This Letter appears to have been written from Ephesus,
and critics have usually assigned 95 A. D., or some other year
equally late in the Apostolic age, as the probable date of its
composition. On the other hand the internal evidence points to a
date immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
A.D. See 2:8 (last clause); 2:18; 4:3; and note the expectation
of a speedy Coming of Christ (2:28; 3:2)--an expectation which
seems almost to have ceased in the early Church after that date.

John's Second Letter

Although we are unable to fix the exact date of this
Letter or the place at which it was written, there is sufficient
evidence, both external and internal, to warrant our acceptance
of it as a genuine work of the Apostle John.

Some have thought that the "lady" addressed stands for an
unknown Church, but upon careful consideration it appears more
reasonable and natural to regard the Letter as having been a
private one. It is impossible to discover the name of the
individual to whom it was sent, but both this and the following
Letter may be taken as "precious specimens of the private
correspondence of the beloved Apostle."

John's Third Letter

There can be no doubt that this Letter was addressed to
an individual person. We cannot affix to it a definite date, or
place, but the most natural supposition--which there is nothing