Misplaced Pages

#271728

112-584: Johannine literature is the collection of New Testament works that are traditionally attributed to John the Apostle , John the Evangelist , or to the Johannine community . They are usually dated to the period c.  AD 60–110 , with a minority of scholars, including Anglican bishop John Robinson , offering the earliest of these datings. Johannine literature is traditionally considered to include

224-602: A Dacian revolt against the Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges , who had enslaved them, and a Samaritan uprising. In west Asia, Artabanus II of Parthia fought a war with Rome over Armenia. The Han dynasty saw the outbreak of the Rebellion of Gongsun Shu . Roman emperor Tiberius died in AD 37, being succeeded by Caligula . An earthquake that shook Antioch in AD 37 caused the emperor Caligula to send two senators to report on

336-481: A famine took place in Judea . Josephus relates that Helena of Adiabene "went down to the city Jerusalem, her son conducting her on her journey a great way. Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy

448-589: A 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae ( Divine Institutes ): But all scripture is divided into two Testaments. That which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets —is called the Old; but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The Jews make use of the Old, we of

560-644: A Gentile, and similarly for the Gospel of Matthew, though most assert Jewish-Christian authorship. However, more recently the above understanding has been challenged by the publication of evidence showing only educated elites after the Jewish War would have been capable of producing the prose found in the Gospels. Authorship of the Gospels remains divided among both evangelical and critical scholars. The names of each Gospel stems from church tradition, and yet

672-643: A Jewish rebellion (66–73) and fought a war with Parthia from 58–63 , though the latter conflict was inconclusive. In East Asia, the Chinese Western Han dynasty was overthrown and replaced by the Xin dynasty in 9, which in turn faced its own rebel movements (namely the Red Eyebrows and Lulin ), and was replaced by the Eastern Han dynasty in 25. The Eastern Han dynasty then faced and quelled

784-501: A collection of 124 written near the end of his life . After Seneca's death in 65, a play named Octavia was written: the Roman tragedy focuses on three days in the year 62 during which Nero divorced and exiled his wife Claudia Octavia and married another ( Poppaea Sabina ). The play also deals with the irascibility of Nero and his inability to take heed of the philosopher Seneca's advice to rein in his passions . The Pharsalia ,

896-469: A corpus of fourteen "Pauline" epistles. While many scholars uphold the traditional view, some question whether the first three, called the "Deutero-Pauline Epistles", are authentic letters of Paul. As for the latter three, the "Pastoral epistles", some scholars uphold the traditional view of these as the genuine writings of the Apostle Paul; most regard them as pseudepigrapha . One might refer to

1008-518: A customer and a practitioner to be conducted with at least one third party witness present and bans inquiry into anyone's death. A large earthquake caused the destruction of at least twelve cities in the region of Lydia in the Roman province of Asia in Asia Minor . In China, a major flooding took place in the Yellow River in AD 11, which is credited with helping bring about the fall of

1120-675: A different tradition and body of testimony. In addition, most scholars agree that the author of Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles . Scholars hold that these books constituted two-halves of a single work, Luke–Acts . The same author appears to have written the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, and most refer to them as the Lucan texts. The most direct evidence comes from the prefaces of each book; both were addressed to Theophilus , and

1232-434: A great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. And as soon as they were come back, and had brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it, and left a most excellent memorial behind her of this benefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to

SECTION 10

#1732765945272

1344-624: A loose and changing coalition of other Berber tribes in a war against the Romans in North Africa during the rule of the emperor Tiberius (AD 14–37). The Armenian Artaxiad dynasty was overthrown by the Romans. In China, the Red Eyebrows Rebellion erupted against Wang Mang , emperor of the Xin dynasty . In Korea, Daeso , the ruler of the kingdom of Dongbuyeo , led his armies into Goguryeo once again. This time, Muhyul ,

1456-510: A loose and changing coalition of other Berber tribes in revolt, before being defeated in AD 24. In China, the Xin dynasty collapsed and the Eastern Han dynasty was established. In Korea, Daemusin of Goguryeo annexed Dongbuyeo and killed its king Daeso . In science, the 20s saw the manufacture of pens and metal writing tools in Rome. Major disasters of this decade include a fire in Rome , and

1568-455: A lord over them, saith the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the LORD'; for they shall all know Me, from

1680-530: A maximum intensity of IX or X on the Mercalli scale struck the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum , severely damaging them. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum both suffered major damage, with damage to some buildings also reported from Naples and Nuceria . Seneca reported the death of a flock of 600 sheep that he attributed to the effects of poisonous gases. Later, in 64, the Great Fire of Rome began in

1792-455: A period of relative stability known as Pax Romana , withstanding a financial crisis in 33 and a civil war in 69 . In Europe, Rome expanded into Britain and fought wars in Germania and Dacia . In Africa, Rome was challenged by Tacfarinas , who led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of other Berber tribes before being defeated in 24. In West Asia, Rome defeated

