But do you, Servant of God, avoid all this. Aim at righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

Run the great race of the Faith, and win the Immortal Life. It was for this that you received the Call, and, in the presence of many witnesses, made the great profession of Faith.

This will be brought about in his own time by the one ever-blessed Potentate, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords,

Urge upon those who are wealthy in this life not to pride themselves, or fix their hopes, on so uncertain a thing as wealth, but on God, who gives us a wealth of enjoyment on every side.

How true this saying is-- 'If we have shared his death, we shall also share his life.

Remind people of all this; urge them solemnly, as in the sight of God, to avoid controversy, a useless thing and the ruin of those who listen to it.

and their teaching will spread like a cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are instances of this.

Yet God's firm foundation still stands unmoved, and it bears this inscription-- 'THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS'; and this-- 'LET ALL THOSE WHO USE THE NAME OF THE LORD TURN AWAY FROM WICKEDNESS.'

Be sure of this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

leading us to renounce irreligious ways and worldly ambitions, and to live discreet, upright, and religious lives here in this present world,

Speak of all this, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let any one despise you.

I plead with you for this Child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my parson, I have become a Father.

And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart.

It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this very reason, that you might have him back for ever,

For to which of the angels did God ever say-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father'? or again-- 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son'?

how can we, of all people, expect to escape, if we disregard so great a Salvation? It was the Master who at the outset spoke of this Salvation, and its authority was confirmed for us by those who heard him,

Thou hast placed all things beneath his feet.' This 'placing of everything' under man means that there was nothing which was not placed under him. As yet, however, we do not see everything placed under man.

Since, then, there is still a promise that some shall enter upon this Rest, and since those who were first told the Good News did not enter upon it, because of their disbelief,

In the same way, even the Christ did not take the honour of the High Priesthood upon himself, but he was appointed by him who said to him-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father';

Now on this subject I have much to say, but it is difficult to explain it to you, because you have shown yourselves so slow to learn.

But about you, dear friends, even though we speak in this way, we are confident of better things--of things that point to your Salvation.

This hope is a very anchor for our souls, secure and strong, and it 'reaches into the Sanctuary that lies behind the Curtain,'

It was this Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and gave him his blessing;

There is no record of his father, or mother, or lineage, nor again of any beginning of his days, or end of his life. In this he resembles the Son of God, and stands before us as a priest whose priesthood is continuous.

Consider, then the importance of this Melchizedek, to whom even the Patriarch Abraham himself gave a tithe of the choicest spoils.

But Melchizedek, although not of this lineage, received tithes from Abraham, and gave his blessing to the very man who had God's promises.

If, then, Perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood--and it was under this priesthood that the people received the Law--why was it still necessary that a priest of a different order should appear, a priest of the order of Melchizedek and not of the order of Aaron?

And he of whom all this is said belonged to quite a different tribe, no member of which has ever served at the altar.

All this becomes even yet plainer when we remember that a new priest has appeared, resembling Melchizedek,

Then again, the appointment of this new priest was ratified by an oath, which is not so with the Levitical priests,

This was the High Priest that we needed--holy, innocent, spotless, withdrawn from sinners, exalted above the highest Heaven,

one who has no need to offer sacrifices daily as those High Priests have, first for their own sins, and then for those of the People. For this he did once and for all, when he offered himself as the sacrifice.

Every High Priest is appointed for the purpose of offering gifts and sacrifices to God; it follows, therefore, that this High Priest must have some offering to make.

"This is the Covenant that I will make with the People of Israel After those days," says the Lord. "I will impress my laws on their minds, and will inscribe them on their hearts; And I will be their God, and they shall be my People.

For a Tabernacle was constructed, with an outer part which contained the stand for the lamps, and the table, and the consecrated bread. This is called the Sanctuary.

By this the Holy Spirit is teaching that the way into the Sanctuary was hidden, as long as the outer part of the Tabernacle still remained.

But, when Christ came, he appeared as High Priest of that Better System which was established; and he entered through that nobler and more perfect 'Tabernacle,' not made by human hands--that is to say, not a part of this present creation.

This explains why even the first Covenant was not ratified without the shedding of blood.

saying, as he did so-- "This is the blood that renders valid the Covenant which God has commanded to be made with you."

But, this priest, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, which should serve for all time, 'took his seat at the right hand of God,'

'"This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days," says the Lord; "I will impress my laws on their hearts, and will inscribe them on their minds,"'

It is for your discipline that you have to endure all this. God is dealing with you as his Children. For where is there a child whom his father does not discipline?

Mark this, my dear Brothers--Let every one be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry;

That religious observance which is pure and spotless in the eyes of God our Father is this--to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the world.

Listen, my dear Brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich through their faith, and to possess the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

And that in this way the words of Scripture came true-- "Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness," and "He was called the friend of God."

From the very same mouth come blessings and curses! My Brothers, it is not right that this should be so.

