Bible Commentaries
2 John

2 John

BACKGROUND

John wrote his Second Letter in relation to the same false teaching as he opposed in his First Letter (2 John 1:7). The teaching was a kind of Gnosticism, a heresy that distorted the truth of Christianity by trying to harmonize it with current philosophies. (For details of the false teaching see background notes to 1 John.)

This false teaching was not confined to the church addressed in the earlier letter, but was being spread around the region by travelling preachers. The short letter of 2 John was sent to a particular group of Christians, either a church or a large family, partly to encourage the believers and partly to warn them not to allow the teachers of false doctrine into their gathering (2 John 1:10-11).