Readers of this blog might be interested in reading the fourth gospel, a recent book written by john shelby. Ancient tradition attributes all the books to john the apostle. Lastly, it is argued that the eschatology of john is that of a realized eschatology wherein the last things are viewed as completely realized in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of christ. 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. Scholars in the twentieth century have tended to doubt. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. Jan 10, 2016 in the popular view the author of the fourth gospel is normally viewed as the aging apostle john, but it is important to remember that nowhere in the gospel does the author actually state his name.
The phrase the disciple whom jesus loved appears 5 times in the fourth gospel. No one signed the gospel now known as johns gospel and it was not even attributed to. Ive been asked about who wrote the book of revelation. Feb 06, 2019 john is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. Robinson developed much of ch dodds work on the fourth gospel. One gigantic correlation between the gospel of john and revelation is johns disciple johns record of jesuss encounter with john the baptist. For the purposes of the question, 1st and 2nd john may also be referenced as internal evidence, if they are found to be relevant. Here are some musings on it, the first part taken from my textbook on the new testament.
The fourth gospel, three epistles and even the book of revelation have tradtionally been attributed to the apostle john. In the face of apparently insuperable evil, either from within or from without, all christians are called to trust in jesus promise, behold, i am with you always, until the end of the age mt 28. The author of johns gospel tells us that he has chosen not to record many of. The question in the synoptic gospels concerns the extent to which the divine reality broke into history in jesus coming, and the answers are given in terms of the closeness of the new age. When was the revelation written, and when was the fourth gospel written. Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote. He was the apostle john which penned the revelation and also wrote 1st. Christs revelation to his apostles that one of them. Apocalypse, from the verb apokalypto, to reveal, is the name given to the last book in the bible. Where a writing uses unique language, grammar, and concepts, appearance of similar indicia elsewhere is indirect evidence that the authors are the same. It is to place much of this scholarship into the public arena that i have written the book, the fourth gospel. The closest it comes to identifying its author is john 21. 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.
Comparisons of the contents of pauls writings and those from the author of the book of revelation reveal stark contrasts. Even though the book of revelation was finally included in the new testament canon because christian leaders came to think it had been. It connects the promises of god to the realities of that are meant to bridge who is jesus for all of us. Gospel according to john, fourth of the four new testament gospels and the. Nov 01, 2012 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. The comparison of greek between the fourth gospel and revelation is very different. Mar 23, 2009 thoughts on the johns who wrote the fourth gospel and revelation.
The gospel of john and the three johannine epistles exhibit strong resemblances in theology and style. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. If john wrote the fourth gospel and the apocalypse, why are. The gospel of john, the fourth of the gospels, is a highly schematic account of the ministry of. The big question is whether he continued johns practice the fourth gospel says yes, the others are mute on the question and if so, whether he thought it was necessary. Much is also made of the seemingly separate but significant role the author places on the apostles.
It is a book of sign and symbol showing events which would occur from the 1st century right up until our day and beyond. Nov 14, 2017 this article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. Who wrote the bible book of revelation churches middle. Sep 29, 2019 the gospel of john is a theological treatise, well thought out, well written, and very christ centered. Biblical literature biblical literature the fourth gospel. The book of revelation had its origin in a time of crisis, but it remains valid and meaningful for christians of all time. At the conclusion of this fourth gospel record, the writer reveals that he is the disciple whom jesus loved john 21. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author.
One reason given is the supposed evidence of late authorship, 100 ad or even later. Did the same person write the gospel of john and the book. Some writers, however, have advanced the preterist from a latin word meaning that which is past view, contending that the apocalypse was penned around a. We do know that someone called john wrote the book of revelation because he actually signed the book. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. The fourth gospel reveals christ as the redeemer and revealer, whereas revelation pictures christ as conqueror and ruler. Who wrote the gospels evidence for john come reasons. A second objection raised is that the level of differences between the fourth gospel and the book of revelation are alleged to be insurmountably substantial. Was the book of revelation written before the gospel of.
The authorship of the johannine works the gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelation has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. I think the idea is that he started out as a follower of john. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelationhas been. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote 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. It is a book of prophecy in which the identity of the prophet has considerable relevance. The author, it is reasoned, could not be an apostle given that he never claims to be such, never alludes to gospel events, and never claims a special relationship with christ.
No one signed the gospel now known as johns gospel and it was not even attributed to the apostle john until later in the second century. And so irenaeus appears to distinguish john, the author of the fourth gospel, from john the apostle. Since the statement was made to peter by the author of the fourth gospel, peter is ruled out as a candidate for the authorship. John the apostle however is a different person than john the baptist. So when i read in chapter 21 that the writer of this gospel was the disciple whom jesus loved, i automatically assumed that the disciple whom jesus loved was the apostle john. Charles has commented that it is unlike any greek that was ever penned by mortal man. The evangelist john rests one hand on his gospel book, in this 83inchtall. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. Without pretending to solve every difficulty it may be observed that the apocalypse is very different from the gospel. The greek of the fourth gospel is simple but correct.
