Most people have at least a passing acquaintance with the traditional order of the New Testament: It begins with the gospels known as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and ends with the book of Revelation. But scholars have long known that the traditional order bears little resemblance to the actual order in which the books were composed. They know, for example, that the letters of Paul predate the gospels; that Matthew was not the first gospel; and are confident that the book of Revelation was far from the last book in the current canon to be written.
This collection represents an effort to present the books of the New Testament arranged—as far as I can determine—in chronological order of their actual composition. For the text of the books I used the American Standard Version of 1901. It is my belief that by reading the New Testament in this way, a much clearer picture emerges of who Jesus was and what he taught. I further believe such a reading helps us to see not only how the various doctrines of Christianity emerged and grew into orthodoxy, but also how the picture of Jesus envisioned by his earliest followers changed and transformed with time.
This is a work in progress, and I hope the reader will help to ensure the improvement of future editions by providing feedback. The next edition, which I do not anticipate having ready prior to the end of 2011 at the very earliest, will be considerably expanded and revised.
This is the epub version of
The New Testament in Possible Chronological Order.
WT Sharpe, December 2010.
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