# verses

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 And we had physical fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. So shouldn’t we submit ourselves all the more to the Father of our spirits, and live?


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 After all, they disciplined us for a while,i however it seemed right to them. But God disciplines us for our own good, so that we’ll sharej in God’s holiness.


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 Now, for the moment all discipline seems painful, not joyful. But later, for people who’ve been trained by it, it bears the peaceful fruit of integrity.k


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 And make straight paths for your feet.l That way, what’s lame won’t get injured,m but will get healed instead.


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 A Warning Not to Turn Away from God Really go for peace with everybody. And go for holiness. Without holiness, nobody is going to see the Lord.


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 See to it that nobody comes short of the grace of God-that no poisonousn root grows up and causes trouble, so lots of people get corrupted by it.o


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 Nobody should be sexually immoral, or godless like Esau.p He sold his birthright for a single meal.q


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 And you know that afterwards he wanted to inherit the blessing, but was rejected: he didn’t find any way to reverse his decision,r even though he looked for one in tears.


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 After all, you haven’t come to a place that can be physically touched, to a mountain burning with fire, to gloom and darkness and storm,


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 and to the sound of a trumpet and a voice speaking. When people heard that voice, they begged not to hear another word.s


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 Because they couldn’t bear the commandment, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it has to be stoned”.t


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 No, you’ve come to Mount Zion, to the City of the Living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. And you’ve come to tens of thousands of angels gathered for the festival.v


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 You’ve come to the assembly of the firstborn,w whose names are recorded in heaven. You’ve come to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of people of integrityx who’ve been made perfect.


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 And you’ve come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more powerfullyy than the blood of Abel.


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 Make sure you don’t ignorez the One who is speaking.aa After all, those othersbb didn’t get away with it when they ignoredcc the One who warned them on earth. So how much less will we get away with it, if we’re turning away from the One who is warning us from heaven?


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 That time, God’s voice shook the earth, but now God has given this promise: I’m going to shake things one more time, and it won’t just be the earth, but heaven too.dd


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 And when it says, “one more time,” it’s clearly about the removal of the things that are shaken-which are created things.ee That way, what remains will be what can’t be shaken.


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 So since we’re receiving a royal realm that can’t be shaken, let’s be grateful. Let’s serve God with appropriate gratitude, reverence and awe.


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 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers. After all, some people have taken in angels as guests without knowing it.a


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 Remember people who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. And remember people who are being badly treated as though you were physically being treated the same way.b


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 Marriage should be honored by everyone, and sexc should be pure. Because God is going to judge people who are sexually immoral and people who are unfaithful to their spouses.d


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 Your lifestyle should be free from love of money. Be content with what you have. Because God has said, I’m never going to desert you; I’m never going to leave you.e


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 So we can be confident and say, The Sovereign One is my helper, and I’m not going to be afraid. What can human beings do to me?f


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 Remember your leaders, who have spoken God’s word to you. Look closely at the outcome of their lifestyle, and imitate their faith.


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 Don’t get carried away with all kinds of strange teachings. Because it’s good to strengthen your heart with grace-not special religious diets.g They’ve been no use to people who’ve followed them.


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 After all, the high priest brings the blood for the sin offerings into the Holy Place, and the bodies of the animals whose blood it is are burned outside the camp.i


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 And that’s why Jesus suffered outside the city gate: so that he could make the people holy by his own blood.


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 So let’s continuously offer sacrifices of praise to God through Christ. That is, let’s offer up lipsk that publicly profess God’s name.l


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 Obey your leaders and listen to them: they’re watching over your souls, as people who are accountable to God. That way, they’ll be able to do this ministry with joy, and not exasperation-which wouldn’t do you any good.


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 Pray for us. We’re confident that we have a good conscience, and in every situation, we want to conduct ourselves well.m


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 And I’m asking you to prayn all the more, so that I will be given back to you as soon as possible.o


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 Now may the God of peace outfit you with all goodness to do God’s will. God is the One who brought back the Great Shepherd of the sheep from among the dead by the blood of the eternal covenant: our Lord Jesus. May God do in us what is pleasing in God’s eyes, through Jesus Christ. May God get the glory forever and ever.p Amen.q


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 Brothers and sisters, please accept this wordr of encouragement, because I’ve written you just a few things.s


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 THE LETTER OF JAMES Greeting From James, a servanta of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered throughout the world.b Greetings!


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 Holding Out under Pressure My brothers and sisters, make up your mind to be full of joyc whenever you face various kinds of testing.


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 Sod let your endurance have its full effect. That way you’ll be mature and whole, and complete in every way.e


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 But if one of you does lack wisdom, they should ask God, who gives generously to everyone and doesn’t make fun of them for asking. And wisdom will be given to them.


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 But they should ask in faith. They shouldn’t doubt at all. After all, the person who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, that’s blown and tossed around by the wind.


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 And the rich should be proud of their low position. Because they’re going to disappearh like the wildflowers:


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 the sun comes up, with its scorching heat, and the plant dries up. And its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is ruined.i It’s just like that with the rich person. They’re going to suddenly wither away in the midst of all their busyness.j


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 The personk that holds out under testingl is blessed. Because when they’ve passed the test, they’re going to receive the crown of life.m That’s God’s promise to people who love God.n


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 Nobody who’s being tempted should say, “I’m being tempted by God”. Because God is not tempted by anything bad,o and God doesn’t tempt anybody.


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 Then their obsession,q which has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it’s full grown, gives birth to death.


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 What Real Wisdom Looks Like in Practice Every good act of giving, and every perfect gift, comes down from the Father of Lights. With God, there’s no shifting or shadow of a change.r


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 It was God’s will to give birth to us through the message of the Truth.s That way we could be a sort of first harvest of God’s creations.


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 Because humanu anger doesn’t bring about God’s justice. So get rid of every kind of filthiness, and every kind of nasty outburst. Humbly receive the word that’s planted in you, which has the power to save your lives.v


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 Because suppose somebody hears the message but doesn’t act on it. They’re like a man who notices his ownx face in a mirror.


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 But consider the person that looks deep into the perfect law of freedom, and stays with it-and doesn’t become a forgetful hearer, but a person who does things. That person is going to be blessed in what they do.


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 Suppose somebody seems to bey devoted to God, and they’re not keeping their tongue in check. Aren’t they deceiving their own heart? That person’s devotion is useless.z


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 Here’s what healthyaa and pure devotion to God is: looking after orphans and widows in trouble,bb and keeping yourself free from the corruption of the world.cc


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 Give Everyone the Same Dignity! My brothers and sisters, when you regard some people as better than others, can you really be having faith in our Lord Jesus, the Christ of glory?


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 I mean, suppose a man comes into your meeting with gold rings on his fingers and perfectly clean clothes, and a poor man also comes in, in dirty clothes.


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 And when you see the person wearing the perfectly clean clothes, you say, “You sit here in the place of honor”. But you say to the poor man, “You, stand up!,” or “Sit over there next to my footrest”.


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 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the world’s poor to be rich in faith, and to be inheritors of the kingdom that God promised to those who love God?


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 Yet you’ve insulteda the poor person. Don’t the rich oppress you? And aren’t they the ones who drag you into court?


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 But if you treat one person better than another, then you’re committing a sin. You’re convicted by the law as offenders.


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 After all, whoever keeps the whole law, but slips up on one point, has become guilty of everything in it.


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 Because the One who said, “Don’t break your marriage vows,”d also said, “Don’t commit murder”.e So if you don’t break your marriage vows, but you commit murder, you’ve become a lawbreaker.f


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 Because judgment is going to be merciless on the person who doesn’t treat others with mercy.g Mercy wins out over judgment.


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 Faith is Proven by Actions My brothers and sisters, what good is it if somebody says they have faith, but they don’t have actions to go with it? Can that faith save them?


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 And suppose some one of you says to them, “Go in peace! Keep warm and be well fed!” But if you don’t give them the things their body needs, what good is that?


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 Somebody will object and say, “You have faith”.i Yes, and I have actions too. Show me your faith apart from the actions that go with it, and I’ll show you my faith by my actions.


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 Wasn’t our father Abraham shown to be in the rightl by his actions? After all, he offered his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar.


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 You can see that faith was acting together with his actions, and his faith was completed by his actions.


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 That’s how the scripture got fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as being in the right.m. And he was known asn “God’s friend”.o


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 And similarly, wasn’t Rahabp the prostitute also shown to be in the right by her actions? She took in the messengers, and sent them off by another road.q


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 The Challenge of Taming your Tongue My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers. Because as you know, we teachers are going to receive a stricter judgment.


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 After all, we all trip up a lot. If somebody doesn’t trip up in what they say, that’s a mature person.a They’re also capable of keeping their whole body in line.b


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 Now, if we put bits in horses’ mouths to make them obedient to us, we can steer their whole bodies.


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 And think ofc ships, too. They’re so big, and they’re driven by strong winds. They’re steered by a tiny rudder in whatever directiond the pilot wants to go.


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 That’s also how it is with the tongue. It’s a small organ, bute it makes big claims. Look what a small fire it takes to start a big forest burning!


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 And the tongue is a fire! It’s a world of bad behavior. It sits there among the parts of our body, polluting the whole thing. It sets one’s whole lifef on fire-and it’s set afire by Gehenna.g


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 Now, all species of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures are being tamed, and have been tamed, by the human species.h


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 We use it to bless our Lord and Father-and we use it to curse human beings, who are made in God’s likeness.


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 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, it shouldn’t be like that!


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 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree ever produce olives? Or can a grape vine produce figs? Well, neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.


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 The Wisdom That Comes from God Who are your wise and knowledgeable folks?j They should demonstrate the behaviors of a good way of life through the gentleness of their wisdom.k


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 But if you have bitter jealousy and competitiveness in your hearts, don’t brag at other people’s expense-that’s committingl a lie against the truth.


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 That’s not the wisdom that comes down from above-just the opposite. It’s earthly, unspiritual,m and demonic.


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 Because where there’s jealousy and competitiveness, that’s where there’s every kind of infightingn and bad behavior.


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 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, o open to persuasion, full of mercy and good fruit. It’s unprejudiced and doesn’t put on a pretense.


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 Where do Conflicts Come From? What causes the warsa and conflicts among you? Aren’t they actually caused by your pleasures, which are in combat in among the parts of your body?


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 You crave something, but you don’t have it. You murder and covet,b and you can’t get it. You fight and have wars. You don’t have because you’re not asking.


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 You ask for something but you don’t get it, because you ask with a bad attitude.c You ask for things so that you can use them ford your pleasures.


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 You unfaithful people,e don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostilityf towards God? So whoever wants to be friends with the world becomes an enemy of God.


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 Or do you think it’s for nothing that the scripture says, The spirit that God made to live in usg is strongly inclined towards envy.h


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 Yet God gives even more grace. That’s why it says, God opposes the arrogant, But gives grace to the humble.i


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 Get close to God, and God will get close to you. You sinners should wash your hands, and you doubters should purify your hearts.


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 Don’t say bad things about each other, brothers and sisters. The person that says something bad about a fellow Christian,k or judges them, says bad things about the Law, and judges the Law. And if you’re judging the Law, you’re not a person that puts the Law into practice, but a judge of it.


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 There’s One lawgiver and judge, One who can save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?l


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 Warnings against Arrogance and Wealth I hear you saying, “Today or tomorrow, we’re going to such and such a city. And we’re going to spend a year there, and do business and make money!” Come on, now!m


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 You don’t know about tomorrow-how your lives will go.n After all, you’re a wisp of steam, that appears for a secondo and then disappears.


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 Your gold and silver have turned to rust, and the rust that’s left of them will be a testimony against you. And it’s going to eat away your flesh like fire! You’ve hoarded things in the last days!b


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 Look! The moneyc that you dishonestly withheld from your workers, who mowed your fields! It’s shouting against you! And the cries of the harvest workers have come to the ears of the Sovereign One of Hosts.


