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How the Bible Came to Us, part 3

The beginnings of the New Testament canon came about toward the end of the life of Paul and Peter, both of whom were martyred in Rome in 67 A.D. This was not Paul’s first trip to Rome, which is recorded in Acts 28:14. Paul had won his case (with the help of Seneca, Nero’s tutor) after waiting two years (62-64) for his hearing. Paul then went to Spain and Britain to preach the gospel, returning later by the land route through Gaul (France) and Helvetia (Switzerland) to Macedonia. In 67 he was arrested, along with Peter and his wife, and they were brought to Rome for trial and execution about the same time.

Of the three apostles who had witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, only two remained. James had been dead for over 20 years already (Acts 12:2). Only Peter and John remained, along with Paul, who saw the glorified Christ last.

Timothy’s Urgent Mission

In 67 A.D., John was not arrested. But Peter and Paul both knew that they were soon to be executed by Nero. Paul had accepted this as a fact when he wrote his second letter to Timothy from Rome. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 says,

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Peter, too, knew of his impending death. 2 Peter 1:14 says,

¹⁴ knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind.

In both letters we find a certain urgent task that they felt compelled to complete before they died. In verse 15 above, Peter was hinting to his readers that he would be leaving them some written material to read after his departure, so that they would be able to remember his teaching.

Paul, in turn, was writing to Timothy, asking him to come to Rome immediately. “Make every effort to come to me soon” (2 Timothy 4:9). Paul had a little time yet before his execution—enough time to write to Timothy in Ephesus and time for him to make the trip to Rome. They did not have a modern postal system in those days, nor did they have speedy transportation. It is not likely that Timothy could have arrived in Rome before at least a month or two had passed.

¹³ When you come, bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

It is not likely that Paul needed to obtain an overcoat all the way from Troas. After all, the Pudens senatorial family was residing in Rome, and they were wealthy enough to give Paul an overcoat if he needed one for the coming winter (2 Timothy 4:21). It is more likely that the Greek word phelonen, “cloak,” was being used in its secondary meaning. In Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament, we read,

“Phelonen was a wrapper of parchments, and was translated figuratively in Latin by toga or paenula, ‘a cloak,’ sometimes of leather.” [quoted from Restoring the Original Bible, by Dr. Ernest Martin]

It is certain that Paul was asking for copies of his own letters, which he had left in Troas with his trusted friend, Carpus. These were carefully protected by a phelonen, some sort of leather carrying case.

Of greater interest to us is the reason why Paul needed those books and parchments. Did he simply need material to pass the time in prison? Or did he have a much more urgent motive? He could have obtained reading material in Rome, but Paul needed THE books and THE parchments. They were obviously specific writings that were important to complete his task before his death.

The Apostasy

Peter and Paul were in the process of canonizing their portions of what would become the New Testament. They wanted to be sure that the churches had their authoritative writings, in view of the coming apostasy, which, in fact, appears to have already occurred. Many of the Jewish Christians were being caught up in the great Revolt against Rome that had already begun at the Feast of Tabernacles in 66 A.D.

The Jews had just completed the last remaining work on the temple in 64 A.D., as Josephus tells us in Antiquities of the Jews, XX, ix, 7,

“And now it was that the temple was finished.”

This was widely viewed as a sign of the soon-coming Messiah, for it was believed that he would only come after His dwelling place had been finished. So the completion of the work on the temple encouraged the people to prepare for revolt, for the way was then prepared for the great military messiah to come and help them throw off the yoke of Rome.

Christian Jews, who had maintained close ties to the temple in Jerusalem and had continued sacrificing animals according to the Old Covenant, finally became disillusioned that Jesus had not yet returned. Many were swept up in the spirit of revolt, and many joined the “freedom fighters.”

For this reason, Peter and Paul both warned that “the day of the Lord” would not come until the “apostacy” (lit., the casting out) had taken place (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The word apostasia does not mean to “fall away” passively, but rather to “cast out, cast away.” I believe that Paul was speaking of the casting out of the bondwoman (Jerusalem) and her son (Galatians 4:30).

