Scriptural Timelines
As we conclude this series, I want to bolster our faith by looking at the timeline for the writing of the New Testament (NT). The Old Testament (OT) was translated to Greek about 150 years prior to Jesus beginning His ministry and there aren’t really any substantive challenges to the OT as a whole, though there are scholarly disagreements, more on timelines than the content. What is frequently challenged is the timeline of the writing of the NT. Many who disagree with the NT allege the books were written long after the events and not by the authors we have named. For example many deny the writers of the gospels were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John even though we have historic testimony to their authorship. They also allege the books of the NT were altered over time. I have asked many who make the assertion for evidence, none has ever been presented.
To respond let’s look at what we know about the timeline of the writing of the NT. We begin with two important passages.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NKJV)
15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 2 Peter 3:15–16 (NKJV)
In the first passage Paul informs us that all scripture is inspired, literally ‘God breathed.’ In our second passage Peter informs us that Paul’s writings are scripture. This is foundational in concluding that the NT is scripture. There are additional criteria the church has historically used, such as being written by an apostle or an associate of an apostle.
There have also been issues raised about how the NT books were selected by the church councils and how the Canon (rule) was finally established at the Council of Hippo in the 393, including modern criticisms about what books were left out. In a Remnant Radio podcast Craig Keener (Asbury Seminary professor and scholar) noted that the books weren’t so much selected as received. This is an important point. Some contend that truth was filtered out and certain ideas filtered in based on what books were accepted and rejected. However, that was not the criteria. The books that were received and incorporated as the NT were the books already in use by the church. The early church fathers in the second and third centuries quoted so extensively from the NT books in their writings that except for a handful of verses, if we had none of the thousands of manuscripts that we do have, we could reconstruct the entire NT except for these few verses. Astonishing for any ancient manuscripts. With our abundant NT manuscripts, we have an embarrassment of riches compared to any other ancient documents.
We now look more closely at when the books of the NT were written. It is often asserted that we don’t have evidence for the early writing of the NT. In fact, contrary to the assertion we do have evidence. We don’t possess the original manuscripts; they would have worn out through use, but they were copied and widely distributed. To understand the evidence, we start with something Paul wrote.
17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:17–18 (NKJV)
You have likely read this passage, what you may not have noticed is that the final phrase is a quote from Luke.
7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Luke 10:7 (NKJV)
What this means is that Luke’s gospel had to be written and in circulation prior to Paul writing 1 Timothy in the mid 60’s AD. Acts ends with Paul in prison. Historically we know he was released in late 62 or early 63 AD, then rearrested and subsequently beheaded in 66 AD. This means he wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus between 63 and 66 AD.
Strong attestation of the early writing outside of scripture is found in the quotations. Three of the early church fathers, Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp often quoted the NT. Writing between 95 – 110 AD they quoted from 25 of the 27 books of the NT.
For internal evidence Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:15-28, Mark 13:14-23 and Luke 21:20-24. The Romans besieged Jerusalem in 69 AD and in 70 AD the temple was destroyed. Rather a big deal in the Jewish world. Yet not a single NT writer references this fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. Imagine someone writing a history of modern Israel from 1948 to the present day and not referencing the horrors of October 27, 2023 and you get the idea.
Now we follow our timeline trail a little further. Luke completed Acts by 62 AD. Given his dedication of it to Theophilus and his reference to Theophilus of his earlier writing (Acts 1:1) we know Luke was written prior to Acts. Mark is generally viewed by scholars as the earliest gospel, though some claim it was Matthew. In any case we then have the synoptic gospels written within three decades of the events and Luke says he interviewed witnesses to the events (Luke 1:1-14). Galatians is dated to about AD 49, the Corinthian letters it the mid 50’s. In fact, with the exception of the Pastoral letters, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, all of Paul’s letters were written by 62 AD. Given that none of the NT books reference the destruction of the temple we are safe in holding that the NT writings were complete prior to 70 AD. The one exception being Revelation. Some hold it was written early; most date it to near the end of the first century AD. While it does not mention the destruction of the temple John was recording a vision so only included the details given to him by Jesus in the vision.
As an additional historical detail, we know the following. I mentioned Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp writing between 95 – 110 AD. More specifically, Clement wrote about AD 95 from Rome, Ignatius about 107 and Polycarp 110 (the latter two from Smyrna). The location is important as Rome was 100’s of kilometres from Smyrna. Geisler and Turek reference it this way, “Since Clement was in Rome and Ignatius and Polycarp were hundreds of miles away in Smyrna, the original New Testament documents had to have been written significantly earlier, otherwise they could not have circulated across the ancient world by that time.” [1]
We can now see that the NT was written early and used broadly by the church around the end of the first century so we can be confident that what has been passed down to us is scripture. We can be confident in our faith.
NOTE for those of you who would like to dig a little deeper here are some book/author/speaker recommendations. A very good one is I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norm Geisler and Frank Turek, Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer, or any of his other works. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, or his other works. William Lane Craig is an expert on the Cosmological Argument, there are theological points where I disagree with him but in this area, he is very sound. Can Science Explain Everything by John Lennox. J. P. Moreland makes great philosophical arguments and cuts through pretensions. Two of his great books are Love Your God with all your Mind and Scientism and Secularism. Michael Behe’s book, Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is another worthwhile read. You can find many online presentations and debates by these authors as well and most have their own websites. Additionally, I referenced Craig Keener in this final portion. Keener has written extensively but I deeply appreciate his writing on miracles. He has written and documented miracles in church history but also wrote an excellent book, Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World.
[1] Geisler, Norman L.; Turek, Frank. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Foreword by David Limbaugh) (p. 236). Crossway. Kindle Edition.