The New Testament of the Bible is a collection of 27 books, starting with the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and ending with the book of Revelation. The New Testament was written between 50-100 AD, while Jesus was still alive on earth. In this article you’ll see first book written in the bible new testament.
The Old Testament includes 39 books (the first five are considered to be part of both testaments). It was written before Jesus was born, but some sections were written after his death.
The New Testament is the second part of the Christian Bible. It consists of the 27 books that were written after the death of Jesus Christ, starting with the four Gospels which tell about his life and teachings, and ending with the Book of Revelation, which describes his Second Coming. You’ll also see the 27 books of the new testament in chronological order.
The New Testament was written in Greek because most Jews at this time spoke Aramaic or Hebrew, but also because Greek was widely used throughout the Roman Empire. The original language in which it was written is not known for certain. It may have been either Hebrew or Aramaic.
In addition to these 27 books, there are several other texts included in some versions of the Bible as parts of the New Testament: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 3 John; Jude; James; 1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Revelation (or Apocalypse).
The term “New Testament” comes from a Latin phrase meaning “new covenant.” This refers to an agreement made between God and man after Jesus died on Good Friday – Easter Sunday – and rose again on Easter Monday.
Dating The New Testament
These early dates based upon three historical dates including: Nero’s persecution in AD 64, the Judean war with Rome in AD 66–70, and the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70. Most of the New Testament books do not indicate that the destruction of Jerusalem had happened yet, and so some scholars date the New Testament before AD 70. This article considers the most probable dates for NT books.
Matthew – AD 34–58
– The author of Matthew wrote before the Gospel of Luke in which Luke referred to previously written narratives by “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word” of which most likely include Matthew and Mark (Luke 1:1–3; cf. 1 John 1:1–4). Matthew noted that Caiaphas was the High Priest in the present tense, yet Caiaphas was removed in AD 36 (Matt 26:3).
Mark – AD 35–58
– John Mark was in the company of Peter earlier in Acts (Acts 12:6–25). According to early church history, Mark wrote the teachings of Peter. Luke’s Gospel may include the Gospel of Mark among the previously written texts (Luke 1:1–3). Mark may have also written his text before Caiaphas was removed in AD 36, because Mark wrote without noting the current High Priest’s name. However, Mark most likely wrote around AD 64 when was in the company of Peter in Rome.
James – AD 48–50
– James’s epistle was most likely written when James was a visible leader in Jerusalem, yet before the controversies of Christians keeping the Law of Moses (Acts 15:13ff). In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul also noted that James was an apostle and the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19).
Galatians – AD 48–52
– The apostle Paul dealt with believers following Moses’s Law over the Gospel of Christ in his letter to the Galatians. These circumstances clearly developed after Paul’s first missionary journey throughout Galatia, and after Paul and Barnabas brought this same controversy from Antioch to Jerusalem (Acts 14:23–28; 15; 16:4).
1 & 2 Thessalonians – AD 53
– According to 1 Thessalonians, Paul wrote this first letter when Timothy was reunited with Paul from Macedonia as described in Acts (1 Thess 3:1–6; cf. Acts 17:15; 18:5–8). He wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians soon after 1 Thessalonians.
1 & 2 Corinthians – AD 55, 56–57
– Paul noted that he wrote this letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus in which he stayed there for some time (Acts 19:21–22; 1 Cor 16:8). Paul wrote his second epistle soon after 1 Corinthians as indicated in 2 Corinthians.
Romans – AD 57
– Paul wrote to the church in Rome upon his second visit to Corinth as indicated by Paul’s reference to Erastus the treasurer of Corinth and sending Phoebe from Cenchreae (Romans 16; cf. Acts 18:5–8; 20:1–3).
Luke – AD 58–62
– Luke wrote his Gospel obviously supplementing previously written Gospels (Luke 1:1–3). Luke wrote this Gospel when he was in the company of eyewitnesses of Jesus, who were his sources (Luke 1:1–3). With the extent of time that Luke spent with Paul in Judea, this must have been written when Luke wrote his Gospel (Acts 21–26).
