fidently denied, especially by critics of the Tübingen school. These, headed by Baur (q.v.), regard the gospel as representing a theology that arose after the Pauline and Petrine schools had long divided the early church, and as being therefore a work of the middle of the second century. The author, they hold, was a Gentile, and his purpose in writing was rather dogmatical than historical. Of the epistles, it is almost certain that the first proceeded from the same writer who composed the gospel. In style, language, and doctrine, it is identical with it, and from the earliest times it was quoted as a work of the apostle Jolin; but the second and third are classed by Eusebius among the Antilegomena (Scriptures of doubtful genuineness), and were suspected by the most learned and critical of the early fathers.-For an account of the book of Revelation, see REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST (ante), was probably one of the two disciples of John the Baptist who, impressed with the witness of their master to Jesus of Nazareth, followed him and, having abode with him the rest of the day, were thenceforth numbered among his disciples. He and his brother James were called to be fishers of men in close connection with two other brethren, Simon and Andrew. When the twelve apostles were chosen, these four were placed at the head of the list. John and James received from Jesus the surname, "Boanerges," signifying sons of thunder, Through their mother, Salome, they sought from him what they considered the two places in his kingdom that were nearest to himself. In a Samaritan village that would not receive him they asked, Lord shall we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" At another time John said, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name and we forbade him, because he followed not with us." John, Peter, and James were often specially trusted by their master. They only of the apostles were with him when he raised the daughter of Jairus, when he was transfigured on the holy mount, and when he entered on his conflict in the garden. Besides the frequent association of the three apostles, a still closer intimacy existed between John and Peter, recorded first, and perhaps beginning, when Jesus sent them together into Jerusalem to prepare the last passover. Afterwards, at the supper, they held confidential communication together in the effort to ascertain who was to be the traitor. When Jesus was arraigned before the great council, John, through his acquaintance with the high priest, in whose house the session was held, obtained admission for himself and Peter. They were together on the morning of the resurrection, when Mary Magdalene told them of the opened and empty sepulcher, and together they started immediately to see for themselves-John outrunning Peter, but Peter entering in before John. At the sea of Tiberias a special intimacy between them was shown when John, first of the company in recognizing the Lord, informed Peter personally of his discovery; and when Peter, having had the manner of his death intimated to him, inquired earnestly concerning John, "Lord, what shall this man do?" After the day of pentecost, they went together into the temple and were together in healing the lame man, in their imprisonment, and in their bold answer before the council. After the gospel had been preached in Samaria, they were sent together by the other apostles to direct and perfect the movement there. And they were still together in Jerusalem, accounted-with the second James-as pillars of the church, 17 years after the conversion of Paul. While John, from the beginning of Christ's ministry, was one of the chosen three and of the yet more favored two, he was also honored by an association with the Lord himself closer than any of the rest obtained. Not until the last passover is the distinction recorded; probably not until then was it manifested; perhaps the only outward sign of it was in the privilege given him of reclining with his head on the breast of Jesus, at that supper before which the apostles had disputed among themselves about the place that each should have in the expected kingdom. From that time he designates himself in his gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved." He only of the apostles stood by the cross, where he received from the Lord in his dying agony the precious charge of his mother, who was also standing by, that he might be to her as a son. After the martyrdom of Paul, John, according to the general testimony of the early Christians, resided at Ephesus, having an apostolic oversight of the churches in pro-· consular Asia. JOHN, GOSPEL OF (JOHN, ante), I, was one of the books of the New Testament which were of standard authority in the council of Nice, 325 A.D., as possessed and acknowledged to be of apostolic origin by all the churches of Christendom. In this judgment both the parties, orthodox and Arian, of which the council was composed, were agreed. And the agreement was not disturbed by the fact that the great question in debate between them and in the churches-the proper divinity of Christ-brought this gospel into the center of the arena; so that if there had been any uncertainty respecting its genuineness the discussion would, inevitably, have made it appear. As an incidental result, therefore, that great council demonstrated the fact that, in the first quarter of the 4th c., the gospel of John was in universal use throughout the Christian church as his genuine and unquestioned work. This demonstration, in itself so clear, is confirmed