Withstand him, firm in your faith; knowing that your brethren in other parts of the world are passing through just the same experiences.

And God, the giver of all grace, who has called you to share His eternal glory, through Christ, after you have suffered for a short time, will Himself make you perfect, firm, and strong.

Through Silvanus, to you the faithful brother, as I reckon, through few words I did write, exhorting and testifying this to be the true grace of God in which ye have stood.

Greet one another with a kiss of love.To all of you who are in Christ, may there be peace.

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

For if you have these qualities in their fulness, they will make you neither idle nor unproductive when it comes to the understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ.

for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you.

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

So we have the prophetic word made more certain. You do well to pay [close] attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and light breaks through the gloom and the morning star arises in your hearts.

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

For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment;

and if He rescued the righteous man Lot, who had become very disturbed by unrestrained wickedness [of the people there in Sodom].

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

Most of all, however, them who go their way, after the flesh, with a coveting of defilement, and who despise, lordship, - daring! willful! before dignitaries, they tremble not, defaming,

But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.

They have forsaken the right way; they have lost their way, and followed the road of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing.

For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

whilst they promise others liberty, they themselves are slaves to their corrupt passions. for he that is vanquished, is a slave to the conqueror.

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them.

The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, “The dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire.”

that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

will come and ask scoffingly-- 'Where is his promised Coming? Ever since our fathers passed to their rest, everything remains just as it was when the world was first created!'

For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God;

through which waters the then world, deluged with water, perished.

But there is one thing, dear friends, which you must not forget. With the Lord one day resembles a thousand years and a thousand years resemble one day.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his word, as he seems to some, but he is waiting in mercy for you, not desiring the destruction of any, but that all may be turned from their evil ways.

Looking for and truly desiring the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will come to an end through fire, and the substance of the earth will be changed by the great heat?

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].

If we say that we have no sin, we are false to ourselves and there is nothing true in us.

The man who says, I have knowledge of him, and does not keep his laws, is false, and there is nothing true in him:

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us].

however, it is really, in effect, a new commandment I write unto you, with respect to you: because the darkness is past, and things now appear in their true light.

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

I write to you, little children, because the sins have been forgiven you through his name;

I am writing to you fathers, because you have known Him [i.e., Christ], [who has existed] from the beginning [See John 1:1]. I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the [power of the] evil one [i.e., through faith they had gained victory over Satan, See 5:4].

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father.

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;

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.

And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains within you, and there is no need for any one to teach you. But since His anointing gives you instruction in all things--and is true and is no falsehood--you are continuing in union with Him even as it has taught you to do.

You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in Him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame].

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.

We know what love is--through Christ's having laid down His life on our behalf; and in the same way we ought to lay down our lives for our brother men.

The man who obeys His commands continues in union with God, and God continues in union with him; and through His Spirit whom He has given us we can know that He continues in union with us.

Loved ones, do not believe [the message of] every spirit [i.e., every person claiming to be a teacher], but test the spirits [i.e., require proof that they and their message are genuine] to see whether they represent God [or not], because many false prophets have begun circulating throughout the world.

They are the world's children, and so their language is that of the world, and the world listens to them. We are God's children.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

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.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

For whoever [Note: The Greek says "whatever"] is [spiritually] conceived [and eventually born] by God will overcome [the evil influence of] the world. And this is [how] that victory can be gained over the world: [It is through] our faith [in God].

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

This one is he who did come through water and blood -- Jesus the Christ, not in the water only, but in the water and the blood; and the Spirit it is that is testifying, because the Spirit is the truth,

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

We accept the testimony of men, but God's testimony is still stronger; and there is the testimony of God--the fact that he has already borne testimony about his Son.

And this is the testimony [of God]: He gave to us [the hope of] never ending life, and this life is [available through fellowship] in His Son.

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

We know that the son of God is come, and hath given us understanding, to know him that is true: and we be in the truth through his son Jesus Christ. He is very God, and eternal life.

there shall be with you grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

I am greatly rejoiced to find some of your children leading their lives in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father.

For there are many impostors started up in the world, who will not own that Jesus Christ was incarnate. such a one is an impostor and an anti-christ.

Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have accomplished together, but that you may receive a full and perfect reward [when He grants rewards to faithful believers].

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

Many things having to write to you, I did not intend through paper and ink, but I hope to come unto you, and speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be full;

The children of your noble sister, who is of God's selection, send you their love.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my [spiritual] children are living [their lives] in the truth.

Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

After all, they went on their trip for the sake of the Name, accepting no support from gentiles.

We, there fore, ought to receive such, that we may be fellow-helpers to the truth.

I sent a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, whose desire is ever to have the first place among them, will not have us there.

For this reason, if I come, I shall not forget his conduct, nor his idle and mischievous talk against us. And he does not stop there: he not only will not receive the brethren, but those who desire to do this he hinders, and excludes them from the Church.

Many things I had to write, but I do not wish through ink and pen to write to thee,

But I am hoping to see you in a short time, and to have talk with you face to face. May you have peace. Your friends here send you their love. Give my love to our friends by name.

Peace be to you. The friends [here] greet you. Greet the friends [personally] by name.

Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James, to those who have been called, who are dear to God the Father and have been kept through union with Jesus Christ;

May there be mercy toward you people, and may your peace and love increase.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them, committing greedily fornication, in like manner with them, and going after other flesh, lie there as an example, undergoing the judgment of eternal fire.

Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities.

But these men say evil about such things as they have no knowledge of; and the things of which they have natural knowledge, like beasts without reason, are the cause of their destruction.

Alas for them! They walk in the steps of Cain; led astray by Balaam's love of gain, they plunge into sin, and meet their ruin through rebellion like that of Korah.

These men--sunken rocks! --are those who share the pleasure of your love-feasts, unrestrained by fear while caring only for themselves; clouds without water, driven away by the winds; trees that cast their fruit, barren, doubly dead, uprooted;

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.