ACTS UNTIL REVELATION

THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT FOR THE COURSE OF RELIGION 22

INTRODUCTION
The New testament is basically made up of two parts: The story of
Jesus and the Story of the Jesus Movement, the emergence of the
church. Our sources, primarily the book of Acts, tell us only of the
march of the Christian faith west to Rome; we know nothing about
the expansion to Egypt and east to Syria and beyond, except that
this also occurred at a very early time.
Here then is a short description of the books / letters that make up
the rest of the New testament canon.

THE BOOK OF ACTS

The second part of Lukes Gospel and written by the same author. It tells
the story of how the church was formed after Jesus ascended into heaven
and with the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit narrates how the
faith travelled from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire which is
Rome. Acts was given the title as the Acts of the Apostles or Exploits of the
Apostles but it is the reality of the Holy Spirit which is quoted 59 times in
the book, that it can be also be referred to Acts of the Holy Spirit. It first
focuses on Peter and the disciples before transitioning to the Apostle Paul
and his missionary journey to the Gentile world.

PAULINE LETTERS
Then we proceed to the letters sent by the Apostle Paul to the various
churches he has established throughout the Mediterranean world. These
are Romans, 1st-2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians and 1st-2nd Thessalonians. These are letters of Paul addressed
to the churches in each city where the apostle addressed matters of faith
on the various issues that confronted to each particular church. The
letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon are personal correspondence of the
apostle to a particular person as seen in the name. Bible scholars say that
not all letters were genuinely written by Paul as some wrote in behalf of
the apostle to give a sense of authority when read to the churches.

GENERAL EPISTLES
The rest of the letters in the New Testament fall under this category.
These are Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John and Jude. Hebrews before
were considered to be written by Paul but after careful study of its content
and literary style were so different from the previous letters of the apostle
and now biblical scholars say it was written by a different person. James is
traditionally written by the brother of Jesus who became one of the
earliest authority of the church.

GENERAL EPISTLES
The letters of Peter and John were believed to be written by the
disciples Peter and John while Jude in Christian tradition is attributed
to another brother of Jesus. We say traditionally because these
letters were written by communities and the authorship was
attributed to the leader of the congregation. Remember the
churches were heavily persecuted and these letters were written
anonymously for security and the names of prominent leaders were
to give authority on the messages found in these letters.

REVELATION
Revelation is a very simple book. It is a drama of the epic conflict
between the powers of good and the powers of darkness, with a
final assured victory for the forces of good. It functions to console
and empower those who are overwhelmed and oppressed by the
powers of darkness in this world, but also to lodge a protest against
the oppressive, imperial powers of this world. The book seeks to
give hope for Gods struggling people, but fear among those who
persistently reject the ways of God.

REVELATION
On the other hand Revelation is a very difficult book, because it uses
a culturally specific set of symbols and images with which to
communicate its message. In the book we find the unmasking of a
global military-commercial complex, dominated by economic
interests. In revelation we find an analysis that points to the
political, military, environmental, religious, and especially economic
aspects of globalization. The analogies to the present world are
startling.

REVELATION
Written during Pax Romana (the peace of Rome) from 27 161 CE.
Roman Empire as an aristocratic empire where it grows not by
technological innovation or more efficient productivity but by new
acquisitions through military conquests.
The acquisitions were
maintained by the terror mechanism of crucifixion 10,000 in Judea
alone from around 63 70 CE. Basically its theme is Babylon vs
Jerusalem, rival economies between which the readers must choose.
Babylon representing the economy of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem
representing an alternative economy characterized by Reign of God
values.

REVELATION
Why Revelation remains to be confusing and not well discussed at all?
1) It is presented in a very culturally specific idiom and form making it
foreign to us.
2) Its message was domesticated by the theologians of the Empire and of
Romes social elite.
3) This book has been deliberately avoided or rejected by even the great
Protestant reformers.
4) This book has been relegated to the domain of the end-time chartmakers.

REVELATION

The challenge is to restore this book to its proper role

within biblical revelation, along with its challenge for the
faithful to disengage from Babylons reign of greed, and to
attach itself to Gods reign of justice and peace.