thumb|13th-century manuscript of the Vulgate, showing John writing his first letter.The Johannine epistles, the Epistles of John, or the Letters of John are the First Epistle of John, the Second Epistle of John, and the Third Epistle of John, three of the catholic epistles in the New Testament. In content and style they resemble the Gospel of John. Specifically in the First Epistle of John, Jesus is identified with the divine Christ, and more than in any other New Testament text, God's love of humanity is emphasised.
The letters are anonymous, but since the late second century, when Irenaeus referred to the first two epistles, they have been connected to John, son of Zebedee, who according to the gospels was one of the twelve disciples and part of Jesus's closest circle. The third epistle is mentioned beginning in the middle of the third century, and due to its similarity with the Second Epistle of John (e.g. both being written by someone referred to as the elder) it was included with the other two, creating the collection known as the Johannine epistles. While the second and third epistles appear to be real letters, the first epistle lacks both introduction and ending, more resembling an exhortatory writing or a sermon.
Most scholars assume the letters to have been written simultaneously and after the Gospel of John, dating them between AD 85 and 100. Most scholars agree that all three letters are written by the same author, although there is debate on who that author is. The idea of a Johannine community has been increasingly challenged, and there is no consensus among scholars today.
Recipients
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. 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.
thumb|left|First Epistle
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.
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, 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.