I have thoroughly examined the Apocryphal books including a semester in graduate school studying their content. These books are not inspired of God which is attested to by their content and all of Christianity outside the Roman Catholic church, and honest Bible scholars plainly state this fact. The Book of 1st and 2nd Maccabees have historical significance, but they when compared to the Bible are shown to not be the inspired Word of God. Even the historical value of these books is clouded by the contradictions found in the books. For example, in 1st and 2nd Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three different deaths in as many different places. The rest of these books to a lesser degree show the thinking and trends of the day when they were written, but they all contain statements and teaching that is contrary to God's word the Bible and outright fiction. In other words their content shows the are not reliable and they contradict the Bible and teach false doctrines.

              In the history of these spurious books the Roman Catholic church did not accept them for over 1300 years. At the Council of Trent (1546) the Roman Catholic religion pronounced the following apocryphal books "sacred." The reason was that during the Reformation the teachings of Catholicism came under scrutiny by people who were studying God's word, they could find no mention in the Bible of a place called Purgatory, prayers for the dead and other teaching of the Roman church.

               There is a reference to it in one of the Apocryphal books, but they were known not to be inspired of God, so the Roman church now changed their position and accepted them as inspired. The reference is found in 2 Maccabees 12:43-45, which says "2.000 pieces of silver were sent to Jerusalem for a sin-offering...Whereupon he made reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin." On this brief statement the Roman Catholic church has hung its teachings of Purgatory. However, no where in God's word is their prayer or a sin offering for the dead. Hebrews 9:27 says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27) . In God's word, there is no place called Purgatory or any prayers offered for dead men. When a man dies his fate is sealed. If a man is a believer, he as a child of God, goes to heaven, if he is a lost man he will go to hell. There is not second chance after death. Paul clearly states that a Christian goes immediately into the presence of God when he dies, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

               So, what is a true believer supposed to do. Ignore the false teachings and history of the Apocryphal books or believe God's inspired word? As God's child and His preacher I chose to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babbling's: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." (2 Timothy 2:15-16)

               Even when the Apocrypha was included in the earlier English Bibles they were not considered not Scripture, but historical material. King James himself did not consider them inspired. Jerome, (347-420 AD) who who translated the Bible into Latin (the Latin Vulgate) which was the Roman Catholic Bible for hundreds of years (until 1610) plainly stated these books were not inspired of God. In 1629, they were removed because having them in the Bible sent the mistaken idea they were inspired. So the wise printers removed them. Even though they were included in the early