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 You’ve lived in luxury on the earth, and you’ve completely indulged yourselves.d You’ve fattened yourselves on the day of slaughter.


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 Patience and Endurance So then, brothers and sisters, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmers wait for the valuable harvest of the land: they work on it patientlyf until it gets the early and the late rains.g


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 Brothers and sisters, don’t complain against each other, so you don’t get judged. Look-the judge is standing at the door.


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 Brothers and sisters, as an example of suffering and patience, consideri the prophets who spoke in the name of the Sovereign One.


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 See, we talk about people who hold out as being blessed. You’ve heard of Job’s endurance, and you’ve seen the Sovereign One’s conclusion to the matter.j The Sovereign One is deeply compassionate and merciful.k


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 Above all, my brothers and sisters, don’t say, “I swear it!” Don’t swear by heaven, or by earth, or use any kind of oath. Just let your yes be yes, and your no be no.l That way you won’t risk judgment.m


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 The Power of Prayer Is any of you going through a bad time? They should pray. Is anyone happy? They should sing songs of praise to God.


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 Is any of you sick? They should call over the elders of the community. And they should pray over the person and anointn the person with oil, in the Lord’s name.


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 And the prayer prayed in faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise them up.o And if they’ve committed sins, they’ll be forgiven for them.p


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 So admit your sins to each other and pray for each other. That way you’ll be healed. The prayer work of a person of integrityq has great power and effectiveness.


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 Elijahr was a man with the same experience as us, and he prayed that it wouldn’t rain. And it didn’t rain on the land for three years and six months.


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 And he prayed again, and the sky released its rain, and the land sprouted and produced its harvest.


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 My brothers and sisters, suppose one of you gets led aways from the truth, and somebody brings them back.


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 You should know that the person who returns a person who was sinning from their false path will save their life from death itself.t And they’ll make up foru a whole lot of sins.


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 THE FIRST LETTER OF PETERa. Greeting From Peter, an apostleb of Jesus Christ. To the chosen ones, refugees scatteredc in Pontus, Galatia,d Cappadocia,e Asia, and Bithynia.f


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 You’ve been chosen in line with God the Father’s foreknowledge. By the Spirit’s work of making you holy,g you’ve come into obedience to Jesus Christ, and into cleansingh by his blood. May grace and peace multiply for you!


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 New Birth into a Living Hope Blessi the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Out of his great mercy, he’s given us new birth into a living hope. Throughj the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead,


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 we’ve come into an inheritance that’s permanentk and pure,l and never fades. It’s kept safe in heaven for you.


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 By God’s power, through faith, you’re being protected for a salvation that’s ready to be revealed in this last moment of history.m


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 Really celebrate about this-even though now, for a little while, you’ve had to face the pain of various kinds of testing.n


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 The testing is so that the quality of your faith will be shown to be far more precious than gold-which is perishable, but it’s tested by putting it through fire.o The proven quality of your faith is going to result in praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.


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 Though you haven’t seen him, you love him. You believe in him now without seeing him, and you really celebrate him, with a joy that’s inexpressible and full of glory.p


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 The prophets searched out and tried to understandr this salvation. And they prophesied about the grace that was to come to you.


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 They were trying to understands what time the Spirit might be referring to. Because the Spirit within them was testifying ahead of time about the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would come afterwards.t


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 It was revealed to them that they weren’t serving themselves in this, but you. These are the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels yearn to peek into these things.


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 Be Holy So get your minds ready for action.u Be sober.v Put all your hope in the grace that Jesus Christ is going to bring you when he’s revealed.w


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 Be like obedient children. Don’t let yourselves be shaped by the old obsessionsx you had when you were ignorant.


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 And do you call God Father-who judges everyone, without favoritism, on the basis of their actions? If so, spend your temporary stay here on earth reverently.


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 Because as you know, it wasn’t perishable silver or gold that bought your freedom from the empty way of life that you inherited from your ancestors.


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 He was foreknown before the creationaa of the world, but he’s been revealed at the end of historybb because of you!


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 Through him, you believe in God-who raised him from among the dead, and gave him glory. That way, your faith and hope are in God.


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 By obeying the truth, you’ve purified your souls, so that you have genuine love for one another. Now love each other tenaciously, from a clean heart.cc


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 Because you’ve been reborn-not through mortal human conception, but through what’s immortal: God’s living, enduring word.dd Because All flesh is like grass, and all it’s glory is like a wildflower:ee. The grass dries up, and the flowerff falls off, But the word of the Sovereign One endures forever.gg. And that word is the good news that’s been preached to you.


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 Come to Christ, the Living Stone So get rid of every kind of nastiness and dishonesty. And get rid of pretending that you’re something you’re not, and envying people, and every kind of trash talking.a


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 Like newborn babies, be hungry for the milk of honest teaching.b That way, it’ll make you grow upc into salvation.


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 And as living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, into a holy priesthood. Then you’ll be able to bring acceptablef spiritual offerings to God through Jesus Christ.


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 Because it says in scripture, Look, I’m placing a stone in Zion: I’ve selected a valuable cornerstone, And the person that puts faith in him will never be put to shame.g


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 His value is for you believers. But for the unbelievers, A stone that the builders rejected, That one was used as the number one cornerstone.h


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 And it says, A stone that’s easy to trip over, And a rock that offends.i. They’re tripping over him by refusing to listen to the message-which was also their destiny.


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 But you’re A chosen race, a royal priesthood, A holy nation, a people appointed as God’s own,j. So that you can proclaim God’s virtues.k. God has called you out of darkness into God’s wonderful light.


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 You’re the ones who didn’t used to be a people, but now you’re God’s people. You were the ones who hadn’t received mercy, but now you’ve received mercy.l


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 Live as God’s Servants in the World Dear friends,m like foreigners and temporary residents here, avoid the body’s lusts,n which fight against your soul.


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 Maintain a virtuous lifestyle among your fellow non-Jews.o That way, though they slander you as criminals, they’ll learn from your good behavior. And they’ll glorify God on the day that God comes to judge.p


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 Because of the Lord, submit to all the human institutions. For example, submit to the emperorq as a person in authority.


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 Because it’s God’s will for you to do that. By doing good, you’ll put a stop tor the ignorant talk of thoughtless people.


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 Conduct yourselves as free people-but not as though you have your freedom as a cover for bad behavior. Just the opposite: live as slaves of God.


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 Christ’s Suffering is our Example Slaves should be obedient to their masters, with total respect. And not only the good and easygoing ones, but also the unfairu ones.


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 After all, it’s a credit to a person if they endure unfair sufferingv because of their awareness of God.


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 Because how heroic is it, if you do wrong, and you endure it when you get a beating? But if you’re doing something good, and you endure suffering for it, that gets credit with God.


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 After all, that’s what you’re called to. Because Christ also suffered for you. He was leaving you an example, for you to follow in his footsteps.


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 When he was insulted, he didn’t insult anybody back. When he was suffering, he didn’t make threats. But he entrusted himself to the One who judges justly.


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 He himself carried our sins with his own bodyx on the wood of the cross. He did it so that we could die to our sins and live in integrity.y It was by his woundsz that you were healed.aa


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 Because you used to be going astray like sheep;bb but now you’ve turned back to the shepherd and guardiancc of your souls.


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 Advice for Wives and Husbands Similarly, wives should be obedient to their husbands. That way, even if some of them don’t listen to our message, they’ll be won over by their wives’ behavior-without a word.


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 Make yourselves beautiful not with externals such as fancy braided hair and gold jewelry, or clothes you wear.


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 No, it’s about the hidden person of the heart, in the unfading qualitiesb of gentleness and a peacefulc spirit. That’s what is of great value in God’s eyes.


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 After all, the holy women who hoped in God used to make themselves beautiful in that way. They were obedient to their husbands.


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 For example, Sarah was obedient to Abraham. She’d call him “my lord”. You’ve become her daughtersd when you do what’s good, and without being afraid of any kind of bullying.e


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 Similarly, husbands should live together with their wives in consideration of the fact that their bodies are weaker. Give due honor to their femininity.f Relate to them as fellow inheritors of the grace of life, so that your prayers won’t be blocked.


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 Show Kindness and Love-Even When you’re Mistreated To summarize:g you all should be harmonious, sympathetic, loving to one another, tender-hearted, humble.


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 Don’t pay back nastiness with nastiness, or insults with insults. Instead, you should be blessing people. Because that’s what you’re called to, so that you’ll inherit a blessing.


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 Because If a person wants to love life And to see good times,h. Let their tongue stop being nasty And let their lips not tell lies.


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 Instead, they should stay away from what’s bad and do what’s good. They should search for peace, and pursue it.


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 Because the eyes of the Sovereign One are on those who live right, And God’si ears listen for their prayer. But the Sovereign Onej is against those who do what’s bad.k


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 But even if you might end up suffering because of your integrity, you’re going to be blessed. So don’t be afraid of their bullying, l And don’t get upset.m


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 But reveren Christ the Lord in your hearts. Always be ready with an answer for anyone who asks you the reason for the hope that’s in you.o


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 But answer with gentleness and respect. Keep a clear conscience. That way, when your abusers insult your good Christian life,p they’ll be put to shame about it.


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 Because Christ sufferedr too. He suffered once, as an offering for sinss.-the just on behalf of the unjust. That way he could bring yout to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but he was brought to life by the Spirit.


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 They’d been disobedient, back in Noah’s day.v That was when God’s patience was stretched thin, and the arkw was being built. A very few people (eight lives) were saved in the flood.x


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 This corresponds to baptism, which now saves you, too. It’s not about removing dirt from your skin-it’s about asking God for a cleany conscience. You ask for this through Jesus Christ,


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 who is at God’s right side. He has gone into heaven, and angels and authorities and powers have been brought under his authority.


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 Living for God So, since Christ has physically suffered,a you should be mentally prepared for the same thing.b Because the person who’s physically sufferingc is done with sin.


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 They’re going to live the rest of the time in their bodyd for God’s will, not for human obsessions.e


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 After all, the time already past is enough to have done what the Gentiles like to do.f You’ve already lived in promiscuity,g lust and drunkenness, going to parties and drinking matches, and worshiping disgusting idols.


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 They’re surprised you don’t run off with them into the same flood of self-destructiveness,h and they insult you.


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 They’re going to have to give an account of themselves to the One who’s just abouti to judge the living and the dead.


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 After all, that’s why even the dead have had the good news preached to them: even though they’ve been judged the human way as physical people,j they can live God’s way in the spirit.k


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 Above everything else, really hold onto love for each other. Because love covers a massive number of sins.


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 Serve one another, according to the gifts you’ve each received. Use them,m as good managers of the variety of God’s grace.


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 If somebody speaks, it should be like revelations from God.n If somebody serves, it should be like they’re serving out of the strength that God supplies. That way, in all circumstances God will be glorified though Jesus Christ. Jesus deserveso the glory and the power, forever and ever! Amen.


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 Suffering as a Christian Dear friends, don’t be surprised by the trial by firep that’s happening to you. It’s not as though something strange was happening to you-


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 far from it. As you join in Christ’s sufferings, celebrate. That way, you’ll also be able to celebrate and be overjoyed at his glorious appearance.q


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 If you’re insulted forr the name of Christ, you’re blessed. Because the glorious Spirit of Gods is resting on you.


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 After all, none of you should suffer for being a murderer, or a thief, or a criminal, or even a busybody.


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 But if somebody suffers as a “Christian,” they shouldn’t be ashamed. They should glorify God with that name.t


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 Because it’s time for the judgment to start with God’s own family.u And if it starts first with us, what will the end be-when it comes to those who don’t listen to God’s good news?


