The New Testament
Studies in the New Testament
The New Testament is the most wonderful book. It reveals how God has kept every promise that He made to the nation Israel and ultimately fulfilled His covenant with them in One Man, Jesus Christ. It contains an accurate account of the gospel of Jesus Christ, His Words, and His plan for all nations including Israel. It reveals how God used a single man, a Jew, who courageously went out to the farthest parts of the known world, to preach the gospel, and would eventually die for his faith in Jesus Christ. It reveals the end of the world, and how Jesus Christ would receive the kingdom that God had promised Him from the beginning.
Seven Divisions
Some have
understood the Bible as seven divisions:
Historical: The rise and fall of the Hebrew nation.
Poetical: The literature of Israel’s golden age.
Prophetic: The literature of Israel’s dark age.
Gospels: Jesus, the Man who Israel produced.
Acts: The Gospel of Jesus among the nations begins.
Epistles: Teachings and instruction to the Churches.
Revelation: The Kingdom of Jesus Christ Manifested.
The Title "New Testament"
The title "New
Testament" comes from the Latin phrase
"Novum Testamentum"
which is a translation of the Greek phrase
"He Kaine Diatheke."
The phrase was used in ancient Greece to denote
"a last will, or testament,"
which is exactly what the Latin translation indicates. In order to discover the
meaning in its purest sense, we need to go to the Hebrew and trace the thought
back to the ancient Hebrew culture.
The word "Diatheke" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for "covenant"
which is "br’t" (pronounced breet) which means "to cut.". A Hebrew covenant
really speaks of a covenant or agreement made or cut (with blood) by one party,
which could be accepted or rejected by the other party, but could never be
altered. If the other party chose to accept the terms of the agreement, both
parties would be bound to it. Since a will and testament was the best example in
the old English culture, the Latin term
Testamentum
was used, and the English equivalent was the word
Testament.
The Contents of the New Testament
The New Testament consists of the revelation of the new covenant through the words of Jesus Christ and his followers. There are 27 distinct books written by nine different authors, that is if the apostle Paul did not write the Book of Hebrews. These documents were all written within the first century A.D. and most likely from A.D. 45 to about A.D. 90-95.
The Literary Character of the New Testament
The first five books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts, are historical books and tell the story about Jesus Christ and the beginnings of the church, and the missionary journey's of the apostle Paul.
The following New Testament books are for the most part doctrinal in character: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, Hebrews, James, I and II Peter, Jude, I John. Most of these books were written as letters to churches instructing them about Christianity. They were, for the most part, very informal and dealt with current situations within the church.
There are also books that are personal in nature: I and II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, II and III John. These were written as personal letters to individuals, for private instruction and counsel. The main reason why these books became significant is because they were written to leadership within the churches.
Although many of the Books in the New Testament are prophetic in nature, the book a Revelation, the last Book of the New Testament, is the main prophetic book and is classed among the apocalyptic literature of the Bible.
Authors of the New Testament
Every writer in the entire New Testament was Jewish, except for Luke. Matthew, Peter, and John were among the 12 disciples. Mark, Jude, and James were very involved in the early church and had close contact with the apostles in some way. Luke and Paul, although they were not apostles in the sense that they walked with Christ during his earthly ministry, they were definitely called by God.
Dates of the Books of the New Testament
The books of the New Testament were not written in the same order by which they appear in the Bible. An exact chronological order for the books of the New Testament is impossible at this time. The opinions of scholars vary greatly on the books of the New Testament. The gospel of John for example has been dated all the way into the second century A.D. Most conservative scholars date the writing of the Book of John to about 85 A.D. and many scholars believe it was earlier.
