The Acts of Paul and Thecla were reputed to have been a forgery and Pope
Gelasius, in his decree against Apocryphal books, had them removed from Canon.
Never the less, The Acts of Paul and Thecla were considered genuine by the early
Christians. 4th century historians such as Eusebius, Austin, and Gregory, to name
a few, mention Thecla. In about 590 CE, Euagrius Scholasticus, an ecclesiastical
historian, records that the Emperor Zeno had a vision of Thecla, who promised
him the restoration of his empire. Emperor Zeno’s empire was restored and he
built a beautiful temple in honor of Thecla in Seleucia, Isauria. Grabe, the
editor of the Septuagint, considered The Acts of Paul and Thecla as having been
written during the Apostolic Age. He believed them to be authentic and genuine
history. The Acts of Paul and Thecla were translated from a Greek manuscript
that can be found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. There are some remarkable
paranormal events recorded in The Acts of Paul and Thecla. These events are as
follows.
Paul Appears As An Angel
1:7
At length they saw a man coming (namely Paul), of a low stature, bald (or
shaved) on the head, crooked thighs, handsome legs, hollow-eyed; had a crooked
nose; full of grace; for sometimes he appeared as a man, sometimes he had the
countenance of an angel. And Paul saw Onesiphorus, and was glad.
8
And Onesiphorus said: Hail, thou servant of the blessed God. Paul replied, The grace
of God be with thee and thy family.
Thecla Sees Jesus In The Likeness Of Paul
5:11
But Thecla, just as a lamb in the wilderness looks every way to see his
shepherd, looked around for Paul;
12
And as she was looking upon the multitude,
she saw the Lord Jesus in the likeness of Paul, and said to herself, Paul is
come to see me in my distressed circumstances. And she fixed her eyes upon him;
but he instantly ascended up to heaven, while she looked on him.
God Quenches The Fire
5:15
Then the people set fire to the pile; though the flame was exceeding large,
it did not touch her, for God took compassion on her, and caused a great
eruption from the earth beneath, and a cloud from above to pour down great
quantities of rain and hail;
16
Insomuch that by the rupture of the earth, very
many were in great danger, and some were killed, the fire was extinguished, and Thecla was preserved.
A She Lion Licks Thecla And Does Not Harm Her
8:3
At length a day came, when the beasts were to be brought forth to be seen;
and Thecla was brought to the amphitheatre, and put into a den in which was an
exceeding fierce she-lion, in the presence of a multitude of spectators.
4
Trifina, without any surprise, accompanied Thecla, and the she-lion licked the
feet of Thecla. The title written which denotes her crime was: Sacrilege. Then
the woman cried out, O God, the judgments of this city are unrighteous.
The Dead Daughter Of Trifina Appears
8:5
After the beasts had been shewn, Trifina took Thecla home with her, and they
went to bed; and behold, the daughter of Trifina, who was dead, appeared to her
mother, and said; Mother, let the young woman, Thecla, be reputed by you as your
daughter in my stead; and desire her that she should pray for me, that I may be
translated to a state of happiness.
6
Upon which Trifina, with a mournful air,
said, My daughter Falconilla has appeared to me, and ordered me to receive you
in her room; wherefore I desire, Thecla, that you would pray for my daughter,
that she may be translated into a state of happiness, and to life eternal.
Thecla Thrown To The Beast, No Harm Comes To Her
9:1
Then Thecla was taken out of the hand of Trifina, stripped naked, had a
girdle put on, and thrown into the place appointed for fighting with the beasts:
and the lions and the bears were let loose upon her.
2
But a she-lion, which was
of all the most fierce, ran to Thecla, and fell down at her feet. Upon which the
multitude of women shouted aloud.
3
Then a she-bear ran fiercely towards her;
but the she-lion met the bear, and tore it to pieces.
4
Again, a he-lion, who
had been wont to devour men, and which belonged to Alexander, ran towards her;
but the she-lion encountered the he-lion, and they killed each other.
9:10
Yet they turned other wild beasts upon her; upon which they made a very
mournful outcry; and some of them scattered spikenard, others cassia, other amomus [a sort of spikenard, or the herb of Jerusalem, or ladies-rose], others
ointment; so that the quantity of ointment was large, in proportion to the
number of people; and upon this all the beasts lay as though they had been fast
asleep, and did not touch Thecla.
