II John

Author: the apostle John
Place of writing: presumably, the city of Ephesus
Time of writing: approximately 90 A.D.

John probably wrote his second letter from Ephesus, not too long after he had written his first. Unlike the first letter, John addresses this one to a specific church (which he calls, symbolically, “elect lady”), most likely one of the churches he had intended to read his first letter. Even though the church faces the same problems that it had at the time when the first letter was written, John has been encouraged to hear that the believers there are still walking in the truth.

In this letter, John encourages the believers to continue fulfilling God’s new commandment, by loving one another. He reminds them of the importance of believing the truth about Jesus – for the one who does not continue in this truth does not know God. Finally, he warns them not to have any part in the evil deeds of those who teach falsely about Jesus.

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