New Testament

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This article is about the Christian Greek Scriptures. For the theological concept, see New Covenant.

Books of the
New Testament

Gospels
Matthew Mark Luke John

Acts
Acts of the Apostles

Epistles
Romans
1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians
Galatians Ephesians
Philippians Colossians
1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy 2 Timothy
Titus Philemon
Hebrews James
1 Peter 2 Peter
1 John 2 John 3 John

Jude

Apocalypse
Revelation

New Testament manuscripts

The New Testament (Koine Greek: ,[1] H Kain Diathk) is the second major part
of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, which is based on the Hebrew
Bible. The Greek New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events
in first-century Christianity. Although Christians hold different views from Jews about the Hebrew
scriptures of the Old Testament, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together
assacred scripture. The New Testament (in whole or in part) has frequently accompanied the spread
of Christianity around the world. It reflects and serves as a source forChristian theology and morality.
Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated (along
with readings from the Old Testament) into the various Christian liturgies. The New Testament has
influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom, and left an indelible
mark on its literature, art, and music.
The New Testament is an anthology, a collection of Christian works written in the common Greek
language of the first century, at different times by various writers, who were early Jewish
disciples of Jesus. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books.
The original texts were written in the first and perhaps the second centuries of the Christian Era,
generally believed to be in Koine Greek, which was the common language of the Eastern
Mediterranean from theConquests of Alexander the Great (335323 BC) until the evolution
of Byzantine Greeks (c. 600). All of the works which would eventually be incorporated into the New
Testament would seem to have been written no later than around AD 150, [2] and some scholars
would date them all to no later than AD 70[3] or AD 80.[4]
Collections of related texts such as letters of the Apostle Paul (a major collection of which must have
been made already by the early 2nd century) [5] and the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John (asserted by Irenaeus of Lyon in the late-2nd century as the Four Gospels) gradually were
joined to other collections and single works in different combinations to form various Christian
canons of Scripture. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation and the Minor
Catholic (General) Epistles were introduced into canons in which they were originally absent. Other
works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and
the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. The Old Testament canon is not
completely uniform among all major Christian groups including Roman Catholics, Protestants,
the Greek Orthodox Church, the Slavic Orthodox Churches, and the Armenian Orthodox Church.
However, the twenty-seven-book canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has
been almost universally recognized within Christianity (see Development of the New Testament
canon).
The New Testament consists of

four narratives of the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, called "gospels" (or
"good news" accounts);

a narrative of the Apostles' ministries in the early church, called the "Acts of the Apostles",
and probably written by the same writer as the Gospel of Luke, which it continues;

twenty-one letters, often called "epistles" in the biblical context, written by various authors,
and consisting of Christian doctrine, counsel, instruction, and conflict resolution; and

an Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation, which is a book of prophecy, containing some

instructions to seven local congregations of Asia Minor, but mostly containing
prophetical symbology, about the end times