The Scriptural Chain of Custody

Why Should We Trust It?
Every day, in courtrooms across America, evidence is introduced to make cases of one kind or another. Juries have to assess this evidence and decide for themselves whether or not the evidence is reliable. One of the most important questions the jury has to ask (and answer) is whether or not a particular piece of evidence presented in court is actually the same piece of evidence that was collected from the crime scene.

Let's say that we are at the scene of a murder (as "first-responders") and find that the victim has been shot with a 9mm handgun. A single 9mm bullet 'casing' is lying on the ground next to the victim. Eventually, this bullet casing is going to be collected, tested and presented in court. The casing may end up being the pivotal piece of evidence in our case, connecting the suspect to the murder. How will the jury know (or trust) that this casing is the same casing that was observed at the crime scene?

The Chain of Custody
One way to be certain that the casing is legitimate is to trace the "chain of custody" related to the casing itself. Who touched the casing at the crime scene? Who handled it in the period of time between the collection and the eventual presentation in court? Do we have good reason to believe that the casing was present in the crime scene in the first place? Do we know who handled the casing along the way and what they observed and recorded about the casing at each step of the investigation? A good defense attorney may try to accuse the detectives of inserting the casing into the investigation even though it was never actually present at the scene:

How can we determine that the casing was legitimately at the crime scene in the first place? One way to determine this is to trace back the "chain of custody" and see if each appearance of the casing is dated and chronicled. First, we need good reason to believe that a responding officer observed the casing at the scene and carefully collected it and booked it into evidence. Next, we need good reason to believe that the transition of this casing occurred appropriately as the detectives examined it. We next need to have good reason to believe that the detectives delivered the casing, uncorrupted, to the criminalists for examination and eventually retrieved this evidence for presentation in court. If these conditions can be satisfied, we can trust that the casing is legitimate:

The Scriptural Chain of Custody
It's important to determine the chain of custody related to the casing because it provides us with a level of confidence and trust related to the casing itself and it helps us determine the truth about what happened at the crime scene. Something very similar is needed for us to trust the truth related to the historicity of Jesus and the validity of the Christian Worldview. There is an important category of Christian evidence that must be assessed and traced if we are to have confidence in what we know about Jesus of Nazareth. The validity of the casing was traced from the crime scene to a place of assessment (the court room). The eyewitness accounts related to Jesus (the Gospels) must be traced from the "scene of the crime" (the life of Jesus) to a place of assessment (the Council of Laodicea where early Christians formally assessed which ancient texts were the accurate writings of the eyewitnesses).

Critics of the Gospels (much like defense attorneys) attempt to discredit the Gospel accounts as late additions written by anonymous authors who created the mythology of Jesus at a time when no living eyewitnesses existed to counter the claims of Christianity. These anonymous authors then supposedly foisted the lie upon an unsuspecting and eager group of seekers who took the lies for truth. And thus (say the critics), the story of Jesus and the religion we know as Christianity took flight. These skeptics argue that the Council of Laodicea either formed the canon of Scripture or unknowingly affirmed a lie:

As it turns out, however, the chain of custody related to the eyewitness Gospel accounts is well established. We can examine the chain two thousand years after the fact; a remarkable truth considering the antiquity of the documents. There is simply no other ancient event that has been as well documented and firmly established as the life of Christ. We can trace five evidential trails from the original eyewitnesses to the subsequent believers who transferred the eyewitness accounts. Some of these chains of custody will take us right up to the point in history in which the accounts were finally canonized by the Council of Laodicea.

John's Chain of Custody
The Apostle John (6-100AD) was the youngest of Jesus' disciples. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of James. Unlike all the other Apostles (who died as martyrs), it appears that John lived to approximately 94 years of age and died a natural death. While a young man, John witnessed the life of Jesus and saw firsthand many of the amazing miracles Jesus performed. John also witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus. John clearly saw himself as an eyewitness and recognized the important evidential role that he played:

1 John 1:1-3
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life - and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us…

John wrote the Gospel of John as an eyewitness account that accurately reflected the truth related to what he observed as a disciple of Jesus. This Gospel is a critical piece of evidence from the "crime scene" and John carefully handed it (along with other eyewitness texts that were emerging in the first century) to his own students and disciples:

John taught three important students and passed his Gospel into their trusted hands. These three men (Ignatius, Papias and Polycarp) became important early Church leaders in their own right and wrote about what they learned from John.

