Page images
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

against heresies, both cited by Eusebius, says, that John the apostle lived in Asia till the time of Trajan [who succeeded Nerva in the year of Christ 98]. Eusebius understands Clement of Alexandria to speak to the like purpose. Origen also says, that P John, having lived long in Asia, died at Ephesus. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, about 196, is an unexceptionable witness, that John was buried in that city. Jerom in his book of Illustrious Men, and in his books against Jovinian, says, That the apostle John lived in Asia, to the time of Trajan; and dying at a great age, in the sixty-eighth year of our Lord's passion, was buried near the city of Ephesus.' Supposing our Lord to have been crucified in the year 32, of the vulgar æra, which seems to have been Jerom's opinion, sixty-eight years will reach to the year 100, or the third of Trajan: at which year of that emperor the death of St. John is placed by Jerom in his Chronicle.

[ocr errors]

t

V

W

S

What was John's age when called by Christ we are not informed. Baronius thought he might then be about 22 years of age. Having been with Christ three years, he was about 25 years of age when our Lord was crucified. Tillemont supposes St. John to have been about 25 or 26 years of age when called to be an apostle. Lampe thinks, that he was about the same age with our Saviour. For my part, I cannot persuade myself that any of Christ's apostles, when called to attend upon him, that they might be his witnesses to the world, were much under the age of thirty. If it hence follows, that John was a hundred years of age, or thereabout, when he died, it is not at all incredible nor unlikely.

III. As it is an allowed point, that John dwelt in Asia in the latter part of his life; we may be reasonably desirous to know when he settled in that country; and for determining this, the books of the New Testament may afford good hints. For in all St. Luke's history of the preaching and travels of Paul, particularly in Asia, no mention is made of John: n Euseb. H. E. 1. 3. cap. 23. in.

P Ap. Euseb. 1. 3. cap. 1.

Vol. iv. ch. cxiv. num. viii. 4.

t P. 165. ex ed. Scalig.

• Vid. Euseb. Ibid.

Ap. Euseb. 1. v. cap. 24. in.

• Vid Basnag. ann. 101. num. ii. " Ann. 101. num. ix.

▾ S. Jean l' evangeliste, art. x. et note xv. Mem. tom. I.

Quare nihil impedit, quo minus ejusdem ferme ætatis cum Servatore nostro fuerit. Prolegom. in Jo. 1. i. cap. 2. num. i. note.

[ocr errors]

* In the division of provinces, which the apostles made among them

selves, Asia fell to his share, though he did not presently enter into his

charge. Otherwise, we must have heard of him in the account which St.

Luke gives of St. Paul's several journeys into, and residence in, those parts.' Cave's Life of St. John, sect. iv.

which may induce us to think, that he was not there at that time. Nor are there any salutations sent to John in any of St. Paul's epistles written at Rome: several of which were sent to Ephesus, or other places not very remote from it as the epistle to the Ephesians, the second epistle to Timothy, probably, at Ephesus, the epistle to the Colossians, and the epistle to Philemon, at Colosse.

a

I will now observe the opinions of some learned moderns. Baronius thought, that this apostle did not come to reside in Asia, until after the death of St. Peter and St. Paul. Du Pin says: We do not exactly know when he 'came into Asia: perhaps it was about the year 70.' Tillemont was of opinion, that St. John did not come to reside in Asia, till about the year 66. But he supposeth, that upon some occasion, he had before that been in that country, without making a stay there: which last, as I apprehend, is said without any good authority. Mr. Lampe was of opinion, that John did not leave Judea, till after the death of James, called the Less, and but a short time only before the destruction of Jerusalem.

To me it seems not unlikely, that St. John came into Asia about the time that the war broke out in Judea, in the year 66, or a short time before, when, probably, St. Peter and Paul had been before crowned with martyrdom.

As St. John stayed a good while in Palestine, it may be reasonably concluded, that the Virgin Mary did not go with him to Ephesus, as Baronius and some others have thought, but died before he went thither: which was the opinion of Cave, and Basnage.

e

IV. St. John having had a long life, many things have been said of him, some true, others false. Most of them have been already taken notice of in several chapters of this work it may not be improper to recollect them here, with some remarks.

1. Apollonius, who wrote against the Montanists, and flourished about the year 211, says, in a fragment preserved by Eusebius, That by the divine power Johu raised up a

[ocr errors]

A. D. 97. num. ii.

a St. Jean, art. iv.

