New Testament Final Study Guide

The letters to the Corinthians give us a vidvid picture of what life was like in first-century house churches. (a) What reputation did the city of Corinth have in the first century? (b) Describe 2 of the 3 characteristics of Corinthian culture. (c) What feature of 2 Corinthians suggests that 2 letters have been joined together in it? (d) One of the issues that Paul dresses in 1 Corinthians is the problem of meat sacrifice to idols. Describe what happening among the Corinthians regarding this. (e) Summarized Paul's response to them.

(a) Corinth was a party town because it was the capital of that part of the empire and it was a seaport town. (b) Two characteristic are superficial intellectism - they thought they were smart, but it was just surface material, and gross immorality - prostitution was everywhere, it was a "drunkards" paradise. (c) 1-9 is some of the most tender and nicest words if the NT but 10-13 are some of the most bitter, sarcastic, and harsh words of the NT. (d) The corinthians were starting to argue over whether or not they could eat the meat. (e) It was okay to eat the meat if it does not offend brother.

During the intertestamental period, the Jews found themselves surrounded by an alien culture: Hellenism. (a) Describe 3 characteristics of Hellenism that clashed with Judaism. (b) How did the Hasidim respond to Hellenism? (c) How did the Hellenizers respond to Hellenism? (d) Name 2 of the 3 later parties of Jews in Jesus' day who came from Hasidim. (e) Which party came from the Hellenizers?

(a) Helenism practiced polytheism and Judasim practiced Monotheism. Hellenism was human centered and Judaism was God-centered. Hellenism showed appreciation for the human body and Judaism was more about modesty. (b) the Hasidim rejected hellenism. (c) The hellenizers accepted hellenism and thought you could be a good Jew and hellenizer (d) The pharisees and the Essenes came from the Hasidim (e) The saducees came from the Hellenizers

What did the sentence of excommunication of Jewish Christians from the synagogue meant to them? In other words, what happened to them if they were excommunicated? (b) Why did excommunication make them targets form persecution from the Roman government?

(a) If the Jewish christians were excommunicated, they basically became dead. There families would no longer acknowledge them. (b) Rome no longer saw them as Jews

(a) Why was Jamnia a likely choice to be the new center of Judaism after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70? (b) Which party of Jews took control of Judaism at Jamnia?

(a) Jamnia is likely that choice because it had been a refuge town during the war. (b) the Pharisees took control of Judaism at Jamnia

(a) Why was Jesus popular among the crowds during His Galilean ministry? (b) How was he viewed by the Pharisees at this time?

(a) Jesus was popular because he went around healing and teaching the crowds. (b) The Pharisees looked down an him because he even talked to and healed unclean people.

Herod the Great was set up as king of the Jews by Rome. (a) How did the Jews generally respond to Herod' rule? (b) What was his most famous accomplishment?

(a) Jews despised Herod the Great. (b) His biggest accomplishment was rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem, but he used Jewish Slaves to do it, so the Jews still hated him.

(a) Define: Koine Greek. (b) What is the significance that this is the kind of Greek in which most of the New Testament is written?

(a) Koine Greek is the everyday language the NT is written in (b) The significance of this is to show us that the NT was not originally wrote for us to see. They were just for the house churches during a time of suffering.

(a) Describe 3 unique characteristics of the Gospel of Luke. (b) Summarize 2 options for identifying Theophilus. (c) Most interpreters conclude that Luke Wrote his gospel to respond to the Jew- Gentile issue. (d) Summarize the major theme of Luke responds to this issue.

(a) Luke is the longest of the gosples , it is written in a higher level form of Koine Greek , and Jesus is portrayed as someone who hangs out with the nobodies, the unimportant people. (b) Theophilus means friend of god, he could have been a prominent figure of the church or he could have been a follower of Luke. (c) The Jew-Gentile issue is that when the Gentiles were becoming christians, they wanted to know if they had to become Jewish before they could be christian. (d) The theme of Luke is that Jesus is the long awaited messiah who come for all the people which is demonstrated by Jesus hanging out with the unimportant people.

The dominant party of Jews in Jesus' day were the Pharisees. (a) Form what social class did they come? (b) What religious institution was central to their life? (c) Define "Traditions of Elders." (d) How did the common people in Jesus' day probably view the Pharisees? (e) In the Gospels, how did the Pharisees generally react to Jesus?

(a) They were common people, lower social class, poor. (b) Their religious institution was the synagogue. (c) Strict interpretations of the Law of Moses (d) They probably viewed them as very clean. They may have thought they were a little snooty. (e) They got angry because he associated with people who were unclean.

