WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 I covered how the New Testament has been extraordinarily preserved 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:07.839 and how this ensures that we have access to the original readings 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:09.439 and the original words of the apostles. 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.820 And last week, I spoke about the accuracy of the New Testament 00:00:12.820 --> 00:00:16.260 and I covered how the New Testament is historically reliable, 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:18.260 how it's accurate, how it's true, 00:00:18.580 --> 00:00:21.460 and how it can be corroborated by the historical record. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:25.379 And this extends even to the deeds and words of Christ, 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:26.780 even to his miracles. 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:29.140 In fact, we talked about last week how non-Christians, 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:31.140 even ancient anti-Christians, 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:33.679 confessed that Jesus performed miracles. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:35.799 And so because of all these things, 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.799 we can conclude that the New Testament claims are worthy of our trust 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:43.579 and especially so when it speaks about Jesus' resurrection. 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:46.219 So today we've got our final topic. 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.500 We're going to be talking about the canonicity of the New Testament. 00:00:49.900 --> 00:00:52.200 And with this, I'm going to go over questions like 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.359 who decided what books were in the New Testament? 00:00:56.019 --> 00:00:58.460 And how was the New Testament put together? 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:01.880 And what about those false gospels we hear about sometimes? 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:03.179 Why aren't those in the Bible? 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.260 If you're like me, you might have heard of a lot of questions 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:08.280 or even concerns about these things. 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:10.140 You might have wondered about those things yourselves. 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:11.780 You might wonder if someone messed up. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.320 Maybe someone put something in there that shouldn't be there. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:16.659 Maybe someone took something out that should be there. 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:19.439 So today I want us to consider these questions 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.400 and we'll look at the answers that we have for them. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.800 And my hope is that after today, 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.280 you'll see a glimpse of how God has worked by His Holy Spirit 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:30.719 to not just inspire and preserve the New Testament, 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.120 but also to assemble it. 00:01:33.880 --> 00:01:37.960 So before we talk about how the New Testament was assembled, 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:41.360 I need to tell you what the New Testament is. 00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:46.980 The New Testament is a collection of 27 books and letters 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:51.480 that were written or supervised by Jesus' apostles. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:54.820 And these apostles were the ones commissioned to have authority 00:01:54.820 --> 00:01:57.980 to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:00.480 and to explain Christian doctrine. 00:02:01.300 --> 00:02:05.080 Now there's a lot of confusion and some false theories 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:09.640 about who decided what these apostolic documents included, 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:11.020 who assembled them into the New Testament. 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:13.600 You've likely heard some of these false theories. 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:15.960 You might even believe some of these false theories. 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.740 So I think that it would be good for me to start our time off 00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:21.860 by going through these theories one by one. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.020 Some of these mistaken theories are false theories. 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:24.920 So let's get started. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.500 So the first false theory on how the New Testament got put together, 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.100 I call this one the Bible dropped down from heaven theory. 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:36.719 And people often don't put it in so many words, 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.800 but basically this theory assumes that the Bible, 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.280 the New Testament was created outside of history, 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:44.360 that it was done without human hands, 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:48.180 and that it was presented to us here on earth in complete form. 00:02:48.320 --> 00:02:51.340 Now, of course, this is not how the Old Testament 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:54.160 and the New Testament were written or how they were put together, 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:56.660 and both of them are very clear on this. 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:01.540 If you just glance at it, you'll see how God fit to inspire humans 00:03:01.540 --> 00:03:05.840 to write his word over many centuries and in many lands. 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:09.520 And as we'll see, he also inspired humans to put his word together. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.760 So this Bible dropped down from heaven theory isn't true. 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:15.939 But there's another theory on how the Bible, 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:17.840 and especially the New Testament, was put together, 00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:20.920 and I call this one the conspiracy theory. 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:25.480 This theory maintains that sometime in the 4th century, 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:29.640 300 years after Jesus, the Roman Emperor Constantine, 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:34.880 or an early pope, they plotted or colluded to manufacture the New Testament. 00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:38.019 Constantine, of course, is known as the first Christian emperor. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.879 He came to power in the early 300s A.D. 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:44.620 And the running assumption behind this theory is that 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:48.759 Constantine or an early pope were pretty bad guys, 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:51.359 and they took out stuff that should have been in the Bible, 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:53.079 and they put stuff in that shouldn't be there, 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:57.439 and they did all of this in some kind of smoke-filled back room. 00:03:57.560 --> 00:03:59.240 They were committing all sorts of terrible crimes. 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.300 If you're familiar with the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, 00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:04.140 he posits this very theory. 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:09.100 But of course, neither Constantine nor an early pope 00:04:09.100 --> 00:04:10.980 decided what was in the New Testament. 00:04:11.420 --> 00:04:13.680 This theory, in fact, is so false, 00:04:13.760 --> 00:04:15.860 it's hard to believe it has much currency today. 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:20.460 There's simply no evidence that Constantine or an early pope 00:04:20.460 --> 00:04:22.500 ever decided what was in the New Testament. 00:04:23.100 --> 00:04:25.079 And there's a whole lot of evidence that they didn't. 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.899 And even if they did decide what was in the New Testament, 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:32.579 their power only extended to the Roman Empire, 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:34.000 and by the 4th century, 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:37.620 Christianity was so widespread beyond the Roman Empire 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:39.699 that anything they did for the Roman Church 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:42.899 wouldn't have had any effect on all those Christian communities 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:44.659 outside of the Roman Empire. 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:47.439 And on top of that, we have biblical manuscripts 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:50.379 and Christian writings from before Constantine, 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:52.919 and they're consistent with the Bible we have today, 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.020 showing that our New Testament goes well back before them. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:59.080 So, the conspiracy theory is also wrong. 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:00.980 But let's keep moving. 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:02.520 We've got some other theories to talk about. 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:06.280 The next one I call the ecumenical church council theory. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.540 This one makes a lot more sense than the other two. 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:12.840 This one maintains that there was an ecumenical church council. 00:05:12.840 --> 00:05:16.180 That is a worldwide, universal church council 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.139 sometime back in antiquity. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.340 And this council had representatives from every church 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:22.560 all over the world. 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:26.799 And this council codified the contents of the New Testament. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:29.579 Well, many Christians will be surprised to learn 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:31.060 that this is not true. 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:34.179 There was no ecumenical worldwide church council 00:05:34.179 --> 00:05:36.120 that ratified the contents of the New Testament 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:38.039 or decided what books were in it. 00:05:38.559 --> 00:05:43.279 There were, of course, various smaller regional councils 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:46.259 held in various geographical locations, 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:48.939 and they did issue New Testament lists, 00:05:49.059 --> 00:05:50.699 but they had very limited influence. 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:52.800 They didn't have binding power or anything like that. 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:54.680 There were no worldwide councils 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:56.659 with any kind of binding power 00:05:56.659 --> 00:05:58.719 that decided on the New Testament. 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:01.379 The closest we can come to something like this, 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:02.519 to a council of this nature, 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:06.879 is the Council of Trulot in Constantinople in 692. 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:10.120 This council ratified various New Testament lists 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:13.459 that were made by previous smaller councils or individuals. 00:06:14.539 --> 00:06:16.439 But the problem with the Council of Trulot 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.659 is that it was not ecumenical. 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:20.600 Only Roman churches were invited. 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:23.840 Occasionally, you'll hear people call this an ecumenical council. 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:24.500 It wasn't. 00:06:24.880 --> 00:06:27.680 We can say the same thing about the Second Council of Nicaea. 00:06:28.340 --> 00:06:29.360 They did the same thing, 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:31.020 but again, only Roman churches were invited. 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:32.520 Everyone outside the Roman Empire 00:06:32.520 --> 00:06:34.440 wasn't invited to this council. 00:06:34.840 --> 00:06:37.220 So this ecumenical church council theory, 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:38.280 it's an attractive one, 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:39.040 but it's not true. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:42.320 All right, so the next theory, 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:44.700 the next theory has even more merit to it. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.280 This one, we'll just call it the Apostles Did It Theory, 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:49.700 and according to this theory, 00:06:49.780 --> 00:06:51.600 the Apostles not only supervised 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:53.320 the writing of the New Testament, 00:06:53.820 --> 00:06:56.560 they also helped collect the New Testament documents 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:57.600 and assemble them together. 