But you are the elect race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, the People who belong to Him, that you may proclaim the wondrous deeds of Him who has called you from darkness to his wonderful light ??10 you who once were no people and now are God's people, you who once were unpitied and now are pitied.

Conduct yourselves properly before pagans; so that for all their slander of you as bad characters, they may come to glorify God when you are put upon your trial, by what they see of your good deeds.

Submit for the Lord's sake to any human authority; submit to the emperor as supreme,

In the same way, you wives must be submissive to your husbands, so that even those who will not believe the Word may be won over without a word by the behaviour of their wives,

when they see how chaste and reverent you are.

In the same way you husbands must be considerate in living with your wives, since they are the weaker sex; you must honour them as heirs equally with yourselves of the grace of Life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

see that you have a clean conscience, so that, for all their slander of you, these libellers of your good Christian behaviour may be ashamed.

who had disobeyed at the time when God's patience held out during the construction of the ark in the days of Noah ??the ark by which only a few souls, eight in all, were brought safely through the water.)

who is at God's right hand ??for he went to heaven after angels, authorities, and powers celestial had been made subject to him.)

You must serve one another, each with the talent he has received, as efficient stewards of God's varied grace.

If anyone preaches, he must preach as one who utters the words of God; if anyone renders some service, it must be as one who is supplied by God with power, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory and the dominion are his for ever and ever: Amen.

You are sharing what Christ suffered; so rejoice in it, that you may also rejoice and exult when his glory is revealed.

It is time for the Judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the fate of those who refuse obedience to God's gospel?

So let those who are suffering by the will of God trust their souls to him, their faithful Creator, as they continue to do right.

Humble yourselves under the strong hand of God, then, so that when it is time, he may raise you;

Your sister-church in Babylon, elect like yourselves, salutes you. So does my son Mark.

So be the more eager, brothers, to ratify your calling and election, for as you practise these qualities you will never make a slip;

so long as I am in this tent, I deem it proper to stir you up by way of reminder,

Yes, and I will see to it that even when I am gone, you will keep this constantly in mind.

(for when that righteous man resided among them, by what he saw and heard his righteous soul was vexed day after day with their unlawful doings) ??9 then be sure the Lord knows how to rescue pious folk from trial, and how to keep the unrighteous under punishment till the day of doom,

they have gone wrong by leaving the straight road, by following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who liked the profits of evil-doing ??16 but he got reproved for his malpractice: a dumb ass spoke with human voice and checked the prophet's infatuation.

They verify the truth of the proverb: "The dog turns back to what he has vomited, the sow when washed will wallow in the mire."

The Lord is not slow with what he promises, according to certain people's idea of slowness; no, he is longsuffering for your sake, he does not wish any to perish but all to betake them to repentance.

Now, beloved, you are forewarned: mind you are not carried away by the error of the lawless and so lose your proper footing;

It is of what existed from the very beginning, of what we heard, of what we saw, of what we witnessed and touched with our own hands, it is of the Logos of Life

(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.

If we say, 'We have fellowship with him,' when we live and move in darkness, then we are lying, we are not practising the truth;

If we say, 'We are not guilty,' we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us;

if we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar and his word is not within us.

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.

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.

we are not to be like Cain, who belonged to the evil One and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's just.

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.

But whoever possesses this world's goods, and notices his brother in need, and shuts his heart against him, how can love to God remain in him?

Do not believe every spirit, beloved, but test the spirits to see if they come from God; for many false prophets have emerged in the world.

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.

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

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

If we accept human testimony, God's testimony is greater; for God's testimony consists in his testimony to his Son.

I say this, because a number of impostors have emerged in the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; that marks the real 'impostor' and 'antichrist.'

I have a great deal to write to you, but I do not mean to use ink and paper; I hope to visit you and have a talk with you, so that your joy may be unimpaired.

So when I come, I shall bring up what he is doing, babbling against me with wicked words ??and, not satisfied with words, he refuses to welcome the brothers, checks those who want to welcome them, and excommunicates them from the church.

Everybody testifies to Demetrius, and so does the Truth itself: I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true.

I am hoping to see you soon, and we will have a talk. [15] Peace to you! The friends salute you: salute the friends one by one.

Woe to them! they go the road of Cain, rush into Balaam's error for what it brings them, and perish in Korah's rebellion.

These people are stains on your love-feasts; they have no qualms about carousing in your midst, they look after none but themselves ??rainless clouds, swept along by the wind, trees in autumn without fruit, doubly dead and so uprooted,

so keeping yourselves within the love of God and waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that ends in life eternal.

who now testifies to what is God's word and Jesus Christ's testimony ??to what he saw.

