The expression "New Testament" is often found in literature. It is most common in Christian publications. However, the concept of "New Testament" can be viewed not only in the book context. This concept is very broad and very significant for many of us.
The concept of "New Testament" can be conditionally viewed in several contexts, each of which has its own secret meaning for millions of people around the world. In particular, we can talk about the New Testament in the temporal, theological and literary sense.
Temporal context of the New Testament
The New Testament can be safely understood as a certain period of time, which had its beginning and continues to this day. In the literature, you can often find the expression "New Testament time" or "New Testament period." What is the history of this time and who started the New Testament?
The New Testament is from the incarnation (birth) of the Lord Jesus Christ. With the coming into the world of the Savior, a new era has begun for mankind in relations with God. The second person of the Holy Trinity became incarnate and, according to the Gospel, dwelt with us full of grace and truth. Thus, the time of the New Testament is the time from the moment of the birth of Christ to the present.
Theological context of the New Testament
In Christian theology, an important place is given to Divine Revelation. The way God Himself reveals himself to humanity and makes a "covenant" with him. The incarnation of Christ is a central moment in the history of mankind. In it, God appears to people, proclaims his love and will to them. Therefore, the New Testament is not just a period of time, it is the Divine Revelation of God to humanity.
Literary Context of the New Testament
In a narrower sense, the New Testament is understood as the second part of the holy book of the Bible for Christians around the world. The first part of Scripture is called the Old Testament, and the most important for believers is the New Testament. Moreover, the corpus of the New Testament consists of several sacred books, which were written by different authors, all of which are glorified by the Church as apostles.
The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels, authored by the holy apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospel tells about the earthly life of Christ, His teaching, miracles, indicates the Divine nature and the main goal of the coming of God into the world, which is the salvation of mankind.
The Apostle Luke is the author of one more book - "Acts of the Holy Apostles". She tells about the formation of the Christian Church. As the name implies, it points to the apostolic preaching and spreading of the good news of Christ's coming into the world.
Most of the New Testament is occupied by the epistles of the holy apostles. These include seven conciliar epistles: two epistles of the chief apostle Peter, three epistles of the evangelist John the Theologian, one epistle each from the apostles James and Judas. The naming "cathedral" indicates the "universality" of the scale. They are addressed not to one Christian community, but to all believers, regardless of their geographic location.
A special place in the corpus of the books of the New Testament is occupied by the Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul. There are fourteen of them. They are written for different Christian communities (communities that are geographically located in different parts of the Roman Empire). The Epistles give apostolic instructions for a godly life, explain the basic tenets of the Christian doctrine.
The final book of the New Testament is the revelation of St. John the Divine. This is the most mysterious part of the entire Bible. The book, also called the "Apocalypse", is prophetic and gives humanity some data about the end times.