00:06:57.940 --> 00:06:59.780 So sometimes you hear, for example, 00:06:59.900 --> 00:07:03.160 that John, the last surviving disciple of Jesus, 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:04.920 the author of Revelation, 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:07.700 you'll hear that he was responsible for doing this, 00:07:07.760 --> 00:07:08.860 for sealing the New Testament. 00:07:09.260 --> 00:07:10.820 And some people find evidence for this 00:07:10.820 --> 00:07:12.500 with the last words of John 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.020 that he put in the final verses of the New Testament 00:07:15.020 --> 00:07:16.040 in Revelation, 00:07:16.320 --> 00:07:16.920 where he says, 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:18.400 if anyone adds to these things, 00:07:18.520 --> 00:07:19.720 God will add to him the plagues 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:20.660 that are written in this book. 00:07:20.960 --> 00:07:22.760 And if anyone takes away from the words 00:07:22.760 --> 00:07:23.980 of the prophecy of this book, 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:27.040 God shall take away his part from the book of life. 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.320 This is Revelation 22, verses 18 through 19. 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.659 Now, we do have reason to believe 00:07:32.659 --> 00:07:35.920 that John and the Apostles did help assemble 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.480 at least part of the New Testament. 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:40.579 For example, there's an ancient Christian writer 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:41.480 named Eusebius. 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:43.659 He's writing around the year 312, 311. 00:07:44.159 --> 00:07:45.719 And he says that the Apostle John 00:07:45.719 --> 00:07:48.639 took the three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:50.560 He bore witness to their truthfulness, 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:52.399 and he wrote his fourth Gospel, 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:53.219 the Gospel of John, 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:55.439 as a supplement to these other three. 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:57.939 And so certainly it seems probable 00:07:57.939 --> 00:07:59.600 that the Apostles played a role 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:01.279 in gathering the New Testament documents. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:01.779 For instance, 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:03.160 I can give you some other examples. 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:04.959 In 2 Peter, 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:07.819 Peter calls Paul's letters Scripture. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.060 So he was probably aware 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:11.480 of a collection of Paul's letters, 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:12.459 and he approved of them. 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:13.579 He called them Scripture. 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:15.319 It also seems quite likely 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:17.500 that Paul and probably the other Apostles 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:20.439 collected their own letters to some extent, 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:21.839 or their followers did, 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:23.480 like Timothy or Silas and so on. 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.139 So it's reasonable to conclude 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:27.639 that the Apostles played a role 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:29.019 in collecting and assembling 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:30.219 the documents of the New Testament. 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:32.600 But we don't have any explicit evidence 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.039 that one or some of the Apostles 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.080 collected all 27 books in the New Testament. 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:39.539 And it would seem likely 00:08:39.539 --> 00:08:41.299 that early Christian writings 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:43.019 would mention this if it had happened, 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:44.220 and they don't, 00:08:44.580 --> 00:08:45.539 as far as I'm aware. 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:45.919 And so, 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.019 clearly the Apostles played a role 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:49.319 in deciding which documents 00:08:49.319 --> 00:08:50.100 were authoritative, 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:51.779 but that's not the whole story. 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:54.519 So if this is the case, 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:56.759 who decided what was in the New Testament? 00:08:57.240 --> 00:08:58.079 Most people, 00:08:58.339 --> 00:08:59.419 when we get to this point, 00:08:59.699 --> 00:09:00.919 they start scratching their heads 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:02.259 and wondering what other option 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:03.259 is even available 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:04.620 if those aren't true. 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:06.959 Well, the answer, I think, 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:08.079 is a wonderful testimony 00:09:08.079 --> 00:09:10.379 in how God's guiding Spirit 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.120 works through history and the Church. 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:13.740 And here's the answer. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:15.059 The New Testament 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:16.699 was not assembled 00:09:16.699 --> 00:09:19.779 in one place or time, 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:21.459 or by one person or group. 00:09:22.199 --> 00:09:23.179 Rather, the New Testament 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:24.000 was assembled 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:25.339 by various churches 00:09:25.339 --> 00:09:27.439 throughout history 00:09:27.439 --> 00:09:29.939 relatively independently 00:09:29.939 --> 00:09:30.740 of one another, 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:31.939 and it was done so 00:09:31.939 --> 00:09:33.399 many times. 00:09:33.839 --> 00:09:34.839 And this all began 00:09:34.839 --> 00:09:36.120 in the very early church 00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:37.059 of the second century. 00:09:37.579 --> 00:09:38.139 Back then, 00:09:38.199 --> 00:09:39.120 when these early churches 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:39.839 were deciding 00:09:39.839 --> 00:09:40.500 on the contents 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:41.279 of the New Testament, 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:42.879 they all had one 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:44.579 overriding factor. 00:09:44.699 --> 00:09:45.799 They wanted to identify 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:47.159 the documents 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:48.100 that were published 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:48.980 by the apostles 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:50.259 or were published 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:51.180 with their supervision. 00:09:51.779 --> 00:09:53.180 And from the very beginning, 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:54.879 there was broad agreement 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.220 over what these documents included. 00:09:57.639 --> 00:09:58.860 And any disagreements 00:09:58.860 --> 00:09:59.460 were met with 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:00.860 careful consideration 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:02.139 and prayer 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:03.240 and research 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:04.940 and the remarkable thing. 00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:07.019 Perhaps the stunning result 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:07.620 in this 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:09.980 is that every church community 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:11.960 eventually came to use 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.000 the very same 27 book 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:14.620 New Testament 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:15.600 we have today. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:17.100 In other words, 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:18.659 the same New Testament 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.659 remarkably emerged 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:22.000 in multiple churches 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.820 relatively independently 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:25.080 of one another. 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:26.540 Just like how God 00:10:26.540 --> 00:10:27.580 used multiple people 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:28.580 over many countries 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:29.320 and languages 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:31.159 to write the Bible, 00:10:31.560 --> 00:10:32.740 so he used many people 00:10:32.740 --> 00:10:33.480 over many countries 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:34.560 to put it together. 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:36.580 Now you might be 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:37.340 a little skeptical 00:10:37.340 --> 00:10:38.639 about all of this, 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:39.779 so I want to show you 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:41.019 what this process 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:42.440 of putting the New Testament 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:43.879 together looked like. 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:45.139 And to do this, 00:10:45.539 --> 00:10:46.720 we're going to travel 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:47.559 back in time 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:48.939 about 2,000 years 00:10:48.939 --> 00:10:49.840 to the very beginning 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:50.759 of the Christian church 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:52.860 to those first few decades 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:53.799 after the resurrection 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:54.399 of Jesus 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.120 to when the apostles 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:58.039 were traveling around the world 00:10:58.039 --> 00:10:58.480 and preaching 00:10:58.480 --> 00:10:59.519 the gospel of salvation. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:00.919 So if we go to say 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:01.820 45 AD 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:03.220 to the ancient city 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:03.659 of Corinth 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:05.340 and if we peek in 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:06.399 on a church service 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:07.200 around this time, 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:08.539 we would notice 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:09.779 that the church 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:10.519 in Corinth 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:11.360 at this time 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:12.559 didn't have 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:13.259 a New Testament 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:14.319 and it's because 00:11:14.319 --> 00:11:14.959 the New Testament 00:11:14.959 --> 00:11:16.019 didn't exist. 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:17.939 These very first Christians 00:11:17.939 --> 00:11:18.879 like those in Corinth, 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:19.919 they didn't have 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:20.439 the New Testament 00:11:20.439 --> 00:11:21.159 because it hadn't 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:22.059 been written yet. 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:23.679 The earliest New Testament 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:24.659 documents date 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:25.799 from around the year 50, 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:26.979 give or take a few years. 00:11:27.359 --> 00:11:28.759 So if we're in 45 AD 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:29.459 in Corinth, 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:31.139 15 years after 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:32.099 the resurrection of Jesus, 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:33.159 the only scriptures 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:34.659 that the Christian church 00:11:34.659 --> 00:11:35.639 would have had 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:36.939 was the Old Testament. 00:11:37.939 --> 00:11:39.799 But if we stick around 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:40.899 long enough, 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:41.899 there eventually 00:11:41.899 --> 00:11:42.759 will come a day 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:43.399 when the Corinthians 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:44.199 get a letter 00:11:44.199 --> 00:11:45.899 from a guy named Paul. 00:11:46.319 --> 00:11:47.439 And we call this letter 00:11:47.439 --> 00:11:48.419 1 Corinthians. 