John Taught Ignatius
Ignatius (35-117AD) also called himself "Theophorus" (which means "God Bearer"). Not much is known about his early life, although Church tradition describes Ignatius as one of the children that Jesus blessed in the Gospel accounts. We do know, however, that Ignatius was a student of John and eventually became Bishop at Antioch, (Turkey), following the Apostle Peter. He wrote several important letters to the early Church and seven of them survive to this day (six to local Church groups and one to Polycarp). These letters are important to us because they record the fact that the New Testament documents were already written and familiar to the early Christians. Ignatius quoted or alluded to anywhere from 7 to 16 New Testament books (including Matthew, John and Luke, and several (if not all) of Paul's letters). Ignatius provides us with a link in the chain of custody related to the original eyewitness accounts, demonstrating that they were written very early and entrusted directly to key disciples who guarded them as Scripture.

John Taught Papias
Papias (60-135AD) was described by Irenaeus as a "hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, a man of old time". His early life is unknown to us, but we do know that he eventually became the Bishop of Hierapolis (now known as Pamukake in Turkey). He was quite familiar with the oral testimony of the eyewitnesses during the early documentation of their Gospel accounts. These documents were still being written and circulated during Papias' early lifetime. Papias wrote a lengthy five-volume treatise called "Interpretations of the Sayings of the Lord", but this work has been lost to us. What we do know about Papias' work (as it is quoted later by Eusebius), is that it alludes to many Gospel passages and stories. Papias represents another link in the chain of custody, learning from John and the other eyewitnesses and passing this information down to the next generation.

John Taught Polycarp
Polycarp (69-155AD) was a friend of Ignatius and a student of John. Irenaeus later testified that he once heard Polycarp talk about his conversations with John, and Polycarp was known to have been converted to Christianity by the eyewitness Apostles themselves. Polycarp eventually became the Bishop of Smyrna (now known as Izmir in Turkey) and wrote a letter to the Philippians that references from 14 to 16 New Testament books (including Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 1 Peter and 1 John, with some scholars observing additional references to 2 Timothy and 2 Corinthians). Polycarp's letter testifies to the fact that the early texts were in circulation and familiar to the Philippians, making Polycarp's references in his letter all the more meaningful.

These three "Early Church Fathers" existed as the second generation of scriptural stewards, taking the truth of John's eyewitness account (along with many accounts and writings from other eyewitness Apostles) and faithfully guarding the texts from one generation to the next. These men also had followers and disciples who accepted the responsibility of caring for the eyewitness accounts.

Ignatius, Papias and Polycarp Taught Irenaeus
Irenaeus (120-202AD) was born in Smyrna, the city where Polycarp served as Bishop. He was raised in a Christian family and was a "hearer" of Polycarp; he later recalled hearing Polycarp talk about his conversations with the Apostle John. He eventually became a priest (and then the Bishop) of Lugdunum in Gaul (presently known as Lyons, France). Irenaeus matured into a theologian and apologist and wrote an important work called "Adversus Haereses" (Against Heresies). This refined response to the heresy of Gnosticism provided Irenaeus with the opportunity to address the issue of Scriptural authority, and he identified as many as 24 New Testament books as Scripture (including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, 1 Peter, 1 John, 2 John and Revelation). Irenaeus provides us with another link in the chain of custody, affirming the established eyewitness accounts and faithfully preserving them for the next generation.

Irenaeus Taught Hippolytus
Hippolytus (170-236AD) was born in Rome and was a disciple of Irenaeus. As he grew into a position of leadership, he opposed Roman Bishops who modified their beliefs to accommodate the large number of "pagans" who were coming to faith in the city. In taking a stand for orthodoxy, he became known as the first "anti-pope" or "rival pope" in Christian history. He was an accomplished speaker of great learning, influencing a number of important Christian leaders such as Origen of Alexandria (who heard him preaching while he was a presbyter under Pope Zephyrinus). Hippolytus wrote a huge ten-volume treatise called, "Refutation of All Heresies". In this expansive work, Hippolytus identified as many as 24 New Testament books as Scripture (including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 Peter, 1 John, 2 John and Revelation). Unfortunately, Hippolytus was persecuted under Emperor Maximus Thrax and exiled to Sardinia where he most likely died in the mines.

