Hebrew Epistles Timeline

The following is one PROPOSED timeline for the Hebrew (Tribulation) epistles:

Hebrews was written during the Acts period and before 70 AD and we know this because Jerusalem had not been destroyed when it was written (Heb 10:11).

James was probably written shortly after Acts (Jam 1:1) which would date it in the early 60’s AD.

Most commentators date 1 Peter in the 60’s AD, but it was written earlier than that.  There is internal evidence that he wrote this epistle no earlier than Acts 11 (1 Pet 4:16; Acts 11:26).

Peter wrote 2 Peter not long before his death (2 Pet 1:12-15; Jn 21:18-19).  It was likely written toward the end of the Acts period, in the early 60’s AD.  By the time Peter wrote this epistle, Paul had already written a number of his.  Paul wrote Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Romans, and 1 & 2 Corinthians during the Acts period.  The saints recognized his writings as scripture (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 3:16).  That Peter knew of Paul’s ministry does not mean that he changed his. He continued as an apostle to the circumcision and wrote his last epistle to confirm that their prophetic kingdom program will be fulfilled (2 Pet 1:10-21; 3:8-14).

It is commonly believed that all of John’s writings were written very late in the first century and were the last books to be written (85-95 AD).  There is absolutely no biblical proof to support that claim.  The gospel of John was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (see Jn 5:2).  Tradition says that John was exiled by the Roman emperor to the isle of Patmos in 95 AD, but that is not why John said he was there (Rev 1:9).  It is likely that John wrote all of his books during the Acts period.

1 John is not addressed to anyone in particular as the other two are (2 Jn 1:1; 3 Jn 1:1).  John calls his readers “little children” nine times in his first epistle.  He wrote to the children of the kingdom (Matt 18:1-14; Jn 13:33).  In the transition period of the book of Acts, there were two distinct groups of believers:  the kingdom church and the Body of Christ.  One group was fading out while the other was fading in.

The epistles of 2 and 3 John are the two shortest books in the Bible.  They are similar in style and were obviously written by the same writer who wrote 1 John.  They are appendices to the first epistle.  The doctrine of 1 John is applied to the home (2 Jn 1:10) and the local assembly (3 Jn 1:9-10).  The dispensational setting is the same.  It is aimed primarily at the tribulation saints living during the last days of Israel’s prophetic kingdom program.

Jude was written during the Acts period to the same people that the other Hebrew epistles are written to.

The traditional view that the book of Revelation was written in about 95 AD cannot be proven by the word of God.  The apostle Paul wrote the last book of the Bible (Col 1:25), not the apostle John.  Why was John in the isle of Patmos?  Tradition says he was banished there by the Roman Emperor in 95 AD and that while there, God gave him this book.  Everything we need to understand the Bible is contained in the Bible.  The Bible interprets itself.  John plainly stated why he was there (v.2, 9).  God sent him there to receive this revelation (probably during Acts period) just like He sent Paul into Arabia to receive revelations for this present age.