for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men,

Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.

I want you to recall both the predictions foretold by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.

and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.”

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.

But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him,

and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us).

What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ).

Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.

But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour.

For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another,

not like Cain who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.

For there are three that testify,