mS FRIBRDSl ^^^^«s^^-ctl tihvavy of Che t:heolo0ical ^tminavy PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY FROM THE LIBRARY OF ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER 135(90 THE STORY OF THE IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES OF JESUS AFTER HIS ASCENSION, AND THEIR LETTERS TO THE EARLY CHRISTIANS USING THE TEXT OF THE AMERICAN REVISED BIBLE PREPARED BY THEODORE G. SCARES, SYDNEY STRtf WILLIAM E. BARTON EDITORS OF "HIS LIFE," "HIS LAST WEEK," "HIS GREAT APOSTLE," ETC. HOPE PUBLISHING COMPANY 150 Michigan Avenue 27 East 22ND Street CHICAGO NEW YORK HIS LIFE THE STORY OF JESUS IN THE WORDS OF THE FOUR GOSPELS Paper covers, single copy 15 cents. 10 copies 12^ cents. 25 to 250 copies 10 cents, postage prepaid. Cloth covers, single copy 25 cents. 10 to 24 copies 22i cents, postage prepaid. 25 to 250 copies or more, by express, not prepaid, $20.00 per 100 net. Presentation Edition De Luxe, on heavier paper in full leather binding, with gilt edges and title stamp in gold leaf, 70 cents, net; postpaid, 75 cents. HIS FRIENDS THE STORY OF THE IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES OF JESUS AFTER HIS ASCENSION; AND THEIR LETTERS Styles and prices uniform with "His Life. " HIS GREAT APOSTLE THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF PAUL IN THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE AND IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER Styles and prices uniform with "His Life. HIS LAST WEEK THE GOSPEL STORY OF THE PASSION AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS Paper covers, single copy 7 cents. 10 to 49 copies 6 cents. 50 to 500 copies 5 cents, postage prepaid. HOPE PUBLISHING COMPANY Chicago and New York Copyright, 1906, by the Pastors' Publishing Union. The Text of the American Standard Revised Bible, copyright 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons, is used by special arrangement and with their permission. PREFACE. After Luke had told the story "concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, " he was impelled to continue his narration in the story of the first dis- ciples and of his own great master, the Apostle Paul. Humbly following in the footsteps of the noble evangelist, the editors of "His Life," encouraged by the extraordinary interest that has been manifested in their arrangement of the gospel story, have enlarged their work into a series of booklets covering the entire New Testament. The story of Jesus, "His Life," remains the first of the series; the life and letters of Paul, "His Great Apostle," will be the third; the present volume, "His Friends," including the rest of the New Testament, will be the second. The aim of the series is primarily to make the scrip- ture readable to the ordinary busy Christian. The story is presented in the text of the American Revision, in modern paragraph form, and with the marks of quotation to indicate speeches and excerpts from the Old Testament writings. Simple headings divide the story into its natural parts. The letters have been arranged in a possible chronological order. Critical considerations have of course been subordinated. No attempt at elaborate analysis of the letters has been undertaken. The purpose of the work requires a single series of headings, but the endeavor has been made that they shall enable the reader to carry the general progress of the thought. Wherever a ju- dicious use of various type would indicate literary structure or emphasis it has been employed. 3 4 PREFACE. The careful student of the Epistles and of the Apoca- lypse will properly consult more technical works. This booklet is for private and family devotion, for prayer meetings, and in general for reading rather than for study. At the same time the editors con- fidently hope that the presentation of the entire apos- tolic story in small compass, in good type, in natural arrangement and in very inexpensive form, will be of great assistance in connection with Sunday School and study classes, especially as affording opportunity for the continuous reading of considerable portions of the New Testament. THE EDITORS. Mis jfrfenbs Zhc Stocs of tbc Ifirst Disciples Jesus' Farewell to His Friends ii In Place of Judas 12 The Descent of the Spirit 13 Thie Sermon of Peter 14 1 fie Man that was Lame 16 Peter's Address in the Temple 17 The Arrest of Peter and John i^ Peter's Defense iq The Joy of the Disciples , 20 All Things Common 21 The Two Hypocrites 21 The Growth of the Church '. 22 The Apostles Before the Council 23 The Defense of Gamaliel 24 The Choice of the Seven 25 Stephen's Defense 26 Martyrdom of Stephen 30 Great Persecution 30 Philip in Samaria 31 Philip and the Ethiopian 32 Miracles Wrough t by Peter 34 The Vision of Cornelius 35 The Vision of Peter 35 The Arrival of the Messengers 36 Peter and Cornelius 36 Peter's Explanation to the J e ws 38 Peter Imprisoned and Delivered 39 B Xettcr of 5ame5 TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS. The Val ue of Trial 42 The Way of Wisdom 42 The Sources of Good and Evil 43 5 6 HIS FRIENDS Receiving the Word 43 The Principles of Brotherhood 44 Faith Without Works 4S The Tongue 45 Heavenly Wisdom 46 The Source of Strife 47 The Sin of Judging 47 The Uncertainty of Life 48 The Failure of Riches 48 Fatient Waiting 48 Simple Speaking 49 The Power of Prayer 4g The Best Work 49 21 Xetter of peter TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS. The Joy of Salvation 50 Earnest Living 51 Unfeigned Love 51 Growth and Privilege 52 Christian Influence 53 The Christian Citizen 53 The Christian Servant S3 The Christian Wife 54 The Christian Husband 54 Christian Brethren 54 Meeting Persecution 5, Living to the Will of God 56 Suffering as a Christian 56 Duty of the Pastors 57 Humility and Watchfulness 57 21 Second Xetter ot ipeter The Growth of Goodness 59 An Apostolic Admonition 60 The Certainty of the Faith 60 Punishment of False Teachers 60 The Marks of F"alse Teachers 61 Danger from False Teachers 62 The Promised Return of Christ 62 The Delay of His Coming 63 Watching for His Coming 63 The Need of Stedfastness 64 HIS FRIENDS 7 21 Xettcr ot 5u&e One Faith, Many Infidels 65 Warnings from History 65 Sin of the Scoffers 66 Their Worth! essness 66 Their Predicted Doom 66 The Duty of the Faithful 67 B 3Lcttcc to tbe IHebrews Christ Greater than the Prophets 68 Christ Greater than the Angels 68 The Obligation of Stedfastness 69 The Humiliation of Jesus 69 Christ Greater than Moses 71 Warning Against Unfaithfulness 71 Christ Greater than Joshua 72 Exhortation to Faithfulness 73 Christ Greater than Aaron 73 The Need of Knowledge 74 The Danger of Apostasy 75 God's Great Promise 75 The Priest Melchizedek 76 Christ Greater than Levi 76 The Eternal Priesthood 76 The New Covenant = 78 The Better Sacrifice 79 The Finished Sacrifice 81 The Full ness of Faith 83 The Sin of A postasy 83 Remembrance of Faithfulness 84 The Heroes of Faith 84 The Faith of Abel 85 The Faith of Enoch 85 The Faith of Noah 85 The Faith of Abraham and Sarah 85 The Pilgrims of Faith 86 The Faith of the Patriarchs 86 The Faith of Moses' Parents 86 The Faith of Moses 87 The Faith that Conquered Canaan 87 The Victories of Faith 87 Incentives to Perseverance 88 8 HIS FRIENDS The Chastening of Love 88 Falling Short of Grace 89 Law and Grace «. 89 The Christian Fraternity go Benediction 92 A Postscript of Salutations 92 n Xettcr of 5obu to Cbcletfan people The Purpose of the Letter 93 Forgiveness of Sin 93 Fellowship with God 93 Tests of Fellowship 94 Dangers of Worldliness 94 Deniers of Christ 95 Abiding in the Truth 95 Righteous Children of God 9^ Loving Children of God 97 Faithful Children of God 97 The True and the False 98 Love as the Test 98 The Witness of the Truth 99 Christian Confidence 100 Hoi y Living 100 U Xetter ot 5obn to a Cbcfstian XaDis Salutation loi Walking in Truth loi False Teachers loi Conclusion 102 B Xetter of 3^obn to (Safus, Salutation 102 Walking in Truth 102 Hospitality 102 Unholy Ambition 103 Conclusion 103 ^be IRevelatlon of Jc6\x6 Cbrfst Introduction 104 Salutation to the Churches 104 John in Patmos 105 The Vision of the Living One 105 The Message to Ephesus 106 The Message to Smyrna 106 HIS FRIENDS 9 The Message to Pergamum 107 The Message to Thyatira 107 The Message to Sardis 108 The Message to Philadelphia log The Message to Laodicea no The Vision of the Throne no The Song of the Seraphim in The Anthem of the Elders in The Lamb 112 Heaven's New Song 112 The Song of the Ten Thousands 113 , The Chorus of the Whole Creation 113 The First Seal : The Conqueror 113 The Second Seal: War 113 The Third Seal: Famine 114 The Fourth Seal: Death n4 The Fifth Seal: Martyrs 114 The Sixth Seal : Terror 114 The Servant of God Sealed 115 The Song of the Great Multitude n6 The Innumerable Throng Triumphant 116 The Seventh Seal: The Seven Trumpets 117 The First Trumpet: The Burning Earth 117 The Second Trumpet: The Bloody Sea 117 The Third Trumpet: The Bitter Waters 118 The Fourth Trumpet: The Darkened Heavens 118 The Fifth Trumpet : Apollyon 118 The Sixth Trumpet: Destroying Angels 119 Delay No Longer 120 The Little Book Eaten 121 The Doom of Jerusalem 121 The Seventh Trumpet: Triumph 123 The Song of Thanksgiving 123 The Woman, the Dragon, and the Child 123 The Proclamation of Power 124 The Beast Out of the Sea 125 The Beast Ou t of the Earth 126 The Lamb and the Undefiled 127 The Angel with Good Tidings 127 The Harvest of Wrath 128 The Song of Moses and the Lamb 129 10 HIS FRIENDS The First lJov\ 1 : Pestilence 130 The Second Bowl : The Bloody Sea 130 The Third Bowl : The Bloody Rivers 130 The Fourth Bowl: The Scorching Heat 130 The Fifth Bowl: Anguish 131 The Sixth Bowl: War 131 The Seventh Bowl: Earthquake 131 The Scarlet Woman 132 The Wicked City on the Seven Hills 133 Desolation of the Wicked City 134 The Fourfold Hallelujah 136 The Word of God 137 The Lake of Fire 138 Satan Bound a Thousand Years 138 The Millennial Reign 139 The Final Conflict 139 The Judgment 139 The New Heaven and New Earth 140 The Holy City 141 The River of Life 142 Faithful and True 143 The Alpha and Omega 143 Invitation and Warning 144 Benediction 144 Mfs ^ttenbs THE STORY OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES Jesus' Farewell to His Friends. Jesus showed himself ahve after his passion, unto the apostles whom he had chosen, by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God. And, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, " But," said he, "Wait for the promise of the Father, which, ye heard from me : for John indeed baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.' ' They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, "Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And he said unto them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by them in white 11 12 HIS FRIENDS apparel; who also said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. " The Friends in the Upper Chamber. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey off. And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. In PlaCE of Judas. And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty), "Brethren, it was needful that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry. (Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it became krlown to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; in- somuch that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.) For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his habitation be made desolate, And let no man dwell therein:' and, 'His office let another take.' / THE DESCENT OF THE SPIRIT 13 "Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection. " And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen, to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. " And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. The Descent of the Spirit. And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they were, all filled with the Hol}^ Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every :nan heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, "Behold, are not all these that speak Galilaeans? And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea 14 HIS FRIENDS and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God." And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, "What meaneth this?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine. " The Sermon of Peter. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, "Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusa- lem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day; but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel: 'And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh : And your sons and your daughters shall proph- esy, And your young men shall see visions. And your old men shall dream dreams: Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and the}'- shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above. And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the Lord come, That great and notable day: And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Naza- reth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the THE SERMON OF PETER 15 midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and fore- knowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay: whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death : because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David saith concerning him, *I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right h^nd, that I should not be moved: Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance.' "Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, 'The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.' "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, 16 HIS FRIENDS that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." Seasons of Refreshing. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said unto them, "Repent ye, and be bap- tized every one of youpin the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him." And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked gen- eration." They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man -had need. And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, prais- ing God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved. The Man that was Lame. Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a Peter's address in the temple 17 certain man that was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, "Look on us." And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones re- ceived strength. And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. Peter's Address in the Temple. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our. fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But ye denied 18 HIS FRIENDS the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are wit- nesses. And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. "And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refresh- ing from the presence of the Lord; and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old. "Moses indeed said, 'A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; to him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, 'And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant,, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." The Arrest of Peter and John. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and Peter's defence 19 the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide. But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. Peter's Defence. And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jeru- salem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power, or in w^hat name, have ye done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, "Ye rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the naine of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there salvation ; for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 20 HIS FRIENDS But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem; and we can- not deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speaK hence- forth to no man in this name." And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we can- not but speak the things which we saw and heard." And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought. The Joy of the Disciples. And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them. And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, "O Lord, thou that didst m.aKe the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, 'Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array. And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed:' for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius ALL THINGS COMMON 21 Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. And now. Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they w^ere gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness. All Things Common. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrec- tion of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. For neither was there among them any that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sokl them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet: and distribu- tion was made unto each, according as any one had need. And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted. Son of exhorta- tion), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. The Two Hypocrites. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the 22 HIS FRIENDS price, his wife also being priv}' to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet But Peter said, "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost: and great fear came upon all that heard it. And the young men arose and wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, "Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yea, for so much." But Peter said unto 'her, "How is it that ye have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? behold the feet of them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out." And she fell down immediately at his feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things. The Growth of the Church. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people: and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. But of the rest durst no man join himself to them: howbeit the people magnified them; and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women: THE APOSTLES BEFORE THE COUNCIL. 23 insomuch that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as Peter came by, at the leavSt his shadow might over- shadow some one of them. And there also came to- gether the multitude from the cities round about Jeru- salem, bringing sick folk, and them that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. The Apostles Before the Council. But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public ward. But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them out, and said, "Go ye, and vStand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this Life." And when they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought. But the officers that came found them not in the prison; and they returned, and told, saying, "The prison-house we found shut in all safety, and the keep- ers standing at the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within." Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were much perplexed concerning them whereunto this would grow. And there came one and told them, "Behold, the men whom ye put in the prison are in the temple standing and teaching the people." Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them, but without violence; for they feared the people, 24 HIS FRIENDS lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered and said, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him." But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and were minded to slay them. Defence by Gamaliel. But there stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in honor of all the people, and commanded to put the men forth a little while. And he said unto them, "Ye men 'of Israel, take heed to yourselves as touching these men, what ye are about to do. For before these days rose up Theudas, giving himself out to be somebody; to whom a num- ber of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the enrolment, and drew away some of the people after him: he also per- ished; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. And now I say unto you. Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown: but if it is of God, THE CHOICE OF THE SEVEN 25 ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God." And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles unto them, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ. The Choice of the Seven. Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, "It is not fit that we should for- sake the word of God, and serve tables. Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the vSpirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word." And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolalis a proselyte of Antioch ; whom they set before the apostles : and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 26 his friends Charges Against Stephen. And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people. But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. " And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought into the council, and set up false witnesses, who said. "This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us. " And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. And the high priest said, "Are these things so?" Stephen's Defence. And he said, "Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said unto him, 'Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. ' "Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell: and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after Stephen's defence 27 him, when as yet he had no child. 'And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that the}^ should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years. 'And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, ' said God: 'and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.' "And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circum.cised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt : and God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. "Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction : and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the hrst time. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh. And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, three-score and fifteen souls. And Jacob went down into Egypt : and he died, himself and our fathers; and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multi- plied in Egypt, till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end they might not live. At which season Moses was born, and was exceeding 28 HIS FRIENDS fair; and he was nourished three months in his father's house: and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyp- tians; and he was mighty in his words and works. "But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Is- rael. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian: and he supposed that his brethren under- stood that God by his hand was giving them deliv- erance; but they understood not. And the day fol- lowing he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, ' Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?' ' ' But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?' "And Moses fled at this saying, and became a so- journer in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord, * I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. ' And Moses trembled, and durst not behold. "And the Lord said unto him, 'Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver them: and now come, I will send thee into Egypt. ' "This Moses whom they refused, saying 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge?' him hath God sent to be Stephen's defence 29 both a ruler and a deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. This man led them forth, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, who said unto the children of Israel, 'A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. ' This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who re- ceived living oracles to give unto us: to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt, saying unto Aaron, ' Make us gods that shall go before us: for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. ' And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. "But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of the god Rephan, The figures which ye made to worship them: And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.' "Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that he should make it according to the figure that he had seen. Which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered on the possession of the nations, that God thrust out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built 30 HIS FRIENDS him a house, Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet, 'The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet: What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: Or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?* "Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit : as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers; ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not." Martyrdom of Stephen. Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up sted- fastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. " But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city, and stoned nim. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Great Persecution. And devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they PHILIP IN SAMARIA 31 were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. Philip in Samaria. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ. And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he did. For from many of those that had unclean spirits, they came out, crying with a loud voice: and many that were palsied, and that were lame, were healed. And there was much joy in that city. But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who beforetime in the city used sorcery, and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is that power of God Vv^hich is called Great." And they gave heed to him, because that of long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Phihp; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed. Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord 32 HIS FRIENDS Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. " But Peter said unto him, "Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with mone3^ Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be for- given thee. For I see that thou art in the gall of bitter- ness and in the bond of iniquity. " And Simon answered and said, "Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me. " They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samari- tans. Philip and the Ethiopian. But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza." The same is desert. And he arose and went: and behold, a man of EtJiio- pia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship; and he was return- ing and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said unto Philip, "Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN 33 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, " Understandest thou what thou readest? " And he said, "How can I, except some one shall guide me ? ' ' And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this, 'He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away; His generation who shall declare? For his life is taken from the earth.' And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, "I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?" And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, "Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? " And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away PhiHp; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his wa}^ rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities till he came to Caesarea. So the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified: and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied. 34 his friends Miracles Wrought by Peter. And it came to pass, as Peter went throughout all parts, he came down also to the saints that dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named /5^neas, who had kept his bed eight years; for he was palsied. And Peter said unto him, "^neas, Jesus Christ heal- eth thee: arise, and make thy bed." And straightway he arose. And all that dwelt at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she fell sick, and died: and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber. And as Lydda was nigh unto Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men unto him, entreating him, "Delay not to come on unto us." And Peter arose and went with them. And when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa: and many believed on the Lord. And it came to pass, that he abode many days in Joppa with OT\e Simon a tanner. the vision of cornelius 35 The Vision of Cornelius. Now there was a certain man in Cassarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision openly, as it were about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, "Cor- nelius." And he, fastening his eyes upon him, and being affrighted, said, "What is it. Lord?" And he said unto him, "Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is sur- named Peter : he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside." And when the angel that spake unto him was de- parted, he called two of his household-servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continu- ally; and having rehearsed all things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. The Vision of Peter. Now on the morrow, as they were on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour : and he became hungry, and desired to eat: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance; and he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creep- ing things of the earth and birds of the heaven. And there came a voice to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so. Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean.'.' 36 HIS FRIENDS And a voice came unto him again the second time, *'What God hath cleansed, make not thou common." And this was done thrice : and straightway the vessel was received up into heaven. The Arrival of the Messengers. Now while Peter was much perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, be- hold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, who was sur- named Peter, were lodging there. And while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, "Behold, three men seek thee. But arise, and get thee down, and go with them, nothing doubting: for I have sent them." And Peter went down to the men, and said, "Behold, i am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?" And they said, "Cornelius a centurion, a righteous man and one that feareth God, and well reported of by all the nation of the Jews, was warned of God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words from thee." So he called them in and lodged them. Peter and Cornplius. And on the morrow he arose and went forth with them, and certain of the brethren from Joppa accom- panied him. And on the morrow they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them, hav- ing called together his kinsmen and his near friends. And when it came to pass that Peter entered, Cor- nelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and wor- shipped him. PETER AND CORNELIUS 37 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I my- self also am a man." And as he talked with him, he went in, and findeth many come together: and he said unto them, "Ye your- selves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to join himself or come unto one of another nation; and yet unto me hath God showed that I should not call any man common or unclean : wherefore also I came without gainsaying, when I was sent for- I ask therefore with what intent ye sent for me." And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel, and saith, 'Cornelius, thy pra5^er is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call unto thee Simon, who is surnamed Peter: he lodgeth in the house of Simon a tanner, by the sea side.' Forthwith therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, \o hear all things that have been com- manded thee of the Lord." And Peter opened his mouth, and said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh right- eousness, is acceptable to him. The word which he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all) — that saying ye yourselves know, which was published throughout all Judcea, beginning from GaHlee, after the baptism which John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him "And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; 38 HIS FRIENDS whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree. Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one that belie veth on him shall receive remission of sins." While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word. And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. ' For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, "Can any man forbid the water, that these should not be baptized, who have receiv^ed the Holy Spirit as well as we?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry cer- tain days. Peter's Explanation to the Jews. Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jeru- salem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, "Thou wentest in to men, uncir- cumcised, and didst eat with them." But Peter began, and expounded the matter unto them in order, saying, "I was in the city of Joppa pray- ing: and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even unto me: upon which when I had fastened mine eyes, I consid- PETER IMPRISONED AND DELIVERED 39 ered, and saw the fourfooted beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and birds of the hea- ven. "And I heard also a voice saying unto me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But I said, 'Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.' But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, 'What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.' And this was done thrice: and all were dra"\^n up again into heaven. "And behold, forthwith three men stood before the house in which we were, having been sent from Csesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me; and we entered into the man's house; and he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thoii shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.' "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. And I remem- bered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave unto them the like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?" And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life," Peter Imprisoned .-vnd Delivered. Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the cword. And when 40 HIS FRIENDS he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, "Rise up, quickly," And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals." And he did so. > And he saith unto him, "Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me." And he went out, and followed; and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and straightway the angel de- parted from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, "Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews." And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together and PETER IMPRISONED AND DELIVERED 41 were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, "Thou art mad." But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And they said, "It is his angel." But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, "Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren." And he de- parted, and went to another place. Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Cassarea, and tarried there. Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king's country. And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people shouted, saying, "The voice of a god, and not of a man." And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied A LETTER OF JAMES, THE BROTHER OF THE LORD To THE Jewish Christians Throughout the World. James, A Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ TO The Twelve Tribes which are of the Dispersion, Greeting: The Value of Trial. Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into man- ifold temptations; knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing The Way of Wisdom. But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting : for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate: and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass; and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth : so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings. 42 the sources of good and evil 43 The Sources of Good and Evil. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it' hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death. Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. Receiving the Word. Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what man- ner of man he was. But he that looketh into the per- fect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this 44 A LETTER OiF JAMfi§ man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself un- spotted from the world. The Principles of Brotherhood. My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, "Sit thou here in a good place;" and ye say to the poor man, "Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;" do ye not make dis- tinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. For he that said, "Do not commit adultery, " said also, "Do not kill. " Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but kill est, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment. faith without works 45 Faith Without Works. What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, "Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled"; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body ; what doth it profit ? Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Yea, a man will say, "Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith." Thou believ- est that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father, justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son, upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for right- eousness; and he was called the friend of God." Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. The Tongue. Be not many of you teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment. For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. Behold, 46 A LETTER OF JAMES the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth. So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire ! And the tongue is a fire : the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father ; and there- with curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God : out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? neither can salt water yield sweet. Heavenly Wisdom. Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace. the source of strife 47 The Source of Strife. Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. " Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be aiifiicted, and mourn, and weep : let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble your- selves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. The Sin of Judging. Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? 48 a letter of james The Uncertainty of Life. Come now, ye that say, "To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:" whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, "If the Lord will, v/e shall both live, and do this or that." But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. The Failure of Riches. Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a tes- timony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nour- ished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you. Patient Waiting. Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of Me Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the fjrecious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until tt receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patienl: establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord i" at hand. Murmur not, brethren, one against another. SIMPLE SPEAKING 49 that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors. Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord. Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful. Simple Speaking. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment. The Power of Prayer. Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him sing praise. Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him. Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The suppli- cation of a righteous man availeth much in its working. Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. The Best Work. My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he who con- verteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins. A LETTER OF PETER To THE Jewish Christians Throughout the World. Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ TO The Elect who are Sojourners of the Dispersion IN PoNTUs, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkHng of the blood of Jesus Christ : Grace to you and Peace be multiplied. The Joy of Salvation. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet be- lieving, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched dihgently, who prophesied of the grace that 50 EARNEST LIVING 51 should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the suffer- ings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. Earnest Living. Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is- to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves- according to your former lusts in the time of your ig- norance: but liK:e as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, "Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. " And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ: who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. Unfeigned Love. Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love 52 A LETTER OF PETER one another from the heart fervently: having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor- ruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. For, "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth; But the word of the Lord abideth for ever." And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you. Growth and Privilege. Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as new born babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation; if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious : unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Because it is contained in scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious : And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame." For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, "The stone which the builders rejected. The same was made the head of the corner;" and, "A stoneof stumbling, and a rock of offence;" for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: where- unto also they were appointed. But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light : who in time past CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE 53 were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Christian Influence. Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lasts, which war against the soul; having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. The Christian Citizen. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord^a sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or unto gov- ernors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well. For so is the will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the^ ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. The Christian Servant, Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is acceptable, if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs, suffering wrong- fully. For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For hereunto were ye called : because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when, he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered'^ threatened not; but committed himself to him that 54 A LETTER OF PETER judgeth righteously: who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. The Christian Wife. In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives; beholding your chaste behavior coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; but let it be the hid- den man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner aforetime the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned them- selves, being in subjection to their own husbands: as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose children ye now are, if ye do well, and are not put in fear by any terror. The Christian Husband. Ye husbands, in like manner, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor unto the woman, as unto the weaker vessel, as being also joint-heirs of the grace of life; to the end that your prayers be not hindered. Christian Brethren. Finally, be ye all likeminded, compassionate, lov- ing as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but con- trariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For, MEETING PERSECUTION 55 "He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile : And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil." Meeting Persecution. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good? But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; but sanctify in youi hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give an- swer to every man that asketh you a reason concern- ing the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than foi' evil-doing. Be- cause Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, that aforetime were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: which also, after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism,, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and au- thorities and powers being made subject unto him. •66 a letter of peter Living to the Will of God. Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lascivious- ness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you : who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead. For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer: above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins: using hospitality one to another without murmuring: according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Suffering as a Christian. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you: but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, DUTY OF THE PASTORS 57 rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you. For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters: but if a man suffer as a Chris- tian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name. For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the un- godl^y and sinner appear? Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. Duty of the Pastors. The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be re- vealed: tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensam- ples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. Humility and Watchfulness. Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore 58 A LETTER OF PETER under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your anxiety upon him, be- cause he careth for you. Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world. And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen The Bearer of the Letter. By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly, exhorting, and testi- fying that this is the true grace of God: stand ye fast therein. She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son. Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be unto you all that are in Christ. A SECOND LETTER OF PETER. Simon Peter, A SERVANT AND APOSTLE OF JeSUS ChRIST, To THEM THAT HAVE OBTAINED A LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH WITH US IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR GoD AND THE Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace to }7ou and peace be multiplied in the knowl- edge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that per- tain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and ex- ceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. The Growth of Goodness. Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control patience; and in your patience godliness; and in your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins. Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal king- dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 59 co a second letter of peter An Apostolic Admonition. Wherefore I shall be ready always to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the truth which is with you. And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; know- ing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me. Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remem- brance. The Certainty of the Faith. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:" and this voice we ourselves heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit. Punishment of False Teachers. But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon THE MARKS OF FALSE TEACHERS 61 %hemseive§ §wift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. And in covetous- ness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not. For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an ex- ample unto those that should live ungodly; and deliv- ered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (for fhat righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds) : the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tempta- tion, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. The Marks of False Teachers. But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying purely be destroyed, suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full 62 A SECOND LETTER OF PETER of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetous- ness; children of cursing; forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. Danger from False Teachers. For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption ; for of whom a man is over- come, of the same is he also brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Sav- iour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. It has happened unto them ac- cording to the true proverb, "The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire . ' ' The Promised Return of Christ. This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should re- member the words which were spoken before by the THE DELAY OF HIS COMING 63 holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles: knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished : but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. The'Delay of His Coming. But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand. years, and a thousand years as one day The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuf- fering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Watching for His Coming. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy Hving and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the ele- ments shall melt with fervent heat? 64 A SECOND LETTER OF PETER But, according to his promise, we look for new- heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- ness. The Need of Stedfastness, Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ig- norant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, vmto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things before- hand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To HIM be the Glory Both Now and For Ever. Amen. A LETTER OF JUDE. One of the Brothers of Jesus, to the Gentile Christians. Jude, a Servant of Jesus Christ, and Brother OF James, To them that are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. One Faith: Many Infidels. Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Warnings from History. Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Goinorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. 65 66 a letter of jude Sin of the Scoffers. Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities. But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke thee." But these rail at v\^hatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturall}'', like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and per- ished in the gainsaying of Korah. Their Worthlessness. These are they who are hidden rocks in your love- feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that with- out fear feed themselves; clouds without water, car- ried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever. Their Predicted Doom. And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling THE DUTY OF THE FAITHFUL 67 words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage. The Duty of the Faithful. But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they said to you, "In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts." These are they who make separations, sen- sual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have mercy, who are in doubt; and some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear ; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. DOXOLOGY. Now unto him that is able to guard you from STUMBLING, AND TO SET YOU BEFORE THE PRESENCE OF HIS GLORY WITHOUT BLEMISH IN EXCEEDING JOY, TO THE ONLY God OUR SaVIOUR, THROUGH JeSUS ChRIST OUR Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen. A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS. (Anonymous.) Christ Greater than the Prophets. God, having, of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and up- holding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. Christ Greater than the Angels. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, "Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee?" and again, "I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son," And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, "And let all the angels of God worship him." And of the angels he saith, "Who maketh his angels winds. And his ministers a flame of fire:" but of the Son he saith, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows." G8 THE OBLIGATION OF STEDFASTNESS 69 And, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the works of thy hands: They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail." But of which of the angels hath he said at anytime, "Sit thou on my right hand. Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?" Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit sal- vation? The Obligation of Stedfastness. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved sted- fast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by mani- fold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will. The Humiliation of Jesus. For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof we speak. But one hath somewhere testified, saying, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, 70 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS And didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the congregation will I sing thy praise." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, 1 and the children whom God hath given me." Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily not to angels doth he give help, but he giveth help to the seed of Abraham. Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make pro- pitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. christ greater than moses 71 Christ Greater than Moses. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavtnly calHng, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also was Moses in all his house. For he hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he that built the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some one: but he that built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken; but Christ as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glory- ing of our hope firm unto the end. Warning Against Unfaithfulness. Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, "To-day if ye shall hear his voice. Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, Like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried me by proving me, And saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was displeased with this generation, And said. They do always err in their heart: But they did not know my ways; As I sware in my wrath. They shall not enter into my rest." Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: for we are be- come partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: while it is said, "To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not 72 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS all they that came out of Egypt by Moses? And. with whom was he displeased forty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in because of un- belief. Christ Greater than Joshua. Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, "As I sware in my wrath. They shall not enter into my rest:" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;" and in this place again, "They shall not enter into my rest." Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedi- ence, he again defineth a certain day. To-day, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before), "To-day if ye shall hear his voice. Harden not your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. ' For he that is entered into his rest EXHORTATION TO FAITHFULNESS 73 hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Exhortation to Faithfulness. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of dis- obedience. For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight : but all things are naked and laid open be- fore the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmi- ties; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. Christ Greater than Aaron. For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: who can bear gently v/ith the ignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity; and by rea- son thereof is bound, as for the people, so also for him- self, to offer for sins. And no man taketh the honor unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. So Christ also glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that spake unto him. 74 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS "Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee:" and he saith also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek.". Whoin the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, though he was a Son, vet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation; named of God a high priest after the order of Mel- chizedek. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing. The Need of Knowledge. For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teach- ers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But solid food is for fuUgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. the danger of apostasy 75 The Danger of Apostasy. For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made par- takers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repent- ance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things thkt accompany salvation, though we thus speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. God's Great Promise For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself, say- ing, "Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiply- ing I will multiply thee." And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay 76 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil; whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Priest Melchizedek. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation. King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, which is. King of peace; without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually. Christ Greater than Levi. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the chief spoils. And they indeed of the sons of Levi that re- ceive the priest's office have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though these have come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose genealogy is not counted from them hath taken tithes of Abraham and hath blessed him that hath the promises. But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And, so to say, through Abraham even Levi, who receiveth tithes, hath paid tithes; for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. The Eternal Priesthood. Now if there was perfection through the Levitical THE ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD 77 priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be reckoned after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are said belongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests. And what we say is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest, who hath been made, not after the law of a carnal comm^indment, but after the power of an endless life : for it is witnessed of him, "Thou art a priest forever After the order of Melchizedek." For there is a disannulling of a foregoing command- ment because of its weakness and unprofitableness (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath (for they indeed have been made priests without an oath ; but he with an oath by him that saith of him, "The Lord sware and will not repent himself Thou art a priest for ever") ; by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant. And they indeed have been made priests many in number, because that by death they are hindered from continuing: but he, because he abideth for ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost 78 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever Hveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people : for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law ap- pointeth men high priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath* which was after the law, appointeth a Son, perfected for evermore. The New Covenant. Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to offer. Now if he were on earth. He would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law ; who serve that w^hich is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, "See," saith he, "that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount." But now hath he obtained a ministry the more ex- cellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better prom- ises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he saith, THE BETTER SACRIFICE 79 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant. And I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, • • And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his fellow - citizen, And eyery man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord' : For all shall know me. From the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more." In that he saith, "A new covenant, "he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away. The Better Sacrifice. Now even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies; having a golden altar of in- cense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the 80 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS covenant ; and above it cherubim of glory overshadow- ing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally. Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services; but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made man- ifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing; which is a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect, being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation. But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp- tion. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanc- tify unto the cleanness of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of a new cov- enant, that a death having taken place for the redemp- tion of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must of necessity THE FINISHED SACRIFICE 81 be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth. Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood. For when every command- ment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward. " Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood. And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission. It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacri- fices than these. For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us; nor yet that >he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place 3^ear by year with blood not his own; else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And inasmuch -as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment; so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second, time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation. The Finished Sacrifice. For the law having a shadow of the good things to 82 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer con- tinually, make perfect them that draw nigh. Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sac- rifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, 'Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God.' " Sa5''ing above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, 'Lo, I am come to do thy will. ' " He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest indeed standeth day by day minis- tering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins: but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, "sat down on the right hand of God ; henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said, ' ' This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: FULNESS OF FAITH 83 I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them;'! then saith he, "And their sins and their iniquities will I re- member no more. " Now where remission of these is, there is no more of- fering for sin. Fulness of Faith. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil .conscience : and having our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not ; for he is faithful that promised : and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works ; not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh. The Sin of Apostasy. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth with- out compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.? 84 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS For we know him that said, "Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense." And again, "The Lord shall judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remembrance of Faithfulness. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings; partly, being made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partakers with them that were so used. For ye both had compassion on them that were in bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your posses- sions, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better pos- session and an abiding one. Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. "For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry. But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. " But we are not of them that shrink back unto per- dition ; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul. The Heroes of Faith. Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a convic- tion of things not seen. For therein the elders had witness borne to them. By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear. the faith of abel 85 The Faith of Abel. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing wit- ness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. The Faith of Enoch, By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God trans- lated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: and without faith it is impossible to be well- pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that -he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. The Faith of Noah. By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the right- eousness which is according to faith. The Faith of Abraham and Sarah. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith even Sarah herself received power to con- ceive seed when she was past age, since]she counted him faithful who had promised : wherefore also there sprang S6 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable. The Pilgrims of Faith. These all died in faith, not having received the prom- ises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pil- grims on the earth. For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city. The Faith of the Patriarchs. By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offer- ing up his only begotten son; even he to whom it was said. In Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even con- cerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made men- tion of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. The Faith of Moses' Parents. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a THE FAITH OF MOSES 87 goodly child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. The Faith of Moses. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is in- visible. By faith he kept the passover, and the sprink- ling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. The Faith that Conquered Canaan. