(d) The Ep. of Jude.—This Epistle is in the name of ‘Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James. The James whom the writer here claims as his brother was the well-known head of the Church at Jerusalem, one of our Lord’s brethren, and the writer of the Ep. that bears his name ; and therefore Jude is not to be identified with any ot the apostles of the same name mentioned in the Gospels. There is such a striking resemblance between this Ep. (consisting of a single chapter) and the 2nd chapter of 2 P as to justify the belief that the one was borrowed from the other. But as this Ep. has some features of originality about it which the other lacks, we may infer that Peter and not Jude was the borrower—a supposition confirmed by the way in which certain quota- tions in Jude from non-canonical Jewish Scriptures almost disappear from 2 P, along with one or two references to Levitical uncleanness, as if the writer desired as far as possible to adapt his writing for general use. This Ep. is full of sharp and stern denunciation aimed at practical evils of a most heinous character, founded on a gross abuse of Christian liberty. It probably emanated from Palestine in the period immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. See, further, art. JUDE (EPISTLE OF).
(e) The 1st Ep. of John.—There is abundance of evidence, both external and internal, to prove that this Ep. was written by the author of the Fourth Gospel, and forms a sequel to it. The readers are not specified, but in all probability it was addressed in the first instance to the Churches of Asia, among whom St. John spent the latter part of his life. The writer speaks in a quiet tone of authority, as if he were well known to his readers and were well acquainted with their dangers and their needs. He insists on the translation into the Christian life of those great truths regarding the fellowship of God with man, which, in the Fourth Gospel, are exhibited in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
(f) The 2nd Ep. of John.—This Ep. has all the appearance of being genuine. It bears a strong resemblance to the Ist, no fewer than 7 of its 13 verses having something parallel in the other. It is addressed ‘Unto the elect lady and her children,’ by whom we are probably to understand a Church and its members ; and the object of the Ep. is to warn them against the insidious and corrupting influence of certain heretical teachers who were going about denying the reality of Christ’s humanity. The title of ‘the elder,’ which the writer assumes, implies that he was a well- known personage in the Church, and is one that could be fitly claimed by St. John as the last of the apostles.
(g) The 3rd Ep. of John.—This Ep., like the 2nd, is written in the name of ‘the elder,’ and it has so many expressions in common with the other that they have been fitly termed ‘twins.’ It gives us a momentary glimpse of Church life in Asia towards the close of the Ist cent., and illustrates the practical difficulties which had to be en- countered in the government of the Church. It
VOL, H1.— 34
NEW TESTAMENT CANON 529
is addressed ‘Unto Gaius the beloved,’ a faithful and liberal member of the Church, whose influence and example the writer invokes, in opposition to the intolerant and factious conduct of an ambitious ecclesiastic named Diotrephes, who had gone so far as to close his doors on ‘the brethren’ who had come in the name of ‘ the elder,’ apparently bearing a letter from him—perhaps our 2nd Epistle. See, further, JOHN (EPISTLES OF).
5. The Revelation of St. John.—The Apocalypse has experienced greater vicissitudes as regards its acceptance in the Church than any other book of the NT, owing partly to the Chiliastic views associated with it, and partly to the marked differ- ence in its language and style as compared with the other works ascribed to St. John. It bears to be written by ‘John to the seven Churches which are in Asia’; and it is a significant fact that its apostolic authorship was accepted by Justin Martyr (not to mention some earlier apparent witnesses) in the dialogue which he held with Trypho at Ephesus within half a century after St. John’s death. Its wide divergence from the Fourth Gospel, both in ideas and in language, may be accounted for in some measure by the difference in the nature and contents of the two books, the one being mainly narrative or colloquial, the other formed on the model of Jewish apocalypse ; and there are not wanting some important features of resemblance between them, betokening an identity of authorship. With regard to the date of this book, there is a growing conviction that the theory which connects it with the persecution in the reign of Nero, and puts its composition before the destruction of Jeru- salem, must be abandoned, and that the ‘tribula- tion’ referred to (1%) was that which befell Chris- tians in the provinces, especially in Asia Minor, at a later date, when they refused to pay divine honour to the emperor. The main theme of the book is the second coming of Christ, pictorially set forth as the glorious consummation of great struggles and marvellous events. Its unity has recently been assailed, but the attempts to disin- tegrate it have not met with general acceptance. See, further, art. REVELATION (BOOK OF).