1904-469: A poem detailing Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC), was also written during this decade. Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 60 as 249 million. ( Full article... ) The 70s was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 70, to December 31, AD 79. As the decade began, the First Jewish–Roman War continued: In AD 70, the Romans besieged and sacked Jerusalem and destroyed

2016-529: A population of nearly 60 million (59,594,978 people in slightly more than 12 million households). The census is one of the most accurate surveys in Chinese history. Dionysius Exiguus assigned Jesus's birth date in AD 1, in his anno Domini era according to at least one scholar. However, most scholars think Dionysius placed the birth of Jesus in the previous year, 1 BC . Furthermore, most modern scholars do not consider Dionysius' calculations authoritative, placing

2128-588: A prince of Goguryeo, led the armies of Goguryeo in a well-planned ambush and slaughtered all of Daeso's army. Only he and a few of his men escaped home. Literary works from the 10s include works from the ancient Roman poet Ovid , Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto , while Nicolaus of Damascus wrote a biography of Emperor Augustus ( Bios Kaisaros ). In the Roman Empire, an edict was issued effecting an empire-wide ban on divinatory practices especially astrology . The edict requires any consultation between

2240-697: A rebellion by the Trưng sisters (40–43). In 58, the Eastern Han dynasty entered a golden age with the Rule of Ming and Zhang , who were generally regarded as able administrators who cared about the welfare of the people and who promoted officials with integrity. On its northern frontier, the Chinese dynasties waged intermittent war with the Xiongnu before emerging victorious in 91. The states of Funan and Xianbei were also established in this century. The century saw

2352-408: A scholarly consensus that many New Testament books were not written by the individuals whose names are attached to them. Scholarly opinion is that names were fixed to the gospels by the mid second century AD. Many scholars believe that none of the gospels were written in the region of Palestine . Christian tradition identifies John the Apostle with John the Evangelist , the supposed author of

SECTION 20

#1732765945272

2464-613: A uniformity of doctrine concerning the Mosaic Law , Jesus, faith, and various other issues. All of these letters easily fit into the chronology of Paul's journeys depicted in Acts of the Apostles. The author of the Epistle of James identifies himself in the opening verse as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ". From the middle of the 3rd century, patristic authors cited the Epistle as written by James

2576-547: A variety of reasons the majority of modern scholars have abandoned it or hold it only tenuously. It is significantly different from the synoptic gospels, with major variations in material, theological emphasis, chronology, and literary style, sometimes amounting to contradictions. First Century During this century, the Roman Empire (ruled by the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties) continued to be in

2688-506: Is foreign to the original Hebrew word brit (בְּרִית) describing it, which only means 'alliance, covenant, pact' and never 'inheritance instructions after death'. This use comes from the transcription of Latin testamentum 'will (left after death)', a literal translation of Greek diatheke (διαθήκη) 'will (left after death)', which is the word used to translate Hebrew brit in the Septuagint . The choice of this word diatheke , by

2800-700: Is now northern Vietnam ). In 42 AD, Han China dispatched General Ma Yuan to lead an army to strike down the Yue rebellion of the Trưng sisters . In 43 AD, the Han army fully suppressed the uprising and regained complete control. Christianity came to Egypt as the Church of Alexandria was founded with Mark the Evangelist as the first Patriarch. James the Great died in 44: One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus , he

2912-456: Is often thought that John the Apostle is John the Evangelist , i.e. author of the Gospel of John ) or to another John designated " John of Patmos " after the island where the text says the revelation was received (1:9). Some ascribe the writership date as c.  81–96 AD, and others at around 68 AD. The work opens with letters to seven local congregations of Asia Minor and thereafter takes

3024-535: Is scholarly debate as to the reason why the translators of the Septuagint chose the term diatheke to translate Hebrew brit , instead of another Greek word generally used to refer to an alliance or covenant. The use of the phrase New Testament ( Koine Greek : Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη , Hē Kainḕ Diathḗkē ) to describe a collection of first- and second-century Christian Greek scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian in his work Against Praxeas . Irenaeus uses

3136-505: Is written as follows: "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James". The debate has continued over the author's identity as the apostle, the brother of Jesus, both, or neither. The Gospel of John, the three Johannine epistles , and the Book of Revelation , exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistles (especially the gospel and 1 John) than between those and Revelation. Most scholars therefore treat

3248-636: The Baths of Nero were constructed. It stood between the Pantheon and the Stadium of Domitian and were listed among the most notable buildings in the city by Roman authors and became a much-frequented venue. In his final years, Seneca the Younger wrote De Providentia (discussing the problem of evil ), De Beneficiis (discussing the award and reception of gifts and favours within society), and compiled

