"What constitutes Scripture?" ~Aquinasfan
See my previous post, whic shows that it is Jesus = The Living Scripture - The Living Word that dwells in ALL true Christians, and IN PRINT:
New Testament Canon:
In A.D. 367 the Thirty-ninth Paschal Letter of Athanasius contained an
exact list of the twenty-seven New Testament books we have today. This was
the list of books accepted by the churches in the eastern part of the
Mediterranean world.
Thirty years later, in A.D. 397, the Council of Carthage, representing the
churches in the western part of the Mediterranean world, agreed with the
eastern churches on the same list. These are the earliest final lists of
our canon of Scripture.
"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...". [Heb. 1:1-2]
God's speaking to us by his Son is the culmination of his speaking to
mankind and is his greatest and final revelation to mankind.
(The exceptional greatness of the revelation that comes through the Son,
far exceeds any revelation in the Old Covenant as noted over and over again
in the first and second chapters of Hebrews.)
Once the writings of the New Testament apostles and their authorized
companions were completed, we have everything that God wants us to know
about the life, death, & resurrection of Christ, and its meaning for the
lives of believers for all time. In this way Hebrews 1 & 2 shows us why no
more writings can be added to the Bible after the time of the New
Testament. The canon is now closed.
Old Testament Canon:
“Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Jesus] expounded unto them in
all the Scripture the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:24; cf. Rom. 1:2)
The entire OT canonical Scriptures are deemed in the following way:
1) the prophets; 2) Moses and the prophets; 3) Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms.
Augustine so shows this in his writings against Cresconius the grammarian:
“Not without cause was the canon of the church framed with so salutary a
vigilance, that certain books of the prophets and apostles should belong to
it.” (Lib. 2. cap. 31);
also “Let them shew us their church, not in the rumors of the Africans, but
in the injunction of the Law, in the predictions of the prophets, in the
songs of the Psalms; that is, in all the canonical authorities of the
sacred books.” (De Unit. Eccles. C. 16.)
That the apocryphal books were not written by the prophets are clear and
certain.
All confess that Malachi was the last Jewish prophet. Between Malachi and
John the Baptist, no other Jewish prophet arose, but the writers of the
apocryphal books lived after Malachi.
The Major premise rests on Scripture: Peter says the OT is the “prophetic
word.” (2 Peter 1:19);
Paul calls it the “scriptures of the prophets” (Romans 16:26);
Zacharias the priest says “As he spake by the mouths of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began.” (Luke 1:70);
“They have Moses and the Prophets” as Abraham said (Luke 18:39);
Heb. 1:1, “God spake in divers manners by the prophets.”;
the church is built upon the “apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20);
“All things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in
the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me:” and it follows
immediately, “And he opened their understanding, that they might understand
the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:44-45);
Paul asks Agrippa, “Believest thou the prophets?” that is the Scriptures.
(Acts 26:27);
When Paul dealt with the Jews at Rome he tried to convince them “out of the
law of Moses and the prophets.” (Acts 28:23).
From these we see that the major assertion is true, that the whole OT was
given to us by God’s prophets.
There is no part of the OT which was not given by the prophets.
And they contain the "Apocrypha" or Deuterocanonical books of the OT: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch and 1 and 2 Maccabees.
Third Council of CarthageThe story in 2 Macabbees 7 of the mother who watches her 7 sons tortured to death while hoping in their resurrection is mentioned in Paul's Scriptural recapitulation of salvation history.Canon 24. Besides the canonical Scriptures, nothing shall be read in church under the name of divine Scriptures. Moreover, the canonical Scriptures are these: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, the four books of the Kings,(a) the two books of Chronicles, Job, the Psalms of David, five books of Solomon,(b) the book of the Twelve [minor] Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Tobias, Judith, Esther, the two books of Ezra,(c) and the two books of the Maccabees. The books of the New Testament: the Gospels, four books; the Acts of the Apostles, one book; the epistles of the apostle Paul, thirteen; of the same to the Hebrews, one epistle; of Peter, two; of John the apostle, three; of James, one; of Jude, one; the Revelation of John. Concerning the confirmation of this canon, the Church across the sea shall be consulted. On the anniversaries of martyrs, their acts shall also be read.(d)
Hebrews 11:35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.