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace. The Victories of Faith. And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith sub- dued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. Women received their dead by a resurrection : and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain 88 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS a better resurrection: and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprison- ment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (of whom the world Avas not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth. And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Incentives to Perseverance. Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin: and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, "My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art reproved of him; For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. " The Chastening of Love. It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chasteneth not? But if ye are without chastening, FALLING SHORT OF GRACE 89 whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees; and make straight paths for your feet, that that which is lame be not turned out of the way, but rattier be healed. Falling Short of Grace. Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctifica- tion without which no man shall see the Lord; looking carefully lest there be any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind in his father, though he sought it dili- gently with tears. Law and Grace. For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto 90 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS them; for they could not endure that which was en- joined, "If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned:" and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake:" but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumer- able hosts of angels, to the general asserhbly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that warneth from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth : but now he hath promised, saying, "Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven." And this word, "Yet once more," signifieth the re- moving of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer ser- vice well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire. The Christian Fraternity. Let love of the brethren continue. Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have en- tertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are ill-treated, as being yourselves also in the body. Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let THE CHRISTIAN FRATERNITY 91 the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, "I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee." So that with good courage we say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?" Remember them that had the rule over you, men that spake unto you the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever. Be not carried away by divers and strange teachings: for it is good that the heart be es- tablished by grace; not by meats, wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat that serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people, through his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have not here an abid- ing city, but we seek after the city which is to come. Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. But to do good and to com- municate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them : for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this were unprofitable for you. 92 A LETTER TO THE HEBREWS Pray for us: for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to Hve honorably in all things. And I exhort you the more exceedingly to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. Benediction. Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with THE blood of an ETERNAL COVENANT, EVEN OUR LoRD Jesus, make you perfect in every good thing to DO his will, working in us that which is well- pleasing IN his sight, through Jesus Christ; to WHOM BE THE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER. AmEN. A Postscript of Salutations. But I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation: for I have written unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty; with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen. A LETTER OF JOHN To Christian People The Purpose of the Letter. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, con- cerning the Word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, w^hich was with the Father, and was manifested unto us) ; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ: and these things we write, that our joy may be made full. Fellowship with God. And this is the message which we have heard from him and armounce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fel- lowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth : but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Forgiveness of Sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you that 93 94 A LETTER OF JOHN ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Ad- vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. Tests of Fellowship. And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the be- ginning: the old commandment is the word which ye heard. Again, a new commandment write I unto you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shineth. He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the dark- •ness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. Dangers of Worldliness. I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. I have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father. I have written unto you, fathers. DENIERS OF CHRIST 95 because ye know him v/ho is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the evil one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain- glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Deniers of Christ. Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have con- tinued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us. And ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also. Abiding in the Truth. As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the begin- ning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise which he prom- ised us, even the life eternal. 96 A LETTER OF JOHN These things have I written unto you concerning them that would lead you astray. And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as his anoint- ing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him. And now, my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Righteous Children of God. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of him. Behold what manner of love the Father hath be- stowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew not him. Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And ye know that he was man- ifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin. Who- soever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sin- neth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him. My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous: he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God. LOVING CHILDREN OF GOD 97 In this the children of God are manifest, and the chil- dren of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. Loving Children of God. For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another: not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that Ijveth not abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth. Faithful Children of God. Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and know- eth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have bold- ness toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. 98 A LETTER OF JOHN And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us. The True and the False. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into 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 Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh ; and now it is in the world already. Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them : because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they as of the w^orld, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Love as the Test. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Herein was the love of God maiiifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love, "not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have beheld and bear witness that THE WITNESS OF THE TRUTH ' 99 the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. . Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is be- gotten of God: and whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. Hereby we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments : and his com- mandments are not grievous. The Witness of the Truth. For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth wit- ness, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood : and the three agree in one 100 A LETTER OF JOHN If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son. He that beheveth on the Son of God hath the witness in him : he that be- lieveth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not beheved in the witness that God hath borne con- cerning his Son. And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. Christian Confidence, These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that be- lieve on the name of the Son of God. And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make re- quest. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. Holy Living. We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth himself, and the evil one toucheth him not. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we 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. My little children, guard yourselves from idols. A LETTER OF JOHN, To A Christian Lady. Salutation. The elder unto the elect lady and her chil- dren, WHOM I love in truth; and not I only, but ALSO ALL they THAT KNOW THE TRUTH; FOR THE truth's sake which ABIDETH IN US, AND IT SHALL BE WITH US FOR ever: Grace, mercy, peace shall be WITH US, FROM GoD THE FATHER, AND FROM JeSUS Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Walking in Truth. I rejoice greatly that I have found certain of thy children walking in truth, even as we received com- mandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote to thee a new command- ment, but that .which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we should walk after his commandments. This is the command- ment, even as ye heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. False Teachers. For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the 101 102 CONCLUSION. Son. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: for he that giveth him greeting par- taketh in his evil works. Conclusion. Having many things to write unto you, 1 would not write them with paper and ink: but I hope to come unto you, and to speak face to face, that your joy may be made full. The children of thine elect sister salute thee. A LETTER OF JOHN TO Gaius. Salutation. The elder unto Gaius the beloved, whom I love IN truth. Walking in Truth. Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when brethren came and bare witness unto thy truth, even as thou walkest in truth. Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walk- ing in the truth. Hospitality. Beloved, thou doest a faithful work in whatsoever thou doest toward them that are brethren and strangers withal; who bare witness to thy love before the church: whom thou wilt do well to set forward on their journey worthily of God : because that for the sake of the Name UNHOLY AMBITION 103 they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to welcome such, that we may be fel- low-workers for the truth. Unholy Ambition. I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence, among them.re- ceiveth us not. Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God : he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath the witness of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, we also bear witness; and thou know- est that our witness is true. Conclusion. I had many things to write unto thee, but I am un- willing to write them to thee with ink and pen: but I hope shortly to see thee, and we shall speak face to face.^ Peace be unto thee. The friends salute thee. Salute the friends by name. THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST Introduction. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John; who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that read- , eth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand. Salutation to the Churches. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you an4 peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. * Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood; and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 101 john in patmos 105 John in Patmos. I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet saying, "What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." The Vision of the Living One. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his e3^es were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when 1 saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." "Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the 106 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches." The Message to Ephesus. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: "I knowthy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary. "But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." The Message to Smyrna. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write : These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and lived again: "I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. "Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer : behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribu- lation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. THE MESSAGE TO PERGAMUM 107 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." The Message to Pergamum. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: "I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth. "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it." The Message to Thyatira. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass: "I know thy works, and thy love and faith and ministry and patience, and that thy last works are more than the first. "But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest 108 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to com- mit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works. "But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, who know not the deep things of Satan, as they are wont to say; I cast upon you none other burden. Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come. "And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." The Message to Sardis. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write : These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead. Be thou watchful, and establish the things that re- main, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine perfected before my God. "Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. But thou THE MESSAGE TO PHILAiJliLPlIlA 109 hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. "He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches J' The Message to Philadelphia. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth: "I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name. "Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. "He that overcometh, 1 will make him a pillar in the - temple of iny God, and he shall go out thence no more : and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which Cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." 110 the revelation of jesus christ The Message to Laodicea. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: "I know , thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold re- fined by fire, that thou may est become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. "As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup wit*h him, and he with me. "He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." The Vision of the Throne. After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, "Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter." * Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne; and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper THE SONG OF THE SERAPHIM 111 stone and a sardius: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, Hke an emerald to look upon. And round about the throne were four and twenty- thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments; and on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven vSpirits of God; and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. The Song of the Seraphim. And the first creature was like a lion, and the sec- ond creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth creature was like a fiying eagle. And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is .\nd who is to come." The Anthem of the Elders. And when the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were cre.\ted." 112 the revelation of jesus christ The Seven Sealed Book. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon: and one of the elders saith unto me, "Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof. '' The Lamb. And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and he taketh it out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. Heaven's New Song. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof! for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto god with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to be unto our god a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth." the song of the ten thousands 113 The Song of the Ten Thousands. And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the Hving creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a great voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, AND wisdom, and MIGHT, AND HONOR, AND glory, and blessing." The Chorus of the Whole Creation. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, "Unto him that sitteth on the throne, AND unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the do- minion, for ever and ever." And the four living creatures said, Amen. And th^ elders fell down and worshipped. The First Seal: The Conqueror. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the sevf^ seals, and I heard one of the four living creature^ saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come. " And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he ttiat sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto nim a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. The Second Seal: War. And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come. " And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 114 the revelation of jesus christ The Third Seal: Famine. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living crea- tures saying, "A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not. " The Fourth Seal: Death. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come." And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth. The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : and they cried with a great voice, saying, "How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. The Sixth Seal: Terror. And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as THE SERVANTS OF GOD SEALED 115 sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?" The Servants of God Sealed. After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God : and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel: Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thou sand; Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand* Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand; 116 THE REVELATION OP JESUS CHRIST "" Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand; Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. The Song of the Great Multitude. After these things I saw, and behold, a great multi- tude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cry with a great voice, saying, "Salvation unto our God who sitteth pn the throne, and unto the Lamb." The Song of the Angels. And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living crea- tures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, "Amen: Blessing, and glory, antd wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, AND might, be unto OUR GoD FOR EVER AND EVER. Amen." The Innumerable Throng Triumphant. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, ** These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they?" And I say unto him, "My lord, thou knowest." And he said to me, "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. THE SEVENTH SEAL: THE SEVEN TRUMPETS 117 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat: for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." The Seventh Seal: The Seven Trumpets. And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there were given unto them seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The First Trumpet: The Burning Earth. And the first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. The Second Trumpet: The Bloody Sea. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and 118 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST the third part of the sea became blood; and there died the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, even they that had life ; and the third part of the ships was destroyed. The Third Trumpet: The Bitter Waters. And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters; and. the name of the star is called Worm- wood: and the third part of the waters became worm- wood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. The Fourth Trumpet: The Darkened Heavens. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in likq manner. And I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice, "Woe, woe, woe, for them that dwell on the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, who are yet to sound. " The Fifth Trumpet: Apollyon. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss. And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was said unto them that THE SIXTH trumpet: DESTROYING ANGELS 119 they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any- green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads. And it was given them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man. And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise fmd it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were cjowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men's faces. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war. And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months. They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apollyon. The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter. The Sixth Trumpet: Destroying Angels. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel that had the trum- pet, "Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels were loosed, that had been pre- pared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men. And the num- ber of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thou- sand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them 120 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone : and the heads of the horses are as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths pro- ceedeth fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt. And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk: and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sor- ceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Delay no Longer. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth; and he cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write : and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not." And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the THE LITTLE BOOK EATEN 121 earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be delay no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets. The Little Book Eaten. And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard it again speaking with me, and saying, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel that stand- eth upon the sea and upon the earth." And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, "Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey." And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. And they say unto me, "Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.". The Doom of Jerusalem. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, "Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not ; for it hath been given unto the nations : and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give unto my two wit- nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hun- dred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two candle- sticks, standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of 122 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed. These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the daj^s of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tor- mented them that dwell on the earth. And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, "Come up hither." And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly. the seventh trumpet: triumph 123 The Seventh Trumpet: Triumph. And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and tjiey said, "The kingdom of the world is become the KINGDOM OF OUR LoRD, AND OF HIS ChRIST: and he shall reign for ever and ever." The Song of Thanksgiving. And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, paying. . "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because THOU hast taken THY GREAT POWER, AND DIDST REIGN. AnD THE NATIONS WERE WROTH, AND THY WRATH CAME, AND THE TIME OF THE DEAD TO BE JUDGED, AND THE TIME TO GIVE THEIR REWARD TO THY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, AND TO THE SAINTS, AND TO THEM THAT FEAR THY NAME, THE SMALL AND THE great; and to destroy them that DESTROY THE EARTH." And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant ; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. The Woman, the Dragon and the Child. And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman ar- rayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven : and be- hold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth 124 THE REVELATION OF jESUS CHRIST before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child. And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is. to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven : Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; and they prevailed not, n,either was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. The Proclamation of Power. And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, "Now IS COME THE SALVATION, AND THE POWER, AND THE KINGDOM OF OUR GoD, ANI> THE AUTHORITY OF HIS ChRIST: FOR THE ACCU- SER OF OUR BRETHREN IS CAST DOWN, WHO ACCUSETH THEM BEFORE OUR GoD DAY AND NIGHT. And THEY OVERCAME HIM BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF THE LaMB, AND BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; AND THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIFE EVEN UNTO DEATH. