Elders are men who have been obeying God for a long time. Elders lead God’s people and teach the people spiritual things. The word "elder" was used in the Bible because these men were usually older men. These men had great wisdom because they learned many things as they grew older.
In the Old Testament, Israelite elders helped Moses lead the Israelite people (see: Exodus 24:1; Deuteronomy 29:10). In the New Testament, Jewish elders continued to help lead their people (see: Mark 7:3). These elders were also judges for their people (see: Matthew 21:23; Acts 4:5). In the early Christian churches, Christian elders were leaders for groups of Christians in different cities (see: 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14).
The books that are called 2 John and 3 John were written by “the elder” (see: 2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1). Many scholars think that the elder was the apostle John. The apostle Peter also called himself an elder (see: 1 Peter 5:1).
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