Bible Canon Archives - Bible Authenticity

When, and by Whom, Was the Book of Isaiah Written?

February 19, 2024 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

“The vision which Isaiah, son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah”—Isaiah 1:1 NAB

Until about the last 250 years, the book of Isaiah was generally accepted by Christians as being written entirely by the prophet Isaiah in the latter part of the 8th century BCE. Nowadays, however, many “scholars” think the book was written by various writers over the course of several centuries, citing factors such as differences in subject matter, style, theology, vocabulary, and the viewpoint that predictive prophesy is impossible. The real reason for this is, however, that they don’t think predictive prophecy is possible. While there are a variety of views about the writership of Isaiah, critics often claim that chapters 40-66 were not written by “Isaiah, son of Amos.” However, careful examination of the book reveals that chapters 36-39 are a historical interlude that concludes the first section of the book, chapters 1-35, and introduces the last section, chapters 40-66. This reveals the unity of the entire book. read more

IS THE BOOK OF JONAH HISTORY OR FICTION?

November 27, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 1 comment

“A light satire, with no prentions to being historical . . . This fictional form is unique in the prophetic tradition”—Catholic commentary on Jonah

“There are convincing reasons why the book cannot be historical”—Dictionary of the Bible, by John L McKenzie

“Jesus replied, ‘Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here–but you refuse to repent'”—Matthew 12:39-41 NLT (also, see Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:29,30,32) read more

OLDEST, MOST COMPLETE HEBREW SCRIPTURE MANUSCRIPT WITH PUNCTUATION AND VOWELS

August 2, 2023 BibleAuthenticity Comments 1 comment

“‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the =&0=& Almighty God promised to preserve his word, the Bible, and he has! Jesus Christ told his apostles: “‘Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures”—Luke 24:44,45 NIV. What Jesus referred to above was our present day 39 book Old Testament, the Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures, from Genesis through Malachi, which was divided into “twenty-four books” (2 Esdras 14:44), by the ancient Jews. These were considered to be “the Scriptures”, and “the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). It has been accurately preserved by God for 2,500 years. The following article gives some evidence of this fact: “By David Gritten, BBC News, May 18, 2023 =&1=&

The Codex Sassoon is thought to have been written about 1,100 years ago.

It is the earliest surviving example of a single manuscript containing all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible with punctuation, vowels and accents.

US lawyer and former ambassador Alfred Moses bought it for the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel.

” The Hebrew Bible is the most influential in history and constitutes the bedrock of Western civilisation,” Mr Moses said in a statement.

“I rejoice in knowing that it belongs to the Jewish people. It was my mission, realising the historic significance of Codex Sassoon, to see it resides in a place with global access to all people.”

The winning bid exceeded the $30.8m paid by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1994 for the Codex Leicester, Leonardo da Vinci’s scientific notebook.

But it fell short of the record for a historical document sold at auction set by hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who bought a first-edition printed copy of the US constitution for $43.2m two years ago.

The Codex Sassoon is named after a previous owner, David Solomon Sassoon, who acquired it in 1929 and assembled the largest and most important private collection of Hebrew manuscripts in the world at his home in London.

The text of the Hebrew Bible – whose 24 books make up what Christians call the Old Testament – remained in flux until the early Middle Ages, when Jewish scholars known as Masoretes began to create a body of notes that standardised it.

The Aleppo Codex, which was assembled around 930, is considered the most authoritative Masoretic text. However, damage from a fire in the Syrian city of Aleppo in 1947 means that only 295 of the original 487 pages survive today.

The Codex Sassoon, which carbon dating shows was created around 900, is missing only 12 pages, according to Sotheby’s.

“It presents to us the first time an almost-complete book of the Hebrew Bible appears with the vowel points, the cantillation and the notes on the bottom telling scribes how the correct text should be written,” Sharon Mintz, senior Jewish artefact specialist at the auction house, said in March.

Centuries of annotations and inscriptions reveal that the manuscript was sold by a man named Khalaf ben Abraham to Isaac ben Ezekiel al-Attar, who later transferred ownership to his two sons, Ezekiel and Maimon.

In the 13th Century, the codex was dedicated to a synagogue in Makisin, in north-eastern Syria.

After the town was destroyed by either by the Mongols later in the 13th Century or by the Timurids at the start of the 15th Century, the manuscript was entrusted for safekeeping to Salama ibn Abi al-Fakhr. It then disappeared in history for 500 years.

