The Gospel of Barnabas 137fact just as capable of having been 'forged', albeit during an earlier
period, as are the contents of the Italian manuscript of the Gospel of
Barnabas. We just do not know.
The converse possibility, however, is equally true, and although,
to quote the Introduction to the Ecumenical Translation, 'there can
be no hope of going back to the original text itself,' there is still the
possibility that on the whole all the Gospels - including The Gospel
of Barnabas -in their present form do contain a certain degree of
accuracy and truth. It is possible to read all of these Gospels and
find elements of what must be true in all of them -but it is impos
sible to claim that any of them are entirely accurate or to rely com
pletely and unreservedly on any one of them.
Furthermore, the one Gospel which we do not have is the Gos
pelofJesus, the original revelation that he received, in the original
language in which it was revealed - so that the accuracy and au
thenticity of any translation of that original text could always be
ascertained and assessed simply by referring back to that original
text whenever the occasion might arise.
It is interesting to note, as has already been stated, in this con
text that according to the Gospel of Barnabas, the revelation which
was given to Jesus - the Ingil -was never preserved as a written
text at any stage, but was more in the nature of a weIl of wisdom
which was placed in the heart of Jesus by the angel Gabriel, and
from which he could draw as he needed:
Jesus having come to the age of thirty years, as he him
self said unto me, went up to the Mount of Olives with
his mother to gather olives. Then at midday as he was
praying, when he came to these words: 'Lord, with
mercy ... ,' he was surrounded by an exceeding bright
light and by an infinite multitude of angels, who were
saying: 'Blessed be Cod.' The angel Gabriel presented
to him as it were a shining mirror, a book, which de
scended into the heart of Jesus, in which he had knowl
edgeof whatGod has done andwhathassai d, andwhat
God wills insomuch that everything was laid bare and
open to him; as he said unto me: 'Believe, Barnabas, that
1 know every prophet with every prophecy, insomuch
that whatever 1 say the whole has come forth from that
book.' (The Gospel of Barnabas: 10).