New Testament: 1 Corinthians

Hey Corinthians!

Please be united as one church, be of the same mind and judgement! Chloe told me that a few of you were arguing: don't. You are all followers of Jesus.

God will destroy the wisdom of the world. The wise God decided that God could not be known through wisdom, but only through the folly which we preach to save the believers. Jews demand signs; Greeks seek wisdom; our faith is a stumbling block to both, but it is power and wisdom to those who are called. The foolishness of God is wiser than men! The weakness of God is stronger than men!

Consider: not many of you were wise by worldly standards; not many were powerful or of noble birth. God chose the foolish to shame the wise! God chose the weak to shame the strong! This is all so that no human may boast in the presence of God! I did not come to you with words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith lies not with the wisdom of men, but in the power of God!

Yet we do have wisdom! It is not the wisdom of this world or its rulers, but the secret and hidden wisdom of God! The rulers of this world do not understand! If they did, they wouldn't have crucified Jesus! These things have been revealed to us by the Spirit! And we impart this knowledge not by words taught by human wisdom but words taught by the Spirit! Let no one deceive himself! If anyone among you thinks that he is wise, let him become a fool that he may become wise!

We are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. I consider it a very small thing to be judged by humans; in fact, I don't even judge myself! It is the Lord who judges me! Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the Lord comes! Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

It has been reported that there is sexual immorality amongst you, and of a kind not even tolerated among the pagans. A man has had his father's wife?! Let him who has done this be removed from among you!

Although absent in body, I am present in spirit and have already pronounced judgement on the one who did this!

(Literally a few paragraphs ago he told everyone to leave the judging to God on Judgement Day.)

When you are assembled in the name of Lord Jesus you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord!

In an earlier letter I told you not the associate with sexually immoral people. What I mean by this is: do not tolerate sexual immorality, idolatry, drunkenness or swindling within the church. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside!

(So now it's OK to judge people before Judgement Day as long as they are within the church; leave judging outsiders to God.)

If any of you have a disagreement, resolve it yourselves. Don't go to the law. If anything arises, deal with it within the church. There must be someone wise enough among you to settle disputes. Don't go to the unbelievers.

The following people will not inherit the kingdom of God: the unrighteous, the greedy, the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. Such were some of you, but you were washed and sanctified in the name of Lord Jesus!

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord! Your bodies are members of Christ! Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin is committed outside the body, but the sexually immoral sin against their own bodies, and those bodies are supposed to be temples to the Holy Spirit and to God! You are not your own; you were bought with a price; glorify God with your body!

Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. They should have sex with each other whenever one of them feels like it. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time so that you can devote yourselves to prayer.

I wish that all were as I myself am. It is good for the unmarried and the widowed to remain single, but they should marry if they cannot exercise self-control. It is better to marry than burn with passion. The married should never divorce.

Let each person lead the life that the Lord assigned to him, and to which God called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Each person should remain in the condition in which he was called. It is good for a person to remain as he is in view of the present distress. If you are married, stay married. If you are unmarried, stay single. Time is growing short. The present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties; devote yourselves to the Lord.

Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you!

Don't be an idolater! Do not indulge in sexual immorality! Don't grumble! God will not tempt you beyond your ability to resist, so resist!

All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. Seek not your own good, but the good of your neighbour. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat what they set before you. If someone tells you that meat came from a sacrifice, don't eat it.

Do everything for the glory of God! Give no offence to Jews or Greeks or Christians. Try to please everyone as I do. Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.

A man must have his head uncovered when praying. A woman should cover her head when praying. A man doesn't need to cover up because he is the image and glory of God, while a woman is just the glory of man: woman was made from man, for man. That is why a wife should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels!

(Paul was a fan of the Book of Enoch, which relates the story of fallen angels having sex with female humans to produce a hybrid race of giants which destroy everything. Here he wants to protect the Christian women from these horny angels)

Nevertheless, a woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; as woman was made from man, now man is born from woman! And all things are from God!

Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair is it a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? Her hair is given as a covering.

On the night before he was betrayed, Lord Jesus took some bread and wine and told his disciples that it was his body and blood. So, do not eat the bread or drink the wine in an unworthy manner! Be disciplined so that, when we are judged by the Lord, we will not be condemned along with the world!

As the body is one and has many members, so it is with Christ. We have all been baptised into one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.

If one talks without love one is a clanging symbol; if one has prophetic powers and all the faith, but no love, one is nothing; if one gives everything away, but lacks love, one gains nothing.

Love is patient & kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. Prophecies pass, knowledge fades. Faith, Hope and Love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.

Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially the power of prophesy. One who speaks in tongue speaks not to men but to God; noone understands him, but he utters mysteries to the spirit. The prophet speaks to the people. The tongue-speaker builds himself; the prophet builds the church. I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more I want you to prophecy!

In all the churches of the saints, the women should be kept silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

If you disagree, please note that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If you don't recognise this, you are not recognised.

Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried and raised on the 3rd day, in accordance with the scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas & the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 people, most of whom are still alive. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to me.

If Christ raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no such thing as resurrection! If there is no resurrection, then Christ was not raised! If Christ has not been raised then our preaching and your faith is in vain! We would then be misrepresenting God by saying he raised Christ! If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

But in fact Christ was raised from the dead. For as by a man came death, by a man has come resurrection. In Adam we die, in Christ shall we be made alive. Christ was the first to resurrect, then, at his coming, so will those who belong to Christ. Then it's the end, and he will destroy every rule and authority and power. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

What you have now is not the body to be, but a bare kernel. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. So it is with resurrection: what is is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.

I will visit you after passing through Macedonia. I hope to spend some time with you. When Timothy visits, make sure you put him at ease.

Be watchful; stand firm in faith; act like men; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Yours faithfully,

Paul, who was called by God to be an apostle of Jesus, and Sosthenes

P.S. Aquila, Prisca, and the churches of Asia say 'Hello'.

New Testament: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians

1 Thessalonians

Hey Thessalonians!

We're always mentioning you guys! You've set a good example for all of Greece by turning from idol worship to serving the one true God, and awaiting Jesus' return from heaven!

We were so glad that you accepted the word of God for what is (i.e. not the word of man which some people keep saying). You imitated the churches of Jesus in Judea, and have suffered from your countrymen, like the churches in Judea suffered from the Jews!

The Jews: they killed Lord Jesus and the prophets, drove us out... they displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles.

We sent Timothy to check on you and strengthen your faith in the face of the your current afflictions. Remember, when we were with you we said that you'd have to suffer afflictions. I was worried you'd given in to temptation and abandoned your faith!

But Timothy came back saying you were doing great. We pray night and day hoping to see you again. May God and Lord Jesus bless you, and increase your love for each other.

Finally, remember the instructions we gave you on how to please God! Abstain from sexual immorality! Control yourself! (Unlike those horny gentiles). Love each other. Live quietly. Mind your own affairs.

Jesus died and rose again, and will come back to raise the dead and take the faithful to Heaven. He will descend, and we the living will be taken up to the clouds to meet the Lord.
That day will come like a thief in the night but, unlike the faithless, you won't be surprised when it comes! Encourage each other and build each other's strength until that day comes!

Respect people. Be at peace with yourselves. Admonish the idle. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient. Never repay evil with evil. Do good to one another. Pray constantly. Abstain from all evil. I hope your entire spirit and body is blameless at Jesus' coming!

Pray for us, and please read this letter out to everyone.

Yours faithfully,

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy


Galatians

Dear Galatians,

I am astonished that you are so quickly abandoning your faith and turning to a different gospel! Not that there really is another gospel - it's just people distorting the true gospel of Christ. Even if an angel descended from heaven and preached a gospel contrary to the one we taught, you shouldn't believe it. The angel is accursed.

The gospel that was preached to me was not man's gospel; I received it through direct revelation from Jesus Christ. In my former life in Judaism I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. But God, who chose me before I was born, called me by his grace and revealed his son to me, so that I might preach to the gentiles. I went to Arabia first.

Three years later I visited Cephas in Jerusalem for 15 days, but didn't see any of the other apostles except James, brother of Jesus. Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was still an unknown person in the churches of Jesus in Judea.

Fourteen years later I returned to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus. I went to proclaim the gospel I had been teaching the gentiles. They saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. When James, Cephas and John saw the grace given to me, they gave me the hand of fellowship, and said I should continue preaching to the uncircumcised, while they preached to the circumcised.

We know that a person is not justified by obeying the law: only through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ lives in me now. The life I now live I live by faith in Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me. If righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for no reason! It is those of faith who are the true sons of Abraham!

God told Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed; it is through Abraham's descendant, Jesus, that all nations are blessed. It is not through adherence to the law, which came 430 years later. The law was put in place by angels to keep Abraham's descendants alive until the coming of Jesus! Before Jesus came, we were captives under the law! The law was our guardian until the coming of Jesus! Through Jesus you are all sons of God!

Now you have come to know God, how can you back to your old ways? I am afraid I may have laboured over you in vain!

Look: if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. If you get circumcised, if you want to follow the law, then you must follow all of it. You will be severed from Christ; you will have fallen from grace. In Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, only faith!

