(the Life has appeared; we saw it, we testify to it, we bring you word of that eternal Life which existed with the Father and was disclosed to us) ??3 it is of what we heard and saw that we bring you word, so that you may share our fellowship; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

We are writing this to you that our own joy may be complete.

My dear children, I am writing this to you that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father in Jesus Christ the just;

For all that is in the world, the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the proud glory of life, belongs not to the Father but to the world;

Children, it is the last hour. You have learned that 'Antichrist is coming.' Well, but many antichrists have appeared ??which makes us sure it is the last hour.

They withdrew from us, but they did not belong to us; had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but they withdrew to make it plain that they are none of us.

I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and know that no lie has any connexion with the truth.

Who is the real liar? who but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is 'antichrist,' he who disowns the Father and the Son.

Let that remain in you which you learned from the very beginning; if what you learned from the very beginning remains with you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.

Remain within him now, my dear children, so that when he appears we may have confidence, instead of shrinking from him in shame at his arrival.

As you know he is just, be sure that everyone who practises righteousness is born of him.

'Born of him!' Think what a love the Father has for us, in letting us be called 'children of God!' That is what we are. The world does not recognize us? That is simply because it did not recognize him.

We are children of God now, beloved; what we are to be is not apparent yet, but we do know that when he appears, we are to be like him ??for we are to see him as he is.

For this is the message you have learned from the very beginning, that we are to love one another:

Do not wonder, brothers, that the world hates you.

Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining within him.

We know what love is by this, that He laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the brotherhood.

Thus it is that we may be sure we belong to the truth and reassure ourselves

Now this is what he commands, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he has commanded us to do;

This is how the love of God has appeared for us, by God sending his only Son into the world, so that by him we might live.

and we have seen, we can testify, that the Father has sent the Son as the Saviour of the world.

Whoever confesses that 'Jesus is the Son of God,' in him God remains, and he remains in God;

And we get this command from him, that he who loves God is to love his brother as well.

This is how we are sure that we love God's children, by loving God and obeying his commands

for whatever is born of God conquers the world. Our faith, that is the conquest which conquers the world.

Who is the world's conqueror but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

He who believes in the Son of God possesses that testimony within himself; he who will not believe God, has made God a liar by refusing to believe the testimony which God has borne to his Son.

And the testimony is, that God gave us life eternal and this life is in his Son.

I have written in this way to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may be sure you have life eternal.

Now the confidence we have in him is this, that he listens to us whenever we ask anything in accordance with his will;

If anyone notices his brother committing a sin which is not deadly, he will ask and obtain life for him ??for anyone who does not commit a deadly sin. There is such a thing as deadly sin; I do not mean he is to pray for that.

We know that anyone who is born of God does not sin; He who was born of God preserves him, and the evil One never catches him.

We know that we belong to God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil One.

We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us insight to know Him who is the Real God; and we are in Him who is real, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the real God, this is life eternal.