Introduction to the Books of the Holy Bible

Title Unlike most books of the Bible, Revelation contains its own title: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). “Revelation” (Gr., apokalupsis) means “an uncovering,” “an unveiling,” or “a disclosure.” In the NT, this word describes the unveiling of spiritual truth...

Title Jude, which is rendered “Judah” in Hebrew and “Judas” in Greek, was named after its author (v. 1), one of the 4 half-brothers of Christ (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). As the fourth shortest NT book (Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John are shorter), Jude is the last of 8 general...

Title The epistle’s title is “3 John.” It is the third in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Third John and Second John present the closest approximation in the New Testament to the conventional letter form of the contemporary Greco-Roman world,...

Title The epistle’s title is “2 John.” It is the second in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Second and Third John present the closest approximation in the NT to the conventional letter form of the contemporary Greco-Roman world, since they...

Title The epistle’s title has always been “1 John.” It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Since the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to whom it was sent, its classification is as a...

Title The clear claim to authorship in 1:1 by the Apostle Peter gives the epistle its title. To distinguish it from Peter’s first epistle, it was given the Greek title “Petrou B,” or 2 Peter. Author and Date The author of 2 Peter is the Apostle Peter (see Introduction...

Title The letter has always been identified (as are most general epistles, like James, John, and Jude) with the name of the author, Peter, and with the notation that it was his first inspired letter. Author and Date The opening verse of the epistle claims it was...

Title James, like all of the general epistles except Hebrews, is named after its author (v. 1). Author and Date Of the 4 men named James in the NT, only two are candidates for authorship of this epistle. No one has seriously considered James the Less, the son of...

Title When the various NT books were formally brought together into one collection shortly after a.d. 100, the titles were added for convenience. This epistle’s title bears the traditional Greek title, “To the Hebrews,” which was attested by at least the second...

Title Philemon, the recipient of this letter, was a prominent member of the church at Colosse (vv. 1, 2; cf. Col 4:9), which met in his house (v. 2). The letter was for him, his family, and the church. Author and Date The book claims that the Apostle Paul was its...