As a result of Hippolytus' exile and martyrdom, this particular chain of custody ends without a clear "next link", although it is certain that Hippolytus had many important students who preserved the Scripture with the same passion he had as a student of Irenaeus. History has not yet revealed the identity of these disciples. One thing we know for sure: the Canon of Scripture was already established in the early 2nd Century, as eyewitness accounts were recorded by the Apostles and handed down to their disciples who wrote about them, described them, and identified them for later generations. Long before the Council of Laodicea, the New Testament was established as a reliable eyewitness account.

Peter's First Chain of Custody
The Apostle Peter (1BC-67AD) was perhaps the oldest of Jesus' disciples. He was also known as Simon Cephas (from the Aramaic version of his name). He was the son of Jonah (John) and was raised in Bethsaida (in Galilee). He was a fisherman (along with his brother Andrew) when he first met Jesus and quickly became a disciple. His story is well known, replete with human failures and triumphs. After the Ascension, Peter established the Church in Antioch and served there as its Bishop for seven years. He eventually travelled to Rome and became Bishop there as well. Early Church witnesses testify to the fact that Mark (Peter's scribe) penned Peter's eyewitness account (the Gospel of Mark), and two letters from the New Testament are also attributed to Peter. The Apostle Peter saw himself as an important eyewitness to the life of Jesus:

1 Peter 5:1
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed…

 

2 Peter 1:16-17
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

Peter recited his eyewitness testimony to Mark (unk -82AD) so that it would survive as an eyewitness account that accurately reflects the truth related to what he observed as a disciple of Jesus. This Gospel (like the Gospel of John) is a critical piece of evidence from the "crime scene", and Peter carefully handed it (along with other eyewitness texts that were emerging in the first century) to his own students and disciples:

Peter passed this important piece of evidence to Mark, who travelled to North Africa and established a community of believers in Alexandria. Mark then made sure that the truth of the account was preserved and handed down to the next generation.

Peter Communicated Through Mark
John Mark is described as an associate of Paul several times in the Scripture. He was the cousin of Barnabas and his childhood home was well known to Peter (Acts 12:12-14). Mark became so close to Peter that the Apostle described him as "his son" (1 Peter 5:13). Early Church leaders and historians (i.e. Papias, Irenaeus, Justin, Clement, Tertullian, Origen) identified Mark as Peter's scribe and confirmed that Mark penned Peter's eyewitness account of Jesus. In addition, the Gospel of Mark is consistent with Peter's outline of the Gospel message as we see it in Acts 1:21-22 and Acts 10:37-41, and contains omissions and inclusions that are consistent with Peter's influence. Peter preserved his eyewitness testimony through his primary disciple and student who then passed it on to the next generation.

Mark Taught Anianus, Avilius, Kedron, Primus and Justus
Mark established the Church in Alexandria and immediately started preaching and baptizing new believers. History records the fact that he had at least 5 disciples and students and these men eventually became Church leaders. Mark discipled and taught Anianus (unk -82AD), Avilius (unk -95AD), Kedron (unk -106AD), Primus (c.40-118AD) and Justus (unk-135AD), passing on his Gospel along with the other early New Testament accounts from Apostolic eyewitnesses. These five men eventually became Bishops of Alexandria (one after the other) following Mark’s death. They faithfully preserved the eyewitness accounts and passed them on, one generation to another.

Justus Passed the Truth to Pantaenus
While Mark was still alive, he appointed his disciple, Justus, as the director of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. This important school became an esteemed place of learning where the eyewitness accounts and Scriptures were collected and guarded. A key figure in the early development of this school was an ex-stoic philosopher who converted to Christianity. His name was Pantaenus. He became an important teacher and missionary, travelling east of Alexandria (perhaps as far as India) and reporting that believers were already established in the east and were using the Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew letters. In any event, Pantaenus provided another important link in the chain of custody because the writing of one of his students survives to this day, chronicling and identifying the books of the New Testament that were already considered sacred.

Pantaenus Taught Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens (150-215AD) was also known as Clement of Alexandria. He was a student of Pantaenus and eventually became the leader of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement was very familiar with the pagan literature of his time and wrote extensively. Three important volumes (the Protrepticus, the Paedagogus and the Stromata) address Christian morality and conduct. Most importantly, Clement discusses the existing Scripture of the time (as it was handed down to him by Pantaenus) and quotes or alludes to all the New Testament books except for Philemon, James, II Peter, II John, and III John. Clement faithfully preserved and transmitted the eyewitness documents to the next generation of believers and Christian leaders.

