JOHN'S PURPOSE AND METHOD OF WRITING

While John the Apostle's writing is quite simple in style and vocabulary, the depth of thought in the context of his writing shows thoughts far above his abilities. That there is another intellect involved.

ACTS 4:13 ...When they(rulers, elders, and scribes) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. John the Apostle had already lived much of his life when he started writing.  The world around him had changed greatly since meeting the Savior  Certainly, this was true of the Jewish world. The Legions of Rome had brought Jerusalem close to total destruction, in 70AD, in the Jewish-Roman War. The Temple, the center of Jewish worship, was totally destroyed.   Many of the Jews were either killed or made slaves.  There was no Jerusalem Christian Church.  John had long since moved to the much larger gentile city of Ephesus.  Tradition tells us, John, as Jesus made John guardian of Mary (Jesus' mother),  had taken Mary out of the Jewish-Roman War to Ephesus.  Ephesus would have brought a unique experience to John. Besides the difference in size than Jerusalem (60,000 vs 250,000), Ephesus also existed as a free city--from Roman control, and is a seaport city, so Ephesus must have brought a cosmopolitan influence on the church.  Perhaps this influence, by the time of the second generation of Christians--in the book of Revelations, had influenced the Ephesian Church to lose its first love of Christ. (Ephesians 2:1)

 JOHN  STATED HIS WRITING GOALS:

JOHN'S GOSPEL

"These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name."

  JOHN 20:31

	LETTER OF 1JOHN 1:
	3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
	4  And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled.
	5 This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
	1 JOHN 1:3-4

REVELATIONS

 19. Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter 

REVELATIONS 1:19