The Codex Sassoon’s most recent owner was Swiss investor Jacqui Safra, who bought it for £2m ($2.5m) at auction in London in 1989.” read more

Did Paul Write Hebrews?

October 7, 2019 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

“As early as the end of the second century the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the commonly held view in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West in the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e. g., Barnabus, Apollos, or Priscilla and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author”—Introduction to The Letter To The Hebrews, New American Bible (NAB) read more

The Fixed New Testament Text – a Huge Problem for Trinitarianism!

December 17, 2018 BibleAuthenticity Comments 2 comments

Revised August 18, 2023

“Command certain people not to teach false doctrines”—1 Timothy 1:3 NIV

Since the Trinity Doctrine is said to be the main, or primary, teaching, of Christianity, why is it so disputed down to this day?

Accurate history tells us that:

(1) Various Trinities were taught and believed in many pagan religions prior to Jesus, going all the way back to ancient Babylon, 3,000 years before Christ!

(2) The Bible’s Old Testament canon closed about 400 BCE, saying nothing about any Trinity, or Trinitarian ideas..

(3) The Bible’s New Testament canon closed about 100 CE, also lacking any mention of any Trinity, or Trinitarian ideas.

(4) The Greek New Testament Master Refined Text became even more strongly fixed than ever during the latter part of the 20th century, with the publication of the Nestle-Aland (N-A) 26th Edition (now in its 28th Edition) and the United Bible Societies’ (UBS) 3rd Edition (now in its 5th Edition). These two independently done Greek Texts are now identical. They are based upon collation and critical anaylsis of the 5,800 extant New Testament manuscripts, some of which are dated to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries CE.

(5) The integrity of the New Testament (NT) Text we have today is so far greater than anything else from ancient times that there is nothing anywhere close to it in textual integrity. This is what we would expect from “the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

(6) It can truly be said of Christianity that it is a textually based religion. It is “written down,” “with paper and ink” (John 21:25; 2 John 14 NLT). The popular myth that the text of the Bible has been changed through handwritten copying and recopying through the centuries is unsupported by the facts.

(7) It was accurately predicted that “men will come forward perverting the truth” (Acts 20:30 NAB). However, the fixed Biblical text has served as a powerful safeguard against doctrinal changes.

(8) The Trinity doctrine, as we know it today, with the three in one idea, did not even appear on the scene until late in the 4th century CE, and was greatly disputed then, and it still is.

From the Bible we learn that:

(1) Jesus based his teachings upon the scriptures. “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44 NIV), which is the way the entire Old Testament was referred to in those days.

(2) The early Christian Church based its decisions upon the Scriptures—Acts 15:12-18

(3) The early individual Christians based their teachings entirely on the Scriptures— “He reasoned with them from the Scriptures . . . they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:2,3,11 NIV). Also see Acts 28:23.

(4) Teaching “different doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3 ESV), or “false doctrines” (1 Timothy 1:3 NIV), was/were not allowed.

(5) Teaching “a different Jesus”, or “a different gospel” was not allowed—2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT; Galatians 1:6 NIV; NAB

(6) Going “beyond what is written in the scriptures” was not allowed—1 Corinthians 4:6 GWT

(7) “Speculations” were not allowed—1 Timothy 1:4 NIV

(8) The Church was to “test” (1 John 4:1 NIV), and “weigh carefully, what is said” ( 1 Corinthians 14:29 NIV)

(9) The fixed text of the Bible, especially the New Testament, serves as a safeguard against “all kinds of strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:9 NIV)

(10) A false doctrine might take hold for a while, but the Bible’s fixed text tends to bring the true Biblical teachings back into focus. “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers in the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24,25 NIV). This is the reason for the huge controversy over Trinitarian doctrine today. A false doctrine, such as the Trinity, is developed through a ‘distortion of the scriptures’ (2 Peter 3:15,16).

(11) “The faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones” (Jude 3 NAB) was in written form with the completion of the New Testament by the end of the 1st century. This, and other scriptures, implies that there is nothing “add to” it (Proverbs 30:5,6 NIV). In fact God has preserved his word, like nothing else has ever been preserved. “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24,25 NIV). This fixed New Testament text serves as a safeguard against any doctrinal changes. It is true that unscriptural doctrinal changes, such as the Trinity, have been made, but “because of the truth,” “those who love the truth,” (2 John 1,2) reject them, and stick with what the Bible itself teaches.