Clement of Alexandria Taught Origen
Although he is not typically regarded to be a "Church Father", Origen (185-254AD) carefully preserved and identified those ancient eyewitness accounts that were being utilized by the Christian Church around the Mediterranean. He was an Egyptian who came to faith and eventually taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He wrote prolifically and penned commentaries for nearly every book of the Bible. Along the way, he quoted all of the New Testament books. He did express hesitation about James, II Peter, II John, and III John, but included them in his list of reliable orthodox eyewitness documents. Origen plays a pivotal role because he had a number of students who became important links in the chain of custody.

Origen's Work Was Adopted by Pamphilus of Caesarea
In his later life, Origen fled Alexandria (under the persecution of an Arch-Bishop who expelled Origen because he had not been ordained with proper permission) and settled in Caesarea Maritima. Pamphilus also settled in Caesarea Maritima after a long stay in Alexandria where he became devoted to the works of Origen and even wrote a five volume treatise called "Apology for Origen". Pamphilus guarded and defended the work of Origen, accepting as authoritative the same eyewitness accounts of Scripture and expressing this confidence to his own pupils.

Pamphilus of Caesarea Taught Eusebius
One of Pamphilus' students was Eusebius of Caesarea (263-339AD), a man who later became an important Church historian and Church Father, and a devoted student who documented Pamphilus' career in a three volume work called "Vita". Eusebius was a prolific writer and much of his work survives to this day, including his "Church History". A close survey of Eusebius' work reveals that he recognized and identified 26 New Testament books as Scripture. He strongly affirmed Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation, and he also included additional books that were contested: James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John.

This chain of Scriptural custody, from Peter to Eusebius, brings us to the doorstep of the Council of Laodicea, and it is clear that the eyewitness accounts and writings of the Apostles had already been collected, preserved and transmitted from generation to generation well before the Council expressed its opinion about the Canon of the New Testament. The chain of custody preserved the primacy and scared importance of the eyewitness documents and delivered them faithfully to those who would later identify them publicly.

Peter's Second Chain of Custody
The Apostle Peter (1BC-67AD) had a powerful influence on the young Church and it's emerging leaders. His impact as an eyewitness, teacher and mentor was profound. While there were undoubtedly numerous early leaders who devoted themselves to his teaching and faithfully guarded the eyewitness account he provided to Mark, many of the direct relationships between teacher and student have been lost. We do, however, know of at least two chains of custody that can be traced from Peter (as an eyewitness) to the later Councils that identified Mark's Gospel as a reliable eyewitness account. One of these is the chain we've already described (from Peter to Eusebius), the other is a chain that links Peter to a number of leaders who lived beyond the dating of the Councils.

Peter eventually travelled from Antioch to Rome and became the Bishop there. This initiated a succession of Popes that continues to this day. Each Pope in the sequence surely embraced the eyewitness accounts established by Peter and transmitted them from Pope to Pope, but we have no existing records that document this concretely, and few writings from the early Popes that illuminate their positions related to what they considered to be authoritative and reliable. History was kinder, however, to the relationships of Mark and the writings of these men who faithfully guarded the eyewitness accounts. We do have some information about what these early Church Fathers accepted as Scripture and passed along the chain of custody.

The Scripture Was Guarded from Peter to Origen
Just as we previously observed, Peter (1BC-67AD) taught Mark (c.15-68AD), and Mark taught Anianus (c.10-82AD), Avilius (c.20-95AD), Kedron (c.40-106AD), Primus (c.40-118AD) and Justus (unk-135AD). All these disciples eventually took over as Bishop of Alexandria following Mark’s death. Justus was appointed by Mark as the director of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. This school then blossomed under the leadership of Pantaenus (unk-200AD). Pantaenus taught Clement of Alexandria (150-215AD), and Clement taught Origen (185-254AD). These men acted as faithful links in the chain that preserved the eyewitness accounts from the 1st Century to the middle of the 3rd Century.

Origen Taught Dionysius of Alexandria
Origen was a prolific theological writer and he influenced a large number of men who would eventually become leaders in their own right. Like Pamphilus of Caesarea, Dionysius of Alexandria (unk -265AD) also became a student and disciple of Origen. Dionysius was born to a wealthy family of non-believers and was known to spend his days reading and studying the theological positions and traditions of heretics. He didn't become a Christian until later in life, and after his conversion he utilized this interest in heresy to defend the Christian faith. He eventually became the Bishop of Alexandria and wrote a number of letters to bishops and clergymen. He wrote extensively about the Gospel of Luke, The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. In the process of penning these letters and works, Dionysius quoted all of the New Testament books. Dionysius served, therefore, as yet another link in the chain of custody, confirming the eyewitness accounts that had been handed down from Peter and Mark.

