…his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
…his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as if I were dead.
But he laid his right hand on me and said,
“Don’t be afraid!
I am the First and the Last.
I am the living one.
I died,
but look—
I am alive forever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—
the beginning and the end,”
says the Lord God.
“I am the one who is,
who always was,
and who is still to come—
the Almighty One.”
…Grace and peace to you
from the one who is,
who always was,
and who is still to come;
from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;
and from Jesus Christ.
He is the faithful witness to these things,
the first to rise from the dead,
and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins
by shedding his blood for us.
God blesses the one
who reads the words of this prophecy to the church,
and he blesses all who listen to its message
and obey what it says,
for the time is near.
(Entrance to the church built over the cave of the Apocalypse, Patmos Island, Greece)
…many deceivers have gone out into the world.
They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body.
Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.
Anyone who wanders away from this teaching
has no relationship with God.
But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ
has a relationship
with both the Father and the Son.
And we know that the Son of God has come,
and he has given us understanding
so that we can know the true God.
And now we live in fellowship with the true God
because we live in fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ.
He is the only true God,
and he is eternal life.
And we are confident that he hears us
whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
And since we know he hears us
when we make our requests,
we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
…every child of God defeats this evil world,
and we achieve this victory through our faith.
And who can win this battle against the world?
Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you,
for when you love the world,
you do not have the love of the Father in you.
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure,
a craving for everything we see,
and pride in our achievements and possessions.
These are not from the Father,
but are from this world.
And this world is fading away…
