The New Testament Canon: Divine Origination From the 1st Century or of Catholic Church Origination in the 4th Century?
by Messianic Christian Natan Lawrence
The Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament) are under fire. Some Messianic/Hebrew roots teachers are currently questioning if the 27 books of the New Testament are all divinely inspired or not. Some are even taking it upon themselves to begin tossing out certain books, such as the Epistle to the Hebrews, from the New Testament canon claiming that it was not divinely inspired and was added later to the canon of Scripture by the proto-Catholic Church. Others claim that the early church fathers “messed” with the original writings of the apostles leaving us to doubt whether we can trust the Apostolic Scriptures or not. What is the truth of the matter?
The Messianic Scriptures/Apostolic Writings (New Testament) are under fire. Prominent Messianic teachers are currently questioning if the 27 books in the NT are all inspired or not. Others are questioning whether the Church fathers and Catholic Church “messed” with the original writings leaving us to doubt whether we can trust them as the truth or not. In confusion, some Believers have even turned away from the Gospel message and denied Yeshua figuring the New Testament is, to one degree or another, a man-made religious lie. What is the truth?
When was the New Testament canonized and by whom? Did YHVH Elohim leave his priceless Word hanging in the balance for hundreds of years only to finally have a Torah-denying and swine-eating paganized Church choose what would be Scripture or not?
We will produce substantial scholarly evidence that flies in the face of most Christian theologians who seem to support the party line of the self-justifying and self-exalting and self-substantiating Church system that says that it was the one who established the New Testament Canon through its Church councils and edicts. We will show evidence from the Scriptures themselves and from historical records that Yeshua commissioned certain apostles to canonize what would later become known as the “New Testament” Scriptures.
This series of lectures will strengthen your faith in the inspired Word of Elohim as preserved in the 27 books of the Apostolic Writings, in the Gospel message and in the Person, Redemptive work and deity of Yeshua.(?) [emphasis mine] You will also have the tools to defend your faith and to help those who have fallen under the sway of false teachings questioning the divine inspiration of all of the Messianic Scriptures from Matthew to Revelation.[1]
Select Bibliography
Bruce, F. F. The Books and the Parchments. Westwood, N.J.: The Fleming H. Revell Co., 1963.
Filson, Floyd V. Which Books Belong In the Bible: A Study of the Canon. Philadelphia: Westminister Press, 1957.
Martin, Dr. Ernest M. Restoring the Original Bible. Portland, Oregon: Association for Scriptural Knowledge, 1994.
Lamsa, Dr. George M. The Holy Bible From the Ancient Eastern Text (From the Aramaic of the Peshitta). N.Y.:Harper Row, 1968.
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church. Peabody, Mass.: Henrickson, 2002
Note: Natan Lawrence uses Select "Christian Bibliography", No Torah sources, No TaNakH sources, No Hebrew scripture sources?
Believing "just in case"
I have been told that if I don't believe in Jesus as my savior I am going straight to Hell after I die. This seems like a compelling reason for me to believe in Jesus particularly since I have also been told that there is no consequence within Judaism if I believe in Jesus. Therefore, I have nothing to lose by believing in Jesus, so why shouldn't I believe in him as my savior?
Answer: Actually, belief in Jesus is a horrendous sin with grave consequences for any Jew who professes to do so. To understand this let us look at the tragic apostasy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and its dominant tribe, Ephraim. God, speaking through the prophet Hosea declares, "When Ephraim spoke with trembling, he became exalted in Israel; but when he became guilty through Baal, he died" (Hosea 13:1). When they served God, Ephraim was "exalted," but when they became guilty of idol worship and remained unrepentant despite prophetic warnings to cease their sinful ways they signed their own death warrant. Ephraim died a spiritual death long before it suffered national destruction.
From the prophetic message we learn that apostates, even during their lifetime are reckoned as dead as long as they remain unrepentant. The prophet not only denounces belief in molten images fashioned by craftsmen, but also those who trust in a false savior- god: "And I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and gods beside Me you should not know, and there is no savior but Me" (Hosea 13:4).
God desires the apostate's repentance and beckons him/her to renounce iniquity: "From the clutches of the grave I would ransom them, from death I would redeem them, I will be your words of death; I will decree the grave upon you. Remorse shall be hidden from My eyes" (Hosea 13:14).
For the apostate who does not repent, God says, "I will decree the grave upon you." In a more literal sense, "I will be the cause of your being cut off to the grave." Katavcha, from the verb ketev, denotes "cutting" (e.g. Psalms 91:6). Its primary meaning is "to cut," but in Hosea 13:14, ketev takes on the secondary meaning "decree." In Hebrew, the primary word for decree is gezayra, the root of which is gezer, "to cut." There are a number of word roots in Hebrew whose primary meaning is "cutting," yet have a secondary meaning of a final, permanent decision or ruling (e.g., pasak, chakak, gezer, charatz, karat).
As we see, the belief in the false savior-god Jesus is a grave sin. The unrepentant apostate is not only shunned and considered dead by the Jewish community. God Himself considers the unrepentant apostate as spiritually dead in this life and in physical death the apostate is all the more so "cut off."[2]
Select Bibliography Jewish Scriptures - Torah/TaNaCH
Select Bibliography Jewish Scriptures - Torah/TaNaCH
Exodus 20:2-3 - The First of the Ten Commandments
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:7)
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change His mind.”
Deuteronomy 4:11-12 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no image; there was only a voice.”
Deuteronomy 4:35 “You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”
Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!"
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:14 “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you!”
Deuteronomy 32:39 “See, now, that I, I am He - and no god is with Me...”
I Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our God."
I Samuel 15:29 “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
I Kings 8:27 “For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?”
I Kings 8:60 “So that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other!”
II Kings 19:19 “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto Him?”
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another. Neither My praise to graven images!”
Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”
Isaiah 44:6-8 This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me...Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:24 So said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, “I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”
Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God... I will strengthen you...I order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other!”
Isaiah 45:18-19 For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 “...who announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike?”
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.”
Isaiah 48:11 “...And My honor I will not give to another.”
Hosea 13:4 “And I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”
Joel 2:27 “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”
Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers?”
Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”
Psalm 81:8-9 “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god."
Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation!”
Nehemiah 9:6 “You alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly host bow down before You.”
I Chronicles 17:20 “O Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears!”
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:7)
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change His mind.”
Deuteronomy 4:11-12 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no image; there was only a voice.”
Deuteronomy 4:35 “You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”
Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!"
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:14 “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you!”
Deuteronomy 32:39 “See, now, that I, I am He - and no god is with Me...”
I Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our God."
I Samuel 15:29 “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
I Kings 8:27 “For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?”
I Kings 8:60 “So that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other!”
II Kings 19:19 “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto Him?”
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another. Neither My praise to graven images!”
Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”
Isaiah 44:6-8 This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me...Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:24 So said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, “I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”
Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God... I will strengthen you...I order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other!”
Isaiah 45:18-19 For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 “...who announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike?”
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.”
Isaiah 48:11 “...And My honor I will not give to another.”
Hosea 13:4 “And I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”
Joel 2:27 “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”
Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers?”
Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”
Psalm 81:8-9 “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god."
Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation!”
Nehemiah 9:6 “You alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly host bow down before You.”
I Chronicles 17:20 “O Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears!”
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