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 The conclusion, then,w for people who are suffering according to God’s will, is this: they should entrust themselves to God, their faithful Creator, and keep on doing good.x


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 Tending God’s Flock Finally,a I have a challenge for the elders among you. I speak as your fellow elder, as a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as your partner in the glory that’s about to be revealed.


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 Tend God’s flock that’s with you. Watch over themb.-not because you have to, but by choice, as God would want you to.c And don’t be greedy for money, but do it willingly.


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 And it shouldn’t be as though you’re lording it over the people you’re responsible for.d No, be examples to the flock.


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 Likewise, you younger believers should be obedient to the elders. And everyone should put on the apron of humility with each other. Because God opposes the arrogant, But gives grace to the humble.f


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 Be sober. Keep watch. Your enemy,h the devil, is like a lion that walks around roaring, looking for somebody to eat.i


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 Stand up against him: be firm in your faith. Because you know your brothers and sisters throughout the worldj are going through the exact same sufferings.


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 The God of all grace has called you to everlasting divine gloryk in Christ Jesus.l After you’ve suffered a little bit, God is personally going tom make you whole, strengthen you, make you healthy, and make you rock solid.n


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 Final Greetings I’ve written these few things to you by dictating them through Silvanus.q I regard him as a faithful Christian brother. I’m challenging you and testifying to you that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!


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 Your sister community in Babylon, also chosen by God, says hello to you.r And so does my son Mark.s


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 THE SECOND LETTER OF PETERa. Greeting From Simonb Peter, an apostlec of Jesus Christ, to those who’ve received faith as precious as ours, through the justiced of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.


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 Make Sure of your Calling After all, hise divine power has given us everything we need for life and reverence for God. We’re given all this through the knowledge of the One who has called us tof his own glory and virtue.g


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 Through them, the greatest and most precious promises have been given to us. Because of them, you can escape from the corruptionh that’s in the world through lust, and be partners in the divine nature.i


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 And that’s why you should do your very best to fill out your faith with virtue, your virtue with knowledge,


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 your knowledge with self-control, your self-control with endurance, your endurance with reverence for God,


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 If these things are in you and growing, they’ll make you effective and fruitfulj as you come into the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 Because the person without these qualities is blind and short-sighted. They’re ignoring their cleansing from their past sins.


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 So try all the harder to make sure of your calling and chosenness,k brothers and sisters. Because if you do these things, you’ll be certain not to fail-


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 and your entrance into the eternal reign of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be generously provided for.l


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 So I’m always going to remind you about these things-even though you know them, and you’re well grounded in the truth that you have.m


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 And I think it’s right-as long as I’m in the tent of this mortal bodyn.-to be stirring you up with reminders.


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 Because I know that the moment for taking off this tent of mine is coming very soon:o our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me.p


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 Soq I’m going to do my best to make sure that you’ll always remember these things after my departure.


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 Eyewitnesses to the Glory of God’s Son Because when we told you about our Lord Jesus Christ’s power, and about his coming, we weren’t following clever myths. Far from it-we were eyewitnesses of his greatness.


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 Because when he received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice like this camer to him from the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son! I’m pleased with him!”


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 And so we have all the more confidence in the message of the prophets.s You’ll do well to keep your attention on it: use it like a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts.


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 Here’s the first point to understand:t none of the prophecies of scripture come out ofu somebody’s own interpretation.


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 Because prophecy never came by human will. No, it happened when people, carried along by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God.


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 False Prophets and False Teachers Now, there were also false prophets in Israel.a And in the same way, there are going to be false teachers among you. They’re going to bring in destructive philosophies-even denying the Master who bought them. They’re going to bring swift destruction on themselves.b


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 And lots of people are going to imitatec their promiscuous ways.d And because of them, the true Waye will be subjected to insults.


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 And in their greed for money, they’re going to sell youf made-up stories. Judgment has been ready for them for a long time, and their destruction is waiting attentively.g


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 After all, God didn’t spare angels when they sinned-far from it. God threw them in dark cavesh in the deepest part of the underworld, and handed them over to be kept there until the judgment.


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 And God certainly didn’t spare the ancient world, but brought a flood on the worldi of the godless.j God only protected Noah, a preacher of justice,k and seven others.


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 And God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destructionl by reducing them to ashes. God made them an example to people who’d be godless in the future.m


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 And God rescued Lot, a person of integrity, when he was being oppressed by the behavior of lawless, promiscuous people.n


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 (As he lived among them, that man of integrity felt tormentedo day after day, as he saw and heardp lawless things being done.)


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 If that’s all true, thenq the Sovereign One knows how to save people who have reverence for God from temptation. And God knows how to keep unjust people under punishment for the day of judgment-


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 and especially those who follow their flesh in a lust for filthiness, and despise authority. People like that are daring and self-centered. They insult glorious angelic beings without fear.r


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 Yet angels, though they’re greater in strength and power, don’t bring insulting accusations against them.s


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 But these people are like irrational animals in nature-bred to be hunted down and killed.t They insult things they know nothing about, and they’re going to be killed just like those animals.u


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 They’re going to be wronged, as their reward for doing wrong.v They regard carousingw in broad daylight as a pleasure. They’re spots and stains-partying away in their self-deceptions.x They join in your dinner parties,


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 their heads filled with fantasies about seducing people’s spouses.y They never stop sinning. With a heart trained in greed, they seduce people with weak personalities.z They’re a cursed breed!aa


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 They’ve gone astray and left the straight path, and have followed the path of Balaam, Bosor’sbb son.cc He loved getting paid for doing wrong,


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 but he got told off for his lawlessness: a mute donkey spoke with a human voice, and stopped that prophet’s madness.


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 These people are springs with no water, mists swept along by a stormy wind.dd The deepest darkness is reserved for them.


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 They talk boastful nonsense, and they seduce people by appealing to their physical lusts for promiscuity. They prey on people who are barely escaping from the majorityee who live in error.


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 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are still slaves of self-destruction.ff After all, if something has mastered somebody, that’s what they’re enslaved to.


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 Because suppose they’ve escaped from the filthy waysgg of the world through the knowledge of our Lordhh and Savior Jesus Christ-but then they get mixed up in them all over again, and they’re overcome by them. In the end, they’re worse off than they were in the first place.ii


text:
 Because it would have been better for them not to know the path of right livingjj at all, than to know it, and to turn away from the holy commandment that had been handed down to them.


text:
 They’ve experienced what’s said in this true proverb: A dog goes back to its own vomit,kk. And, A washed pig goes back to roll in the mud.


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 The Day of the Lord is Coming Dear friends, this is now the second letter I’ve written to you. In both of them, I’ve been trying to reawakena your genuineb understanding with reminders.


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 I’ve wanted to remind you of the things that have been said by the holy prophets-and of the command of the Lord and Savior that your apostlesc have given.


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 The first thing to understand is this: in the last days,d scoffers are going to be living in mockery of the faith. They’ll be living according to their own obsessions.e


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 And they’ll be saying, “What happened tof the promise of his coming? Because from the time that our ancestors passed away, everything’s been the sameg as it has been since the beginning of creation.”


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 They say that because they’re deliberately ignoring something:h long ago the heavens and the earth were put together-out of water, and through water-by God’s word.


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 And, by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire. They’re being kept for the Day of Judgment, for the destruction of godless people.


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 And here’s one thing you shouldn’t ignore,i dear friends: with the Lord,j one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.k


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 The Lord isn’t slow about the promise-in the way that certain people count slowness.l Far from it-the Lord is being patient with you.m God doesn’t want people to be lostn.-but wants everyone to find room for a change of heart.o


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 But the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief.p On that day,q the heavens are going to disappear with a roar,r and the elements are going to burn up and fall apart.s And the earth, and what’s done in it, is going to be discovered.t


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 Since everything is going to be destroyed like that,u what should youv be like? You should live holy and reverent lives,


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 as you look forward to, and work towards,w the arrival of God’s day. That day will set off the fiery disintegration of the heavens, and the elements are going to melt as they burn.x


text:
 But in line with God’s promise, we’re waiting for “a new heavens and a new earth,”y where justicez lives.


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 Final Words of Encouragement and Warning So, dear friends, as you wait for these things, do your best to be found spotless and blameless-at peace with God.aa


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 And look on the patience of our Lord Jesus as your salvation. It’s just like our dear brother Paul has also written to you, by the wisdom that’s been given to him.bb


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 He also talks about these things in all his letters. There are certain things in them that are hard to understand-which ignorant and unstable people twist. They also do the same thing to the other scriptures-leading to their own destruction.


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 So then, dear friends, be forewarned-be on your guard. Don’t go along with the deception of lawless people and losecc your own stability.


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 Instead, grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory to him-both now and forever!dd Amen.ee


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 THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN Eyewitnesses to the Word of Life It’s been there from the beginning. We’ve heard it. We’ve seen it with our eyes, and our hands have felt it. We’re talking about the Word of Life.


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 And this Life has been revealed, and we’ve seen it. And we’re testifying and passing on the message of this eternal Life to you. It was with the Father, and it’s been revealed to us.


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 It’s what we’ve seen and heard that we are nowa passing on to you. That way, you can have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is also with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.


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 Challenge to Live in the Light And this is the message that we’ve heard from God, and which we are passing on to you: God is light, and there’s no darkness in God at all.


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 If we say that we have fellowship with God, and we’re livingd in darkness, we’re lying, and we’re not living oute the truth.


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 But if we’re living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, And the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, washes us clean from all sin.


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 If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgivef us our sins and wash us clean from everything we’ve done wrong.g


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 Jesus Christ is the Offering That Makes Amends for the Sins of the World My children, I’m writing you all this so that you won’t sin. And if somebody does sin, we have somebody that speaks in our defense in front of the Father: Jesus Christ, the Just One.a


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 And he’s the offering that makes amendsb for our sins-and not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world.


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 The person that says, “I know Christ,” and isn’t obeying Christ’s commands, is a liar. And the truth isn’t in them.


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 But if someonec holds to Christ’s teaching,d God’s love has come to completion in that person. That’s how we know that we’re in Christ.


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 The person that says they’re living in hime is obligated to conduct their own life just like he lived.


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 The Command to Love Dear friends, I’m not writing you a new command, but an old one. You’ve had it from the beginning. The old command is the message that you’ve heard.


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 On the other hand, I am writing you a new command. It’s true in him, and it’s true in you. Because the darkness is going away, and the true light is already shining.


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 The person that says, “I’m in the light,” and hates their fellow human being,f is still in the dark.


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 The person that loves their fellow human beingg is staying in the light, and there’s nothing in them to offend people.h


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 The person that hates their fellow human beingi is in the dark, and they’re walking around in the dark. And they don’t know where they’re going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.


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 I’m writing you, parents, because you’ve known the One who’s been from the beginning. I’m writing you, young people, because you’ve won the battle with the evil one.


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 I’ve written you, children, because you’ve known the Father. I’ve written you, parents, because you’ve known the One who’s been from the beginning. I’ve written you, young people, because you’re strong, and God’s word is still in you, and you’ve won the battle with the evil one.


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 Don’t Love the World and its Things Don’t love the world or the things in the world. If somebody loves the world, they don’t have the Father’s love in them.


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 Everything in the world-the lustj of the flesh, the lustk of the eyes, and the arrogance of life-is not from the Father, but from the world.


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 And the world is disappearing, and so are its obsessions.l But the person that does God’s will lasts forever.


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 Warning against Antichrists Children, this is the final hour. And just as you’ve heard that antichristm is coming, sure enough,n lots of antichrists have now shown up. Seeing them,o we recognize that it’s the final hour.


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 They went out from us,p but they didn’t belong to us. Because if they had belonged to us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, to show that they didn’t belong to us.


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 I haven’t written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it. And you also know that no liar belongs to the truth.


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 Who’s a liar, if not the person that denies that Jesus is the Christ? That’s the antichristt.-that denies both the Father and the Son.


