but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect;

and keep a clear conscience, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;

And corresponding to that, baptism now saves younot the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good consciencethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human lusts, but for the will of God.

but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a troublesome meddler;

yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

shepherd the flock of God that is under your care, serving as overseersnot under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;

not as lording it over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Likewise you that are younger men be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren throughout the world.

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

for no prophecy was ever made by the act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

and if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with them,

but he was rebuked for his own transgression by a donkeya beast without speechwho spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

But by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with fire, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

But according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

My little children, I write this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

He who says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him:

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

For all that is in the worldthe lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of lifeis not of the Father but is of the world.

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that it might be plain that none of them were of us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

But the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Little children, let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and in truth.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. And he who fears is not made perfect in love.

Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is he who came by water and bloodJesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood.

We know that anyone born of God does not sin; but he who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

And now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.

Though I have much to write to you, I do not want to use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

I had much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink;

And the angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a reviling judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

But these men revile whatever they do not understand; and the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals do, by these things they are destroyed.

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit;

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot bear evil men, but you have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false;

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and I know the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to practice sexual immorality.

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality.

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I will not lay upon you any other burden;

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead.

Remember therefore what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lielook, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and know that I have loved you.

They will hunger no more, nor thirst anymore; the sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.

And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star which had fallen from heaven to earth; and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit.

He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.

They were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man.

And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down."

but in the days of the trumpet of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God will be finished, as he announced to his servants the prophets.

So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."

I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

But leave out the court outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given over to the nations; and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

but they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

Rejoice then, O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is to be nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had poured out of his mouth.

One of its heads seemed to have a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder.

And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe."

Then another angel came out from the altar, the one who has power over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe."

And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix a double portion for her.

Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name written on him which no one knows but himself.

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

But as for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the immoral, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."