New Testament Summary Chart
Introduction: The idea here is to give you a brief summary of what books are in the New
Testament and what is contained in these books.
If you want a printable chart without all of the links (so that you can keep this with your
Bible):
No Link OT Summary Chart (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). The PDF is best for printing.
No Link NT Summary Chart (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). The PDF is best for printing.
Linked NT Summary Chart (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Linked OT Summary Chart (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
External Links
Genesis Lessons
201–300
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Genesis Lessons
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Old Testament Summary
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Kukis Homepage Exegesis Doctrines
Summary Charts of Books
The Gospels Acts of the Apostles The Pauline Epistles
The General Epistles The Book of Revelation
Charts, Maps and Timelines
Paul's Lifetime Timeline
The Church in the First
Century
New Testament Books
Timeline
Unlike the Old Testament, the entire New Testament was composed over a very short
period of time, less than 60 years (possibly less than 50 years), by 8 or 9 authors, most of
whom knew one another. All of the writers of the New Testament either knew of the
incidents that they wrote about firsthand, or knew those who observed the incidents
firsthand. They appear to know the people to whom the letters are written, with the
possible exception of Hebrews and other letters which seem to be more general.
There are several very noteworthy facts which are often skipped over or not fully
appreciated: Jesus’s ministry was only for 3 or 4 years (approximately A.D. 26–30). He
1
wrote nothing down. Yet, there are more historical accounts of his life, death, burial and
resurrection written down by more observers in more detail than of any other historical
figure from, say, pre-1600 A.D. If we had this much recorded information about any other
historical figure, then historians would have accepted such documents as completely and
unequivocally accurate.
Furthermore, Jesus’ ministry was confined to a very small geographical area, most of which
He traversed by foot. He taught mostly in the Galilean area and occasionally down in
2
Jerusalem, and in several places in between. These two areas are less than 80 miles from
one another. No other religious figure had a more limited geographical ministry than our
Lord.
We know very little about Jesus’ looks. He was probably very strong, he had a beard, and
He looked very average (unlike Old Testament icons like Moses, Saul or David). Because
of the customs of the day and a remark made by Paul, Jesus probably had short hair.
However, there are no actual physical descriptions of our Lord in the New Testament. The
paintings and visage that we associate with Jesus are pure fantasy.
This was an unusual time period. The Jews were looking for a Messiah, but they
envisioned a Messiah who would lead them in rebellion against the Romans. The Jews
were so angered by Roman rule that they rebelled on several occasions and Rome
eventually came in with armies and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.,
dispersing the Jews to other areas.
Although Christianity began in the general area of occupied Israel (occupied by the
Romans), it began to spread throughout the Roman empire, to Gentiles less volatile areas.
The Apostle Paul’s first missionary journey took place around 45 A.D., later followed by 3
other missionary journeys. Paul was executed around 67–68 A.D., before the fall of
Jerusalem.
In contrast, both Mohammed and Buddha spent 3 or 4 years beginning their ministry, beginning to gather
1
up disciples; and then Mohammed’s entire ministry was about 20 years and Buddha’s was about 45 years.
The dates given throughout are dates determined by other scholars; I have never personally made a study
of these dates.
Mohammed traveled over much of Saudi Arabia and Buddha traveled throughout much of India.
2
Gospel means good news. These are the 4 books that are first-hand or second-hand
accounts about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These books were all
written after the death and resurrection of our Lord.
The Gospels
The gospels are the historical, biographical accounts of the life, death and resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other person and no other set of events from any
period of time prior to the printing press with this sort of historical documentation. We
have two eyewitnesses to the Person and events and two accounts from people who
spoke to eyewitnesses of Jesus and the events of his life, which, together, form a unique
history of Jesus and His time.
Book Comments
Matthew
Matthew was one of the two disciples of Jesus who were
eyewitnesses to the events that they recorded. He is called Levi in
the books of Mark and Luke.
Matthew was a tax collector, and, as such, as anathema to Jewish
society.
Although all of the gospels quote Old Testament Scripture, Matthew
quotes more of it than anyone else. Either he knew the Bible well or
he learned much of it quickly as a disciple.
Some believe that Matthew recorded this history in the 50's or 60's;
others even place it later. It seems unlikely that Matthew would have
used any other gospel as source material, as he was an eyewitness.
The Gospels
Mark
Mark is an assistant to Peter, a disciple of Jesus, and some consider
this to be Peter’s gospel. There are things that we would closely
associate with Peter’s personality here. Peter was very action-
oriented; he was a doer; so much of the book of Mark is about action
and less about dialogue than the other gospels.