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 Nobody that denies the Son has the Father either. The person that publicly acknowledgesu the Son has the Father too.


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 Stay in the Son of God As for you, let what you’ve heard from the beginning stay in you. If what you’ve heard from the beginning stays in you, then you’ll also stay inv the Son and inw the Father.


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 Butz as for you, the anointing that you’ve received from him is still in you, and you don’t need for anybody to teach you.aa Not at all. His anointing teaches you about everything. And it’s true, and not a lie. And just like he taught you, you’re staying inbb him.


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 And now, little children, stay incc him. That way, if he’s revealed, we’ll have confidence, and we won’t shrink away from him in shame when he comes.


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 Children of God Look what love the Father has given us-that we should be called children of God! And that’s what we are. That’s why the world doesn’t know us-because it hasn’t known God.


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 Dear friends, we’re children of God now, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we’re going to be. We do know that when Jesusa appears, we’re going to be like him, because we’re going to see him just as he is.


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 Little children, don’t let anybody deceive you. The person that practices justice is a just person-just like Jesus is.


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 The person that practices sin is from the devil, because the devil’s beenf sinning ever since the beginning. That’s why the Son of God appeared: to do away with the devil’s behavior.g


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 Nobody that’s born from God practices sin, because God’s offspring stays in God,h and they can’t sin, because they’re born from God.


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 That’s how the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Everybody that doesn’t do what’s righti isn’t of God. And neither is the person that doesn’t love their fellow human being.j


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 Not like Cain, who was from the Evil One, and violently murderedk his brother. And why did he murderl him? Because his actions were evil, and his brother’s were just.


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 We know that we’ve been brought out of death and into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The person that doesn’t love is staying in death.


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 Everybody that hates their fellow human beingm is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life livingn in them.


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 This is how we’ve come to recognize love:o because Jesusp laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.


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 Suppose somebody has this world’s resources, and sees their fellow human beingq in need, and they close their heart towards the person. How is God’s love staying in them?


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 That’s how we’re going to know that we’re withs the truth, and reassure our hearts in front of God.


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 Becauset if our hearts condemn us, we can be assured that God is greater than our heart, and knows everything.


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 Faith in God’s Presence Dear friends, if our heart doesn’t condemn us,u we have confidence in front of God.


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 And we receive whatever we ask-because we’re keeping God’s commands and doing what’s pleasing to God.v


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 And this is God’s command: for us to believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another, just as Jesus told us to.w


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 And the person that keeps God’s commands stays in God, and God in them. And this is how we know that God livesx in us: from the Spirit that God has given us.


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 Test the Spirits Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit: test the spirits, to see if they’re from God. Because lots of false prophets have gone out into the world.


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 This is how you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.


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 And every spirit that doesn’t acknowledge Jesus isn’t from God. And this sort of spirit is the spirit of the antichrist.a You’ve heard that it’s coming, and now it’s already in the world.


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 You’re from God, little children, and you’ve won the battle with those spirits.b Because the One in you is greater than the onec who’s in the world.


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 These spirits are from the world. That’s why they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.


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 We’re from God. The person that knows God listens to us; the person that’s not from God doesn’t listen to us. That’s how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.


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 Love is the Ultimate Proof of Knowing God Dear friends, let’s love one another. Because love is from God, and everybody that loves is born from God and knows God.


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 God’s Love in Action This is how God’s love has been shown tod us: God has sent God’s only Son into the world, so that we can live through him.


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 This is what love is about:e not that we’ve loved God, but that God personally loved us, and sent God’s Son as an offering that makes amendsf for our sins.


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 Nobody’s ever seen God. If we love one another, God livesg in us, and God’s love has been made complete in us.


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 This is how we know that we’re livingh in God, and God in us: God has given us a portion of God’s Spirit.


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 And we’ve come to know and trust the love that God has for us. God is love, and when a person livesk in the love that’s in God, God lives in them.


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 That’s how love is brought to completion with us, so that we can be confident on judgment day-because as God is, so we are in this world.


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 There’s no fear in love. Just the opposite: perfect love kicks out fear. Because fear has to do with punishment, and the person that fears hasn’t been perfected in love.


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 If somebody says, “I love God,” but hates their fellow human being,m they’re a liar. Because if you don’t love your fellow human beingn that you can see, you can’t love God, that you can’t see. That’s whyo we have this commandment from God: the person that loves God should also love their fellow human being.p


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 The Person who Believes in Jesus Wins the Battle Everybody that believes Jesus is the Christ is born from God. And everybody that loves the Parent loves the child they’ve produced.a


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 This is how we know that we love God’s children: whenever we love God, and practiceb God’s commands.


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 Because every child born from God wins the battle with the world. And this faith of ours is the victory that has won the battle with the world.


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 God’s Testimony about Jesus He’s the one who came through water and blood: Jesus Christ. Not just in water, but in water and blood.f And the Spirit is the one that testifies, because the Spirit is Truth.


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 If we accept the testimony of human beings, God’s testimony is more weighty. Because this is God’s testimony, which God has testified about God’s Son.


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 The person that believes in God’s Son has that testimony inside.g The person that doesn’t believe God has made God out to be a liar, because they haven’t believed the testimony that God has given about God’s Son.


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 The person that has the Son has this life! The person that doesn’t have the Son of God doesn’t have this life.


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 Final Words of Encouragement and Challenge I’ve written these things to you who believe in the name of God’s Son, so that you’ll know that you have eternal life.


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 And this is the confidence that we have in front of God: if we ask something in line with God’s will, God listens to us.


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 And if we know that God listens to what we ask, we know that we geti the things we’ve asked God for.


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 If somebody sees their brother or sister committing a sin (not a deadly sin), they should pray for the person.j And God will give the person life-if they’re not committing a deadly sin. There is such a thing as a deadly sin. I’m not saying that they should pray for them in that situation.k


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 We know that nobody that’s born from God sins. No, the Son of Godm protects them,n and the evil one doesn’t touch them.


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 We know that God’s Son has come, and that he has given us understanding so that we know the True One. And we’re in the True One-in God’s Son Jesus Christ. Heo is the True God and eternal life.


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 THE SECOND LETTER OF JOHN Greeting From the Elder, to the chosen Lady and her children, whom I truly love.a And it’s not just me that loves you-so does everybody who knows the truth.


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 Grace, mercy, and peace are going to be with us in the presence ofc God our Father and in the presence ofd our Father’s Son, Jesus Christ,e in truth and love.


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 Truth and Love I was overjoyed to discover that some of your children are livingf in the truth, in line with the command we’ve received from the Father.


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 And now, Lady, I’m asking you. It’s not as though I’m writing a new command. Far from it-it’s the one that we’ve had from the beginning: that we should love one another.


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 And this is what love is: livingg in line with God’s commands. This is exactly the command that you’ve heard from the beginning, that you’re supposed to liveh in line with.


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 Because lots of deceivers have gone out into the world-who don’t acknowledge the physical nature of Jesus Christ’s coming.i That’s the deceiver and the antichrist.j


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 Watch out for yourselves, so that you don’t lose what you’ve achieved, and you get your full reward.k


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 Everybody that goes off ahead, and doesn’t stay with the teaching of Christ, doesn’t have God. The person that stays with the teaching has both the Father and the Son.


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 If somebody comes to you and doesn’t bring this teaching, don’t let them into your house, and don’t say hello to them.


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 Final Words I have a lot of things to write to you, but I’d rather not do it through paper and ink. Instead, I’m hoping to be with you and to talk face to face.l That way, our joy can be complete.


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 Encouragement for Gaius Dear friend, I’m praying that you’re doing well, and that you’re healthy in every way-just as your soul is doing well.


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 I was overjoyed when the brothers and sisters came and testified about your genuineness-because you do live by the truth.c


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 Helping Traveling Christian Workers Dear friend, you’re faithfully doing that work for the brothers and sisters-even though they’re strangers to you.e


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 They’ve testified to your love in front of the congregation. You’ll do well to send them on in a way that’s worthy of God.


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 Because they’ve gone out on behalf of the name of Jesus, without taking anything from the Gentiles.


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 So if I come, I’m going to point out the things he does-the evil nonsense he says about us. And he doesn’t stop there-he doesn’t welcome the brothers and sisters either. And he forbids people who want to welcome them, and kicks them out of the community.


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 Dear friend, don’t imitate what’s bad; imitate what’s good. The person who does good is from God. The person that does wrong hasn’t seen God.


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 Demetriush has a good recommendationi from everybody-even from the truth itself. And we recommend himj too-and you know that our recommendationk is true.


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 Final Words I have a lot of things to write to you, but I’d rather not do it through paper and ink.


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 THE LETTER OF JUDEa. Greeting From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, James’s brother, to those who are loved by God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ.


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 The Danger of False Teachers Dear friends, I’ve been trying to write you as quickly as I canb about our common salvation. I’ve felt compelled to write you, to urge you to strive on behalf of the faith. That faith was handed over to the holy ones once for all.


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 Butc certain people have sneaked in-the scripture said long ago that they’d come to this judgment.d They’re irreverent. They turn the grace of our God into a license for promiscuity.e And they deny our only Ruler and Lord, Jesus Christ.


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 But I want to remind you of something-although you’ve known all this since the beginning. Jesusf saved a nation out of Egypt, but later destroyed the people that didn’t believe.


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 And consider the angels that didn’t keep to their own realm of authority, but left their own domain. He has kept them in permanent chains, deep in the darkness, for the great day of judgment.


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 And think ofg Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns. They did the same thing. They were committing sexual immorality and going off into perversion.h They provide an example ofi the penalty of eternal fire.


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 Like them, these dreamers pollute their bodies and ignore authority. And they insult angelic beings.j


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 But even the archangel Michael, when he was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body,k didn’t dare to lay an insulting judgment on him. Not at all. He said, “May the Sovereign One rebuke you!”


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 But these people don’t even know what they’re insulting. And what they know instinctually, like unreasoning animals, is what destroys them.l


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 It’s going to be bad for them!m Because they’ve chosenn the path of Cain.o They’ve plunged into the error of Balaam’sp bribe.q They’ve been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.r


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 These people are hidden reefss in your love feasts.t They eat alongside you, fearlessly looking out for their own interests. They’re clouds without rain,u swept around by the wind. They’re trees with no fruit in autumnv.-twice dead, uprooted.


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 They’re wild waves of the ocean, foaming with their own shameful behaviors.w They’re wandering stars. The deepest darkness has been reserved for them for the coming age.x


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 In the seventh generation from Adam, Enochy prophesied about them. He said, I saw the Sovereign One coming,z With tens of thousands of God’s holy ones-aa


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 Coming to render judgment on all people, And to pay back all the ungodly, For all the ungodly things that they had done, And for all the harsh things that ungodly sinners had said against God.bb


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 These people are grumblers, complainers. They live on the basis of their own obsessions.cc They talk big. They pretend to be in awe of important people, in order to advance themselves.dd


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 Hold Fast and Build One Another Up But as for you, dear friends, remember the things that were prophesied by the apostlesee of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 Because they told you: “In the final time there are going to be people mocking the faith,ff who live on the basis of their own ungodly obsessions”.gg


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 They’re people who cause splits in communities, operating in their own strength because they don’t have the Spirit.hh


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 But as for you, dear friends, keep building each other up in your holy, holy faith. Be praying in the Holy Spirit.


text:
 Keep yourselves in the love of God, as you look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.


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 Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Have mercy on still others, yet be afraid-hate even their clothes that have been contaminated by sin.ii


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 Final Prayer of Praise to God Glory to God, whojj is able to protect you from falling down-who’s able to make you stand without guilt in front of the glory of God with a shout of joy.


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 Glory, greatness, power, and authority to the One God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord-from before all time, and now, and to all eternity.kk Amen.


