The Warnings of History to the Ungodly

¹ Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and ^[a]brother of ^[b]James, [writes this letter],

To those who are the called (God’s chosen ones, the elect), dearly loved by God the Father, and kept [secure and set apart] for Jesus Christ: ² May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you [filling your heart with the spiritual well-being and serenity experienced by those who walk closely with God].

³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I was compelled to write to you [urgently] appealing that you ^[c]fight strenuously for [the defense of] the faith which was once for all ^[d]handed down to the saints [the faith that is the sum of Christian belief that was given verbally to believers]. ⁴ For certain people have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door]. They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵ Now I want to remind you, although you are fully informed once for all, that ^[e]the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe [who refused to trust and obey and rely on Him].^{(A) 6} And angels who did not keep their own designated place of power, but abandoned their proper dwelling place, [these] He has kept in eternal chains under [the thick gloom of utter] darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent cities, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in gross immoral freedom and unnatural vice and sensual perversity. They are exhibited [in plain sight] as an example in undergoing the punishment of everlasting fire.^(B)

⁸ Nevertheless in the same way, these dreamers [who are dreaming that God will not punish them] also defile the body, and reject [legitimate] authority, and revile and mock angelic majesties. ⁹ But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil (Satan), and ^[f]arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, “The Lord rebuke you!”^{(C) 10} But these men sneer at anything which they do not understand; and whatever they do know by [mere] instinct, like unreasoning and irrational beasts—by these things they are destroyed. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.^{(D) 12} These men are hidden reefs [elements of great danger to others] in your ^[g]love feasts when they feast together with you without fear, looking after [only] themselves; [they are like] clouds without water, swept along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted and lifeless; ¹³ wild waves of the sea, flinging up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of deep darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴ It was about these people that ^[h]Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, when he said, “Look, the Lord came with ^[i]myriads of His holy ones ¹⁵ to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ^[j]ungodly of all the ungodly deeds they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh and cruel things ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶ These people are [habitual] murmurers, griping and complaining, following after their own desires [controlled by passion]; they speak arrogantly, [pretending admiration and] flattering people to gain an advantage.

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God

¹⁷ But as for you, beloved, remember the [prophetic] words spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They used to say to you, “In the last days there will be scoffers, following after their own ungodly passions.”^{(E) 19} These are the ones who are [agitators] causing divisions—worldly-minded [secular, unspiritual, carnal, merely sensual—unsaved], devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, build yourselves up on [the foundation of] your most holy faith [continually progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], pray in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously and looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ [which will bring you] to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on some, who are doubting; ²³ save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy but with fear, loathing even the clothing spotted and polluted by their shameless immoral freedom.^(F)

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling or falling into sin, and to present you unblemished [blameless and faultless] in the presence of His glory with triumphant joy and unspeakable delight, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1 This is the ^[a]revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], which God [the Father] gave to Him to show to His bond-servants (believers) the things which must soon take place [in their entirety]; and He sent and communicated it by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant John, ² who testified and gave supporting evidence to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to everything that he saw [in his visions]. ^3 [b]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it [heeding them and taking them to heart]; for the time [of fulfillment] is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 [c]John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of] ^[d]Asia: ^[e]Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from ^[f]the seven Spirits that are before His throne,^{(A) 5} and from Jesus Christ, the ^[g]faithful and trustworthy Witness, the ^[h]Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who [always] loves us and who [has once for all] ^[i]freed us [or washed us] from our sins by His own blood (His sacrificial death)—^{(B) 6} and formed us into a kingdom [as His subjects], ^[j]priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.^{(C) 7} Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. ^[k]So it is to be. Amen.^(D)

⁸ “I am the ^[l]Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].”^(E)