Why Mark would write this book and not Peter is not clear, as Peter
did write two epistles (letters). Let me suggest that Peter tended to
be a man of action; an epistle—a letter written to specific people for
specific reasons—would be a specific act with a specific purpose to
Peter. Also, epistles tended to be short, and could be written at one
sitting. However, for Peter to just sit down and write what he
remembers of Jesus’ ministry without a specific audience would not
necessarily appeal to his personality type. Another possible reason
that Peter did not write this down is, it simply did not occur to him.
However, it may have occurred to his disciple, Mark, who possibly
learns about Jesus directly from Peter.
Many think that Mark was the first gospel to be produced, in the 50's
or 60's.
Luke
Luke is a physician and he is not one of the original disciples. In fact,
his association appears to be mostly with Paul, who was not an
original disciple either. Luke appears to have worked from source
material and from personal interviews to write this gospel.
There are clues in this book that this book was written primarily for
gentiles outside of the land of Palestine. Luke recognized that Jesus
was a Person for all mankind, and not for the Jews only, although
Luke clearly presents Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament
Scripture (Luke 4:18–21).
It is my estimation that Luke probably relied upon both the books of
Mark and Matthew as some of his source material. This would
obviously mean that these books had already been written and that
he had access to them.
Luke, the only Greek to write anything in the New Testament,
appears to think chronologically rather than thematically (more
common among Hebrews); so his gospel is probably chronological.
Luke would have written his gospel between the late 50's to perhaps
as late as the 70's. Several sources suggest that Luke was written
between A.D. 59–63.
The Gospels
John
John is the other Apostle of Jesus to write a biography of Jesus as an
eyewitness. What he writes is consistent with the Person of Jesus,
and some incidents overlap, but his gospel is so much different from
the other gospels.
John writes as if Greek is not his primary language or as a person
who simply was not well-educated. The Greek in this book and his
epistles is the simplest, easiest-to-read in the original language. The
book of John contains probably the clearest theological precepts.
The Deity of Jesus Christ and the concept of salvation by means of
faith in Jesus Christ are two topics seen over and over again. This
is a very good book for a new believer or a young believer to be
taught.
John was a keen observer or people, and you will learn more about
the Apostles of Jesus in this book than in any other. He will record
more dialogue spoken by the disciples than any of the other writers.
Recently, some scholars suggest that John may have been written
in the 70's; however, most traditions believe this book to have been
written sometime after A.D. 85.
No other early historical figure has his life this carefully recorded.
Summary Charts of Books Charts, Maps and Timelines
The early church is also examined historically.
Acts of the Apostles
Book Comments
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles is an historical account of the Apostles
between A.D. 30–67, recorded by Luke, who was an eyewitness to
some of the events at the end of the book and knew the Apostles
from the earlier portion of the book.
Although this book begins with Peter speaking to Jews from all over
Roman empire, most of the book is about Paul, who ministered
primarily to the Gentiles. Paul is a later convert to Christianity, who
is the twelfth Apostle, the replacement for Judas. Although he
wanted to witness to the Jews, God guided him primarily to speak to
Gentile audiences.
Paul went on 4 missionary journeys, all of which are recorded in the
book of Acts.
Believers ought to be careful about attempting to copy the incidents found in the Book
of Acts. The Epistles contain the doctrines and the mandates for believers in the Church
Age, not the Book of Acts.
Summary Charts of Books Charts, Maps and Timelines
An epistle is simply a fancy, KJV name for a letter or missive. It is ironic that now, in the
age of emails, at a time when many young people have never written a letter, that more
and more modern English translations are finally using the word letter rather than epistle.
Most of the time, these a letters written to churches, often churches where there are
conflicts or disagreements. The intent of much of the typical epistle is to straighten out
a particular set of problems in a local church.
The epistles are, for all intents and purposes, the fundamentals of Church Age doctrine.
These epistles do not replace the rest of the Bible as the Word of God but they are
composed of the doctrines which are most essential and particular to Church Age
believers.
Pauline Epistles simply refer to the 13 letters written by Paul, 9 to churches, and 4 to
individuals. Paul’s letters are all grouped together first in most Bibles and put in order
of size. The numbers in front of some of these epistles simply indicate 1 letter written
st
and then 2 letter written. In some cases, it appears that more letters were written to
nd
the Corinthians than these two, but we only have the text of two of them.
You will note that, on many occasions, Paul has to justify his own authority in spiritual
matters to the readers. We would expect this to be the case, as Paul was saved long
after the Church Age began, and yet he took on a position of authority equal to the
Apostles who actually walked with our Lord. Therefore, we would not expect Peter, say,
to justify his authority. However, we would expect this to be an issue to some of those
to whom Paul wrote.
The Pauline Epistles
Book Comments
Romans
Romans is probably the most complex epistles written by Paul. Much
of this book is devoted to defining the relationship between the
church and Israel. This leads Paul into many topics, including the law
versus grace, God’s sovereignty, and the believer’s place in this
world.