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 THE BOOK OF REVELATION Introduction of the Book The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to God’sa servants. These things have to happen soon, and Jesusb has pointed to them by sending his angel to his servant John.


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 John has testified to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ: to everythingc he saw.


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 A blessing ond the person that reads out the words of this prophecy! And a blessing on those who hear it, and hold onto the things written in it! Because the time is near.


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 Greeting, Blessing, and Prophetic Prayer From John, to the seven Christian communities that are in Asia.e Grace and peace to you, from the One who is, and was, and is coming,f And from the seven spirits that are in front of God’s throne,


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 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the leader of the rulers of the earth. He’s the oneg who loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood.


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 He has made us a royal realm, and priests to his God and Father. May he get the gloryh and the power, forever and ever! Amen!


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 Look! He’s coming with the clouds,i. And every eye will see him- Even the people that pierced him; And all the tribes of the earth will cry bitterlyj over him.k. Yes, amen.


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 “I’m the Alpha and the Omega,”l says the Sovereign God, “the One who is, and was, and is coming:m the All Powerful”.


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 John’s Vision of Christ I, John, am your brother and companion in the affliction, and the royal realm, and the endurance that are in Jesus. I ended upn on the island called Patmos,o because of the word of God and my testimony for Jesus.p


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 I found myselfq in the Spirit on the Lord’sr day. And I heard a loud sound behind me, like a trumpet.


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 It said, “Write down what you see in a book, and send it to the seven Christian communities: to Ephesus,s Smyrna,t Pergamum,u Thyatira,v Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea”.w


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 And I turned around to see whox was talking to me. When I turned around, I saw seven gold lampstands.y


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 Among the lampstands was something like a human being.z He wore a full-length robe,aa and had a gold belt around his chest.bb


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 and his feet were like fine bronze-like metal fired in a furnace.dd And his voice was like the sound of a roaring waterfall.ee


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 He had in his right hand seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword.ff His face was like the sun shining at its full intensity.


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 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. And he laid his hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m the first and the last,gg


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 the Living One. I was dead, buthh look-I’m alive, forever and ever!ii I have the keys of Death and Hades.jj


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 Here’s the secret of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven communities, and the seven lampstands are the seven communities.ll


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 Christ’s Letter to Ephesus To the angel of the community in Ephesus,a write this: The one who’s holding the seven stars in his right hand, the one who’s walking among the seven gold lampstands, says this:b


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 I know the things you’rec doing, and your hard work and your perseverance. And I know that you can’t stand bad people, and that you’ve tested people who are calling themselves apostles,d but aren’t-and you’ve found out that they’re fake.e


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 So remember the place you’ve fallen from, and change your heart.g Do the things you did at first. Now, if you don’t-I’m coming to you,h and I’m going to move your lampstand out of its place unless you change your heart.i


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 Whoever has ears, let ‘em heark what the Spirit says to the communities. To the person who wins this battle, I’m going to give the gift of eating from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.l


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 Christ’s Letter to Smyrna To the angel of the community in Smyrna,m write this: The first and the last, who was dead and came to life, says this:


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 I know your distressn and your poverty. But you’re rich! And I know the insults you’ve faced from those who call themselves Jews, and they’re not-they’re just the opposite: a synagogueo of Satan.


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 Don’t be afraid of anything you’re about to go through. You see, the devil is going to throw some of you in prison, so that you’ll be tested out. You’re going to have distress for ten days. Be faithful right up to death, and I’ll give you the crown of Life.


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 Whoever has ears, let ‘em hear what the Spirit says to the communities. The person who wins this battle won’t ever be hurt by the second death.p


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 Christ’s Letter to Pergamum To the angel of the community in Pergamum,q write this: The one who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:


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 I know where you live, where Satan’s throne is. And you’re holding on to my name, and you haven’t denied your faith in mer.-even in the time of Antipas,s my trustworthy witness, your member who was killed where Satan lives.t


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 However, I do have a little something against you: you have people who hold to the teaching of Balaamu there. He was teaching Balakv to put stumbling blocks in front of the children of Israel:w he got them to eat meat offered to idols,x and to be sexual immoral.


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 So change your heart!z If you don’t, I’m coming to you soon, and I’m going to fight them with the sword of my mouth.


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 Whoever has ears, let ‘em hear what the Spirit says to the communities. I’m going to give the person who wins this battle some of the hidden manna.aa And I’m going to give them a white stone. On that stone there’ll be written a name that nobody knows except the person that receives it.bb


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 Christ’s Letter to Thyatira To the angel of the community in Thyatira,cc write this: The Son of God, whose eyes are a flaming fire,dd and whose feet are like shining bronze, says this:


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 I know the things you’re doing.ee And I know your love, and faith, and service, and your perseverance. And I know that you’ve done more recently than you did in the beginning.ff


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 However, I have something against you: you tolerate that person Jezebel.gg She calls herself a prophet, and she teaches and deceives my servants. She gets them to be sexually immoral, and to eat meat offered to idols.


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 I’ve given her time to change her heart,hh and she doesn’t want to change her heart aboutii her sexual immorality.


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 See, I’m going to send her to bed sick. And I’m going to send the people who’ve broken their marriage vows with her into a major time of trouble,jj if they don’t turn away from the things she does.kk


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 And I’m going to kill her children with plague. All the communities are going to know that I’m the one who examines thoughtsll and hearts, and that I’m going to give each of you what your actions deserve.mm


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 Now, I have something to say to the rest of you in Thyatira: whoever doesn’t hold this teaching, and hasn’t known the so-called “deep things of Satan”. I’m not putting any other burden on you than this:


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 The person who wins this battle, who keeps doing my worknn to the end, I’m going to give them authority over the nations,


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 And they’re going to shepherd them with an iron staff. The nations will be like clay pots getting smashed.oo. This is the same authority as I have from my Father.


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 Christ’s Letter to Sardis To the angel of the community in Sardis, write this: The one who has the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: I know the things you’re doing-how you have the reputationa of being alive, butb you’re dead.


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 Wake up! Strengthen what’s left, that’s been just about to die. Because I’ve found you haven’t followed through on your actionsc in the presence of my God.


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 So remember what you’ve been given to do. Obey what you’ve heard, and change your heart!d If you don’t wake up, I’m going to come like a burglare.-and you’re never going to know at what moment I’m coming to you.


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 However, youf have a few peopleg in Sardis that haven’t gotten their clothes dirty. They’re going to walk with me in white, because they’re worthy of it.


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 The person who wins this battle will alsoh be clothed in white, and I’m never going to erase their name out of the Book of Life.i I’m going to say their name proudlyj in front of my Father, and in front of his angels.


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 Christ’s Letter to Philadelphia To the angel of the community in Philadelphia, write this: The Holy One, the True One, who has “the key of David, who opens, and nobody shuts, and who shuts, and nobody opens,”k says this:


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 I know the things you’re doing. Look: I’ve opened a door in front of you, a door that nobody can shut. I know that you have just a little strength, yet you’ve obeyed my teaching, and you haven’t denied my name.


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 Look: I’m giving you some people from the synagoguel of Satan: those who call themselves Jews, but they aren’t-they’re lying. See, I’m going to have them come, and they’re going to bow down at your feet and realizem that I’ve loved you.


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 Because you’ve persevered in obeying my teaching,n I’m going to keep you safe from the time of testing that’s about to come on the whole world. It’s going to test the people that live on the earth.


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 I’m going to make the winner in this battle a pillar in the temple of my God. They’ll never go outside it ever again. And I’m going to write on them the name of my God, and the name of the City of my God, the New Jerusalem, that is coming down out of heaven from my God, and my new name.o


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 Christ’s Letter to Laodicea To the angel of the community in Laodicea,p write this: This is what the Amen says, who’s the faithful and true witness, the starting pointq of God’s creation.


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 Because you’re saying, “I’m rich,” and “I’m already wealthy,” and “I don’t need anything"—and you don’t know you’re the one that’s destitute,r miserable, poor, blind, and naked!s


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 I advise you to buy from me gold that’s been refined by fire. Then you’ll be rich. And buy white clothes from me, so that you can put them on. That way, your embarrassing nakedness won’t be made public.t And buy eye ointment from me, so that you can see.


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 Look! I’m standing at your door, and I’m knocking. If somebody hears my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in with them and I’ll eat with them, and they’ll eat with me.


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 To the winner of this battle I’m going to give the gift of sitting down with me on my throne. In the same way, I won the battle, and I sat down with my Father on his throne.


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 The One Sitting on the Throne After that I looked, and I sawa an open door in the sky.b And the first voice that I’d heard, that sounded like a trumpet talking to me, was saying, “Come up here, and I’ll show you what has to happen after this”.c


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 Right away I was in the Spirit. And I sawd a throne standing in heaven. Someone was sitting on the throne.


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 To look at, the One sitting on it was like a crystal of quartz, or red quartz.e And there was a halo around the throne, that was like an emerald to look at.


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 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four ancient ones. They were dressed in white robes, and gold crowns were on their heads.


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 And from the throne came flashes of lightning, and sounds,f and rumblings of thunder. There were seven lamps in front of the throne, with fire burning in them. Those are the seven Spirits of God.g


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 And in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, something like ice.h Right there with the throne, surrounding it,i were four living creatures.j They were filled with eyes all over, in front and behind.


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 The first creature was like a lion; the second was like a calf; the third had a face like that of a human being; and the fourth was like a flying eagle.


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 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings, filled with eyes all over, on top and underneath.k Day and night, they never stop saying, Holy! Holy! Holy! The Sovereign God, the All Powerful! The One who was, and is, and is coming!l


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 And every time the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne-the One who lives forever and ever-


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 then the twenty-four ancient ones bow down to the ground in front of the One sitting on the throne. They worship the One who lives forever and ever. And they throw down their crowns in front of the throne, and say,


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 Our Sovereign and God, You’re worthy to receive the glory, the honor and the power! Because you created everything. It was because of your decisionm that everything existedn and was created.


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 The Scroll and the Lamb In the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, I saw a scroll. It had writing on the inside and the outside,a and it was sealed with seven seals.


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 And I saw a powerful angel announcing with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open this scroll, and to break its seals?”


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 Nobody could-nobody in heaven, on the earth, or under the earth. Nobody could open the scroll or even look at it.


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 And I was crying bitterly, because there was nobody found worthy to open the scroll or even look at it.


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 One of the ancient ones said to me, “Don’t cry. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah,b the Root of David,c has won the battle to open the scroll and its seven seals.”


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 And I saw, right there withd the throne and the four living creatures, right there withe the ancient ones, a Lamb standing there. It looked as though it had been slaughtered. It had seven horns and seven eyes. (Those are the sevenf Spirits of God, that are sent out all over the earth.)g


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 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four ancient ones got down on their knees and bowed low in front of the Lamb. Each of them had a harp, and golden bowls full of incense. (They’re the prayers of the holy ones.)h


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 They sang a new song, like this:i. You’re worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals, Because you were sacrificed,j. And by your blood, you’ve purchased for God people from every tribe, language, people, and nation!


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 And I looked, and I heard the sound of many angels all around the throne and the four living creatures and the ancient ones. There were millions and millions, hundreds of millions of them.l


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 They were singing with a loud voice: The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy! Worthy to receive allm power, wealth, wisdom, and strength, Honor, glory, and praise!n


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 And I heard all creation-what’s in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and in the ocean,o and everything in them all-they were singing: To the One sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb, May allp blessing, honor, glory, and power, be given, forever and ever!


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 And the four living creatures were saying, “Amen!” And the ancient ones got down on their knees, bowed low, and worshiped.


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 The Seven Seals And as I watched,a the Lamb opened one of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures shout like thunder, “Come!”


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 And I looked, and suddenly there wasb a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown, and he went out to be a conqueror and to win battles.


