Does the Role of An Apostle Continue today?

30 Pages·2016·0.66 MB·English

Does the Role of an Apostle Continue in
our Day?
By Peter Salemi

BICOG Publication

[This booklet is not to be sold. It is a free educational service in the public interest,
published by the British-Israel Church of God.]
Does the Role of an Apostle Continue in our Day?

Many today in the Church of God claim that Herbert W. Armstrong was “God’s Apostle.”
Many who claim to be his successor are claiming the same thing. Are these claims true? Or
did the office of Apostle cease after the death of the Apostle John?

It’s unfortunate that in the latter years of his Life Herbert W Armstrong claimed these divine
titles for himself the way he did. This was the beginning of the end for that church. By the end of
his life, the “Church of God” did not resemble the church that Jesus built, but looked like the
church of HWA! Keith Hunt a former member on his website writes, “It is sad to have to report
that IDOLATRY is still very rampant in different religious groups. The Mormons have their
Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The Jehovah Witnesses have their William Russel. The
Seventh Day Adventists have their Ellen G. White. The Roman Catholics have their Pope, and so
it goes with other organizations of religion.

“While I am somewhat familiar with the above idolatry with the above groups, I am VERY first-
hand familiar with groups that have broken off from the Worldwide Church of God, founded by
Herbert W. Armstrong. I was a member of the WCG from 1961 to 1972. I have associated with
various off-shoot groups from the WCG since 1979, hoping that each one would see the cultic
idolatry that Herbert Armstrong produced in the WCG. Some, such as the Church of God
International, and The Christian Biblical Church of God, and many local independent Church of
God groups that had their history in the WCG, HAVE acknowledged the cultic idolatry of
Herbert Armstrong as it developed in the 1970s, have denounced it, and have REPENTED of it.

“But sad to say a number of the larger off-shoots of the WCG that arose in the 1990s HAVE
NOT admitted the truth of the matter concerning the latter years of Herbert Armstrong. Such
groups are the very fanatical Gerald Flurry’s Philadelphia Church of God, and the less fanatical
Rod Meredith’s Living Church of God, and the United Church of God, An International
Association [& the very fanatical David C. Pack Restored COG]

“All of the above FOUR groups (and there are others), Living Church of God, Philadelphia
Church of God, Church of the Great God, and The United Church of God, believe they are the
rightful continuation of the work of Herbert W. Armstrong. None of them to my knowledge,
admit that Herbert Armstrong apostatized himself in the last years of his life, and led the WCG
into being a CULT.

“I have NO evidence from my recent few visits with the United Church of God that the plain
truth of how Herbert Armstrong conducted himself and things he taught, and teachings of the
WCG in the last years of his life, have been acknowledge for what they and he was - clearly
fanatical vanity and idolatry, as well as some serious teachings of ERROR, especially
concerning Church Government.

“THE MINISTRY OF THOSE FOUR OFF-SHOOT GROUPS OF THE OLD WCG (and others
that it may apply to also) NEED TO REPENT OF THE IDOLATRY THEY HAVE TAUGHT
AND ARE STILL TEACHING, CONCERNING THE LATTER LIFE OF HERBERT W.
ARMSTRONG. THEY NEED TO STOP COVERING IT UP, TURNING THEIR MINDS
FROM IT, AND IN SO DOING PERPETUATING TO THEIR MEMBERSHIP THAT ALL
WAS PERFECTLY WELL, SPIRITUALLY AND DOCTRINALLY FINE, UNDER THE
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LEADERSHIP OF HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG IN THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS OF HIS
LIFE.

“The truth of the matter, the PLAIN TRUTH, is that from, especially from after the death of
Herbert Armstrong’s wife Loma, in 1967 (I was part of the WCG then, until 1972), the
Worldwide Church of God became progressively more and more cultic in its teaching, until at
about the middle 1970s it was a full blow CULT and one of the abusive church organizations…”
(The Idolatry with HWA, emphasis his and mine). In the beginning this was not the case. Mr.
Armstrong taught the true doctrines of the Bible, and just said he was an Evangelist. An
Evangelist means one who preaches the Gospel, which he was. Then near the close of the 60’s,
and definitely in the 70’s Armstrongism was in full swing, and this is what we take issue with.

Claims of HWA being God’s Apostle

Was HWA God’s Apostle? I believe he was a minister, called by God to do the work of God, as
all other ministers are; But to put him into the rank of an Apostle? Can that be substantiated from
the pages of the Bible?

