In the letter, 1, 2 and 3 John, remember, John did not number these epistles. That was done many years later by a church council.
Again, there is little to go on, but some conclusions can be made. John writes as an “elder” to his spiritual “children” (1 John 2:1, 2:12, 2:18, 2 John 1; 3 John 1, 4). Since John was apparently a youthful disciple, the younger brother of James, this implies that a good deal of time has passed since Jesus’ earthly ministry.
John does not identify himself as the author and there is a level of intentional anonymity – “the elder“, “the elect lady“, “her children“, “the children of your elect sister” (2 John 1, 13), and as he writes in 1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last times…” this might indicate a time of persecution. There is little dispute as to a common author for the short letters of 2 John and 3 John. Both are written by a man calling himself “The Elder.” In both books the author rejoices over “children walking in truth.” Many of the themes in 1-3 John are also present in the Gospel of John. The subject of truth and the idea of a commandment of love is prominent in both books, along with the idea that God is light.
A date around of 65 A.D. for all three letters would seem appropriate, and there does not seem to be a clear way to designate a particular order for the three letters.
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