Distinguish between the north and should Galatian theories

North was the Northern part of the Asia minor, which was larger. This was what he traveled later in his life. The south was the southern part of Asia minor, which was smaller. This is where he traveled earlier on in his life as a missionary.

(a) what usually happened in the first century to a runaway slave when he was caught? (b) What pressure would Philemon face from his fellow slave owners?

(a) Usually, a runaway slave would be branded on the forehead. (b) Philemon faced pressure to also brand onesismus because if he didn't, the other slaves would be more tempted to run away.

Paul writes Colossians to respond to a false view of Jesus that some of the Colossians had come to believe. (a) Describe this false view. (b) How does Paul respond to it?

(a) they adopted gnostic views meaning Jesus is half God and half man, he is an intermediary being. (b) Paul responds by Jesus is God in the flesh.

(a) what issue arose in the early days of the church after Paul's first missionary journey that made the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 necessary? (b) what decision did the Jerusalem Council make?

(a)The problem that arose was the Jew-Gentile issue, meaning that the Gentile christians didn't know if they had to follow the law of moses and become Jews to be christians. (b) The council decided they did not have to follow the law of moses.

(a) for what 2 reasons are Matthew, Mark, and Luke called the synoptic Gospels? (b) Describe what is meant by the Synoptic problem. (c) Describe the theory of B. H. Streeter which shows the literary relationships of the Synoptics to each other. (d) Summarized the basic Synoptic outline of Jesus' life and ministry.

(a) Matthew, Mark, and Luke the same story of Jesus in the same order. (b) The Synoptic problem is that the synoptic gospels are word for word in some places, completely different in some places, and then will go back to verbatim. (c) B. H. streeter says that mark was written first and the writers of Matthew and Luke had a copy of mark and a "Q" source, which is where the material in Matthew and Luke that is not in mark, and Matthew had an M source and Luke had a L source. (d) Jesus' baptism launches his public ministry, which takes place mostly in Galilee. It takes a turning point at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus reveals they are headed to Jerusalem and he will be crucified. The last week of Jesus Life is the passion week, which end with his resurrection on the first easter.

(a) Define: messianic secret. (b) Give one likely reason why Jesus used this in his public ministry

(a) Messianic secret is what Jesus evoked on people who realized he was the messiah during his public ministry, meaning they were forbidden to tell anyone. (b) He used this so he would not be arrested.

Mark seems to have written his Gospel to christians who were suffering in or around Rome at the time of Nero. (a) What was Nero's rule like for the first 5 years? (b) Briefly describe the kind of person Nero was in his later years. what kind of ruler was he? (c) Assuming that he set the fire that burned down much of Rom in A.D. 64, what was his likely motive? (d) How was he able to blame the fires on the Christians there? (e) Describe Mark's response to these suffering christians by summarizing the 2 major themes of the gospel

(a) Nero was a good ruler his 5 years in power. (b) In his later years, he had his own mother killed; he was a crazy and spastic ruler who was self-centered. (c) He wanted to rebuild Rome and name it after himself. (d) Christians were secretive and were held in suspicious. (e) Mark wrote to these christians to help them understand why there were suffering. Jesus is the messiah but not the one they were expecting. Discipleship (suffering with Jesus)

The Thessalonians letters are probably the earliest that Paul wrote. (a) summarize how Paul established the Thessalonians church according to Acts. (b) After Paul left, he sent Timothy back to check on them. What specific concern did the Thessalonians have about their loved ones who had died? (c) Summarize Paul's answer to them about their dead loved ones in 1 Thessalonians. (d) How id some of the Thessalonians misunderstand what Paul said in the first letters? (e) How does Paul respond to this misunderstanding in his second letter to them?

(a) Paul and silas traveld to Thessalonica, he preached there for 3 sabbaths. His followers were the founders of the house churches. (b) They were afraid that there loved ones who died before Jesus were separated from him. (c) Paul tells them they are not separated and that when he comes back, he will bring them with him. (d) The Thessalonians thought the second coming was happening at any time so they just sat around waiting for it and didn't work. (e) Paul tells them the second-coming isn't coming quite yet, and if they do not work, they will not eat.

Galatians is Paul's most fiery letter. (a) Describe one feature of the letter which shows that Paul is mad when he writes it. (b) What had happened in the Galatian churches after Paul had left them which caused him to write his letter? (c) Why were his enemies able to challenge Paul's claim to be an apostle? (d) Summarize the 3 sections of this letter.

