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Audiobook edition · 35 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 36 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 36 pagesAbout this book
What if the body's destruction is not defeat, but the threshold of spiritual freedom?
The Second Apocalypse of James presents an unveiling through speech. James, remembered in Christian tradition as the brother of Jesus and a leader in Jerusalem, receives hidden teaching from the risen Lord. According to the text, he then passes that knowledge to others, bringing questions of existence and spiritual freedom into focus.
Dialogue leads toward an account of James's martyrdom at the hands of earthly authorities. The text places bodily danger beside the promise of inner enlightenment. Often read as Gnostic, though that label is debated, it explores divine knowledge, the fear of death, and the limits of the material world.
What you’ll discover
- James as a teacher Meet a figure who receives hidden knowledge and takes on the task of sharing it.
- An unveiling through dialogue Explore teachings presented as an exchange between James and the risen Lord.
- Spirit and bodily danger Consider a vision in which physical suffering does not have the final word.
- Knowledge as a path Follow the text's understanding of divine knowledge as a route beyond material limits.
- Early Christianity beyond familiar boundaries Encounter an ancient Christian work that stands outside the New Testament.
Who will love it
Readers who love early Christian history, ancient manuscripts, and lost voices will enjoy this book, as will those drawn to mystical teaching, prayer, and questions of self-knowledge.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A sealed jar in Egypt kept this text
- Many Christianities lived side by side in the second century
- James the Just stands at the center
- A priest writes down the speech in Jerusalem
- James claims knowledge from above
- The Lord visits as a brother and unmasks the maker
- The text calls its hearers to judgment and to prayer
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The Second Apocalypse of James
by Anonymous early Christian mystic · 150
In Jerusalem, James climbs temple steps and tells a crowd of a visit from the Lord who calls him brother.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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“I speak even as I heard.”
In short
What would you say to a crowd that wants you dead? In The Second Apocalypse of James, a man climbs the temple steps in Jerusalem and speaks to the people.
The Second Apocalypse of James at a glance
- Reading time
- About 20 min20 min fast, 25 min slow
- Length
- 5,340 words
- Pages
- 36 pages36 in large print
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- about AD 150by Anonymous early Christian mystic
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A sealed jar in Egypt kept this text
This speech reaches us from a clay jar. In December 1945, a farmer named Muhammad Ali al-Samman was digging near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi when his tool broke open a sealed vessel. Inside was a collection of ancient manuscripts containing fifty-two texts. They held fifty-two texts, many unknown for more than a thousand years. The Second Apocalypse of James was one of them.
The copy is written in Coptic, the late form of the Egyptian language used by Christians in Egypt. Scholars agree it was translated from a Greek original, most place it in the second century, and nobody can name the author. The word apocalypse means an uncovering, and nothing more. This work has no beasts, no battles and no end of the world. What it uncovers is a teaching and a death.
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In Jerusalem, James climbs temple steps and tells a crowd of a visit from the Lord who calls him brother.
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Details
- First published
- 150
- Language
- English
- Listening time
- 35 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 36 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 36 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 36 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 36 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
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For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
The Second Apocalypse of James. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-second-apocalypse-of-james.
The second apocalypse of James. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-second-apocalypse-of-james (Original work published ca. 150)
The Second Apocalypse of James. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-second-apocalypse-of-james.
@book{anonymous2026second,
title = {The Second Apocalypse of James},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-second-apocalypse-of-james},
note = {First published ca. 150}
}
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What is the Second Apocalypse of James about?
It is a speech by James the Just in Jerusalem, written down by a priest. James describes a visit from the Lord, teaches about a hidden Father and a lesser maker of the world, warns his judges, and closes with a prayer.
Where was the Second Apocalypse of James found?
It was found in 1945 near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, among fifty-two texts preserved in a sealed jar. The copy is written in Coptic and was translated from a Greek original.
Who was James the Just?
James the Just is remembered in early sources as the brother of the Lord and leader of the Jerusalem community. Josephus and Eusebius write of his piety and his death in 62 CE.
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