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!

Therefore, dear friends, while waiting for this, make every effort to be found by him unstained, irreproachable, and at peace.

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.

He speaks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, leading to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures.

Ye therefore, beloved, knowing this before, be on your guard, that ye be not carried away with the delusion of these lawless men, and fall from your own stedfastness.

What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands this is the Word of life!

This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

I repeat, it is what we have seen and heard that we now announce to you, so that you too may share this fellowship with us, for this fellowship that we have is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ;

and we write this to you to make your happiness complete.

This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

My dear children, I am writing you this so that you may not sin; yet if anyone does sin, we have in Jesus Christ one who is upright and will intercede for us with the Father.

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.

The one who says "I have come to know him," and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in this person.

But whoever keeps his word, God's love has truly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him:

My loved ones, I do not give you a new law, but an old law which you had from the first; this old law is the word which came to your ears.

Yet, I am [also] writing to you about a new commandment [Note: This commandment was to love one another as Jesus loved them. See John 13:34]; its truth is [being demonstrated] by Christ [perfectly] and [also] by you people [in a lesser measure], because the darkness [of sin] is passing away, and the real light [of righteousness] is already shining [in people's lives].

He that saith how that he is in the light, and yet hateth his brother, is in darkness even until this time.

You should not love the [godless] world, nor the things [i.e., the materialistic values] that are part of this [present] age. If any person loves the world, a [genuine] love for the Father is not in his heart.

because this is all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.

They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been indeed of us, they would have continued with us; but this was done that they might be made manifest, because all, that are with us, are not indeed of us.

I have not sent you this letter because you have no knowledge of what is true, but because you have knowledge, and because that which is false has nothing in common with that which is true.

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.

This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.

I write you this with reference to those who are trying to mislead you.

The anointing you received from God abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you this. Instead, because God's anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not a lie, abide in him, as he taught you to do.

If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.

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Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

beloved, we are now the sons of God, tho' it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when this change shall be, his immediate presence will give us a divine resemblance.

Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever does not do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who does not love his brother.

For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

But if a man has this world's goods, and sees that his brother is in need, and keeps his heart shut against his brother, how is it possible for the love of God to be in him?

And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and persuade our heart before him,

This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded us.

He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

and every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not of God; and this is that of the antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.

They are of the world, and for this reason they speak as of the world, and the world listens to them.

We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

By this God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

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

Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world.

Fear is not in this love; but the perfect love casteth out fear: for fear hath anguish. He that is afraid is not made perfect in love.

This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do his commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

The Spirit is the witness to this, for the Spirit is truth.

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God's testimony that he has testified concerning his Son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his own heart. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has borne to His Son.

The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

He that hath the Son, hath this life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not this life.

I have written this so that you who believe in the Son of God may know that you have eternal life.

This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I do not say that he should make a request concerning this.

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the elect (chosen) lady and her children, whom I love in truth—and not only I, but also all who know and understand the truth—

Because of this true knowledge which is in us, and will be with us for ever:

This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

This is the seducer and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not the things we have wrought, but receive a full reward.

Every one that transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, this man holdeth both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you, and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not welcome him,

The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the beloved and esteemed Gaius, whom I love in truth.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear about my children walking in truth.

Dear friend, you are showing faithfulness by whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers.

Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the church.

Demetrius has received a good report from everyone, including the truth itself. We, too, can testify to this report, and you know that our testimony is true.

Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, [writes this letter],

To those who are the called (God’s chosen ones, the elect), dearly loved by God the Father, and kept [secure and set apart] for Jesus Christ:

For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that Jesus, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

But, when the ruling angel Michael disputed with the devil over [the final disposal of] the body of Moses, [even] he did not dare to bring derogatory charges against him [i.e., the devil], but said, "May the Lord rebuke you." [Note: Some suggest that this account appeared in an apocryphal book, possibly "The Assumption of Moses"].

These people are like rotten spots [contaminating the food] at your love feasts, while they gorge themselves without fear [i.e., unashamed of their selfish indulgence]. [Note: This passage may mean "like selfish shepherds, looking out only for themselves, they eat the grain set out for the animals"]. They are like clouds that blow over without producing rain; [they are like] trees in the fall that do not produce any fruit and have been uprooted, [thus] being dead twice [i.e., fruitless and rootless].

This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they who hear the words of this prophecy, and observe the things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

[This book is from] John [and is being sent] to the seven churches that are in Asia [Note: This refers to the province of Asia Minor, a part of present-day Turkey]. May there be unearned favor and peace to you from God, the One who is [in the present], who was [in the past] and who will come [in the future], and from the seven spirits that are in front of God's throne [Note: Because the number "seven" was regarded as the number of perfection by the Jews, it is thought that this refers to the Holy Spirit].

Look! He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see Him,
including those who pierced Him.
And all the families of the earth
will mourn over Him.
This is certain. Amen.

Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is, and what is going to happen after this.

The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the guardian angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write: "The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says this:

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

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

"To the messenger of the church in Smyrna, write: "The first and the last, who was dead and became alive, says this:

"And to the messenger of the congregation in Pergamum write, 'This saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges.

"And unto the messenger of the congregation of Thyatira write, 'This saith the son of God, which hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, whose feet are like brass:

But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who do not know what some call 'the deep things of Satan,' to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you.

Nevertheless, hold on firmly to what you [already] have [i.e., the qualities mentioned in verse 19] until I come [Note: This probably refers to coming with judgment on wrongdoing. See verse 16].

"And to the person who has victory [in the Christian life], and who continues to do what I want until the end [of his life], I will give him authority over the nations [Note: This probably refers to a spiritual reign with Christ during the Christian age. See 20:4].

and he will shepherd them with an iron scepter;
he will shatter them like pottery—

just as I have received this from My Father.

at this point]. [His authority will be] like that which I have received from my Father.

And write unto the messenger of the congregation of Sardis, 'This saith he that hath the spirit of God, and the seven stars. I know thy works, thou hast a name that you livest, and thou are dead.

He that overcometh, this man shall be clothed in white robes; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.