More than half of the New Testament books are "Epistles" (letters), many of them written by Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee who became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He is a good example of how God chooses special people for special jobs. He was born into a Hebrew family, in the Greek city of Tarsus on the Mediterranean coast of what is now southeastern Turkey, and was also a Roman citizen. He had a Greek education as well as having been a student of Gamaliel, one of the most respected scholars in Jewish tradition. He was a Pharisee, with great zeal for Jewish law, and originally judged the followers of Jesus as heretics. Read his story in Acts 22; how he was called to serve God by preaching the message of the Gospel to first, his fellow Jews, and then to the outsiders, the Gentiles. We have many of his letters, to churches he founded and others to people he had mentored, dealing both with the meaning of Jesus' life and death and the practical issues and problems that came up in the churches. This gives us an amazing real-time snapshot of the development of the early church, as well as supplying advice and instruction to 2000 years of Christians.
The letters were written (in order of their appearance in the Bible, not geographically or chronologically) to Rome, Corinth (a seaport on the isthmus between mainland Greece and the peninsula that is the southern half of the country), Galatia in Asia Minor (now Turkey), Ephesus (a seaport on the east coast of the Aegean Sea). Philippi (on the northern coast of the Aegean in Macedonia, north of Greece), Colossae (in eastern Asia Minor), and Thessonika (now Salonika on the northwest corner of the Aegean, the second largest city in Greece.) In addition, we have letters written to Timothy and Titus, mentorees of Paul who became church leaders, and Philemon, a personal letter to a friend. The letter to the Romans is Paul's most scholarly presentation of the Gospel; The two letters to the Corinthians deal with the problems of a rambunctious group of folks in a very pagan city; and the letter to the Philippians was written from prison but expresses eloquently the joy of knowing Christ. More than one psychologist has recommended reading this small book for encouragement and mental health.
We also have letters from other major followers of Jesus. The next one is the Letter to the Hebrews, by an unknown writer who is obviously inspired and respected by the churches. Some older Bible translations give Paul as the author, but the more I read Paul's letters and this book, the more aware I am that the style is different and the writer comes to the story of Jesus from a different direction--aimed directly at a traditional Jewish community. The other letters we have are from James (the leader of the original Jerusalem church and brother of Jesus), Peter, John, and Jude (brother of James and another brother of Jesus).
The final book is the "end of the story." It is a form that was popular in this period, a vision of the final triumph of God in human history. Jesus Himself is the "star" of this one. It is a series of visions that John had when he was confined to the prison island of Patmos, in the western Aegean Sea. Amateur and professional scholars have analyzed it in many different ways, which is not surprising when we realize that there are references and coded descriptions for which we no longer have the key, as it was circulated underground among churches who were being persecuted. A surprising amount of church music is based on passages from this book. The important thing to remember is that even though there are different ways to interpret it, there is one overarching message: at the end, we will be with God forever!
ean coast of what is now southeastern Turkey, and was also a Roman citizen. He had a Greek education as well as having been a student of Gamaliel, one of the most respected scholars in Jewish tradition. He was a Pharisee, with great zeal for Jewish law, and originally judged the followers of Jesus as heretics. Read his story in Acts 9; how he was called to serve God by preaching the message of the Gospel to first, his fellow Jews, and then to the outsiders, the Gentiles. We have many of his letters, to churches he founded and others to people he had mentored, dealing both with the meaning of Jesus' life and death and the practical issues and problems that came up in the churches. This gives us an amazing real-time snapshot of the development of the early church, as well as supplying advice and instruction to 2000 years of Christians.
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