New testament meaning (what it is, concept and definition)

What is New Testament:

New Testament is the name given to the second part of the Christian Bible, in which the life and message of Jesus Christ is condensed, the stories of the first communities of Christians, the pastoral letters of the apostles who forged the guiding lines and, for last, the visions.

The word "testament" in the Hebrew language ( berith ) has the meaning of 'covenant', therefore, the new testament means 'new covenant', as opposed to the Old Testament, which means the 'old covenant'.

For Christianity, the Old Testament is interpreted as the "creation story", since it collects the stories of the creation of the world, the history of the patriarchs and kings and the evolution of Jewish law until before the birth of Jesus. Instead, the New Testament is considered as "salvation history" or "new covenant". This is because, from the Christian point of view, Jesus is the incarnation of the living God who has come to save the human being from sin and eternal death.

New Testament books

As is well known, the Bible is a book of books. Each of the two parts that make it up, in turn, contains a compendium of books. In the case of the New Testament, we find 27 books, which are:

Gospels:

The word gospel means 'good news'. This word is intended to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God, based on mercy, forgiveness and love.

The Gospels are the pivotal center of the entire New Testament. They were written at least some 70 years after the death of Jesus, and the oldest of them is that of Mark.

Each of the canonical (official) Gospels was written at different times and for different communities, which explains the differences between them. These are:

• Gospel according to Saint Matthew. Gospel according to Saint Mark. Gospel according to Saint Luke. Gospel according to Saint John.

Books on the formation of the early Church and pastoral letters:

The essential features of the formation of the early Church are explained in the book of The Acts of the Apostles , written by Saint Luke, the only one of the evangelists who did not know Jesus before his passion.

In addition to this, during this period, the apostles spread throughout the known world and spread the gospel in different communities. From time to time, Peter, James, John, Judas brother of James and, especially, Paul, wrote pastoral letters to the communities that they founded, in order to guide them in the faith and resolve the vicissitudes.

Those letters, of the highest theological level, were summarized in this section of the New Testament, along with the book of The Facts . They are as follows:

• Acts of the Apostles Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans First letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians Second letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians. Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians. First letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. Second letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. First letter of Saint Paul to Timothy. Second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy. Letter of Saint Paul to Titus, Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon, Letter of Saint Paul to the Hebrews, Letter of Saint James, First letter of Saint Peter, Second letter of Saint Peter, First letter of Saint John, Second letter of Saint John, Third letter of Saint John, Letter of Saint Judas.

Prophecies

The New Testament culminates with a controversial book, which has been the subject of all kinds of analysis and interpretation. The most widespread considers it a prophetic book that still awaits its completion time.

Other authors affirm that it is a book written in symbols to be able to encode John's messages regarding the dominant power of his time, the Roman Empire. This book has been attributed to the apostle John the evangelist, the only one of the apostles who did not die martyred.

• Apocalypse of Saint John.

See also:

• Old Testament Characteristics of Christianity Bible