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New Testament History |
The composition of the New TestamentNotes were made during the ministry of Christ already.[1] The Gospels were written against false writings that were circulating.[2] They were based on research[3] and on direct revelation.[4] The Evangelists did not copy from each other.[5] The material was chosen.[6] Not all writings were preserved, and the Gospels were modified by the Early Church.[7] Similarly, the history of Job had been adapted in ancient times.[8] Paul wrote.[9] Comparison of the Gospels with the visions of A.C.E. shows that the Gospel of John has a chronological structure (except for the entrance into Jerusalem and for expressions situated during the Last Supper but pronounced earlier).[10] The Gospels of Matthew and Mark have most of their material in a chronological order. The Gospel of Luke is the least chronologically structured.[11] Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew,[12] when he was to go abroad,[13] before the death of the Holy Virgin[14] (in August 54 AD). Matthew was still in Bethany at the time of James the Greater’s death (in March 43 AD).[15] Maria de Agreda dates the Gospel of Matthew to the year 41 AD,[16] i.e. to the year that she assigns to the first Apostolic Council.[17] Matthew probably left Judea after the Council of August 48 AD and wrote his Gospel around that time.[18] When Barnabas was buried, a part of Matthew’s Gospel was put on his breast.[19] After the ascension, Mark often accompanied Peter, with whom he stayed in Rome (1 Pet 5:13).[20] Mark arrived there some time after Peter,[21] i.e. after 18 January 44 AD. Mark went to Alexandria[22] after the Council of August 48 AD and definitively left Peter’s company on this occasion. Since Mark wrote his Gospel at the dictation of Peter,[23] he wrote it in Rome between January 44 AD and August 48 AD.[24] Luke wrote his Gospel in Greece, in the Greek language.[25] He wrote at Paul’s demand, 25 years after the ascension,[26] May 33 AD-May 58 AD. Paul was in custody in Rome at that time (from the spring of 57 AD until the spring of 59 AD). Since Paul and Luke did not undertake any mission at that time, Luke had time to settle down and write. Given that Acts 28:31 is the last verse of Acts, Acts was completed when the two years of custody in Rome (Acts 28:30) ended, in the spring of 59 AD. Luke structured his Gospel and his Acts according to a three-year cycle: the Gospel indicates that Christ was 12 years old (3 x 4) when found in the Temple (Luke 2:42, 1 BC-12 AD) and about 30 (3 x 10) when His ministry began (Luke 3:23, 1 BC-29 AD) and that His ministry lasted for 3½ years (Luke 4:25, Tishri 29 AD-Nisan 33 AD); Acts continues this cycle, focusing on Paul’s visits to Jerusalem, which occurred at three-year intervals, in 36 AD, 39 AD, 42 AD, 45 AD, 48 AD, 51 AD, and 54 AD.[27] Acts applies a chronological scheme: the first time indication is one year (Acts 11:26, 41-42 AD, in Antioch), the second one 1½ year (Acts 18:11, November 49 AD-early May 51 AD, in Corinth). These mentions indicate that all the events between Acts 11:26 and Acts 18:11 occurred at one-year intervals (as did Paul’s preceding stay in Tarsus, in 40-41 AD). New time indications were unnecessary since the one-year period of Acts 11:26 continued: Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem took place in 42 AD; the persecutions of James the Greater and Peter in 43 AD; the death of Agrippa I in 44 AD; Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem in 45 AD; his sojourn in Cyprus in 45-46 AD; his journey through Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia in 46-47 AD; his stay in Antioch in 47-48 AD; and his journey through Syria-Cilicia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, and Macedonia in 48-49 AD. After the 1½ year spent in Corinth (Acts 18:11, November 49 AD-early May 51 AD), Acts provides further time indications: 3 months (Acts 19:8, the winter of 51/52 AD, in Ephese), 2 years (Acts 19:10, late 51 AD-autumn 53 AD, in Ephese), 3 years (Acts 20:31, May 51 AD-the spring of 54 AD [including the two preceding indications], in Ephese), 2 years (Acts 24:27, 54-56 AD, in