Johannine epistles

The Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles were written in a short timespan to address the same set of questions. They deal with Jewish discussions and focus on the confession of Jesus as Messiah. All of the writings concern an undergoing schism or conflict, where enemies are threatening the recipients', and their communities', identity and rules. What separates the Gospel and the Epistles is not time, place, or content, but author. However, while the texts have a Jewish character, many argue that the three letters are still addressed to Christians and that the congregations to which the letters are written are probably not dominated by Jews. Others see similarities between the Johannine Epistles' dualism and the sectarian Jewish group connected to the Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, often considered to be Essenes. They argue that the Johannine community can have developed from a similar schismatic Judaism. == Epistles ==

The First Epistle of John stands out from the others due to its form, but they are united by language, style, contents, themes, and worldview. Despite these differences, most scholars consider the personal and warm tone, the fact that the author discusses a certain problem, and the wish to bridge distance, to connect it with regular letter composition, granting that it was meant for a larger audience. It begins with a prologue (1:1-4) and continues with a section focusing on God as light and the need to walk in that light (1:5-3:10). The next section focuses on the command of love: to walk like children to the God of love who has loved humanity in Christ, and to show love to each other. It also discusses recognising false prophets (3:11-5:12). The letter ends with an affirmation that those who believe in God's son's name will know that they have eternal life (5:13-21). The Second Epistle of John This epistle is written as a short letter from "the elder" to an unnamed "elect lady" whom he loves and her children. Within the letter, John warns about opening her home to false teachers and to always practice truth, avoiding secrecy. Many interpret the elect lady and her children to be a congregation. The Third Epistle of John The third epistle, also a short letter from "the elder", is addressed to a man named Gaius and mentioned as "a dear friend". It talks about a man named Diotrephes who has resisted missionaries, including those sent by the elder. Diotrephes's hostility and lack of hospitality has spurned the elder to write to Gaius asking him to take more responsibility for these missionaries. It is believed that the letter was delivered by a third person, Demetrius. == Reception and authenticity ==

Canon The First Epistle of John and probably the Second Epistle of John occur in the old canons. The Muratorian canon mentions two letters of John, the First and probably the Second. Both had been quoted, and explicitly attributed to John the Apostle for the first time, in Irenaeus' Against Heresies. In his Commentary on John, Origen accepts the First Epistle as genuine but puts in doubt the other two, claiming that "not all consider them to be genuine". Eusebius hypothesized that the first epistle alone was written by the Apostle John, while the second and the third were written by John the Elder, who had been named by Papias as an early follower of the apostles but not as an Apostle himself; Eusebius also identified John the Elder as the author of Revelation. In the fourth century, the Western Church came to consider all three letters canonical and attributed them to John the Evangelist. The Eastern Church followed after. They were also mostly accepted by the early church, and have the highest amount of scholars today arguing for their authenticity. The First Epistle of John is not normally considered a forgery, not even by scholars critical of the traditional ascription of it to John, since the author never claims to be any specific person. However, Bart Ehrman, an agnostic atheist, argues that the letter should still be seen as one, as the author lies about being a witness (1 Jn 1:1-4) and having belonged to Jesus's inner circle. The purpose seems to have been to bolster the author's claim to authority and to counter the opponents' docetic teachings. The trinitarian formula in 1 John 5:7-8, the Comma Johanneum, which has found its way into many modern bible translations, is an interpolation. It is missing from the earliest manuscripts and appears first in later editions of the Vulgate and very late Greek texts. == Author and background ==

