Peter’s second letter to the same network of churches in the Asian Minor area opens with Peter telling them he knows he’s going to die soon. So, this letter acts as his farewell speech. Peter issues two warnings against corrupt teachers who are leading the Christian communities astray with their way of life and distorted theology. He addresses their objections to the reality of Jesus’s resurrection and the final judgment. He reminds Christians that their hope is in God. In his time on the Day of the Lord, he will expose evil and injustice and remove it to make way for a new Heaven and Earth that’s permeated with righteousness, God’s love, and people who love God and each other.

The story of 1 John is a bit different than what we see in Peter. Like Hebrews from a few weeks ago, the author is anonymous - though in 2 & 3 John, he’s called “the elder.” Whomever the author is, we know he is overlooking a network of house churches, likely in Ephesus. While we won’t be reading through 2 & 3 John, all three letters address the same issues. Each book addresses deceivers and teachers who no longer acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah or Son of God. They are, instead, spreading fear and division among Jesus’s followers. The author says all legitimate teachers will share the truth about Jesus and the cross, love others sacrificially, and spread love and light rather than fear. He also calls followers of Jesus to share in God’s own life and love by devoting themselves to loving one another.