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, AND YE THAT DWELL IN THEM. WoE FOR THE EARTH AND FOR THE SEA: BECAUSE THE DEVIL IS GONE DOWN UNTO YOU, HAVING GREAT WRATH, KNOWING THAT HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME. " And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man child. And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA 125 into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nour- ished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swal- lowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus: and he stood upon the sand of the sea. The Beast out of the Sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten dia- dems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet "of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast; and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the* beast, saying, "Who is like unto the beast? and who is able to war with him?" And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, even them that dwell in the heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the 126 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain. If any man hath an ear, let him hear. If any man is for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. The Beast out of the Earth. And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the aut"hority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed. And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast ; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived. And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead ; and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name. the number of the name of the beast 127 The Number of the Name of the Beast. Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. The Lamb and the Undefiled. And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie : they are without blemish. The Angels with Good Tidings. And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he saith with a great voice, "Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made' the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters. " And another, a second angel, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made 128 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. " And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the winp of ■'•he wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cap of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name. " Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from hence- forth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them." The Harvest of Wrath. And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, "Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. " And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, "Send forth thy THE SEVEN ANGELS WITH THE BOWLS OF WRATH 129 sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe." And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. . Ajid the winepress was trodden without the city, and tkere came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. The Seven Angels with the Bowls of Wrath. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and mar- vellous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God. The Song of Moses and the Lamb. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship BEFORE thee; FOR THY RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN MADE MANIFEST." And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with precious ^ stone, pure and bright, and girt about their breasts / with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the 130 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished. And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth." The First Bowl: Pestilence. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image. The Second Bowl: The Bloody Sea. And the second poured out his bowl into the Fea; and it became blood as of a dead man ; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea. The Third Bowl: The Bloody Rivers. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous art thou, who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge: for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy." And I heard the altar saying, "Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. " The Fourth Bowl: The Scorching Heat. And the fourth poured put his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to vScorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat: and they bias- THE FIFTH BOWL: ANGUISH 131 phemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory. The Fifth Bowl: Anguish. And the fifth poufed out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works. The Sixth Bowl: War. And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon. The Seventh Bowl: Earthquake And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done": and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and Babylon the . great 132 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof is exceeding great. The Scarlet Woman. And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, "Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication." And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilder- ness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet -colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornica- tion, and upon her forehead a name written. Mystery Babylon the Great THE Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations OF THE Earth! And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder. And the angel said unto me, "Wherefore didst thou THE WICKED CITY ON THE SEVEN HILLS 133 wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foun- dation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. The Wicked City on the Seven Hills. "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sit- teth: and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. "And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet ; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful." And he saith unto me, "The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and mul- titudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. "For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accom- 134 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST plished. And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. " Desolation of the Wicked City. After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every un- clean and hateful bird. For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness. " And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: fo? her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double. "How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, 'I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. ' Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourn- ing, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her. "And the kings of the earth, who committed fornica- tion and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burn- ing, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, say- ing, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in oneliour is thy judgment come.* DESOLATION OF THE WICKED CITY 135 "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more; merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankin- cense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and char- iots and slaves; and souls of men. And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all. "The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearl! for in one hour so great riches is made desolate.' "And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off, and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saving, 'What city is like the great city?' "And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weep- ing and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate' "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her." And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, "Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be 136 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any- more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth ; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth." The Fourfold Hallelujah. After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and POWER, belong TO OUR GOD: FOR TRUE AND righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrup- ted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. " And a second time they say, "Hallelujah." And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, "Amen; Hallelujah." And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all ye his ser- vants, YE THAT FEAR HIM, THE SMALL AND THE GREAT. " And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, "Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and THE WORD OF GOD 137 be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him! for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made her- self READY. And it was given unto her THAT SHE should ARRAY HERSELF IN FINE LINEN, BRIGHT AND PURE: FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS OF THE SAINTS." And he saith unto me, "Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he saith unto me, "These are true words of God." And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, "See thou do it not: I am a fellow- servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The Word of God. And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many d^dems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. And he is ar- rayed in a garment sprinkled with blood : and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 138 the revelation of jesus christ The Carrion. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, "Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God ; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great." The Lake of Fire. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image; they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and a# the birds were filled with their flesh. Satan Bound a Thousand Years. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished : after this he must be loosed for a little time. the millennial reign 139 The Millennial Reign. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for tlie word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they Hved, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead Hved not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thou- sand 5^ears. The Final Conflict. And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is a§ the sand of the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the be- loved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and de- voured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet ; and they shall be tor- mented day and night for ever and ever. The Judgment. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another 140 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; "and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. The New Heaven and New Earth. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jeru- salem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God : and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes ; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourn- ing, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away." And he that sitteth on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And he saith, "Write: for these words are faithful and true." And he said unto me, "They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that over- cometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But for the fearful, and un- believing, and abominable, and murderers, and forni- THE HOLY CITY 141 cators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death." The Holy City. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal : having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel : on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth : and he meas- ured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. And the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation 142 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth,- amethyst.' And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there) : and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations irwto it: and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life. The River of Life. And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bear- ing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and his ser- vants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on. their foreheads. And there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God FAITHFUL AND TRUE 143 shall give them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. Faithful and True. And he said unto me, "These words are faithful and true : and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. And behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book." And I John am he that heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. And he saith unto me, "See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets, and with them that keep the words of this book: worship God." The Alpha and Omega. And he saith unto me, "Seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand. He that is imrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, ■ let him do righteousness still : and he that is holy, let him be made holy still. "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you 144 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star." Invitation and Warning. And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And he that heareth, let him say, "Come." And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely. I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, "If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book : and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book." He who testifieth these things saith, "Yea: I come quickly," Amen: come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen. HIS FRIENDS Paper covers 15 cents; 10 copies 12i cents; 25 to 250 copies 10 cents, postpaid. Cloth 25 cents; 10 copies 22i cents, postpaid; 100 copies (not pre- paid) $20.00. Leather, gilt edges, 75 cents, post- paid. ,^ BS190.A151906 ■^ His friends; the story of the immediate Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00005 7853