THE DAY OF THE LORD

3 Dear friends, this is now the second letterx I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincerey understanding by way of reminder, 2 so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. 3 Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last daysz scoffing and following their own evil desires, 4 saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised?aa Ever since our ancestors fell asleep,ab all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” 5 They deliberately overlook this: By the word of Godac the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.ad 6 Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.ae 7 By the same word,af the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgmentag and destruction of the ungodly.

8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.ah 9 The Lord does not delay his promise,ai as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting anyaj to perishak but all to come to repentance.al

10 But the day of the Lordam will come like a thief;D,an on that day the heavens will pass awayao with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved,ap and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.E,F 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming.G,aq Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. 13 But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth,a where righteousness dwells.b

CONCLUSION

14 Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.c 15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.d 16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction,e as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard,f so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledgeg of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.A,h

1 JOHN

PROLOGUE: OUR DECLARATION

1 What was from the beginning,a what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the wordb of life—2 that life was revealed,c and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to usd—3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowshipe with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Fatherf and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these thingsA so that ourB joyg may be complete.

FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light,h and there is absolutely no darkness in him.i 6 If we say, “We have fellowshipj with him,” and yet we walk in darkness,k we are lying and are not practicing the truth.l 7 If we walk in the lightm as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesusn his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say, “We have no sin,”o we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgivep us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his wordq is not in us.r

2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocates with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He himself is the atoning sacrificeC,t for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.u

GOD’S COMMANDS

3 This is how we knowv that we know him: if we keep his commands.w 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word,x truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:y 6 The one who says he remains in himz should walk just as he walked.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new commandaa but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the wordab you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing awayac and the true lightad is already shining.ae 9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sisteraf is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sisterag remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.D 11 But the one who hates his brother or sisterah is in the darkness, walks in the darkness,ai and doesn’t know where he’s going,aj because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

REASONS FOR WRITING

12 I am writing to you, little children,

since your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name.ak

13 I am writing to you, fathers,

because you have come to know

the one who is from the beginning.al

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have conquered the evil one.am

14 I have written to you, children,

because you have come to know the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

because you have come to know

the one who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

because you are strong,

God’s wordan remains in you,

and you have conquered the evil one.

A WARNING ABOUT THE WORLD

15 Do not love the worldao or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,ap the lust of the eyes,aq and the pridear in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away,a but the one who does the will of Godb remains forever.c

THE LAST HOUR

18 Children, it is the last hour.d And as you have heard that antichriste is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

20 But you have an anointingf from the Holy One,g and all of you know the truth.A 21 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. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?h This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father;i he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.j

REMAINING WITH GOD

24 What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Sonk and in the Father.l 25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.m

26 I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all thingsn and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you,B remain in him.o