The New Testament:
The Word is Made Flesh
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
John 1:1–2, 14
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
John 1:1–2, 14
nlike the Old Testament, the text of the New Testament was written within a span of less than 50 years, dating from John Mark’s Gospel of Mark written in 50AD, and Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, written in 52AD, to the last book of the Bible, the prophetic book of Revelation, written from the isle of Patmos near the end of the first century, around 90AD. The New Testament can be divided into three separate categories, Historical, Epistles, and Prophetic. The Historical books being the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. The Epistles, individual letters written to groups of Christians explaining the gospel of Christ. And the only prophetic book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation. This book is a fitting end to the Bible, as it sums up the entire plan of redemption for man, revealing the end of this age, and giving us hope in Jesus for the ages to come.
The original language of the New Testament was written in Greek. A rich, wonderful language, set forth to harness the power of the Word of God. As Martin Luther once said, “Languages are the sheath which contains the sword of the Spirit; they are the casket which contains the jewels, the vessel which contains the liquor; and as the gospel expresses it, they are the baskets in which are preserved the bread and fishes to feed the people.” God, in His perfect timing, at the climax of all the ages, revealed His Son by sending the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. God chose this time for two important reasons. First, He needed a universal language which could contain and administer the precious Word of God. The Greek tongue was this method of communication and became the common language from 300BC to 200AD. The second important factor that had to be established for the coming Messiah was the development of a civil government. Although Rome, at the turn of the millennium, was deeply pagan, the foundation of a civil, controlled government, giving the advantage of roads and marine passages, was necessary to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world.
The New Testament is indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit, revealed by God to men to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. And it is through these inspired words that Peter deems the letters of Paul as Scripture, (2Pet 3:16).
The original language of the New Testament was written in Greek. A rich, wonderful language, set forth to harness the power of the Word of God. As Martin Luther once said, “Languages are the sheath which contains the sword of the Spirit; they are the casket which contains the jewels, the vessel which contains the liquor; and as the gospel expresses it, they are the baskets in which are preserved the bread and fishes to feed the people.” God, in His perfect timing, at the climax of all the ages, revealed His Son by sending the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. God chose this time for two important reasons. First, He needed a universal language which could contain and administer the precious Word of God. The Greek tongue was this method of communication and became the common language from 300BC to 200AD. The second important factor that had to be established for the coming Messiah was the development of a civil government. Although Rome, at the turn of the millennium, was deeply pagan, the foundation of a civil, controlled government, giving the advantage of roads and marine passages, was necessary to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world.
The New Testament is indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit, revealed by God to men to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. And it is through these inspired words that Peter deems the letters of Paul as Scripture, (2Pet 3:16).
There is much debate about the dates in which the New Testament was written, but there is logical proof, from the writing of the Bible, to confirm the New Testament was written within the first century. Paul’s epistles are probably the easiest to date as one can journey through the book of Acts, knowing he was martyred, in 66AD by the hand of Nero in Rome. Peter, martyred at the same time as Paul, and James, murdered in 62AD. Some date James as one of the earliest books written, but I disagree. I believe he wrote this later in his life, for one, after he had heard the message of Paul at the Jerusalem Council in 50AD, and two, after he had read the epistles and revelation of Paul and Peter.
The book of Hebrews is another epistle of great debate. Not only of its date, but even its authorship. I believe it is undoubtedly Paul, and it is my conjecture it was his first prison epistle written in 60AD. The epistle to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians in Palestine. Jews in Palestine were the only ones called Hebrews. I believe Paul sent this letter to Peter or one of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who also knew Timothy, (Heb 13:23), asking that Timothy be sent to him. The last time we see Timothy, he had traveled back to Jerusalem with Paul on his third journey, and he was probably still in Jerusalem when Paul wrote this letter. After Timothy arrives at Rome, he finds Paul withheld in prison and together they both write three epistles, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians.
Another milestone for dating most of these letters before 70AD was the historical fact of the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus prophesied Jerusalem to fall within their generation, (Lk 21:5-6, 20-24), and indeed it did in 70AD. Matthew and Mark were written as firsthand accounts of the travels and times of Jesus. Luke was a learned doctor, compiling a document of the events of Jesus, “handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word,” to the most excellent Theophilus, (Lk 1:1-4). Luke also wrote the book of Acts, showing the history of life after Jesus and the beginning of the Church, in which he was an eye witness to most. He wrote the book of Acts describing these events and dedicated it to Theophilus as well. However, the book of Acts does not begin with a formal introduction, as “most excellent Theophilus”, as we see in the Gospel of Luke. It is conjectured that Theophilus became a Christian by reading Luke’s first account, and afterward, the two may have become friends. It is also possible Luke was writing the book of Acts as trial documents to defend Paul in his upcoming trial in Rome. Thus, proving the book of Acts, and the other three Gospels to be written before 70AD.
The book of Hebrews is another epistle of great debate. Not only of its date, but even its authorship. I believe it is undoubtedly Paul, and it is my conjecture it was his first prison epistle written in 60AD. The epistle to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians in Palestine. Jews in Palestine were the only ones called Hebrews. I believe Paul sent this letter to Peter or one of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who also knew Timothy, (Heb 13:23), asking that Timothy be sent to him. The last time we see Timothy, he had traveled back to Jerusalem with Paul on his third journey, and he was probably still in Jerusalem when Paul wrote this letter. After Timothy arrives at Rome, he finds Paul withheld in prison and together they both write three epistles, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians.
Another milestone for dating most of these letters before 70AD was the historical fact of the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus prophesied Jerusalem to fall within their generation, (Lk 21:5-6, 20-24), and indeed it did in 70AD. Matthew and Mark were written as firsthand accounts of the travels and times of Jesus. Luke was a learned doctor, compiling a document of the events of Jesus, “handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word,” to the most excellent Theophilus, (Lk 1:1-4). Luke also wrote the book of Acts, showing the history of life after Jesus and the beginning of the Church, in which he was an eye witness to most. He wrote the book of Acts describing these events and dedicated it to Theophilus as well. However, the book of Acts does not begin with a formal introduction, as “most excellent Theophilus”, as we see in the Gospel of Luke. It is conjectured that Theophilus became a Christian by reading Luke’s first account, and afterward, the two may have become friends. It is also possible Luke was writing the book of Acts as trial documents to defend Paul in his upcoming trial in Rome. Thus, proving the book of Acts, and the other three Gospels to be written before 70AD.