by the individual testimony to the same effect given, outside of the council, by Eusebius, Athanasius, and Arius. II. About the same time the emperor Constantine made provision for building new churches and preparing sew copies of the Scripturos, in which John's gospel was included, to fill the place of those which, at the close of the El c., during the persecution under Diocletian, had been destroyed. It is therefore plain that, in the last quarter of the 3d c., this gospel was one of the books of Scripture in use throughout the Christian churches. III. Origen, whose life extended froni 253 back to 184 A.D., was a diligent student and famous teacher of the Scriptures, as well as a great traveler among the churches. He visited almost all parts of Christendom, became acquainted with many presbyters and bishops, taught in many churches, drew students to Alexandria from all sections of the empire, took an active part in the controversies of his time, and wrote much in defense of the common Christian faith. Thus eminently qualified to be a witness for the whole church, he affirms that "the four gospels, the last of which is John's, are the only undisputed ones in the whole church of God throughout the world." This is testimony not only that Origen himself received the gospel of John as genuine, but also that, towards the beginning of the 3d C.. all the churches of Christendom so received it. IV. Clement of Alexandria lived from 220 back to about 165 A.D., and, besides traveling extensively in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Asia, was a great Christian teacher at Alexandria. Concerning the gospels he says that "those of Matthew and Luke were written first; then Mark's, and last of all, John's." Ilis testimony establishes the fact that John's gospel was in use among the churches of Christendom during the last quarter of the 2d century. V. The oldest known treatise against Christianity was written by Celsus not far from 170 a.d. "He studied the Christian doctrines profoundly, drawing his information from the Scriptures. It is undeniable that he knew John's gospel. Indeed, Keim has proved that the image of Christ which he composed for himself is taken in great part from John's conception and presentation of him. The whole Christological attitude of the church, as Celsus describes it, is John's. It follows from this that John's gospel was at that time a record of Christianity known by friend and foe." VI. Tertullian, who lived from about 240 back to about 160 A.D., testifies that not only among the apostolic churches, but also among all the churches which are united with them in Christian fellowship, the gospel of Luke has been maintained from its first publication; and the same authority of the apostolic churches will uphold the other gospels which we have, in due succession, through them and according to their usage, I mean those of Matthew and John; although that which was published by Mark may also be maintained as Peter's, whose interpreter Mark was.' VII. Irenæus, whose life extended from 202 back to 126 A.D., says that John's gospel was the last of the four, was published at Ephesus by the disciple of the Lord who leaned on his breast, and declares the Redeemer's primary and glorious generation from the Father, In the beginning was the Word."" VIII. The Coptic versions of the New Testament, in use probably at the beginning of the 3d c., the old Latin, used still carlier in the province of Africa, and the Syriac, inade not later than the earlier part of the 2d c., all contain the gospel of John. And as only previously acknowledged books of Scripture would be translated as such, these versions prove that the gospel of John was generally acknowledged as his work as far back as the earlier part of the 2d century. IX. An additional testimony, covering about the same period, is furnished by the Muratorian fragment, a part of a treatise on the books of the New Testament named from its discoverer, and assigned by critics to the latter half of the 2d century. It places John's gospel last among the four which were then universally received by the churches as of canonical authority. X. Justin Martyr was the author of a dialogue with Trypho the Jew in defense of Christianity, and of two defenses presented to the emperor and senate, the earliest of which was written between 138 and 147 A.D. In these writings, addressed to unbelievers, he quotes, as authority for his statements concerning the life and teaching of Christ, certain works which, without naming the particular authors, he calls "memoirs," memoirs made by the apostles,' memoirs, made by the apostles, which are called gospels,” and “memoirs composed by the apostles of Christ and their followers." Concerning the use made by Christians of these books he says: "On the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country assemble in one place, and the memoirs by the apostles, or the writings of the prophets, are read as long as time permits. When the reader has finished, the president admonishes and exhorts to the imitation of these good things." The question whether these memoirs were our four gospels has, in these last days, been strenuously debated. That they were seems clear, because our four gospels, as has been shown, were at a somewhat later period universally received and read in the churches on Sundays, as the memoirs of Christ written by apostles and their followers; viz., by Matthew and John, by Mark, the follower of Peter, and Luke, the follower of Paul: and there are no traces of any others having been so received and