1Corinthians
The church at Corinth was in shambles, spiritually speaking. They
were suing one another, they were involved in all kinds of inordinate
competition, their services were loud and disorganized, the church
had separated into several factions, and one member of the church
was involved in incest. This first epistle deals with all of the internal
conflicts within the church as well as the spiritual relationship
between believers. There are very memorable doctrines covered in
this epistle, including the ability of all believers to grow through
doctrinal comprehension, what believers ought to do immediately
after salvation, the concept of love, and how God has organized
believers in death.
2Corinthians
The Corinthian church had been invaded by false teachers, so that
Paul had to defend his authority and position. He also thoroughly
explains the concept of giving for believers.
Galatians
The primarily gentile church at Galatia was infiltrated by Jewish
teachers who tried to get the Galatians to obey the Law of Moses
after their salvation, suggesting that this is the spiritual life for
believers. Paul has to justify his own understanding of the gospel
first, and then he explains to them how things now stand in the
Church Age, and how believers in the Church Age are not under the
Mosaic Law.
Ephesians
Unlike Corinth and Galatia, the Ephesians were not in some sort of
crisis, and Paul takes this opportunity to teach them some advanced
doctrines pertinent only to the Church Age.
Philippians
Similarly, Paul seems to have a close connection with the Philippians,
and his letter here tends to be more personal and joyous, with some
doctrine and little by way of reprimand.
The Pauline Epistles
Book Comments
Colossians
Although there were some problems in the church at Colossi, Paul
first contemplated the Person of Jesus Christ—particularly as we
ought to understand Him in the Church Age. Paul went from there to
the Christian walk as well as how they ought to interact with other
believers.
1Thessalonians
The Thessalonians appeared to suffer a lot of personal setbacks and
some even seemed ready to forsake the Christian way of life. Paul
had to defend his apostleship, exhort the believers in Thessalonika,
and comfort them as well. Interestingly enough, Paul taught them
about the future Day of the Lord.
2Thessalonians
Although the Thessalonians had seemed to take Paul’s previous
letter to heart and many of them had begun to grow spiritually, there
was no little confusion about the end times, which Paul had to explain
once again.
The Pastoral Epistles:
1Timothy
Timothy appears to be a young, inexperienced pastor in charge of a
church and running into a lot of problems with his congregation. Paul
writes to him about his gift, his authority, and the basic teaching
which applied to different groups of people that Timothy was
teaching.
2Timothy
This is one of Paul’s most personal letters. It appears that his end is
drawing near, and Paul feels that he has been deserted by a great
many people. However, he encourages Timothy to remain faithful in
his calling, to continue teaching the Word of God, as well as what to
avoid and what sort of apostasy may rise up.
Titus
Titus is in Crete dealing with a difficult church. Paul deals with the
different types of congregants that Titus has as well as the social
responsibilities of Christians. Paul also warns about problematic
doctrines of some Jewish teachers, called by many translators,
Judaizers.
A final personal epistle
Philemon
Philemon is a believer with whom Paul is acquainted and Philemon’s
slave, Onesimus, has run away and come to Paul in some
desperation. Paul is going to send this slave back to Philemon, but
with the suggestion—not the command—to set Philemon free.
The study and understanding of these epistles are fundamental to the Christian life.
Paul’s Lifetime Timeline
Chart taken from http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001865.cfm accessed February 18, 2012.
Summary Charts of Books Charts, Maps and Timelines
Other Apostles besides Paul wrote epistles, and they are found grouped together near
the end of most New Testament translations.
Generally speaking, it is the final seven epistles, excluding the book of Hebrews, which
are called the General (Catholic) epistles.
These letters, apart from 3John, are general in nature, written to Church Age believers,
but not to any specific person or church.
It is also worth noting that these are the books which have been most questioned as to
their inclusion in the canon of Scripture. 2Peter seems to have a very different writing
style than 1Peter; the actual author of James is unclear; and Jude, 2John and 3John all
appear to be too short.
However, on the other hand, there is not a set of epistles out there that nearly made it
into the canon of Scripture, and just lost out by a vote or two.
The General Epistles
Book Comments
Hebrews
Hebrews is one of the most amazing books in the New Testament,
yet we do not know who wrote this letter. It is fascinating because,
most of these letters and books are accepted as authoritative
because the author is an Apostle or someone closely associated with
an Apostle. If I were to make a guess of the authorship of this
epistle, it would be probably a Greek who did not want his name
associated with this plea, since his name might dissuade some from
reading any further. This person wanted to grab the Hebrew reader
from the very beginning and guide him to a place where he simply
could not deny that Jesus is the Messiah.
Hebrews is not written to a church or to a particular individual; in fact,
so that we would be hard-pressed to determine not only who wrote
it but who exactly received this letter. However, part of the concept
here is, this epistle focuses in on Jesus, not on the author of this
letter.