Dionysius Passed the Truth from Maximus to Athanasius
Dionysius became the Bishop of Alexandria and faithfully entrusted the eyewitness accounts and writings to those who followed him in that critical position. Dionysius of Alexandria was succeeded by Maximus (unk-282AD), Theonas (unk-300AD), Peter (unk-311AD), Achillas (unk-313AD), Alexander I (unk-328AD) and then Athanasius of Alexandria (293-373AD). Athanasius, like many of the Bishops that preceded him, received his theological training in Alexandria. He became an important Bishop because he eventually travelled to the first Council of Nicaea and argued against Arius, the heretical teacher who initiated the controversy of Arianism that caused the Council to form in the first place. Athanasius wrote many important documents confronting heresy, letters to associates and even a biography of Anthony the Great. Athanasius became Bishop at Alexandria in 325AD and on Easter, 367AD, he wrote his "39th Festal Letter", providing a list of Scripture that he believed to be from reliable eyewitnesses, given his position in the chain of custody. This letter identified the 27 books of the New Testament Canon precisely as we know them today. The Alexandrian chain of custody from Mark to Athanasius takes us from the eyewitness (Peter) to the time of the hearing (the Council of Laodicea) and affirms the fact that the eyewitness accounts existed early and were faithfully transmitted from one generation to the next.

Athanasius of Alexandria Communicated the Truth to Didymus the Blind
We can take one additional step, however, as we connect the link in this Alexandrian chain of custody. History has preserved one more teacher / student relationship in which scriptural lists were recorded. Athanasius of Alexandria was an associate of Didymus the Blind (313-398AD) and appointed him to lead the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Didymus had been blind from the time he was very young and, as a result, he was largely untrained. In spite of this, Didymus showed an exceptional ability to learn geometry and dialectics. He became a remarkable theologian and eventually became the director of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He remained in this position for nearly 50 years, during which time he wrote numerous important commentaries and works. Along the way, he quoted from or alluded to all the New Testament books except for Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John. It is clear, even beyond the Council of Laodicea, that the generational links in the chain of custody continued to preserve and guard the reliable eyewitness accounts of Scripture.

Paul's First Chain of Custody
The Apostle Paul (5-67AD) wrote the largest portion of the New Testament and was closely associated with several key Apostles, historians and eyewitnesses who helped to document and guard the Scripture we have today. Luke, for example, was a meticulous historian with access to the eyewitnesses and a personal involvement in the history of the New Testament Church. Paul wrote his own letters and quoted Luke's version of the Gospel along the way (1 Timothy 5:17-18 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Those who knew Paul, most likely were familiar with the writing of Luke, his close associate, coworker and friend.

Paul also described himself as an eyewitness who had a personal encounter with Jesus that was every bit as real as the more lengthy relationships held by other apostles. Paul said that he also observed the resurrected Jesus:

1 Corinthians 15: 3-8
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep ; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

Paul had several key students and disciples who protected and transmitted his writings (along with the emerging writings of other eyewitnesses, including Luke), to the next generation of Christian leaders:

Paul's chain of custody is much harder to trace historically than those of Peter, but we can follow Paul's influence through the early leadership in Rome to places as far away as Syria.

Paul Taught Linus and Clement of Rome
Paul spent his later years in Rome under house arrest awaiting trial. During this time he had free access to other believers and taught many men who would eventually lead the Church. Two of these men are known to us specifically. Irenaeus described Linus as one of Paul's a coworkers (mentioned specifically in 2 Timothy 4:21 along with Eubulus, Pudens and Claudia). He was born in Tuscony to Herculanus and Claudia, and became the Pope of Rome following the deaths of Peter and Paul. History is unclear on the precise order of Popes in these first years and some early records indicate that Clement of Rome may have preceded Linus. Clement was also a coworker of Paul (mentioned specifically in Philippians 4:3) and he became an important assistant to Paul and Peter in the first years in Rome. In fact, Peter appears to have elevated both Linus and Clement to positions of leadership so that he could focus on prayer and preaching. Clement wrote several letters and one of these letters (the First Epistle of Clement) survives as the earliest Christian document outside the New Testament. Clement's writings display a familiarity with the emerging eyewitness accounts. Clement quoted or alluded to 7 New Testament Books (Mark, Matthew or John, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians) as he penned his work. While Clement certainly wrote much more than this and may have affirmed an even larger number of texts, his surviving work exists as another link in the chain of custody that acknowledged the delivery of the eyewitness accounts and letters to the next generation.

