The Second Letter of John - Introduction
This is a real letter, written to a specific Christian community by “the Elder.” Someone of authority in one local church, the author feels a certain responsibility for the faith of another community. It is all but impossible to discover the date, place of origin, or destination of this note. Its purpose is to alert the church addressed to the dangers of the heretical denial of the incarnation. To counter these dangers, it urges fidelity to the traditional commandment of mutual love, which involves obedience to apostolic authority. Stylistic similarities suggest that this writer also composed 3 John and also may be the author of 1 John.