I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and God's message is always in your hearts, and you have conquered the evil one.

and the world is passing away and with it the evil longings it incites, but whoever perseveres in doing God's will lives on forever.

See what wonderful love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called God's children, and that is what we are! This is why the world does not know what we are, because it has never come to know Him.

Dearly beloved, we are now God's children, but what we are going to be has not been unveiled. We know that if it is unveiled, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

In this way we shall know by experience that we are on the side of the truth, and satisfy our consciences in God's sight,

Dearly beloved, while I was doing my best to begin writing you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and urge you to carry on a vigorous defense of the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's people.

I, John, your brother and companion with you in the trouble, the kingdom, and the patient endurance which Jesus gives, found myself on the island called Patmos, for preaching God's message and testifying to Jesus.

"To the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: 'The Amen, the true and faithful witness, the origin of God's creation, speaks as follows:

When He took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each with a harp, and golden bowls that were full of incense, which represent the prayers of God's people.

And the tempter came up and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn to bread."

and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the Scripture says: "'He will give His angels directions about you, And they will bear you up on their hands, so you will never strike your foot against a stone.'"

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called God's sons.

But I tell you not to swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne,

When He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for being faithful to God's message and for the testimony they bore to it.

Then another angel with a censer of gold came and stood at the altar, and a great quantity of incense was given to him to mingle with the prayers of all God's people, on the altar of gold that stood before the throne.

They were told not to injure the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads.

but in the days when the seventh angel speaks, when he is about to blow his trumpet, then God's mysterious message, in accordance with the good news He gave to His slaves, the prophets, would be accomplished.

So the dragon was enraged against the woman, and he went off to make war with the rest of her descendants, who continue to keep God's commands and to bear testimony to Jesus.

Permission was given to him to make war on God's people and to conquer them; authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

Whoever leads others into captivity will go into captivity himself. Whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword himself. In this way will be shown the patient endurance and the fidelity of God's people.

himself will have to drink the wine of God's vengeance, poured unmixed into the cup of His wrath, and be tortured with fire and brimstone before the eyes of the holy angels and the Lamb.

Then I saw another symbol in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels bringing seven plagues which are to be the last, because with them God's wrath is completely expressed.

Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary say to the seven angels: "Go and empty the seven bowls of God's wrath upon the earth."

I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of the martyred witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was utterly astonished,

And the men in the boat worshiped Him, and said, "You are certainly God's Son."

But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you?

Permission has been granted her to dress in clean, brilliant linen, for linen signifies the upright deeds of God's people."

Then I saw an angel standing on the sun, and in a loud voice shouting to all the birds that fly in mid-air: "Come! Gather for God's great banquet,

They came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, and the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne say: "See! God's dwelling place is with men, and He will live with them,

And the army captain and his men, who were keeping guard over Jesus, who felt the earthquake and saw all that was taking place, were terribly frightened, and said, "Surely this was God's Son."

And if those days had not been cut short, nobody would have escaped, but for the sake of God's chosen people those days will be cut short.

for false Christs and false prophets will announce themselves, and they will show great signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, God's chosen people.

"What do you want of us, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, God's Holy One!"

And when the captain who stood facing him saw that He expired in this way, he said, "This man was surely God's Son!"

So the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was caught up into heaven and took His seat at God's right hand.

for there will be such misery at that time as has never been since the beginning of God's creation, and never will be again.

For false Christs and false prophets will announce themselves, and they will do signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, even God's chosen people.

Then the devil said to Him, "If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn to a loaf of bread."

Then he took Him to Jerusalem, and had Him stand on the tip-top turret of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here,

"Ha! What do you want of us, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are God's Holy One."

but the Pharisees and experts in the law thwarted God's purpose for themselves by refusing to be baptized by him.

This is what the story means: The seed is God's message.

Then He answered them, "My mother and my brothers are those who listen to God's message and practice it."

But He said, "Yes, but better still, blessed are those who listen to God's message and practice it!"

Whoever trusts in Him is never to come up for judgment, but whoever does not trust in Him has already received his sentence, because he has not trusted in the name of God's only Son.

But whoever is in the habit of living the truth will come out in the daylight, that his actions may be shown to be performed with God's help."

The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and in accordance with that law He deserves to die, for claiming to be God's Son."

So He has been exalted to God's right hand and has received from His Father, as promised, and poured out upon us the Holy Spirit, as you see and hear.

When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and continued courageously to speak God's message.

