The Gospel of Barnabas – Via Denise Richardson Evidence reveals that the Gospel of Barnabas in the Turkey Museum was written by a fifteenth-century European who wrote inaccurately about the life of Yeshua. The author of the Gospel of Barnabas could not have been the biblical Barnabas. The real Barnabas was a generous encourager of the early church(Acts 4:36-37). He was not one of the original twelve disciples of Yeshua as the Gospel of Barnabas mistakenly claims. Barnabas was the one who persuaded the apostles that Paul had changed from a persecutor of the church to a follower of Yeshua (Acts 9:27). The true Barnabas was a missionary, telling the good news of Yeshua(Acts 13:2). If the Gospel of Barnabas were written in the first century, it would have been quoted in other documents of the same time period. It is not cited, however, a single time in works of either the church fathers or Muslim clerics until the fifteenth century. Those who claim the early authorship of the Gospel of Barnabas may be referring to the Epistle of Barnabas—a first-century book, though not divinely inspired. A reading of the Gospel of Barnabas clearly shows that it was written neither in Yeshua’s time nor shortly thereafter, as alleged. It contains far too many historical errors. The Gospel of Barnabas contains quotations from Dante Alighieri, references to an edict from Pope Boniface, and descriptions of feudalism. Therefore, scholars place the date of authorship around the fifteenth century. The Gospel of Barnabas errors easy to make out. Apparently, the main inscription, in a modern transliteration, reads: ‘b-shimmit maran paish kteewa aha ktawa al idateh d-rabbaneh d-dera illaya b-ninweh bsheeta d-alpa w-khamshamma d-maran’. This means: ‘In the name of the Lord, this book is written by monks of the high monastery in Nineveh in the 1500th year of our Lord.’ Today, a fair number of newspapers and media organisations in Muslim Countries have picked up the news, saying that ‘an ancient, 1500-year-old bible predicted the coming of Muhammad.’ Apart from the obvious age confusion between the 1500 years attributed by the media and the date of 1500 AD written in the book’s main inscription, it is clear that predicting in 1500 AD something that occurred in 630 AD is no great prophecy. Moreover, according to these reports, the text says that Yeshua apparently told Hebrew clerics that he was not the Messiah and that muhammad would be the Messiah. There is a clue and it is found in chapter 217. The last sentence states that 100 pounds of stone were placed on the body of Christ and this would lead us to believe that the gospel was penned recently: the first use of the pound as a unit of weight dates to the Ottoman Empire in its dealings with Italy and Spain. The descriptions of Palestine show that the author of the Gospel of Barnabas was not familiar with its geography. He alleged that Yeshua sailed to Nazareth—an inland city. The Gospel of Barnabas says that Yeshua was born when Pilate was governor, but history records Pilate becoming governor in 26 or 27 AD—long after Yeshuas birth. Trustworthy scholars have exposed the Gospel of Barnabas as a counterfeit. Therefore, it cannot be trusted as a biography of Yeshuas life. The Bible contains four Gospels that illustrate Christ from four divinely inspired perspectives. Evidence has consistently affirmed the Gospels as authentic and accurate. Don’t be ashamed to read about the Lord Yeshua. The Bible says, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Yeshua before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Yeshua, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”(2 Timothy 1:8-10; see also Romans 1:16-17).
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 00:00:01 +0000
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