If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ was not raised,

and if Christ was not raised, there is nothing in our message; there is nothing in our faith either,

There are heavenly bodies, and there are earthly bodies, but the beauty of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, and the beauty of the earthly bodies is of another.

It is a physical body that is sown, it is a spiritual body that is raised. If there is a physical body, there is a spiritual body also.

As surely as God can be relied on, there has been no equivocation about our message to you.

For if I hurt your feelings, who is there to cheer me up but the man whose feelings I hurt?

When I went to Troas to preach the good news of the Christ there, I found a good opening for the Lord's work,

but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

If there was splendor in the religion of condemnation, the religion of uprightness must far surpass it in splendor.

Now the Lord here means the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away; there is a new state of things.

If there must be boasting, I will boast of the things that show my weakness!

I have to boast. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations given me by the Lord.

and he said to me, "My favor is enough for you, for only where there is weakness is perfect strength developed." So I am perfectly willing to boast of all my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may shelter me.

For what is there in which the other churches had the better of you, except in the fact that I would not permit myself to be a burden to you? You must forgive me that wrong!

for I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. I am afraid that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, bad feeling, rivalry, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder,

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the mercy of Christ, to some different good news??7 not that there is any other, only that there are some people who are trying to unsettle you and want to turn the good news of the Christ around.

For there is a curse upon all who rely on obedience to the Law, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be anyone who does not stand by everything that is written in the Book of the Law and obey it."

There is no room for "Jew" and "Greek"; there is no room for "slave" and "freeman"; there is no room for "male" and "female"; for in union with Christ Jesus you are all one.

gentleness, self-control. There is no law against such things!

There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received.

There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

There must be no indecency or foolish or scurrilous talk??ll that is unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead.

Some of them, it is true, are actually preaching the Christ from jealousy and partisanship, but there are others who are doing it out of good-will.

So by whatever appeal there is in our relation to Christ, by whatever incentive there is in love, by whatever participation there is in the Spirit, whatever affection and sympathy,

For there are many who live, as I have often told you, and tell you now with tears, like enemies of the cross of Christ.

For the man who wrongs anyone will be paid back for the wrong he has done; there will be no exceptions.

When this letter has been read to you, have it read to the church at Laodicea also, and see that you read the letter that is coming from there.

For our appeal does not rest on a delusion, nor spring from any impure motive; there is no fraud about it.

When people say, "What peace and security!" then suddenly destruction will be upon them, like birth-pains upon a woman about to give birth to a child, and there will be no escape.

the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God??5 do you not remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you this?

As I asked you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus in order to warn certain people there not to teach strange views

For there is but one God, and one intermediary between God and men??he man Christ Jesus,

They should first be tested, and afterward, if there is no fault to be found with them, they can serve as assistants.

Some men's sins are perfectly evident, and lead them right on to judgment, but there are others whose sins only dog their steps.

In any large house there are not only gold and silver dishes but also wooden and earthen ones, some for great occasions and some for ordinary use.

Understand this, that in the last days there are going to be hard times.

I left you behind in Crete expressly to correct what defects there were, and to appoint elders in each town, as I directed you??6 men of irreproachable character, who have been married only once, whose children are Christians, free from any suspicion of profligacy or disobedience.

For there are many undisciplined people, who deceive themselves with their empty talk, especially those of the party of circumcision.

When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to settle there for the winter.

So there must still be a promised Sabbath of Rest for God's people.

For when God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to make oath by, he did so by himself,

Now if anything final had been really accomplished through the Levitical priesthood, for even the giving of the Law was based upon it, what further need would there have been of appointing a different priest of the priesthood of Melchizedek, instead of choosing one of the priesthood of Aaron?

For when there is a change in the priesthood, a change necessarily takes place in the Law as well.

(for there was nothing final about the Law), and a better hope begins to dawn, through which we may approach God.

Further, if he were still on earth, he would not be a priest at all, for there are priests enough provided to offer the gifts the Law prescribes??5 though the service they engage in is only a shadow and imitation of that in heaven. For when Moses was going to make the tent of worship he was warned, "Be sure to make it all just like the pattern you were shown on the mountain."

For if that first agreement had been perfect, there would have been no occasion for a second one.

In all this the holy Spirit was seeking to show that there was no free access to the sanctuary while the outer tent was still standing.

But when these are forgiven, there is no more need of offerings for sin.

For if we choose to go on sinning after we have so fully learned the truth, there is no sacrifice left to be offered for our sins,

Faith caused Enoch to be taken up from the earth without experiencing death; he could not be found, because God had taken him up. For before he was taken up there is evidence that he pleased God,

Faith led him to make a temporary home as a stranger in the land he had been promised, and to live there in his tents, with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the promise with him.

