Peter's first letter focused on the persecution of the church and remaining faithful in trials; however, this second letter was written in order to counter false teachers within the church. Peter makes some bold statements regarding false doctrine and false teachers, deceivers of the true church:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
Like Paul's letter to the Colossians, Peter is warning against Gnostic heresies which were beginning to invade the 1st century church and remain as a destructive enemy even today.
Two references in the letter provide some indication of the date of writing of 2 Peter. In 2 Peter 1:13-15, Simon Peter wrote that he knew his death was close and in 2 Peter 3:16 he made reference to the writings of Paul. Together, these point to a relatively late date of around AD 67 or 68.
1 John
The three letters which bear John's name have, from the earliest times, been associated with the Apostle John. These letters are believed to have been written from his exile on the Isle of Patmos near the end of the 1st century AD. Much of the writing style is the same as that of John's gospel and many of the references to Christ are similar as well. The first letter does not bear the usual marks of a 1st century letter, although both 2 John and 3 John do.
1 John is the longest of this Apostle's three letters. In form, it is more like a small treatise on Christ rather than a letter; yet it keeps the highest reverence for Christ that his gospel does. This letter is not specifically addressed to anyone, but the theme is that of the fellowship of believers.
2 John
The second letter of John is addressed to "the chosen lady and her children." Although it is not clear who that "lady" may be, there has been much speculation as to whether the "lady" was a woman who John knew or whether it was code for a church, or a group of churches with which he was associated. The primary theme of John's second letter is love and truth. He begins with a greeting, "whom I love in truth" and continues this theme throughout. In the first three verses, John discusses the fact of love in truth, love because of truth and love and truth are of the grace of God. 2 John is the shortest book in the New Testament.
3 John
3 John, like 2 John deals with truth in the church and among believers. However, 3 John is addressed to a specific believer whereas John's other writings are not addressed at all. This letter, like Colossians and 2 Peter, contains instruction against false teaching that was the growing heresy of Gnosticism.
3 John, like all of John's writings was penned between AD 85 and 90.
Jude
"Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James" is the only introduction we get for the author of this, the last letter of the New Testament. If, in fact, he is a brother of James the leader of the Jerusalem church, then he also is a half brother of the Lord and as humble as James in his self-introduction. The book itself is a short volume warning against false teachers. He states very clearly that these false teachers have "crept in unnoticed" and that the church must contend earnestly for the faith.
Although there are no pointers in the letter which can be used to identify the date of writing, tradition holds that Jude was written shortly before the fall of Jerusalem around AD 68.
Jude's letter is short, direct and strongly in opposition to the apostasy being spread through the church by "certain persons." He begins with words of encouragement and ends with a blessing of hope, but all the while in between, Jude makes a fiery case against evil and immoral behavior. Jude refers back to Moses and the days of Noah and the fact that "the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5) and uses them to build his case against the immorality of his day.
Click on the link to read day 38: 2 Peter 1:16-Jude 25
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