00:11:49.079 --> 00:11:50.139 And because Paul 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:51.000 was an apostle 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.139 and commissioned 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:52.879 by Jesus 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:53.860 to have great authority 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:54.720 to preach and teach, 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:55.639 the Corinthians 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:56.699 start reading 00:11:56.699 --> 00:11:57.779 Paul's letter 00:11:57.779 --> 00:11:59.519 in their church services 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:00.799 alongside 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:02.279 the Old Testament. 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:03.340 And in fact, 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:05.159 Paul seems to instruct 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:06.019 his churches 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:07.120 to do this 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:07.960 in his letters. 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:09.220 The Corinthians 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:10.800 then start sending 00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:11.759 this letter around 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:12.519 to their neighboring 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:13.680 churches in Greece, 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:14.560 to churches in 00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:17.139 Philippi and Thessalonica. 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:18.660 And again, 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:19.460 this is something 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:20.720 Paul told his churches 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:21.340 to do. 00:12:22.060 --> 00:12:22.879 And those churches 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:23.740 in Thessalonica 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:24.399 and Philippi, 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:25.399 they start sending 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:25.940 the Corinthians 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:26.800 their letters 00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:27.519 from the apostles. 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:28.279 And we call these 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:29.879 1st and 2nd Thessalonians 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:30.600 and Philippians. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:31.820 And all of a sudden, 00:12:32.160 --> 00:12:32.860 perhaps without 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:34.279 even them realizing it, 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:35.460 the New Testament 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:36.160 is being born. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:37.779 And over the next 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:39.159 30 or 40 years, 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:40.120 various apostles 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:41.339 wrote or supervised 00:12:41.339 --> 00:12:42.299 the composition 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:43.059 of the New Testament 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:43.639 documents. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:44.939 And over these decades 00:12:44.939 --> 00:12:46.000 and also afterwards, 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:46.879 Christians began 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.699 exchanging and verifying 00:12:48.699 --> 00:12:49.299 these documents 00:12:49.299 --> 00:12:49.839 to make sure 00:12:49.839 --> 00:12:50.740 they actually came 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:51.980 from the apostles. 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:53.219 And sometimes churches 00:12:53.219 --> 00:12:54.079 would find that 00:12:54.079 --> 00:12:55.379 someone had hoodwinked 00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:56.240 them and a document 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.419 they had maybe thought 00:12:57.419 --> 00:12:58.319 might be apostolic 00:12:58.319 --> 00:12:59.000 really wasn't. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:00.039 And they would reject it. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:01.839 Now this process 00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:02.500 of gathering 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:03.259 and evaluating 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:04.419 and verifying 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:06.100 documents as apostolic 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:07.080 it took a good deal 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:08.040 of time in part 00:13:08.040 --> 00:13:09.300 because the Christian 00:13:09.300 --> 00:13:10.180 church expanded 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:11.620 so rapidly 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:12.960 over so many 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:14.240 thousands of miles 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:15.220 that it was often 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:16.180 difficult to communicate 00:13:16.180 --> 00:13:16.840 with one another. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:17.720 For instance, 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:18.899 by 200 AD, 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:20.560 the Christian church 00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:21.600 had spread from 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.360 the west coast 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:23.200 of Spain 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:24.480 to northwest Africa, 00:13:25.060 --> 00:13:25.800 of course all the way 00:13:25.800 --> 00:13:26.680 through western Europe 00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:27.920 to Greece and Turkey 00:13:27.920 --> 00:13:28.600 to Egypt 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:29.820 to the Caucasus 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:30.480 to Persia 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.560 to Afghanistan. 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:33.139 It even seems likely 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:34.120 that the church 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:34.800 had spread into 00:13:34.800 --> 00:13:35.820 western China 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:37.400 and northwest India. 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:39.220 And churches back then 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:39.720 they didn't have 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:40.680 telephones or email 00:13:40.680 --> 00:13:41.580 or things like that. 00:13:41.640 --> 00:13:41.980 They didn't have 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:42.680 a quick way to travel 00:13:42.680 --> 00:13:43.300 back and forth. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:44.840 And on top of this 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:45.480 many churches 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:46.200 that you see here 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:47.660 didn't even speak Greek 00:13:47.660 --> 00:13:48.400 and they needed 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:49.220 these documents, 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:50.420 these apostolic documents 00:13:50.420 --> 00:13:51.680 to be translated. 00:13:52.400 --> 00:13:53.200 And all this means 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:54.220 is that it took a while 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:55.200 for these early churches 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.100 to come to agreement. 00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:58.760 They had broad agreement 00:13:58.760 --> 00:13:59.940 early on 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:01.580 but it took some time 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:02.820 for things to settle down 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:03.880 and for complete agreement 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:04.799 to arise 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:06.100 about the New Testament. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:08.000 And if you're curious 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:08.820 about this 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:10.360 we can even observe 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:11.039 this agreement 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:12.799 emerging for ourselves. 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:14.279 We can go back 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:15.639 and canvas 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:17.740 early Christian writings 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:18.419 in the second 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:19.779 through third centuries 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:21.139 and we can see 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:22.320 these discussions 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:23.320 over the New Testament 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:24.580 taking place 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:25.860 and we can watch 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:27.360 this general agreement 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.419 arising. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:30.580 And we can do this 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:31.620 if we gather 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:32.740 some early Christian writings 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:34.539 and we scan their contents 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:35.240 to see 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:37.379 what their New Testament 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:38.000 looked like. 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:38.899 So for example 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:40.139 if we go to 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:41.259 180 AD 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:42.460 to Lyon's France 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:43.539 and we look at the 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:45.320 writings of a Christian 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:46.100 theologian 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:47.460 named Irenaeus 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:49.799 Irenaeus was a disciple 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:51.180 of a man named Polycarp 00:14:51.180 --> 00:14:52.379 and Polycarp 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:53.279 was a disciple 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:54.620 of the Apostle John. 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:55.899 So Irenaeus 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:56.899 has good apostolic 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:57.360 connections. 00:14:57.860 --> 00:14:58.779 And if we sift 00:14:58.779 --> 00:14:59.879 through Irenaeus' 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:00.539 writings 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:01.339 we can see 00:15:01.339 --> 00:15:02.099 which New Testament 00:15:02.099 --> 00:15:03.199 books he quotes from 00:15:03.199 --> 00:15:04.240 and we can get 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:05.079 a good idea 00:15:05.079 --> 00:15:05.639 of what his 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:06.299 New Testament 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:06.959 looked like. 00:15:07.319 --> 00:15:07.740 This would be 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:08.179 the equivalent 00:15:08.179 --> 00:15:08.659 of someone 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:09.740 a thousand years 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:10.199 from now 00:15:10.199 --> 00:15:10.719 going through 00:15:10.719 --> 00:15:11.419 all the sermons 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:11.939 at Trinity 00:15:11.939 --> 00:15:12.559 to see what was 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:13.419 in our New Testament 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:14.679 to see what 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:15.139 our pastors 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:15.839 quote from 00:15:15.839 --> 00:15:16.819 and documenting 00:15:16.819 --> 00:15:17.500 this to figure 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:18.159 out what books 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:18.599 we had. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:19.679 And when we do 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:20.699 this with Irenaeus 00:15:20.699 --> 00:15:22.240 we get the following 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:23.639 list of New Testament 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:24.500 books. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:25.599 Now I know that 00:15:25.599 --> 00:15:26.659 this font might be 00:15:26.659 --> 00:15:27.579 a little hard to see 00:15:27.579 --> 00:15:28.679 I wanted to get 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:29.679 everything on one slide 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:30.319 but what you see 00:15:30.319 --> 00:15:31.019 here on the left 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:31.659 is the list 00:15:31.659 --> 00:15:32.599 of the 27 books 00:15:32.599 --> 00:15:33.799 of the New Testament 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:34.799 and then on the right 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:35.839 we can see if 00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:37.059 Irenaeus included them. 00:15:37.359 --> 00:15:38.099 The letter C 00:15:38.099 --> 00:15:39.479 means he explicitly 00:15:39.479 --> 00:15:40.459 cites from 00:15:40.459 --> 00:15:41.659 that particular document. 00:15:42.739 --> 00:15:43.459 Now Irenaeus' 00:15:43.579 --> 00:15:44.039 New Testament 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:45.199 looks pretty similar 00:15:45.199 --> 00:15:45.559 to ours. 