Caesarea), 3 months (Acts 28:11, the winter of 56/57 AD, in Malta), and 2 years (Acts 28:30, 57-59 AD, in Rome). Since these periods were particular, each time a new time indication was necessary. Luke joined the group that went to Antioch with Peter in early 37 AD (Acts 11:19). Acts 11:28 reads in Codex D (my translation):[28] “There was much great joy. When we had gathered together, one of them named Agabus stood up.” The “we” (which pronoun implies that Luke was present) distinguishes from the “them,” i.e. the prophets coming from Jerusalem some time later (Acts 11:27). The latter arrived before Claudius’s accession on 25 January 41 AD[29] (Acts 11:28), probably after the second persecution in January 39 AD. Luke stayed with the Holy Virgin and John in Ephesus for 6 years.[30] He probably joined them after their departure from Jerusalem in January 39 AD, i.e. from 39 AD until 45 AD. After a sojourn with Andrew, Luke met Paul in Luke’s homeland, at Antioch.[31] Since this was the first time that Luke met Paul, he left Antioch before Paul arrived there in 41 AD; he left in 39 AD. Paul and Barnabas returned from Jerusalem in 45 AD, at which time Luke joined them.[32] Paul’s brother famous for his work for the Gospel (2 Cor 8:18) is Luke. The Book of Acts describes events that occurred at the places where Luke was staying: Palestine in 33-37 AD (Acts 1:1-9:22; 9:32-11:18), Antioch in 37-39 AD (Acts 11:19-30), the missions beginning from 45 AD (Acts 13-28). In addition to these events, Luke further only mentions Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem in late 39 AD (Acts 9:23-31) and the persecutions by Agrippa I in Jerusalem in early 43 AD (Acts 12). Luke might have been informed about the latter by hearsay. John wrote his Gospel as last,[33] in Hebrew,[34] near Cedar, and at the end of 96 AD. The Book of Revelations was not written at one and the same time.[35]
[1] A.C.E., Life, 4:8: “Jesus ordered them to commit to writing what He had said relative to the future. I saw that Nathanael the Bridegroom, who was very skillful with the pen, did it, and I wondered that it was not John, but a disciple who recorded the predictions”; 4:36-37: “Jesus directed them to write down what they failed to understand. Then I saw John, James the Less, and another making signs from time to time on a little tablet that they held before them resting on a support. They wrote upon little rolls of parchment with a colored liquid, which they carried with them in a kind of horn”; 4:41-42: “He commanded them to write down what they could not comprehend, saying that when He would send His Spirit to them, they would recall those points and be able to seize their meaning. I saw John and some of the others taking notes”; A.C.E., Passion, 87: “I saw the Apostles noting things down in the little rolls of parchment which they carried on their persons.” Nathanael (A.C.E., Life, 2:41) and Thomas (A.C.E., Vie, 6:362) were professional scribes. [2] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388. [3] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388: “Il [i.e. Luke] le composa […] en grande partie d’après des documents qui lui avaient été fournis par des témoins oculaires. Dès l’époque de la résurrection de Lazare, je l’ai vu visiter en personne les localités où le Sauveur avait opéré ses principaux miracles et prendre avec soin des informations. Il connaissait aussi Joseph Barsabé. J’ai vu que Marc avait également composé son évangile uniquement d’après les témoignages des témoins oculaires.” [4] A.C.E., Vie, 6:345: “Pendant qu’il [i.e. John] avait écrit son livre, il avait été presque continuellement dans le ciel, il ne pouvait rien y changer”; 6:407: “Il [i.e. John] le composa grâce à l’inspiration du Saint-Esprit.” [5] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388 (the vision of 18 October 1820): “Aucun des évangelistes n’avait ni utilisé ni même connu dans son travail celui des autres.” [6] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388-389: “Ils [i.e. the Evangelists] ont omis de raconter plusieurs fois les miracles qui se sont répétés à peu près dans les mêmes conditions”; 6:407: “Il m’a été dit qu’il [i.e. John] n’a pas répété dans