This appears to be a final effort to speak to the Jews in Judæa, to
show to them through many Old Testament Scriptures, that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God. The author ties the negative volition of
Jews in the past to the negative volition of Jews who read this letter.
The writer takes many narratives from the Old Testament and relates
them to the Jews and to Jesus Christ and explains how Jesus is the
fulfillment of these things.
James
Most scholars believe that James, the half-brother of our Lord, wrote
this epistle, which is probably the most practical of the epistles. It is
estimated that James wrote this sometime between A.D. 50–60; he
was martyred in A.D. 62. He addresses this letter to the 12 tribes who
are scattered among the Gentiles, so this appears to be a letter to
Jewish Christians.
In many ways, this seems to be a contrast between the practices of
the pharisees as compared to Christians. The rich were sometime
seen as higher up than the poor; and actions were seen as very
important. What is actually said—sins of the tongue—is a major topic
in this epistle.
The General Epistles
Book Comments
1Peter
Peter, the famous Apostle, wrote this epistle to the Christians in Asia
Minor between A.D. 62 and 69. Peter writes a great deal about
submission to authorities. Much of this epistle focuses on conduct
and actions, which is what we would expect from a man like Peter,
who always was a man of action.
2Peter
This second epistle is unusual because it appears as though Peter
just sat down and wrote a few things out. It does not appear as
though he has a particular audience; it does not appear as if he is
sending this letter to anyone in particular. In the first chapter, Peter
uses the 1 person plural, suggesting that he is writing this as if
st
representing the Apostles with whom He was associated. He affirms
that what he taught over the years were not cleverly devised fables,
but the truth. He warns of things to come—particular false teachers
and those who scoff at the Person of Jesus Christ; and he affirms,
here at the end of his life, that Jesus would return.
1John
The Apostle John, as an old man, writes down a few thoughts,
speaking of life in Christ as real and contemporary. Also, just as his
gospel taught the most foundational information—that Jesus is God
and we are saved by faith in Him—John teaches how to have
fellowship with God restored, which is based upon naming one’s sins
to God. John, self-described as the Apostle whom Jesus loved,
teaches a great deal about love in this epistle, but it appears to be
synonymous for being in fellowship with God.
2John
Ancient evangelists and teachers were often taken into the homes of
others as they traveled about teaching. John acknowledges one
woman who brought in believers into her home. However, he is
identified as the elder in the epistle and not by his name.
3John
As above, John identifies himself as the elder. He commends Gaius
for his hospitality which is shown to itinerant teachers who come into
his area.
Jude
This may be written by the second Apostle named Judas; and this
epistle may be written by the Lord’s half-brother named Judas. In any
case, this epistle is addressed to believers and is all over the map
when it come to subject matter. He speaks of false teaches, Sodom
and Gomorrah, the archangel Michael, the devil, the body of Moses,
Balaam, Cain, Korah, Enoch and Adam, and this is in just the first 14
verses. It is one of the most unusual books in the Bible.
Taken from:
http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/First%20Century%20of%20the%20Church%20Timeline.htm
accessed February 18, 2012. Also, by the vocabulary, it should be obvious that this is from a
Catholic website. However, the dates seem to be reasonable.
Summary Charts of Books Charts, Maps and Timelines
The Book of Revelation
Book Comments
Revelation
Revelation is the final book of the Bible. The first 3 chapters are
spent on the church, where Jesus speaks to the various churches,
which gives some generalizations as to how the churches will
function in the Church Age.
However, in Rev. 4, there is a remarkable change of pace, where the
writer, John, finds himself looking at an opening to heaven to see
what would come to pass after these things (reasonably understood
to come to pass after the Church Age).
The bulk of this book takes us through the Tribulation where John,
with a 1 century mind and vocabulary describes a vision of things
st
yet future from our time; and therefore a future with technology we
may have difficulty describing.
In Rev. 20, Satan is bound for 1000 years, which is presumably the
time of the Millennium, when Jesus comes to this earth to rule over
it, in the kingdom which He promised the Jews during His early
ministry.
Satan would be released from this prison for a short time, and he will
lead a revolt against the Lord Jesus Christ, who will have presided,
by that time, over 1000 years of a perfect environment and a perfect
government. However, because of man’s heart, people will join in
this rebellion against Jesus Christ. This answers that environmental
objections where people blame their parents or their upbringing.
The end of this book describes the eternal state and the new
heavens and new earth.
Just as Genesis is the perfect foundation for the Word of God, so Revelation is the
perfect ending.
New Testament Books Timeline
From: http://www.fontainebaptist.com/BibleSurvey/NT_Books_Timeline.jpg accessed February 18, 2012.
External Links
Genesis Lessons
201–300
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Genesis Lessons
201–300
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Genesis Lessons
201–300
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Old Testament Summary
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Old Testament Summary
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Old Testament Summary
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New Testament
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