I John - Background

Book of 1 John - Background

The Apostles John and Paul, and even the Apostle Peter did missionary work throughout Asia Minor in the 1st century A.D.  The Apostle John was the first to arrive in Ephesus, the largest city in Asia Minor sometime after 37 A.D., taking with him Mary the mother of Jesus.  When Jesus was dying on the cross (around 30 A.D.), Jesus commissioned John to take care of His mother, so from the time of Jesus' death onward, John took care of Mary. They lived in Jerusalem for a few years.

As time continued, persecution in Jerusalem had become so vicious under King Herod Agrippa's reign to where Christians and Jews fled by the groves, which it was during this time that the Apostle John and Mary fled to Ephesus.   Where was Ephesus?  It was as far as one could travel northward up into Asia Minor and then across the mountainous roads to the coastal city in Asia Minor -  yet still remain in the Roman Empire.

The Apostle Paul's Journeys

The Apostle John held a quiet and peaceful ministry while attending to the care of Mary for many years in Ephesus.  There he established the first Christian community.  When the Apostle Paul first came to Ephesus around 48 A.D., there were already some Christians there witnessing the Gospel, such as Pricilla and Aquila. The timeframe of the Apostle Paul's journeys throughout Asia Minor ranged from 48 A.D. to 57 A.D., having set up many churches.  Paul stayed in Ephesus while on his 2nd and briefly on his 3rd missionary journey.     The Apostle Paul, however, was agressive in his ministry, unlike the Apostle John, as he witnessed in the marketplace and set up a Bible school at the Hall of Tyrannus for three years. He left abruptly, however, as his life was endangered. 

Eventually Paul designated Timothy to be the pastor over the church at Ephesus.  After the Apostle Paul was martyred in 64 A.D., Timothy continued to pastor over the Church at Ephesus, along with the help of the Apostle John.  Eventually, John became the bishop over all of the churches in Asia Minor.

Asia Minor

My husband and I had the privilege of traveling around Asia Minor about 10 years ago.  Traveling the missionary journey's of the Apostle Paul and John, we visited most of the sites where the seven churches were located as well as other monumental sites that have been preserved over the centuries. 

In the 1st century, the name Asia simply meant "way out there," (the other end of the Roman Empire) and was not considered part of the cultured world, but a pivotal point of concern for the Roman Government. Asia Minor, meaning the tip of Asia, simply meant "little Asia," and rested in between the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, and was a focal point between Europe and Asia.  As such, the ports of Asia Minor was heavily traveled by sea-faring merchants, and there was a direct road all across Asia Minor through the mountains to travel by land all the way to the coastline.  Ephesus, which rested right on the coast was used as trade centers for people all over the known world, meaning the Roman Empire.  Today, this area of Asia Minor is called Anatolia - a part of Turkey.  

Author:

There is no dispute among biblical scholars who the author of the Book of 1 John is - that being the Apostle John.  We are dealing with the timeframe from around 94-97 A.D.  All of the other apostles of Christ had been martyred for their faith decades earlier, Jerusalem had fallen in 70 A.D., and it is now nearing close to 70 years since Christ was crucified on the cross and the close of the 1st century A.D. 

Date of Writing:

To learn of the dates of the writings of 1, 2, and 3rd John, we need to look at  historical records to learn that the Apostle John was on the Island of Patmos for eighteen months during the latter reign of Emperor Domitian.  Following Domitian's assassination in 96 A.D., John was freed to return to his homeland of Ephesus by the new Emperor Nerva.  The Apostle probably wrote the Gospel of John before serving his sentence on the Island of Patmos, having written 1, 2, and 3rd John either before or right after his exile.  While on Patmos, John wrote the Book of Revelation and probably finalized it right after he returned from his exile on Patmos.  The Apostle John died two years later - in 98 A.D. at the age of 93.

Audience:

The Apostle lived in Ephesus and probably had lived there for many decades.  He carried great influences over all of the churches in Asia Minor.  These churches were scattered along the coastline and up around 100 miles into the mountains.   The main seven churches are listed in the first three chapter of the Book of Revelation - Ephesus, Sardis, Smyrna, Pergumum, Thyatira, Philadelphia, and Laedocea.  

There were other churches up in the mountains as well, such as Colossae and Hieropolis.  It was to these churches that John the Apostle wrote the Book of 1st John to, along with all of his other writings.  The books (letters) of 2nd John, however was written to an individual church and 3rd John written simply to an individual whom John had oversight.  

All churches in the 1st century A.D. were house churches - some in large homes, while others were wherever believers could gather together as a church body.  Whether there was only one church per city is unknown.

