rds is a notorious difficulty. At first sight the "lady" would be
supposed to be a private individual. But if so, why is not the
individual's name mentioned, like the name of the recipient of the
Third Epistle? Perhaps it is mentioned, for the words translated "the
elect lady" may mean "the elect Kyria." The "house" of the lady (ver.
10) also suggests that the lady is an individual. On the other hand,
it has been supposed that the lady is a symbolical name for a local
_Church_. In favour of this interpretation is the fact that the writer
speaks, not only of the children of the lady who are with her, but also
of others whom he has met (ver. 4), and in a manner which suggests a
large number of persons. The same interpretation can be put upon the
"elect sister" mentioned in the last verse of the Epistle. Writers of
deserved repute accept this symbolical interpretation. But when a
literal meaning and a symbolical meaning are supported by equally good
arguments, it seems prudent to accept the simpler, _i.e._ the literal
interpretation. It is hard to believe that St. Jerome and Hilgenfeld
are right in thinking that it is addressed to the whole Catholic
Church. This is surely excluded by the mention of an "elect sister."

[Sidenote: Where and when written.]

Probably from Ephesus, and the contents suggest that it was written
later than the first Epistle.

[Sidenote: Character and Contents.]

The letter contains an affectionate expression of happiness due to the
steadfast Christianity of the children of the "elect lady." But its
main object is to utter a warning against the deceivers who deny that
Christ is "come in the flesh." These deceivers were evidently
Docetists. In order to appreciate the necessity for such a warning we
must remember the extraordinary attraction which many persons who liked
a _dilettante_ Christianity found in the theory that Christ was a
divine Spirit who clothed Himself with flesh in which He did not
suffer. At the close of the apostolic age, and {263} for many
generations afterwards, orthodox Christianity was often regarded as too
materialistic for advanced thinkers. They endeavoured to make
Christianity keep pace with the times by infusing into it the decadent
Greek or Oriental mysticism which depreciated our human body.

ANALYSIS

Salutation, thanksgiving for certain of the elect lady's children,
reminder of the commandments to love and obey, the deceivers who deny
the incar