The question of who wrote the epistles is one of the most debated questions in Johannine studies. However, beginning in the 19th century, this consensus has come to be more and more debated, with suggestions ranging from one author who wrote all three letters (who can but doesn't have to be John, son of Zebedee) to three individual authors for the epistles, and a fourth for the Gospel. As a rule, this movement, or its congregations, are usually placed in Ephesus or its surroundings in Anatolia on the western coast of modern Turkey. The First Epistle of John The author of the First Epistle of John never identifies himself. If they are the same person who wrote the Gospel of John or the other two Johannine epistles, is debated. The terminology of the epistle and gospel are similar, and dualism is apparent in both of them. They exhibit a polarised rhetoric, affecting both their portrayal of people and ideas, through word-pairs such as light-darkness, truth-lie, love-hate, life-death, we-them, children of God-children of the Devil, and more. Literary critics approach today approach John as a unitary text, though twentieth century scholars had conceptualized editorial layers. Other reasons for the identification is that the author of 1 John claims to be an eyewitness to Christ. This circumstance, along with the direct and authoritative language, is argued by some scholars to support the idea that the author really was an eyewitness. Also, there were no other suggestions than John the Apostle for the author of the epistle in the early church. However, the majority of scholars argue that the Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles were written by different people. The Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John exhibit differences in vocabulary and style, their theological worldview, and their circumstances. This points to different authors. The author of the First Epistle of John does not show the same linguistic dexterity as the author of the Gospel of John. The First Epistle of John is written in the same spirit as the Gospel of John, but doesn't cite anything from it. Because of this, Udo Schnelle argues that the First Epistle of John was written after the other Johannine Epistles, but before the Gospel of John, around the year 95 and in close proximity to Ephesus. The Second and Third Epistles of John The Second and Third Epistles of John stand closer to each other than do they to the First Epistle of John. While all the Johannine writings share vocabulary, idiom, perspective, and worldview, the First Epistle of John stands closer to the Gospel of John. The endings of the both epistles are parallel, and are strong marks of similar authorship. They are united by their epistolary form, their ascription to "the elder", and their shared subjects. Both discuss hospitality in regards to missionary work. The First Epistle of John is closer to the Second than the Third. The Second Epistle of John thus forms the link which unites the Johannine epistles, by being closely connected to both the First and the Third. The Third Epistle of John seems to be independent of the First Epistle of John in its language. If one only considers these two letters, there's no reason to ascribe them the same author. It is only when considered with the Second Epistle of John, with its strong connection to the First, and dito with the Third, that it emerges that all three letters probably share the same author. John Painter has argued that it is no longer possible to trust tradition on who wrote the epistles. It is not known if they were written by the same author as the Gospel of John, or even if they were written by the same author at all. Because of the language and themes, Painter considers it likely that both the letters and the gospel are products of the Johannine school, while others challenge the notion of a Johannine community. The Elder as author to the Second and Third Epistles of John Both the Second and Third Epistles of John claim to be written by "the elder" (Greek: ὁ πρεσβύτερος, ho presbyteros, sometimes rendered in English as "the Presbyter"). It mainly means "the elder" as in a man who enjoys social prestige due to the experiences of a long life. However, nothing in the letters indicates that the writer's authority stems from his old age. The term presbyter could then be used to designate a congregational leader, without him being especially old. It is also a strange thing to call oneself, since there are many elders, and thus should be followed by a name. A possibility is that the term referred to a well-known and unmistakeable figure, and that it wasn't felt necessary to write the name. Many argue that for the two shorter letters (2 and 3 John) to be preserved and made canon, it's required that they would have been written by a famous figure in the Johannine school. Such a figure could have been the John that Papias mentions (preserved in Eusebius's Church History). Papias mentions a "Presbyter John", and Eusebius separates this John from the Apostle John. Many argue that "the elder" could designate a disciple of Jesus, who would be a second-generation leader. The Elder as author to the First Epistle of John A common perception is that the author of the First Epistle of John should also be John the Presbyter, the same person who presumably wrote both the Second and Third Epistles of John. The main argument for a common authorship of the three Johannine epistles is that they all exhibit a similar style. However, some argue that these similarities could also be due to a shared sociolect within the Johannine school, and furthermore, that there are certain differences in language and style between the First Epistle of John on the one hand and the Second and Third on the other. One argument against the identity of the authors being the same is that the true identity of the First epistle's author is not stated anywhere in the letter. Since the author of the other two letters referred to himself as "the elder," one might expect him to do the same in this letter if he had written it. Moreover, unlike the other letters, the First Epistle of John lacks the typical features of a proper letter. Its contents partially differ from that of the other two letters. However, even if it's possible that the letters have different authors, there are strong reasons to believe they were written by one person. Since the First Epistle of John is not a typical letter, one cannot expect the author to identify himself in the same way as in the other two, which follow the typical Greco-Roman letter format. The differences between the letters do not necessarily preclude them from having been written by one person. The obvious similarities in vocabulary, theme, and language have convinced most scholars that the same person wrote all three letters. Christian tradition after Irenaeus Irenaeus's judgement was hugely influential, and it can be presumed that Tertullian writing in the early third century followed him in accepting John the Evangelist as the author of the epistles and the Book of Revelation also. In the late third century, Dionysios questioned if the Apostle, son of Zebedee (whom he accepted as the Evangelist and author of the Johannine epistles) could have written such a different book as the Book of Revelation. == Chronological order ==

Nobody knows in which order the three Johannine epistles were written. Neither church tradition nor internal evidence give any sure leads, and they are placed in order of length, with the longest first. The order 3-2-1 John Some prefer the order 3-2-1, since the Third Epistle of John discusses a conflict which seems to be solved in the First Epistle of John. However, it is not known if the letters are to the same congregation, and if it is the same conflict which is referred to. The order 1-2-3 John Others prefer the order 1-2-3, since the content of the epistles proceed from a more theoretical perspective to one a concrete problem. According to the Third Epistle of John, "the elder" has already written to Gaius's congregation. Some assume that this writing is the First Epistle of John, which would put it before the third. John Painter thinks that there are good reasons to assume that the Second Epistle of John was an introduction to the first, which would explain why Irenaeus seems to consider them to be one single letter. Others argue that there is nothing speaking for the First Epistle of John being addressed to the same congregation as the other two epistles. Otherwise, it's hard to understand why the Second and Third epistles took so long to be canonised. The Second Epistle of John seems to be summarising the First. This would imply that the First preceded the Second, which in turn preceded the Third. The order 2-3-1 John Furthermore others argue for the order 2-3-1, since the Third Epistle of John seems to refer to the Second, and that the title "the elder" points to an early period within the Johannine school. == Dating ==

All three Johannine epistles are assumed to have been written simultaneously, The epistles are usually dated to around the year 100, or the end of the first century. Raymond E. Brown dates the letters to around the year 100. A few scholars argue for a much earlier compositional date, before the year 70, and a few for a much later date, in the middle of the second century and as late as 170-180, but these datings have not won much support in academia. ==See also==