Which Was Written Latest, the Book of Revelation, or Gospel of John?
By G.
It is generally supposed (probably from the order of the books,) that the Apocalypse closed the canon of inspiration. This is sometimes urged as an argument by those who oppose the perpetuity of spiritual gifts. Such quote Rev. xxii, 18: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." But however plausible this view may seem, it is quite apparent that it will not abide the test of a close investigation. Our attention was called to this interesting subject several years since, and since that time we have been surprised to witness the amount of evidence, which from time to time has been thrown in our way, against the book of Revelation being the last addition to the New Testament canon. We find by examination that the gospel of John, (perhaps also John's epistles) and not the book of Revelation, was the last product of the inspired penman.
There is another interesting thought connected with this subject, viewed in the light of the Sabbath question. It is said by our First-day friends, that Sunday, at the time the book of Revelation was written, had obtained the general title of "Lord's day." Rev. i, 10. If this was the general title of Sunday, doubtless the181same apostle would address it by the same name in all subsequent writings. But in the gospel of John, written after the Revelation, we find him speaking in historical language, and there he calls it "the first day of the week." John xx, 1. This would show the futility of attempting to erect a Sunday fabric on the term "Lord's day."
Having made these introductory remarks, we will now state our authorities for not believing that the Revelation was the last written book of the Bible. The reader can judge of their respectability and value for himself.
1. The Comprehensive Bible, published by Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, with a lengthy introduction, tables, chronological index, philological and explanatory notes, in its preface to the gospel of John, says: "After the death of Mary, the mother of Christ, which is supposed to have taken place about fifteen years after the crucifixion, and probably after the council held in Jerusalem A. D. 49 or 50, at which John was present, he is said by ecclesiastical writers to have proceeded to Asia Minor, where he founded and presided over seven churches, in so many cities, but chiefly resided at Ephesus. Then he was banished by the emperor Domitian, in the fifteenth year of his reign, A. D. 95, to the Isle of Patmos, in the Ægean Sea, where he wrote the apocalypse. Rev. i, 9. On the accession of Nerva the following year, he was recalled from exile, and returned to Ephesus, where he wrote his gospel and epistles, and died in the 100th year of his age, about A. D. 100, and in the third year of the emperor Trajan."
2. "The Annual," a neat and commodious edition of the Scriptures, published by Woodford & Co., New York, gives the same time for writing the Gospel of John as the Comprehensive Bible; namely, after his apostle returned from Patmos. This locates the Revelation in A. D. 96 or 97, and the Gospel 97 or 98.
3. Barnes' Notes, in the preface to John's Gospel, after stating the opinions of learned men on the time of its publication, says: "The common opinion is, that it was written at Ephesus, after his return from Patmos, and of course as late as the year 97 or 98."
4. An edition of the Bible published by Ivison & Phinney, New York, containing the apocrypha, with Canne's notes and references, also various tables, and a chronological index, in the latter says: "A. D. 96, St. John is banished into the Isle of Patmos, by Domitian, and there receives and writes his revelation. After the death of Domitian, John returns to Ephesus and writes his Gospel."
5. Nevin's Biblical Antiquities, by John W. Nevin, D. D., in a chronological scheme giving the authorship, time, and place, of writing the various books of the New Testament, locates John's writings as follows: "Book of Revelation, Asia Minor, A. D. 96. Three epistles of John, 96 to 100. Gospel according to John, 96 to 100." Page 446.
6. The Domestic Bible, edited by Rev. Ingram Cobbin, with numerous illustrations and copious notes, in the preface to John's Gospel says: "John was the brother of James, whom Herod beheaded. Acts xii, 2. He wrote about A. D. 97, having chiefly in view to record such miracles and discourses as most clearly displayed the character, office, and divine nature of the Saviour. His gospel supplies what the other evangelists omitted."
7. The Cottage Bible, edited by Rev. Wm. Patton, and published by Case, Lockwood & Co., Hartford, Conn., with Practical Expositions and Explanatory Notes, adopts the idea that the Gospel of John was written subsequent to the Revelation. As the language is the same as that already quoted from the Comprehensive Bible, we need not repeat it.
8. The Mine Explored; or Help to the Reading of the Bible, published by the American Sunday School Union, p. 281, says: "John probably wrote his gospel after the year 97." And then again a little onward it states, "This gospel was probably written the last of all the books of the Bible, and more than fifty years after the gospel of Matthew."
9. The Biblical Reason Why, a general Hand-book for Bible students, p. 181, reads as follows: "John was bishop of Ephesus. Being called to Rome, he was condemned by the emperor Domitian to be cast alive into a cauldron of boiling oil; but being miraculously preserved, and coming out more fresh and vigorous than he entered in, he was banished to the Isle of Patmos. Here he was favored with visions which form the subject of the book of Revelation. After Domitian's death, St. John returned to Ephesus, wrote his gospel about the year 98, and died A. D. 100."
10. Olshausen's Commentary. This much distinguished German critic, although in some respects he differs from most other commentators on this question, in Vol. ii, p. 296, says: "The contents, no less than the form of the Apocalypse, indicate that its composition was earlier than that of the Gospel." And again, "Between the composition of the Apocalypse and that of the Gospel, however, a period of some length seems to have elapsed."
11. Horne's Introduction. This voluminous writer, Vol. ii, p. 314, remarks: "John was banished to the Isle of Patmos towards the close of Domitian's reign, where he wrote his Revelation. On his liberation from exile, by the accession of Nerva to the imperial throne, he returned to Ephesus, where he wrote his Gospel and Epistles, and died in the hundredth year of his age." And again he says, "We have strong evidence from the contents and design of the gospel itself, that it was not written until the year 97."
12. The Paragraph Bible, issued by the London Religious Tract Society, in the preface to the gospel by John, says: "According to the general testimony of ancient writers, John wrote his gospel at Ephesus, about the year 97."
13, and last, Hale's Sacred Chronology. This celebrated chronologist puts down the gospel of John, in the year A. D. 97, after the apostle's return from Patmos, and argues with some warmth against those who contend for an earlier date. Dr. Hale's testimony on any point of chronology would be entitled to great weight, because chronology was his study. His remarks against the theory that the Gospel of John was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, are a complete upsetter to that scheme.
We have several other testimonies in our possession, which testify that John wrote the gospel after the Revelation, but it is not necessary to present them. Among the ancients who favor this position are Irenæus, Theodoret, Epiphanius, Jerome, St. Augustine, Eusebius, and Chrysostom; and among moderns, are Dr. Mill, Fabricius, LeClerc, Morer, Bertholdt, Bishop Tomline, and Mr. Jones, in addition to others previously mentioned. We might also refer to the "Bible Text Book," of the Am. Tract Society, the "Union Bible Dictionary," of the Am. Sunday School Union, the "Religious Encyclopedia," "Watson's Bible Dictionary," "Dictionary of the Holy Bible," by the Am. Tract Society, and various editions of the Bible, and New Testament, which we have examined, and all of which decidedly, in one way or another, sustain the view we have presented.
With such testimonies, is it any wonder, then, that the writer believes that the Gospel by John was written after the book of Revelation?