On the earth you have lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure [self-indulgence, self-gratification]; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

let the same know, that he which converted the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide the multitude of sins. {Here ends the General Epistle of James}

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that dwell here and there as strangers throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia;

and the power of God protects you by faith till you do inherit the salvation which is all ready to be revealed at the last hour.

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

For thus it stands in the scripture: Here I lay a Stone in Sion, a choice, a precious cornerstone: he who believes in him will never be disappointed.

Dear friends, I beg you, as aliens and exiles here, not to indulge the physical cravings that are at war with the soul.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

For so also formerly the holy women, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being submissive to their husbands; as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him her lord:

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham [following him and having regard for him as head of their house], calling him lord. And you have become her daughters if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear [that is, being respectful toward your husband but not giving in to intimidation, nor allowing yourself to be led into sin, nor to be harmed].

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

She [the church] who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son [in the faith], Mark.

Greet ye one another with the kiss of love. Peace be with you all which are in Christ Jesus. Amen. {Here ends the First General Epistle of Peter}

and this voice we -- we did hear, out of heaven borne, being with him in the holy mount.

for whilst this good man was among them, it daily pierc'd his virtuous soul, to see and hear of their detestable behaviour: this consider'd,

especially those, who prostitute themselves to sensual infamous passions: who despise magistrates, who being audacious, and insolent, intrepidly calumniate the higher powers;

suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you;

forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the'son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Howbeit the day of the Lord will be here, as a thief, - in which, the heavens, with a rushing noise, will pass away, while, elements, becoming intensely hot, will be dissolved, and, earth, and the works therein, will be discovered.

But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness makes her dwelling.

but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord, and saviour Jesus Christ. To whom be glory both now and forever. Amen. {Here ends the Second General Epistle of Peter}

Here is the message we learned from him and announce to you: 'God is light and in him there is no darkness, none.'

And here is how we can be assured that we know Jesus [i.e., that we are saved]: [It is] by obeying what He commands us.

Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour.

Ye, then, that which ye heard from the beginning, in you let it remain; if in you may remain that which from the beginning ye did hear, ye also in the Son and in the Father shall remain,

Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory].

Here is how the children of God and the children of the devil can be recognized: All those who do not continue to do what is right do not belong to God. Also, the person who does not continue to love his brother [or sister does not belong to God].

because this is the message that ye did hear from the beginning, that we may love one another,

Here is how we can know what genuine love really is: It was [demonstrated by] Jesus laying down His life [on the cross] for us. And [because of that] we [too] should [be willing to] lay down our lives for [the sake of helping] our brothers [and sisters].

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].

Here is how to know [who is speaking from] the Holy Spirit of God: Every spirit [i.e., person] who proclaims that Jesus Christ has come [to earth] in a physical body is [speaking] from God. [See I Cor. 12:3].

But every spirit who does not proclaim [this truth about] Jesus is not [speaking] from God. And this [person] represents the spirit of the antichrist [See 2:18-22; II John 7], whom you have heard would come. Well, now he is already here!

They -- of the world they are; because of this from the world they speak, and the world doth hear them;

We are of God; he that knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Here is the way God's love for us was demonstrated; He sent His one and only Son into the world so that we could have [spiritual] life through Him.

Here is [the essence of] love: [It is] not that we loved God [first], but that He loved us [See Rom. 5:6-8] and sent His Son to be a "covering over" [i.e., atonement, 2:2] for our sins.

Here is what a complete love will do for us: It will give us boldness in [facing] the judgment day, because the way Jesus acts [regarding love] is the way we should act [while] in this world.

This is her who came by water and blood, even Jesus the Christ; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.

And this is the boldness that we have toward Him, that if anything we may ask according to his will, He doth hear us,

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Little children, beware of images. Amen. {Here ends the First General Epistle of John}

The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

and this is the love, that we may walk according to His commands; this is the command, even as ye did hear from the beginning, that in it ye may walk,

The sons of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. {Here ends the Second General Epistle of John}

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

But I am hoping to see you in a short time, and to have talk with you face to face. May you have peace. Your friends here send you their love. Give my love to our friends by name.

Peace be to you. The friends [here] greet you. Greet the friends [personally] by name.

For some people have sneaked in among us??heir doom was foretold long ago??odless persons, who turn the mercy of our God into an excuse for immorality, and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.

These are the ones who are [agitators] causing divisions—worldly-minded [secular, unspiritual, carnal, merely sensual—unsaved], devoid of the Spirit.

But you, beloved, build yourselves up on [the foundation of] your most holy faith [continually progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], pray in the Holy Spirit,

that is to say, to God our saviour which only is wise; be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. {Here ends the General Epistle of Jude}

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

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

And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

I was dead and here I am alive for evermore, holding the keys that unlock death and Hades.

Write, therefore, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and those which shall be here after;

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

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.

I know where you are living; [it is] where Satan's throne is. And [I know] that you are holding on firmly to my name, and did not deny [your] faith in me, even in the days of my faithful witness Antipas [Note: The Greek word here for witness is "martyr"], who was killed there where you are, where Satan lives.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Yet I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and by her teaching leads astray My servants, so that they commit fornication and eat what has been sacrificed to idols.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

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.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will shew thee the things which must take place after these things.

And each of the four living beings had six wings [and] were covered with eyes all around them and [even] within them. And day and night they never stop saying, [Note: Some translations have "singing" here and at other places below], "Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord God Almighty, who was [in the past] and who is [in the present] and who will come [in the future]."

So I looked, and here came a white horse! The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer.

Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, "Come!" So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand.

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.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

After these things I looked, and here was an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

And the star was called "Wormwood" [Note: The Greek word here means "bitter," See Lam. 3:15 ASV], and one third of the waters became wormwood [i.e., bitter], and many people died from the waters because they had become bitter.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

And I will give [authority] to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, wearing sackcloth" [i.e., a black, coarse cloth made of goat's hair].

and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt??here their Lord also was crucified.

And I heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, Come up here; and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.

And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second Woe is past; the third Woe will soon be here.

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

Another portent appeared in the sky??here was a great fire-red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.