(a) Paul has to defend his apostleship, he writes his letter in a harsh tone. (b) The Judaizers had come in and told them they had to obey the law of moses. (c) Paul never actually traveled or spent time with Jesus when he was alive. (d) Part 1 (1-2) defends Paul's apostleship. Part 2 (3-4) defends the gospel he had preached them. Part 3 (5-6) anticipates any objections they may have to his letter.

(a) When Peter confessed to Jesus at Caesarea of Philippi "You are the Christ" what did he likely mean? (b) Why does Peter rebuke Jesus shortly thereafter?

(a) Peter means that Jesus is the long awaited messiah who has come to save the christians (b) Peter rebukes Jesus because Jesus tells him that they are going to Jerusalem and he will be rejected by the elders and crucified.

(a) Where did Philo Judeus live? (b) What did he attempt to do in his vast writings?

(a) Philo Judeus lived in Alexandria, Egypt and (b) he devoted his life to showing that Greek philosophy and the OT were the same, just in different forms.

(a) Give the years of the Jewish war (b) What event started it?

(a) The Jewish war lasted from 66 A.D. to 70 A.D. (b) The event that started it was the zealots taking over Jerusalem and shutting the gates in 60 A.D.

The Sadducees were the priestly Jews in Jesus' day. (a) How did they differ from the Pharisees with regard to the Old Testament canon? (b) How did they become extremely wealthy because of their control of the temple in Jerusalem?

(a) The Sadducees only used the first 5 books of the Ot and the Pharisees OT canon was the whole thing. (b) They had control of the temple, so they profited from any sales that went through the temple.

(a) Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and sent it to the church by Timothy. How did the Corinthians respond to this letter? (b) By whom did he send the "harsh letter" to them?

(a) The corinthians tore Timothy apart and respond very negatively. (b) Titus

Rome entered palestine at the invitation of Jewish leaders. (a) Why did leaders of Jewish people ask Rome to intervene? (b) give one reason why Rome initial reject this request. (c) Once Rome got there, Palestine became a source of revenue. Describe the system that Rome used to collect taxes in Palestine. (d) Why were tax collectors so hated and despised by the Jews? (e) How did most people react when Jesus befriended tax collectors?

(a) The leaders asked Rome to intervene because the Hasadim and the hellenizers were going through a civil war (b) Rome thought Palestine was too far away. (c) Rome split Palestine up in two sections and placed tax collectors in each of them. Those tax collector split their land up and appointed more tax collectors. The tax collectors charged more than what they had to turn in and pocketed the extra money. (d) They were hated because they were corrupt and took way more money than they should have (e) They were angry because they believed tax collectors were the most unclean people

Ephesians is a letter which celebrates the church. (a) How did people in the first-century Roman Empire generally look upon christians? (b) Describe one thing that Paul says about the church in Ephesians.

(a) They generally looked down upon them. (b) Paul tells them that the church is something God had planned from the beginning.

Summarize the contents of the 3 part of Hebrews

1) 1:1-4:13, He says that Jesus is greater than the O.T. and if you want a clear view of God look at Jesus. (appeals to minds) 2) 4:14-10:18, tries to bring assurance and comfort, also says Jesus is our great High priest (appeals to heart) 3) 10:19-13:25, Calls them to be faithful and face consequences b/c Jesus is with them.

Summarize the 2 major themes of James

1) Reality of suffering: If your faith is not tested it will not grow 2) Faith without works is dead: Its not just a set of beliefs for your mind, you must live out your christian faith

Describe the 2 purposes the author of 1 Peter gives to explain the suffering of his readers

1) Suffering purifies your faith 2) Suffering with jesus

For what 2 reasons do most New Testament scholars confused that Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke?

Acts is the story of Jesus' followers and both Luke and acts begin with a dedication to Theophilus. Also they are written in the same style

Describe the situation that called forth First Peter

Adresses christians who were suffering during the time of Nero

What did alexander the Great seek to accomplish by making Greek the universal language of his empire?

Alexander the Great wanted to unify the people by establishing a common Greek culture, which was hellenism.

How did Diaspora Jews in cereal differ from Palestinian Jews with regard to how rigorously they practiced Judaism

Diaspora Jews were Jews that lived outside of Palestine. They still prayed and had the same practices as other Jews, but they were far less strict about their religious practices

What form of false teaching is dressed in First John?

