1 John 1

World English Bible 120 include this book

1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life

2 (and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us);

3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled.

5 This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don’t tell the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

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No place is named in this book. Shown instead is where it is thought to have been written.

Where this was written

Ephesus traditional Associated with the same Ephesian setting as the Gospel.

When this was written

The traditions broadly agree on this one.

Broad agreement: 90 AD–100 AD John, or the Johannine circle
Placed with the fourth Gospel on grounds of style and theology.

Who ruled Rome

Emperors reigning while this book is dated. Where the traditions differ, they often fall under different rulers.

Broad agreement

Domitian 81 AD–96 AD
An autocratic reign under which Revelation is traditionally placed, on the testimony of Irenaeus.
Nerva 96 AD–98 AD
A brief reign that eased the pressures of Domitian's last years.
Trajan 98 AD–117 AD
His correspondence with Pliny the Younger is the earliest surviving statement of official Roman policy toward Christians.

Elsewhere in the world

Events overlapping the period this book is dated to (90 AD–100 AD).

1070 BC–350 AD The kingdom of Kush Africa
A Nubian power on the upper Nile that ruled Egypt itself as its twenty-fifth dynasty.
500 BC–500 AD The Nazca lines South America
Vast figures drawn on the Peruvian desert, visible only from the surrounding hills.
206 BC–220 AD The Han dynasty China
Four centuries of Chinese rule contemporary with the whole of Roman expansion.
150 BC–100 AD Roman concrete and the aqueducts Rome
Hydraulic concrete let Rome build harbours, domes and aqueducts that still stand.
100 BC–550 AD Teotihuacan Mesoamerica
A city of perhaps a hundred thousand people in the valley of Mexico, with monumental pyramids.
75 AD–94 AD Josephus writes his histories Levant
A Jewish commander turned Roman client whose account is the main narrative source for first-century Judea.
27 BC–100 AD Roman road and sea network matures Rome
Consolidated roads, harbours and suppressed piracy made long-distance travel unusually safe, a precondition for the rapid spread of early Christian communities.
100 AD–940 AD The kingdom of Aksum Africa
An Ethiopian trading power on the Red Sea, and among the earliest states to adopt Christianity.

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