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.

And he 'himself carried our sins' in his own body to the cross, so that we might die to our sins, and live for righteousness. 'His bruising was your healing.'

Again, you married women should submit to your husbands, so that if any of them reject the Message, they may, apart from the Message, be won over, by the conduct of their wives,

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

'He who would enjoy life And see happy days-- let him keep his tongue from evil And his lips from deceitful words,

and keeping your consciences clear, so that, whenever you are maligned, those who vilify your good and Christian conduct may be put to shame.

It is better that you should suffer, if that should be God's will, for doing right, than for doing wrong.

who has gone into Heaven, and is at God's right hand, where Angels and Archangels and the Powers of Heaven now yield submission to him.

and so will live the rest of his earthly life guided, not by human passions, but by the will of God.

When any one speaks, let him speak as one who is delivering the oracles of God. When any one is endeavoring to serve others, let him do so in reliance on the strength which God supplies; so that in everything God may be honour ed through Jesus Christ--to whom be ascribed all honour and might for ever and ever. Amen.

I need hardly say that no one among you must suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a criminal, or for interfering in matters which do not concern Christians.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the House of God; and, if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who reject God's Good News?

Therefore, I say, let those who suffer, because God wills it so, commit their lives into the hands of a faithful Creator, and persevere in doing right.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in his good time,

I have been writing to you briefly by the hand of Silas, our true-hearted Brother (for so I regard him), to urge upon you, and to bear my testimony, that in what I have written is to be found the true love of God. On that take your stand.

Your sister-Church in 'Babylon' sends you greeting, and so does Mark, who is as a son to me.

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.

So I will do my best to enable you, at any time after my departure, to call these truths to mind.

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

for, seeing and hearing what he did, as he lived his righteous life among them, day after day, Lot's righteous soul was tortured by their wicked doings.

These men, however, like animals without reason, intended by nature to be caught and killed--these men, I say, malign those of whom they know nothing, and will assuredly perish through their own corruption,

but was rebuked for his offense. A dumb animal spoke with the voice of a man, and checked the prophet's madness.

With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man's lower nature, and, by their profligacy, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives.

In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.'

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;

It is of what we have seen and heard that we now tell you, so that you may have communion with us. And our communion is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

If we say that we have communion with him, and yet continue to live in the Darkness, we lie, and are not living the Truth.

If we say that there is no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth has no place in us.

If we say that we have not sinned, we are making God a liar, and his Message has no place in us.

Yet, again, it is a new Command that I am writing to you-- manifest in Christ's life and in your own--for the Darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

I am writing, Children, to you, because your sins have been forgiven you for Christ's sake.

I write, Fathers, to you, because you have learned to know him who has been from the Beginning. I write, Young Men, to you, because you are strong, and God's Message is always in your hearts, and you have conquered the Evil One.

And the world, and all that it gratifies, is passing away, but he who does God's will remains for ever.

My Children, these are the last days. You were told that an Anti-Christ was coming; and many Anti-Christ's have already arisen. By that we know that these are the last days.

Yes, my Children, maintain your union with Christ, so that, whenever he appears, our confidence may not fail us, and we may not be ashamed to meet him at his coming.

Dear friends, we are God's Children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is that, when it is revealed, we shall be like Christ; because we shall see him as he is.

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.

We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? It was because his life was bad while his brother's was good.

By that we shall know that we are on the side of the Truth; and we shall satisfy ourselves in God's sight,

Dear friends, do not trust every inspiration, but test each inspiration, to see whether it proceeds from God; because many false Prophets have gone out into the world.

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.

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

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.

If any one sees his Brother committing some sin that is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and so be the means of giving Life to him--to any whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin; about that I do not say that a man should pray.

Blessing, mercy, and peace will be ours--the gift of God, the Father, and of Jesus Christ, the Father's Son--in a life of truth and love.

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.

Though I have a great deal to say to you, I would rather not trust it to paper and ink, but I am hoping to come and see you, and to speak with you face to face, so that your joy may be complete.

We, therefore, ought to give such people a hearty welcome, and so take our share in their work for the Truth.

Every one has always had a good word for Demetrius, and the Truth itself speaks for him. Yes, and we also add our good word, and you know that what we say about him is true.

I have a great deal to say to you, but I do not care to trust it to pen and ink in a letter.

I hope, however, it will not be long before I see you, and then we will speak face to face. Peace be with you. Our friends here send you their greetings. Greet each one of our friends.

Dear friends, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common Salvation, I felt that I must write to you at once to urge you to fight in defense of the Faith that has once for all been entrusted to the keeping of Christ's People.

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.

