New Testament apocrypha lesser extent the Apocalypse of Peter. Considering the generally accepted dates of authorship for all of the canonical New Testament works (ca. 100 CE), as well as the various witnesses to canonicity extant among the writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, etc., the four gospels and letters of Paul were held by the gentile Christian community as scriptural, and 200 years were needed to finalize the canon; from the beginning of the 2nd Century to the mid-4th Century, no book in the final canon was ever declared spurious or heretical, except for the Revelation of John which the Council of Laodicea
Jan Lambrecht (New Testament scholar) Jan Lambrecht (New Testament scholar) Jan Lambrecht (born in Wielsbeke, 1926) is a Belgian Roman Catholic priest of the Society of Jesus, Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Biblical Greek at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium and former member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. As a theologian, biblical scholar, and prolific author, he has contributed numerous studies on almost all the books of the New Testament, but focusing especially on the Gospels and the Pauline letters. His publications include books and articles written in English, Dutch, and French. Lambrecht joined the Society of Jesus in