You ought, rather, to say 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'

At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;

It was this Salvation that the Prophets, who spoke long ago of the blessing intended for you, sought, and strove to comprehend;

Destined for this before the beginning of the world, he has been revealed in these last days for your sakes,

and 'a stumbling-block, and a rock which shall prove a hindrance.' They stumble because they do not accept the Message. This was the fate destined for them.

For God's will is this--that you should silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing what is right.

For this wins God's approval when, because conscious of God's presence, a man who is suffering unjustly bears his troubles patiently.

For it was to this that you were called! For Christ, too, suffered--on your behalf--and left you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

but the inner life with the imperishable beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit; for this is very precious in God's sight.

It was by this that the holy women of old, who rested their hopes on God, adorned themselves; submitting to their husbands,

never returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, blessing. It was to this that you were called--to obtain a blessing!

And baptism, which this foreshadowed, now saves you--not the mere cleansing of the body, but the search of a clear conscience after God--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

For it was through this that he gave us what we prize as the greatest of his promises, that through them you might participate in the divine nature, now that you have fled from the corruption in the world, resulting from human passions.

Yes, and for this very reason do your best to supplement your faith by goodness, goodness by knowledge,

Therefore, Brothers, do your best to put God's Call and Selection of you beyond all doubt; for, if you do this, you will never fall.

I shall, therefore, always be ready to remind you of all this, even though you know it and are firmly established in the Truth that you now hold.

But I think it my duty, as long as I live in this 'tent,' to rouse you by awakening memories of the past;

for I know that the time for this 'tent' of mine to be put away is soon coming, as our Lord Jesus Christ himself assured me.

For he received honour and glory from God the Father, when from the Glory of the Divine Majesty there were borne to his ears words such as these-- 'This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I delight.'

But first be assured of this:--There is no prophetic teaching found in Scripture that can be interpreted by man's unaided reason;

This, dear friends, is my second letter to you. In both of them I have tried, by appealing to your remembrance, to arouse your better feelings.

First be assured of this, that, as the age draws to an end, scoffers, led by their own passions,

Regard our Lord's forbearance as your one hope of Salvation. This is what our dear Brother Paul wrote to you, with the wisdom that God gave him.

Do you, therefore, dear friends, now that you know this beforehand, be on your guard against being led away by the errors of reckless people, and so lapsing from your present steadfastness;

And we are writing all this to you that our joy may be complete.

And by this we know that we have learned to know him--by our laying his commands to heart.

but, whenever a man lays his Message to heart, in that man the love of God has indeed reached its perfection. By this we know that we are in union with God--

And this is what he himself promised us--The Immortal Life!

And every one who has this hope with regard to Christ tries to make himself pure--as Christ is pure.

He who lives sinfully belongs to the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the first. It was for this that the Son of God appeared, that he might undo the Devil's work.

By this the Children of God are distinguished from the Children of the Devil--No one who lives unrighteously comes from God, and especially the man who does not love his Brother.

We have learned to know what love is from this--that Christ laid down his life on our behalf. Therefore we also ought to lay down our lives on behalf of our Brothers.

His Command is this--that we should put our trust in the Name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, in accordance with the Command that he gave us.

And he who lays his commands to heart maintains union with Christ, and Christ with him. And by this we know that Christ maintains union with us--by our possession of the Spirit which he gave us.

This is the way by which to know the inspiration of God--All inspiration that acknowledges Jesus Christ as come in our human nature is from God;

His love is seen in this--not in our having loved God, but in his loving us and sending his Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

We know that we remain in union with him, and he with us, by this--by his having given us some measure of his Spirit.

It is through this that love has attained its perfection in us, so that we may have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because what Christ is that we also are in this world.

Indeed, we have this Command from God-- 'He who loves God must also love his Brother.'

By this we know that we love God's Children--when we love God and carry out his commands.

because all that has received the new Life from God conquers the world. And this is the power that has conquered the world--our faith!

And that testimony is that God gave us Immortal Life, and that this Life is in his Son.

I write this to you, that you may realize that you have found Immortal Life--you who believe in the Name of the Son of God.

And this is the confidence with which we approach him, that whenever we ask anything that is in accordance with his will, he listens to us.

And this is love--to live in obedience to the Father's commands. This is the Command as you learned from the first, to live in a spirit of love.

I say this because many impostors have left us to go into the world--men who do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ come in our human nature. It is that which marks a man as an impostor and an anti-Christ.

If any one comes to you and does not bring this Teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him;

Blessed is he who reads, and blessed are they who listen to, the words of this prophecy, and lay to heart what is here written; for The Time is near.

But this I have against you--You have abandoned your first love.

But this is in your favor--You hate the life lived by the Nikolaitans, and I also hate it.

Yet I have this against you--You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who declares that she is a Prophetess, and misleads my servants by her teaching, till they commit licentious acts and eat idol-offerings.

After this, in my vision, I saw an open door in the heavens, and the first voice that I heard was like the blast of a trumpet speaking to me. It said-- 'Come up here and I will show you what must take place.'

Immediately after this I fell into a trance. There stood a throne in Heaven, and on the throne was One seated.