ABSTRACT
The two aspects of Johannine thought, mysticism and gnostic philosophy, are closely correlated to each other. John expresses his ideas in the form of speeches put into the mouth of Jesus. The Johannine gnostic philosophy is much more mystical in its outlook than speculative. But behind the Johannine theology can be discerned an original and creative religious personality. Johannine phrases and terminology offer also striking analogies with those of a form of Greek mysticism which was strongly tainted with Oriental influences. The Johannine conception of the world may be described as an ontological and pessimistic dualism. The Johannine Christ has a triple function: he is creator, revealer, and redeemer. Allowing for its own distinctive originality Johannine mysticism belongs to the main stream of Greek mysticism. The culmination of the Johannine doctrine of the logos is the conception of incarnation, but his conception is not only strange to Philo; it lies at the antipodes of his thought.
