From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it.

He said to them, "Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?

Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you are here to do." Then they came and took hold of Jesus and arrested him.

Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its place! For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword.

And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.)

Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition."

Then they took hold of him and arrested him.

But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.

Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man's feet and ankles were made strong.

Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" When he had said this, he died.

You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house,

For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.

and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain.

Not that I have already attained this -- that is, I have not already been perfected -- but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.

And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time.

For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way,

Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

To do this you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.

For "physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come."

Compete well for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession for in the presence of many witnesses.

In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.

Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. We are of his house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.

For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end.

Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever.

And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.

and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive -- forever and ever -- and I hold the keys of death and of Hades!

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called "deep secrets of Satan"), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you.

However, hold on to what you have until I come.

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: "This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: 'I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: "This is the solemn pronouncement of the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open:

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown.

So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus. And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints -- those who obey God's commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus.

So I threw myself down at his feet to worship him, but he said, "Do not do this! I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."