First notice the claims made by HWA, and his followers then and now. In February, 1980 in the
Good News Magazine, in the article “How Many Apostles were There?” By Leroy Neff, he
writes, “Just as proofs in the life of Paul set him forth as an apostle of Jesus Christ, in our time
another has also been used by God in a powerful way. Through him, the Worldwide Church of
God was established. Through him, the doctrines of God were restored to the Body of Christ.
Through him, directly or indirectly, all of us in the Church have come to the knowledge of the
truth, repentance and baptism. Through him, demons have been cast out and many have been
healed — even of cancer. Isn’t that the fruit, the seal of apostleship?

“It is eminently clear, and has been for some time, that Jesus Christ and God the Father have
specially sent forth Herbert W. Armstrong with a commission, and his fruits have shown that he
is an apostle: For many years, Mr. Armstrong did not claim that he was fulfilling the office.
Probably he did not need to, as the Church recognized him as an apostle whether or not he took
that title. But in recent years, he has consistently said that he is an apostle.” (emphasis added).

Notice, in the beginning he did not claim he was an Apostle, but eventually because people kept
telling him he was, he believed it and preached it. Notice all these things of doctrines and healing
were done “Through him.” Not Christ or the Father, but him. It is Christ that builds the church
(Matthew 16:18). It is Christ who heals. As the Apostle Peter said after healing the lame man,
“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?
or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this
man to walk?
“The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son
Jesus…And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and
know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of
you all.” (Acts 3:12-13, 16). This was the problem with the Worldwide Church of God, they “left
thy first love” (Rev 2:4), therefore, “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place,” (Rev 2:5). Now that church ceases to exist.
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Here are some co-worker letters that went out during that time HWA that say, “Naturally, it is
incumbent on me as God’s Apostle, to protect His ‘sheepfold’ He has placed under my care.”
(July 31, 1978 Dear Brethren letter)

“And please state in your letter, in your own words, that this money is your endorsement of my
apostleship, and the money is to be used for defending God’s Work as I, Christ’s Apostle, deem
best.” (January 14, 1979 Dear Brethren letter)

“God calls the Church to back up His apostle and get His message to the world...” (March 19,
1981 Dear Brethren letter)

Today these Armstrong followers still claim that HWA is God’s Apostle.

Notice Flurry’s co-worker letter, “Mr. Armstrong was an apostle. So if there’s someone doing
the work of ‘the voice’ again, is it possible that this man, too, is an apostle?

“Here, they are both working on the same level, essentially doing the same job, except that we
must warn most of God’s Church as well. Mr. Armstrong restored all things (Matthew 17: 11).

“Then we came along and had to re-restore all things. ‘The voice’ in Isaiah 40 is actually in two
parts, or two eras, if you look at it closely. There was the voice of Mr. Armstrong, and then our
voice crying out to God’s sinning Church and the world. If the voice preceding ours was an
apostle, is it logical-we just want the truth of God, that’s all-that the voice following him would
also be an apostle? The voice really has cried out in many ways, on television and magazines
and booklets. If you check the list of the booklets I have written with new revelation, you have
one small book and 41 booklets with new revelation from God. The voice is crying out today.
Jesus Christ is about to return to this Earth! Isn’t it logical to think God would have another
apostle crying out to this world before the greatest event to ever occur in the universe?” (Nov
8th, 2010, emphasis added). Flurry believes that HWA was an apostle and uses this belief to
justify himself and his office as an apostle as well, believing that he is HWA’S successor.

David C. Pack, another Armstrongism group, says in his sermon 21st century Apostle that, “Why
would...listing apostles first not include me? Would Christ expect me to ignore that? ...The
responsibilities Christ expects me to do...While I have apostolic authority... Mr. Armstrong was
a Apostle. Yes brethren I hold that office. I do... If the highest office in Restored Church of God
is not an apostle, then I was not sent by Christ.” (Emphasis added). Clearly these people believe
what they believe, but can it be substantiated from the Bible? Are these people Apostles? Were
The Biblical evidence tells us something totally different!

What is an Apostle?

What is the definition of an Apostle? In the Greek the word is “apostolos” (Strong’s #652). It
means, “1) a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
1a) specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ
1b) in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers
1b1) of Barnabas
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1b2) of Timothy and Silvanus” (Thayer’s Definitions, emphasis added).

There are two basic applications to this word as the above source says-one specifically applied to
the Apostles, the Twelve, and the other in a broader sense to others, as people “sent” by the
church for a special purpose.