He notes that the gospel never directly identifies the beloved disciple by name. Did the same john write the gospels and revelation. The book of revelation is an amazing message from jesus to his followers. It was a very common thing to name an apocalyptic jewish work by the name of some great biblical character for example, apocalypse of elijah, apocalypse of daniel, apocalypse of moses and the. However, the john of revelation does not claim to be one of the disciples or to have known jesus.
Moreover, the disciple whom jesus loved is not the most humblesounding selfdescription. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. The literary genres of the book of revelation are an apocalypse, a prophecy, and an epistle or letter. Further, the writer of the fourth gospel studiously avoids any mention of his own name. Much is also made of the seemingly separate but significant role the author places on the apostles, not numbering himself among them rev. If john wrote the fourth gospel and the apocalypse, why. So how can we know that the apostle john wrote the fourth gospel. Authorship of the johannine works project gutenberg self. This book cracks the mystery of the elaborate, and highly formulaic procedure john used, and gives readers the opportunity to observe how the book of revelation was written, line by line, as though they were peering. However, a clear reading of the fourth gospel denotes that the one named the beloved disciple, or the disciple whom jesus loved, is also the author of the book. Still further, the ideas of the two books are different. The author of the fourth gospel has, again, refrained from naming himself, but has called himself that disciple whom jesus loved. But this contrast does argue against the idea the same man also wrote the fourth gospel johns identity was repeatedly noted in the book of revelation, while in the fourth gospel the identity of the author was repeatedly obscured.
Pius x addressed the question of the authorship of the fourth gospel. People sometimes say that another christian leader called john could have written the book of revelation. While he may not reveal more, the author identifies himself as john the slave of god rev. The book of revelation, authored by a person named john a common jewish name yohanan in hebrew, also has obvious interest in the book of ezekiel. The author of the fourth gospel used identical language and teaching as the author of the epistles of john and revelation this is, perhaps, the most persuasive evidence of all. Aug 11, 20 finally this book will challenge the way the fourth gospel has been used in christian history as the guarantor of what came to be called christian orthodoxy or creedal christianity. The thoughts and ideals are very different by the two writings. The discipleapostle john, who followed jesus christ and witnessed his crucifixion, authored it. While church tradition has attributed the gospel of john, the letters of john, and the book of revelation to the same authorjohn the apostle and son of. 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. These verses also suggest that the first readers of this gospel knew who this was. The gospel commonly called the gospel according to john has for long centuries of church tradition been attributed to john, the brother of james and son of zebedee, one of the twelve apostles. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. He also wrote the gospel of john and three letters that are in our bible.
He is also believed to be the only disciple who died of old age the others were allegedly martyred. The writer of the gospel wrote simple but correct greek. Concerning the author and historical truth of the fourth gospel. The evangelist john rests one hand on his gospel book, in this. The author uses similar words, phrases and ideas in both books. Although a christian work, the apocalypse belongs to a class of literature dealing with eschatological subjects and much in vogue among the jews of the first century before, and after, christ.
John, the revelation to oxford biblical studies online. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. The gospel of john provides no explicit internal evidence concerning its author. This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things. Jul 04, 2016 most evidence that supports another author other than john is based on the differences between johns gospel and the book of revelation. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. Was the book of revelation written before the gospel of john.
This confirms the internal evidence of the book of revelation regarding the place where john wrote revelation. While our modern bibles attach johns name to the beginning of the gospel, john just like the other gospel authors never documented his name within the book. Lazarus and the beloved disciple are the only two men in john who are said to be loved by jesus. Jan 04, 2018 obviously, one of these seven also is the disciple whom jesus loved. 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. John who wrote the bible book of revelation that everything in his book came from christ. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. In our previous articles, we looked at evidence for mark and matthews authorship as well as lukes. John is the last gospel and, in many ways, different from the synoptic gospels. The fourth gospel is ascribed to the apostle john and so is the book of revelation or apocalypse. The gospel on the other hand is a record of the deeds and words of. Did the same john write the fourth gospel and revelation. John that claims the gospels and revelation were written by the same person or closely. He was a jewish christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the.
When was the book of revelation written by the apostle. However, the above attributions date from late in the second century. John wrote revelation while a prisoner on the island of patmos, approximately 8595 a. But the fourth gospel might provide us with clues concealed in the enigmatic figure of the beloved disciple. It is clear, from the enormous difference in their use of the greek language, that the john of revelation did not write the fourth gospel commonly known as the. And, church history reveals that the john who authored revelation was a different person than the john who wrote the fourth gospel that does contain elements supporting pauls revelation. 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. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. To unlock the symbols in the book, other parts of gods word. Aug 04, 2009 christian tradition has taken him to be the apostle john, author of the fourth gospel. Gospel according to john, fourth of the four new testament gospels and.