The Patmos Vision

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the ^[m]tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ I was in the ^[n]Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the ^[o]Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “Write on a scroll what you see [in this revelation], and send it to the ^[p]seven churches—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands I saw someone ^[q]like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching to His feet, and with a golden sash wrapped around His chest.^{(F) 14} His head and His hair were white like white wool, [glistening white] like snow; and His [all-seeing] eyes were [flashing] like a flame of fire [piercing into my being].^{(G) 15} His feet were like burnished [white-hot] bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was [powerful] like the sound of many waters.^{(H) 16} In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword [of judgment]; and His face [reflecting His majesty and the ^[r]Shekinah glory] was like the sun shining in [all] its power [at midday].^(I)

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. And He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God],^{(J) 18} and the Ever-living One [living in and beyond all time and space]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of [absolute control and victory over] death and of Hades (the realm of the dead). ¹⁹ So write the things ^[s]which you have seen [in the vision], and the things ^[t]which are [now happening], and the things ^[u]which will take place after these things. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels (^[v]divine messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in ^[w]Ephesus write:

“These are the words of the One who holds [firmly] the seven stars [which are the angels or messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches):

² ‘I know ^[x]your deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have tested and critically appraised those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives, of Christ), and [in fact] are not, and have found them to be liars and impostors; ³ and [I know that] you [who believe] are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and that you have not grown weary [of being faithful to the truth]. ⁴ But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]. ⁵ So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ Yet you have this [to your credit], that you hate the works and corrupt teachings of the ^[y]Nicolaitans [that mislead and delude the people], which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who ^[z]overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’^(K)

Message to Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in ^[aa]Smyrna write:

“These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]:^(L)

⁹ ‘I know your suffering and your poverty (but you are rich), and how you are blasphemed and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan [they are Jews only by blood, and do not believe and truly honor the God whom they claim to worship]. ¹⁰ Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested [in your faith], and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death [if you must die for your faith], and I will give you the crown [consisting] of life.^{(M) 11} He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will not be hurt by the second death (^[ab]the lake of fire).’^(N)

Message to Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in ^[ac]Pergamum write:

“These are the words of Him who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword [in judgment]:

¹³ ‘I know where you dwell, [a place] where Satan sits enthroned. Yet you are holding fast to My name, and you did not deny ^[ad]My faith even in the days of ^[ae]Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there some [among you] who are holding to the [corrupt] teaching of Balaam, who taught ^[af]Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [enticing them] to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of sexual] ^[ag]immorality.^{(O) 15} You also have some who in the same way are holding to the teaching of the ^[ah]Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will]; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war and fight against them with the sword of My mouth [in judgment]. ¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], to him I will give [the privilege of eating] some of the ^[ai]hidden manna, and I will give him a ^[aj]white stone with a new name engraved on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’^(P)

Message to Thyatira

¹⁸ “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in ^[ak]Thyatira write:

“These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes [that flash] like a flame of fire [in righteous judgment], and whose feet are like burnished [white-hot] bronze:^(Q)

¹⁹ ‘I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your last deeds are more numerous and greater than the first. ²⁰ But I have this [charge] against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit [acts of sexual] immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.^{(R) 21} I gave her time to repent [to change her inner self and her sinful way of thinking], but she has no desire to repent of her immorality and refuses to do so. ^22 [al]Listen carefully, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her [I will bring] into great anguish, unless they repent of her deeds. ²³ And I will kill her children (followers) with ^[am]pestilence [thoroughly annihilating them], and all the churches will know [without any doubt] that I am He who searches the ^[an]minds and hearts [the innermost thoughts, purposes]; and I will give to each one of you [a reward or punishment] according to your deeds.^{(S) 24} But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the ^[ao]depths of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold tightly to what you have until I come. ²⁶ And he who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] and he who keeps My deeds [doing things that please Me] until the [very] end, to him I will give authority and power over the nations;^{(T) 27} and he shall shepherd and rule them with a rod of iron, as the earthen pots are broken in pieces, as I also have received authority [and power to rule them] from My Father;^{(U) 28} and I will give him the ^[ap]Morning Star. ²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’