When was biblical canon closed

Home Is the Biblical Canon Closed? Notes: Old Testament scholar, Edward J. As this word is used, it is used in a derogatory sense. Is the connotation of the word, however, always derogatory? There are times, however, when one may indeed be thankful that some things are static. I could not agree more.

Not only would the Christian have no reason to believe anything the Bible had to say about anything, he could never know from one moment to the next whether or not what he was doing was God-honoring or the most heinous sin committed against God. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament , 6 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, , The point is that God, in his final revelation, has spoken to us in one who has the characteristics of a son.

His credentials are vastly different from the credentials of the prophets or from the angels, as the following context indicates.

Bromiley, ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, , There is a difference, though, between the basic doctrines, and the diverse methods of Christian practice, as is seen in the various Christian denominations.

Since this is a discussion about Bibliology, rather than Ecclesiology, further comments about faith and practice will be reserved. Thus, modern Christians can speculate, whereas early leaders could know the origin and authority of texts with a much higher level of certainty.

Second, the early church preserved the New Testament books for a particular reason. It would be negligent for modern Christians to seek to override nearly 2, years of church history in arrogantly claiming that persons today know more about Jesus than those who were physically with Jesus. Portions of the preceding article were posted in a discussion board assignment by Pastor Brian Chilton.

As in all cases, any documentation should be properly assigned. The use of this information for academic purposes will require documentation as plagiarism will be detected.

Portion of the contents of this article have been run through the system SafeAssign. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, Clement of Alexandria. The Stromata. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, Geisler, Norman L.

Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies. Klein, William W. Which version of the Bible is the Word of God? Is the Biblical canon closed? What is Meant by Biblical Inerrancy? Is 1John a "corruption"? Otherwise they further conclude that God is no longer actively communicating to humanity, and the Bible is nothing more than a static 1 document that is either limited or irrelevant to meets the needs of contemporary humanity.

There are no more inspired documents that are to be included in the biblical canon, and there will not be in future. Nevertheless, those hostilities put aside, there are a few very good reasons for believing that God no longer makes prophetic revelations of the canonical variety, and why what is currently seen in the biblical text known as the Bible is final.

Those reasons are the coming of Jesus, the sending of the Spirit, the finalization of doctrine, the cessation of the apostolic office, and the tradition of the Christian Church. Here the writer is telling the reader not only how God communicated to mankind in the past, but how that communication came to a head in the person of Jesus himself. In fact, Greek grammarian A. Since we know through the providential activity of God who recorded the events of the coming of Jesus, and how he completed the salvific requirements of God for the benefit of humanity, there is no longer any additional written revelation needed, nor necessary, to add to what Jesus has communicated.

The point of all of these statements is that when the Holy Spirit came and set up residence in all those whom God chose to believe, the Spirit then set forth to carry out the ministry of teaching and informing the elect those things that Jesus said and did. That does not mean that an exhaustive and infinite understanding of the basic doctrines which comprise the Christian faith will be arrived at by anyone. What it means is that which God has provided through the divinely inspired revelation provided in the biblical text concerning the Bible, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, Sin, Salvation, the Church, Angels, and Last Things is complete and adequate in matters of faith and practice.

The cessation of the apostolic office clearly indicates that the biblical canon is closed, simply because the apostles, and those whom they influenced, were the divinely appointed messengers selected to receive and write inspired Scripture. And with the passing of the last apostle from the earthly scene, written revelation has come to an end.

Of course, there were those shortly after the days of the apostles who attempted to impose their writings on the church, usually pseudonymously, and there are those today who would like everyone to believe that they are genuine apostles, or that they are following those who have been called after the order of apostolic succession.

Yet, such posturing is without credibility.