Myth #2: The New Testament was written 100 years after Jesus

The Real Jesus: A Defense of the Historicity and Divinity of Christ

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The Real Jesus: A Defense of the Historicity and Divinity of Christ

Explodes the myths of the liberal critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.

Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the “historical Jesus” — a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin.

Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regrettably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.

The Real Jesus explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views. Presented in ten parts — perfect for individual, family and classroom study — viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history — “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus.

Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg.

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Myth #2: The New Testament was written 100 years after Jesus

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Myth #2: The New Testament was written 100 years after Jesus
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Jennings: “There is no reliable evidence about who the authors actually were. It is pretty much agreed that they were not eyewitnesses. In fact, the Gospels were probably written 40 to 100 years after Jesus’ death.”

Jennings is simply echoing a popular myth: some of the theologians of the Jesus Seminar have suggested that writers pretending to be Matthew, Mark, Luke and John took a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, and invented a genealogy and added historical references as time went by thus “improving” the authenticity of their story.

There is no evidence that the earliest manuscripts of the Bible were altered to be more “historic.” In fact, there is proof that little of the New Testament has been altered. If we look at early copies of the New Testament books, we find that there are some differences between variant manuscripts. But these are mainly misspellings and scribal errors in copying small words, prepositions and numbers.

In addition, most modern translations make note of these differences in the form of footnotes. In fact, you could take all the variant readings of the most reliable New Testament manuscripts and fit them all on one page. There is no major Christian doctrine that would be affected or changed by these small differences. Therefore, even with minor textual variations in the older manuscripts, Christians can still view scripture as inerrant and inspired of God.

What of the charge that historical references and stories surrounding Jesus’ life were added later on?

The fact is that the Jews recorded exact historical references — the best of all the ancient historians — because they believed that God was trying to teach them something through history. In keeping with this tradition, the writers of the Gospels sought to record accurate historical events surrounding the life of Christ.

In Luke 2:1, we see that Jesus was born in the days when Quirinius was governor of Syria; and when Caesar Augustus was Emperor. In Luke 3:1, we are given the exact year of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry: “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar; Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea; Herod being tetrarch of Galilee; his brother Phillip the tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.”

These were the rulers of the surrounding countries of Judea in the first century. These are all true persons and places that may be corroborated in other recorded histories.

And what of the charge that the Gospel accounts were written many years after Christ? The higher critics face a huge problem with credibility here. In dating the New Testament in the second century rather than the first, they must ignore the fact that there were a number of late first century and early second century writers who quoted extensively from the New Testament. The Christians of that era already thought of what we know today as the New Testament as being authoritative as scripture.

We have already seen that Christian writers named Clement, Barnabas, and Polycarp wrote about Jesus in the first century. There are other documents as well.

• The Didache, a late first century catechism, quotes extensively from the New Testament.

• Ignatius (A.D. 35-110), the Bishop of Antioch, quotes from 16 New Testament books.

• Irenaeus (A.D. 130 -200), the second century Bishop of Lyons, makes 1,819 references to New Testament scriptures.

• Tertullian (A.D. 160 -220) quotes from the New Testament 7,258 times.

The problem for the higher critics and those searching for a “historical Jesus” is that these people were writing in the late first and second centuries. Since they quote from the New Testament books extensively, we can know that the church in many areas of the Roman Empire had access to all of the New Testament scriptures. So the Gospels must have been written sometime in the first century, during the time of the Apostles.

William Foxwell Albright, one of the world’s foremost biblical archaeologists, said: “In my opinion, every book in the New Testament was written by a baptized Jew between the 40s and 80s of the first century A.D. (very probably sometime between about A.D. 50 to 75).”

In the 19th and 20th centuries, there have been thousands of archaeological discoveries of Greek manuscripts of the New Testament that are hundreds of years older than the manuscripts available prior modern times. There are now more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and 24,000 manuscript portions available for study. In other words, there are more reliable New Testament manuscripts in the original Greek language available for direct translation into modern English today than ever before.

Sir Frederic Kenyon, who was the director and principal librarian of the British Museum, states, “The last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and general integrity of the books in the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”

4 Comments

I highly appreciate your talent and the way you organized the history of The New Testament. It's amazing. The God of covenant bless you!

Is it not interesting? It is interesting, marvelous and deep thought. Personally, it is my duty to pray for you in season and out of season. The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, our God bless you!

Scholars are always exposing the scriptures to teach the congregation exegetically in the inductive method. Here I have seen in you through your teaching widely in addition to that I said God bless you. It is as well my suggestion to elaborate the teaching prepared as a book for us to use like spiritual manual for the ministry will be helpful. When you do that we will be happy to use it for the great commission to extension of the kingdom of God. Thank you.

Rev. Dr.
Bezabih Datie Woldegebreal

Alfa and Omega

Alfa Α, α, αλφα, το, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, opening the series which the letter omega ω closes. For this reason, the expression εγω ειμι το Α (L T Tr WH αλφα) και το Ω Ω L WH), Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord,”
1. who is
2. and who was
3. and who is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” which is explained by the attached words ἡαρχη και το τελος, Revelation 21:6, And He said to me, “It is done!
1. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
2. The Beginning and the End.
3. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. and by the further addition ὁπρωτος και ὁεσχατος, Revelation 22:13
A. three gates on the east,
B. three gates on the north,
C. three gates on the south,
D. And three gates on the west.
Revelation 11:17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
 The One who is
 and who was
 And who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned; Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘ I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ “Isaiah 44:6; “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. Isaiah 48:12; “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Yes, He is the Lord of Lords, and The King of Kings. And He is Alfa and Omega, the beginning and The Last for everything. Even Now He is. Amen and Amen!!!

Prepared

By
Rev. Dr. Bezabih Damtie Woldegebreal

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