Walk in the ways of the spirit, not the flesh. The ways of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, etc. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. With such things there is no law.

Bear one another's burdens. If anyone transgresses, restore him to faith in a spirit of gentleness. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. One who sows to the flesh will reap corruption; one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life!

Yours faithfully,

Paul, an apostle chosen by Lord Jesus and God the Father.

New Testament: Timeline

4 B.C.E.: King Herod dies.

4 B.C.E. - 6 C.E.: Jesus of Nazareth born.

6 C.E.: Judea officially becomes a Roman province.

26-28 C.E.: John the Baptist starts his ministry.

28-30: Jesus of Nazareth starts his ministry.

30-33: Jesus of Nazareth crucified.

37: Saul converts to Christianity and changes his name to Paul. He travels the Roman Empire founding Christian communities and writing letters. The Christians of the Roman Empire, because of their refusal to worship or believe in the myriad gods of Rome, were branded 'atheists' and persecuted for the next few centuries. The Jews had a similar problem, but they had been around for longer and the pagans were more accustomed to their ways. For a variety of reasons, Christianity quickly spreads across the Roman Empire despite the varying degrees of persecution.

50-58: Paul writes 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, 2 Corinthians, Romans. These are letters to the Christian communities in Thessalonica (Greece), Galatia (modern Turkey), Corinth (Greece), Philippi (Greece), and Rome. Philemon was sent to Paul's friend Philemon (somewhere in modern Turkey).

66-70: The Jewish Revolt. The Jews fight for independence from Roman rule. Lots of Jews and Romans die. The Jews capture Jerusalem and destroy all the Roman offices and paperwork (and, therefore, the majority of the historical evidence for Jesus' existence). Titus, future emperor of Rome, lays siege to Jerusalem in 70 C.E. After 7 months, the Romans capture Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple. Tens of thousands of Jews killed, exiled or sold into slavery across the Empire.

70s: An unknown author writes The Gospel of Mark; the names of the gospels were assigned in the second century onwards, once the Christians became aware that multiple gospels existed.

70s/80s: James written.

80s: Colossians written by an unknown author and attributed to Paul.

80s/Early 90s: The Gospel of Matthew and Luke-Acts written. The authors of Matthew and Luke-Acts, working independently, expand on the story of Jesus using both Mark and a lost document, called Q by scholars, as source material. Luke-Acts was later split into two separate books: The Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles.

90s: Hebrews written by an unknown author; Augustine and Jerome would attribute it to Paul around 400 C.E.
The Gospel of John, as we have it now, was finished; it was contains older and newer material; it was edited and expanded over several years.
Ephesians written by an unknown author and attributed to Paul.
Revelations might have been written later, in the first few decades of the 2nd century, but most scholars agree that it was written no earlier than 90 C.E.

100-120: Jude, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus written by unknown authors

120-150: 2 Peter was the last of the canonical New Testament books to be written.

132-136: The Bar Kokhba Revolt. Another revolt against Rome leaves the Romans tired of Jewish rebellions; they slaughter hundreds of thousands of Jews, destroy hundreds of towns and villages. Judaism was banned until Emperor Hadrian's death in 138; Jewish scholars persecuted. Judea renamed Palestine. The city of Aelio Capitolina built on the ruins of Jerusalem, and the Jews are forbidden from entering it. Most of the surviving Jews are scattered across the Roman Empire.

The Jewish Christians didn't take part in the revolt because they believed that Jesus, not Simon Bar Kokhba, the leader of the independence campaign, was the Messiah. However, they were still banned from Aelio Capitolina, persecuted, and scattered across the Empire. The Jewish Christians that ended up in Arabia would lay the foundations for the new religion that would rise to dominance centuries later: Islam.

313: Emperor Constantine tells everyone to be nice to Christians. Constantine became increasingly fond of Christianity, and increasingly contemptuous of paganism, over the course of his life. He became the first Christian emperor. Early in his reign he prohibited the construction of new pagan temples, while towards the end of his reign he ordered pagan temples to be destroyed and villages razed to the ground.

325: Christian Bishops gather at the Council of Nicaea to discuss theology and create the Nicene Creed.

361-363: Julian the Apostate is the final pagan emperor of Rome. He tries to restore traditional proper Roman values to the Empire; Julian thought that Christianity, a strange religion originating in the Middle East, would be the end of the Roman Empire. #RomeFirst

380: Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.


Sources:
'Zealot' by Reza Aslan
A Chronological New Testament
Wikipedia for Julian the Apostate and Constantine (I know it's unreliable, but it'll do for now).