3360-682: The Christian biblical canon . It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus , as well as events relating to first-century Christianity . The New Testament's background, the first division of the Christian Bible, is called the Old Testament , which is based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible ; together they are regarded as Sacred Scripture by Christians. The New Testament is a collection of Christian texts originally written in

3472-638: The Epistle to the Laodiceans and the Third Epistle to the Corinthians as examples of works identified as pseudonymous. Since the early centuries of the church, there has been debate concerning the authorship of the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews, and contemporary scholars generally reject Pauline authorship. The epistles all share common themes, emphasis, vocabulary and style; they exhibit

Johannine literature - Misplaced Pages Continue

3584-434: The Gospel of John . Traditionalists tend to support the idea that the writer of the Gospel of John himself claimed to be an eyewitness in their commentaries of John 21 :24 and therefore the gospel was written by an eyewitness. This idea is rejected by the majority of modern scholars. Most scholars hold to the two-source hypothesis , which posits that the Gospel of Mark was the first gospel to be written . On this view,

3696-743: The Iceni ), led by Boudica , rebelled against the Roman occupation. The revolt led to the sacking of several Roman cities, but was ultimately quelled by governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus . In 63, the Roman–Parthian War came to an end with the Treaty of Rhandeia . In 66, the First Jewish-Roman War began, as Jewish rebels fought against Roman rule. Near the end of the decade in 69, the Year of

3808-459: The Jewish Bible 's Book of Jeremiah , Judaism traditionally disagrees: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was

3920-600: The Koine Greek language, at different times by various authors. While the Old Testament canon varies somewhat between different Christian denominations , the 27-book canon of the New Testament has been almost universally recognized within Christianity since at least Late Antiquity . Thus, in almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books: The earliest known complete list of

4032-484: The Mercalli scale struck the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum , severely damaging them. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum both suffered major damage, with damage to some buildings also reported from Naples and Nuceria . In 79, Mount Vesuvius violently spewed forth a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock , pulverized pumice and hot ash . The event destroyed several towns and minor settlements in

4144-575: The Roman conquest of Britain continued, with Caratacus being defeated in 50 and tribes of modern Wales being subdued in 58 to 59 . In 50, the Southern Xiongnu submitted to the Chinese Han dynasty . Later in 57, the ascension of Emperor Ming heralded the beginning of a golden age . The Council of Jerusalem was held early in the decade: The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of

4256-795: The Sarmatians , and the Dacians (see Domitian's Dacian War ). In northern Britain, the Romans defeated local tribes in the Battle of Mons Graupius (AD 83). In China, the Han–Xiongnu War continued, with the Battle of the Altai Mountains (AD 89) bringing the Northern Xiongnu to the brink of collapse. The death of Emperor Zhang of Han ended a golden age . In spring of AD 80, a fire broke out in Rome and burned large parts of

4368-474: The Second Temple . After this major victory, the Romans continued to clear pockets of Jewish resistance, with the final stronghold taken being Masada (73) . The Flavian dynasty , which included emperors Vespasian and Titus , ruled the empire during this decade. During their reign, the Romans faced military challenges from various sources, including clashes with British and Germanic tribes . However,

4480-586: The Xin dynasty in the next decade. Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 10 as 241 million. ( Full article... ) The 20s decade ran from January 1, AD 20, to December 31, AD 29. In Europe, the 20s saw revolts by the Aedui , Thracian tribesmen, and the Frisians against the Roman Empire . In North Africa , Tacfarinas , a Numidian Berber deserter, led the Musulamii tribe and

4592-579: The apocryphal Acts of Peter , he was crucified head down. As for Paul, the Second Epistle to Timothy states that he was arrested in Troad and brought back to Rome, where he was imprisoned and put on trial before being executed. The White Horse Temple , the first Buddhist temple in China, was traditionally constructed in 68, though it is not recorded in contemporary sources before 289. In 62 or 64,

Johannine literature - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-595: The priesthood and the Sadducees , diminished in importance. Second Temple Judaism came to an end, while a new form of Judaism that became known as Rabbinic Judaism developed out of Pharisaic school . Furthermore, the White Horse Temple , the first Buddhist temple in China, was traditionally constructed in 68, though it is not recorded in contemporary sources before 289. Several natural disasters took place in this century. In 17, an earthquake struck

4816-486: The 27 books is found in a letter written by Athanasius , a 4th-century bishop of Alexandria , dated to 367 AD. The 27-book New Testament was first formally canonized during the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) in North Africa. Pope Innocent I ratified the same canon in 405, but it is probable that a Council in Rome in 382 under Pope Damasus I gave the same list first. These councils also provided

