deluge came, though its coming was
doubted, and also that it must be remembered that the Lord does not
reckon time as men do. A period which is long to us is not long to
Him. The day of the Lord will come suddenly "as a thief in the night,"
and in view of judgment the readers are exhorted to holiness and
patience.

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ANALYSIS

Salutation, a list of Christian graces which are to be successively
blended with faith, a reminder of the truth of Christianity as
testified by the words of God at the Transfiguration, and by the light
of prophecy (i.).

Denunciation of the false teachers who are guilty of gross sin and
blindly follow their lower instincts (ii.).

Allusion to the former letter, rebuke of those who disbelieve in the
last judgment, the coming of the day of the Lord and the destruction of
the world, exhortations to holiness, diligence needed, the
long-suffering of Christ witnessed to by Paul, growth in grace (iii.).

[1] _H. E._ iii. 3.

[2] The priority of 2 Peter is strongly defended by Spitta, in his _Der
Zweite Brief d. Petrus_, 1885.

[3] This is very clearly stated by Dr. G. B. Stevens in his valuable
_Theology of the New Testament_, although he decides against the
genuineness of 2 Peter.

[4] This is done by Harnack, who places Jude between A.D. 100 and 130.

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CHAPTER XXIII

THE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN

[Sidenote: The Author.]

The authenticity of this Epistle is bound up with the authenticity of
St. John's Gospel. Like the Gospel, it does not contain any statement
as to the name of the author. Like the Gospel, it is attributed by a
very ancient tradition to the nearest friend of Jesus Christ. The
external evidence is particularly good. We learn from the
unimpeachable testimony of Eusebius[1] that it was used by Papias, who
was a disciple of St. John. Polycarp, another disciple of St. John,
directly quotes 1 John iv. 3 in his still extant letter. It is quoted
by Irenaeus, the pupil of Polycarp, and was recognized as genuine in
widely distant Churches at the close of the 2nd century.

The internal evidence shows that the writer claims to be an eye-witness
and intimate personal friend of Jesus Christ (i. 1-3).[2] And this
eye-witness must be St. John, if the fourth Gospel was written by St.
John. The style is similar, and the ideas are the same. It is true
that Christ is not called our "propitiation" in the Gospel as in thi