The New Testament has many written texts and smaller books in it. If you wish to know how many books are in the New Testament, and a few more details about each of them, then read on …
The New Testament is derived from the Latin word Novum Testamentum which was first coined by Tertullian, a prolific evangelist between 160-220 AD. The New Testament is a part of the Sacred Scriptures and deals with the rise of Christianity and how it spread across the world.
It is the second part of the Christian Holy Bible, while the first part is the Old Testament. So then the question arises how many books are in the New Testament? Most Christian traditions believe that there are in all 27 books, which have been summed up into concise chapters.
The anthology of the New Testament consists of texts written by various authors but at varied periods. These texts were written during AD 50 in then popular Greek language of Koine, which was the lingua franca used in the eastern areas of the Roman Empire.
Lingua Franca was the term used for a third language used among people who did not have a common mother tongue. Therefore Koine was the common third language in which the original works of the New Testament were written. All the other works that were put into the New Testament were added during or after the mid of the 2nd century.
Following are the books in the new testament:
- Gospels
- Acts of the Apostles
- Pauline Epistles
- Catholic Epistles
- Book of Revelation
The Gospels
There are 4 gospels in the New Testament each of which narrate about who was Jesus Christ and how was his life, death, and resurrection. They are the Canonical Gospels which are the four written accounts of the lords journey on earth. Each of the gospels have been authored by different people. The 4 gospels are given below:
- The Gospel of Matthew – Gave its ascriptions or credit of honor to the Apostle Matthew. This gospel begins by explaining Jesus Christ’s ancestral family tree, the event of his birth, how he was visited by the Three wise kings and the Flight into Egypt by Joseph and Mary to save baby Jesus from king Herod. It ends with Jesus resurrecting and calling on the commissioning of the disciples who would be instructed to spread his teachings all over the world.
- The Gospel of Mark – Its ascriptions are to Mark the Evangelist. The gospel depicts the preachings of John the Baptist as well as the portrayal of the baptism of Jesus. Gospel of Mark includes the teaching of the Apostle Peter and two of the secondary endings were made a part of this gospel during the 2nd century AD.
- The Gospel of Luke – Luke is believed to be the Apostle Paul’s follower and companion. The gospel begins by describing the birth and early childhood of both Jesus as well as John the Baptist. It ends with the resurrection and beckoning of Jesus from Heaven.
- The Gospel of John – Its ascriptions are to the Apostle John. The beginning includes the depiction of many of Jesus’s sayings and his miracles. There are also some philosophical bible verses about the life of Jesus and the end shows the appearance of Jesus being resurrected after death.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles, is also referred to as the Acts. It is believed to be written by the same writer who authored the Gospel of Luke, as the content of Acts is in direct continuation to where gospel of Luke seems to end. This act is a narrative from the apostles ministry, post Jesus’s death and rising. This Act as well as the Gospel of Luke are dedicated to a man called Theophilus whose identity is still unknown, but is believed to be the friend of God.
Pauline Epistles
The Pauline epistles had many books under it. Pauline Epistles book contained the ‘Epistle to the Hebrews’ as well as 10 didactically written epistles. Many of these letters are believed to have been authored by the then Apostle Paul.
These letters were addressed to the different Christian communities all over the world, the topics being the relevant disputes or issues harassing those places at that time. For example the relationships with pagan communities, the religion of the Jewish people being Judaism, and the communion of other Christians in the world over.
Catholic Epistles
Is also called the General epistles, it is a compilation of letters and treatises, addressed to the ‘Elect Lady’ also believed to be the church itself. It includes works authored by John 2 and 3 the evangelists, Jude, Peter, and James ‘The servant of god’. These letters were about the rise and spread of catholicism and how the men of god could fulfill god’s command to spread his teachings to the people of this earth.
Book of Revelation
This is the final book in the New Testament. It is also sometimes referred to as the Apocalypse of John. The authorship of this book is still unclear if it was Apostle John who wrote it or it was John of Pat mos. Pat mos is believed to be the place of origin of the revelations.
This book begins by depicting the various letters that were addressed to seven churches. From then on the book describes the warning and the secrets held by an apocalypse, a term used for showing something that is hidden from a world full of deceit. It also depicts the happening of an epic battle or war.
The process of canonization or the arrangement of the divinely inspired Canonical gospels of the New Testament took several years. Apart from being one of the great holy scriptures of the world, the Old and the New Testament are an outstanding reservoir of literary and philosophical works. They are brimming with imagination and the will of the human spirit to attain god.