So with great power the apostles continued to give their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's favor rested richly on them all.

So God's message continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly; a large number, even of priests, continued to surrender to the faith.

So he said, "Look! I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there.

Now, as Peter was going here and there among them all, he finally went down to God's people who lived at Lydda.

So at once I sent for you, and you have been kind enough to come. So now we are all here in God's presence to listen to anything that the Lord has commanded you to say."

Now the apostles and the brothers all over Judea heard that the heathen too had accepted God's message.

When they reached Salamis, they began to preach God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They had John with them as their assistant.

He was an intimate friend of the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor sent for Barnabas and Saul and in this way tried to hear God's message.

For David, after having served God's purpose in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his forefathers, and so he did experience decay,

The next sabbath almost the whole town turned out to hear God's message.

Then Paul and Barnabas courageously spoke out, "God's message had to be spoken to you Jews first, but since you continue to thrust it from you and since you show yourselves unworthy to receive eternal life, now and here we turn to the heathen.

The heathen kept on listening and rejoicing and giving the glory to God's message, and all who had been destined to eternal life believed,

and from there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been committed to God's favor for the work which they had finished.

Then they told God's message to him and to all the members of his household.

But when the Jews at Thessalonica learned that God's message had been proclaimed at Berea by Paul, they came there too to excite the masses and stir up a riot.

So for a year and a half he settled down among them and went on teaching God's message.

But as he bade them goodbye, he promised, "I will come back to you again, if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus.

Because he wished to cross to Greece, the brothers wrote and urged the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival he rendered great service to those who through God's favor had believed,

But now I count as nothing the sacrifice of my life, if only I can finish my race and render the service entrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of faithfully telling the good news of God's favor.

for I never shrank from telling you God's whole plan.

And now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of His favor, which is able to build you up and to give you your proper possession among all God's consecrated people.

The people standing near him said, "Do you mean to insult God's high priest?"

That was what I did at Jerusalem; yes, I received authority from the high priests and shut behind the prison bars many of God's people. Yes, when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and often in all the synagogues

"So you must understand that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen; and they will listen to it!"

Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called as an apostle, set apart to preach God's good news,

proved to be God's Son in power by the resurrection from the dead -- I mean, Jesus Christ, our Lord,

through whom we have received God's favor and a commission as an apostle in His name to urge upon all the heathen obedience inspired by faith,

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who trusts, of the Jew first and then of the Greek.

For God's anger from heaven is being uncovered against all the impiety and wickedness of the men who in their wickedness are suppressing the truth;

Although they know full well God's sentence that those who practice such things deserve to die, yet they not only practice them but even applaud others who do them.

Now we know that God's judgment justly falls on those who practice such sins as these.

Do you think so little of the riches of God's kindness, forbearance, and patience, not conscious that His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

But in your stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when the justice of God's judgments will be uncovered.

for there is no partiality in God's dealings.

What then, if some of them have proved unfaithful? Can their unfaithfulness make null and void God's faithfulness?

But now God's way of giving men right standing with Himself has come to light; a way without connection with the law, and yet a way to which the law and the prophets testify.

God's own way of giving men right standing with Himself is through faith in Jesus Christ. It is for everybody who has faith, for no distinction at all is made.

For everybody has sinned and everybody continues to come short of God's glory,

So it is conditioned on faith, that it might be in accordance with God's unmerited favor, so that the promise might be in force for all the descendants of Abraham, not only for those who belong to the law party but also for those who belong to the faith group of Abraham. He is the father of us all,

and hope never disappoints us; for through the Holy Spirit that has been given us, God's love has flooded our hearts.

For if while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, it is much more certain that since we have been reconciled we shall finally be saved through His new life.

Then law crept in to multiply the offense. Though sin has multiplied, yet God's favor has surpassed it and overflowed,

For sin must not any longer exert its mastery over you, for now you are not living as slaves to law but as subjects to God's favor.

What are we to conclude? Are we to keep on sinning, because we are not living as slaves to law but as subjects to God's favor? Never!

For in accordance with my better inner nature I approve God's law,

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are God's children;

that even nature itself might finally be set free from its bondage to decay, so as to share the glorious freedom of God's children.

Not only that but this too, we ourselves who enjoy the Spirit as a foretaste of the future, even we ourselves, keep up our inner groanings while we wait to enter upon our adoption as God's sons at the redemption of our bodies.

and He who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit thinks, for He pleads for His people in accordance with God's will.