(5) The Ancient Romantic Fiction, Entitled The Shepherd of Hermas, is not without its Apocalyptic elements. These, however, are con fined to book i :3, 4; but they are destitute of signification or originality. (See HERMAS.) (6) The Book of Enoch is one of the most curious of the spurious revelations, resembling in its outward form both the book of Daniel and the Apocalypse; but it is uncertain whether this latter work or the hook of Enoch was first written. (See ENocx.) Professor Moses Stuart (Biblioth. Sacra, No. 2, p. 363) is of opinion that the Book of Enoch, the Ascension of Isaiah, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, many of the Sibylline Oracles, the fourth Book of Ezra, and the Pastor of Hermas, were composed 'nearly at the same time with the Apocalypse of St. John.' (7) Apocryphal Revelation of St. John. There was an Apocryphal Revelation of St. John extant in the time of Theodosius the Gram marian, the only one of the ancients who mentions it, and who calls it a pseudepigraphal book. It was not known what had become of it, until the identical work was recently published from a Vat ican, as well as a Vienna manuscript, by Birch, in his .4uctarium, under the title of 'The Apocalypse of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Di vine.' From the silence of the ancients respecting this work, it could scarcely have been written be fore the third or fourth century. Lake has pointed
out other internal marks of a later age, as, for in stance, the mention of incense, which he observes first came into use in the Christian church after the fourth century (although here the author of the spurious book may have taken his idea from Rev. v:8; viii :3) ; also of images and rich crosses, which were not in use before the 'fourth and fifth centuries.' The name patriarch applied here to a dignitary in the church, belongs to the same age.
The time in which Theodosius himself lived is not certainly known, but he cannot be placed earlier than the fifth century, which Lficke con ceives to be the most probable age of the work it self. Regarding the object and occasion of the work (which is a rather servile imitation of the genuine Apocalypse), in consequence of the ab sence of dates and of internal characteristics, there are no certain indications. Birch's text, as well as his manuscripts, abound in errors; but Thilo has collated two Paris manuscripts for his in tended edition (see his Acta Tlionur, Proleg. p. lxxxiii). Asscmann (Biblioth. Orient. torn. iii. pt. i. p. 282) states that there is an Arabic version among the Vatican MSS. W. W.