“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me, no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me. ¹

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides Me, there is no god. ²

Who is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. ³

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder! ⁴

And when He came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met Him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ⁵

And behold, they cried out, “What have You to do with us, O Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” ⁶

And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God”. ⁷

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁸

For in Him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ⁹

and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹⁰

Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, ¹¹

for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught. ¹²

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. ¹³

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. ¹⁴

His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. ¹⁵

If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ¹⁶

if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ¹⁷

and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked. ¹⁸

(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ¹⁹

then the LORD knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ²⁰

and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, ²¹

whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. ²²

For He makes His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire. ²³

Bless the LORD, O you His angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word! ²⁴

Bless the LORD, all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will! ²⁵

Bless the LORD, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! ²⁶

As it is said, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. ²⁷

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁸

but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ²⁹

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ³⁰

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? ³¹

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. ³²

Amen.

 

1 Isaiah 43:10	17 2 Peter 2:6
2 Isaiah 44:6	18 2 Peter 2:7
3 Isaiah 44:7	19 2 Peter 2:8
4 James 2:19	20 2 Peter 2:9
5 Matthew 8:28	21 2 Peter 2:10
6 Matthew 8:29	22 2 Peter 2:11
7 Mark 3:11	23 Psalm 104:4
8 Colossians 2:8	24 Psalm 103:20
9 Colossians 2:9	25 Psalm 103:21
10 Colossians 2:10	26 Psalm 103:22
11 Proverb 3:25	27 Hebrews 3:15
12 Proverb 3:26	28 Hebrews 10:26
13 Psalm 112:6	29 Hebrews 10:27
14 Psalm 112:7	30 Hebrews 10:28
15 Psalm 112:8	31 Hebrews 10:29
16 2 Peter 2:5	32 Hebrews 13:20-21