The other day in Sunday School, Alla Kristina asked How do we know that God isn’t adding more books to the NT?
There is a verse that says we have all the books of the OT. It is Matt 23:35. The Lord Jesus rebuked Israel for rejecting all the prophets and wise men He had sent “from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah…” Abel’s death is recorded in the first book of the OT. Zechariah is recorded as the last book of the OT according to the way the Jewish people ordered the books. Chronicles (1–2 Chronicles is one book in the Hebrew OT) was the last book. The Lord was showing that the OT canon is correct and closed.
We don’t have a prophetic statement about the NT that refers to everything from Matt 1:1 to Rev 22:21. Some prophet might have made such a statement at the end of the apostolic age. But if so, we have no record of it.
So how do we know which books belong in the NT?
Here is how we know that the twenty-seven books we have are the ones that belong in the canon, and that God closed the canon at the end of the age of the apostles.
- Every NT book was written by either an apostle or someone closely associated with one. Once the apostles were gone, no more NT books could be written.
- The early church did not pick the books of the NT. It recognized that these books—and these books only—were Scripture.
- Other books were designed to imitate the books of the NT. They were written in the second and third centuries, or later. They are called apocrypha, books of doubtful authority. Some NT apocrypha include The Gospel of Peter, The Gospel of Thomas, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Acts of Paul, and The Acts of Peter. Any unbiased reader of the apocrypha acknowledges that these books do not read like Scripture. The early church recognized that, and so do we today. I read some of the NT apocrypha while in the NT doctoral program. It was not at all like reading Scripture.
- The same is true of so-called scripture written in the last 200 years, such as The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and Dianetics. None of them read like Scripture.
- 2 Peter 3:15–16 indicates that in around AD 66 Paul’s writings were already known to be Scripture. This may suggest that the close of the canon was near at hand. Peter died about four years before AD 70, when many think the NT canon ceased.
- Some Evangelicals use 1 Cor 13:8–10 to prove the canon has been closed. Paul wrote, “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” Some suggest “that which is perfect” refers to the close of the canon in AD 70 or AD 95. While the NT is perfect and hence could be in view, I am convinced that the perfect refers to the Second Coming of Christ. He is “that which is perfect.” While it is true that prophecy ended with the death of the last apostle, that ending is not permanent. There will be prophets in the Tribulation, including the two witnesses. The gift of tongues will likely be renewed at that time as well. I do not use 1 Cor 13:10 to prove the closure of the canon, but you can study it and decide for yourself.
Most people do not ask how we know that the books we have are the right ones and that none are missing. But it is a legitimate question. It is one we should all resolve in our thinking.
I hope you find this helpful.
