New Testament Survey 2

1
New Testament Survey 2

• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Revelation

2
1 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Author John, apostle of Jesus
• Letter is actually anonymous
• Believed by early church
• Also author of the Fourth Gospel, 2 other
  Epistles and the Book of Revelation
• According to Christian tradition, John ministered
  in later life in and around Ephesus (where Paul
  had established Christianity)

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1 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Date probably about AD 90
• No definite information
• Probably written sometime after Johns Gospel
• Place of origin possibly Ephesus
• No definite information
• Based on tradition
• Destination unknown
• Probably somewhere in the Roman province of Asia

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1 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Recipients unknown Christians
• Probably Gentile rather than Jewish
• Well known to John (called little children)
• Background
• These Christians were facing 2 problems
• Doctrinal denial of the incarnation
• Practical denial that breaking Gods law is of
  any consequence to a Christian

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1 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Background (continued)
• These Christians were facing an early form of the
  heresy later called Gnosticism.
• Human body inherently evil God inherently good
  ( dualism).
• Salvation escape from body by special
  knowledge (gnosis).
• Jesus therefore did not have a human body.

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1 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Occasion (reconstructed)
• John knew and loved these people
• He had learned about the problems they were
  facing
• He decided to combat these problems through
  writing an epistle

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1 JOHN Theological Concerns

• Purpose to combat the heresy of denying the
  incarnation
• Key concept Heresy is combated through
  fellowship with Jesus Christ.
• Key text 13
• Key term fellowship (koinonia)
• Themes love, light, love, truth (compare with
  themes from the Fourth Gospel!)

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1 JOHN Literary Concerns

• Greek style simple koine Greek
• the easiest Greek of the NT
• easy (but profound) vocabulary
• simple sentence style
• essentially the same as for Johns Gospel
• Literary features
• John uses a certain amount of repetition,
  befitting an old man with much wisdom

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1 JOHN Literary Concerns

• Outline (suggested)
• 1. Purpose of the epistle (11-4)
• 2. Fellowship through walking in the LIGHT
  (15-229)
• 3. Fellowship through living in LOVE (31-421)
• 4. Fellowship through new LIFE (51-12)
• 5. Result of fellowship (513-21)

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1 JOHN Literary Concerns

• Special Issue the believer and sin
• 1 John teaches that believers DO sin (18-21)
• 1 John teaches (in KJV) that believers DO NOT sin
  (39 518)
• SOLUTION compare Scripture with Scripture (Gal.
  517 Rom. 7) and translate carefully!
• 1 John 39-- Whoever is born of God DOES NOT
  CONTINUALLY PRACTICE SIN.

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1 JOHN Significance for Today

• Gods people are to live in close fellowship with
  Christ and to walk according to His moral light
  (commands).

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2 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Author John, apostle of Jesus
• See comments for 1 John
• Date probably about AD 90
• About the same time as 1 John
• Place of origin possibly Ephesus
• Probably the same as 1 John
• Destination unknown
• Probably the same as 1 John

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2 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Recipient the chosen lady
• a prominent Christian woman with children
• possibly the hostess of the house-church
  addressed in 1 John
• Background identical to 1 John
• Occasion (reconstructed)
• John had just written his first epistle and was
  reminded of this lady. He wanted to write her a
  brief note of encouragement.

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2 JOHN Theological Concerns

• Purpose to apply the teachings of 1 John to an
  individual situation
• Key concept Be faithful to the truth.
• Key text v. 4
• Key term faithfulness

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2 JOHN Literary Concerns

• Greek style identical to 1 John
• Significance for today
• Gods people are to be faithful to the truth.

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3 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Author John, apostle of Jesus
• See comments for 1 John
• Date probably about AD 90
• About the same time as 1 John
• Place of origin possibly Ephesus
• Unknown, but probably the same as 1 John
• Destination unknown

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3 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Recipient Gaius
• Known only from this epistle
• A fine Christian from Asia
• Possibly a pastor
• Background
• Gaius had a question about proper treatment of
  traveling Christian preachers
• Diotrephes had rejected the authority of the
  apostle John

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3 JOHN Historical Concerns

• Occasion
• John had received a report that Diotrephes had
  rejected a letter he had sent to the church
• Some of the traveling preachers had reported back
  to John about Gaiuss Christian maturity and his
  proper treatment of them.
• John wanted to send Demetrius, a Christian
  unknown to Gaius, to help him. He needed a proper
  introduction.
• John wished to bring Gaius up to date and to
  advise him about to handle the situation.