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 And another horse went out-a red one. Its rider was given permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one other. A great sword was given to him.


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 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature shout, “Come!” And I looked, and suddenly there wasc a black horse, and its rider had a weighing scale in his hand.


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 And I heard something like a voice coming from where the four living creatures were.d It was saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wage, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wage! Bute don’t harm the oil and the wine!”


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 And I looked, and suddenly there wasf a sickly pale horse, and its rider’s name is Death, and Hadesg went with him.h They were given authority over one quarter of the earth. They could kill with the sword, with famine, with plague, and with the wild animals of the earth.


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 When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw, underneath the altar of sacrifice, the souls of those who’d been slaughteredi because of the word of God, and because of the testimony that they’d maintained.


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 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, O Sovereign One, holy and true? When will you hold a trial? When will you get justice for our murderj from the people who live on the earth?”


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 Each of them was given a white robe. And they were told to restk a little while longer-until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, had been reached. Their brothers and sisters were about to be killed, just as they’d been.


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 And I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a huge earthquake. The sun went dark, as if it had been covered by sackcloth made of goat hair.l The whole moon went blood-red.m


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 And the stars fell out of heaven onto the earth, just like when a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it’s shaken by a powerful wind.


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 And the skyn was split apart like a scroll curling up. And every mountain and island was thrown out of place.o


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 And the rulers of the earth, and the influential, and the commanders, and the rich, and the powerful,p and every slave and free person,q hid themselves. They hid in caves, and among the rocks in the mountains.


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 They said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us! Hide usr from the Ones who sits on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb!


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 The 144,000 from the Twelve Tribes of Israel After that, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds, so that no wind would blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.


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 And I saw another angel coming up from the east, where the sun rises. The angel had the seal of the Living God. He shouted in a loud voice. He said to the angels who’d been given permission to harm the earth and the ocean,a


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 “Don’t harm the earth or the oceanb or the trees, until we seal our God’s servants on their foreheads.


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 I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred and forty-four thousand. They were sealed from every tribe of the children of Israel:


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 Twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Ruben, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad,


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 Twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali,c Twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh,d


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 Twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar,e


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 Twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun,f Twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, Twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin.


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 The Huge Crowd from Every Nation After that I looked, and I saw a huge crowd-so big that nobody could ever count it. There were people from all nations, tribes, peoples and languages, standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes, and there were palm branches in their hands.


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 They shouted with a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb!


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 And all the angels were standing all around the throne, together with the ancient ones and the four living creatures. They fell on their faces in front of the throne, and worshiped God.


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 They said, Amen! May blessing, glory, and wisdom, And thanks, honor, power, and strength Be given to our God, forever and ever! Amen!


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 And one of the ancient ones spoke up and said to me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where have they come from?”


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 I said to him, “Sir, you know the answer”. And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great time of distress.g They’ve washed their robes, and they’ve made them white in the blood of the Lamb.


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 That’s why they’re in front of God’s throne. They’re going to serve God day and night in God’s temple. And the One who sits on the throne is going to shelter them.h


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 Because the Lamb who’s right there at the throne will be their shepherd. And he’ll guide them to springs of flowing water.j And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.k


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 The Seventh Seal and the Golden Incense Burner When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.


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 And another angel came and stood at the altar. He had a gold incense burner. He was given a lot of incense to add to the prayers of all the holy ones. Their prayers are on the golden altar that’s in front of the throne.


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 And the smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand in front of God, together with the prayers of the holy ones.b


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 The angel took the incense burner and filled it with coals from the fire on the altar-and he threw it onto the earth. And there were rumblings of thunder, sounds, lightning flashes, and an earthquake.


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 The first angel blew his trumpet. And there was hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it was thrown onto the earth. And a third of the earth burned up, and a third of the trees burned up, and all the green grass burned up.


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 The second angel blew his trumpet. And something like a huge mountain, all on fire,c was thrown into the ocean.d And a third of the oceane turned to blood,


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 and a third of the living creaturesf that live in the oceang died. And a third of the ships were destroyed.


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 The third angel blew his trumpet. And a huge star fell out of heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell on a third of the rivers and springs.h


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 The name of that star is Poison.i And a third of the water sourcesj turned to poison,k and lots of people died from the water, because the water sources had become poisonous.l


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 The fourth angel blew his trumpet. And a th2ird of the sun was hit, and also a third of the moon, and a third of the stars. And a third of them went dark. And the daytime lost a third of its light, and so did the night.m


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 And I looked, and I heard a single eagle flying up high in the sky.n It was saying in a loud voice, “Horrible, horrible, horrible things are coming for the people who live on the earth!o Here comep the final trumpet blasts, from the three angels who’re about to sound them!”


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 The fifth angel blew his trumpet. And I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven onto the earth. It was given the key to the well that leads to the bottomless pit.


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 The star unlocked the well that leads to the bottomless pit, and smoke came up out of the well-like smoke from a huge furnace. And the sun and the air went dark with the smoke from the well.


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 Out of the smoke, grasshoppersa came onto the earth. They were given stinging power like the stinging power of scorpions.b


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 They were toldc not to harm the crops on the earth, or any green plant or tree-only the people who didn’t have God’s seal on their foreheads.


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 They weren’t given permission to kill them, but only to torment them, for five months. Their torture is like the torture that a scorpion sting causes a person.d


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 In those days, people will be searching for death, and they won’t be able to find it. They’ll be desperate for death, but death will escape from them.


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 The appearance of these grasshoppers was like horses armed for battle. On their heads they had crowns that looked like gold. And their faces were like human faces.


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 They had breastplates that looked like iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of lots of horses and chariots charginge into battle.


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 And they have tails, and stings, like scorpions. Their power to harm people with their tails lasts for five months.f


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 For their ruler, they have the angel of the bottomless pit. In Hebrew, his name is “Abaddon,”g “Destruction”. In Greek, he has the name “Apollyon,”h “Destroyer”.


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 The sixth angel blew his trumpet. And I heard a single voice, coming from the horns of the golden altar that’s in front of God.


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 It was saying to the sixth angel who had a trumpet, “Set free the four angels who are tied up at the great Euphratesj river.


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 And the four angels were set free. They were all readyk for that exact hour, day, month, and year. They were to kill one third of the human race.l


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 This is how I saw the horses and their riders in the vision: their breastplates were flame red, dark blue, and yellow.n The heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur.


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 A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, that came out of their mouths.


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 Because the destructive power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. Because their tails are like snakes that have heads, and they do damage with them.


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 The rest of the human race, that didn’t get killed by these plagues, didn’t turn away from the things they were doing.o They wouldn’tp stop worshiping the demons, and their idols of gold, silver, copper,q stone, and wood. Those things can’t even see or hear or walk!


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 They didn’t turn awayr from their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thievery.


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 The Powerful Angel with a Little Scroll And I saw another angel-a powerful one. He was coming down from heaven, surrounded bya a cloud. A rainbow was around his head, and his face was like the sun. His feet were like fiery pillars,


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 and he had a little scroll open in his hand. And he put his right foot down on the sea and his left foot on land.


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 And he shouted with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion. When he shouted, the seven thunderclaps spoke too.b


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 When the seven thunderclaps spoke, I was about to write, butc I heard a voice from heaven that said, “Put a seal on the things that the seven thunderclaps said-don’t write them down.”


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 He swore, by the One who lives forever and ever,d who created heaven, and everything in it,e and the earth, and everything in it, and the ocean,f and everything in it.g. He swore that there would be no more delay at all.


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 During the time when the seventh angel is just about to blow his trumpet,h theni God’s secret plan will be finished-just as God told the good news to God’s own servants, the prophets.j


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 The voice I’d heard from heaven spoke with me again, and said, “Go take the little scroll that’s open in the right hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land”.


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 And I went off to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take this and eat the whole thing”.


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 And they said to me, “You have to prophesy again, about lots of peoples, nations, languages, and rulers.


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 The Two Witnesses I was given a measuring stick,a like a rod. The angel said, “Get up and measure the Temple, and the people praying there.


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 Leave out the outer court-don’t measure that.b Because it’s been given to the Gentiles:c they’re going to trample on the Holy Cityd for forty-two months.


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 I’m going to give my two witnesses authority to prophesye for twelve hundred and sixty days,f dressed in sackcloth.g


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 These two are the two olive trees, the two lampstands, that stand in the presence of the Sovereign of the earth.h


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 If somebody tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and burns up their enemies. If anybody’s going to try to harm them, that’s how they have to die.


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 These two have the authority to shut up the sky, so that no rain will fall during the time that they’re prophesying. They have authority over the water sources,i to turn them into blood. They also have authority to strike the earth with anyj plague, as often as they want.


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 When they’ve finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will go to war against them. He’s going to defeat them and kill them.


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 And their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city. In spiritual terms, it’s called Sodom and Egypt. It’s where their Lord was crucified.


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 For three and a half days, people from all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations are going to see their bodies lying there. And the authoritiesk aren’t going to let their bodies be buried.l


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 The people who live on the earth are going to celebrate over them-they’re going to be very happy, and they’re going to give each other presents. Because these two prophets had tormented the people that live on the earth.


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 Butm after three and a half days, life-breath from God came into them, and they stood up on their feet. And terrible fear came on those who were looking at them.


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 And they heard a loud voice from heaven, telling them, “Come up here!” And they went up into heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched.n


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 Right then,o there was a huge earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand peoplep died, and the rest were frightened, and gave glory to the God of heaven.q


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 The Seventh Trumpet The seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The rulership of this world now belongs to our Sovereign God,s and to God’s Christ! He’s going to reign forever and ever!”


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 And the twenty-four ancient ones, who are sitting on their thrones in front of God, fell on their faces and worshiped God. They were


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 saying, We thank you, Sovereign, All Powerful God, Who is and who was,t Because you’ve taken your great power and have begun to rule.


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 The nations were angry, And your anger came, And the time came to judge the dead, And to give rewards to your servants the prophets, And to the holy ones, And to those who revere your name, the weak and the powerful,u. And to destroy those who are destroying the earth.


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 And the temple of God in heaven opened up, and the ark of the covenantv appeared in God’s sanctuary. There were lightning flashes, sounds, rumblings of thunder, an earthquake, and a huge hailstorm.


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 The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon An awesome miraclea appeared in heaven: a woman, surrounded byb the sun. The moon was under her feet. And on her head was a crown of twelve stars.


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 Another awesome miracled appeared in heaven: there was a huge red dragon, that had seven heads and ten horns. On its heads were seven royal crowns.


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 And his tail swept up a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth, he could eat her child.


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 And she gave birth to her child, a boy. He’s the one who is going to “shepherd all the nations with an iron staff.”e The child was snatched away to God, to God’s throne.


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 And the woman ran away into the wilderness. In the wilderness, she has a place prepared for her by God. That way, they can care for her needs for twelve hundred and sixty days.


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 The Dragon is Thrown Down to Earth And there was a war in heaven. Michaelf and his angels were at war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought,


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 The great dragon was thrown down. He’s the ancient serpent,h who’s called the devil and Satan.i He’s the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.


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 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation, the power, and the rulership of our God have come! Because the one who accuses our brothers and sisters has been thrown down. He’s the one who accuses them day and night in front of our God.


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 Our brothers and sisters have won the battle with him-because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the testimony that they have givenj.-they didn’t even love their lives in the face of death.k


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 Because of that, be joyful, you heavens,l and those who live in them! But it’s going to be horrible for the earth and the sea: because the devil has come down to you. He’s totally furious, because he knows that he only has a little more time.


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 When the dragon saw that he’d been thrown down to the earth, he went afterm the woman who’d given birth to the boy child.


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 And the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle. That way she could fly to the wilderness, to her special place. There she’d be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. She’d be out of the reach ofn the serpent.


