Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.

And through faith the Righteous man shall find his Life, But, if a man draws back, my heart can find no pleasure in him.'

Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

and you have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, "My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose heart when you are reproved by him;

For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves,
And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”

And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

For the order which said, If the mountain is touched even by a beast, the beast is to be stoned, seemed hard to them;

So that we say with a good heart, The Lord is my helper; I will have no fear: what is man able to do to me?

Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Let him make his request in faith, doubting nothing; for he who has doubt in his heart is like the waves of the sea, which are troubled by the driving of the wind.

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

For a man who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is liable for breaking all its provisions.

a ship too of the greatest burthen, tho' the wind bears hard, by means of an inconsiderable helm, veers about as the hand of the pilot directs her.

But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.

Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God].

Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

My loved ones, I make this request with all my heart, that, as those for whom this world is a strange country, you will keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh which make war against the soul;

He never sinned, and no deceitful language was ever heard from His mouth.

In the same way [that Jesus was submissive], you wives should submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even though they may not obey the [Gospel] message [they have heard] they may, without your talking [to them about it],

Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of curling the hair, and of wearing gold, or of putting on apparel, But the hidden man of the heart,

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

And let him be turned from evil and do good; searching for peace and going after it with all his heart.

Now who is there to hurt you if you become enthusiastic for what is good?

For you have given time enough in the past to the doing of the things which the Gentiles delight in-- pursuing, as you did, a course of habitual licence, debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, drunkenness and unholy image-worship.

Keep open house for all with a glad heart;

"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?"

You should serve as shepherds of God's flock [i.e., the church], among whom you minister, providing careful oversight [of the people], not because you feel forced to, but because you want to, as this is in accordance with the way God wants it to be. Do not [serve as elders] simply out of a desire for the income you receive, but because your heart is in it.

Greet one another lovingly, [expressing it] with a kiss [of brotherly affection]. May there be peace [of heart] to all those [there] who are in [the fellowship of] Christ.

For when he was so honored and glorified by God the Father and from the supreme glory there were borne to him such words as these: "This is my Son, my Beloved! He is my Chosen!"??18 we heard these words borne from heaven when we were with him on that sacred mountain.

And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

but he rescued righteous Lot, whose heart was vexed by the wanton licentiousness of his neighbors;

(for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts),

Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

Leaving the straight road, they have gone astray and followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who set his heart on the reward for wrong-doing,

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.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word 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.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

And by this we know that we have learned to know him--by our laying his commands to heart.

He who professes to know Him, and yet does not obey His commands, is a liar, and the truth has no place in his heart.

but, whenever a man lays his Message to heart, in that man the love of God has indeed reached its perfection. By this we know that we are in union with God--

Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

He who says that he is in the light, and has hate in his heart for his brother, is still in the dark.

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.

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.

Every person who denies [the truth about] the Son [See 4:2-3], does not have the Father [living in his heart]; but, the person who confesses [the truth about] the Son has the Father [living in his heart] also.

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

No one who has been [spiritually] conceived [and eventually born] by God continues to live a sinful life, because God's seed [i.e., His word, See Luke 8:11] continues to live in his heart, so he cannot [continue a life of] sin, because he has been conceived by God.

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

But whoever has the world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?

my dear children, let not our love be only in the language of our lips, but in the real effects of the heart.

Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him:

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we are laying his commands to heart, and are doing what is pleasing in his sight.

And God lives in the heart of the person who [continually] obeys His commands, and he lives in [fellowship with] God. And here is [another] way we know that God lives in our hearts: It is by [means of] the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to us. [See Rom. 8:9, 11; James 4:5; I Cor. 6:19].

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Whoever proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God, God [continually] lives in that person's heart, and he lives in [fellowship with] God [See 2:23].

And we have known [with certainty] and have believed [with assurance] that God has truly loved us. God's [very nature] is love and the person who [continually] loves [Him and others] lives in [fellowship with] God [continually], and God [continually] lives in that person's heart.

For loving God is keeping his laws: and his laws are not hard.

He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in his own heart: he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, in that he has refused to accept the testimony which God has given about His Son.

The person who has the Son [in his heart] possesses this "life;" the one who does not have the Son of God does not possess this "life."

We know that no one who has received the new Life from God lives in sin. No, he who has received the new Life from God keeps the thought of God in his heart, and then the Evil One does not touch him.

Little children (believers, dear ones), guard yourselves from idols—[false teachings, moral compromises, and anything that would take God’s place in your heart].

And now I ask you, lady [See verse 1], not as though writing a new commandment to you, but [I wanted to remind you of] one that we had [heard] from the beginning [of Christ's ministry]: [It is] that we should love one another.

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

My loved ones, while my thoughts were full of a letter which I was going to send you about our common salvation, it was necessary for me to send you one requesting you with all my heart to go on fighting strongly for the faith which has been given to the saints once and 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.

Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it [heeding them and taking them to heart]; for the time [of fulfillment] is near.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, Saying, what thou seest, write in a book and send to the seven churches, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.

I have knowledge of your doings, and of your hard work and long waiting, and that you will not put up with evil men, and have put to the test those who say they are Apostles and are not, and have seen that they are false;

So keep in mind where you were at first, and be changed in heart and do the first works; or I will come to you, and will take away your light from its place, if your hearts are not changed.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

See, then, that you have a change of heart; or I will come to you quickly, and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.

And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways.

and I will say her children with death; and all the congregations shall know that I am he who search the reins and the heart; and I will give to every one of you according to your works.

'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;

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Then the angel took the incense holder and filled it with hot coals from the Altar and threw it to the earth. [Immediately] there was [heard] rolling thunder, and lightning flashes [were seen] and an earthquake [was felt].

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.