son récit les faits qui se sont produits plusieurs fois et qu’il n’y a presque rien sur certaines parties de la vie du Sauveur.” [7] A.C.E., Visionen August 1820, 199-200: “Ich habe gesehen, daß sie in beständiger Unruhe und Störung schrieben, daß die Jünger manchmal fortführen, wo sie aufhörten, und daß sie es oft verloren und wieder von neuem schrieben, daß sie dadurch manchmal etwas schrieben, was sie das erstemal vergessen hatten. Ich sah, daß bei den Martern der Apostel und Jünger scharf nach ihren Schriftrollen geforscht wurde, so daß sie teils verbrannt wurden, teils in andere Hände kamen. Ich sah, daß Ketzer aus vielen Sachen ihr Gift saugten und sich auf die Schrift stützten, die sie nicht verstanden und welche wegen der Menge der Schriften und ihrer großen Weitläufigkeit gar nicht mehr zu überschauen war. […] Ich sah auch, wie der Schriften so viele waren, daß sie bei der Christenverfolgung schwer bewahrt werden konnten. Dann sah ich zweimal eine große Zusammenziehung der Schriften durch die ersten Päpste, und es ward alles ausgestrichen in den einzelnen Evangelien, was nicht in allen Abschriften, die man hatte, auch stand, und auch alles, was sich wiederholte und nicht verständlich war, und darum gehen sie auch nicht recht hintereinander und sind so unordentlich. Von Johannis Enthauptung bis Mitte Winter gehen sie noch ziemlich ordentlich in der Folge. Ich sah sie nochmals verkürzen. Es hieß oft darin: ‘Dieses ist vermutlich,’ und alles dieses bloß Vermutliche wurde herausgelassen und nur das ganz Gewisse blieb. Ich habe auch viele ins Feuer werfen sehen unter Gebet, und nur die rechten Sachen blieben. So sah ich eine Schrift von Andreas ins Feuer werfen, und viele ganze Zeilen blieben, welche aufbewahrt wurden. Ich sah, daß auch manches Echte verworfen wurde durch Gottes Zulassung, als überflüssig und der Welt gefährlich”; A.C.E., Visionen April 1821, 33: “Früher schon hat sie gesehen […] wie die Evangelien von der Kirche selbst in der allerersten Zeit abgekürzt worden seien und alles, was zu oft im Leben Jesu sich wiederholt habe, nur so oft daringeblieben sei, als es notwendig geschienen […]. Es war der Papst Eugenius oder Gelasius, der etwas in den Evangelium Lukä abgekürzt, u.s.w. Sie sprach noch von Evangelien, die übersetzt seien, und an einigen Stellen schwach, und meinte, es habe in einem auch von der Höllenfahrt und Erscheinung bei Maria gestanden”; A.C.E., Visionen Oktober 1821, 21: “[The Gospel of Luke] war anfangs weitläufiger.” [8] A.C.E., Life, 1:76: “Moses collected and arranged them [i.e. the narratives on Job] differently for the use of the Israelites […]. But Solomon again entirely remodelled them, omitting many things and inserting many others of his own. And so, this once authentic history became a sacred book made up of the wisdom of Job, Moses, and Solomon. One can now only with difficulty trace the particular history of Job, for the names of cities and nations were assimilated to those of the land of Canaan, on which account Job came to be regarded as an Edomite.” A.C.E., Visionen Juni 1820, 40: “Es [i.e. the history of Job] sei nicht ganz so, wie es aufgeschrieben, es sei da auf Eingebung des Heiligen Geistes diese Geschichte von einem geduldigen Mann so geschrieben worden.” [9] 2 Pet 3:16; A.C.E., Vie, 6:408: “Je sais qu’il [i.e. Carpus] fut en correspondance avec saint Paul”; 6:427: “Elle [i.e. Thecla] avait dans les mains un rouleau […] ; c’était un écrit de saint Paul.” [10] A.C.E., Life, 4:25 (the vision of Tuesday 20 March 1821 = Tuesday 24 March 33 AD = 4 Nisan): “Jesus […] added […] that He was going to the Father [John 16:17]”; 4:41-42 (the vision of Wednesday 28 March 1821 = Wednesday 1 April 33 AD = 12 Nisan): “When He would send His Spirit to them, they would recall those points and be able to seize their meaning [John 16:7, 13].” [11] A.C.E., Vie, 5:236: “Saint Luc surtout […] néglige le plus souvent l’ordre des faits ; il y a plus de suite dans saint Jean, mais il présente des lacunes considérables.” [12] Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.24.6, 3.39.16 (citing Papias), 5.8.2 (citing Ireneus); Jerome, Vir. ill. 3.1-4. [13] Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.24.6.