This fixed text of the Bible, especially the New Testament, is why the Trinity is so disputed, and is, in fact, contradicted, by the Bible itself.

Not one aspect of the Trinity doctrine is found within the Biblical text itself.

Some c=&0=& translations=&1=& rendered in=&2=& (KJV),=&3=& in a way that seems to support the Trinity doctrine. This is because they were based on texts composed from manuscripts that had spurious changes.

For example, the words “testify in heaven: the =&4=&were added to 1 John 5:7,8. These words have been used to “prove” the Trinity doctrine. However, textual criticism revealed that these words are not in any Greek manuscript prior to the 14th century, so they are obviously spurious.

The KJV translation of 1 Timothy 3:16, “God was manifested in the flesh,” was based on a corrupted text, which would seem to support the Trinity doctrine. Discoveries of older, more accurate Greek manucsripts, combined with modern textual analysis revealed that the most ancient copies read: “Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is =&5=&

John 1:1 is a favorite go-to “proof text” of Trinitarians. The usual translation in English is: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” However, Koine’ Greek language doesn’t have the indefinite articles “a” and “an.” The Greek of John 1:1 reads, “the Word was with the God, and the Word was divine” (AAT). This is a big difference! Jesus was with THE God, that is, Almighty God, in heaven, prior to his coming to earth. The footnote to John 1:1 in the New American Bible (NAB) is quite informative: “Was God: lack of a definite article in Greek signifies predication rather identification.” Predication describes something about the subject. Jesus is godlike, but he’s not Almighty God. Once again, the Greek text, rather than Trinitarian spin, helps us to get the correct understanding. John 1:18, correctly translated, is a big help to understanding John 1:1: “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father; He has explained Him” (NASB). Since lots of people saw Jesus, he could not be God, because, “no one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12 NIV). Jesus is called “God”, but he is begotten, meaning he was created. He did not exist prior to his creation. His “origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2 NIV). Trinitarians don’t like this, so many translations render John 1:18 differently. But the Greek text trumps biased translations.

John 8:58 is usually rendered as, “before Abraham was born, I am” (NIV). Trinitarians claim this connects Jesus to being the “I am” of Exodus 3:14. However, the Greek is more accurately rendered as “I existed before Abraham was born” (AAT), or the slightly less accurate, “before Abraham was even born, I have always been alive” (NLT margin).

Acts 20:28 is often translated in a way that indicates that God died for our sins: “The church of God, which He purchased with His own blood” (NASB). However, since “No one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12), and he is “eternal” (1 Timothy 1:17 NIV), and “the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NAB), the Greek text of Acts 20:28 is better translated as: “The church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son” (NRSV).

The fixed New Testament text helps with Romans 9:5: “Theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever” (NAB). This is often translated with Trinitarian bias, such as, “the Messiah, who is God over all” (NIV). The NAB footnote clarifies the Greek, by explaining, “However, Paul’s point is that ‘God who is over all’ aimed to use Israel, which had been entrusted with every =&6=&The usual translation of, “the Messiah, who is God over all,” contradicts the Trinity doctrine anyway, because, “in this Trinity . . . none is greater, or less, than another. But the whole three Persons are . . . coequal” (Athanasian Creed). If Jesus was God over all, that would include being “over” the Father and the holy Spirit.

Another Trintarian favorite is Philippians 2:5,6: “Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God” (NKJV). The Greek text, however, reads: “Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not =&7=&

Titus 2:13 is usually rendered as “of our great God and savior =&8=&which makes it appear that Jesus Christ is Almighty God. However, since Paul offered greetings “from God the Father and Jesus Christ our savior” (NAB), it is obvious that Paul did not mean that Jesus is Almighty God. The more accurate translation is, “of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ” (NAB; NRSV margin).

2 Peter 1:1 is likewise rendered as though Jesus Christ is Almighty God in most translations: “Through the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ”. However, the Greek is more accurately translated as: “the righteousness of our God and the savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1 NAB margin; NRSV margin; KJV; ASV; Weymouth; Aramaic Bible in Plain English).