And so from one man, for any prospect of descendants as good as dead, there sprang a people in number like the stars in the heavens or the countless sands on the seashore.

You must submit to it as discipline. God is dealing with you as his sons. For where is there a son whom his father does not discipline?

Every good gift and every perfect present is from heaven, and comes down from the Father of the heavenly lights, about whom there is no variation of changing shadow.

What wise, intelligent man is there among you? Let him show by his good life that what he does is done in the humility of wisdom.

For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there will be confusion and every low action.

There is only one lawgiver and judge??e who has the power to save and to destroy; who are you, to judge your neighbor?

Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months there was no rain in the land.

For God approves a man if from a sense of duty he endures suffering unjustly inflicted??20 for what credit is there in your enduring being beaten for doing wrong? But if you endure suffering for doing what is right, you have God's approval.

You married men also must be considerate in living with your wives. You must show deference to women as the weaker sex, sharing the gift of life with you, so that there may be nothing to interfere with your prayers.

And who is there that can hurt you if you are eager to do what is right?

For when he was so honored and glorified by God the Father and from the supreme glory there were borne to him such words as these: "This is my Son, my Beloved! He is my Chosen!"??18 we heard these words borne from heaven when we were with him on that sacred mountain.

There were false prophets too among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive sects and deny the Master who has bought them, thus bringing on themselves swift destruction.

For they wilfully ignore the fact that long ago there existed heavens and an earth which had been formed at God's command out of water and by water,

speaking of it as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which ignorant, unsteadfast people twist to their own ruin, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures.

This is the message that we heard from him and announce to you: God is light; there is no darkness in him at all.

If we say, "We are without any sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and there is no truth in our hearts.

Whoever says, "I know him," but does not obey his commands, is a liar, and there is no truth in his heart;

Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the world, there is no love for the Father in his heart,

for all that there is in the world, the things that our physical nature and our eyes crave, and the proud display of life??hese do not come from the Father, but from the world;

You know that he appeared to take our sins away, and that there is no sin in him.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. For fear suggests punishment and no one who feels fear has attained perfect love.

For who is there that is victorious over the world except the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

For there are three that testify to it,

If anyone sees his brother committing any sin except a deadly one, he will ask and obtain life for him??rovided the sin is not a deadly one. There is such a thing as deadly sin; I do not say that a man should pray about that.

Any wrongdoing is sin, but there are sins that are not deadly.

for they said to you, "In the last times there will be mockers who will go where their own godless passions lead."

Do not be afraid of what you are going to suffer. See! The devil is going to put some of you into prison to be tested there, and for ten days to endure persecution. Prove faithful even unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

Afterward I had another vision: There was a door standing open in the heavens and the first voice like a trumpet that I had heard speak to me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place."

Immediately after this I found myself in a trance, and there stood a throne in heaven with a being seated on it.

When he broke the third seal, I heard the third animal say, "Come!" And there I saw a black horse, and its rider had a pair of scales in his hand,

And there I saw a horse the color of ashes, and its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. They were given power over one quarter of the earth, to kill the people with sword, famine, death, and the wild animals of the earth.

When he broke the sixth seal I saw that there was a great earthquake. The sun turned black as sackcloth; the full moon became like blood;

When he broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth, and there followed peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The first blew his trumpet, and there was a storm of hail and fire mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth, and one third of the earth was burned up, and one third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and there fell from the sky a great star blazing like a torch, and it fell upon one third of the streams and the springs of water.

Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one third of the sun was blasted, and one third of the moon and one third of the stars, so that one third of them were darkened, and there was no light for one third of the day and of the night.

and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, that there should be no more delay,

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there,

At that moment there was a great earthquake, and one tenth of the city was destroyed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were filled with awe, and acknowledged the glory of the God of heaven.

Then the temple of God in heaven was thrown open, and the chest containing his agreement was seen inside the temple, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great storm of hail.

Then the woman fled into the desert, where there was a place prepared by God for her, where she was to be taken care of for 1,260 days.

but they were defeated, and there was no place for them any longer in heaven.

and worshiped the dragon for having given the animal his authority, and they worshiped the animal, and said, "Who is there like the animal? Who can fight with it?"

There is wisdom hidden here! Let everyone of intelligence calculate the animal's number, for it indicates a certain man; its number is 666.

Then I saw another great, marvelous portent in heaven. There were seven angels with seven plagues which are to be the last, for they complete the expression of God's wrath.

Then there were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and there was a great earthquake; there has never been such an earthquake since man first existed upon the earth, it was so great.

On her forehead there was written a name that was symbolic: "Mighty Babylon, mother of idolatresses and of earth's abominations."