[14] A.C.E., Vie, 6:359-360: “Il [i.e. Bartholomew] n’avait avec lui qu’un rouleau, l’EÉvangile selon saint Matthieu […]. Quelque temps après, l’apôtre reçut du ciel l’ordre de se rendre auprès de la très-sainte Vierge.” [15] A.C.E., Vie, 6:333. [16] Maria de Agreda, Cité, 6:404. [17] Maria de Agreda, Cité, 6:394-395. [18] Matthew went to Ethiopia: A.C.E., Vie, 6:325. [19] A.C.E., Visionen Juni 1821, 46. The writing was lying on Barnabas’s breast when his body was found on Cyprus in 473 AD (Savile 1878: 142). [20] A.C.E., Vie, 6:383 (the vision of 25 April 1821). [21] A.C.E., Visionen Juli 1821, 130: “Petrus kam […] und drei Begleiter mit ihm, von denen einer ein Knecht war, und zwei Jünger; ihre Namen fingen mit Mar an, doch war Markus noch nicht dabei.” [22] Mark also sojourned in the region of Sichar-Cedar: A.C.E., Life, 3:508. [23] A.C.E., Vie, 6:383 (the vision of 25 April 1821). [24] Maria de Agreda, Cité, 6:404, dates the Gospel of Mark to the year 45 AD. [25] A.C.E., Visionen Oktober 1821, 21. [26] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388. Maria de Agreda, Cité, 6:405, dates the Gospel of Luke to the year 47 AD. Since 1 Tim 5:18 mentions Luke 10:7 as being part of Holy Scripture, Luke wrote his Gospel before that letter. [27] Mahieu 2012: 521-522. [28] Scholz 1836: 2:43. [29] Kienast 1996: 90. [30] A.C.E., Visionen Oktober 1820, 152: “Ich sah ihn [i.e. Luke] bei Johannes, als er in Ephesus war, ich glaube auch bei Maria in ihrem Haus”; A.C.E., November 1821, 101: “[Lukas sagte] wie er Maria oft gesehen, da er sechs (?) Jahre bei Ephesus mit Johannes umgegangen.” [31] A.C.E., Vie, 6:388: “Je l’ai vu chez Jean lorsqu’il était à Ephèse et aussi, si je ne me trompe, chez la Vierge ; ensuite il accompagna André qui de l’Egypte était venu visiter saint Jean et retournait dans sa patrie ; ce fut à Antioche qu’il fit la connaissance de saint Paul et qu’il s’attacha à lui.” [33] Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.24.7; Jerome, Vir. ill. 9.2. [34] A.C.E., Visionen April 1821, 33: “Johannes habe sein Evangelium zuletzt und zwar tief in einer waldigen Gegend einsam geschrieben und zwar in hebräischer Sprache. Ich hörte deutlich die Worte: ‘Johannes schrieb zuletzt und allein in seiner Muttersprache.’” [35] A.C.E., Vie, 6:347-348. |