Clement Passed the Truth from Evaristus to Pius
Linus and Clement of Rome established the lineage of Bishops who followed Paul (and Peter) at Rome. They taught, discussed and passed the eyewitness Scripture along to their successors, from Evaristus (unk-105AD) to Alexander I (unk-115AD) to Sixtus I (unk-125AD) to Telesphorus (unk-136AD) to Hyginus (unk-140AD), to Pius I (90-154AD). These men were raised and taught to appreciate and honor the primacy of the eyewitness accounts and they understood the importance of guarding these accounts for future generations.

Pius I and Justin Martyr Guarded the Accounts
In the early years of the Christian Church, the city of Rome was filled with men who either came to faith there (under the preaching of the Apostles or their disciples), or men who travelled there after coming to faith somewhere else in the Roman Empire. One such man, Justin of Caesarea, became an important philosopher and contributor to the history of Christianity. Justin Martyr (103-165AD) was one of the earliest Christian apologists. He was born in Flavia Neapolis (now called Nablus, in Palestine) to Greek parents. He was raised as a pagan and called himself a Samaritan, but he studied philosophy and eventually converted to Christianity. He taught Christian doctrine in Rome during Pius I’s pontificate. He wrote several voluminous and important works, including the "First Apology", "Second Apology" and the "Dialogue with Trypho". In these early texts, Justin Martyr quotes or alludes to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Revelation. While we don't have surviving writings from some of the earliest Bishops and Popes of Rome (including Pius I), Justin Martyr provides us with a contemporary glimpse of how these men viewed the eyewitness accounts and guarded them for the future.

Justin Taught Tatian
Not everyone who played a role in the scriptural chain of custody was orthodox in their beliefs. Many recognized (and wrote about) the eyewitness accounts, while misinterpreting them for themselves and their followers. Tatian the Assyrian (120-180AD) was one such example. Tatian was born (and probably died) in Assyria (no surprise there). He came to Rome, however, for some period of time and studied the Old Testament. He was disturbed by the pagan cults he saw all around him and was convinced by the Jewish Scripture that these cults were false. He met and became a student of Justin Martyr and converted to Christianity. He studied in Rome with Justin for many years and eventually opened a Christian school there. Over time, he developed a strict form of Christianity that forbade marriage and the eating of meat. When Justin died, Tatian was driven from the Church in Rome. He travelled to Syria to "reform" the Church there and eventually wrote his most famous contribution, the "Diatessaron", a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", that recognized the existence of the four eyewitness accounts of the Gospels, even as it sought to harmonize them and combine them into one document. The earliest traditions of the Church in Syria (traced back to Tatian and as recorded in the Syriac Doctrine of Addai) identified an early canon that included the Diatessaron, the letters of Paul and the Book of Acts. Tatian's work, combined with this ancient canonical list, acknowledges the early formation of the Canon of the New Testament in the chain of custody from Paul to the late 2nd Century.

History does not provide us with precise information about the next link in this particular chain of custody. Some scholars have argued that Tatian may have resided for a time in Greece or Alexandria following his known departure from Rome, and it is possible that he may have taught Clement of Alexandria during this period. Epiphanius (the Church Father and Bishop of Salamis) wrote that Tatian started a school in Mesopotamia and that this school influenced Christian students across the region from Antioch to Cilicia and Pisidia. In any case, we do know that this first chain of custody from Paul acknowledges the fact that the eyewitness accounts were treated as sacred Scripture from a very early time and were handed down with care from one generation to another. All of this happened many years before any Council determined what would officially become the New Testament record.

Paul's Second Chain of Custody
Paul had more than one student and disciple in the years he was in captivity in Rome. These early students of Paul learned the truth about the life of Jesus and embraced the reliable eyewitness documents along with the orthodox teaching of Paul. The disciples of Paul also had students of their own in the generation that followed the martyrdom of the original eyewitnesses. Not all of these second and third generation students remained orthodox in their beliefs, however. Some of these later students went on to become important orthodox believers and leaders, but others started off in an orthodox direction, only to later misinterpret the words of Scripture and begin leading heretical movements. Many of these second and third generation Christians utilized the same Scripture that was being used by more orthodox groups, and while the theology of these men was errant, they still provide us with important information about the chain of custody of Scripture. One example of this is the second chain of custody that can be linked to Paul:

This relatively short lineage demonstrates yet another path through which the Canon of the New Testament was passed from generation to generation on its way to final approval at the Council of Laodicea.

