SoSpression Blog

The Testimonies of the Historian Josephus MATCHING UP WITH the Testimony of Jesus Himself is the Nail in the Coffin for the Apocryphal Books, Extra Books and Pseudigraphical Books being Considered Anointed Scripture.

Even Josephus the Historian Confirmed that the Hebrew Scriptures consisted of only 22 Books (which combine dual books into 1 book, and the minor prophets into 1 book) which is the same as our 39 books in the Old Testament.

“We have but twenty-two [books] containing the history of all time, books that are justly believed in; and of these, five are the books of Moses, which comprise the law and earliest traditions from the creation of mankind down to his death. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, the successor of Xerxes, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote the history of the events that occurred in their own time, in thirteen books. The remaining four documents comprise hymns to God and practical precepts to men (William Whiston, trans., Flavius Josephus against Apion, Vol. I, in Josephus, Complete Works, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1960, p. 8).”

Josephus is confirming exactly what the Scriptures say, that the OT Scriptures consist of the Tanach: Law (Torah), Prophets (Joshua, Chronicles, Kings, Samuel, Major and Minor Prophets, and Wisdom Writings (Psalms-Song of Solomon).

Jesus Himself Confirms that the Scriptures only consist of the Law, the Prophets, and the Wisdom Writings (Psalms) aka the Tanach.

Jesus Himself confirms that the Prophetic books ended after Malachi (during the reign of Artaxerxes).

The testimony of OT Scriptures goes from the blood of Abel (Genesis) to the blood of Zachariah (the last minor prophet). Righteous blood speaks and has a testimony.

What is the Timeline of Zachariah and Artaxerxes?

Zechariah was written between 520-518 B.C., but he lived long after that.

Artaxerxes became king in 465 BC and died in 425 B.C.

Malachi was written near or before 433 B.C.

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi were written during the reign of ARTAXERXES.

Haggai and Zechariah, if they lived to see their prophesies fulfilled, died during the reign of Artaxerxes.

Jesus CONFIRMED that Zechariah Son of Berekiah died IN A TEMPLE, which means he was killed after the temple was rebuilt.

So both Jesus the King and the Josephus the Historian confirm that the Old Testament Scriptures ended during the reign of Artaxerxes and the time of Zachariah and Malachi.

This leaves no room for the Apocryphal books or the extra books of Jasher, Enoch and Jubilees to be included in Scripture.

The only books that were added to Scripture after that was the testimonies of Jesus’s Apostles, as prophesied in Isaiah:

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