read. But it is impossible that in Justin Martyr's time one set of such memoirs could have been universally received and read in the churches, and in half a century later a rival or different set take their place, without great and multiform evidence being left of collision and substitution. But of any such process there is no trace whatever. That John's gospel was one of those to which Justin referred is also proved by his quotations from it and allusions to it; some of which are here given. (1) He refers to Christ as the Logos in terms which John alone uses: "the Logos was made flesh;" "through him God created all things:" "he was the only begotten of the Father of the universe, having been begotten by him in a peculiar manner as his logos and power.” (2) He cites words of John the Baptist, part of which John's gospel alone gives-"I am not the 46 99 66 John. Christ, but the voice of one crying." (3) As a reason why Christians considered baptism obligatory, Justin says: "For Christ also said, Except ye be born again, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.' But in John's gospel only is such a saying of Christ recorded. And with this he makes an explicit reference to the objection which John also ascribes to Nicodemus concerning the impossibility of a man being born a second time. (4) He says: "The Jews are justly upbraided by Christ as knowing neither the Father nor the Son."" (5) He says, "Christ healed those who were blind from their birth.” XI. The Gnostics as well as their opponents generally received John's gospel during the controversies carried on 120-30, giving it very forced interpretations so as to make it appear consistent with their doctrines. This fact is decisive proof that at this carly period, within about a quarter of a century of the time when the gospel was probably written, its genuineness was fully established. XII. At this point we must take into account the certain truth that Christianity and numerous Christian churches existed before any of the gospels were written. The apostles, among whom John was conspicuous from the beginning, first preached and taught orally, thus making converts and founding churches. In this way the churches generally had become well acquainted with the apostolic teaching, and were accurate judges of what professed to be in harmony with it, before the gospels appeared. This explains the fact that the publication of them produced no commotion and excited no feeling except satisfaction with having in permanent form that which was loved so much and known so well. It explains also the fact that within so short a time after John's gospel was written it was widely diffused and generally received. The transition from the spoken to the written excited no debate, and left no traces of its having been made, except the almost simultaneous presence of the book itself in all parts of Christendom. The great design of John's gospel he has himself stated-"These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life through his name." In prosecution of this design, it (1) declares the existence, in the beginning, with God and as God, of the logos, who is the source of light and life, by whom all things were created; and who became flesh, dwelling among men, manifesting to chosen witnesses his glory in the fullness of grace and truth; (2) gives a statement of the mission of John the Baptist, and of his testimony to Jesus as the Messiah, the Lamb of God to take away sins, and the Son of God in whom all men are called on to believe; (3) makes prominent the portion of Christ's ministry which was fulfilled in Jerusalem-chiefly at the national feasts, yet clearly marks also his journeys to and from Galilee, where the larger portion of his work was performed; (4) records the faith of his first disciples in him as the promised Messiah; (5) gives an account of his first miracles in Galilee; of the symbolic cleansing of the temple with which his public ministry in Jerusalem began; of his interview with Nicodemus, to whom he declared the necessity of regeneration, the design of the atonement, and the love of God in sending his Son into the world; of his conversation with the woman of Samaria, to whom he proved his Messiahship by an omniscient judgment concerning herself, and made God known as the object of spiritual worship to be offered henceforth by all men everywhere; of his healing the man at Bethesda, followed by his claim of equality with God, and of power to give spiritual life, to raise all the dead, and to judge the world; of his feeding 5,000 men with five loaves; of his proclaiming himself as the bread of life, the living water, the light of the world, the giver of liberty, and the deliverer from death; of his bestowing sight on a man who had been born blind; of his announcing himself as the good shepherd, who, by laying down his life for his sheep, would give them eternal life; and of his raising Lazarus from the grave, followed by his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. From this point the gospel gives the private communion of the Savior with the apostles at the last passover; his foretelling that Judas Iscariot would betray him, and Simon Peter deny him; his words of comfort, peace, and deliverance, followed by the promise to send the Holy Spirit as an advocate, instructor, and guide; his intercession with the Father in behalf of his disciples through all time; his apprehension and arraignment before the Jewish council and the Roman governor; his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection from the dead, interviews with his