The oldest book of the New Testament is James. James, the Lord’s Brother, wrote this letter to Jewish Christians in the late 40s or early 50s A.D. He asked them to remember what it was like before their faith brought them salvation: “a time when you were without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world” (James 1:1).
Although not quite as old as the earliest Gospel writings in the New Testament—Mark, Matthew, and Luke—the letter of James is certainly one of the oldest books to be included in today’s canon. There are some that consider Ephesians to be older, in particular. However, opinions do vary on this point.
Oldest Book In The New Testament
We hear about the first century and “the beginning” all the time in both Christian media and through the greater religious culture. There’s no doubt that Paul, Peter, and John were writing some amazing stuff. However, there is another book that precedes all of these and plays a critical role in New Testament theology, a book which is often overlooked.
The Old Testament is the first part of the Christian Bible. This Bible portion is divided into forty-four books and contains the whole, ever-historically accurate record of the Jews’ religion. It covers the history from Adam until Jesus Christ, God’s only son, which gave a new direction toward a lot of religious and historical facts concerning human history.
The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible, and it consists of many books. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around AD 55, which is the earliest book in the New Testament. Paul also wrote 2 Thessalonians around AD 55, which is the second-oldest book in the New Testament.
Paul also wrote 2 Corinthians, which is the third-oldest book in the New Testament, around AD 55. Romans (also known as “Deutero-Pauline”), which Paul wrote sometime between AD 56 and 57, is the fourth-oldest book in the New Testament.
The fifth-oldest book in the New Testament is Galatians – which was also written by Paul around AD 56 or 57.
The sixth-oldest book in the New Testament is Ephesians – which was also written by Paul around AD 56 or 57.
The seventh-oldest book in the New Testament is Colossians – which was also written by Paul around AD 56 or 57.
The oldest book in the New Testament is probably Hebrews. The author may have been Paul, and it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
James, which is most likely written by Jesus’ brother James, is the second-oldest book in the New Testament. It was likely written between 45 and 55 CE.
John’s gospel is third oldest, with a date range of 60 to 90 CE. Although at least one scholar thinks that someone else wrote the letters of John after this time period, he most likely also wrote them.
When Was The New Testament Written
- 1 Corinthians
According to many scholars, 1 Corinthians is one of the earliest epistles in the New Testament. The consensus is that it was written around 55 AD.
- Romans
Paul wrote Romans while he was in Corinth during his third missionary journey. He probably wrote it in 56 AD, a few years after he wrote 1 Corinthians.
- Revelation
The book of Revelation has always been controversial. Scholars have long debated whether John wrote this epistle or whether it was written by someone else who used his name and his style (i.e., pseudonymous writing). Most scholars believe that the author was a Christian prophet who lived sometime between A.D. 68 and 95 at the end of the reign of Emperor Domitian.
“But which book of the Bible is the oldest? The oldest book of the New Testament, and thus of the entire Bible (the Old Testament was written at different points in time over many centuries) is 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote it about AD 55-56 to a church in Corinth he had founded. The oldest copy we have evidence for is from sometime between AD 200-250, but scholars are confident that we have a very accurate manuscript of Paul’s original words. So, the New Testament is not just old, but its texts are well-attested as well.”
Oldest to newest: 1 Corinthians, Romans, Revelation, gospels (Matthew/Mark/Luke/John).
1 Corinthians
The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter from Paul the Apostle to the church in Corinth, Greece. This letter was written after Paul visited Ephesus and learned that there were many problems among the church members in Corinth. First Corinthians was written to correct these problems and to encourage the people in the church to live a Christ-like life
Romans
Romans is one of the four letters from Paul that are widely accepted as being authentic. It was most likely written near the end of Paul’s life, around 57 A.D. Paul wrote it from Corinth, not from Rome as many had assumed. He wanted to visit Rome and this letter may have been a way for him to introduce himself to the Christians living there. Interestingly, he had not founded a church in Rome and therefore did not personally know any believers living there when he wrote this letter – though he did have connections with them (e.g., 16:1-16).
Paul’s purpose in writing the book of Romans was threefold:
- (1) To build relationships with Christians in Rome through explaining his ministry and theology;
- (2) To encourage these Christians to support his future missionary efforts and offer him financial assistance;
- (3) To establish doctrinal truth on various subjects.
Revelation
The Apocalypse of John, also referred to as Revelation, is one of the oldest books in the New Testament. Written between AD 95 and AD 100 by John the Apostle, Revelation is part of a genre of literature called apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature was common in Judaism during this time period; other examples include Daniel and 1 Enoch.
Revelation is a prophetic text that describes visions received by John while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. The visions are spiritual, not physical—a distinction that may seem obvious but has nonetheless spawned numerous schemes to actually locate the New Jerusalem described in chapter 21. In fact, some have even claimed to have found it!
The oldest book in the New Testament is 1 corinthians
The oldest book in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians, which was written by the Apostle Paul. The next-oldest book is 2 Corinthians, which was also written by the Apostle Paul. This continues with 3 Corinthians, 4 Corinthians—all in all, there are approximately 672 Corinthians books in the New Testament.
Last book of the old testament
Malachi
Malachi 430 B.C. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi is a beautiful expression of God’s love for a nation that continues to disobey Him.
When Was The Last Book of The Bible Written
The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible, the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, written at different times between about 1200 and 165 BC. The New Testament books were written by Christians in the first century AD.
When Was The Oldest Book In The New Testament Written
Internal evidence in the texts suggests dating the individual books of the 27-book New Testament canon in the 1st century CE. The first book written was probably 1 Thessalonians, written around 50 CE.
In What Order Were The Books Of The New Testament Written
- 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