4928-611: The 2nd century. The Pauline letters are the thirteen New Testament books that present Paul the Apostle as their author. Paul's authorship of six of the letters is disputed. Four are thought by most modern scholars to be pseudepigraphic , i.e., not actually written by Paul even if attributed to him within the letters themselves. Opinion is more divided on the other two disputed letters (2 Thessalonians and Colossians). These letters were written to Christian communities in specific cities or geographical regions, often to address issues faced by that particular community. Prominent themes include

5040-530: The 30s include a popular collection of fables written by Phaedrus , a symbolic interpretation of the Old Testament (Allegory) written by Philo , and a general history of the countries known in Antiquity written by Velleius Paterculus . Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 30 as 247 million. ( Full article... ) The 40s decade ran from January 1, AD 40, to December 31, AD 49. Claudius became Roman Emperor in 41, following

5152-652: The Apostle ( Acts 16:10–17 ; arguing for an authorship date of c.  AD 62 ), which is corroborated by Paul's Letter to the Colossians ( Col. 4:14 ), Letter to Philemon ( Philem. 23–24 ), and Second Letter to Timothy ( 2 Tim. 4:11 ), the gospel account of Luke "was received as having apostolic endorsement and authority from Paul and as a trustworthy record of the gospel that Paul preached" (e.g. Rom. 2:16 , according to Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History 3.4.8). The word testament in

5264-437: The Apostles is a narrative of the apostles' ministry and activity after Christ's death and resurrection, from which point it resumes and functions as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke . Examining style, phraseology, and other evidence, modern scholarship generally concludes that Acts and the Gospel of Luke share the same author, referred to as Luke–Acts . Luke–Acts does not name its author. Church tradition identified him as Luke

5376-831: The Emperor rejected the idea of expansionist warfare. His most significant military contribution was the development of the Limes Germanicus , which encompassed a vast network of roads, forts and watchtowers constructed along the Rhine river to defend the Empire. Nevertheless, several important wars were fought in Gaul, against the Chatti , and across the Danube frontier against the Suebi ,

5488-447: The Epistle to the Hebrews does not internally claim to have been written by the Apostle Paul , some similarities in wordings to some of the Pauline Epistles have been noted and inferred. In antiquity, some began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work an explicit apostolic pedigree. In the 4th century, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo supported Paul's authorship . The Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as

5600-413: The Evangelist since the end of the first century. Scholars have debated the authorship of Johannine literature (the Gospel of John, Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation) since at least the third century, but especially since the Enlightenment . The authorship by John the Apostle is rejected by many modern scholars. New Testament The New Testament ( NT ) is the second division of

5712-437: The Evangelist , the companion of Paul, but the majority of scholars reject this due to the many differences between Acts and the authentic Pauline letters, though most scholars still believe the author, whether named Luke or not, met Paul . The most probable date of composition is around 80–90 AD, although some scholars date it significantly later, and there is evidence that it was still being substantially revised well into

SECTION 50

#1732765945272

5824-500: The Four Emperors saw a period of civil war and political instability in the Roman Empire, as four different men ( Galba , Otho , Vitellius , and Vespasian ) claimed the title of Emperor within the span of a year. Ultimately, the year ended with the ascension of Vespasian to the throne and the beginning of the Flavian Dynasty . In East Asia, the state of Funan was established, while China continued its golden age . In 62, an earthquake of an estimated magnitude of between 5 and 6 and

5936-407: The Gospels were written forty to sixty years after the death of Jesus. They thus do not present eyewitness or contemporary accounts of Jesus's life and teaching." The ESV Study Bible claims the following (as one argument for gospel authenticity): Because Luke , as a second generation Christian, claims to have retrieved eyewitness testimony ( Luke 1:1–4 ), in addition to having traveled with Paul

6048-412: The Jewish translators of the Septuagint in Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd century BCE, has been understood in Christian theology to imply a reinterpreted view of the Old Testament covenant with Israel as possessing characteristics of a 'will left after death' (the death of Jesus ) and has generated considerable attention from biblical scholars and theologians: in contrast to the Jewish usage where brit

6160-559: The Just . Ancient and modern scholars have always been divided on the issue of authorship. Many consider the epistle to be written in the late 1st or early 2nd centuries. The author of the First Epistle of Peter identifies himself in the opening verse as "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ", and the view that the epistle was written by St. Peter is attested to by a number of Church Fathers : Irenaeus (140–203), Tertullian (150–222), Clement of Alexandria (155–215) and Origen of Alexandria (185–253). Unlike The Second Epistle of Peter ,

6272-416: The New Testament were all or nearly all written by Jewish Christians —that is, Jewish disciples of Christ, who lived in the Roman Empire , and under Roman occupation . The author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts is frequently thought of as an exception; scholars are divided as to whether he was a Gentile or a Hellenistic Jew . A few scholars identify the author of the Gospel of Mark as probably