Wayne Grudem in his book Systematic Theology makes this clear, “The word apostle can be
used in a broad or narrow sense. In a broad sense it just means ‘messenger’ or ‘pioneer
missionary.’ But in a narrow sense, the most common sense in the New Testament, it refers to a
specific office, ‘apostle of Jesus Christ.’ These Apostles had unique authority to found and
govern the early church, and they could speak and write words of God. Many of their written
words became New Testament scriptures.” (p.911, emphasis his and mine). In the most broad,
general sense, any person who might be sent by God through the Church for a particular work,
whether of leadership or not (cf. Phil. 2:25), can be classified under the term “apostle.” This
broad meaning is derived from the correlation between the noun “apostle” and the Greek verb
that means “to send.” Hence, in this very broad sense, there is no difficulty with the concept that
any Christian, in principle, can be called an apostle. For example, any person could be sent by a
church to the mission field, and, in a broad, non-technical sense, this person in an “apostle” of
God. The broad, non-technical meaning (i.e., one who is “sent” for a task) is used only three
times (John 13:16; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). (The words “Apostolos” and “pempo” (Strong’s
#3992) are used interchangeably in John 13:16 and used in Philippians 2:25).

Another time it refers to Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:1).

The remaining three occurrences (Rom. 16:7; Acts 14:4; 14) some say present exegetical
difficulties that make it difficult to determine with certainty if they are employed in the technical
or non-technical sense. Barnabas however looking at the context, “Barnabas is called an apostle
because he was sent forth by the church on a particular message (Acts 13:3; compare
Acts14:26), not because he had been chosen to the special work of the apostleship” (Barnes
Notes, emphasis added). So Barnabas in this context and Paul were sent by the church on a
special mission (the broad sense of the term is emphasized here Acts 14:27) and He was not an
Apostle of the same rank as Paul in the technical sense.

Romans 16:7says these people were “among the apostles” and were not Apostles themselves.

The “Apostles” of Jesus Christ

In the New Testament, however, the technical and restricted sense of the term is by far the most
common. It refers only to the select group of the Apostles of Christ. The word normally
translated “Apostle” (and its variations as noun and verb) is found 80 times in the Greek New
Testament. It has the restricted and technical meaning of the word in no less than 73 of those
instances.

There is no controversy about the broader, non-technical sense of the Word. It could be applied
in reference to any person sent by the Church to a specific task – although it is arguably unwise
to do so, since it is likely to generate confusion (because the New Testament uses it in the
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technical sense in the overwhelming majority of the instances). This is the meaning that we are
focusing on in this booklet, for it is this meaning that the Armstrongism people use for the belief
that HWA was an Apostle, and it is this meaning that the successors of HWA use to justify their
office as well.

Qualifications to be an Apostle

What are the qualifications of an Apostle? And why was it so unique in the first century? There
was a reason why God made it unique in those days, and that age will never happen again.

1) The Apostle had to be an eyewitness of the risen Jesus

“Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
“To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen
of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:” (Acts 1:2-3).

Being an eyewitness was one of the requirements for the appointment of the one to be installed
as the twelfth apostle in the place of Judas Iscariot: “Wherefore of these men which have
companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
“Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one
be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22). It was a “must” for one
to be an Apostle; one had to be an eyewitness of his resurrection.

Similarly: “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33).

2) The Apostle had to be specifically selected and commissioned directly by Jesus
Christ.

“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send [“Apostello”]
them forth to preach,” (Mark 3:14). (see also Matthew 10:5; Luke 6:13).

Given such requirement, when the apostles felt Judas Iscariot’s office as one of the 12 apostles
(the number being typological of the 12 tribes of Israel) should be filled, they naturally sought
not only God’s wisdom, but also his direct revelation and appointment:

“Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
and out among us,
“Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one
be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
“And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
“And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of
these two thou hast chosen,
“That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell,
that he might go to his own place.
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“And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the
eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:21-26).

When Jesus was on Earth, He handpicked the first twelve apostles. After His departure from
Earth, the disciples cast lots to select a successor to Judas. Their method allowed no input from
mere humans—except in the recognition that two men possessed all the qualifications necessary
to be an apostle. Casting lots allowed God to do the selecting. Divine control in the selection
process by casting lots was common in Old Testament history (see Leviticus 16:8; Numbers
26:55; 33:54; 34:13; Joshua 14:2; 18:6,10; 19:51; cf. Acts 13:19; 1 Samuel 14:42; Nehemiah
10:34; Psalm 16:5). Solomon claimed: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from
the Lord” (Proverbs 16:33). Indeed, Peter’s prayer on the occasion shows that the decision
already had been made by the Lord before the actual casting of lots: “…show which of these two
You have chosen” (Acts 1:24, emp. added). The summary statement regarding Matthias—“he
was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26; cf. Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:14; Luke
24:33)—gives way to a return to the expression “the twelve” (Acts 6:2; cf. Acts 2:14). The text
states: “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to
take part in this ministry and apostleship” (Acts 1:24-25).

