2 Esdras — passes the test for inspired scripture
The biblical books with “Esdras” in the title were written by the prophet, Ezra (Esdras being the latin). There were four [Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Esdras / 1 Ezra: Ezra-Nehemiah / 2 Ezra: 1 Esdras, Ezra 3 / Ezra Sutuel: 2 Esdras, Ezra 4] and they are titled differently (by different groups throughout history. We will present 2 Esdras here, which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and was included in the 1611 King James Bible, the 1510 Geneva Bible, the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible, and the Latin Vulgate.
Authorship:
— written by the Prophet Ezra (Latin: Esdras)
— 2 Esdras 1: 1 The second book of the Prophet Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, …
— 2 Esdras 1:4 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Go your way, and show my people their sinful deeds,…
Testimony of Scripture:
— Quoted by Jesus:
Matthew 23:37 “I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
2 Esdras 1:30 “I gathered you together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings:”
—
Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,”
2 Esdras 1:32 “I sent unto you my servants the Prophets, whom you have taken and slain,”
—
Matthew 23:38 “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate”
2 Esdras 1:33 “Almighty Lord, Your house is desolate,”
—
John 5:28-29 KJV
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; …
2 Esdras 2:16 “And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my Name in Israel.”
—
Matthew 10:32 KJV “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
Luke 12:8 KJV “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: …”
2 Esdras 2:47 “So he answered, and said unto me, It is the son of God, whom they have confessed in the world….
Also by Paul and John:
Romans 10:9 KJV “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Philippians 2:11 KJV “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.”
1 John 1:19 KJV “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
—
Matthew 24:8 ESV “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
2nd Esdras 4:42 “For like as a woman that travails, makes haste to escape the necessity of the travail: even so do these places haste to deliver those things that are committed unto them.
Also by Paul:
Romans 8:22 KJV “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now.
—
Matthew 24:12 KJV “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
Matthew 24:37 KJV (Luke 17:26) “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
2 Esdras 5:2 “But iniquity shall be increased above that which now you see, or that you have heard long ago.”
—
Matthew 7:13-14 KJV “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
2 Esdras 7:12-14 “Then were the entrances of this world made narrow, full of sorrow and travail: they are but few and evil, full of perils, and very painful. For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and brought immortal fruit. If then they that live, labor not to enter these straight and vain things, they can never receive those that are laid up for them.
—
Matthew 20:16 KJV “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
2 Esdras 8:1, 3 “And he answered me, saying, The Most High hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few. …There be many created, but few shall be saved.
—
Matthew 7:21-23 KJV ״Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then
will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
2 Esdras 9:10 ״For such, as in their life have received benefits, and have not known me:״
—
Matthew 24:7 KJV ״For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.״
2 Esdras 9:2-3 ״Then shall you understand, that it is the very same time, wherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which he made. Therefore when there shall be seen earthquakes and uproars of the people in the world:”
— quoted by Paul
1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 KJV “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
2 Esdras 2:16 And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my Name in Israel.”
Also Luke and John:
Acts 24:15 KJV “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”
Revelation 20:13 KJV “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
—
1 Corinthians 15:45 KJV “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual,
but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
2 Esdras 3:21 “For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and was overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.”
—
Romans 14:10 KJV “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2 Esdras 7:33 “And the Most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and
misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end.”
—
Romans 8:2 KJV “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
2 Esdras 14:30 “And received the law of life which they kept not, which you also have transgressed after them.”
— quoted by Peter
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
2 Esdras 2:43 And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller then all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted, which I marvelled at greatly.
Also John:
Revelation 2:10 KJV “…and I will give thee a crown of life.”
—
2 Peter 3:9 KJV “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Esdras 8:59 “For as the things aforesaid shall receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them; for it was not his will that men should come to nothing.”
— quoted by James
James 2:18-20, 26 KJV “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
…For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
2 Esdras 9:7-8 “And every one that shall be saved, and shall be able to escape by his works, and by faith, whereby you have believed, Shall be preserved from the said perils, and shall see my salvation, in my land, and within my borders: for I have sanctified them for me, from the beginning.
— quoted in Revelation
2nd Esdras 2:42
I Ezra saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
Revelation 14:1-3 KJV
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, … And they sung as it were a new song before the throne,…
—
2nd Esdras 2:16
And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my Name in Israel.
Revelation 20:13 KJV
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: …
—
2 Esdras 2:43
And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller then all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted, which I marvelled at greatly.
Revelation 2:10 KJV
…and I will give thee a crown of life.
—
2nd Esdras 15:44
They shall come to her (Babylon), and besiege her, the star and all wrath shall they power out upon her, then shall the dust and smoke go up unto the heaven: and all they that be about her, shall bewail her.
Revelation 18:8 KJV
Therefore shall her (Babylon) plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning …
—
2nd Esdras 13:4, 10-11
And whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they burnt, that heard his voice, like as the earth fails when it feels the fire.
…But only I saw that he sent out of his mouth, as it had been a blast of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of his tongue he cast out sparks and tempests, And they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the flaming breath, and the great tempest, and fell with violence upon the multitude, which was prepared to fight, and burnt them up every one, so that upon a sudden, of an innumerable multitude, nothing was to be perceived, but only dust and smell of smoke: when I saw this, I was afraid.
Revelation 19:15 KJV
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Revelation 19:21 KJV
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.