Chapters
Introduction to 2 John
Author - The Apostle John
Audience - Unknown, perhaps to churches like those mentioned in Rev. 2:8–3:22.
Setting
No later than AD 90
probably written from Ephesus
Theme - true doctrine, obedient living, and faithful devotion
Ancient manuscripts uniformly identify this as a second letter by “John.”
Like 1 John, 2 John probably was written in the vicinity of Ephesus near the end of the first century A.D. Ancient sources suggest John spent the closing decades of his life in this area, ministering to churches like those listed in Revelation 2–3.
The focus of 2 John is living in the love of God in accordance with the truth of Jesus Christ.
By this time, he (John) was an old man, one of the last surviving links with Jesus and his disciples. He was a man who had the authority of a bishop in Ephesus and in the places around it; and when he saw that a church was threatened with trouble and heresy, he wrote with gracious and loving correction to his people. Here are the letters of an aged saint, one of the last of the first generation of Christians, a man whom all loved and respected.
It is clear that Second and Third John are closely connected with each other; and that both are closely connected with First John. They are dealing with the same situation, the same dangers and the same people.
John was entirely justified in warning his people that the wrong kind of wandering prophets might come claiming hospitality and in saying that they must on no account be received. There is no doubt that in the early church these wandering prophets became a problem. Some of them were heretical teachers, even if they were sincerely convinced of their own teaching. Some were nothing better than plausible rogues who had found an easy way to make a comfortable living. That is the picture which lies behind Second John.