2 John, introduction and part one

For my next study, we will look at the book of 2nd John. Why? Because it's nice and short. I don't think it is necessary to have read 1st John first, as we will see. I might even continue on to 3rd John after that.

You can read about 2 John here. This book of the bible is in the form of a letter. Its author is usually assumed to be "John the evangelist" or the apostle John, one of Jesus's original twelve chosen disciples. Because of that, it is also assumed that the book was written in the first century. Because it contains a few sentiments very similar to those found in the books labelled 1 John, 3 John, and the gospel of John,  it is assumed they all have the same author and were written in the same general time period, 85-95 BCE. Note that it is more than 50 years after the supposed date of Jesus's supposed death on the cross.

Let us be quite clear. None of the books of the bible attributed to this John bear John's name in the text. None. They could have been written by anyone. Each could have  been written by separate authors, each author copying the style of the first. The point is no one actually knows the authors or the dates of the books labelled with John's name. They are guessing. You are not told that in Sunday school.

The letter begins with "The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth--and not I only, but also all who know the truth--  because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever." No names are given. The elder is unknown, yet assumed to be John. The chosen lady is also unknown. The possibilities of her identity have been said to include 1. The christian church at large 2. A specific church congregation 3. A revered individual lady 4. Mary, the mother of Jesus.  The last seems to me to be nearly impossible. If this letter was written  85-95 years after Jesus's birth, Mary would most likely have been long dead. The author does not state the exact nature of the truth which the lady and her children know.

Verse 3 says "Grace, mercy and peace from god the father and from Jesus Christ, the father's son, will be with us in truth and love." It seems to be a standard greeting and identifies Jesus as god's son. However, it does not claim Jesus is god in the flesh, or is equal to god.

Verse 4 says, "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the father commanded us." Who are the children? Don't know. What is this truth? Don't know. When, where, and by whom, was this command of the father received? Don't know. There is no context to answer these questions. Most Christians, however, would use other books of the bible to get the answers. A common christian strategy is to "let the bible interpret the bible." However, we need to remember that the bible as a collection of christian scriptures didn't exist when this letter was written. Each writing needs to be looked at separately and examined as a stand alone document.

More to come.