The Suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ Volume 9: Hermas

by William Wake

And Other Portions of the Ancient Holy Scriptures. Now Extant Attributed to His Apostles and their Disciples and Venerated by the Primitive Christian Churches during the First Four Centuries But since after Violent Disputations Forbidden by The Bishops of the Nicene Council In the Reign of the Emperor Constantine and Omitted from the Catholics and Protestant Editions of the New Testament by its Compilers

Genres: Religion

146 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

William Wake was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death. He previously served as Dean of Exeter, and was consecrated bishop of Lincoln in 1705.

Reviews

[Alan Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shepherd of Hermas is an allegory or apocalypse that was popular in the early church starting in the second century.

Hermas sees a vision of a woman in the wilderness who criticizes him for his thoughts and inability to correct his family. It is explained in a second vision that the Lady is the Church of God. In a third vision he sees the church as a tower composed of stones that represent men. In the fourth vision Hermas sees a four color tribulation beast that is reminiscent of the beasts and horses found in the Book of Revelation. The colors represent ages. One notable difference from that of the beasts in the later chapters of Revelation is the lack of multiple heads and horns. Instead Hermas is given twelve commandments and ten similitudes (parables). The commandments include a discussion of the false prophet. The parables contain much of the imagery found in the parables of Jesus and the Book of Revelation. They concern the Kingdom of God and the building of the church.