They are wild sea waves, foaming with their own shame; they are 'wandering stars,' for which the blackest darkness has been reserved for ever.

To these men, as to others, Enoch, the seventh in descent from Adam, declared-- 'See! the Lord has come with his hosts of holy ones around him,

how they used to say to you-- 'As time draws to an end, there will be scoffers, who will be led by their godless passions.'

'He is coming among the clouds!' Every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him; 'and all the nations of the earth shall wail for fear of him.' So shall it be. Amen.

I fell into a trance on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like the blast of a trumpet.

It said-- 'Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven Churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicaea.'

I turned to see what voice it was that spoke to me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lamps,

And, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like one dead. He laid his hand on me and said-- 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

the mystic meaning of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamps. The seven stars are the Angels of the seven Churches, and the seven lamps are the seven Churches.

Yet I have a few things against you--You have among you those who hold to the Teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put temptations in the way of the Israelites, so that they should eat idol-offerings and commit licentious acts.

But I say to the rest of you at Thyatira--all who do not accept such teaching, whose who did not learn 'the secrets of Satan,' as men call them--I am not laying on you any further burden;

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 life, and that men say of you that you are living, though you are dead.

I know your life (see, I have set a door open before you which no one is able to shut), I know that, though you have but little strength, you kept my teaching in mind, and did not disown my Name.

You say 'I am rich and have grown rich, and I want for nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked!

Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold which has been refined by fire, that you may grow rich; and white robes, that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness be hidden; and ointment to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

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.'

And round the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these I saw twenty-four Councillors sitting clothed in white robes; and on their heads they had crowns of gold.

and in front of the throne is what seemed to be a sea of glass, 'resembling crystal, while within the space before the throne and round the throne are four Creatures full of eyes' in front and behind.

The first Creature is like a lion, the second Creature like a calf, the third Creature has a face like a man's, and the fourth Creature is like an eagle on the wing.

These four Creatures have each of them six wings, and all round, and within, they are full of eyes; and day and night they never cease to say-- 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, our God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who shall be.'

Then I saw at the right hand of him who was 'seated on the throne a book, with writing inside and out, and sealed' with seven seals;

and I saw a mighty angel who was proclaiming in a loud voice-- 'Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?'

Then, within the space between the throne and the four Creatures, and in the midst of the Councillors, I saw, standing, a Lamb, which seemed to have been sacrificed. It had seven horns and seven eyes. (These eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and they are sent into all the world.)

And, when he had taken the book, the four Creatures and the twenty-four Councillors prostrated themselves before the Lamb, each of them holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense. (These are the prayers of Christ's People.)

And I heard every created thing in the air, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them crying--'To him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed all blessing, and honour, and praise, and dominion for ever and ever.'

Then I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four Creatures crying with a voice like thunder--'Come.'

And in my vision I saw 'a white horse.' Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Then there went out another horse, 'a red horse,' and to its rider was given the power to deprive the earth of peace, so that men should kill one another; and he was given a great sword.

When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third Creature crying--'Come.' And in my vision I saw 'a black horse.' Its rider held scales in his hand.

And in my vision I saw a grey horse. His rider's name was Death, and the Lord of the Place of Death rode behind him; and power was given them over the fourth part of the earth, so that they might 'destroy with sword and famine and death, and by means of the wild beasts of the earth.'

When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the sake of God's Message and for the testimony which they had borne.

And I saw the Lamb break the sixth seal, and then there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth, and the moon, which was at its full, like blood.

After this, I saw four angels standing 'upon the four corners of the earth,' restraining the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow over the earth, or over the sea, or against any tree.

And, in the east, I saw another angel, ascending, holding the seal of the Living God; and he cried in a loud voice to the four angels, to whom there had been given power to harm the earth and the sea--

'Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.'

After this, in my vision, I saw a vast throng which no man could number, of men from every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and languages. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, robed in white, holding palm branches in their hands.

Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Next, another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer in his hand; and a great quantity of incense was given to him, to mingle with the prayers of all Christ's People upon the golden altar before the throne.

The smoke of the incense ascended, with the prayers of Christ's People, from the hand of the angel before God.

Then the second angel blew; and what appeared to be a great mountain, burning, was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea became blood,

and a third part of all created things that are in the sea--that is, of all living things--died, and a third of the ships was destroyed.

(The star is called 'Wormwood.') A third of the water became bitter as wormwood, and so bitter was the water that many died from drinking it.

Then the fourth angel blew; and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that a third of them was eclipsed, and for a third part of the day there was no light, and at night it was the same.

Then the fifth angel blew; and I saw a Star that had fallen upon the earth from the heavens, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.