Authorship of The Johannine Works

The authorship of the Johannine works (the Gospel of John, the first, second, and third epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation) has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century AD. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author.

Ancient tradition attributes all the books to John the Apostle. In the 6th century, the Decretum Gelasianum argued that Second and Third John have a separate author known as "John, a priest" (see John the Presbyter). Higher criticism, representing most liberal Christian and secular scholars, rejects the view that John the Apostle authored any of these works.

Many modern scholars conclude that the apostle John wrote none of these works, although others, notably J.A.T. Robinson, F. F. Bruce, Leon Morris, and Martin Hengel hold the apostle to be behind at least some, in particular the gospel. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Some scholars conclude the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel, although all four works probably originated from the same community. The gospel and epistles traditionally and plausibly came from Ephesus, c. 90-110, although some scholars argue for an origin in Syria. In the case of Revelation, many modern scholars agree that it was written by a separate author, John of Patmos, c. 95 with some parts possibly dating to Nero's reign in the early 60s.