30.3

Revelation and Other Johannine Writings

Similarities

• Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 19:13)
• Jesus as “Lamb of God” (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6–14)
• application of Zechariah 12:10 to Jesus (John 19:37; Rev. 1:7)
• Jesus as “faithful witness” (John 5:32; 8:14; 1 John 5:9; Rev. 1:5; 3:14; 19:11)
• use of “I am” sayings (John 6:35, 51; 8:12; 9:5; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5; Rev. 1:8, 17; 21:6; 22:13, 16)
• Jesus present with God from the beginning (John 1:1–2; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 3:14)
• Jesus referring to God as “my God” (John 20:17; Rev. 3:2, 12) and “my Father” (John 5:17, 43; 14:2; Rev. 2:28; 3:5, 21)
• Jesus giving living water (John 4:10, 14; 7:37–39; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1)
• Jesus as lamp or light (John 8:12; 9:5; 1 John 2:8; Rev. 21:23–24)
• portrayal of Jewish opponents as false Jews who serve Satan (John 8:39–47; Rev. 2:9; 3:9)
• linked to Asia Minor (Revelation to Patmos; Gospel and letters to Ephesus)

Differences

• Revelation has a vastly different literary style, much less refined with regard to vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.
• Key themes from John’s Gospel are absent from Revelation: no reference to “new birth,” “eternal life,” “knowing the truth,” “abiding in Christ,” or even “believing.”
• The way of using Scripture differs: John’s Gospel often quotes from the Old Testament; Revelation is rich in Old Testament imagery but never cites Scripture as such.
• The overall theological emphases are different: unlike Revelation, the Gospel of John shows little interest in such future events as the final judgment or the second coming of Christ.