So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.

So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you:

Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.

And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand

And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin.

For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

since I know that my tabernacle will soon be removed, because our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me.

Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things.

But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves.

And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.

But these men, like irrational animals -- creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed -- do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed,

Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.

while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze!

And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.

And by this we will know that we are of the truth and will convince our conscience in his presence,

And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that.

because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to the deeds he is doing -- the bringing of unjustified charges against us with evil words! And not being content with that, he not only refuses to welcome the brothers himself, but hinders the people who want to do so and throws them out of the church!

But I hope to see you right away, and we will speak face to face. Peace be with you. The friends here greet you. Greet the friends there by name.

Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion.

wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved.

For they said to you, "In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires."

(Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him. This will certainly come to pass! Amen.)

Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.

Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place -- that is, if you do not repent.

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.'

Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.'

Therefore, repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people with the sword of my mouth.

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.'

Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.

And to the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations --

he will rule them with an iron rod and like clay jars he will break them to pieces,

just as I have received the right to rule from my Father -- and I will give him the morning star.

Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.

But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy.

The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels.

Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan -- who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying -- Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well.

take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see!

Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.

I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!"

You have appointed them as a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat will cost a day's pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day's pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!"

So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.

For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.

They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat,

because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

In those days people will seek death, but will not be able to find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, "There will be no more delay!

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

But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.

And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.

When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.

Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city that is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

For three and a half days those from every people, tribe, nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.

And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."

and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.

If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed by the sword, then by the sword he must be killed. This requires steadfast endurance and faith from the saints.

that person will also drink of the wine of God's anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.

And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name."

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: 'Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so they can rest from their hard work, because their deeds will follow them."

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy? All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed."

For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful.

(Look! I will come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen.)

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come," he said, "I will show you the condemnation and punishment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

But the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth -- all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world -- will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful."

The ten horns that you saw, and the beast -- these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,

As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, 'I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!'

For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!"

Then the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.

They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say, "Woe, woe, O great city, Babylon the powerful city! For in a single hour your doom has come!"

Then the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo any longer --

(The ripe fruit you greatly desired has gone from you, and all your luxury and splendor have gone from you -- they will never ever be found again!)

The merchants who sold these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep and mourn,

Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, "With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again!

And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again.

Even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again! The voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells!

From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.

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

Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison

and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.