In other words, Paul was saying that the day of the Lord (the resurrection and the coming of Christ) would not come until Hagar-Jerusalem had been cast out. This was an event that was shortly to take place in 70 A.D., then again in 135 A.D. And because Jerusalem has again been reclaimed by the Zionists with the support of Christian Zionists, it is necessary to cast it out again, because the children of the flesh cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

As in Paul’s day, this casting out of Hagar was accompanied by Christians who had rejected the teaching of Jesus in order to join with the unbelieving Jews in their fight for “freedom” led by a militant messiah. Peter himself stated this in 2 Peter 2:19-22,

¹⁹ Promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse than the first. ²¹ For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire’.”

These Jewish Christians had returned to Judaism, and by joining the revolt, they had betrayed Jesus in favor of a militant messiah who was expected to deliver them from Rome. They became the Judas of their day, claiming to be Jesus’ friends, but joining with those who had usurped His throne in the temple of God.

Peter, Apostle to the Jews

Peter’s ministry to the Jews had been difficult. Paul had to rebuke him for his failure to take a stand against the Jewish view that made Jews and Greeks unequal (Galatians 2:11). Paul was resented and even hated for opposing this long-established tradition that was constantly reinforced by the dividing wall in the temple (Ephesians 2:14). But in the end, Peter joined with Paul in opposing the impending Jewish revolt and the return of so many Christian Jews to Judaism.

Thus, Paul and Peter felt it necessary to warn the people. The specific ministries of Paul and Peter finally reached their zenith in full unity, in view of the disastrous result of the Christian stubborn resistance to leave the old temple and its religious system.

But since both Peter and Paul knew they were about to die, it was urgent that they leave behind an established body of writings for future generations. And so, Timothy and Mark brought the books and parchments to the Roman prison, where Paul and Peter could decide which to include in the New Testament canon—and in what order.

Paul chose 14 epistles, including (I believe) his Book of Hebrews, which was extremely important at that time, as it gave the New Covenant reasons for not joining the Jewish revolt against Rome. No doubt Paul prayed for guidance, made whatever changes necessary, and then sent them to John in Ephesus to complete the final canonization by the end of the first century.

It is probable that Paul’s final alterations, inspired by the Holy Spirit, accounts for some of the variations in the early manuscripts. After all, Paul’s letters had already been copied and were circulating among the churches. Here is where Ivan Panin’s study of gematria is very helpful, for it establishes the inspired text in a way that resolves the difficulties that Bible scholars normally face.

With the death of Peter, the second of the witnesses of Jesus’ transfiguration passed from the scene. Only John was left to complete this very important work.

The Gospels

Scholars usually claim that Mark was the first gospel to be written, probably about 37 A.D. They base this on the fact that Mark’s gospel is the simplest. But to me, simplicity is merely the writing style of the author. There is better evidence that Matthew’s gospel was the earliest and that it was commonly used as the first New Testament Scripture among Jewish Christians, especially in Judea. It was also circulated in the Hebrew language.

Mark’s was Peter’s gospel, which was written specifically for the Roman believers some time after Peter’s trip to Rome in 45 A.D. The second-century Bishop Irenaeus tells us that it was written after the deaths of Peter and Paul (Eccl. Hist., Vol. II, Book V, viii).

Luke’s gospel, as we will show later, was written about 74 A.D. Though it was written after the death of Paul, the gospel of Luke reflected Paul’s teachings, since Luke was Paul’s missionary companion (and scribe) for many years.

John’s gospel was written over a period of decades. Hence, it has three endings, the final edition being completed before he died in the year 100 A.D. Meanwhile, John had also written three epistles (undated) and the book of Revelation (96 A.D.). These, along with the book of James and Jude’s epistle, rounded out the canon of the New Testament.