The sorrow comes in order that the testing of your faith--being more precious than that of gold, which perishes and yet is proved by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the re-appearing of Jesus Christ.

Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

seeking to find out what person or what time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories [destined] to follow.

And it was made clear to those prophets that they were God's servants not for themselves but for you, to give you word of the things which have now come to your ears from the preachers of the good news through the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; things which even angels have a desire to see.

So make your minds ready, and keep on the watch, hoping with all your power for the grace which is to come to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Being conscious that you have been made free from that foolish way of life which was your heritage from your fathers, not through a payment of things like silver or gold which come to destruction,

since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God.

Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God.

You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

And see to it that your conscience is entirely clear, so that every time you are slandered or falsely accused, those who attack or disparage your good behavior in Christ will be shamed [by their own words].

Because Christ once went through pain for sins, the upright one taking the place of sinners, so that through him we might come back to God; being put to death in the flesh, but given life in the Spirit;

And of all things the end hath come nigh; be sober-minded, then, and watch unto the prayers,

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Beloved, don't be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.

No, the more you share the sufferings of the Christ, the more may you rejoice, that, when the time comes for the manifestation of his Glory, you may rejoice and exult.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

And when the Supreme Shepherd [i.e., Jesus] comes back, you will receive [for your effort] a glorious crown [of reward] that will never fade away [Note: The idea of "fading away" is suggested by the laurel wreath bestowed on the winner of an athletic contest].

For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up;

God, from whom all help comes, and who called you, by your union with Christ, into his eternal glory, will, when you have suffered for a little while, himself perfect, establish, strengthen you.

Thus he has given us his precious and splendid promises so that through them you may escape the corrupting influences that exist in the world through passion, and come to share in the divine nature.

For if you have these qualities in their fulness, they will make you neither idle nor unproductive when it comes to the understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For, he to whom these things are not present, is, blind, seeing only what is near, having come, to forget, his purification from his old sins.

knowing that the laying aside of this earthly tent of mine is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

So we have the prophetic word made more certain. You do well to pay [close] attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and light breaks through the gloom and the morning star arises in your hearts.

this first knowing, that no prophecy of the Writing doth come of private exposition,

for not by will of man did ever prophecy come, but by the Holy Spirit borne on holy men of God spake.

And there did come also false prophets among the people, as also among you there shall be false teachers, who shall bring in besides destructive sects, and the Master who bought them denying, bringing to themselves quick destruction,

And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.

and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and overwhelmed them with ashes, as a warning to ungodly men of what was to come,

[This fate will come upon] those people especially who corrupt themselves with physical desires and despise being ruled by others. They are daring, self-willed, and are not afraid to speak against glorious beings [i.e., angels],

Their eyes are filled with sexual lust, and they are never satisfied when it comes to sinning. They entice unstable people and have hearts trained to be greedy [i.e., they continually desire the possessions of others]. [In this condition] they are under God's curse.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

will come and ask scoffingly-- 'Where is his promised Coming? Ever since our fathers passed to their rest, everything remains just as it was when the world was first created!'

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Looking for and truly desiring the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will come to an end through fire, and the substance of the earth will be changed by the great heat?

For this reason, my loved ones, as you are looking for these things, take great care that when he comes you may be in peace before him, free from sin and every evil thing.

That which was from the first, which has come to our ears, and which we have seen with our eyes, looking on it and touching it with our hands, about the Word of life

We give you word of all we have seen and everything which has come to our ears, so that you may be united with us; and we are united with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

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

and the truth is not in him; bit if any man obey his word, in him truly is the love of God made perfect. By this we come to know that we are in him.

I am writing to you, fathers [those believers who are spiritually mature], because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men [those believers who are growing in spiritual maturity], because you have been victorious and have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children [those who are new believers, those spiritually immature], because you have come to know the Father.

I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the word of God remains [always] in you, and you have been victorious over the evil one [by accepting Jesus as Savior].

For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

Even now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes.

Think what love the Father has had for us, in letting us be called God's children, for that is what we are. This is why the world does not know what we are??ecause it has never come to know him.

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

No one who keeps in union with him sins. Anyone who sins has never seen him or come to know him.

By this the Children of God are distinguished from the Children of the Devil--No one who lives unrighteously comes from God, and especially the man who does not love his Brother.

We are conscious that we have come out of death into life because of our love for the brothers. He who has no love is still in death.

By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. And we ought to lay down our lives for the believers.

By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him

Dearly beloved, if our consciences do not condemn us, we come with perfect confidence to God,

Do not believe every spirit, beloved, but test the spirits to see if they come from God; for many false prophets have emerged in the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

You, my Children, come from God, and you have successfully resisted such men as these, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We come from God. He who knows God listens to us; the man who does not come from God does not listen to us. By that we may know the true inspiration from the false.

Dear friends, let us continuously love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God.

Whoever does not love has never come to know God by experience, because God is love.

By this we know [with confident assurance] that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His [Holy] Spirit.

And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him.

By this we know [without any doubt] that we love the children of God: [expressing that love] when we love God and obey His commandments.

Anything which comes from God is able to overcome the world: and the power by which we have overcome the world is our faith.

This one is he who did come through water and blood -- Jesus the Christ, not in the water only, but in the water and the blood; and the Spirit it is that is testifying, because the Spirit is the truth,

We realize that we come from God, while all the world is under the influence of the Evil One.

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

The Elder:

To the elect lady and her children: I love all of you in the truth—and not only I, but also all who have come to know the truth—

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

For it is an intense joy to me when brethren come and bear witness to your fidelity to the truth--that you live in obedience to the truth.

My loved one, you are doing a good work in being kind to those brothers who come from other places;

Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Dear friends, I was just on the point of writing to you about our common salvation, when it became necessary for me to write and appeal to you to come to the defense of the faith that has once for all been intrusted to God's people.

for there did come in unobserved certain men, long ago having been written beforehand to this judgment, impious, the grace of our God perverting to lasciviousness, and our only Master, God, and Lord -- Jesus Christ -- denying,

A curse on them! They have gone in the way of Cain, running uncontrolled into the error of Balaam for reward, and have come to destruction by saying evil against the Lord, like Korah.

And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied also as to these, saying, Behold, the Lord has come amidst his holy myriads,

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

to the one God, our Saviour, be ascribed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, glory, majesty, power, and dominion, as it was before time began, is now, and shall be for all time to come. Amen.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

And from Jesus Christ, the true witness, the first to come back from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who had love for us and has made us clean from our sins by his blood;

Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they which have pierced him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of him. Yea. Amen.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

I am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.

Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

"To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:

I know your persecution and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know, too, the slander that come from those who declare that they are Jews, though they are not, but are a Congregation of Satan.

He who has ears, let him give ear to what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not come under the power of the second death.

Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Her children too shall surely die; and all the Churches shall come to know that I am He who searches into men's inmost thoughts; and to each of you I will give a requital which shall be in accordance with what your conduct has been.

But, unto you, I say, - the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, such as have not come to know the deep things of Satan, as they say, I do not cast upon you any other burden;