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:46.339 He has all the 00:15:46.339 --> 00:15:47.059 major books. 00:15:47.479 --> 00:15:48.019 He has the four 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:49.019 Gospels, Acts, 00:15:49.359 --> 00:15:50.059 most of the letters 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:50.839 of Paul which you 00:15:50.839 --> 00:15:51.620 can see highlighted 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:52.179 in red. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:53.179 He also has 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:54.099 1 John 00:15:54.099 --> 00:15:55.339 and 2 John. 00:15:55.439 --> 00:15:56.379 He has 1 Peter. 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:57.319 He has Revelation. 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.140 Some of the 00:15:59.140 --> 00:15:59.840 differences however 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:00.660 are that he never 00:16:00.660 --> 00:16:01.740 mentions Philemon 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:03.300 or 3 John 00:16:03.300 --> 00:16:04.340 or Jude. 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:06.300 Now these are 00:16:06.300 --> 00:16:07.740 extremely short 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:08.300 documents. 00:16:08.520 --> 00:16:09.080 They're only a few 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:10.220 paragraphs long 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:11.260 so he probably 00:16:11.260 --> 00:16:12.060 never had occasion 00:16:12.060 --> 00:16:12.840 to quote from them. 00:16:12.920 --> 00:16:13.600 Remember he wasn't 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:14.780 giving us a list 00:16:14.780 --> 00:16:15.379 of New Testament 00:16:15.379 --> 00:16:15.720 books. 00:16:15.920 --> 00:16:16.640 He was just 00:16:16.640 --> 00:16:17.820 writing a theological 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:18.860 work and quoting 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:19.600 from the New Testament 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.140 whenever it was 00:16:20.140 --> 00:16:20.480 relevant. 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:21.540 And you have to 00:16:21.540 --> 00:16:22.320 preach a lot of 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:23.380 sermons to quote 00:16:23.380 --> 00:16:24.640 from 3 John 00:16:24.640 --> 00:16:25.380 and Philemon 00:16:25.380 --> 00:16:26.380 and things like that. 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:27.399 So it's not 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:28.200 surprising that he 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:28.939 never got around 00:16:28.939 --> 00:16:29.220 to it. 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:30.840 Now notice this 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:31.539 chart also has 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:32.500 some question marks. 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:33.220 I've got a question 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:33.840 mark around 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:34.879 Hebrews. 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:36.779 Irenaeus definitely 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:38.100 does mention 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:39.320 Hebrews but we 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:40.100 don't know if he 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:40.620 thought of it 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:41.820 positively or not. 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:42.539 We just know he 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:43.120 knew about it. 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:44.399 There's a question 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:45.220 mark at James. 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:46.139 He does seem to 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:47.019 quote from James 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:48.220 but it's not 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:49.240 totally certain. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:50.759 There's also a 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:51.419 question mark around 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:52.080 2 Peter. 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:53.399 It's unclear if he 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:53.919 quotes from it. 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:55.279 Irenaeus he also 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.399 might have an 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:57.379 additional document 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:58.159 in his New Testament 00:16:58.159 --> 00:16:58.819 called the Shepherd 00:16:58.819 --> 00:16:59.799 of Hermas but again 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:00.399 it's unclear. 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:01.240 We're not sure. 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:02.860 There's some other 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:03.559 things we can glean 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:04.180 from Irenaeus. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:04.819 For example he 00:17:04.819 --> 00:17:05.539 tells us very 00:17:05.539 --> 00:17:07.099 clearly that all 00:17:07.099 --> 00:17:08.160 Christians accept 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.279 the four Gospels 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:10.559 and only the four 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:11.059 Gospels. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:12.259 And he seems to be 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:12.940 right about this 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:14.079 because all 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:15.059 Christians before him 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:15.720 as far as we can 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.799 tell and those 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:17.839 contemporary with him 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:19.000 accepted the four 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:19.920 Gospels and only the 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:20.519 four Gospels. 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:22.639 Irenaeus also tells us 00:17:22.639 --> 00:17:23.480 that Christians only 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:24.639 accept documents that 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:25.759 have an apostolic 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.360 connection. 00:17:27.080 --> 00:17:27.600 So just from 00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:28.640 Irenaeus alone 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.460 we can see that 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:32.160 even at this very 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.100 early date his 00:17:33.100 --> 00:17:34.400 New Testament is 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.720 almost identical to 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:36.500 ours and perhaps 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:37.160 if he were to have 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:38.520 given us a list of 00:17:38.520 --> 00:17:39.240 New Testament books 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:39.920 it would have been 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:40.820 identical but we 00:17:40.820 --> 00:17:42.680 just are unclear. 00:17:42.860 --> 00:17:43.440 We can't totally 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:44.040 verify that. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:45.420 And we can continue 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:46.320 doing the same kind 00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:47.720 of study with other 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:48.640 writers around the 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:49.460 same time as well. 00:17:49.560 --> 00:17:50.140 Remember we've been 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:51.420 with Irenaeus in 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:53.140 France I mean and 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:54.759 in 180 AD we can 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:55.300 go to Northwest 00:17:55.300 --> 00:17:56.759 Africa to around 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:57.880 200 AD we can 00:17:57.880 --> 00:17:58.660 canvas the writings 00:17:58.660 --> 00:17:59.360 of a Christian named 00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:00.440 Tertullian we can do 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:01.280 the same thing we can 00:18:01.280 --> 00:18:02.540 make a list and we 00:18:02.540 --> 00:18:03.820 can see what he had 00:18:03.820 --> 00:18:04.540 in his New Testament 00:18:04.540 --> 00:18:05.980 and in fact the only 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:06.740 things Tertullian 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:08.160 doesn't quote from are 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.780 2nd and 3rd John and 00:18:10.780 --> 00:18:12.480 also James and 2nd Peter 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.100 but again he may have 00:18:14.100 --> 00:18:14.940 never had occasion to 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:15.540 quote from them he's 00:18:15.540 --> 00:18:16.420 not making a list here 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:18.020 he's just writing some 00:18:18.020 --> 00:18:18.620 theology. 00:18:18.619 --> 00:18:21.339 He also tells us that 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:22.139 there's only four 00:18:22.139 --> 00:18:23.119 Gospels Matthew Mark 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:23.739 Luke and John. 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:25.199 He also says the New 00:18:25.199 --> 00:18:26.139 Testament is made up of 00:18:26.139 --> 00:18:27.219 documents stemming from 00:18:27.219 --> 00:18:27.739 the apostles. 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:29.619 Interestingly Tertullian 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:31.079 rejects the Shepherd of 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:32.639 Hermas explicitly as 00:18:32.639 --> 00:18:33.539 being part of scripture. 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:34.739 So if you're wondering 00:18:34.739 --> 00:18:35.799 about this document the 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.319 Shepherd of Hermas we 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:38.219 have good evidence that 00:18:38.219 --> 00:18:39.259 it was written in Rome 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:40.379 probably around the year 00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:41.000 150. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:42.779 It was not written by an 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.099 apostle. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:44.759 There were some early 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.419 Christian writers that may 00:18:46.419 --> 00:18:47.039 have thought it was 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.259 apostolic but eventually 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:50.000 everyone agreed that it 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:50.339 wasn't. 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:53.319 Now we can keep doing 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:53.539 this. 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:55.059 We can keep canvassing the 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:55.859 writings of the ancient 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:56.180 world. 00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:58.000 For example around the year 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.779 200 the first full scale 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:00.940 translation of the New 00:19:00.940 --> 00:19:01.960 Testament happened that we 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:02.440 know of. 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:03.799 It's called the Old Latin 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:05.680 Translation and it seems to 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:07.240 have included all 27 books 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:07.879 of the New Testament. 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:10.140 And if around this time we 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:10.819 can go to a guy named 00:19:10.819 --> 00:19:12.460 Origen of Caesarea in 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:12.920 Palestine. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:15.480 He's writing around the year 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.799 240 and he includes all 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:19.180 27 books. 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:20.339 In fact he's the first one 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:21.900 to give us a complete New 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:23.740 Testament list and it 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:24.720 seems to have all 27. 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:27.019 Some scholars believe that 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:28.400 his list may have been 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:29.799 altered by later scribes or 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:31.039 translators but if we go 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.539 through Origen's writings he 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:33.460 quotes from all 27. 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:35.359 So we know he knew about 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:35.539 them. 