2 John
2 John is a very short letter written by the same elder to a sister church that he designates as the "chosen lady." The letter indicates that the false teachers who deny that Jesus Christ was present in the flesh have made inroads in the church and are causing a serious schism. The church is warned concerning these deceivers and told to show no hospitality toward them.
3 John
In this letter from the same elder, the church is commended for receiving Gaius, who performed important services for the congregation. Also, the church is warned about a certain man named Diotrephes, who has spoken slanderously about the elder and tried to have him thrown out of the church.
Jude
This writing of Jude, who speaks of himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, contains a single chapter, whose purpose is similar to that of 2 Peter. In fact, some scholars maintain that this letter was written before 2 Peter and that parts of it were copied and expanded by the author of 2 Peter. A polemical tract written to warn the churches against false doctrines that were gradually making inroads within the membership of the churches, it is directed primarily against Gnosticism and its teaching concerning a strange kind of wisdom expressed in mysterious language. The Gnostics' dualistic conception of good mind but evil body is out of line with Christian doctrine and should be rejected, and the same holds for their conception of Jesus as one who only appeared to have a human body. The author quotes from the Book of Enoch, which is one of the Jewish apocalypses included in the Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.