* Du Pin, Diss. Prel. 1. 2. ch. 2. sect. vi. b Post ejus (Jacobi Minoris) excessum neminem ex Twy dwdɛka grege et constantius et diutius Hierosolymis substitisse nostro apostolo; ita ut vix exiguo ante exordium intervallo, inde se avelli pateretur. Proleg. 1. i. cap. 2. n. xv.

CA. D. 44. n. xxix.

29.
P.
d •

Probable therefore it is, that he

dwelt in his own house at Jerusalem, at least till the death of the blessed

[ocr errors]

Virgin.' Cave's Life of St. John, sect. iv.

• Vid. Basnag. ann. 46. nun. xxxviii.

See Vol. ii. p. 393.

h

dead man to life at Ephesus.' Which miracle is also taken notice of by Sozomen, and Nicephorus, and may have been really done. But if we had had a more circumstantial history of it, and if it had been mentioned by some other early writers, beside Apollonius, it would have been more credible.

2. There was a book forged with the title of the Travels of Paul and Thecla by a presbyter, who was deposed for so doing, as related by Tertullian. Jerom says that he was a presbyter in Asia, and that he was convicted before St. John of being the author of it, and for that reason was deposed. Of this matter we have already spoken distinctly, and therefore refer to what was then said.1

3. It is also related of our apostle, that going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving that Cerinthus, or, as others say, Ebion, was already in the bath, he came out again hastily, and would not make use of the bath. The probability of which account was examined formerly. k

4. It is said that, by order of the emperor Domitian, St. John was cast into a caldron of boiling oil at Rome, and came out again without being hurt. The truth of which story likewise has been considered by us.

5. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus in the latter part of the second century, says, that John was Christ's high priest, wearing on his forehead a golden plate: which account m has been considered, and the judgments of divers learned men upon it alleged.

6. Eusebius has a story, from a work of Clement of Alexandria, of a young man in a city of Asia, not far from Ephesus, who, after having been instructed in the christian religion, took to evil courses, and became profligate: but nevertheless was afterwards brought to repentance by our apostle. This account is inserted at large by Eusebius" in his Ecclesiastical History. It has been repeated in like manner by Simeon Metaphrastes in his Life of St. John. Chrysostom has referred to it. It is also briefly told in the P Paschal Chronicle. I have already taken some notice of this story. S. Basnage thinks it to be a fable, or

[ocr errors]

8 Soz. 1. 7. cap. 27. p. 750.
See Vol. ii. p. 304, 305, 332.
1 See Vol. ii. p. 287, note'.
m See Vol. iv. p. 448, 449.
n L. 3. cap. 23.

г

r

Niceph. 1. 4. cap. 25.

* See Vol. ii. p. 95, note c.

• Ad Theodor. Laps. T. I. p. 31. ed. Bened. a See Vol. iv. as note m.

P Chr. Pasch. p. 251. D. Apologo quam historia videtur esse propior-Ac sane nescimus, si vera historia est, cur Clemens μv98, fabulæ, nomen ipsi primum imposuerit. Fabula fuit ratione rei significantis, veritasque respectu rei significatæ, quæ mentibus

feigned apologue, composed to convey useful instruction. Mr. Lampes is favourable to this history. And, perhaps, it may be true, abating some circumstances: which are not seldom added to such accounts, to render them the more entertaining.

7. Jerom has given an account of St. John's method of preaching, when he was of great age, and was not able to make a long discourse. This was taken notice of by us in a proper place: nor is the truth of it, though related by Jerom only, disputed, either by " Lampe, or Le Clerc.

W

V

8. It is generally supposed, that John is one of those apostles who lived a single life: it is said by Tertullian and Jerom; which last affirms, that ecclesiastical history assures us of it; and he makes it the ground of all the peculiar privileges of this apostle.

9. Another thing said of John, is, that he was banished into Patmos, an island of the Mediterranean sea, not far from the coast of Asia. And if he is the writer of the book of the Revelation, which we do not now dispute, the thing is unquestioned. But I have deferred the consideration of this particular till now, because learned moderns are not agreed about the time of it.

V. I shall therefore first put down the accounts of ancient authors, and then observe the opinions of learned men of later times.