Paul Taught Theudas
In addition to Linus and Clement, Paul taught someone for whom we have very little historical information. Theudas is historically known as a Christian "Gnostic" based not on any existing writings or information we have about the life of Theudas, but instead on the disciples that seem to have emerged from his teaching. All we know about Theudas is that he was a follower of Paul of Tarsus. How it is that his followers became heretical is difficult to ascertain, but we do know that they did so in spite of the fact that they had the eyewitness accounts that were provided by Paul and handed down through Theudas.

Theudas Taught Valentinus
Most of what little we do know about Theudas comes from what we know about one of his disciples. History recognizes Valentinus (100-160AD) as perhaps the most successful and well known early Christian Gnostic leader. He was born in the area of the Nile delta and educated in Alexandria. As a student of Theudas, Valentinus eventually travelled to Rome and started a school. He claimed that he possessed secret knowledge from Theudas that came directly from the teaching of Paul. He nearly became the Bishop of Rome, but when he was not selected, he started his own religious movement. While brilliant and eloquent, Valentinus became heretical after his rejection as Bishop. Using the same eyewitness writings that other orthodox believers utilized, he argued that he possessed the secret wisdom that Paul described in Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 and that Luke described in Acts 9:9-10. Even though Valentinus held heretical beliefs, he did at least act as a link in the chain of custody that delivered the eyewitness accounts and writings to the next generation.

Valentinus Taught Ptolemy
Valentinus taught three students and passed on the reliable eyewitness documents to these men (even though they also followed Valentinus' heretical interpretations). Ptolemy (90-168AD) was one of these disciples. Not much is known about this early Gnostic leader, aside from the fact that he eventually came to be associated with the "Western School of Valentinian Gnosticism". He wrote many letters and documents, and we still have access to a fragment preserved by Irenaeus and a letter he wrote to an orthodox Christian named "Flora". In the surviving documents we have from Ptolemy, we can see that he either quoted from or alluded to Matthew, Romans, 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. It's clear that the disciples of Valentinus had access to the eyewitness accounts and considered them to be divinely inspired.

Valentinus Taught Heracleon
Heracleon (unk -190) was also a disciple of Valentinus and Origen described him as Valentinus' most revered and well known student. It is unclear where Heracleon was born, and his writings are largely lost to us. But we are fortunate to be able to examine much of what he wrote by studying the writings of those who quoted him. Both Origen and Clement of Alexandria quote Heracleon extensively in their own works, identifying Heracleon as perhaps the earliest commentator on the New Testament Gospels and Letters. By examining the writings of those who followed Heracleon, we can see that he either quoted from or alluded to John, Matthew, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Timothy and possibly Galatians. Like Ptolemy, Heracleon guarded what he considered to be sacred Scripture, and while his comments and interpretations may have been unorthodox, his stewardship of the texts preserved them for the next generation.

Valentinus Taught Marcus
Valentinus also discipled a student named Marcus (unk -230) who was a contemporary of Irenaeus and eventually formed his own religious sect of "Marcosian Gnostics". This sect thrived well into the 2nd Century, and Marcus wrote a rather long treatise called "Adversus Haereses", defending his teaching and his school. In this document, Marcus quotes from or alludes to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, in addition to one or more of Paul's letters. Marcus is yet another link in the chain of custody that streamed from Valentinus into subsequent Gnostic believers. While these believers added a number of late Gnostic texts to their own heretical canon, they recognized, quoted and preserved the orthodox eyewitness accounts as well.

History has obscured the next generation of disciples from this chain of custody (perhaps because these heretical groups were eventually marginalized into obscurity). If we were to reference the writings of these Valentinian Gnostics, along with the additional Valentinian Gnostic documents recovered from the collection at Nag Hammadi (The Gospel of Truth, The Gospel of Philip and the Treatise on Resurrection) we would find quotes or allusions to 16 New Testament books (including the four Gospels, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation). This chain of custody demonstrates once again that the New Testament documents were already known to early Christians in the 2nd Century.