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:37.859 And like I said we can keep 00:19:37.859 --> 00:19:38.720 doing this through decades 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:40.480 and centuries and if we did 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:41.420 we would see all the 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:42.839 churches eventually cluster 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:44.460 around the 27 documents we 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:44.980 have today. 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:46.519 And like I said the most 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.000 remarkable maybe the most 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:48.900 wonderful thing about this 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:50.299 process is twofold. 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:52.400 Firstly even the very early 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:53.620 church had brought agreement 00:19:53.620 --> 00:19:54.799 on the contents of the New 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.059 Testament as we just saw. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.400 And secondly all Christian 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.099 churches eventually settled on 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:01.460 using the very same New 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:01.819 Testament. 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:03.839 And they did this though 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:05.059 speaking different languages 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:06.759 and sometimes living thousands 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:08.700 of miles apart sometimes in 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:10.059 communities that were at war 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:10.779 with one another. 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:12.700 Despite this every church 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:14.380 eventually came to use the 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:16.279 same exact 27 book New 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:16.620 Testament. 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:18.720 Now this did take a very 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:20.000 long time in some places. 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:20.900 For instance the Roman 00:20:20.900 --> 00:20:22.680 Catholic Church did not 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:24.539 technically authorize the 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:26.480 27 book New Testament until 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:28.080 the Council of Trent in the 00:20:28.080 --> 00:20:29.059 1500s. 00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:31.480 But it I know I know but in 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:33.860 practice in practice the Roman 00:20:33.860 --> 00:20:35.500 Catholic Church had always 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:37.319 adhered to a 27 book New 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.940 Testament since before the 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.420 year 200 when the old Latin 00:20:40.420 --> 00:20:42.019 translation happened. 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:44.380 Even some of our Protestant 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:45.960 reformers questioned New 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:46.640 Testament books. 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:47.680 For example Martin Luther 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:48.600 didn't like the book of 00:20:48.600 --> 00:20:48.920 James. 00:20:49.019 --> 00:20:50.080 He wanted to throw it out. 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:51.960 But eventually all churches 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.299 agreed and began using the 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:58.860 27 book the 27 apostolic 00:20:58.860 --> 00:20:59.660 documents in the New 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:01.100 Testament even if they never 00:21:01.100 --> 00:21:02.600 formally ratified a New 00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:04.279 Testament list a New 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:05.559 Testament canonical list. 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:07.259 So to sum up on how the New 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:08.400 Testament was assembled we can 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.580 say the following. 00:21:09.700 --> 00:21:10.759 It did not fall out of 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:10.960 heaven. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:12.859 There was no conspiracy 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:13.440 theory. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.339 There was no political 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:16.660 subversion by a Roman 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:17.839 emperor or a pope or anything 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:18.240 like that. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:19.980 There was no single ecumenical 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.420 council. 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:22.980 And while the apostles did help 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:24.079 assemble the New Testament 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.480 there was no single uniting 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:28.440 factor in this process except 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.799 the Holy Spirit. 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:31.740 He led churches to 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:33.319 independently investigate and 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:34.519 test which documents were 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:37.559 apostolic to verify this and 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:39.259 the wonderful result is that they 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:41.000 all eventually zeroed in on the 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:42.500 27 book New Testament we have 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:44.740 today relatively independently 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:45.379 of one another. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:47.599 So. 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:49.259 All right. 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:49.500 All right. 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:49.640 All right. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:51.480 The early church they carefully 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:52.500 went through these materials. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.920 They decided on the New Testament 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:56.480 but let's be skeptical here. 00:21:57.140 --> 00:21:58.500 What if they were wrong? 00:21:58.859 --> 00:22:00.279 What if they messed up? 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.960 What about those heretical 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.180 Christians like those Gnostics that 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:04.920 we hear about? 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:07.420 What about them and their 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:09.620 Gospels like the Gospels of Mary 00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:11.180 and Judas and Peter and the 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:11.759 Gospel of Truth? 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:14.380 What if those heretical groups 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:15.180 were right? 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:17.300 What if those documents really 00:22:17.300 --> 00:22:18.279 are from the apostles? 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:20.000 What if our New Testament should 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:20.440 include them? 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:22.240 In fact what if those Gnostics 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:23.460 were the true Christians and 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:24.700 were the ones who are wrong? 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:25.940 How do we know? 00:22:26.820 --> 00:22:27.900 Well those are great questions. 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:28.980 So let's for the sake of 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:31.300 argument let's stop trusting the 00:22:31.300 --> 00:22:32.080 early church. 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:33.759 Let's look and see what those 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:34.779 heretics thought. 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:36.299 In fact let's go one step 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:36.579 further. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.299 Let's just not look at what 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:39.900 those heretical groups thought 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:40.640 about the New Testament. 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:42.980 Let's figure out the contents of 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:45.039 the New Testament on our own. 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:47.720 Let's do this for ourselves and 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:49.339 see what documents really are 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:51.480 apostolic and what conclusions we 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:52.000 come to. 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:53.640 So we're going to do two things 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:53.960 now. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:56.039 We're going to examine the early 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:58.200 Christian heretical sects to see 00:22:58.200 --> 00:22:59.140 what their New Testaments 00:22:59.140 --> 00:22:59.619 contain. 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:02.940 And then while we're doing this 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:04.440 we're going to figure out which 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:05.700 writings truly come from an 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:07.700 apostle so that we can create our 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:08.779 own New Testament and we see what 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:09.480 we come up with. 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:10.840 All right. 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:13.320 So there's a few things we need to 00:23:13.320 --> 00:23:14.140 know before we start. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.759 First, the early heretical sects 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:20.960 made up a small minority of 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:21.380 Christians. 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:23.220 Our evidence clearly shows that the 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:24.740 vast majority of Christians in the 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:26.640 early centuries followed the 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:28.340 mainstream church that you and I 00:23:28.340 --> 00:23:29.279 all would have been a part of 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.539 because their core beliefs, their 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:32.220 theology, match our own. 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.859 And this mainstream church spanned 00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:35.539 thousands of miles, dozens of 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:36.779 cultures, many languages and 00:23:36.779 --> 00:23:37.079 countries. 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:38.740 And secondly, it was directly 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:39.960 linked to the apostles. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.460 And we know this through various 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:42.119 lines of evidence. 00:23:42.879 --> 00:23:44.159 But, you know, deciding on what the 00:23:44.159 --> 00:23:45.180 New Testament is, it's not a 00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:46.220 popularity contest. 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:48.159 Who cares about the apostolic 00:23:48.159 --> 00:23:48.519 connections? 00:23:48.659 --> 00:23:49.700 We're being skeptical here. 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:51.039 Let's go with the heretics for a 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:51.240 moment. 00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:52.720 They claimed like they had 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:54.039 apostolic connections as well. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:55.680 Let's see if they're right. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:58.920 So the most influential heretical 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:01.019 sects in the second through fourth 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:02.640 centuries were the following groups. 00:24:03.120 --> 00:24:04.880 It was the Montanists in Asia Minor, 00:24:05.340 --> 00:24:07.160 the Novationists in Rome, the 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:08.960 Donatists in North Africa, the 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:11.000 Arians there in Egypt and Western 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:11.259 Europe. 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:13.539 These were the largest heretical 00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:14.740 sects outside of the mainstream 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.140 church. 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:16.279 They flourished between the second and 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:16.759 fourth centuries. