2 John Introduction
Introduction
2 John
The same person who wrote 1 John also had to write to other communities where the false teachers he opposed might go to spread their ideas and practices. A letter he wrote to another community has been preserved for us as 2 John. Its author addresses the community heʼs writing to as a lady and calls its members her children. He describes the members of his own community as the children of your sister. (This was apparently typical of early followers of Jesus. Thereʼs a similar greeting at the end of 1 Peter.) The writer identifies himself as a leader by using the title elder.
Apparently some people from this community had just come to visit him and he was pleased to learn they were walking in the truth—that is, they were maintaining the teaching they had heard from the beginning. But he had to warn the community (probably sending this letter with those returning home) not to support the false teachers in any way: Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. Despite its brevity, this letter expresses all of the themes that receive a more extensive development in 1 John.
2 John
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2 John Introduction: BOOKS
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