…re” from heaven when a village of Samaritans refused to receive Jesus (Luke 9:54). Those who exhibited a love for Jesus and His commands were equally loved by the apostle John (1 John 1:4; 2 John 4; 3 John 4). Interestingly, verse four of all three epistles deals with this joy.

Later in life, John was known as a “pillar” in the church (Galatians 2:9). He was eventually exiled to the island of Patmos “for the wo…

• More than likely it was a general letter that was shared among churches of the day.

Theme:

The over arching theme is love and knowing that you have eternal life.

Purpose:

1. To refute the false teachers of Gnosticism.
   1. Two characteristics of Gnosticism:
      1. Saving knowledge vs saving faith
      2. dualism (matter vs spir