Who wrote 2 John, and when?
John the apostle, “the elder” About AD 85–95.
The writer calls himself simply the elder, a title of age and authority rather than a name. From early times the letter has been credited to John the apostle, because its wording sits so close to 1 John and the Gospel of John. Some scholars accept that, while others argue for a different figure known in early sources as John the elder, or for a member of the same circle of teachers. Christians differ here, and the letter loses nothing either way. The date is usually given as about AD 85 to 95, around the same period as 1 John, with the writer somewhere in the Roman province of Asia.
Who was 2 John written to?
“The elect lady and her children”, most likely a local church and its members.
The letter is addressed to a chosen lady and her children. Most scholars read that as a warm way of naming a local church and its members, partly because the writer switches between singular and plural, and because he closes with greetings from the children of her chosen sister, which would fit a sister congregation. Some readers take it literally, as a Christian woman and her family, and the letter works either way. The recipients lived where travelling teachers moved from house to house and depended on believers for food and a bed. Some of those teachers were carrying the same denial of the incarnation that 1 John confronts.
What was happening at the time?
Travelling teachers depended on hospitality from churches. Some were spreading the same denial of the incarnation that 1 John confronts. John, in a letter short enough for a single sheet, rejoices that some are walking in truth, repeats the command to love one another, and warns not to receive or support deceivers.
Why was 2 John written?
To encourage love and truth and to warn against hosting false teachers.
The elder writes to keep two things together, truth and love. He is glad that some of the children are walking in the truth, he repeats the old command to love one another, and then he explains why the two cannot be separated. Hospitality was the lifeline of early Christian mission, so giving a teacher a room and a meal was a way of joining in the work. To house someone who denied that Jesus had come in the flesh was to help spread that denial. So the elder draws a line: welcome the messengers of Christ, and do not fund the ones undoing him. In the wider Bible story this guards the heart of the gospel, that God came to us in a real human life.
How to read 2 John today
This is thirteen verses long, so read it twice in a few minutes, and read 1 John first because the two share a background. Watch how truth and love sit side by side in almost every sentence. The warning about not welcoming certain teachers was aimed at people spreading one specific denial about Jesus, not at neighbours, relatives or anyone of another faith, so do not stretch it into a rule about ordinary kindness. Notice the personal ending, where the elder would rather talk face to face than write any more. While reading, pray for clear judgement about what you support with your time and money.
The key verse in 2 John
This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
Passages worth knowing in 2 John
- 2 John 1:4-6
Walking in truth and love
This is love, that we walk according to his commandments.
- 2 John 1:7-11
Beware of deceivers
Do not receive those who deny Christ in the flesh.
The main themes of 2 John
- Truth
- Love
- Discernment
- Hospitality and its limits
An outline of 2 John
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Greeting, truth and love, warning | 1 |