Epistula Apostolorum
[2] Francis Watson dates it to around 170, after the Antonine plague, due to the references to death and disease as a sign of the end times.
[3] The work does not seem to assume a sharply differentiated or rigid church hierarchy, treats both gentile and Jewish Christians as part of the same group, and expects a 2nd-century return of Jesus: all signs of a 2nd century origin.
[6][10] The text is initially framed as an open letter from the 11 apostles after Jesus's resurrection but before his ascension, but it rapidly sheds this structure, and the work as a whole cannot be accurately described as an epistle.
[5] Rather, the work becomes a gospel that describes the life and miracles of Jesus, then becomes an apocalypse where the risen Christ tells of revelations of hidden truths in response to questions from the disciples.
The remainder of the text recounts a vision and dialog between Jesus and the apostles, consisting of about sixty questions, and 41 short chapters.
[12] The text itself appears to be based on parts of the New Testament, in particular the Gospel of John, as well as the Apocalypse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, and Shepherd of Hermas, all of which were considered inspired by various groups or individuals during periods of the early church.
"[16] (Coptic version) Jesus then goes on to predict that the false Christians who fell asleep "will remain outside the kingdom and the fold of the shepherd and his sheep" and will be devoured by wolves.
Later scholars have generally not agreed with such a distinction, as the method which the work confirms early catholic views was precisely by refuting Gnosticism.
Similarly, while there are predictions of false teachers who follow evil and desire glory, this could be a condemnation of anyone who denied the doctrines found in the Epistula Apostolorum, not merely Gnostics.
This is presumably to counter docetism, the doctrine that Jesus had been a purely divine being separate from the corrupt mortal world common among Gnosticism, seen in works such as the Book of Thomas the Contender.
[17] The Epistle of the Apostles makes a number of statements of prophecy, albeit some appear to be vaticinium ex eventu ("predictions" of events that already occurred).
[2][17] The work also "predicts" the rise of Gnosticism in a hostile manner: Jesus declares that false teachers will attempt to subvert his message in the future.
[21] One passage in the Epistle of the Apostles appears to depend on the original form of the Apocalypse of Peter, suggesting that it may have been composed afterward.
In the gospel portion recounting Jesus's life, it is said that he suffered during the days of Pontius Pilate and Herod Archelaus.
Similar to the main work, it features a resurrected Jesus holding a discourse with his disciples and offering prophecies of the future.
