The Bible is not actually put together in the order the events occurred. Explore the New Testament books of the Bible in chronological order in this timeline.

What Makes the New Testament of the Bible “New”?

400 years after the Old Testament prophets have foretold the coming of a Messiah, their Savior shows up. Not in the form of a powerful king, but as a tiny, homeless baby in a manger.

In the Old Testament, God’s people continually repent of their sins and offer sacrifices for forgiveness, but when Jesus humbly offers his life as the perfect sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins, there is no requirement for future sacrifices. Consequently, our sins have been forgiven!

God desires our hearts, not our perfection–for us to be in a relationship with Him daily, to turn to Him for our needs, and to praise Him in the storm.

The New Testament is “new” because EVERYTHING changed after Jesus’ death and resurrection. His sacrifice trumped any hold sin could ever have on us. Therefore, the New Testament of the Bible is the story of the Gospel (aka The Good News!).

Confused? That’s ok!

Keep reading.

chronological order of the new testament

The New Testament Books of the Bible are NOT in Chronological Order

So if you’re a newbie to learning about the Bible, no worries! The Bible is complex and something you’ll study for the rest of your life.

However, I’d like to help you jump-start your journey by outlining the basic events for you to gain some historical context to what you’re reading. The books of the Bible are grouped into categories, not chronological order. However, the New Testament timeline of events isn’t quite as confusing as the Old Testament.

I’ve created a printable that will walk you through the process in this Old and New Testament Summary and then you can add on the rest of the books of the Bible as you go.

Here are a few tips on the New Testament books before we dive in:

  • Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are all different accounts of the same story: Jesus’ life.
  • Acts is the history of starting the Church after Jesus goes to heaven.
  • Romans – Philemon are letters to churches and Christians from Paul, a missionary.
  • Hebrews – Jude are also letters from other Christian leaders.
  • Revelation is a prophecy that John the Apostle received from Jesus about the end times.
chronological order of the new testament

Learn About the Books of the New Testament in Chronological Order

To help make sense of and simplify the organization of events in the New Testament, I made a printable to cover the main connections between each book of the Bible. You can print it from my shop below:

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So a few years ago, I made this chronological summary and then outlined the Entire Bible! You can grab this chronological summary plus the complete 66 book outlines in this discounted bundle here!

Additionally, you can check out even more posts on Bible study here:

You’ve got this!

Timeline of the New Testament

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