The=&9=& renderings=&10=& modern refined Greek Texts, such as the N-A and UBS, upon which many modern=&11=&

The Early Acceptance of Revelation

January 19, 2018 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The Book of Revelation is without doubt the most complicated, controversial, and esoteric of the entire Bible! Some even doubt that it should even be in the Bible at all, and assert that its place in the Bible Canon was controversial from the start. This is false. Why?

We have early, widespread and consistent reception of Revelation. Papias (c 125), Justin Martyr, Irenaus, the Muratorian Fragment, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen all accepted Revelation as authentic. That’s impressive! Every one of these accepted Revelation as inspired, on the basis that John, the apostle was the recorder. B W Bacon was so impressed with the initial widespread acceptance of Revelation, that he wrote: “There is no other book in the entire NT whose external attestation can compare with that of Revelation, in nearness, clearness, defintiteness, and positiveness of statement” (The Making of the New Testament, 190).

Objections to Revelation were later and limited. Gaius in the early 3^rd century rejected Revelation, thinking it was a forgery of the apostate Cerinthus. This is the first real objection.

Objections to Revelation were not on any historical basis. Gaius rejected the literal millennnial reign of Christ, so he thought the reference in chapter 20 of such had to be a product of the apostate Cerinthus.

Any such objections were resolved early. It was accepted by the synods of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), by Philastrius of Brescia (c 385), Rufinus of Aquuilia (c 404), Jerome ( c 414), and Augustine (c 426). They accepted Revelation as authentic because it was accepted by the early Christians as authentic.

There are many quotations from Revelation by early writers, who quoted it as being authentic.

The writings of the Apostles were viewed as authentic (Jude 17,18; 2 Peter 3:15,16).

October 13, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

“I shall bring my work to an end here too. If it is well composed and to the point, that is just what I wanted. If it is worthless and mediocre, that is all I could manage”—2 Maccabees 15:37,38 NJB

The writer of the Apocryphal book 2 Maccabees, in effect, seems to admit that he is not inspired by God.

The Apocrypha is accepted as being genuine by some people and some large religious organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, today, but rejected by many others. Some of it is included in various versions of the Bible, but is absent in most. The Apocryphal books accepted as canonical by the Roman Catholic Church are: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 =&0=&

Is it inspired by God, or invented by humans? Let’s examine some evidence to see if we can find the answer.

The Jews knew of the Apocrypha, but NEVER ACCEPTED any of it as canonical. For the Jews, any books written after Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi’s time (such as the Apocrypha) were not considered inspired. They considered the canon closed after this time (by circa 400 BCE or before).

Jesus said “Whoever serves me must follow me.” (John 12:26 NIV) He spoke against those who “nullify the word of God by your tradition.” (Mark 7:13 NIV) What did Jesus consider the Old Testament (OT) to be?

“The Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44 NIV) What books were included in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms (the Writings)? There were 24 by their count; 39 by our count today.

The Law contained five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The Prophets was composed of eight books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets (as one book).

The Writings included eleven books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (one book) and Chronicles.

Notice that no Apocryphal books are included in these three OT sections! Jesus and the New Testament (NT) writers quoted from all three of these OT sections, but THEY NEVER QUOTED FROM THE APOCRYPHA! Since most of the NT quotes of the OT are from the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX), the absence of even a single quote by Jesus or NT writers from any of the numerous Apocryphal books speaks volumes!

The above Scriptures were kept at the Temple according to Deuteronomy 31:24-26, 1 Kings 22:8-13 and Josephus, down to the time of its destruction in 70 CE. But the APOCRYPHAL BOOKS WERE NEVER KEPT AT THE TEMPLE.

Following Jesus means accepting the same OT books that he accepted as inspired, which are the 39 books of the OT from Genesis to Malachi, but not including “cleverly devised stories” such as the Apocrypha. (2 Peter 1:16 NIV)

In fact, early Christians (and we today) were commanded not “to devote themselves to myths,” which would certainly include the Apocrypha, since it’s full of myths! (1 Timothy 6:3-4 NIV)

The Septuagint is the first translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and was in Greek. There is no evidence that the Septuagint originally included the Apocrypha. There is no evidence that the apostles made use of the Apocrypha. The NT does not quote it. There is solid evidence against it. Inspired scriptures told Christians “not to concern themselves with myths,” which would rule out the Apocrypha for Christians. (1 Timothy 1:4 NAB) Also, the Apostles preached: “Admonish them sharply, so that they may be sound in faith, instead of paying attention to Jewish myths,” which precludes Apocryphal writings from Christians. (Titus 1:13-14 NAB)

The Apocryphal books were never “taken out” of the Septuagint, as some claim, because they were never there to start with. When the Apostle Paul was “trying to convince [the Jewish leaders in Rome] about Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets,” he was using the 24 (our 39 today) OT books. (Acts 28:23 NAB)

Luke 24:44 proves that Jesus and the early Christians did not accept the Apocrypha, since these books were not included in “the Law, the Prophets and the Writings.”

