Again, tlie absence of any mention of the de- struction of Jems, possibly points to a date earlier than A.D. 70, and the absence of any clear allusion to any danger of persecution by the state (though that may be included in the dangers against which the Christian has to arm himself, 6") is, when compared with 1 P, a strong indication of a date before A.D. 70 if St. Peter refers to the Neronian, before A.D. 80 if to the Flavian persecution. On internal grounds, therefore, A.D. 70 forms the most probable limit, though a date even in the 2nd cent, would be conceivable.
The use of the letter in other Christian literature supports an early date. Bv A.D. 150 it was known widely by Catholics and heretics, and treated by both as Scripture ; for it was included in the Lat. and Syr. versions ; its destination was discussed by Marcion (see below) ; it was used by the Ophites, Valentinians, and Basilideans, prob. by Basilides and Valentinus themselves, perhaps even com- mented upon by them (Westcott, Canon, 291, 295). It was included with the title ' to the Laodiceans' in Marcion's Canon (c. 140) : a canon the existence of which implies a Church Canon, to which it was placed in opposition (Sanday, BL p. 19). In the years 95-150 we have probable reminiscences of its lan- guage in Clement, cf. xxxvi. with Eph 1", xxxviii., <roi^^tT0fV oOv 6\ov t6 ffw/xa iv Xpurrt^ 'Irjaov Kal vtto- Tacaio6ia iKaaroi Tip T\-^<riov aOrov, with 5^*"^, xlvi. with 4*-', Ixiv. with 1*(?) ; in Ignatius, ad Epkes. i. 1 with Eph 1' ff. ; ix. and xv. with Eph2''' ; xii. with 3*, riai^Xov avtiti^trrax . . . 8s ^v irdffjj ivierbX-Q /^mjfio- reiei v^iuy, possilily a direct reference to the letter (Smith, DR'p. 952 n; but see Lightfoot, arffoc.and Hart, Ro and Eph, p. 113) ; ad Pulijc. v. with 5".
In The Two Ways — the document which underlies the Didachd (iv. 10)and Ep. Barnabas (xix.) there seems a reminiscence of Epn 6".
In Polycarp, ad Phil. ch. i. may be compared with Eph 2»- »■ », and xii. with Eph 4^. In Hennas, cf. Mand. iii. 4 and x. 2-5 with 4**, and v. and xii. 6 with 4-* : Similitude ix. 13 with 4-'- '.
Moreover, in nearly all these sub-apo.st. writings there is an advance in thonglit or church life. The stress on episcopacy, the development of Docetism, the elaboration of the metaphor of the Church as a
temple in the Ignatian letters ; the stress on tlie threefold ministry and the more marked use of liturgical language in Clement of Rome ; above all, the fuller working out into detail of the many similes in this Ep. in the Sheplicrd of Herma.s, all seem to imply a later date. In this latter treatise, the phrase ' giving place to the devil' is elaborately drawn out in Mand. v. and xii. 5. The conception of the Church as existing through all ages i- expanded in Vis. ii. 4 ; of the Church as a briile witliout spot or wrinkle in Vis. iii. 10-13 ; as a building in Vis. iii. 2, Sim. ix. 9 ; as resting upon the apostles as foundation in Sim. ix. 15. In each case the simile is at a later stage of development.
' It is all but certain on this eWdence that the Epistle was in existence by A.D. 95, quite certain that it was in existence by about 15 years later, or conceivably a little more' (Hort, p. 118). But there is possibly other evidence to be drawn from NT. The points of comparison with the Synoptic Gospels (e.g. Lk 21» with Eph 6'», Mk 4" with Eph 3*, Mk 12'» with Eph 2-'", Mt 16>» with Eph 2-"" 4"), or with the Acts (2^ with Eph 2", 2^ with Eph i\ 10^ with Eph 2"), do not prove literary dependence nor go beyond parallels found in the earlier Epistles. [For details cf. Holtzmann, Kritik, pp. 248-255, but his analogies are often fanciful. For possible allusions to Agrapha of our Lord in 2'*- " 3" 456.37.86 gf Resch, Agrapha, p. 109.] There are striking similarities between the Ep. and the Fourth Gospel ; e.g. the stress on x«P"> t''^ "^^ of Tr\-/ipufm, the contrast between light and darkness, the continuity of the work of the Logos, the pre- destination of the disciples, the activities of tlie Holy Spirit, the purifying power of baptism and of the word. The most striking similarity in thouglit is with Jn 17, where almost every verse otters a parallel to this Ep. ; e.g. ' the stress on God's fatlierhood, ' the power over all flesh, • life identified with knowledge, • the pre-existent glory of Christ, • the revelation to a few, '" Christ
florified in His disciples, " the prayer for unity ased on God's unity, " Christ's joy fulfilled in His disciples, '♦ the antagonism of the world, " the protection from the evil one, " sanctification by truth, ^ the unity of Christians as a means of pro- moting Christ's work, ^ God's love for Christians like His love for Christ, " God's love for Christ before the foundation of the world. So again between the Ep. and the Apoc. [e.g. the city with foundations, which are the twelve apostles (21'''), the Church as a bride (21'), the prominence of the prophets (10' 11" 18")]: even more frequent are the points of contact with 1 P; e.g. 1 P 1» with Eph 1»-", 1" with Eph 3", 2* with Eph 2**, 2'«-3' with Eph 5='-6», 3" with Eph 4», 3^ with Eph l*.