Bible Dictionaries
New Testament

Holman Bible Dictionary

The second major division of the Christian Bible with twenty-seven separate works (called “books”) attributed to at least eight different writers. Four accounts of Jesus' life are at the core. The first three Gospels (called “Synoptic”) are very similar in content and order. The fourth Gospel has a completely different perspective.

A history of selected events in the early church (Acts) is followed by twenty letters to churches and individuals and one apocalypse. The letters deal mainly with the interpretation of God's act of salvation in Jesus Christ. Matters of discipline, proper Christian behavior, and church polity also are included. The apocalypse is a coded message of hope to the church of the first century which has been reinterpreted by each succeeding generation of Christians for their own situations.

Mike Mitchell