Of these books, according to II Esdras, God told Ezra to publish just twenty-four. So Ezra assembled five scribes, who recorded-over a period of forty days-some ninety books filled with the revelations that God dictated. In this book, Ezra relates how God spoke to him out of a bush and told him to write down words of understanding that He would give him. One of the books in the Old Testament Apocrypha, II Esdras (another name for Ezra), explains the tradition behind the Apocrypha. They feel these books simply haven't proved themselves-in the way the accepted books of the Bible have-to be the Word of God. But many people don't accept them as canon. Today some Bible translations do contain selections from the Apocryphal writings. Others resemble the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Some of these Apocryphal books contain interesting historical material. Yet although there's been considerable interest in these books over the centuries, they haven't ultimately passed the test of "Scripture." They've been found wanting and so haven't been included in the Old or New Testament canon. " Hidden things," "mysterious or esoteric lore," "secret knowledge accessible only to an inner circle of believers"-all these expressions have been used to describe the Old and New Testament Apocrypha.
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