Let’s see if I can make this introduction a little less rambling. Since the New Testament is much shorter than the Old Testament, even without getting picking about what to include, it might be a little easier to overview. Some of this information will be a brief rehashing of what was said in my Old Testament Introduction, so if anything seems like it’s short on information, that would be where to look.

My overall approach to the New Testament is going to be a bit different than with the Old Testament. The first four books are the Gospels which are all covering the same time period with different emphases. I’ll be going through in a time order as best as I’m able, comparing which events and moments stood out to each witness. After the resurrection, Acts picks up immediately and follows primarily St. Peter and St. Paul and how they worked to spread the faith. As it is a snapshot covering around 30 years of activity, it will be overlapped by the details of the letters that follow. In order to outline the way the letters fit into the overall timeline, I will cover Acts itself first, then compare the letter details back to that settled timeframe. Finally we’ll dive into Revelation and that will be handled in the moment as I feel too much planning around that book will just lead to headaches.

To ensure that there is no confusion, I will not be going over any apocryphal works in conjunction with the actual sources. Even if they are not heretical, such as with the Didache, I want to lay the foundation that was approved by the tradition of the apostolic church fathers and the councils before we begin to add in any additional information. This way we’ll have a measure with which to compare the information of the other texts.

There will, of course, be articles as well where I go over arguments for authorship and any historical details pertaining to the overall information. However, as the New Testament and the Early Church overlaps, I will have to choose with each topic which section to sort it under to avoid bogging down the site with duplicate articles. So once I get the blog going be sure to look at other sections if you think I’m overlooking something.

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Which Version?

Due to my personal preference for older literal translations, I will be sticking with the Douay-Rheims bible. This is the oldest English translation of the New Testament, first published in AD 1582, a full 29 years before the King James Version. Now, this is not to say it was never edited: as new documents and copies of the older texts of scripture are unearthed, care is taken to compare to ensure both the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate it was taken from are still maintained in their best possible forms. In fact, the biggest effort to ensure it was correct came in 1752 by Bishop Richard Challoner, which is why you might see this Bible called the DRC Bible.

Despite my preference for its age and links to tradition—after all a majority of the church fathers taught from either the Greek originals that St. Jerome favored for his translation or from the Latin Vulgate he put together in AD 382-405–I wish to avoid the fallacy of “DRC only-ism” because so long as you are using an approved translation from the Church or are linguistically skilled enough to accurately pursue the books in their original languages, then that is perfectly fine. I would, however, avoid unapproved versions. Even if you can rely on the translation itself to be free of errors, most Bibles I’ve seen have some degree of commentary and it would be unwise to open yourself up to teaching unaligned with the church.

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Introduction to the Books

Lastly, I’m going to give a brief overview of each book.

Gospels and Acts

The first Gospel in presented order is by St. Matthew. We learn from two of the other Gospels that his name was originally Levi and he was a tax collector before being called by Jesus. It was traditionally thought that St. Matthew was the first one to write his gospel and that it took place within 6 years of the Resurrection. His message was aimed primarily at a Jewish audience, with much more frequent calls back to important details of the Old Testament.

The Gospel of St. Mark may have been written about 4 years after St. Matthew’s, though some now suggest it was the first one written. St. Mark was not himself an apostle, but he was a disciple of St. Peter and he did much work translating and writing for the first Pope. As some critics like to point out, someone like St. Peter would have had a very limited education in his day, and St. Mark took on the role of scribe: a common job before mandatory public education. I’ve heard some point out that there is a roughness to this gospel, and even a quick temperedness assigned to Jesus absent in other tellings. I think as the oldest and most experienced apostle, St. Peter gives a less symbolic and more grounded telling overall.

St. Luke was a Renaissance man far before the Renaissance. From what information we have of his life he was physician, had a painting hobby, and became a disciple and scribe of St. Paul. Just like his teacher, St. Luke focused his works—both his Gospel and the later book of Acts—on converting and reaching out to the Gentiles: ie literally anyone who was not a Jew. Where the former focused on all the signs from the Old Testament and at times pages of speeches from Jesus on the rule of law, St. Luke’s gospel focuses more on the miracles, the immediate lessons and parables, and the miracles (especially in those moments where Jesus interacted with Gentiles). His telling is traditionally dated to around 24 years after the resurrection.

