The concept of authorities as used in this question is, of course, open to interpretation. He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ. Did the same john write the gospels and revelation. In the case of revelation, many modern scholars agree that it was written by a separate author, john of patmos, c. So i was puzzled to see that both books cite zachariah 12. John is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. So it is not surprising to find in the new testament not only a gospel but also the book of revelation and three letters, all written by someone named john. Finally, while there is little to commend the notion that a shadowy figure named john the elder wrote the book of revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by john the apostle. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. Feb 06, 2019 john is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. Refuting the fullpreterist view that the gospel john was written in ad 61, revelation in ad 62 and died before ad 66.
Fullpreterists say date the writing of john, 1 st john, 2 nd john to ad 61 and 3 rd john, revelation to ad 62. Whether the actual saint wrote wordfor word, whether a student did some later editing, or whether a student actually wrote what had been taught by the saint, we must remember the texts whole and. Some modern higher critical scholars have raised the possibility that john the apostle, john the evangelist, and john of patmos were three separate individuals. Gospel of john simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is also noteworthy that like the gospel of john, revelation is a literary masterpiece. Throughout this gospel, the numerous details indicate the author was an eyewitness. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. Therefore the purpose of john s gospel is to confirm and secure christians in the faith. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. Traditionally, this was often believed to be the same person as john, son of zebedee, one of the apostles of jesus, to whom the gospel of john was also attributed. Eusebius asserted papias referred to two johns and the second wrote revelation.
Who wrote gospel of john, epistles of john and the revelation. Irenaeus identified the author of the fourth gospel as st. But john, the last of all, seeing that what was corporeal was set forth in the gospels, on the entreaty of his intimate friends, and inspired by the spirit, composed a spiritual gospel. So it is extremely unlikely that the same person wrote all of these books.
In his book jesus of nazareth, pope benedict takes up the question of who wrote johns gospel and proposes a solution that other scholars have advocated. We do know that someone called john wrote the book of revelation because he actually signed the book. Others have highlighted what they see as differences in the text between the book of revelation and john s gospel, but there are many similarities as well. Did the same person write the gospel of john and the book. This has been a question at the back of my mind for some time and its great to hear your reasons for believing john to be the author. With the book of revelation, the reason for the identification was simple. The gospel of john appears to have been written during the early part of the second century. Only in these two books is jesus called the logos in the nt.
Was the book of revelation written before the gospel of john. Many contemporary biblical scholars believe that the writer of the letters was not the author of the gospel. The gospel of john is the latest written of the four biographies of jesus that have been preserved in the new testament. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. He wrote it when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of rome on the remote desert penal colony of patmos, an island in the aegean sea. The early2ndcentury writer, justin martyr, was the first to equate the author of revelation with john the evangelist. John wrote revelation when he was a prisoner on the isle of patmos for preaching about jesus revelation 1. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. We may never know when the book of revelation was written, but it does seem to have been written. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. The revelation of jesus christ to his servant john. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself only as john.
Compare the writing styles the gospel of john and the revelation to john are written in two completely different writing styles. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Yet only onethe gospel of john claims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. He does so based on the instruction of his teacher, st. For 1,700 years scholars have struggled with a quotation of papias given by eusebius. Some critics, eager to look for cracks in the evidence, will note that the greek of johns gospel and epistles is a different quality than the greek of johns revelation. Eusebius argued that john wrote in order to complement the synoptics where they were lacking, while the muratorian canon suggested that his fellow disciples in asia minor urged him to write an account. Revelation is written in much poorer greek than the gospel and letters are, and. It appears that john may have been written in the mid80s to early 90s as he may have served as pastor of the church of ephesus. It is often called the apocalypse, which is its title in greek, signifying revelation, canonical authority and authorship. Summarizing some of the points of continuity between the gospel of john and the book of revelation may be helpful. The gospel of john does not mention james or john by name but just refers to the sons of zebedee. No mention of future destruction of jerusalem, which for fullpreterists is odd, since john writes the entire book of revelation about it and the topic would be front and center on his mind that is only 24 year away.
From the latter part of the second century it was assumed that the fourth gospel, the letters of john and the book of revelation were all written by john the son of zebedee. Revelation is written in much poorer greek than the gospel and letters are, and it even spells the name jerusalem in greek differently than the gospel does. Apr, 2011 added to this, there is undeniable commonality in the symbolic use of the number seven that transcends its literal meaning. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. I when i was new to the bible i always supposed the gospel of john and revelation were written by the same person.
The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. This would push the date for the gospel of john out to ad 64 or 65. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelationhas been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad. We may never know for certain who wrote the gospel of john, any more than. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. What are some internal lingusticliterary arguments for and against the john who wrote the gospel of john and and the john who wrote revelation being one and the same. Who wrote gospel of john, epistles of john and the. The early church fathers, after disputing who this john really was, finally decided to include revelation in case the author was the apostle john, son of zebedee. Did the same john write the fourth gospel and revelation. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final.
Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. Introduction to the gospel of john study resources. The purpose of this gospel, as stated by john himself, is to show that jesus of nazareth was christ, the son of god, and that believers in him might have eternal life. Among early christians, john was a favorite name, especially since one of jesus disciples was named john. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. But it is clear that johns gospel and the book of revelation were completed, by one or more of johns disciples, sometime after johns death.
Identifying john as the author of the apocalypse goes a long way toward shutting the door to speculations that revelation was a late. Nov 01, 2012 this, as well as literary similarities between the gospel and the epistles of john, suggest a common author. When the apostle john wrote revelation, he began with. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. The greek title is literally the apocalypse of john or the revelation to john.
One gigantic correlation between the gospel of john and revelation is johns disciple johns record of jesuss encounter with john the baptist. The writing of the new testament john and revelation. So how can we know that the apostle john wrote the fourth gospel. Thank you very much for your recent post about whether the apostle john was the author of the gospel of john. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. If so, john penned much of the new testament, with only paul and luke writing more than him. In the gospel of john, for example, jesus spoke to his disciples about loving one another and about the marks of a true disciple. The very fact that the author of the apocalypse simply calls himself john is a dead giveaway that he was well known throughout the churches in asia minor. Most definitely the gospel of john was written before the destruction of jerusalem ad 70 as references are made within the book to structures existing before that siege of jerusalem. These scholars assert that john of patmos wrote revelation but neither the gospel of john nor the epistles of john. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. So, were the gospel according to john and the book of revelation written by the same author, or not. If the testimony that the apostle john wrote the book of revelation is so early and so strong, why is there a debate about it.
The gospel of john tells many of the stories of jesus life that are in the other three gospels, but also contains a lot of different information. The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation. It comes down to the fact that the style and grammar are so different from the gospel of john, that it is hard to see how the same person could have written both revelation and john. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself as john, and the book has been traditionally credited to. Paul, luke and john all wrote a fair bit of the new testament. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. Who wrote the gospel of john learn about the author of this biblical book and study his call to. He also wrote the last book of the new testament, called the book of revelation. The gospel of john is believed to have been written by a deciple of john the apostle. Most evidence that supports another author other than john is based on the differences between john s gospel and the book of revelation. Also when scholars study the writing style of the gospel, the epistle and revelation they believe the same author probably wrote both the gospel and the epistle, but revelation was written by some one else.
In any case, they say it is clear that the two books had completely. Preface the identity of papias elder john is critical to the apostolic authorship of both revelation and the gospel of john. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. In our previous articles, we looked at evidence for mark and matthews authorship as well as lukes. Some critics, eager to look for cracks in the evidence, will note that the greek of john s gospel and epistles is a different quality than the greek of john s revelation. John lived a long life and was imprisoned on the island of patmos in his old age. The continuity between the work his disciples did on the gospel and their work on revelation suggests that they were translating revelation just as they had translated the gospel. Apr 23, 2018 as with the other new testament gospels, john was originally anonymous, so we are not constrained to looking for a date of authorship within the plausible lifespan of an apostle. Feb 20, 2017 provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises john wrote the revelation heavenly gospel singers heavenly gospel singers vol. Scholars writing gospel of john commentary often grapple with the. The gospel of john appears to have been written during the early. Paul wrote many letters, john wrote a gospel, a letter and the book of revelation and luke wrote a gospel and the acts of the apostles. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. Jesus revelation to john is the unveiling of the new israel the new covenant bride is the universal church and her role in gods plan for mans eternal salvation rev 19.
When is st john believed to have written the book of revelation. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. Who wrote the gospels evidence for john come reasons. Jan 18, 2019 the gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. John s testimony is preserved while serving in ephesus in asia minor. Revelation was written, but it does seem to have been written in. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. In his epistles, john has much to say about the outworking of love toward the brethren.
The book of revelation of is written in common greek. It is the only book of the new testament classified as apocalyptic literature rather than didactic or historical, indicating thereby its extensive use of visions, symbols, and allegory, especially in connection with future events. He wrote, john, the disciple of the lord, who leaned back on his breast, published the gospel while he was resident at ephesus in asia. We may never know when the book of revelation was written, but it does seem to have been written in. Of the new testament works, only revelation names its author explicitly as john.
Did the same person write the gospel of john and the book of. For the purposes of the question, 1st and 2nd john may also be referenced as internal evidence, if they are found to be relevant. Revelation, apocalypse, john, patmos, nero, domitian. The end of time in revelation and the gospel of john the. No one signed the gospel now known as john s gospel and it was not even attributed to the apostle john until later in the second century. Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote. Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel of john and revelation. Also scholars generally agree that the beloved disciple mentioned in the gospel is st. Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote the last book of scripture.
Is the book of john, john 1,2,3 and revelation all. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of jesus, john gives us an upclose and personal look at christs identity. Therefore the origin of the gospel must in some way be connected to this personthe gospel of john may be a record of his eyewitness account of jesus life. Then that would make john the apostle around 90 years old when the revelation to john was written in a era when most people didnt reach 60. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelation has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad.
1528 1116 1487 975 894 143 129 756 1205 319 943 271 1026 827 937 1043 112 730 85 643 487 266 161 793 383 1164 679 1168 119 1386 508 1195 967 961