The Jewish Council of Jamnia (90 CE) explicitly excluded all Apocrypha. The canon they accepted were the 22 books that both Josephus and Jerome said were inspired (our 39 today), and none of the Apocrypha! The Jews were aware of the Apocrypha, but did not accept any of it as inspired.

The expressions below include the 39 OT books, but none of the Apocrypha:

“The Law or the Prophets.” (Matthew 5:17 NJB) The entire OT – but no Apocrypha.

“From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah.” (Matthew 23:35 NJB) From the beginning to the end of the OT, as arranged in Jewish Bible – but no Apocrypha.

“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets.” (Luke 24:27 NIV) The entire OT – but no Apocrypha.

“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44 NIV) The entire OT – but no Apocrypha.

September 28, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Revised November 29, 2022

Although it is popular to do so, we should not measure the existence of the New Testament (NT) canon (authoritative, or inspired, books) just by the existence of lists, which came into being somewhat later than the NT canon’s coming into existence. When we examine the way the NT books were viewed and used in the very early days of Christianity, we can determine the de facto existence of a functioning canon by about 100 CE.

The views expressed here are admittedly a little different than the traditional, or orthodox, view of how the NT canon, in particular, and the Bible as a whole, came into acceptance. The views presented here actually stand in stark contrast to modern-day populist scholars, like the agnostic Bart Ehrman.

“Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17). The NT canon was not revealed by humans, but by God.

The books of the Bible did not become the Word of God because people decided it to be so. A book became canonical if it was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21). Inspiration by God, and not humanly contrived lists, determines canonization.

“That by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5). Canon (inspired books of the Bible), prophecy, and revelation were revealed by the holy Spirt, not man-made councils.

The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) claims responsibility for the decision as to which books should be included in the Bible canon. However, the NT canon was settled long before then – not by any council’s decision, but by the same holy Spirit that inspired the Bible in the first place (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21).

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) The NT canon was accepted as the word of God by the early church, shortly after each book was written, which was long before the RCC came into existence in the 4th century.

There is no evidence that any book in our canon today gradually gained acceptance over time. There were no stages of acceptance for each individual canonical book.

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people ” (Jude 3). This body of truth, or faith, contained in the New Testament, was delivered “once for all” time, being completed prior to 100 CE, according to the evidence.

“Just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which is ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15,16). This gives scriptural status to all 14 of Paul’s letters, by placing them as having equal status with the Hebrew Scriptures. Why can we say this?

Since Peter wrote to the “exiles scattered throughout [5] provinces” or regions (1 Peter 1:1), it is reasonable that Peter was referring to the entire collection of Paul’s letters available at the time. Peter probably knew all but possibly one or two of Paul’s letters that were available at the time. Not only would this mean that Peter was well aware of Paul’s writings, but as a leading apostle, he affirmed them. It’s obvious that Paul’s letters had a widespread reputation. From this we can infer that they were circulating possibly as a corpus, or body, in the 60’s. Ignatius of Antioch in the early 100’s, and Polycarp in the mid 100’s show familiarity with Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Hebrews – eleven of Paul’s letters! The Chester Beatty papyrus 46, dated to around 200 CE, is a collection of most of Paul’s letters, including Hebrews. The facts solidly prove that the Pauline corpus was circulating early, long before the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) councils of the latter part of the 4th century.

From this platform of Paul’s 14 letters circulating as scripture from the 60’s on, we can verify the rest of 13 NT books.

“For the Scripture says… ‘The worker deserves his wages.'” (1 Timothy 5:18) Paul apparently quotes from Luke 10:7, which says “…for the worker deserves his wages”, and also quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, calling both “Scripture”. This quote of 1 Timothy 5:18 gives scriptural status, or acknowledges the scriptural status, of Luke’s writings, namely volume 1 – Luke, and volume 2 – Acts.

