John 21:21, “Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?”
There is considerable debate over the dates of the writing of many New
Testament books. I consulted Unger's Bible Dictionary for some of these
dates.
| N.T. Book | Author | Earliest | Latest | Most Likely |
| Galatians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 48 | A.D. 50 | A.D. 48 |
| 1 Thessalonians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 50 | A.D. 52 | A.D. 51 |
| 2 Thessalonians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 50 | A.D. 52 | A.D. 51 |
| Mark | Mark |
A.D. 45 John Wenham / John A. T. Robinson |
A.D. 60 A. Harnack |
A.D. 48-55 |
| 1 Corinthians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 55 | A.D. 55 | A.D. 55 |
| 2 Corinthians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 56 | A.D. 56 | A.D. 56 |
| Romans | Apostle Paul | A.D. 57 | A.D. 57 | A.D. 57 |
| James |
James (half-brother of Jesus) |
A.D. 38 | A.D. 62 | A.D. 50-60 |
| Luke | Luke | A.D.
57-62 |
A.D.
57-62 |
A.D. 57-62 |
| Ephesians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 |
| Philippians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 |
| Colossians | Apostle Paul | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 |
| Philemon | Apostle Paul | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 | A.D. 60-62 |
| Acts | Luke | A.D. 62-63 | A.D. 62-63 | A.D. 62-63 |
| Titus | Apostle Paul | A.D. 64 | A.D. 66 | A.D. 64 |
| 1 Timothy | Apostle Paul | A.D. 62 | A.D. 64 | A.D. 63 |
| 2 Timothy | Apostle Paul | A.D. 64 | A.D. 67 | A.D. 66 |
| 1 Peter | Apostle Peter | A.D. 63 | A.D. 68 | A.D. 64-67 |
| 2 Peter | Apostle Peter | A.D. 64 | A.D. 68 | A.D. 65-68 |
| Hebrews | Unknown | A.D. 40 | A.D. 69 | A.D. 50-68 |
| Matthew | Apostle Matthew | A.D.
40 John Wenham / John A. T. Robinson |
A.D.
110 Paul Minear |
A.D. 65-70 |
| Jude |
Jude (half-brother of Jesus) |
A.D. 60 | A.D. 85 | A.D. 65-80 |
| John | Apostle John |
A.D. 60's F. Lamar Cribbs |
A.D. 90's |
A.D. 85-90 |
| 1 John | Apostle John |
After the synoptic
Gospels Merrill F. Unger |
A.D. 98 | A.D. 90's |
| 2 John | Apostle John |
After the synoptic
Gospels Merrill F. Unger |
A.D. 98 | A.D. 85-90 |
| 3 John | Apostle John | Unknown | A.D. 98 | A.D. 96 |
| Revelation | Apostle John |
A.D. 81 Merrill F. Unger |
A.D. 97 | A.D. 96 |
The chart is beneficial in helping the diligent Bible student to more deeply understand God's Word. For example: We read in 2nd Timothy 4:10 that Demas forsook the Apostle Paul, having loved this present world. Yet we read in Philemon 1:24 that Demas was a fellow-labourer with Paul. Since we know that the book of Philemon was written in A.D. 60-62, a few years prior to 2nd Timothy in A.D. 64-67, we know that Demas backslide instead of coming back to the Lord.
Yet, interestingly, in Acts 13:13 (written in A.D. 62-63), we read that John Mark abandoned the Apostle Paul at Pamphylia, going back to Jerusalem. Consequently, in Acts 15:36-40, when Paul suggested to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had led people to the Lord, to see how they were doing, Paul refused to allow John Mark to go with them. Barnabas and Paul got into an argument and parted ways. So Barnabas took John mark with him. Yet we learn in 2nd Timothy 4:11 (written in A.D. 64-67) that Paul called John Mark “profitable to me for the ministry.”
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