St. John was the youngest of all the apostles, by far. Hence why he was still alive about 63 years after the resurrection when this gospel is traditionally dated. Despite his youth, St. John had the distinction of being the only apostle unafraid to stand before the Crucifix, a distinction only matched by the devotion of the women who followed in their journey. As such, St. John was given the duty of taking care of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the remainder of her earthly life. St. John’s gospel is unique to the others in many ways. It contains many mystical details and events glossed over or left out by other writers. Tradition states that when he was asked in his old age to write his own gospel to supplement what came before, he requested that all of the congregation around him would pray and fast alongside him so that he might be blessed with guidance by the Holy Spirit to be as accurate as possible all those years later.

St. Luke comes back with another book in the Acts of the Apostles. It follows the birth of the church and lays out the foundations for much of how the Body of Christ would continue to function while here on earth. The main characters, so to speak, are first St. Peter and after St. Paul. These two figures have always been at the forefront of the faith and for good reason. Under their efforts the faith spread like wildfire that still burns today.

Letters of St. Paul

The most letters that we have track of from the days of the early church belong to St. Paul. There’s his letter to the Romans written in Corinth as he prepared to set out to Jerusalem with relief money for the church in that area. He later wrote to Corinth from Ephesus when the Corinthians sent a letter to him via three messengers asking for guidance. This first letter to them was not a happy one as the messengers brought tales of very grievous errors committed not even a full three years after St. Paul had first visited. However, it seems like within less than a year of his admonishments, Corinth had gotten its act together substantially as his second letter to them sent from Macedonia was much less angry and praised those who had changed their ways and done penance.

As mentioned, Ephesus was one of the places St. Paul converted. Despite their city being known for a temple to the pagan goddess Diana, his admonishments were far less harsh and in fact seemed to contain much subtler information, perhaps speaking to a part of the church that had excelled in the basics and were open to receiving much deeper faith mysteries. Or perhaps due to the social environment and the heretics growing in the time of the saint’s imprisonment in Rome he felt the need to arm them to specific false doctrines that were circulating at the time. Also while he was imprisoned St. Paul wrote to the Philippians of Macedonia. They had sent him much comfort while he was in captivity and he thanked them and warned them of false prophets in one. A third letter written during his captivity went to the Colossians. Colossa was a city in Phrygia near Laodicea and despite him never having personally taught there, his reputation had gotten him attention and they reached out to him for guidance which he gave.

The textual order of the letters in the Bible seems to be by perceived value to the church at large as opposed to time order. The first and second letters to the Thessalonians, written while St. Paul was at Corinth, were actually his first written letters. They were sent to Thessalonica along with his companion Timothy to comfort the growing church in that place as it had come under immense persecution in that place after St. Paul had been driven out by some of the residents hostile to his message. The second letter has a special focus on the end times, in that he insists that the end is not near and consoles them with the signs to look for before such a great event will take place.

After steeling the Thessalonians to their situation, Timothy went on to become the bishop of Ephesus. Upon this great honor being bestowed upon him, St. Paul sends him a special letter to steel his resolve and encourage him to do great works to set up his portion of the flock for success. This letter was later in his ministry, thought to be sent while he was traveling through Macedonia. Later, during his final imprisonment in Rome, St. Paul wrote again to Timothy, advising him to not try dialoging with those who had strayed from the true faith. Many of his later letters have this undertone of the early church heresies beginning to come to the surface and, in St. Paul’s opinion, there seems to be little use in talking with them so long as they insist that their false views are valid. He closes out acknowledging his approaching end and mentions how he wishes his friend could be by his side once more before that hour.

Titus was another companion of St. Paul who later became a bishop in the lands they travelled. Titus’s flock was that of the island of Crete. St. Paul late wrote to him while passing through Macedonia towards the city of Nicopolis. The parish of Crete began to overflow what Titus could effectively manage and he not only found himself needing priests, but also fellow bishops to assist in his preaching and managing of the people. St. Paul gives him tips on this office as well as advice on how best to interact with the people when it came to sin: balancing justice and leniency.

A very short but standout letter to Philemon is listed next. A rich noble in Colossa, Philemon had a servant named Onesimus who robbed his master and fled to Rome where he happened to meet St. Paul in jail. Can’t imagine how he ended up there. However, while there the thief, like the one to Jesus’s right, had a change of heart and converted while with the apostle. St. Paul wrote him a letter of recommendation, as it were, asking for Philemon to accept his servent back as a brother in faith.

The letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews was written to a community of Jewish converts living in the region we call Palestine. He encourages them to remain in the faith, remembering that Jesus’s priesthood is over that of the Old Testament calling of the tribe of Levi and that the new law in Christ supersedes the old. It is thought from text within the letter that it was written from in or around Rome.

Letter of St. James

This, like those written by the other apostles aside from Saint Paul, was originally referred to as the Catholic or Universal letter of St. James. It was written more as a general letter to any member of the faithful as opposed to the letters of St. Paul who were all written to certain people or communities. The St. James who authored this letter is St. James the Lesser, not the brother of St. John but the cousin of Jesus. He held the title of first bishop of Jerusalem and this letter, written shortly before his martyrdom, reads as a parent leaving a set of rules and practices out for his children before he embarks on that great journey to see his savior once more. Many aspects of the letter are intensely linked to the Catholic faith to this day such as outlines for our sacrament of Extreme Unction or Anointing of the Sick and that faith without works is not sufficient to save a man as faith without works is dead and not faith at all.

Letters of Pope St. Peter

The first letter St. Peter writes from Rome is a brief teaching on Faith, Hope, and Charity and their application to all the faithful. He also presses on them that God is still the author of authority, so they should follow and respect authority whether of a king, governor, or master.

St. Peter’s second letter is written much closer to his death. As in St. Paul’s later letters, much is said about avoiding false teachers. The first Pope makes an effort to expose all aspects of their trickery as well as outlines what punishments await them for their sins of leading others astray. He closes by describing the fiery end fated for this world and the day of final judgment.

Letters of St. John

St. John wrote his first letter focused as he always was on the deeper mysteries of faith. He confirms the beliefs of the Trinity and the Incarnation as God becoming fully human in the person of Jesus. He continues on to outline how to distinguish a child of God from followers of satan, while also reminding us that there is real hope for forgiveness.

The second letter of St. John is actually directed to a specific woman and her family. Electa is praised for her good works but admonished not to rest on her laurels as falling is never beyond our capability until we’re in the arms of our savior. The cautions her to avoid heretics in all her actions; even going so far as to tell her to not salute them in greeting. Though harsh, the terrible rending to the church by leniency to falsehoods in their infancy can be felt through to today.

St. John’s final letter is to Gaius, praising him for his adherence to truth and great strides in charity. He mentions in this letter that he desired to write a letter to the whole church of the area, however a man named Diotrephes seemed to interfere with that due to his “loving to have preeminence among them”. Though there doesn’t seem to be much explanation handed down through tradition, it would seem this was either a rogue bishop or perhaps a governor who was making it difficult for the church to meet in public and share messages from the apostle. He gives a testimony or recommendation on behalf of a Demetrius and that is perhaps the reason the “ancient one” as he opens his letter chose to send it.

Letter of St. Jude

St. Jude, the brother of St. James the Lesser and also therefore a kinsman of Christ, wrote this letter later in his life. From context clues it seems that he and St. John may be the only original apostles still left alive. Like all other late letters he is railing against the heretics who have begun schisms within the church listing the follies of the Simonians, Nicolaïtes, and Gnostics as well as a handful of others. He also mentions times in the Old Testament where God punished those who had once been in good standing but had turned their backs on truth. Simultaneously, he gives some leeway for approaching the fallen or nearly fallen to help bring them back. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons he’s known as the patron saint of lost causes and hopeless situations.

Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle

Finally we have that mysterious and perhaps even excessively curious book from St. John. While some try to cast speculation now, the tradition does not for a moment consider with doubt the apostle being the author of this work. Indeed, most of his other works are more etherial and mystical in nature and some of the arguments put forward coud easily be dismissed by a handful of factors. This text is a message from God to seven church’s who are struggling in their path followed by an array of mysteries mapping out the future of the church, the end of the world, and the beginning of everything all in one. It’s a masterpiece that has caught the mind of many a dreamer and artist throughout the ages even until today.

And that is the overview of the books of the New Testament. Eventually these will serve a secondary purpose as linking to the different articles that I’ll write for each of these books. That will create an easy, shareable post when it’s finished. Until then, please be patient. I have a full time job and ADHD (diagnosed) so I’ll be doing my best but God only knows where, when, and about what each of my next posts will be. Thanks for your patience and support!