6384-462: The New Testament were only a few among many other early Christian gospels. The existence of such texts is even mentioned at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke. Many non-canonical gospels were also written, all later than the four canonical gospels, and like them advocating the particular theological views of their various authors. In modern scholarship, the Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources for reconstructing Christ's ministry. The Acts of

6496-407: The New: but yet they are not discordant, for the New is the fulfilling of the Old, and in both there is the same testator, even Christ, who, having suffered death for us, made us heirs of His everlasting kingdom, the people of the Jews being deprived and disinherited. As the prophet Jeremiah testifies when he speaks such things: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new testament to

6608-459: The Romans were largely successful in defeating these tribes, expanding their territories and consolidating their power. Following the death of Vologases I in 78, Parthia saw internal conflict as Vologases II and Pacorus II competed for the throne. In China, the Han–Xiongnu War was re-invigorated , with the Han defeating the Northern Xiongnu in the Battle of Yiwulu (73). In 75, Emperor Ming of Han died, being succeeded by Emperor Zhang :

6720-462: The area, at the time part of the Roman Empire , with Pompeii and Herculaneum being the most famous examples. The total population of both cities was over twenty thousand. The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum so far, although the total death toll from the eruption remains unknown. Death toll estimates range from 13,000 to 16,000. The 0s began on January 1, AD 1 and ended on December 31, AD 9 , covering

6832-486: The area, at the time part of the Roman Empire . Pompeii and Herculaneum , obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits , are the most famous examples. The total population of both cities was over 20,000. The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum so far, although the total death toll from the eruption remains unknown. The period also saw significant architectural and engineering accomplishments, such as

SECTION 60

#1732765945272

6944-405: The assassination of Caligula . In 43, he sent Aulus Plautius with four legions to Britain ( Britannia ), initiating the decades-long Roman conquest of Britain . In China, The Trưng sisters' rebellion took place in the south of Han China between 40 AD and 43 AD: In 40 AD, the Vietnamese leader Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị rebelled against Chinese authorities in Jiaozhi (in what

7056-419: The authors of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke used as sources the Gospel of Mark and a hypothetical Q document to write their individual gospel accounts. These three gospels are called the Synoptic Gospels , because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes in exactly the same wording. Scholars agree that the Gospel of John was written last, by using

7168-440: The authors of the Gospels do not identify themselves in their respective texts. All four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are anonymous works . The Gospel of John claims to be based on eyewitness testimony from the Disciple whom Jesus loved , but never names this character. The author of Luke-Acts claimed to access an eyewitness to Paul ; this claim remains accepted by most scholars. Objections to this viewpoint mainly take

7280-436: The authorship of which was debated in antiquity, there was little debate about Peter's authorship of this first epistle until the 18th century. Although 2 Peter internally purports to be a work of the apostle, many biblical scholars have concluded that Peter is not the author. For an early date and (usually) for a defense of the Apostle Peter's authorship see Kruger, Zahn, Spitta, Bigg, and Green. The Epistle of Jude title

7392-518: The canon of the Old Testament, which included the deuterocanonical books. There is no scholarly consensus on the date of composition of the latest New Testament texts. John A. T. Robinson , Dan Wallace , and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Many other scholars, such as Bart D. Ehrman and Stephen L. Harris , date some New Testament texts much later than this; Richard Pervo dated Luke–Acts to c.  115 AD , and David Trobisch places Acts in

7504-458: The city for three days and three nights. Although the extent of the damage was not as disastrous as during the Great Fire of 64 and crucially spared the many districts of insulae , Cassius Dio records a long list of important public buildings that were destroyed, including Agrippa's Pantheon , the Temple of Jupiter , the Diribitorium , parts of the Theatre of Pompey , and the Saepta Julia among others. Emperor Titus personally compensated for

7616-430: The city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians . In the Roman Empire, Christianity continued to spread, despite a campaign of persecution being initiated under Emperor Nero in 64. According to tradition, the apostles Peter and Paul were both martyred during this period: Traditionally, Roman authorities allegedly sentenced Peter to death by crucifixion at Vatican Hill . In accordance with

7728-413: The city, precipitating the empire's first persecution of Christians , who were blamed for the disaster. Later in 70, the siege and subsequent sack of Jerusalem and the Second Temple during the First Jewish–Roman War marked a major turning point in Jewish history. The loss of mother-city and temple necessitated a reshaping of Jewish culture to ensure its survival. Judaism's Temple-based sects, including

7840-472: The collapse of a poorly built amphitheatre in Fidenae , which killed 20,000 of the 50,000 spectators. In 27, Christianity was born as a Jewish sect in Jerusalem . Geographica , an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge created by Strabo , was finished no later than AD 23. Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 20 as 246 million. ( Full article... ) The 30s decade ran from January 1, AD 30, to December 31, AD 39. Jesus

