2 ESDRAS: The Hidden Book of Prophecy With 1st Esdras - Book - Page 37
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Are 1st and 2nd Esdras
Scripture, Inspired and Canon?
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Criteria set forth by Blue Letter Bible
with our additions. [1]
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1. Prophetic Authorship
“For a book to be considered canonical, it must have been written by a prophet or apostle or by
one who had a special relationship to such (Mark to Peter, Luke to Paul). Only those who had
witnessed the events or had recorded eyewitness testimony could have their writings considered
as Holy Scripture.”
2. Witness of the Spirit
“The appeal to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit was also made to aid the people in
understanding which books belonged in the canon and which did not.” BLB quotes Pinnock
who claims the canon is a matter of “historical process” (Clark Pinnock, Biblical Revelation,
Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973, p. 104). [2] We would agree but Pinnock ignores
the most obvious such history. The Levite Library or Bible canon found in Qumran serves as a
time capsule for the Old Testament canon long before the Catholic Church nor councils. Every
book in the modern Old Testament canon was found there except Esther. It is Levite Priests
who were the keepers of scripture and the Qumran community identifies as such over 100
times. We will examine certain fragments in Qumran that place 1st and 2nd Esdras there at
least in “Proto” form and used for interpretation of prophecy.
3. Acceptance
“The final test is the acceptance of the people of God.” BLB notes this is to accept Jesus and
the Apostles which we agree for New Testament but this would also be to accept His people in
the time of Ezra which is the return of Southern Israel especially. 2nd Esdras still prophesies
of Messiah though and serves to bridge the gap between the Old and New Testaments.
4. Quoted As Doctrine In Scripture (Our Addition)
Our added test in which we will apply to Esdras will assess whether or not these books are
quoted in scripture for significant doctrine. This is not some arbitrary word or phrase but
does doctrine derive from these two books which one does not find specifically in other Old
Testament writings? This is the ultimate exam. As 1st Esdras charts much like Ezra and
Nehemiah already matching, we will fully vet 2nd Esdras on this point.
5. In Agreement With the Whole of Scripture (Our Addition)
Does it agree with scripture in whole? Even the Gospels have minor details to iron out in
understanding, but how do 1st and 2nd Esdras compare? The conclusion may surprise many.
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