Since Luke and Acts comprise Volumes 1 and 2 of Luke’s history (“my former book” – Acts 1:1), we can conclude that they both were circulating as scripture in the 60’s. Polycarp cites some verses in Luke, in the mid-100’s.

“Remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.” (Jude 17) The word of the apostles was authoritative. The New Testament was written by four apostles directly chosen by Jesus, namely, Matthew, John, Peter and Paul. Four other close associates of the apostles, namely, Mark, Luke, James, and Jude, wrote the rest of the New Testament.

In the 60’s, when Jude wrote his letter, the apostles and their very close associates’ writings were considered authoritative. Papias and Justin Martyr referred to Matthew and Mark’s books, with Mark named as Peter’s secretary.

“The church in Babylon, also chosen, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son” (1 Peter 5:13). Mark was a very close associate of Peter, apparently his secretary, writing the book of Mark. So Mark’s book had apostolic authority.

Polycarp and Justin Martyr in the mid-100’s referred to 1 John and John, respectively. Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred c. 110 CE, makes clear references to John’s writings.

The Muratorian fragment of c. 170 CE named 23 of the 27 NT books as authentic. Only Hebrews, James and Peter’s 2 letters were omitted. This proves widespread circulation and approval of, and for, the 23 books some time prior to this. Since the Muratorian document is fragmentary – omission from it does not imply non-acceptance.

John and Peter’s status as prominent apostles gave them outstanding authority, and their writings would have been received as such.

1 Corinthians 15:7 – “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” Jesus appeared to James, his half-brother.

Acts 15:13 – “James spoke…”

Acts 15:19 – “It is my judgment…”

Acts 15:22 – “Then the apostles and elders… decided….” James, Jesus’ half-brother, was the spokesman.

Acts 21:18 – “Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.” James was the leader of the important Jerusalem church.

Galalatians 1:19 – “I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother.”

Galatians 2:9 – “James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars.”

August 2, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The Titles of the Gospels

History says Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote the books with those titles. People seem to have a highly variable standard in their assessment of what ancient writings are genuine, especially the Bible. What do we mean? Here is an example:

Most people accept Alexander the Great as a real historical figure. Yet, the two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than 400 years after the Great One’s death 323 BCE. Legends about him developed centuries after these two writers. Yet, Alexander’s true, accurate history is viewed as being preserved for hundreds of years prior to these legends. read more

Mark – Peter’s Eyewitness Gospel

April 14, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The early church is unanimous that the Gospel According to Mark was written by John Mark. (Acts 12:12; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:37; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24)

Papias – c. 140 quotes an earlier source saying:

Mark was a close associate of Peter, from whom he received his information. (1 Peter 5:13) Peter regards Mark with such warmth and affection that he calls him his son.
This information didn’t come to Mark as a finished, sequential account of the life of Jesus, but as the preaching of Peter – preaching directed to the needs of Christian communities. Mark accurately preserved this material and arranged and shaped it.

The title “According to Mark” appears in all the ancient canonical lists and many ancient manuscripts, and is thought to have been added very early in the history of the text.

Early church fathers all affirm Mark wrote the Gospel:

Papias (140)
Justin Martyr (150)
Iranaeus (185)
Origen
Tertullian
Clement of Alexandria (195)
Eusebius (326) – quotes Papias saying “elder” (John) attributed to Mark

Second and third century books falsely claimed apostles as authors rather than secondary figures such as Mark.

“A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” (Mark 14:51-52) The “young man” here may be Mark. “Linen” clothes were a sign of wealth. He was from a wealthy family in Jerusalem. (Acts 12:12-13)

Possible evidence of Mark as Peter’s “interpreter” is the simplified chronological order of events in Mark that mirrors Peter’s rehearsal of those events in Acts. (Acts 3:13-14; Acts 10:36-43)

Peter’s eyewitness accounts include many descriptive scenes in Mark, which are lacking in other gospels. For example:

Mark 1:20 – “Hired men” worked for Zebedee.

Mark 1:40 – Leper entreating Jesus “on bended knee.”

Mark 5:5 – Demonized man “slashing himself with stones.”

Mark 13:3, 26 – Great prophecy given on Mount of Olives “with the temple in view.”

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Category: Bible Canon