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3 JOHN Theological Concerns

• Purpose to encourage Gaius in his ministry, to
  warn him about Diotrephes, and to introduce
  Demetrius
• Key concept Be hospitable to fellow Christians.
• Key text verse 8
• Key term hospitality

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3 JOHN Literary Concerns

• Greek style identical to 1 John
• Literary features shortest book in the NT
• Significance for today Gods people are to show
  hospitality to others who work for Christ.

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REVELATION Historical Concerns

• Author John, apostle of Jesus
• Only one of Johns writings in which he named
  himself
• Believed by early church
• Because he does not call himself apostle some
  scholars suppose another unknown John to have
  written
• No reason to deny apostolic authorship

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REVELATION Historical Concerns

• Date probably about AD 95
• Near the end of the rule of Domitian (AD 81-96)
• A few argue for near the end of the rule of Nero
  (AD 58-68)
• Place of origin Patmos, an island
• 8 x 4 miles, 35 miles off shore from Asia
• Destination seven cities in Asia
• All connected by the great Circular Road
• Listed in postal order

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REVELATION Historical Concerns

• Recipients persecuted Christians
• Living in the seven cities
• Now also in a state of spiritual decline
• Background
• Domitian demanded worship as Dominus et Deus
  (Lord and God)
• The Christians (who refused) were persecuted
  some were martyred
• Believers in Asia needed encouragement

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REVELATION Historical Concerns

• Occasion
• John, now aged, had been banished to Patmos
• The exalted Jesus appeared to him and gave him
  four visions of the future
• John was commanded to write the visions down and
  send them to the seven churches

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REVELATION Theological Concerns

• Purpose to teach that faithfulness to Jesus
  triumphs over the evils of this world and that
  Jesus will return to earth as King, Judge, and
  Lamb-Bridegroom
• Key concept Jesus, the Lord of history will
  return as King to bring human history to its
  culmination.

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REVELATION Theological Concerns

• Key text 17
• Key term prophecy
• Themes
• Jesus as Lamb-Bridegroom
• Blessings of martyrdom
• Wrath of God
• In the Spirit 110 42 173 2110

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REVELATION Literary Concerns

• Greek style simple koine Greek
• Similar to the style of John and 1 John
• Some peculiarities (odd grammar)
• Literary features
• Is Revelation apocalyptic literature?
• Use of a supernatural being to show future
• Symbolic language visions bizarre creatures
• Yet, Revelation calls itself a prophecy
• Warnings to Gods people (like Isaiah)

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REVELATION Literary Concerns

• Literary features
• Revelation and the Old Testament
• Many indirect references
• Little, if any, direct quotation
• Special use of numbers and colors
• Appeal to all five senses

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REVELATION Outline

• Prologue (11-8)
• Vision 1 Jesus and his people between his two
  comings (19-322)
• Vision 2 Jesus and events surrounding his
  return (41-1621)
• Vision 3 Jesus and the two rival cities
  (171-218)
• Vision 4 Jesus and his bride throughout
  eternity (219-225)
• Epilogue (226-21)

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REVELATION Special Issue

• Schools of interpreting Revelation
• Preterist events fulfilled in first century
• Historicist Revelation sketches all history from
  AD 90s until Christs return
• Idealist general portrait of spiritual truths
• Futurist everything from chapter 4 (or 7) deals
  with events surrounding Christs future return

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REVELATION Literary Concerns

• Special Issue the rapture in Revelation
• Pre-tribulation rapture 41
• Mid-tribulation rapture 1111-12
• Pre-wrath rapture 1414-16
• Post-tribulation rapture 196-10
• Special issue the millennium in Revelation
• Is taught as a reward for martyrs
• Does not explicitly involve national Israel
• No text of Scripture teaches an INTERMEDIATE rule
  of the Messiah ON EARTH

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REVELATION Significance for Today

• Gods people are to live faithfully following
  Christ, even through difficulty and martyrdom,
  knowing that Christ (and those who have committed
  themselves to him) will triumph over the most
  terrible evils imaginable.