Pseudepigrapha", with the book of 1 Enoch being the most popular example. Still others include the Gnostic literature of the second century A.D. which allege various infancy narratives about Jesus (example the protoevangelium of James), assorted gospels (such as The Gospel of Phillip), alleged activities of the Apostles (Acts of Paul and Thecla, for example), and apocalyptic literature imitating John's Apocalypse, such as the "Apocalypse of Peter".
Why this question about so-called lost books is important.
Recently as I have been preaching a series on "How We Got Our Bibles" I have begun preparing a message which will deal with the Apocryphal books (or what Roman Catholics call "The Deuterocanonical Books". It got me to thinking about whether there can ever be such a thing as "a lost book of the Bible"? Take for instance 1 Corinthians 5:9 "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people." Much discussion has ensued over whether Paul had written a letter prior to 1 Corinthians that is now "lost" to us; or whether perhaps that prior letter is perhaps embedded in the last few chapters of 2 Corinthians (particularly chapters 10-13). For reasons I won't get into now, the grammar of 1 Corinthians 5:9 would suggest that Paul's letter in 1 Corinthians 5:9 is actually the very letter He was writing at that moment - 1 Corinthians. Such questions are far beyond just intriguing inquiries, since if there are really "lost books of the Bible" that were "lost" for a period of time and then resurfaced or are re-revealed (such as the claims of the Book of Mormon), then it would cause us to question God's providence in preserving His Word.
Eight categories or possible scenarios that involve books, prophets/apostles, and the question of canon. Showing why there cannot be any genuine lost books of the Bible.
As I've thought through this question, "can there ever be any such thing as a lost book of the Bible?", I came up with eight combinations that involve three components relevant to the discussion of canon: books, prophets/apostles, and canon/non-canonical. Let's be reminded of our definition of canon we said we would use for this post: "Canon. The collection of books accepted by the church as authoritative".
1. Books revealed through a prophet or apostle and canonical. Example: The Book of Isaiah.
2. Books not revealed and not written by a prophet or apostle, and thus are non-canonical. Example: Gospel of Thomas.
3. Books not revealed, written by a prophet or apostle and mentioned in a canonical book. Example: Some would say 1 Corinthians 5:9 and "Paul's prior letter" is an example of this third category.
4. Books not revealed to a prophet or claimed to be a prophet or apostle and non-canonical, mentioned in the Canon. Example: Assumption of Moses cited in Jude 1:9
5. Books that recorded accurate history in conjunction with a canonical book, not written by a prophet, and not part of our canon. Example: The Book of Jasher cited in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18.
6. Books never considered for the canon: Example: The Gospel of Judas.
7. Books temporarily considered canonical by individuals (such as church fathers) which were then later seen as non-inspired, non-canonical, and yet never were in serious consideration by the Church at large. Example: Shepherd of Hermas.
8. Finally, books considered canonical by segments of the church during a portion of church history and yet were never considered canonical by the Jews nor by the church as a whole in the early centuries of church history. Example: The Ethiopic Tawedo Orthodox Church regards 1 Enoch as part of its canon, however no other branch of Christendom regarded this book as canonical.
Conclusions:
As I sift through the above eight possibilities of books, prophets / apostles, and canonical / non-canonical, there is no scenario in the literature, church history, or in the theological consideration of Biblical canonicity that would allow for a "lost book" of the Bible. If we think about it, such a book would need to have been revealed to a prophet/apostle, used and recognized by God's people as such, and to have had public and formal recognition in a canon list or historical reference. Again, this is an important point, since otherwise organizations such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can claim their "Book of Mormon" is simply a re-revelation of a collection of revealed books lost for centuries. Such a category would undermine the authority of the Bible, not to mention spawn heretical teachings that run contrary to the uniform revelation of the sixty-six books of the canon.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Article I, section 6, remarks on the importance of noting the completion and closure of the canon of the sixty-six books:
"The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, manโs salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men."
In short, there can be no so-called "lost books of the Bible" that could otherwise be brought forth and added to our Bibles. Four times the Scripture itself expresses this principle of not adding nor deleting from the words of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19). Let us rest assured that there are no lost books of the Bible. All the sixty-six books in our Bibles are the books God intended for every generation of God's people and by His Spirit, to bring to salvation lost sinners in need of the Savior.