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 The serpent spat water out of his mouth after the woman-like a river, so that he could flood her out.


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 But the earth helped the woman. She opened her mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spat out of his mouth.


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 And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went off to attacko the rest of her offspring: those who keep God’s commands and hold the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the beachp at the ocean.q


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 A Beast Comes out of the Ocean And I saw, coming up out of the ocean,a a beast with ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten royal crowns, and on his heads were blasphemousb names.c


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 The beast that I saw was like a leopard, but his feet were like a bear’s feet. His mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave his power and his throne to the beast, and great authority.


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 And it was as though one of the beast’s heads had been slaughtered,d but its fatal wounde had been healed. And the whole earth followed the beast in amazement.f


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 They worshiped the dragon, because he’d given such powerg to the beast. And they worshiped the beast. They said, “Who is like the beast? Who can go to war against him?”


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 And he was given a mouth that came out with huge boastsh and blasphemies. He was given authority to do things for forty-two months.


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 So he came out withi blasphemies against God. He’d insultj God’s name and God’s sanctuary (in other words, those who live in heaven).


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 And the beast was given authority to go to war against the holy ones, and to defeat them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.


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 And everyone who lived on the earth worshiped him-that is, everyone whose name wasn’t written down in the Book of Life that belongs to the slaughtered Lamb, from the creationk of the world.


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 If somebody’s to be captured, They going to be captured.m. If somebody’s to be killed by the sword, They’re going to be killed by the sword.n. Here’s where the endurance and faith of the holy ones comes in.


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 A Second Beast Comes out of the Ground And I saw another beast-it was coming up out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb, buto it was talking like a dragon.


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 He exercises all the authority of the first beast, with his approval.p He makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast-the one whose fatal woundq had been healed.


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 He does awesome miraclesr.-for example,s he even makes fire come down out of heaven onto the earth right in front of people.


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 And he deceives the earth’s inhabitants, by means of the miraclest that he’s given to perform in the personal service ofu the beast. For example, he tells the earth’s inhabitants to create an image in honor ofv the beast, who had the sword wound but survived.w


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 And he was given authority to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could even talk. And he makes them killx whoever won’t worship the image of the beast.


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 And he makes everybody, the weak and the powerful,y the rich and the poor, the free and the slaves, putz a markaa on their right hand or on their forehead.


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 He also makes it so that nobody can buy or sell who doesn’t have the mark, the beast’s name, or the number of the beast’s name.


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 Here’s some wisdom. The person who has a mind for it should figure out the beast’s number, because it’s the number of a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.


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 The Lamb and the 144,000 Stand on Mount Zion And I looked, and there wasa the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! With him were a hundred and forty-four thousand people, who have his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.


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 And I heard a voice from heaven. It was like the sound of a roaring waterfall,b and like a huge rumble of thunder. Then I heardc something that sounded like harpists playing their harps.


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 They sing some kind of new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four ancient ones. Nobody could learn that song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand, who’d been purchased from the earth.


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 These are men who haven’t become unclean in their relationships with women: they’re virgins. They’re the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They’ve been purchased as a first portion of the human race for God and for the Lamb.


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 Three Angels with Messages And I saw another angel flying in the middle of the sky. He had eternal good news to preach to those who live on the earth: to every nation, tribe, language, and people.


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 He was saying in a loud voice, “Revere God and give God glory!e Because the momentf of God’s judgment has come. Sog worship the One who made heaven and earth, and the oceanh and the springs of water.”


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 A second angel followed him. He was saying, “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! From her cup, all the nations have drunk the wine of her furious craving for immorality.”i


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 A third angel followed them. He was saying in a loud voice, “If somebody worships the beast and his image, and accepts his stamp on their forehead or on their hand,


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 then they’re going to drink the wine of God’s fury, mixed full strength in the cup of God’s anger! They’re going to be tormented with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.


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 The smoke from their torment goes up forever and ever. And those who worship the beast and his image get no rest day and night-and it’s the same for the person that acceptsj the markk of his name.”


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 Here’s where the endurance of the holy ones comes in: they’re the ones who hold to God’s commands and to the faith of Jesus.l


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 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write this down: Those who die in the Lord from now on are blessed. Yes, says the Spirit! They’re going to be able to rest from their hard work.m Because the things they’ve done are going to go with them.”


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 The Earth is Harvested And I looked, and there was a white cloud. Something like a human being was sitting on it.n He had a gold crown on his head, and he had a sharp sickle in his hand.


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 And another angel came out of the temple. He was shouting in a loud voice to the angel sitting on the cloud: “Go out witho your sharp sickle, and harvest! Because it’s timep to harvest: the earth’s harvest is ripe.


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 And another angel came out, from the altar. He was the one in charge of the fire. He called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle. He was saying, “Go out withq your sharp sickle, and harvest the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine: its grapes are ripe!”


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 And he swept his sickle over the earth, and harvested the earth’s vine. And he threw the earth’s grape clusters in the huge wine press of God’s fury.


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 And they stomped on the grapes in the wine pressr outside of the city. And blood came out of the wine press up to the horses’ bridles, as far away as two hundred miles.


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 And I saw another miraclea in heaven. It was awesomeb and amazing. I saw seven angels, with seven plagues. They’re the last ones-with them, God’s anger is finished.


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 Safe on the Other Side! And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire. And I saw the winners from the battle with the beast, and his image, and the number of his name. They were standing onc the sea of glass, with harps from God in their hands.


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 They’re singing the song written by Moses, God’s servant. It’s also the Lamb’s song.d They’re singing, The things you do are awesome and amazing, O Sovereign God, the All Powerful! Your ways are just and true, O Ruler of the nations!e


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 Who can possibly fail to reveref and glorify your name, And admit that you alone are holy?g Because all the nations are going to come and worship in front of you, Because your just decisions have been revealed.


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 The Seven Bowls of God’s Fury After that I looked, and the temple-the tent of witnessh.-was opened in heaven.


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 And the seven angels with the seven plagues came out of the temple. They were wearing bright, clean linen, and they had gold belts around their chests.


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 And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the fury of God, who lives forever and ever.


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 And the temple was filled with smoke, from the glory of God and the power of God. Nobody could go in the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.


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 And I heard a loud voice from the temple. It was saying to the seven angels, “Go pour out the seven bowls of God’s fury on the earth”.


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 And the first angel went off and poured his bowl on the earth. And a nasty, evil sore appeared on the people who had the stamp of the beast, and those who had worshiped his image.


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 The second angel poured out his bowl on the ocean.a And blood appeared,b as though from a dead body. Every living thingc in the oceand died.


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 And I heard the angel of the water sourcesf saying, You’re right, O Holy One, who is and who was,g To have passed down these verdicts!


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 Because they poured out the blood of holy ones and prophets, And you’ve given them blood to drink. They deserve it!


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 And I heard voices from the altar, saying, Yes, Sovereign God, the All Powerful! Your verdicts are true and just.h


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 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. And it was given the power to burn people with fire,


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 and people were badly burned.i They blasphemedj God’s name, because God had authority over these plagues. Butk they didn’t change their heartsl and give God glory.m


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 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the beast’s throne, and his territoryn went dark. And people chewed their tongues from pain.


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 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they didn’t turn away from the things they were doing.o


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 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates.p And its water dried up, to prepare the way for the rulers who come from the east.


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 And I saw, coming out of the mouths of the dragon and the beast and the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.


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 Those are demonic spirits that do miracles.q They go out to the rulers of the whole world. They get them together for the war onr the great day of God the All Powerful.


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 Look, I’m coming like a burglar.s The blessed person is the one that keeps watch and keeps their clothes on. That way, they won’t walk around naked with people seeing their clothes falling off.t


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 The seventh angel poured out his bowl on the air. And a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne. It was saying, “It’s done”.


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 And there were lightning flashes, sounds, and rumbles of thunder. And there was a huge earthquake-so big that there’s never been one like it, ever since humanity appeared on earth. That’s how huge an earthquake it was.


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 The great city split into three parts, and all the nations’ cities collapsed. And Babylon the Great got remembered in God’s presence, and it was given the wine cup of God’s furious anger.


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 And huge hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds, came down out of the sky on people. And people blasphemedv God because of the plague of hail. Because that plague was absolutely terrible.w


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 The Beast and the Great Prostitute One of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and talked to me. He said, “Come here. I’m going to show you the verdicta against the great prostitute, who’s sitting on many water sources.b


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 She’s the one that the earth’s rulers went to. The people who live on the earth got drunk from the wine of her prostitution.


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 And he took me away in the Spirit, to a deserted place. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. The beast was covered with blasphemousc names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.


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 And the woman was robed in purple and scarlet.d She was sparklinge with gold jewelry, and jewels, and pearls.f She has a gold cup in her hand, full of filthyg things-the diseasesh from her prostitution.i


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 On her forehead, her secret name was written: Babylon the Great Mother of All Prostitutes Mother of All Filthy Things on Earth


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 And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the holy ones: with the blood of Jesus’ witnesses. And I was absolutely amazedj when I saw her.


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 The angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I’m going to tell you the secret of this woman, and of the beast that’s carrying her-the one with the seven heads and the ten horns.


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 The beast that you saw used to exist, and it doesn’t exist now. But it’s going to come up out of the bottomless pit, and it’s headed for destruction. And the people who live on the earth are going to be amazed when they see the beast again-that is, the people whose names haven’t been written in the Book of Life from the creationk of the world. Because the beast used to exist, and he doesn’t exist now, and yet he’s going to show up.


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 Here’s where a wise understanding comes in.l The seven heads are seven mountains. These are the mountains where the woman has settled. They’re also seven rulers.


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 The first five have died, One is ruling now, Another one hasn’t come yet. When he comes, He only gets to stay a little while.m


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 As for the beast, who used to exist, and doesn’t exist now, He himself makes the eighth head. He’s one of the seven, And he’s headed for destruction.


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 The ten horns that you saw are ten rulers. They haven’t taken up their rule yet. But they get authority for a single momentn along with the beast.


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 They’re going to go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb is going to defeat them. Because he’s Lord of Lords and Ruler of Rulers. And those who are with him are called, chosen and faithful.


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 And the angel said to me, “Remember the water sources where the prostitute sits? They’re peoples, groups, nations, and languages.


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 And remember the ten horns you saw, and the beast? They’re going to hate the prostitute, and they’re going to make her desolate and strip her naked. They’re going to eat her flesh and burn her up with fire.


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 Because God has put it into their hearts to carry out God’s intention. Soo they carry out one intention, and give their rulership to the beast, until God’s words have come to fulfillment.p


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 And the woman that you saw-she’s the great city that has sovereigntyq over the rulers of the earth.


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 The Fall of Babylon the Great After that I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.


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 He cried out in a powerful voice, She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She’s become a place where demons live, And a prison for every unclean spirit, And a prison for every kind of unclean and hateful bird.


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 Because all the nations have fallen down froma the wine of her furious sexual immorality. The earth’s rulers have visited her,b. And the earth’s businesspeoplec have gotten rich from the power of her luxury.


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 And I heard a different voice saying from heaven, Leave, my people! Leave her! That way you won’t participate in her sins, And you won’t get her plagues.


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 Give her the same treatment as she gave others! Give her a double portion of the things that she does.e. In the cup that she used to mix drinks for others, mix a double portion for her.


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 She has glorified herself so much! She has lived in so much luxury! Give her the same amount of torment and sorrow. Because she says in her heart, “I sit enthroned as Queen! I’m no widow! I’m never going to facef sorrow.”


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 Because of that, her plagues are going to arrive all on one day: Death, sorrow, and famine, And she’s going to destroyedg by fire, Because the Sovereign God, her judge, is powerful.


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 And the earth’s rulers-the ones who visited her and joined in her luxury-cry and hit themselves in grief over her, when they see the smoke from her fire.


