After he had removed to Asia Minor, he is depicted as indignantly contending against erro neous teachers, both of the Jewish and Gentile parties. Irenwus states from Polycarp, that the apostle, going into a bath on one occasion, dis covered Cerinthus there, and, leaping out of it, hastened away, saying he was afraid lest the build ing should fall on him and crush him along with the heretic. Very faithfully are these traits of character reflected in the book before us ; whose prevailing tone is that of an impassioned spirit, full of rage against the despisers of God and his anointed One, suggesting images of dragons, mur der, blood and fire, vials of wrath. Hence too, the souls of the martyrs invoke vengeance on their persecutors ; and all heaven is called upon to rejoice over the downfall of Babylon the great.
We have represented the apostle as retaining some of his old Judaic prepossessions—one whose Christianity was narrowed by the national type of thought. This opinion is justified by the Apoca lypse itself, where the elders, who are always num bered in relation to the twelve tribes, appear a selected body, representing the faithful church of God on earth ; and sit upon thrones immediately surrounding that of God, as if they were a kind of assessors participating in judicial functions. They are the elect, the first-fruits to God and the Lamb (vii. 4, 5 ; xiv. 1, etc. ; xxi. 12). On the other hand, the saved of the heathen, though a great multitude, are farther from the Almighty's throne, behind and distinguished from the former (vii. 13).
The latter are the crowd—an'appendix as it Were to the chosen representatives of the true people of God. It is true that the 144,0oo, presented to view in vii. 1-9 ; xiv. ; xv. 2-4, may be regarded as the whole multitude of Christians collected out of all nations and peoples : yet even there the very universalism of the Apocalyptist has a Judaising character, since the entire number of be lievers is classified according to the old division of the twelve tribes ; and every Christian is put into one tribe or another. The title to the kingdom of God is bound up with such classification. The heathen are enrolled among the twelve tribes when they become Christian. Thus their formulising proves' the Judaising view of the apostle. Yet it must not be supposed that the apostle was a narrow-minded' Jew of the kind which Schweg ler has depicted him. He was emphatically a Christian. Primitive Christianity stood upon a Jewish basis, being developed out of Judaism. Hence the victory of Christianity assumes in the Apocalypse the external form of a kingdom co extensive with the world itself ; but with Christ reigning in the royal city of Jerusalem purified and transformed—no longer the old apostate Jeru salem which crucified the Lord and is called Sodom and Egypt on that account. While we
see the partiality with which the Jews in particular are called and converted ; the national Judaism of the twelve tribes reappearing in the New Jeru salem in elevated splendour and glory ; the Apo calyptist regards Christians as the only orthodox Jews, having the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. He looks upon them as an elect Jewish' church, admitting the heathen to their communion. The nationality of the apostle had assumed a Christian type. Ile had fairly abandoned empirical Judaism, by teaching that the Judaism which embraced Christ was the only genuine one. This accounts for the fact that he describes the cause of Christ triumphing over Judaism ; and exalts the person of that Redeemer whom the Jews crucified. As soon as union ceased to exist between the Jews who believed in Christ and such as still adhered to the old religion, the former must have looked upon the latter no longer as brethren but enemies ; and John would repair to Asia Minor, a theatre of activity, already im pressed with Pauline ideas. There he lived and laboured in the spirit of a Christian Judaism, so to speak, which differed from Paul's in the method of its development and limitations, more than in the essential result. When the freer Pauline tendency, which set up an opposition to the spirit of Judaism from the beginning, had prevailed over the Judaised Christianity of John, the fourth gospel could be written in Asia Minor.
So far we have endeavoured to keep the evidence in favour of apostolic authorship distinct from the fourth gospel, in order to simplify the discussion. But when one is treated of, the other must be re garded ; because both have been so long current in the church under the name of John, and because a partial comparison at least is necessary to a com plete knowledge of either. Though the two may be understood apart, their authorship cannot be properly investigated without mutual reference ; such reference placing general characteristics, as well as individual points, in a better light. It will not satisfy the demands of criticism merely to as sume the non-authenticity of the gospel from the authenticity of the Apocalypse, or vice versa ; be cause respectable English scholars still maintain that both were written by the same author. Hav ing shown, as clearly as the nature of the question allows, that the one was written by the son of Zebedee, it remains for the critic to bring into view the points of resemblance and discrepancy as evi dence for identity or diversity of origin.