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:18.880 But the interesting thing about 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:20.880 these folks is that all the 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:22.740 evidence points to the fact that 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:25.000 they accepted the very same New 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:26.740 Testament as the mainstream church. 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:29.119 Their dispute had nothing to do 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:30.180 with the contents of the New 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:31.220 Testament, but it had everything 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:32.779 to do with its interpretation. 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.099 So from this, we conclude most 00:24:37.099 --> 00:24:38.740 heretics accepted the New Testament 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:39.700 of the mainstream church. 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:41.700 That wasn't the issue. 00:24:42.099 --> 00:24:43.480 But let's look at those oddball 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:45.299 groups that didn't do this. 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:47.319 Perhaps the largest sect with a 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:48.700 different New Testament was the 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:49.460 Marcionites. 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:51.140 They flourished in the mid-second 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:52.259 through third centuries. 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:54.759 But the problem with them is their 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:55.559 New Testament. 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:56.740 Their whole Bible actually was 00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:58.879 different because they rejected 00:24:58.879 --> 00:25:00.619 every biblical writing that was 00:25:00.619 --> 00:25:01.180 Jewish. 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:03.579 Now, if you think about that, that's 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:07.079 everything except for the Gospel 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:07.559 of Luke. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:09.259 Luke was the only Gentile writer. 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:12.200 And they also accepted Paul because 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.660 Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:15.980 But that still wasn't enough. 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:17.740 They had to go through and change all 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:18.879 the verses because they're constantly 00:25:18.879 --> 00:25:19.940 quoting from the Old Testament. 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:21.180 So they had to take all that stuff 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:21.480 out. 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:23.759 Now, I have to say that these 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.980 Marcionites don't seem like a very 00:25:24.980 --> 00:25:26.380 reliable group to trust. 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:28.599 If we know anything about Jesus and 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:30.200 the apostles, they were Jewish. 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:31.599 They believed the Old Testament. 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:33.860 So it seems like a silly group to 00:25:33.860 --> 00:25:35.400 trust on which documents are 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:36.019 apostolic. 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:37.640 So remember, we're trying to see if 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:38.860 heretics were right about the New 00:25:38.860 --> 00:25:39.200 Testament. 00:25:39.579 --> 00:25:41.279 And what we found so far was that 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:44.059 they either agree with us or they 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:45.799 maintain an absurd position like the 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:46.339 Marcionites do. 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:48.759 So we only have one group of heretics 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:51.000 remaining, the big bad Gnostics. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:53.599 Now, these guys, they had all sorts of 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.980 additional New Testament documents. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.539 Gospel of Thomas, Peter, Philip, Mary, 00:25:57.699 --> 00:26:00.199 Judas, Gospel of Truth, Acts of John, 00:26:00.379 --> 00:26:02.399 Acts of Andrew, Revelation of Paul. 00:26:02.679 --> 00:26:04.240 And they claimed that these were from 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:04.720 the apostles. 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:07.000 Now, one of the curious things, though, 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:09.619 is that the Gnostics don't seem to have 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:11.799 rejected the New Testament of the 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:12.559 mainstream church. 00:26:12.679 --> 00:26:14.139 They just added to it. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:16.820 So they acknowledged the authoritative 00:26:16.820 --> 00:26:18.900 status of the New Testament of the 00:26:18.900 --> 00:26:19.640 mainstream church. 00:26:20.340 --> 00:26:20.440 Hmm. 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:22.360 But even so, what about all these 00:26:22.360 --> 00:26:24.420 additional Gnostic Gospels? 00:26:24.840 --> 00:26:26.120 Sometimes people are troubled by 00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:26.780 these things. 00:26:28.800 --> 00:26:30.240 Sometimes people are wondering if 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.700 these should be in our New Testament 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:31.980 too. 00:26:32.060 --> 00:26:32.940 They wonder why they're not. 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:34.340 So, like I said, we're going to 00:26:34.340 --> 00:26:35.480 figure this out right now. 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:36.660 I want to do to these Gnostic 00:26:36.660 --> 00:26:39.420 documents what I did to the 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:41.120 documents of the New Testament last 00:26:41.120 --> 00:26:41.620 week. 00:26:41.620 --> 00:26:43.500 I want to subject these Gnostic 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:46.180 texts to historical investigation, 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:48.279 to historical scrutiny, to see if we 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:49.700 can verify their contents and their 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:50.079 claims. 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:52.500 And when we do this, when we go through 00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:53.880 these Gnostic documents, we quickly 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:55.819 find that we can't verify their 00:26:55.819 --> 00:26:56.880 historical contents. 00:26:57.319 --> 00:26:59.099 None of the false Gospels, the false 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:01.099 Acts, the false Epistles can have their 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:02.900 contents historically verified, except 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:05.180 only in the vaguest of ways. 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.759 They're totally disconnected from 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:08.619 history, and frankly, they seem just 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:09.140 made up. 00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:10.980 They have none of the fine-grained 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.500 historical anchors that exist in our 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:14.020 New Testament. 00:27:14.180 --> 00:27:15.700 And this is precisely what we would 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:17.500 expect from something that was 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:19.580 fictitiously crafted after that 00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:19.860 point. 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:21.960 And secondly, they not only seem 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:23.320 disconnected from history, they seem 00:27:23.320 --> 00:27:24.740 disconnected from Judaism. 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:27.480 They have no idea about Jewish culture 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:28.060 in Palestine. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.620 Our New Testament is filled with 00:27:30.620 --> 00:27:31.640 information like this. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:33.360 In fact, the Gnostic documents have 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:34.560 much more in common with Greek 00:27:34.560 --> 00:27:37.580 philosophy and culture and tradition. 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:39.779 And like I said, if we know anything 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:41.179 about Jesus and the Apostles, it's 00:27:41.179 --> 00:27:42.179 they were Jewish and living in 00:27:42.179 --> 00:27:42.559 Palestine. 00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:46.220 On top of this, though, the content of 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:48.279 these Gnostic documents has all sorts 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:49.740 of ridiculous things. 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:52.599 They have a giant walking cross that 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:54.059 comes out of the tomb of Jesus and 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:54.919 talks to people. 00:27:55.419 --> 00:27:57.199 They have the Apostles doing things 00:27:57.199 --> 00:27:59.619 like sham miracles, like resurrecting 00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:01.980 fish and taming bedbugs. 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:04.439 And they've got Simon the Magician, he's 00:28:04.439 --> 00:28:06.279 mentioned in the book of Acts, flying 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:07.980 around in the air in some kind of 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:10.099 wizard's duel with Peter, and people 00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:12.559 are paying money to see it, according 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.119 to the Acts of Peter anyway. 00:28:14.379 --> 00:28:15.700 It's crazy stuff. 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:17.899 It totally lacks versimilitude, 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:18.740 authenticity. 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:20.700 It strains credulity. 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:23.259 But none of this is the case with the 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:24.839 27 documents of the New Testament. 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:26.259 They are anchored in history. 00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:27.759 They are steeped in Jewish background. 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:29.539 And we can verify them from many 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:29.879 angles. 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:32.359 But we've got more reasons for rejecting 00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:33.180 the Gnostic writings. 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:34.640 And this is because none of them can be 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.240 reliably dated to the first century. 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:38.960 Every single one of them is most likely 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:40.940 dated to the second or third centuries 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:41.400 or later. 00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:43.460 None of them can be placed in a first 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:44.200 century context. 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:46.180 Every once in a while you hear someone 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:47.900 say the Gospel of Thomas can come from 00:28:47.900 --> 00:28:48.519 the first century. 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:50.799 There's no hard evidence for this. 00:28:51.060 --> 00:28:52.779 In fact, there's good evidence against it. 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:55.460 But all 27 documents of the New Testament 00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:57.560 can be dated to the first century. 00:28:57.820 --> 00:29:00.220 With great certainty or at least a great 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.140 amount of plausibility. 00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:03.700 And this gives us a final reason to 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:04.900 reject the Gnostic writings. 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:07.620 And this is that none of them can be 00:29:07.620 --> 00:29:10.080 reliably attributed to apostolic 00:29:10.080 --> 00:29:11.860 authorship or oversight. 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:15.220 Not a single scholar that I'm aware of 00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:17.220 actually believes that these Gnostic 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:19.160 writings come from the Apostles. 00:29:19.520 --> 00:29:21.220 And not only did the early Church agree 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.280 with this, but even most ancient 00:29:23.280 --> 00:29:24.780 heretics agreed with this. 00:29:24.860 --> 00:29:25.520 We saw this. 00:29:25.580 --> 00:29:26.980 The Donatists, the Montanists, the 00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:28.060 Novationists, the Arians. 00:29:28.600 --> 00:29:30.540 They rejected the Gnostic writings too. 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:33.180 And if that's not enough for you, 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:35.799 even ancient non-Christian writers 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:37.639 claimed the same thing. 