³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom^(A) prepared for you since the creation of the world.^(B)

¹⁹ but with the precious blood^(A) of Christ, a lamb^(B) without blemish or defect.^{(C) 20} He was chosen before the creation of the world,^(D) but was revealed in these last times^(E) for your sake.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:^(A) Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world^(B) to be rich in faith^(C) and to inherit the kingdom^(D) he promised those who love him?^(E)

⁷ Those who are victorious^(A) will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.^(B)

⁸ All inhabitants of the earth^(A) will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life,^(B) the Lamb^(C) who was slain from the creation of the world.^[a](D)

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,^(A) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!^(A) In his great mercy^(B) he has given us new birth^(C) into a living hope^(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^{(E) 4} and into an inheritance^(F) that can never perish, spoil or fade.^(G) This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,^{(H) 5} who through faith are shielded by God’s power^(I) until the coming of the salvation^(J) that is ready to be revealed^(K) in the last time.

⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss^(A) and go to its destruction.^(B) The inhabitants of the earth^(C) whose names have not been written in the book of life^(D) from the creation of the world will be astonished^(E) when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

³ Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.