disciples, and final instructions to them. This gospel diffuses the glory of the Son of God over all his incarnate life upon earth. And as the culmination of the external proof of its genuineness is the book itself present in the churches throngh all the centuries since it was written, so the effulgence of the internal proof is the Divine being, character, and life exhibited through it all. JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of Christ, was the son of the priest Zacharias and Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, the mother of our Lord. John and Christ were therefore second cousins. The wonderful circumstances attending the conception and birth of the former are recorded in the 1st chapter of St. Luke's gospel. After a life devoted to preparing his countrymen for the coming of the Messiah, he was thrown into prison, and afterwards executed by Herod Antipas. John's followers existed as a separate body till long after the spread of Christianity, and a sect still exists in the east professing to be his disciples.-John the Baptist was, from an early date, regarded in England as the patron saint of the common people, and on this account, apparently, great masonic festivals are held on St. John's day, the day dedicated to him, which is the 24th of June. John. JOHN THE BAPTIST, was of the priestly race by both parents, his father, Zecharias, being a priest of the course of Abia or Åbijah (I. Chron. xxiv. 10), and his mother, Elizabeth, being of the daughters of Aarou (Luke i. 5). His coming as the precursor of His birth the Christ was foretold centuries before his birth by Isaiah as the one crying in the wilderness, and by Malachi as the messenger to prepare the way before him. On the 8th day the child was foretold by an angel, who announced also what his character and office would be as the forerunner of the Christ and the reformer of the nation. was brought, in conformity with the law of Moses, to the priest for circumcision. AH that we know of John for 30 years, or from his birth to the beginning of his ministry, is contained in one verse-" The child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel." John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth (Luke i. 15), drinking neither wine nor strong drink, implying that he should abstain from worldly pleasures, and live a life of self-denial. In accordance with this he retired to the wild and thinly peopled region west of the Dead sea, and, by self-discipline and communion with God, prepared himself for the work to which he had been appointed. When he came forth he was dressed in the costume of one of the old prophets, with a garment woven of camel's hair and fastened to the body by a leathern girdle His food was such as was found in the desert-locusts and wild honey. Thus prepared, he began his ministry, calling upon the people to repent in order to share in the blessings of the kingdom of God, near at hand. Multitudes were attracted by his fervor, his reputation for extraordinary sanctity, and the prevailing belief that some great one was about to appear; and many of every class came forward to confess their sins and be baptized. His baptism was a visible token of that repentance which was essential to forgiveness, but he assured his hearers that One mightier than he would baptize with the Holy Ghost. John instructed his disciples also in moral and religious duties, as fasting and prayer. But soon after he had given his testimony to the Messiah his ministry was brought to a close. The king, Herod Antipas, was living in adultery with the wife of his brother Philip, and when John reproved him for his sin, Herod put him in prison. The prison was the castle of Machærus, a fortress on the eastern side of the Dead sea. Herodias, enraged at the rebuke of John, determined that he should die. At Machærus, which was the palace of Herod as well as a fortress, was held a court-festival in honor of the king's birthday. The daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted was Herod that he promised to give her whatever she should ask. Prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Instructed by Herod, an officer of the guard slew him in the prison. His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third passover in the course of our Lord's ministry, A.D. 28. Herod doubtless regarded him as an extraordinary person, for when he heard of the miracles of Christ he ascribed them to John, who, he said, had risen from the dead. John's disciples took the body of John and buried it, and ecclesiastical history records the honors paid to his memory. He is mentioned with great honor in the Koran under the name of Jalija. JOHN, surnamed LACKLAND, king of England, and the youngest of the five sons of Henry II. by his wife, Eleanor of Guienne, was b. at Oxford, Dec. 24, 1166. His father having obtained a bull from the pope authorizing him to invest one of his sons with the lordship of Ireland, John was appointed in a council held at Oxford in 1178, and in Mar., 1185, he went over to take the reins of goverr ment, but governed so badly that he was recalled in the following December. John latterly united with his brothers in their rebellions against their father, and it was the sudden communication of the news of his having joined his brother Richard's rebellion that caused the death of Henry. This did not, however, John now quarreled with the pope, and the kingdom was placed under an interdict; his subjects, found his position untenable, and was compelled to make abject submission to Rome, and hold his kingdom as a