Epistles of John

A Hungarian rendition of St John the Evangelist

Three books in the New Testament, thought to have been written between 85-100, are collectively called the Epistles of John. The author of these letters is traditionally believed to be John the Evangelist, also known simply as "the Elder".

First Epistle of John

This epistle unlike the other two is written more as a sermon, one to help strengthen peoples faith in Jesus, to help them understand why a being as great as the son of God would have a mortal life and a mortal's agonizing death. There is no signature upon this letter, just one page of sermon written on papyrus paper, but its tone and language leads historians to believe that it was written by one who was intimate with Christ.^{[citation needed]}

Second Epistle of John

This Epistle is written more like a letter from the Apostle to an "elect lady". Of course who the elect lady is no one knows. Perhaps she is representative of the church or is a lady whom John knew. Within the letter John warns about opening home to false teachers and to always practice truth avoiding secrecy.

First Epistle

Third Epistle of John

The third epistle is addressed to a man named Gaius and mentioned as "a dear friend". It talks about a man named Diotrephes who had Gaius excommunicated from the church and had gone on to create an anti-missionary sentiment, trying to get the church to stop receiving missionaries. It is believed that the letter was delivered by a third character, Demetrius.