00:29:38.119 --> 00:29:39.759 Some of the most famous Neoplatonic 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.259 philosophers named Plotinus, 00:29:41.639 --> 00:29:44.159 Amelius, Porphyry, they were aware of 00:29:44.159 --> 00:29:44.720 the Gnostics. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:46.180 They attacked the Gnostics. 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.759 And Porphyry explicitly accuses the 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:52.139 Gnostics of forging documents in other 00:29:52.139 --> 00:29:53.039 people's names. 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:55.159 And the most amazing thing about all of 00:29:55.159 --> 00:29:56.680 this is that when Porphyry turns to 00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:58.799 attack the early Church, the mainstream 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:01.079 Church, he acknowledges that their 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:02.839 writings did come from the Apostles. 00:30:04.379 --> 00:30:05.700 So, let me summarize. 00:30:05.899 --> 00:30:07.559 We reject the Gnostic writings because 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:09.680 none of the Gnostic writings can have 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:10.700 their contents verified. 00:30:11.159 --> 00:30:12.940 None of them engage with Judaism. 00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:15.059 None of them can be reliably dated to 00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:15.700 the first century. 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:17.700 Many of them have ridiculous content. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:19.879 And most importantly, none of the Gnostic 00:30:19.879 --> 00:30:21.700 writings can be reliably attributed to 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:22.379 the Apostles. 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:25.640 And even ancient heretics and non-Christians 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:26.800 agreed with this. 00:30:27.600 --> 00:30:30.380 On the other hand, the 27 books of the 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:31.920 New Testament can be historically 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:32.420 verified. 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:34.560 They can be reliably dated to the first 00:30:34.560 --> 00:30:34.920 century. 00:30:35.340 --> 00:30:37.200 They can be reliably indexed back to an 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:38.580 Apostle through various lines of 00:30:38.580 --> 00:30:38.860 evidence. 00:30:39.360 --> 00:30:41.080 And in fact, the 27 documents of our 00:30:41.080 --> 00:30:42.880 New Testament are the only documents in 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:44.540 the entire world that can be linked to 00:30:44.540 --> 00:30:45.080 an Apostle. 00:30:45.580 --> 00:30:47.440 And these apostolic connections are 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:48.840 something confessed by the ancient 00:30:48.840 --> 00:30:50.660 mainstream Church, ancient heretical 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:54.060 Christians, and even ancient non-Christians. 00:30:54.820 --> 00:30:57.120 Therefore, if we were constructing a 00:30:57.120 --> 00:31:01.620 New Testament from scratch, these 27 00:31:01.620 --> 00:31:04.440 documents are precisely the documents we 00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:04.900 would put in. 00:31:06.320 --> 00:31:08.400 But we can keep adding to this. 00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:10.720 As we saw earlier in this talk, it so 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:13.759 happens that these same 27 New Testament 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:17.540 documents happen to exactly match the 00:31:17.540 --> 00:31:19.800 earliest complete New Testament list that 00:31:19.800 --> 00:31:20.200 exists. 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:22.880 from 245 AD, from origin. 00:31:23.380 --> 00:31:26.360 And they also match the earliest full-scale 00:31:26.360 --> 00:31:28.000 New Testament translation, the Old 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:29.820 Latin, around the year 200, maybe 00:31:29.820 --> 00:31:30.140 earlier. 00:31:31.060 --> 00:31:35.060 And lastly, these 27 books are the very 00:31:35.060 --> 00:31:37.240 documents that every church eventually 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:38.600 chose to put in their New Testament. 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:40.800 Therefore, for all these reasons, we can 00:31:40.800 --> 00:31:43.640 be confident that our New Testament includes 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:46.660 all apostolic documents and that it excludes 00:31:47.300 --> 00:31:49.080 all non-apostolic documents. 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:52.980 So, in brief, no one person decided what was in the 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:53.460 New Testament. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.679 Rather, many churches decided independently, and we 00:31:57.679 --> 00:32:00.059 accept their decisions because when we do the same 00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:03.679 research, it does in fact seem that our New Testament 00:32:03.679 --> 00:32:07.240 contains only apostolic documents and all the 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:08.240 apostolic documents. 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:10.339 We didn't leave anything out. 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:15.319 So, to sum up this three-part series we've been talking about, we have good 00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:20.599 reason to trust that our New Testament indeed has been well-preserved. 00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:26.659 We also have good reasons that it's accurate and true, and that it contains all documents 00:32:26.659 --> 00:32:30.899 connected with the apostles and only documents connected with the apostles. 00:32:31.579 --> 00:32:35.699 But if you're like me, you might still be wondering a couple things here. 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:39.059 You might be wanting a little more assurance, maybe some more guarantees. 00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:43.179 In fact, why stop at the apostles and their writings? 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.779 Because I'll tell you what I'd really like to see in my New Testament. 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:52.019 I'd like to have a letter directly from Jesus, delivered by the apostles. 00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:56.000 That's what I want in my New Testament, and I'd like to know why we don't have it. 00:32:56.660 --> 00:33:01.180 Well, if you're wondering about this, if you're like me, I want to invite you to read the 00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:03.700 New Testament, and then you'll find your answer. 00:33:04.139 --> 00:33:06.680 Paul writes to the Corinthians, he says this, 00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:15.079 You are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink, 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:23.440 but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the human heart. 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:29.200 You see, we do have this letter from Jesus, and it is delivered by the apostles, 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:32.559 but it's written on something better than paper. 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:34.879 It's written on something better than pen and ink. 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:39.859 It's written on your heart, and it's written by the Spirit of God. 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:44.819 What a wonderful privilege and gift that we've been given. 00:33:45.699 --> 00:33:51.679 A few verses after this, Paul explains something very profound about this letter from Jesus, 00:33:52.199 --> 00:33:55.539 and something very profound about the nature of the New Testament. 00:33:56.179 --> 00:33:58.819 This is just three verses later, 2 Corinthians 3.6. 00:33:58.899 --> 00:33:59.240 He says, 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:10.880 Now the Greek words behind the phrase New Covenant are 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:16.579 and they can just as well be translated New Testament. 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:23.119 And with this understanding, Paul is making a statement about the very nature of the New Testament. 00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:25.760 He says it's not ultimately written in pen and ink. 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:28.119 It's ultimately written by the Spirit. 00:34:28.119 --> 00:34:33.619 And this all points to the fact that the New Testament is more than just pen and ink and letters and a bunch of words. 00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:35.679 It's a spiritual document. 00:34:35.839 --> 00:34:36.679 It's of the Spirit. 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.539 And what this means is that for you to have a complete New Testament, 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:45.079 you need more than just the pen and ink apostolic documents and letters. 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:48.839 You need that letter from Jesus written on your heart. 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:52.940 And if you're missing that letter, then you don't have the whole New Testament. 00:34:52.940 --> 00:34:58.240 And when you put that spiritual letter from Jesus together with the writings of the apostles, 00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:04.280 then each one are like self-authenticating witnesses that declare the truthfulness of one another. 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:11.179 I remember when I was 18 years old and I was caught up in my sins and I encountered Jesus. 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:17.300 And He caught me up and He cleaned me up and He wrote me this living letter on my heart saying, 00:35:17.300 --> 00:35:18.600 forgiven. 00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:23.800 And the remarkable thing for me was that for the first time in my life, 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:25.539 the Scriptures came alive to me. 00:35:25.600 --> 00:35:28.600 I'd heard them every week in church for 18 years. 00:35:29.700 --> 00:35:31.760 But once that letter was delivered, 00:35:32.160 --> 00:35:35.460 every word of Scripture had new and profound meaning for me. 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:40.460 And you know, this is the same way the apostolic documents of our New Testament 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:43.500 were independently gathered by various churches throughout history. 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:45.880 People filled with the Spirit of God, 00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:48.280 carrying that letter of Jesus in their hearts, 00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:50.119 they met with these apostolic documents, 00:35:50.659 --> 00:35:51.840 and they all fit together. 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:54.320 And they testified to each other. 00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:59.099 And this was prophesied centuries before in the prophet Jeremiah. 00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:00.659 He said this about the New Testament. 00:36:02.659 --> 00:36:03.760 I guess I don't have it in there. 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:04.620 He said, 00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:06.519 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:08.880 when I will make a new covenant, a new testament, 00:36:09.279 --> 00:36:10.920 with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:13.059 Not like the covenant, the testament, 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:16.319 that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand 00:36:16.319 --> 00:36:18.099 to bring them out of the land of Egypt. 00:36:18.619 --> 00:36:20.719 My covenant, my testament that they broke, 00:36:20.799 --> 00:36:22.839 though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:27.039 For this is the testament that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. 00:36:27.179 --> 00:36:28.900 I will put my law within them. 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:31.539 I will write it on their hearts. 00:36:31.539 --> 00:36:33.400 And I will be their God. 00:36:33.579 --> 00:36:34.980 And they shall be my people. 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:38.920 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, 00:36:39.099 --> 00:36:40.099 saying, Know the Lord. 00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:41.599 For they all shall know me. 00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:44.119 From the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. 00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:46.019 For I will forgive their iniquity. 00:36:46.259 --> 00:36:48.239 And I will remember their sins no more. 00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:53.799 If you're here today and you're still looking for that letter from Jesus, 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:57.239 I want to invite you to pray with me right now. 00:36:57.459 --> 00:36:58.099 Let's pray together. 00:36:59.059 --> 00:37:03.059 Father in heaven, we thank you that you sent your son Jesus. 00:37:03.299 --> 00:37:10.439 We thank you that you inspired your apostles to write letters and documents for us by your Holy Spirit. 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:13.159 And we thank you that you've also written on our hearts. 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:18.839 Father, I pray now for anyone who's longing to know you, 00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:20.579 who's longing to be forgiven in your name, 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:22.019 who's longing for that letter of Jesus. 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:24.839 And I pray, Lord, you write on their hearts right now. 00:37:25.219 --> 00:37:28.319 And I pray for all of us, Lord, if we're doubting or struggling, 00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:30.839 if we have questions about the faith, 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:35.219 that you would affirm your truth to them now. 00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:36.659 You'd comfort them. 00:37:37.099 --> 00:37:39.920 And you would make the scriptures come alive for them. 