The New Church (Swedenborgian) among the books of the New Testament includes only the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Book of Revelation. Only these books contain an internal symbolism in a series, and are thus divinely inspired. Although this leaves out the Book of Acts and the letters of the apostles, the New Church holds them in esteem similar to that of the Jews for the Writings of the Old Testament. Swedenborg stated that these books were included as an act of divine providence, as books explaining Christian doctrine were needed for the general public. Paul's letters, although not containing a
Twentieth Century New Testament Westcott and Hort text of the Greek New Testament, further adding to the accuracy of their rendering. In a break with most translations, the TCNT arranges the New Testament books in the order scholars believe they were written -- Mark comes before Matthew, for instance. They also include brief introductions before each book. Because of the translators' meticulous attention to the best scholarship of their day, Bruce Metzger concluded that their version still holds up remarkably well today, despite the lapse of over 100 years. A modern revision of the TCNT called the Open English Bible was released in 2010