fief of the papacy. Philippe proceeded with his invasion scheme, though no longer approved by Rome; but the French fleet was totally defeated in the harbor of Damme, 300 of their vessels being captured, and above 100 destroyed. Subsequent events, however, proved more favorable to France, and at length the English barons saw the opportunity to end the tyranny of John: they drew up a petition, which was rejected by the king, and this was the signal for war. The army of the barons assembled at Stamford, and marched to London; they met the king at Runnymede, and on June 15, 1215, was signed the great charter (Magna Charta), the basis of the English constitution. The pope soon after annulled the charter, and the war broke out again. The barons now called over the dauphin of France to be their leader, and Louis landed at Sandwich, May 30, 1216. In attempting to cross the Wash John lost his regalia and treasures; was taken ill, and died at Newark castle, Oct. 19, 1216, in the 49th year of his age. JOHN II., surnamed THE GOOD (Le Bon), 1319-64; King of France, the second of the Valois family; succeeded his father, Philip VI. of Valois, in 1350. He commenced his reign by acts of despotism and cruelty. England being appealed to by the friends of those whom he had slain, invaded France, when John was defeated by Edward the black prince at Poictiers in 1356, and carried to Bordeaux and then to London, where he was a prisoner for three years. His ransom, by a treaty with Edward III. at Bretigny, was the surrender to the English of eight of the best French provinces and the payment of 3,000,000 crowns in gold. He left his son, the duke of Anjou, in London as a hostage for the fulfillment of the treaty, who, having escaped in violation of his parole, Joliu voluntarily returned as a prisoner in 1364 to London, where he suddenly died. JOHN II. (CASIMIR), 1609-72; King of Poland; younger son of Sigismund III. Having embarked for Spain for the purpose of persuading Philip III. to form a league against France, he was shipwrecked, and imprisoned for two years at Vincennes. Being released on a promise given by his brother, king of Portugal, never to wage war against France, he traveled through western Europe, became a Jesuit, and was made cardinal by Innocent X. Returning to Poland he succeeded his brother Ladislas in 1648, and married his widow, Maria Luisa Gonzaga. During his reign Poland was attacked by Russia and Sweden, resulting in wars which terminated in the cession of several provinces on the Baltic and the Dnieper. His wife intriguing for the son of the prince of Condé as successor to the throne, and the nobles contending among themselves, he abdicated at the diet of Warsaw, Sept. 16, 1668, and retired to France, where he was kindly received by Louis XIV. When he died his heart was interred in St. Germain des Prés, and his body taken to the cathedral of Cracow in 1676. JOHN III. (JOHN SOBIESKI), King of Poland, 1674–96; one of the greatest warriors of the 17th c.; was b. in 1624, or, according to others, in 1629, and educated with the utmost care, along with his brother Mark, by his father, James Sobieski, castellan of Cracow, a man of virtuous character and warlike spirit. The brothers traveled in France, England, Italy, and Germany. Their father's death recalled them home in 1648. The Poles were defeated by the Russians in the battle of Pilawiecz. The Sobieskis took up arms to restore the fortunes of their country. Mark fell in battle on the banks of the Bog; John distinguished himself by his valor, and became the adm ration of his countrymen and the dread of the Tartars and Cossacks. He received the highest military dignities and appointments, and on Nov. 11, 1673, defeated the Turks in the great battle of Choczim, in which they lost 28,000 men; after which he was, May 21, 1674, unanimously elected king of Poland, and was crowned in Cracow along with his wife, Maria Casimir Louisa, daughter of the marquis Lagrange d'Arquien, and widow of the woiwode John Zamoiski. When the Turks besieged Vienna in 1683 John hastened thither with 20,000 Poles, and, along with the German auxiliaries who had also come up, raised the siege by the victory of Sept. 12 of that year. In this battle he took the banner of Mohammed, which he sent to the pope. On his entrance into Vienna he was received with unbounded enthusiasm by the inhabitants. His subsequent undertakings against the Turks were not equally successful. He died of apoplexy June 17, 1696. John Sobieski was not only a statesman and warrior, but a lover of science, and a man of gentle disposition and agreeable manners; but his constant wars prevented that attention to the internal condition of Poland which its critical situation urgently required, and this oversight on his part helped to hasten the downfall of Poland. JOHN I., JOAN "the Great," 1357-1433; King of Portugal; b. Lisbon; son of Peter I. At the death of his brother Ferdinand in 1383 he became regent, and seized the throne in violation of the rights of the infanta Beatrice. A war followed, resulting in favor of John. In 1415 he took Ceuta from the Moors. The islands of Madeira, cape Verde, the Azores, and the Canaries were discovered in his reign. JOHN II., JOAN "the Perfect," 1455-95; King of Portugal; b. Lisbon; married in 1471 Leonora of Lancaster; succeeded his father, Alphonso V., Aug. 29, 1481. He put to death for conspiracy the dukes of Braganza and Visco, 1483–84. During his reign B. Dias discovered the cape of Good Hope, Da Gama visited India, and the African coasts re explored by distinguished navigators. |