3) The Apostles were given the Holy Spirit not only to produce miracles, but also to
receive supernatural revelations and prophecies that became Holy Scripture.

(A) An apostle was invested with miraculous power to the extent that he could perform
miracles. The power to perform miracles included the capability to confer the ability to
work miracles to other individuals through the laying on of his hands (Mark 3:15; 16:17-
20; Luke 9:1-2; John 14:12, 26; 15:24-27; 16:13; Acts 1:1-8; 2:43; 4:29-31, 33; 5:12,15-
16; 6:6; 8:14-18; 19:6; 2 Timothy 1:6; Romans 1:11; Hebrews 2:3-4). Jesus referred to
His bestowal of miraculous capability upon the apostles when He promised they would
be “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). This enables them to back up their
testimony of the risen Christ with supernatural signs and wonders. Read Mt. 10:1; 2 Cor..
12:11-12. These signs and wonders were connected with the Apostles because they
supported their divinely inspired witness, even as new periods of divine revelation had
been generally accompanied by such miraculous signs in past redemptive history (Moses,
Elijah and Elisha, Daniel, etc.).

(B) The gift of the Holy Spirit given to them was not only to perform miracles, but to produce
scripture. To understand properly the role of the apostles, it is essential to recognize that
the New Testament was written by them and their close associates. To them it was given,
by the Holy Spirit, the ability to precisely remember the words and teachings of Jesus (as
well as to receive direct revelation after his ascension), and to teach and record them in a
unified doctrinal whole without error.

Jesus told them, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.” (John 14:25-26).
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Because of this, the apostles explicitly considered their own writings as being on the same level
of inspiration and authority as the Old Testament Scriptures. They were aware that the
documents they were producing were inspired by God as Scripture, and were to be received by
the churches as such. This can be seen in the following examples:

“That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of
the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:” (2 Peter 3:2).

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I
write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1 Corinth 14:37).

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God
which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thess 2:13).

“As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16).

The word translated “Scriptures” in 2 Peter 3:16 occurs 51 times in the Greek New Testament,
and refers specifically to the Old Testament (i.e., not just to any writing, but to the Word of God)
in every occurrence. Clearly, Peter was referring to the epistles of Paul as being Scripture in the
same sense as the Word of God in the Old Testament. Given the care and importance the sacred
Scriptures had for all faithful in the first century, Peter was not likely to make such statement in a
careless manner. It was evident to him and to the Church that God was providing his words for
the New Covenant through the ministry of the apostles.

By virtue of the apostolic office, the apostles had the authority to not only receive direct
revelation of the Word of God, but also to teach it to the Church. That a document had been
written by an apostle or an apostles’ authorized associate was the first and foremost criterion for
it to be considered as eligible to be included as part of the New Testament Scriptures.

That being the case, one might wonder how documents such as the gospels of Mark and Luke,
the book of Acts, the epistle to the Hebrews, and the epistle of Jude, were eventually considered
as part of the New Testament canon. After all, Mark, Luke, and Jude were not apostles, and there
is no certainty as to who is the author of Hebrews. Indeed, those books were received by the
primitive Church because their writers were close associates of the apostles, and were writing
under their supervision and presenting their doctrine. The biblical and historical evidence is
that Luke was under the supervision of Paul, and Mark under Peter. Jude was one of Jesus’
brothers. As to the epistle to the Hebrews, some (in fact, the majority) received it as being
written by Paul; others, even if not certain, recognized that its teachings clearly and directly
reflected the apostolic doctrine.

The apostolic office cannot be understood apart from its function as the channel through which
God was pleased to provide the New Covenant writings to his people. The apostles were directly
commissioned by Jesus to preach, teach, and write his inspired Word to the Church. Nobody had
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the authority to claim divine inspiration for his writings if he was not an apostle or one of his
associates that were supervised by the Apostles. Similarly, nobody, in the subsequent history of
the Church, has ever had the right to include his or her writings as part of the Bible, since the
canon of Scripture was closed with the death of the last living apostle – John.