Docetism - Form of gnosticism, denied that Jesus was a real flesh and blood human. Jesus appeared to be human but he really wasn't

Name 2 of the 3 places where Paul may have been imprisoned when he wrote the Prison Letters

He could have been imprisoned in Rome or any place, because he was arrested in nearly every city he visited.

Based on one of the unique characteristics of Mark, why is it likely that Mark's readers were Gentile Christians?

In mark, anytime he used Jewish words or style, he would write what they mean out to the side, showing us that he must of been writing to the Gentile christians

How does the author of 2 Peter explain the delay of Jesus' Second Coming?

It is delayed so sinners have time to repent

Describe the likely situation that James is written to address

James was written to Christians who were suffering and who had reduced the Christian faith to believing the right doctrines but not putting it into practice in everyday life.

Descrive briefly the general geographical outline of Jesus' public ministry as it is presented in the Gospel of John

John shows us that Jesus went back and forth between Galilee and Jerusalem and that Jesus spend three passovers in Jerusalem

For what was the Lycus Valley well known for in the first century?

Locus valley was known for being the place were all the free minded thinkers gathered at.

What is mean by saying that Paul's letters are "response letters?"

Paul wrote these letters as a response to the problems and issues the house churches were facing, he never thought they would be shown to other people.

Why is it more difficult to re-construct the historical circumstances that called forth the General Letters than Paul's letters?

Paul's letters actually have a specific city mentioned in the greeting and when we read the letter, we get a pretty clear idea about what the problem was that he is addressing. The general letters do not have any geographic references so that we don't know where they were sent. Remember that most of them are named after the author, not the city to which it went. When we read them, the situation being addressed by the writer seems to be more general than those in Paul's letters.

Describe the situation of Christians in Asia Minor in the late first century that caused the book of Revelation to be written.

Readers are christians in Asia minor that are being forced to worship the emperor or they would face death or imprisonment

Early in the first century, persecution of christians came from Jews not Rome. Late in the first century, the primary source of persecution was Rome. Why did Rome begin to persecute Christians?

Rome did not persecute Christians at first because they saw Christians as simply a group of Jews and Judaism was a licensed, protected religion in the empire.

What false teaching is dressed in 2 Peter?

Scoffers, were denying that Jesus would ever come back

Study Guide for Final

Study Guide for Final

Test #1

Test #1

Test #2

Test #2

Test #3

Test #3

What is meant by the "we" sections in Acts

The "we" sections in Acts are when Luke joins Paul on his missionary journey.

Summarize the five-fold strucutre of Mathew as se froth by B. W. Bacon

The five-fold structure of Matthew starts with 5-7, which is the sermon on the mount, 10 is instructions to the disciples, 13 is the parables, 18 is the instructions to the church he will establish, and 23-25 is the warnings of the end. All folds wend with a literary seam.

Why is it inadequate to define a Gospel as a simple biography of Jesus?

The gospels leave out 30 years of Jesus' life and leave out many other things you usually find in a biography

Identify the 2 primary sources we have for discovering who Paul was as a historical person

The two primary sources we have are acts and the letters of Paul.

What are the 2 questions asked when using the historical-criticle method for interpreting a New Testament text?

The two questions asked are, What did it mean to the people in their time? and How is this significant to me today?

List 2 of the 4 different kinds of books that were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls

They found a Hebrew copy of the OT and commentaries of the OT in the dead sea scrolls

Describe 2 reasons why the stories about Jesus were not written down at first

They were not written down at first because Palestine was a society geared towards memory, the disciples were still around to correct stories about Jesus, and people thought the world was ending soon.

Describe the situation addressed in 3 John

Traveling missionaries, Gaius is for helping traveling missionaries while Diotrephes is against helping traveling missionaries

Name 2 religious practices that all Jews engaged in no matter where they lived

Two religious practices are observing the sabbath and Dietary laws, mainly not eating pork.

Describe 2 shifts that occur in the story of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, according to the Synoptic Gospel

Two shifts that occur at Caesarea Philippi according to the synoptics are a geological shift, from Galilee to Jerusalem, and an audience shift, from the am ha aretz to the disciples.

Summarize 2 of the themes of Romans

Two themes of Romans are salvation is achieved by faith alone, and that people are separated from God by sin.

Name 2 works written by Josephus

Two works written by Josephus are Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War.

Describe (a) 3 unique characteristics of hebrews and (b) the likely reason that Hebrews was written.

a) Highest level of Koine Greek in NT, Don't know who the author is, Hebrews is more of a sermon than a letter. b) The Christians were facing excommunication in the synagogue if they didn't abandon their christian faith, he tells them to not give up on their faith.