The New Testament, in order of appearance.

I have gathered together what looks like the New Testament, in order of appearance. I will be updating this whenever I get more confirmed information. Please feel free to add your two cents worth. If I need a correction, please give me your source. I will add that link to this page under the books info. I do feel that these dates are a little early but this is just a start.

According to the biblical scholar Bart Ehrman, at least 11 of the 27 New Testament books are forgeries, while only seven of the 13 epistles attributed to Paul were probably written by him.

"Virtually all scholars agree that seven of the Pauline letters are authentic: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon," - Bart Ehrman

New Testament manuscripts are fragmentary. Earliest complete manuscript is from ca. 350; lapse of event to complete manuscript is about 325 years. 


1. 1 Thessalonians. Written by Paul from Corinth around 50-60CE.
2. 2 Thessalonians. Maybe written by Paul as a follow-up to his previous letter 80-100CE
3. Jude. I’ll be bold and put this letter, said to be written by Judas, one of Jesus’ brothers mentioned in Mark 6.3, here.  Scholars are divided as to when this was written (or by whom) but they suggest that it may be one of the earliest of the writings of the New Testament, based on its raw Jewish roots and influence from apocryphal literature.
4. Galatians. Written by Paul 50-60CE
5. 1 Corinthians. Written by Paul in 50-60CE.
6. 2 Corinthians. Written by Paul sometime between 50-60CE and after a visit to Corint.
7. Romans. Written by Paul 50-60CE, in hopes of visiting a city he never ended up visiting.
8. Philippians. Written by Paul 50-60CE, presumably while imprisoned.
9. Philemon. Written by Paul, from prison, sometime between 50-60CE.
10. Colossians. Though it is disputed whether or not Paul actually wrote this, it echoes many Pauline themes and is assumed to be written by a follower, maybe after Paul’s death 50-80CE
11. Mark. Finally, a Gospel!  Attributed to Mark, though anonymously published in the late-60s, before the fall of Jerusalem in 70CE. 65-80CE
12. Matthew. Based on Mark w/ stories unique to itself.  Again, anonymously published but attributed to Matthew.  Dated sometime between 80-100CE.
13 & 14. Luke / Acts. Two volumes written by the same anonymous author, traditionally identified as Luke, around the same time as Matthew (80-130CE).  Here again, much of the Gospel is based on Mark, sharing some w/ Matthew, but also w/ stories unique to itself.  The Acts of the Apostles closely parallel that of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
15. Ephesians. The circulation of the Acts of the Apostles renewed interest in the Apostle Paul, leading someone to compose a letter using his name and reflecting some of his themes (though showing none of his literary style) somewhere around 80-100CE.
16. The Revelation of John. Written by a “John” who wasn't the same who wrote the Gospel as a response to the tyrannical reign of Caesar Nero (54-68CE) late in the first century.
17. Hebrews. Written anonymously, no later than 90-120CE.
18 & 19. 1 & 2 Peter. Attributed to Peter but in a high quality of Greek that would’ve been “above” Peter’s social standing.  Most likely, these letters were written as a “tribute” to the fallen Christian icon. 1 Peter 80-110CE & 2 Peter 100-160CE.
20. James. A letter attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, who was martyred before 70CE. Written somewhere between 70-100CE
21. The Gospel of John. Written w/in the context of the Christians’ expulsion from the synagogue, which took place in the decades following the fall of Jerusalem (80-90CE).  But its highly developed Greek may suggest an even later date, into the early-second-century. 90-100CE
22-24. The Letters of John. All of these were written in the tradition of and after the Gospel of John, placing them around or after the start of the second century. 90-120CE
25-27. The Pastoral Letters (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  Though these were written in the Pauline tradition, they reflect a knowledge of the book of Acts (written after Paul’s death) and the climate of the early second-century, which is when they were probably written. 100-150CE

Here's a great link of more in depth history of the New Testament - http://www.earlychristianwritings.com

Updated 1-7-2013