Saint John Chrysostom The Epistles and The Book

Saint John Chrysostom The Epistles and The Book of Revelation

New Testament Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Acts of the Apostles Romans, 1 -2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 -2 Thessalonians, 1 -2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews James, 1 -2 Peter, 1 -3 John, Jude Revelation

Dating the Pauline Letters 1. Dates of Paul’s life 2. Two Sources: Acts of the Apostles, Letters of Paul a. Scholars will either use the scheme of Paul’s life presented in Acts and try to insert the information present in the Letters; b. Others begin with the Letters (particularly the Letter to the Galatians), and then use Acts to help fill in the timeline; c. Others try to harmonize the two sources for a complete overview.

Paul’s Life Difficulty of using Acts: 1. Acts 9 recounts Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. He immediately preached in the synagogues in Damascus that Jesus is the Son of God. After many days he went to Jerusalem in an effort to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him. Only when Barnabas took Paul to the apostles did they receive him, and Paul preached in Jerusalem, even as far as Caesarea. Galatians 1: 15 -24: After Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, he did not go to Jerusalem to the apostles, but went to Arabia and later returned to Damascus. After three years he visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days, only the apostle James beside Peter. Then after 14 years he went again to Jerusalem and met with the pillars of the Church. 2. Acts 13 -14 speak of Paul's missionary work in Pampylia, Pisidia, while Galatians only speaks of Syria and Cilicia. Difficulty of using the Letters: Only seven letters are universally recognized as being written by Paul (Romans, 1 -2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon).

Deutero-Pauline Letters Scholars are about evenly divided concerning 2 Thessalonians and Colossians. The majority of scholars think that Paul did not write Ephesians, 1 -2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. The reasons are: 1. Differences theological emphases, language, and style. 2. The situation of the Churches reflect a time period after Paul.

Paul’s Life Acts 18: 1 -18 Edict of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome. Suetonius writes: “he drove the Jews out of Rome because they, incited by Chrestus, were continually disturbing the peace. ” The edict is the ninth year of his reign (49 AD). The proconsul of Lucius Gallio in Achaia lasted from 51 -52. So this provides the only fixed date in the chronology of Paul may have arrived there in 50, and confronted Gallio in either 51 or 52 AD. While in Corinth he might have written 1 -2 Thessalonians. Paul’s martyrdom: Paul is certainly dead by 68 AD.

Possibly Chronology of Paul Death of Jesus Conversion Apostolic council Confrontation with Peter Corinth Gallio in Corinth Antioch Ephesus Corinth Jerusalem Felix/Festus Rome Death 56 30 33 48 48 50/51 1 Thessalonians 51/52 52 -54/55 Galatians, 1 -2 Corinthians, Philippians Philemon 55/56 Romans 58 59 Colossians, 2 Thessalonians (1 -2 Timothy, Titus, Ephesians) 64

The Catholic Letters There is evidence that some of the seven letters were accepted into the Biblical canon with hesitancy. The Muratorian Canon (150 -200), a list of books that, while not complete, seems to be the earliest extant attempt to identify authoritative books for the Christian community. Of the seven letters, it mentions only Jude and two letters of John approvingly. Origen (184 -254) also compiles a list of books he considers authoritative in which he includes 1 Peter and 1 John, expresses doubt concerning 2 Peter, 2 -3 John, and makes no mention of James or Jude (Eccles. Hist. 6. 25. 3 -14). Eusebius of Caesarea (265 -339) gives a three-tier list of the canon: the recognized books, the disputed books, and the impious books. He considers 1 Peter and 1 John to be recognized books, while James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 -3 John are designated as disputed books, though accepted by many (Eccles. Hist. 3. 25. 1 -7). None of the seven letters are considered impious. The issue seems to be whether the letter was written by an apostle.

Dating If the Letters were written by the apostles, then they can be dated to the first century (50 -70/80). If they were written by a “school” or by their followers in their names, then they can be dated to the end of the first century and beginning of the second century (70 -120). Two examples: James 1: 1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. ” 2 Peter 1: 12 -15 “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. ”

Catholic Letters But why these letters? Why this order? Seven is the number of perfection. In some early manuscripts, the letters are placed after the Acts of the Apostles. This suggests that the letters are meant to be seen as a complete collection of apostolic teaching congruent with the portrayal of the apostles in Acts.

Catholic Letters The Letters may have been arranged to follow apostles listed in Gal 2: 9: James, Peter, John The Letters might also be arranged in a chiastic structure. A. James B. 1 -2 Peter C. 1 John B 1. 2 -3 John A 1. Jude

The Book of Revelation The author identifies himself simply as John (1: 4). This very matter of fact approach leads to the conclusion there could be no mistaking the author. Early tradition is unanimous that the author was John the Evangelist. Modern authors question this for the following reasons: 1. The author calls himself a servant of God (1: 1), a brother (1: 9), and a prophet (22: 8), but never an apostle. 2. There is no evidence that the author knew the historical Jesus or that he was present at the events depicted in the Gospels. 3. There is a different understanding of the eschatological future. In the Gospel, Jesus will come and take the disciples to himself. In the book of Revelation, great wars and natural disasters will proceed the establishment of the New Jerusalem. 4. The language of the Gospel is generally straightforward and simple, whereas the language of the book of Revelation is more complex with vivid, colorful images. The book has been dated by scholars from 50 AD to 115 AD. Scholars look for statements or allusions which refer to political, cultural and religious situations and attempt to then date the book based on that. There is a general consensus around either the end of the reign of Nero (54 -68) or during the reign of Domitian (81 -96).