Lo, he is coming on the clouds, to be seen by every eye, even by those who impaled him, and all the tribes of earth will wail because of him: even so, Amen.

I John, your brother and your companion in the distress and realm and patient endurance which Jesus brings, found myself in the island called Patmos, for adhering to God's word and the testimony of Jesus.

On the Lord's day I found myself rapt in the Spirit, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet calling,

So I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me; and on turning round I saw seven golden lampstands

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man; but he laid his hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and Last,

So even with you; you likewise have some adherents of the tenets of the Nicolaitans.

and her children I will exterminate. So shall all the churches know that I am the searcher of the inmost heart; I will requite each of you according to what you have done.

'And the conqueror, he who till the end lays to heart what I enjoin, I will give him authority over the nations ??27 aye, he will shepherd them with an iron flail, shattering them like a potter's jars ??as I myself have received authority from my Father;

also I will grant him to see the Morning-star.'

Then to the angel of the church at Laodicea write thus: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation.

So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, white raiment to clothe you and prevent the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to rub on your eyes, that you may see.

I reprove and discipline those whom I love; so be in warm earnest and repent.

also in front of the throne there is like a sea of glass, resembling crystal. And on each side of the throne, all round it, four living Creatures full of eyes inside and outside;

the first living Creature resembling a lion, the second living Creature resembling an ox, the third living Creature with a face like a man's, the fourth living Creature like a flying eagle.

Then I saw lying on the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll with writing on the back, as well as inside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel exclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is fit to open the scroll, to break the seals of it?"

So I began to weep bitterly because no one had been found fit to open the scroll or look into it;

but one of the Presbyters told me, "Weep not; lo, the Lion of Judah's tribe, the Scion of David, he has won the power of opening the scroll and its seven seals."

So I looked, and there was a white horse, its rider holding a bow; he was given a crown, and away he rode conquering and to conquer.

And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living Creature calling, "Come." So I looked and there was a black horse; its rider held a pair of scales in his hand,

So I looked, and there was a livid horse; its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. They were given power over the fourth part of the earth, to kill men with sword and famine and plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for adhering to God's word and to the testimony which they bore;

After that I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds from blowing on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.

And I saw another angel rise up from the east, with the seal of the living God; he shouted aloud to the four angels who were allowed to injure the earth and sea,

"Do no harm to earth or sea or trees, until we seal the servants of our God upon their foreheads."

and crying, "Even so! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever: Amen!"

I said to him, "You know, my lord." So he told me, "These are the people who have come out of the great Distress, who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Then I saw seven trumpets being given to the seven angels who stand before God.

and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of all the saints rose up from the angel's hand before God.

The second angel blew, and what looked like a huge mountain on fire was hurled into the sea; a third of the sea turned blood,

a third of the creatures in the sea ??the living creatures ??perished, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The fourth angel blew; and a stroke fell on a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so as to darken one third of them, withdrawing light from a third of the day and likewise of the night.

The fifth angel blew, and I saw a Star which had dropped from heaven to earth; he was given the key of the pit of the abyss,

their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' fangs;

So the four angels were unloosed, who had been kept ready for that hour and day and month and year, to kill the third of men.

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands and give up worshipping daemons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or stir;

Then I saw another strong angel descend from heaven; he was clad in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, his face like the sun, his feet like columns of fire,

and a small scroll open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea, his left upon the earth,

Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and the earth raised his right hand to heaven

and swore by Him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, "There shall be no more delay;

in the days of the seventh angel's voice, when he now blows his blast, then shall the secret purpose of God be fulfilled, as he assured his servants the prophets."

Then the voice I had heard from heaven again talked to me, saying, "Go and take the small scroll which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and the earth."

So I went to the angel, saying, "Give me the small scroll." "Take it," said he, "and swallow it; it will taste sweet as honey, but it will be bitter to digest."

whoever tries to harm them, fire will issue from their mouth and consume their enemies; whoever should try to harm them, so must he be killed."

They have power to shut up the sky, so that no rain falls during the days when they are prophesying; and they have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and also to smite the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose.

But after three days and a half the breath of life from God entered them; they stood on their feet (terror fell on those who saw them)

and heard a loud voice from heaven telling them, "Come up here." So up to heaven they went in a cloud, before the eyes of their enemies.

So the huge dragon was thrown down ??that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, the seducer of the whole world ??thrown down to the earth, and his angels thrown down along with him.

Rejoice for this, O heavens and ye that dwell in them! But woe to earth and sea! The devil has descended to you in fierce anger, knowing that his time is short."

So, enraged at the woman, the dragon went off to wage war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep God's commandments and hold the testimony of Jesus.

Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a Beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, ten diadems on his horns, and blasphemous titles on his heads.