New Testament
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Petrus (talk | contribs) at 12:59, March 14, 2007. It may differ significantly from current revision.
The New Testament is a collection of books written by various authors between 45 AD and 140 AD, revolving around the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth, and the apostles he worked with.
The books are traditionally classified into categories:
- The four Gospels (literally "Good news"): accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus, consisting of the gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (rather than up to sixteen known others of similar attribution).
- The Acts of the Apostles (or just "Acts") (which J. B. Phillips evocatively called "The Young Church In Action,") which concerns the ministry of the Apostles after the death of Christ. It is similar in language and style to, and reads as a continuation of, the Gospel of Luke.
- The Epistles (which J. B. Phillips called "Letters to Young Churches,") Romans through Jude, consisting of fourteen letters by St. Paul and seven by other writers.
- The Book of Revelation (or just "Revelation,") the prophetic book which ends the New Testament. It is also known as "the Apocalypse" (Greek for 'revelation') - though many such apocalyses, both Christian and Jewish, were in fact in circulation at the time. It is somewhat similar in style to the Old Testament book of Daniel (from which it borrows), and tells of the end of the world, including Armageddon, Judgment Day, and the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven, but despite Jesus' thrice repeated promise in it 'I shall come very soon', opinions vary as to whether it refers to supposedly imminent events set amid the then Roman Empire or to the far future.