Dating the New Testament (Part 1)
In this post I want to give 6 reasons for the pre-70 ad mark for writings of the New Testament .
1. In the letters of Paul we have 2 books; the first one to be considered was written in 64-65 ad and in the 5th chapter we are told this: "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages." (1 Tim. 5:17-18) And also we have this in 1 Corinthians 11: "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11: 23-25) These passages take statement from other sections of scriptures one Old and one New; but it is the later that is most relevant. The second quote is from Luke 10:7 and the third and fourth come from Luke's account of the communion in Luke 22:20-23. why is this important? For this very reason 1Timothy was written in 64-65 Ad and 1 Corinthian was written in 54-55AD this means Luke's to whom he draw these verses from had have been written and known in ad50
2. In the book of Acts we have some clear contextual clues: (a) between 32-44 we have three event take place the stoning of Steven in chapter 7 (ad 32); the conversion of Saul (Later Paul) in chapter 9 (ad 33); then the death of Herod in chapter 12 (ad 44) which was a judgement. (b) between 62-70 we have three more events that are very key at this point which are never made any refence too in this book: the death of James the brother of our Lord (ad 62); Peter and Paul in by various means (ad 64-67); the death of Nero the king at the time (ad 68) and final the biggest and most attested event of history the destruction of Jerusalem (ad 66-70) Now the question here is when was it written? The answer is simple in this manner between the two points most likely between 60-62.
3. The gospel of John, his letters and Revelation. Both the gospel and the book of revelation give us some clues: in the 5th chapter of the gospel we are given these words: "Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades... One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. " (vs 2; 5) The pool is being spoken of in the present tense as if it were still there at the time of this being written; while the man who is being healed by Christ is being spoken of as if it were in the past. Why does it do this? we will come this in a moment. Let us first come to another piece of evidence. In the book of revelation we have this state in chapter 17 "There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast." (vs. 10-12) seven kings: five have died. One is still in power. Anod another will come-- and will be in power for a short time. Who are these kings? are they people or empires? Well the answer could be both that it hold a physical answer which John would have understood; and more spiritual answer that would be revealed. But it appears that the most logical is that we are dealing with Kings at the time. There were 7 kings that ruled from before the birth of Christ till 70ad. This put these book at about 62-66 ad.