[ocr errors]

Irenæus says of the Revelation, that it was seen no

proponebatur, nempe eximii pastoris officium, ac vis pœnitentiæ. Non insolens erat antiquis, uti apologis ejusmodi ad informandos mores.—Si cui tamen placet de Joanne Clementis narrationem veram historiam esse, quia sic Veteribus visum, de hac re quidem contendere nolumus. Basn. ann. 97. • Prolegom. 1. i. cap. v. num. iii.—ix.

num. x.

Vol. iv. p. 447. "Licet enim Hieronymus solus hujus narrationis auctor sit, nihil tamen occurrit, quod non cum more Joannis, ut cum ratione ecclesiæ ejus temporis, apprime convenit. Lamp. Proleg. 1. i. cap. v. n. xi.

H. E. ann. 99. num. i.

"Vid. Lamp. Proleg. 1. i. cap. i. num. xiii.

* Joannes Christi spado. De Monog. cap. 17. p. 688.

y Talem fuisse eunuchum, quem Jesus amavit plurimum, evangelistam Joannem, ecclesiasticæ tradunt historiæ: qui recubuit super pectus Jesu: qui, Petro tardius ambulante, elatus virginitatis alis cucurrit ad Dominum; qui in secreta divinæ se nativitatis immergens, ausus est dicere: In principio erat Verbum, &c. In Is. cap. LVI. tom. III. p. 410.

Joannes vero noster, quasi aquila, ad superna volat, et ad ipsum Patrem pervenit, dicens: In principio erat Verbum, &c. Exposuit virginitas, quod nuptiæ scire non poterant. Et, ut brevi sermone multa comprehendam, doceamque, cujus privilegii sit Joannes, imo in Joanne virginitas, a Domino virgine, mater virgo virgini discipulo commendatur. Adv. Jovin. l. i. T. IV. P. II. p. 169. Vid. et ad. Princip. Virg. ep. 96. [al. 16.] ib. p. 780. f.

See Vol. ii. p. 181.

[ocr errors]

long time ago, but almost in our age, at the end of the ' reign of Domitian.' And though Irenæus does not say that St. John was then in Patmos, yet since he supposeth him to be the person who had the revelation, he must have believed him to be then in Patmos, as the book itself says, ch. i. 9.

Clement of Alexandria, in his book, entitled, Who is the rich Man that may be saved, as cited by Eusebius, speaks a of John's returning from Patmos to Ephesus, after the 'death of the tyrant:' by whom, it is probable, he means Domitian.

C

Tertullian, in his Apology, speaks of Domitian asb having banished some christians, and afterwards giving them leave to return home: probably intending St. John, and some others. In another work he says, that John having 'been sent for to Rome, was cast into a vessel of boiling oil, and then banished into an island; in the time of Domitian, as is most probable.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

d

Origen, explaining Matt. xx. 23, says: James, the 'brother of John, was killed with a sword by Herod. And a Roman emperor, as tradition teaches, banished John into 'the island Patmos for the testimony which he bore to the word of truth. And John himself bears witness to his banishment, omitting the name of the emperor by whom 'he was banished, saying in the Revelation:" I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the 'isle of Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." And it seems, that the Revelation

6

[ocr errors][merged small]

f

e

Victorinus, bishop of Pettaw about 290, again and again says, that John was banished by Domitian, and in his reign saw the Revelation.

[ocr errors]

Eusebius, giving an account of Domitian's persecution, says: In this persecution, as it is said, John, the apostle and evangelist, being still living, was banished ' into the island Patmos for the testimony of the word of 'God.'

• Επειδη γαρ το τυραννω τελευτήσαντος, απο της Πατμο της νησε μετήλθεν εις την Έφεσον. κ. λ. Αp. Euseb. Η. Ε. l. 3. c. 23. p. 92.

b Tentaverat et Domitianus, portio Neronis de crudelitate. Sed, qua et homo, facile cœptum repressit, restitutis etiam quos relegaverat. Apol. cap. 5. c-habes Romam-ubi apostolus Joannes, posteaquam in oleum igneum demersus, nihil passus est, in insulam relegatur. De Pr. Hær. cap. 36. p. 245. d Comm. in Matt. T. I. p. 417. Huet.

e

Και έοικε την αποκαλυψιν εν τη νησῳ τεθεωρηκεναι. Ibid. C.
See Vol. iii. p. 179.
8 H. E. 1. 3. cap. 18.

« PreviousContinue »