In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ -Yeshua] was in the beginning with God.

GENERAL EPISTLES

The general epistles were written to the early church Christians who previously had been grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, by the apostle Paul and other followers of Christ. The author of the first general epistle, Hebrews, is unknown. The seven remaining general epistles were written by two apostles, Peter and John, and two half-brothers of Jesus, James and Jude. The general epistles were written between AD 48 and AD 96 to the early Christians in Jerusalem and the Roman Empire regions of Greece, Macedonia (part of present day Greece) and Asia Minor (present day Turkey).

The authors of these epistles presented encouragement and warnings to the early Christians of the first century. They reminded believers of the supremacy of Christ that was personally witnessed by the apostles and revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Believers were instructed to remain faithful through persecution and to continue their walk in righteousness. They were warned about false teachers who had crept into the church. These false teachers would be judged by God for their perversion.

Hebrews – The supremacy of Christ; enduring and maturing in faith; the new covenant

James – Resisting temptations; genuine faith produces works; effective prayer

Peter 1 – Enduring persecution; Christian responsibilities; Christian conduct in suffering

Peter 2 – Maturing in Christ; the supremacy of Christ; heresies; mockery and final judgment

John 1 – Walking in righteousness and love; spirit of the Antichrist; assurance of eternal life

John 2 – Walking in the commandment of love; warning against false doctrine and teachers

John 3 – The faithfulness of Gaius; John’s rebuke of Diotrephes and his warning against evil

Jude – False teachers; past and future judgments on the wicked; instructions to believers