7952-411: The condition of the city. In China, an epidemic broke out in K'aui-chi, causing many deaths, and Imperial official Ch'ung-li I (Zhongli Yi) provided medicine that saved many lives. Valerius Maximus wrote Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX : It is a collection of approximately a thousand short stories that Valerius wrote during the reign of Tiberius (42 BC – AD 37). Other literary works from

8064-479: The conflict until the next decade. In China, the last ruler of the Chinese Western Han dynasty ( Ruzi Ying ) was deposed, allowing Wang Mang to establish the Xin dynasty . Literary works from the 0s include works from the ancient Roman poet Ovid ; the Ars Amatoria , an instructional elegy series in three books, Metamorphoses , a poem which chronicles the history of the world from its creation to

8176-755: The construction of the Colosseum in Rome. In 75, Vespasian erected a colossal statue of Apollo , begun under Nero , and he dedicated a stage of the theatre of Marcellus. Valerius Flaccus wrote the Argonautica , an epic poem . Pliny the Elder composed the 10-volume Natural History , covering topics including astronomy , mathematics , geography , ethnography , anthropology , human physiology , zoology , botany , agriculture , horticulture , pharmacology , mining , mineralogy , sculpture , art , and precious stones . Manning (2008) tentatively estimates

8288-570: The deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework, and Ibis , a curse poem written during his years in exile across the Black Sea for an offense against Augustus . Nicolaus of Damascus wrote the 15-volume History of the World . Estimates for the world population by AD 1 range from 150 to 300 million. A census was concluded in China in AD 2: final numbers showed

8400-518: The drawing up of his Antitheses, centres in this, that he may establish a diversity between the Old and the New Testaments, so that his own Christ may be separate from the Creator , as belonging to this rival God, and as alien from the law and the prophets . By the 4th century , the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius ,

8512-465: The epistle to the Hebrews, based on its distinctive style and theology, which are considered to set it apart from Paul's writings. The final book of the New Testament is the Book of Revelation , also known as the Apocalypse of John. In the New Testament canon, it is considered prophetical or apocalyptic literature . Its authorship has been attributed either to John the Apostle (in which case it

8624-538: The event several years earlier (see Chronology of Jesus ). ( Full article... ) The 10s decade ran from January 1, AD 10, to December 31, AD 19. In Europe, the decade saw the end of the Early Imperial campaigns in Germania when Roman forces led by Germanicus defeated Germanic tribes in the Battle of Idistaviso in AD 16. In the subsequent year, a war broke out between Maroboduus and Arminius . In Africa, Tacfarinas led his own Musulamii tribe and

8736-581: The expression "New Testament" refers to a Christian new covenant that Christians believe completes or fulfils the Mosaic covenant (the Jewish covenant) that Yahweh (the God of Israel) made with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai through Moses , described in the books of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. While Christianity traditionally even claims this Christian new covenant as being prophesied in

8848-456: The fasts, and other specific rituals, including the rules concerning circumcision of males . The Council did, however, retain the prohibitions on eating blood , meat containing blood , and meat of animals that were strangled, and on fornication and idolatry . Literary works of this decade include De Vita Beata (which explains that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reason ) and De Clementia (an instructional contrast between

8960-467: The first nine years of the Common Era . It is one of two "0-to-9" decade -like timespans that contain nine years, along with the 0s BC . In Europe, the 0s saw the continuation of conflict between the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes in the Early Imperial campaigns in Germania . Vinicius , Tiberius and Varus led Roman forces in multiple punitive campaigns, before sustaining a major defeat at

9072-444: The five as a single corpus of Johannine literature , albeit not from the same author. The gospel went through two or three "editions" before reaching its current form around AD 90–110. It speaks of an unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved" as the source of its traditions, but does not say specifically that he is its author; Christian tradition identifies this disciple as the apostle John , but while this idea still has supporters, for

9184-408: The following works: Of these five books, the only one that explicitly identifies its author as a "John" ( Ancient Greek : Ἰωάννης , romanized :  Iōannēs ) is Revelation. Modern scholarship generally rejects the idea that this work is written by the same author as the other four documents. The gospel identifies its author as the disciple whom Jesus loved , commonly identified with John

9296-636: The form of an apocalypse , a "revealing" of divine prophecy and mysteries, a literary genre popular in ancient Judaism and Christianity. The order in which the books of the New Testament appear differs between some collections and ecclesiastical traditions. In the Latin West, prior to the Vulgate (an early 5th-century Latin version of the Bible), the four Gospels were arranged in the following order: Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark. The Syriac Peshitta places

9408-490: The form of the following two interpretations, but also include the claim that Luke-Acts contains differences in theology and historical narrative which are irreconcilable with the authentic letters of Paul the Apostle . According to Bart D. Ehrman of the University of North Carolina , none of the authors of the Gospels were eyewitnesses or even explicitly claimed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus's life. Ehrman has argued for