Thecla's Baptism
9:6
Afterwards they brought out many other wild beasts; but Thecla stood with
her hands stretched towards heaven, and prayed; and when she had done praying,
she turned about, and saw a pit of water, and said, Now it is a proper time for
me to be baptized.
7
Accordingly she threw herself into the water, and said, In
thy name, O my Lord Jesus Christ, I am this last day baptized. The women and the
people seeing this, cried out, and said, Do not throw yourself into the water.
And the governor himself cried out, to think that the fish (sea-calves) were
like to devour so much beauty.
8
Notwithstanding all this, Thecla threw herself
into the water, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9
But the fish
(sea-calves,) when they saw the lighting and fire, were killed, and swam dead
upon the surface of the water, and a cloud of fire surrounded Thecla, so that as
the beasts could not come near her, so the people could not see her nakedness.
Thecla Tied To Wild Bulls Is Not Harmed
9:12
Then they put a cord round Thecla's waist, which bound also her feet, and
with it tied her to the bulls, to whose privy-parts they applied red-hot irons,
that so they being the more tormented, might more violently drag Thecla about,
till they had killed her.
13
The bulls accordingly tore about, making a most
hideous noise, but the flame which was about Thecla, burnt off the cords which
were fastened to the members of the bulls, and she stood in the middle of the
stage, as unconcerned as if she had not been bound.
Trifina's Resurrection
9:14
But in the mean time Trifina, who sat upon one of the benches, fainted away
and died; upon which the whole city was under a very great concern. 9:22
Upon which the women cried out together with a loud voice, and with one
accord gave praise unto God, and said: There is but one God, who is the God of Thecla; the one God who hath delivered Thecla.
23
So loud were their voices that
the whole city seemed to be shaken; and Trifina herself heard the glad tidings,
and arose again, and ran with the multitude to meet Thecla; and embracing her,
said: Now I believe there shall be a resurrection of the dead; now I am
persuaded that my daughter is alive. Come therefore home with me, my daughter
Thecla, and I will make over all that I have to you.
A Bright Cloud Accompanies Thecla
10:11
When she departed thence, she went to Seleucia, and enlightened many in
the knowledge of Christ.
12
And a bright cloud conducted her in her journey.
13
And after she had arrived at Seleucia she went to a place out of the city, about
the distance of a furlong, being afraid of the inhabitants, because they were
worshippers of idols.
14
And she was led [by the cloud] into a mountain called Calamon, or Rodeon. There she abode many years, and underwent a great many
grievous temptations of the devil, which she bore in a becoming manner, by the
assistance which she had from Christ.
The Sick Are Cured, Unclean Spirits Cast Out
10:16
Hereby a good report was spread everywhere of Thecla, and she wrought
several [miraculous] cures, so that all the city and adjacent countries brought
their sick to that mountain, and before they came as far as the door of the
cave, they were instantly cured of whatsoever distemper they had.
17
The unclean
spirits were cast out, making a noise; all received their sick made whole, and
glorified God, who had bestowed such power on the virgin Thecla;
Thecla Saved From Defilement By A Voice From Heaven, A Rock Opens
11:11
Then came a voice from heaven, saying, Fear not, Thecla, my faithful
servant, for I am with thee. Look and see the place which is opened for thee:
there thy eternal abode shall be; there thou shalt receive the beatific vision.
12
The blessed Thecla observing, saw the rock opened to as large a degree as
that a man might enter in; she did as she was commanded, bravely fled from the
vile crew, and went into the rock, which instantly so closed, that there was not
any crack visible where it had opened.
The Lord Translates Thecla
11:15
Thus suffered that first martyr and apostle of God, and virgin, Thecla;
who came from Iconium at eighteen years of age; afterwards, partly in journeys
and travels, and partly in a monastic life in the cave, she lived seventy-two
years; so that she was ninety years old when the Lord translated her.
16
Thus ends her life.
Anomalies In
The Lost Books
The Lost Books of the Bible contain the
same aerial anomalies, beings and people flying up into the sky,
and enigmatic
events as the King James Bible.
Anomalies In
The Lost Books
The
Categories