The Apostle - Condemned as a Political Agitator

The Apostle John was condemned to death as a political agitator for preaching the Gospel of Christ in Asia Minor.  He was arrested in Ephesus.   

The Roman Empire consisted of countries that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, and as such Asia Minor, as well as Israel became under Roman rule. 
All peoples outside of the Roman Empire were considered barbaric, and not part of the Roman culture.

The Apostle John was taken by ship to Rome and condemned to death by Emperor Domitian.  There he was condemned as a heretic, plunged in boiling oil, but miraculously survived unharmed without sustaining any injuries.  The anger of the emperor then banished him to die a martyrs death on the Island of Patmos, which was only 50 miles out in the Aegean Sea from Ephesus.  So by ship, he then traveled back to serve his sentence in the penal colony on the rock Island of Patmos to work the mines.  Because he was already an old man, it was expected he would die on that island.

The Roman government used this rock island as a penal settlement in the 1st century to where they sent political agitators and others who threatened the peace of the empire.  The conditions were harsh and most prisoners were banished there to serve their sentence in the mines.  The Apostle John was banished to Patmos for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but released 18 months later under the new Emperor Nerva.  While on the island, he wrote the Book of Revelation, and after returning to Ephesus, most scholars say he wrote the Books of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.

Purpose in writing 1 John:

Being the only original apostle of Jesus Christ left alive upon the earth, John had an urgent message to give to the churches in Asia Minor.  This urgent message is also for you and me in this last of the last times.  This study will be a verse by verse study on the Book of 1st John with explanation and practice application.

Cultic beliefs had entered into the church that carried residues of pagan beliefs of the mystical, invisible gods.  Docetism was the biggest and most influential cult of that day, deriving its name from the Greek word “dokeo” which means “to appear or seem,” bringing much destruction to Christianity.  Docetism claimed that Christ was not truly human, meaning He did not possess a physical body. What was seen of Him was only a ghost-like figure. Christ appeared as human, but in essence was simply a spirit in the form of a body - a figment of one's imagination.  This belief had its roots in the pagan Gentile worship of the gods, which were all imaginary in nature.  Nothing was of the flesh - all spiritual in nature.  In addition, Docetism claims that carnal living (fleshly living) carried no consequences only the spiritual side of man was important. The flesh was ignored.  Therefore, to be a "so called Christian" in a Docetism setting, carnal living was normal as the deluted person believed that Jesus came simply as a spirit. 

• If this belief was true, Jesus then did not come in the flesh, shedding His physical blood on the cross at Calvary because He was only a spirit. If his physical blood was not shed and He did not die, there would be no atonement for the sins of mankind. If God did not raise Jesus physically from the dead, there would be no salvation for mankind. Christianity would, therefore, be completely null and void because salvation only comes through Jesus’ physical life, death, and resurrection. Without it, there is no eternal life. Sadly, because of paganism influence, Docetism then grew into other cultic beliefs within the Church.
• If this belief was true, carnal fleshly living was not only encouraged, it became the entry point to backslidding down a slippery slope which could eventually lead to hell.  Very dangerous!

The Apostle John was nearing the end of his life.  It was to these churches in Asia Minor that he wrote concerning the cultic beliefs and practices that had entered into the Church at large.  John sincerely felt he needed to address these lies with hopes to rid the Church of these false teachers once and for all.  This letter would ultimately become a circular letter to pass from one church to another in hopes to reach every believer in Asia Minor. (for more information, see article on  Docetism/Gnosticism - Early Christian cults)

While the Apostle John strongly addressed the cultic practice of Docetism that had entered into the churches throughout Asia Minor, he centered mostly on faith, love, repentance, and how to avoid carnal fleshly living (Galatians 5:19-21).  The apostle, along with the other apostles strongly believed that when you know and live the truths of the Word of God, the false will quickly be exposed.  As such, this book is a very practical study that will help Christians of all ages and all walks of faith to grow in their relationship with the Lord.

Practical Application:  Today, more than ever, believers need to address the importance of faith, love, repentance, and how to avoid carnal fleshly living (Galatians 5:22-23).  As these final days draw closer to the end of this age, we are seeing more and more false teachers come into the Church.  The enticing teachings of these false teachers draw and pull believers toward heretical beliefs, resulting in weakening of faith, carnal living, and loss of relationship with Christ.  All the more reason Christians today need to keep to the truths of the Word of God, purposing to fight the good fight of faith in a dark and evil world that wants to weaken or even rid Christianity as Satan's plot for world dominance takes over.   Therefore, the Book of 1 John is an instructional book, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to help believers recognize false teachers and grow in their faith, thus strengthening their relationship with the Lord.