9520-583: The fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the Reformation . The letter to the Hebrews had difficulty in being accepted as part of the Christian canon because of its anonymity. As early as the 3rd century, Origen wrote of the letter, "Men of old have handed it down as Paul's, but who wrote the Epistle God only knows." Contemporary scholars often reject Pauline authorship for

9632-520: The good ruler and a tyrant), both of which were written by Seneca the Younger . Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 50 as 248 million. ( Full article... ) The 60s decade ran from January 1, AD 60, to December 31, AD 69. In the Roman Empire, the early part of the decade saw the beginning of the Boudican Revolt in Britannia , where several tribes (chiefly

9744-739: The hands of Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest . Concurrently, the Roman Empire fought the Bellum Batonianum against a rebelling alliance of native peoples led by Bato the Daesitiate in Illyricum , which was suppressed in AD 9. A conflict also took place in Korea, where Daeso , King of Dongbuyeo invaded Goguryeo with a 50,000-man army in AD 6. He was forced to retreat when heavy snow began to fall, stopping

9856-465: The house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the testament which I made to their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they continued not in my testament, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord." ... For that which He said above, that He would make a new testament to the house of Judah, shows that the old testament which was given by Moses

9968-444: The late second century, the four narrative accounts of the life and work of Jesus Christ have been referred to as "The Gospel of ..." or "The Gospel according to ..." followed by the name of the supposed author. The first author to explicitly name the canonical gospels is Irenaeus of Lyon , who promoted the four canonical gospels in his book Against Heresies , written around 180. These four gospels that were eventually included in

10080-414: The least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. The word covenant means 'agreement' (from Latin con-venio 'to agree' lit. 'to come together'): the use of the word testament , which describes the different idea of written instructions for inheritance after death, to refer to the covenant with Israel in the Old Testament,

10192-483: The mainstream form of the religion. Many followers of Jesus of Nazareth also survived the city's destruction. They spread his teachings across the Roman Empire, giving rise to the new religion of Christianity . In the autumn of 79, Mount Vesuvius violently spewed forth a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock , pulverized pumice and hot ash . The event destroyed several towns and minor settlements in

10304-593: The major Catholic epistles (James, 1 Peter, and 1 John) immediately after Acts and before the Pauline epistles. The order of an early edition of the letters of Paul is based on the size of the letters: longest to shortest, though keeping 1 and 2 Corinthians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians together. The Pastoral epistles were apparently not part of the Corpus Paulinum in which this order originated and were later inserted after 2 Thessalonians and before Philemon. Hebrews

10416-409: The merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus . After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, two-thirds of Rome had been destroyed. According to Tacitus and later Christian tradition, Emperor Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in

10528-564: The mid-to-late second century, contemporaneous with the publication of the first New Testament canon. Whether the Gospels were composed before or after 70 AD, according to Bas van Os, the lifetime of various eyewitnesses that includes Jesus's own family through the end of the First Century is very likely statistically. Markus Bockmuehl finds this structure of lifetime memory in various early Christian traditions. The New Oxford Annotated Bible claims, "Scholars generally agree that

10640-461: The origination of Christianity from Palestine . In the early 30s, Roman governor Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion ; his suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion would become central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement . Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Alexandria in 38. In 64, the Great Fire of Rome destroyed two-thirds of

10752-481: The phrase New Testament several times, but does not use it in reference to any written text. In Against Marcion , written c. 208 AD, Tertullian writes of: the Divine Word, who is doubly edged with the two testaments of the law and the gospel . And Tertullian continues later in the book, writing: it is certain that the whole aim at which he [ Marcion ] has strenuously laboured, even in

10864-502: The post-resurrection appearances, but the emptiness of the tomb implies a resurrection). The word "gospel" derives from the Old English gōd-spell (rarely godspel ), meaning "good news" or "glad tidings". Its Hebrew equivalent being "besorah" (בְּשׂוֹרָה). The gospel was considered the "good news" of the coming Kingdom of Messiah , and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, the central Christian message. Starting in

10976-624: The preceding epistles. These letters are believed by many to be pseudepigraphic. Some scholars (e.g., Bill Mounce, Ben Witherington, R.C. Sproul) will argue that the letters are genuinely Pauline, or at least written under Paul's supervision. The Epistle to the Hebrews addresses a Jewish audience who had come to believe that Jesus was the Anointed One (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ—transliterated in English as "Moshiach", or "Messiah"; Greek: Χριστός—transliterated in English as "Christos", for " Christ ") who

11088-462: The preface to the Acts of the Apostles references "my former book" about the ministry of Jesus. Furthermore, there are linguistic and theological similarities between the two works, suggesting that they have a common author. The Pauline epistles are the thirteen books in the New Testament traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus . Seven letters are generally classified as "undisputed", expressing contemporary scholarly near consensus that they are

