St. John the Evangelist's Vision of Jerusalem

Laminated card with rounded corners. Size: 2.25” x 4.5

St. John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, or John the Presbyter, although this has been disputed by most modern scholars.

The Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed “disciple whom Jesus loved”, who “bore witness to and wrote” the Gospel’s message. The author of the Gospel of John seemed interested in maintaining the internal anonymity of the author’s identity, although interpreting the Gospel in the light of the Synoptic Gospels and considering that the author names (and therefore is not claiming to be) Peter, and that James was martyred as early as AD 44, it has been widely believed that the author was the Apostle John (though some believe he was pretending to be).

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. The Apostle John was one of the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church after Jesus’ death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have not been killed for his faith. It had been believed that he was exiled (around AD 95) to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, some attribute the authorship of Revelation to another man, called John the Presbyter, or to other writers of the late first century AD. Bauckham argues that the early Christians identified John the Evangelist with John the Presbyter.

ST44