The Cumulative Chain of Custody
It is reasonable to conclude that the eyewitness accounts and writings of the New Testament were written early, treated as Scripture and protected from one generation to another long before any Church Council had the chance to discuss which books ought to be included in the Bible. In this brief examination of the history of believers and the role that teachers and students had in transferring Scripture from one generation to the other, we can see that many early Christians possessed, cherished and taught about the early eyewitness accounts:

While we don't have a clear picture of the chain of custody related to the Gospel of Matthew, we do have historic connections available for the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Mark (through Peter) and the Gospel of Luke (through Paul). In addition, we can also trace Paul's writings through two separate chains of custody. In the 363 years prior to the first Council that was called to address the matter of the Christian Canon of Scripture, hundreds of Christian leaders possessed and wrote about the eyewitness accounts. The vast majority of these early Church writings are now lost to us, but those writings that do remain give us good reason to trust that our New Testament documents are the accurate record of the original eyewitnesses:

We can see that first century leaders, such as Clement, already acknowledged the existence of many New Testament documents. We possess so little from each early Church Father that it is difficult to know how many more New Testament documents they might have quoted in their writings, but through the years preceding the Councils, Christian leaders quoted from all the New Testament documents. This vast testimony to the early existence of the New Testament record is verified in a number of significant ways:

A Number of Different Books
Each early Church leader quotes from or alludes to a number of New Testament writings, but these Church leaders don't refer to the SAME New Testament documents, even when the leaders worked and wrote at the same time. In fact, some of these leaders also utilized a few first century documents that were not from eyewitnesses (like the Shepherd of Hermas) as part of their ministry. The overlapping agreement on the New Testament documents however, testifies that the record was available very early, some pieces being quoted by one leader, and some pieces being quoted by another.

By a Number of Different Leaders
The variety of leaders who quote from, allude to, or simply list the New Testament writings is comprehensive. While it is reasonable and likely that hundreds, if not thousands, of early Church leaders wrote about the eyewitness documents, most of these early Christian letters and works have been lost or destroyed. But we do have evidence from the 16 Church leaders we've examined in these five chains of custody, and many of them refer to every book of the New Testament.

From a Number of Original Apostolic Sources
These Church leaders did not descend from a single Apostolic source. While all of the Apostles worked to share the truth as eyewitnesses, only some of them took the time to write their testimony, and only some of them discipled students who later became leaders in the Church. The 16 surviving sources of information about the formation of the New Testament emerge from three separate Apostolic sources, and these sources happen to agree about the identity of the reliable eyewitness accounts.

In a Number of Different Locations
The early Church leaders emerged in a variety of locations across and around the Mediterranean. Even though their geographic location was diverse and spanned regions from France to Rome, Turkey, Syria, Caesarea and Alexandria, the same eyewitness records emerged as the attested, reliable testimony of the New Testament.

With a Number of Differing Theological Positions
These early leaders seldom agreed on anything aside from the fact that the New Testament documents were the work of reliable Apostolic eyewitnesses. In fact, some of these leaders were completely heretical in their theological views, even though they faithfully guarded the eyewitness Scripture.

History has testified to the early existence and eyewitness reliability of the New Testament. The cumulative chain of custody is personally, geographically, and theologically diverse, yet affirms the same set of documents. This diversity is exactly what prosecutors are looking for when determining if eyewitnesses should be trusted in any court of law. Coming from such diverse backgrounds, the fact that these sources agree on the New Testament Canon affirms the reliability of their testimony and the reliability of the documents they preserved.

Delivered To the Courtroom
Long before the first councils were formed to determine the precise list of documents that would forever form the New Testament, early Church leaders and theologians were identifying and utilizing lists of their own. The councils of the early Church did not CREATE the Canon, they simply RECOGNIZED and AFFIRMED the Canon.

The Council of Laodicea
This council was a regional synod that involved approximately 30 clerics from the area of Asia Minor. In 363 AD they declared that only the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches.

The Council of Hippo
This council was also a regional synod involving a council of bishops. It was held in Hippo Regius in Northern Africa. The first of four meetings occurred in 393AD and the bishops identified and affirmed the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.

The conclusions of the Church Councils of Laodicea and Hippo are not trustworthy because they were the result of thorough, discerning scholarship (although they were), they are not trustworthy because they were the result of geographically diverse and respectful meetings (although they were), they are not trustworthy because they were the result of lengthy examinations of the evidence (although they were). The conclusions of the Church Councils can be trusted because the "Scriptural Chain of Custody" was preserved and available to the men who we far closer to the eyewitnesses than we are today. We can trust the New Testament because we can still trace the ancient documents back to the eyewitnesses. The Church Councils just happen to have recognized that this was (and is), in fact, the case.