John – AD 50–61
– John wrote this Gospel as a witness (John 19:35; 21:24), and before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (John 5:1–3). John clearly supplements the other Gospels without the same details (ex. Jesus’s baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism in Jesus’s name), but John does mention these institutions by alluding to them. John’s Gospel was written earlier than John’s epistles, because John and Peter both mention writing at about the same time (2 Pet 1:16–21; 1 John 1:1–4).
Acts – AD 60–63
– Luke wrote Acts after Luke’s Gospel and finished Acts with Paul under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30–31). Because of the account of the beginning of the Church in Judea, Luke would have started this writing with those same Judean witnesses that he used for His Gospel.
1 Peter – AD 58–63
– Peter wrote from Rome and his first epistle must have been before John could note the writings of the apostles in 1 John (1 Pet 5:12–13; cf. 2 Pet 1:16–21; 1 John 1:1–4).
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon – AD 60–63
– These letters were written during Paul’s first imprisonment as indicated by the apostle Paul in His writings (Acts 28:30–31; cf. Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:7, 13–16; Col 4:10; Phile 1:1, 9–10, 13, 23).
1 Timothy – AD 55–64
– Paul was likely in Macedonia when he wrote Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3). This would occur after Paul imprisonment from AD 60–62 (cf. Acts 28:30). However, Paul could have written this epistle about AD 55 following the events following the riot in Ephesus in Acts 19 (cf Acts 20:1–4).
Titus – AD 58–65
– When Paul wrote Romans, Titus was in Corinth (2 Cor 8; 12:17–18). Paul is not in prison when he wrote this epistle to Titus. There are no records of Paul having a prolonged work in Crete (cf. Acts 27:8). Either Paul left Titus after his imprisonment in Rome about AD 60–62 or Paul had been there earlier but no earlier than AD 57.
Hebrews – AD 60–64
– The Pauline author of Hebrews wrote before there was widespread bloodshed of Christians via Nero’s persecution in AD 64 or of Jews in the Judean War in AD 66 (Heb 12:4). The text is silent of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 implying that this text comes before this event too. However, Hebrews does anticipate the Law, temple, and sacrifices becoming obsolete soon (Heb 8:13; 10:1–2).
2 Timothy – AD 64–67
– Paul’s final epistle was written just before his death while in prison in Rome (2 Tim 1:8; 4:6–8). This writing is dated according to historical accounts of the time of Paul’s death.
1–3 John – AD 61–66
– In 1 John, John said that “we,” the apostles, were writing, which included Peter’s epistles and Paul’s as later noted in Peter’s second epistle (2 Pet 1:16–21; 1 John 1:1–4). John most likely moved to Ephesus before or at the beginning of the Judean War.
2 Peter – AD 63–67
– Peter’s second letter was written just before his death (2 Pet 1:13–15; 3:2, 15–16). This writing is also dated according to the historical time of Peter’s death.
Jude – AD 64–69
– Jude most likely wrote his epistle in fulfillment of 2 Peter rather than Peter warning of an event happening again as Jude already wrote (2 Pet 2). In AD 55, Paul referenced Jesus’s brothers traveling in the proclamation of the Gospel (1 Cor 9:5).
Revelation – AD 69–79
– Revelation was written as its was revealed (Rev 10:4; 14:13; 19:9; 21:5). This revelation came to John before Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70 (Rev 11:1–2) and during the sixth Emperor of Rome (Rev 17:9–10).
All of these writings are quoted by early church writers. In 180, Irenaeus, who knew John’s disciple Polycarp, quote from every New Testament book while also excluding and opposing Gnostic writings. Origen listed the 27 books in his commentary on John.
First Book Written In The Bible New Testament
The internal evidence of the 27 books that make up the New Testament canon points to a date in the first century CE. One Thessalonians was probably the first book ever written, sometime around the year 50 CE. The Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, is generally agreed by traditional scholars to have been written during the reign of Domitian (81–96). Textual criticism, philological evidence, and linguistic evidence provide more subjective indications, but internal evidence, such as references to historical events, is essential for dating the composition of the texts.
27 Books Of The New Testament In Chronological Order
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts of the Apostles
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
Revelation