Yet isn’t that what the Armstrong people claim today? They claim Mystery of the Ages is the
most important book since the Bible. Malachi’s Message is put on the same level as scripture.
The Little book is an addition to the Bible. Not to mention other so-called Apostles like Joseph
smith and Muhammad all claiming their books are additions to the Bible (more on this below).

So the apostles were largely responsible for making the New Testament available—first in oral
form and, more specifically, in written form (1 Corinthians 14:37; Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 3:3-
4; 1 Thessalonians 5:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:14; 1 Peter 1:12; 2 Peter 1:12-21; 3:15-16).

Did the Apostle Paul meet the Qualifications of an Apostle?

What of Saul who became Paul. Was he an Apostle?

In Paul’s Letters Paul opened his letters by introducing himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ
(Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1;
1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1 ). Paul’s apostleship is a calling (Romans 1:1 ) by God’s
will not man’s (1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy
1:1 ).

Human authority had nothing to do with his apostleship, for it came through Jesus Christ and
God the Father (Galatians 1:1), through the “commandment of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 1:1).
Elsewhere, Paul defended his authority and position as an apostle, equal with other apostles. He
was the apostle for the Gentiles with a heart for the Jews (Romans 11:13-14). The existence and
ministry of the Corinthian church sealed Paul’s apostleship, showing he had done the work of an
apostle.

He was also qualified because he had seen the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1-2) Paul said he was
the least of all apostles because he persecuted the church and was the last to see the risen Lord (1
Corinthians 15:6-11). Still, he considered himself “not in the least inferior to these super-
apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5, NRSV).

Those who opposed Paul’s claim to apostleship simply sought to be his equal but in reality were
“false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians
11:13, NRSV). Paul had performed the signs and miracles which were “the signs of a true
apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12), along with his life of patient endurance, preaching, and suffering
for Christ. Paul claimed he did not have to go to Jerusalem to other apostles to get his apostolic
mission and authority (Galatians 1:17). He did meet Peter and James, eventually, but the church
at Jerusalem glorified because of Paul’s ministry of evangelistic preaching (Galatians 1:18-24).
Ultimately Paul proved his apostleship not by asserting personal authority or demanding praise
from other people. Rather, he tenderly ministered among the churches (1 Thessalonians 2:5-8).

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Lastly Paul was writing Epistles that were considered scripture as noted above in 2 Peter 3:16-
17.

Paul meets the qualifications of an Apostle, the same ranks as the twelve.

Paul says his apostleship was unique. Paul’s situation was not the norm, as he himself explains
in 1 Corinthians 15:8-9. He saw himself as a one-of-a-kind anomaly, “And last of all he was seen
of me also, as of one born out of due time.
“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the church of God.” Why was Paul unique? For the simple reason, Paul was an Apostle to the
Gentiles (Gal 2:7). The Original 12 Apostles were to go the “Jew first” (John 4: 22; Rom 1:16).
They were also sent to the “House of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Jesus specifically told them, “Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:” (Matthew
10:5). That was reserved for the Apostle Paul!

What was the work of the Apostles?

So what was the Apostle commission in the first century? The apostolic office was
unquestionably a temporary office for the early church (though apostolic appointment was for
life). Its essential purpose was twofold:

First, the commission to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations. The original
Apostles sent to Israel and Judah, and Paul to the gentiles (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16;
Luke 24:46-48). This purpose was achieved by means of the initial presentation of the Gospel to
the whole world (Colossians 1:23).

Second the establishment of the Church for its converts to grow in grace and knowledge, and for
the Apostles to establish and confirm the churches (Acts 14:22; 15:41; 2 Peter 3:18). In this task
of establishing the church, the doctrines of the Apostles at this time were written down for the
church so the church had the commandments of God as well as the Old Testament to ground
them in truth.

In Matthew 16, Jesus declared that He would build His church after His resurrection (vs. 18). He
then explained that it would be the apostles who would give them the knowledge of the Kingdom
of God and the true doctrines (hence the significance of “keys”—vs. 19). This commencement of
the Christian religion and the church of Christ would be achieved by means of the apostles
“binding” and “loosing” the doctrinal tenets and principles of Christianity.

During the time after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the process of producing copies of the
various New Testament documents and circulating them far and wide would have been occurring
rapidly and extensively from the very moment of their production by the inspired writers (cf.
Colossians 4:16, 1 Timothy 5:18, where Luke 10:7 is already known and classified as
“Scripture,” and 2 Peter 3:15-16, where Paul’s epistles are already circulated and recognized as
“Scriptures”).

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