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:44.360 And we pray all this in the holy and mighty name of Jesus. 00:37:45.099 --> 00:37:45.500 Amen. 00:37:47.740 --> 00:37:49.880 We've got some questions. 00:37:52.139 --> 00:37:53.079 That was a lot. 00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:55.820 A lot of names and dates and places. 00:37:59.820 --> 00:38:04.480 So the question's about the book of Hebrews. 00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:07.159 If you guys read the book of Hebrews, it doesn't say who wrote it. 00:38:07.619 --> 00:38:08.880 And it doesn't say in the title. 00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:10.360 It just starts out. 00:38:11.099 --> 00:38:13.780 So this is the early church really wondered this too. 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:15.400 And they had the very same question. 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:17.800 You see these debates over the epistle of Hebrews. 00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:22.280 And what we can say is if we go back to the second century and the third century, 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:26.220 everybody claims that it came from an apostle. 00:38:26.440 --> 00:38:29.099 Many of them said it was Paul, but that he had help, 00:38:29.220 --> 00:38:32.300 that Luke translated it from Hebrew into Greek, 00:38:32.340 --> 00:38:34.039 or that someone else translated it, 00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:36.300 or someone else helped him write this letter. 00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:39.840 And when we read Hebrews, if you're very careful, 00:38:40.280 --> 00:38:46.160 you'll see that the author says that he received this message from the apostles. 00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:48.580 There's a line in there in the beginning when he says, 00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:50.740 this was declared to us by the apostles. 00:38:50.739 --> 00:38:59.259 And then you also have the historical evidence that he seems to be writing before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. 00:38:59.439 --> 00:39:00.939 So the apostles are still alive. 00:39:01.339 --> 00:39:02.159 They're still around. 00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:05.939 The whole epistle is structured around temple worship. 00:39:06.079 --> 00:39:09.159 So if that thing had been destroyed, I mean, there's no way he would have mentioned this. 00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:11.539 So you put all those together. 00:39:11.779 --> 00:39:13.599 And it's written in the apostolic times. 00:39:13.659 --> 00:39:15.359 It's written by someone connected with the apostles. 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:19.120 And the early church explicitly testifies that it had, 00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:22.260 either it was written by apostles or had apostolic oversight. 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:27.579 So we would class Hebrews in the same way that we class the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Mark. 00:39:27.820 --> 00:39:32.039 These were not apostles, but they wrote with apostolic supervision, 00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:37.280 that there was apostolic help and commissioning in their documents. 00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:39.360 So that's where we would put the Gospel of Hebrews. 00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:43.000 The final thing with the Gospel of Hebrews is that it just sings to you. 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:45.400 I mean, you just read this thing and it just comes alive. 00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:48.960 And I've read a ton of early Christian writings, 00:39:49.219 --> 00:39:51.639 and the only writings like that are in the New Testament. 00:39:51.900 --> 00:39:54.360 I've never encountered any even remotely close to that. 00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:56.340 So that's what I'd say about the Gospel of Hebrews. 00:39:56.340 --> 00:39:58.139 Or the epistle of Hebrews. 00:39:58.280 --> 00:39:59.119 Did I say Gospel of Hebrews? 00:39:59.239 --> 00:39:59.960 Epistle of Hebrews. 00:40:01.179 --> 00:40:02.760 Gospel of Hebrews is a different topic. 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:06.420 Anything else? 00:40:06.420 --> 00:40:13.400 So I realize that in this presentation you've been focusing on the New Testament, 00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:20.300 but some of these lists generated by the councils would have included lists of the Old Testament. 00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:26.579 It seems like there's substantial more variance in those lists. 00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:30.420 Are there any quick comments? 00:40:30.420 --> 00:40:30.860 Yeah. 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:33.860 Yeah, so the questions about the Old Testament 00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:36.639 and variations between the Old Testaments of churches. 00:40:37.200 --> 00:40:41.200 Some of you may know that while churches agree on the contents of the New Testament, 00:40:41.320 --> 00:40:43.300 they don't agree on the contents of the Old Testament. 00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:45.720 If you go to a Catholic Bible, they've got some few extra books. 00:40:46.300 --> 00:40:49.639 And if you go to an Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, they've got some few extra books. 00:40:50.119 --> 00:40:55.079 So the short answer is that Protestants, Evangelicals, 00:40:55.079 --> 00:40:59.300 accept the Hebrew-Jewish canon, the Hebrew-Jewish Old Testament. 00:40:59.300 --> 00:41:03.060 We believe this is the Old Testament of Jesus and the Apostles. 00:41:03.180 --> 00:41:04.320 This is the stuff written in Hebrew. 00:41:04.720 --> 00:41:07.800 That extra stuff, this stuff ends around the year 400 BC. 00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:12.039 So there's a 400-year gap between our Testaments. 00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:15.740 The Old Testaments of the Catholics and the Orthodox, 00:41:15.860 --> 00:41:20.740 they fill in that gap with other Jewish writings that were mostly written in Greek, not in Hebrew. 00:41:21.300 --> 00:41:23.700 And if we go back to the earliest Jewish lists, 00:41:24.640 --> 00:41:28.539 it seems to be our list, the one that we have, 00:41:28.539 --> 00:41:32.779 whereas the other churches, the Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, 00:41:33.340 --> 00:41:38.219 they follow the Greek Jews in Egypt, whereas we follow the Hebrew Jews in Palestine. 00:41:39.300 --> 00:41:44.659 Now, there are lots of debates about this. 00:41:44.759 --> 00:41:48.099 I mean, the early church talked about this extensively again and again. 00:41:48.759 --> 00:41:53.659 The other thing I'll add is that the first Christian list of Old Testament documents 00:41:53.659 --> 00:41:58.420 is by Melito of Sardis around the year 170, very early. 00:41:58.759 --> 00:42:00.579 And it appears to agree with us. 00:42:01.559 --> 00:42:05.159 And so I think we're on good, firm ground for that, 00:42:05.679 --> 00:42:10.079 that we go with the Old Testament that seems like was the Old Testament of Jesus and the Apostles. 00:42:10.299 --> 00:42:13.319 We don't add the Greek stuff that later Greek Jews added in. 00:42:13.320 --> 00:42:17.160 This is books like 1st Maccabees, 2nd Maccabees, stuff like that. 00:42:17.720 --> 00:42:21.039 So that's the short answer that I would say. 00:42:24.480 --> 00:42:25.260 Other questions? 00:42:28.860 --> 00:42:29.559 All right. 00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:30.820 Great. 00:42:30.920 --> 00:42:32.740 It's been awesome being with you folks. 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:34.039 Oh, one more. 00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:41.579 Could I just ask, do you really write Greek and other languages? 00:42:42.219 --> 00:42:44.860 I mean, how did you do all this stuff? 00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:47.480 This is my dissertation. 00:42:48.099 --> 00:42:52.599 So my dissertation is on the reception of the Book of Revelation 00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:55.920 into the New Testament all throughout church history. 00:42:56.500 --> 00:43:00.199 And so I went through all the writings and all the council lists 00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:03.320 and anything anyone said about the contents of the New Testament. 00:43:03.320 --> 00:43:06.740 Some of the stuff you've heard is pretty new stuff. 00:43:06.840 --> 00:43:12.180 It hasn't been published before, and I'm hoping to do that in the future. 00:43:12.300 --> 00:43:14.559 It's Greek and Latin and languages. 00:43:14.559 --> 00:43:17.720 So my program, they make you learn a ton of languages. 00:43:17.940 --> 00:43:19.380 We just have to keep taking languages. 00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:22.980 So Greek and Latin, Syriac, Coptic, I mean, there's a lot. 00:43:23.420 --> 00:43:24.440 And we have to study them. 00:43:24.900 --> 00:43:29.059 I can't, they get you to the point where you can kind of muddle through something with a dictionary. 00:43:29.059 --> 00:43:34.019 To get to the point of like fluently reading something takes, you know, years of efforts. 00:43:34.219 --> 00:43:39.579 So I can kind of do that with Greek, but the other ones I can't, I can't really do that. 00:43:39.980 --> 00:43:43.759 But so these, most of what I quoted from are from Greek and Latin writings, 00:43:43.759 --> 00:43:48.480 but we could go to Syriac and Armenian and Arabic and Coptic and stuff like that too, 00:43:48.579 --> 00:43:49.920 if people were interested. 00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:54.880 Those writings are usually after the Greek and Latin writings. 00:43:54.880 --> 00:43:57.519 And Syriac's about the same time. 00:43:57.599 --> 00:43:58.380 Syriac's just as early. 00:43:58.480 --> 00:43:59.880 But the other writings are a little later. 00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:05.440 And these are professors at the Divinity School that... 00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:10.280 They are, yes, some of them, most of them are in the Religious Studies Department. 00:44:10.619 --> 00:44:13.980 Some of them are in the NALC Department, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. 00:44:14.559 --> 00:44:16.539 They have lectors that teach languages. 00:44:16.780 --> 00:44:21.059 Sometimes you have to do independent studies or you go somewhere else and take these languages. 00:44:21.059 --> 00:44:26.960 Could you put the comments, since Luther was mentioned on that? 00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:27.340 Yeah, yeah. 00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:27.599 Are you... 00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:28.500 Yeah, James... 00:44:28.500 --> 00:44:29.460 Correct me, correct me. 00:44:29.500 --> 00:44:30.820 No, no, no, no, no, no correction. 00:44:31.820 --> 00:44:33.360 James is an official of straw. 00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:33.840 Yeah. 00:44:33.880 --> 00:44:36.039 You know, one of the things with Luther you got to watch out is, you know, 00:44:36.039 --> 00:44:37.840 he's just quick to make these statements. 00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:38.239 Yeah. 00:44:38.519 --> 00:44:41.840 A lot of stuff's from table talk and, you know, like, well, strictly off the record, 00:44:42.239 --> 00:44:43.960 this is what I really think about the Anabaptists. 00:44:44.039 --> 00:44:45.639 Hey, you spell that with one B or two. 00:44:45.739 --> 00:44:47.059 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:44:47.059 --> 00:44:52.519 But a dissertation's been done that looks to see, if even, say, as the Epistle of Strahd, 00:44:52.579 --> 00:44:56.059 James, he cites that no less. 00:44:56.699 --> 00:44:57.519 Oh, really? 00:44:58.460 --> 00:45:04.759 And in his theological treatises, he cites James no less than any other book. 00:45:04.880 --> 00:45:06.039 It's perfectly proportional. 00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:06.820 Oh, great. 00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:08.119 In terms of his practice... 00:45:08.119 --> 00:45:08.779 Yeah, yeah. 00:45:09.779 --> 00:45:10.679 That's fantastic. 00:45:10.759 --> 00:45:11.739 I'd love to see that dissertation. 00:45:12.340 --> 00:45:15.559 And, in fact, you can find similar phenomenon with some of the early church. 00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:17.219 I mentioned a writer, Eusebius. 00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:19.679 He is suspicious about the book of Revelation. 00:45:20.739 --> 00:45:24.059 But if you look at his writings, he quotes from it. 00:45:24.079 --> 00:45:27.059 And he'll use it, even though he's a little suspicious of it. 00:45:28.059 --> 00:45:30.579 And so we find similar things, too. 00:45:30.820 --> 00:45:32.799 And there are actually churches today, I mentioned, 00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:36.079 that don't technically have a ratified canonical list of New Testament. 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:39.480 But if you go to their church, the New Testament that they have printed 00:45:39.480 --> 00:45:41.820 is the 27-book New Testament. 00:45:41.820 --> 00:45:46.140 All right, thank you guys so much. 00:45:48.640 --> 00:45:49.480 Thank you. 00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:50.559 Thank you. 00:45:50.640 --> 00:45:51.140 Thank you. 00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:51.480 Thank you. 00:45:51.480 --> 00:45:51.500 Thank you. 00:45:51.940 --> 00:45:52.280 Thank you. 00:45:52.440 --> 00:45:52.519 Thank you. 00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:52.539 Thank you. 00:45:52.559 --> 00:45:52.880 Thank you. 00:45:54.880 --> 00:46:02.940 Thank you. 00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:05.460 Thank you. 00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:06.320 Thank you. 00:46:07.200 --> 00:46:07.580 Thank you. 00:46:07.820 --> 00:46:08.420 Thank you. 00:46:08.680 --> 00:46:08.800 Thank you. 00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:09.240 Thank you. 00:46:09.660 --> 00:46:09.700 Thank you. 00:46:09.700 --> 00:46:10.120 Thank you. 00:46:10.200 --> 00:46:10.420 Thank you. 00:46:10.780 --> 00:46:11.140 Thank you.