Topic
Epistles
3 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1896–1897 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Luke 1:1–4Nave Of Luke to Theophilus
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to…
- Acts 1:1Nave Of Luke to Theophilus
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
- Acts 15:23–29Nave From the congregation at Jerusalem to the Gentiles
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled…
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 0 references
The apostolic letters. The New Testament contains twenty-one in all. They are divided into two classes. (1.) Paul’s Epistles, fourteen in number, including Hebrews. These are not arranged in the New Testament in the order of time as to their composition, but rather according to the rank of the cities or places to which they were sent. Who arranged them after this manner is unknown. Paul’s letters were, as a rule, dictated to an amanuensis, a fact which accounts for some of their peculiarities. He authenticated them, however, by adding a few words in his own hand at the close. (See GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO.)
The epistles to Timothy and Titus are styled the Pastoral Epistles.
(2.) The Catholic or General Epistles, so called because they are not addressed to any particular church or city or individual, but to Christians in general, or to Christians in several countries. Of these, three are written by John, two by Peter, and one each by James and Jude.
It is an interesting and instructive fact that a large portion of the New Testament is taken up with epistles. The doctrines of Christianity are thus not set forth in any formal treatise, but mainly in a collection of letters. “Christianity was the first great missionary religion. It was the first to break the bonds of race and aim at embracing all mankind. But this necessarily involved a change in the mode in which it was presented. The prophet of the Old Testament, if he had anything to communicate, either appeared in person or sent messengers to speak for him by word of mouth. The narrow limits of Palestine made direct personal communication easy. But the case was different when the Christian Church came to consist of a number of scattered parts, stretching from Mesopotamia in the east to Rome or even Spain in the far west. It was only natural that the apostle by whom the greater number of these communities had been founded should seek to communicate with them by letter.”
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 3 references, grouped by sub-topic
- → From the congregation at Jerusalem to the Gentiles Ac 15:23-29
- → Of Luke to Theophilus Lu 1:1-4; Ac 1:1
- → Of Paul, see the Biblical books of ROMANS, FIRST CORINTHIANS, SECOND CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, THESSALONIANS, TIMOTHY, TITUS, and PHILEMON.
- → Of JAMES, PETER, and JOHN, see books of the N. T. which bear their names
- → See LETTERS
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.