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 They stand a long ways away, for fear of her torment, and they say, How horrible, how horrible for you, O great city, Babylon, The powerful city! Because your judgment has come all in one moment!h


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 And the earth’s businesspeoplei cry and grieve over her, because nobody buys their shipments anymore:j


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 Shipments of gold, silver, gems, and pearls; Shipments of fine linen, expensive purple fabrics, silk, expensive scarlet fabrics; Shipments of every kind of hardwood,k every kind of article made out of ivory, and every kind of article made out of expensive wood; Shipments of copper, iron and marble;


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 Shipments of cinnamon and spice; Shipments of incense, perfume and frankincense; Shipments of wine, olive oil, pastry flour, and grain; Shipments of beef and lamb; Shipments of horses, carriages, and human bodiesl.-in other words, people’s lives.m


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 Now all the fruit that you’re so addicted to has disappeared,n And all your luxuries and your shiny things have been lost;o People will never find them any more.


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 The people who sell all these things, who got rich from selling them to her, are going to stand a long ways away, for fear of her torment,


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 and they’ll say, How horrible, how horrible for you, O great city! You wore fine linen, purple and scarlet! You sparkled with gold, and jewels, and pearls!


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 In a single moment,p all that wealth has been ruined! And all the ships’ captains, and navigators, and sailors, and everybody that made their living on the ocean,q stood a long ways away.


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 They threw dust on their heads, and screamed, and cried, and grieved. They were saying, How horrible, how horrible for the great city! Everybody who had a ship on the oceans got rich off of her- Off of her wealth! In a single moment,t she’s been ruined!


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 Let heaven celebrate over her, Together withu the holy ones, apostles and prophets! Because God has convicted her of her crimes against you.v


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 And a powerful angel lifted up a stone like a huge millstone, and threw it into the ocean.w He said, That’s how quicklyx Babylon, the great city, is going to be overthrown. She’ll never be found again.


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 The sound of harp players and singers,y flutists and trumpet players- They’re never going to be heard in you any more. No worker in any skilled trade is ever going to be found in you any more. The sound of a mill grinding flour is never going to be heard in you any more.


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 The light of a lamp is never going to be seen in you any more. And the sound of a bride and groom is never going to be heard in you any more.z. Because your businesspeople were the most powerful people on earth,aa. Because you deceived all the nations with your sorcery.bb


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 In her was found the blood of prophets and holy ones, And the blood of all the people who’d been slaughtered on the earth.


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 Praise in Heaven for God’s Verdict against Babylon After that, I heard something like the sound of a huge, massive crowd in heaven. They were saying, Hallelujah!a. The salvation and the glory and the power of our God have come,


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 Because God’s verdicts are just and true! Because God has convicted the great prostitute, Who ruined the earth with her prostitution, And God has held her accountable for the blood of God’s servants that’s on her hands.b


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 And the twenty-four ancient ones got down on their knees and bowed low, along with the four living creatures. They worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They were saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”


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 Celebration of God’s Reign and of the Wedding of the Lamb And a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you servants of God: Those who revere God, The weak and the powerful.c


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 And I heard something like a massive crowd, and like the sound of a roaring waterfall,d and like the sound of powerful rumbles of thunder. They were saying, Hallelujah!e. Our Sovereign God, the All Powerful, now reigns!f


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 Let’s celebrate and be happy, Let’s giveg God the glory, Because it’s the Lamb’s wedding day, And his bride has gotten herself all ready.


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 She’s been given the authority to wear fine, sparkling clean linen. (The fine linen represents all the proofs of the integrity of the holy ones.)


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 And the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Those who’ve been invited to the Lamb’s wedding are blessed!’” And he told me, “These are the true words of God”.


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 And I threw myself down at his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Don’t do that! I’m your fellow servant, and the fellow servant of your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. After all, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.h


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 The Rider on the White Horse and his Armies And I saw heaven standing open, and suddenlyi there was a white horse. The One who sat on it is called Faithful and True.j With justice he judges and goes to battle.k


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 His eyes are a flaming fire,l and on his head are many royal crowns, with names inscribed that nobody knows but him.


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 And the armies of heaven are with him, on white horses. They’re wearing fine linen, all white and clean.


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 And there is a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. With it, he’s going to strike the nations.n He’s going to “shepherd them with an iron staff.”o. And he’s going to stomp the grapes in the winepress of the furious anger of God, the All Powerful.


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 And I saw an angel standing in the sun. He shouted with a loud voice, calling to all the birds that fly up high in the sky:q “Come, gather together for the great feast of God!


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 Come eatr the flesh of rulers, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of influential people,s and the flesh of horses and riders-the flesh of everyone: the free, the enslaved, the weak and the powerful.”t


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 The Beast and its Armies are Defeated And I saw the beast, together with the earth’s rulers and their armies. They’d gotten together to make war against the One who sat on the horse, and against his armies.


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 The beast was captured, along with the false prophet. He was the one who’d done those miraclesu with the beast’s approval. He’d used them to deceivev those who accepted the beast’s stamp, and those who worshiped his image. Those two were thrown alive into the lake that’s on fire with burning sulfur.w


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 All the rest were killed by the sword of the One who sat on the horse-the sword that came out of his mouth.


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 Satan is Imprisoned for a Thousand Years And I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit in his hand, and a huge chain.


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 He grabbed the dragon, the ancient serpent,a who is the devil and Satan, and he chained him up for a thousand years.


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 He threw him in the bottomless pit, and closedb it and sealed it over him. That way, he couldn’t deceive the nations anymore, until the thousand years were over. After that, he has to be set free for a little while.


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 The First Resurrection And I saw thrones, and people sat on them.c They were given the task of passing judgment.d And I saw the souls of the people who’d been executede because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God-whoeverf hadn’t worshiped the beast and his image, and hadn’t taken his stamp on their forehead and their hand. They came aliveg and ruled with Christ for a thousand years.


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 The rest of the dead didn’t come to lifeh until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.


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 The person who gets to take parti in the first resurrection is blessed and holy. The second death doesn’t have any power at all over them. They’re going to be priests of God and of Christ, and they’re going to rule with him for the thousand years.j


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 Satan’s Release and Final Defeat And when the thousand years are over, Satan’s going to be let out of his prison.


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 He’s going to go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth: Gog and Magog.k He’s going to gather them together for battle.l They’re as numerous as the sands of the ocean.m


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 And they came up, covering the breadth of the earth.n They surrounded the camp of the holy ones, the Beloved City.o And fire came down out of heavenp and burned them up.q


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 And the devil, who was deceiving them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur-where both the beast and the false prophet are. They’re going to be tormented day and night, forever and ever.


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 The Dead are Judged And I saw a huge white throne, and the One who sat on it. From the presence of that One, earth and heaven had fled away, and there’d been no room found for them.


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 And I saw the dead, the powerful and the weak,r standing in front of the throne. And books were opened. And another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged on the basis of the things written in the books-on the basis of their actions.s


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 And the oceant gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and they were judged on the basis of their actions.


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 A Renewed Heaven and a Renewed Earth And I saw a renewed heaven, and a renewed earth: the first heaven and the first earth had gone away, and the seaa wasn’t there anymore.


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 And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. She was all dressed up, like a bride all ready for her man.


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 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Look! God’s homeb is with humanity!c. God is going to live with them, And they’re going to be God’s people,d And God, their God, is going to be with them in person.e


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 God is going to wipe every tear from their eyes,f. And death will no longer exist.g. Nor will grief, nor crying, nor pain, exist any longer,h. Because the previousi things are gone.


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 And the One who sat on the throne said, Look! I’m making everything new! The Enthroned One said to me,j. Write! Because these words are faithful and true.


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 The Enthroned One said to me, It’s done! I’m the Alpha and the Omega,k. The Beginning and the End.l. To the person who’s thirsty, I’m going to give free permission to drink from the spring of the water of life.m


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 The person that wins the battle is going to inherit all of this.n. I’m going to be their God, And they’re going to be my child.o


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 But as for the cowards, and the untrustworthy,p and the filthy,q and the murderers, and the sexually immoral, and the sorcerers, and the idolaters, and all the liars, their inheritance is going to be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur-which is the second death.


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 The New Jerusalem And one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and talked to me. He said, “Come on: I’m going to show you the bride-the Lamb’s wife.


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 He led me up in the Spiritr to the top of a huge, high mountain. He showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God,


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 shining withs God’s glory.t The source of her lightu was like a priceless gem, like a crystal-clear diamond.v


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 She has a huge, high wallw with twelve gates, and at the gates are twelve angels. They’re inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.x


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 The City’s wall has twelve foundations. On them are twelve names: the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


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 The angel who was talking with me had a gold measuring stick, to measure the City, with its gates and its wall.


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 And the City is laid out as a square, with its length and width the same. He measured out the City with the measuring stick at fourteen hundred miles. Its length and width and height are equal.y


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 He measured out its wall at two hundred feet, using human measurement, which is what the angel was using.z


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 The foundations of the City’s walls were all decorated with gemstones: the first with quartz,cc the second with sapphire, the third with agate,dd the fourth with emerald,


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 the fifth with onyx,ee the sixth with red quartz,ff the seventh with golden peridot,gg the eighth with beryl,hh the ninth with topaz, the tenth with green quartz,ii the eleventh with red zircon,jj and the twelfth with amethyst.kk


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 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each gate was made of a single pearl. And the main street of the City was pure gold, like clear glass.


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 And I didn’t see a temple in the City, because the Sovereign God, the All Powerful, and the Lamb, are its temple.


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 The City doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.ll


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 The nations are going to walk by the light of it.mm And the rulers of the earth are going to bring their glory into it.


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 And nothing unholy, or anyone that does filthyoo things, or any liar, is ever going to enter it-only those who are recordedpp in the Lamb’s Book of Life.


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 The River of Life and the Tree of Life And the angel showed me the river of the water of life,a sparkling like crystal. It was coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,


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 and flowing in the middle of the City’s main street.b On either side of the river was the tree of life.c It bears twelve fruits-one fruit each month. And the tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations.


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 Nothing cursed is going to exist anymore.d And the throne of God and of the Lamb is going to be in that City.e And God’s servants are going to serve God there.


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 Night won’t exist anymore, and they don’t need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Sovereign God is going to shine on them. And they’re going to rule forever and ever.


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 Jesus is Coming Soon! And the angel said to me, “You can depend on these things-they’re true.f The Sovereign God, who inspires the prophets,g has sent God’s own angel to show God’s servants what has to happen soon.


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 And see, I am coming soon. A blessing on the person that obeys the words of prophecy in this book!”h


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 Now I, John, am the one that heard and saw all this. And when I heard and saw it all, I got down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing it all to me.


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 And he said to me, “Don’t do that! I’m your fellow servant, and the fellow servant of your brothers and sisters the prophets, and of those who obey the words of this book! Worship God.”


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 And he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is nearly here!


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 If you’re doing wrong, keep on doing wrong; If you’re filthy, keep on being filthy; If you’re a person of integrity, keep on doing the right thing; And if you’re holy, keep on being holy.i


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 “Look! I’m coming soon, and I have my rewards with me!j I’m going to give each person what their behavior deserves.k


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 Those who wash their robesm are blessed, becausen they’re going to have a right to the tree of life. And they’re going to go through the gates into the City.


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 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers, the sexually immoral and the murderers, the idolaters, and everybody that loves, and does, what’s false.


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 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you all thoseo things about the communities. I’m the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star.


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 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let the person who hears this say, ‘Come!’ And let the person who’s thirsty come, if they want to receive the water of lifep for free.q


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 “I testify to everybody that hears the words of this book of prophecy: If somebody adds to its words, God’s going to add to them the plagues containedr in this book.


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 And if somebody takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God’s going to take away their inheritance of the trees of life, and the Holy City, that are containedt in this book.