11200-621: The principal men in Jerusalem." Literary works of this decade include the Histories of Alexander the Great (written by Quintus Curtius Rufus ), and essays by Seneca (including De Ira , Ad Marciam, De consolatione , De Brevitate Vitæ , De Consolatione ad Polybium , and Ad Helviam matrem, De consolatione ). Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 40 as 247 million. ( Full article... ) The 50s decade ran from January 1, 50, to December 31, 59. It

11312-407: The region of Lydia in the Roman province of Asia in Asia Minor (now part of Turkey ), causing the destruction of at least 12 cities, with Sardis being most affected. Around 44 to 48, a famine took place in Judea , precipitating assistance by Helena of Adiabene and her son, Izates II . In 62, an earthquake of an estimated magnitude of between 5 and 6 and a maximum intensity of IX or X on

11424-620: The reign of these two emperors is considered to have been a golden age . The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple during the First Jewish–Roman War marked a major turning point in Jewish history. The loss of mother-city and temple necessitated a reshaping of Jewish culture to ensure its survival. Judaism's Temple-based sects, including the priesthood and the Sadducees , diminished in importance. A new form of Judaism that became known as Rabbinic Judaism developed out of Pharisaic school and, centuries later, eventually became

11536-585: The relationship both to broader " pagan " society, to Judaism, and to other Christians. [Disputed letters are marked with an asterisk (*).] The last four Pauline letters in the New Testament are addressed to individual persons. They include the following: [Disputed letters are marked with an asterisk (*).] All of the above except for Philemon are known as the pastoral epistles . They are addressed to individuals charged with pastoral oversight of churches and discuss issues of Christian living, doctrine and leadership. They often address different concerns to those of

11648-412: The work of Paul: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. Six additional letters bearing Paul's name do not currently enjoy the same academic consensus: Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus. The anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews is, despite unlikely Pauline authorship, often functionally grouped with these thirteen to form

11760-586: The world population in AD 70 to have been 250 million. ( Full article... ) The 80s was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 80, to December 31, AD 89. As the decade began, the Parthian Empire was in a phase of division until Pacorus II managed to consolidate his rule, eliminating the two rival contenders for his throne: Vologases II in AD 80 and Artabanus III in AD 81. Domitian became Roman emperor in AD 81: The military campaigns undertaken during his reign were generally defensive in nature, as

11872-465: Was crucified early in the decade: his suffering and redemptive death would form central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement . Peter the Apostle founded the Church of Antioch . Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Alexandria . A financial crisis hit Rome in AD 33. In Asia, the Western Satraps and Kushan Empire emerged. In Europe, the 30s saw

11984-472: Was not perfect; but that which was to be given by Christ would be complete. Eusebius describes the collection of Christian writings as "covenanted" (ἐνδιαθήκη) books in Hist. Eccl. 3.3.1–7; 3.25.3; 5.8.1; 6.25.1. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth (the gospel of Mark in the original text ends with the empty tomb and has no account of

12096-621: Was predicted in the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. The author discusses the superiority of the new covenant and the ministry of Jesus, to the Mosaic Law Covenant and urges the readers in the practical implications of this conviction through the end of the epistle. The book has been widely accepted by the Christian church as inspired by God and thus authoritative, despite the acknowledgment of uncertainties about who its human author was. Regarding authorship, although

12208-551: Was the first to be martyred according to the New Testament . Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome between 41 and 53: Silvia Cappelletti describes Claudius's motivation as the need to control the population of Rome and prevent political meetings. (He "did not have an anti-Jewish policy.") Donna Hurley explains that Suetonius includes the expulsion "among problems with foreign populations, not among religions" Between 44 and 48,

12320-549: Was the sixth decade in the Anno Domini / Common Era , if the nine-year period from 1 AD to 9 AD is considered as a "decade". The early years of the decade saw Roman and Parthian intervention in the Iberian–Armenian War , a conflict which led Tiridates I to become King of Armenia with Parthian support. This was unacceptable to Rome, and the ensuing tensions culminated in the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 . Concurrently,

12432-457: Was the usual Hebrew word used to refer to pacts, alliances and covenants in general, like a common pact between two individuals, and to the one between God and Israel in particular, in the Greek world diatheke was virtually never used to refer to an alliance or covenant (one exception is noted in a passage from Aristophanes ) and referred instead to a will left after the death of a person. There

12544-481: Was variously incorporated into the Corpus Paulinum either after 2 Thessalonians, after Philemon (i.e. at the very end), or after Romans. Luther's canon , found in the 16th-century Luther Bible , continues to place Hebrews, James, Jude, and the Apocalypse (Revelation) last. This reflects the thoughts of the Reformer Martin Luther on the canonicity of these books. It is considered the books of

#271728