<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The First Epistle of John, often referred to as First John and written 1 John, is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles . It is attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two Johannine epistles . This epistle was probably written in Ephesus in AD 95--110 . The work was written to counter docetism, which is the belief that Jesus did not come "in the flesh", but only as a spirit . It also defined how Christians are to discern true teachers: by their ethics, their proclamation of Jesus in the flesh, and by their love . </P> <P> The main themes of the epistle are love and fellowship with God . The author describes various tests by which readers may ascertain whether or not their communion with God is genuine, and teaches that the proof of spiritual regeneration is a life of active righteousness . It also distinguishes between the world (which is full of evil and under the dominion of Satan) and the children of God (who are set apart from the world). </P>

When was the book of 1st john written