Peter, disciple and rock of Jesus Christ, wrote this second epistle shortly before his martyrdom. Many who challenge him as an author to 1 Peter epistle, have no problem with crediting him with writing 2 Peter. In the second letter, Peter is writing to the same readers he addressed in the first. He encouraged them to be continually involved in the growth cycle of Christianity and reminded them of their salvation. He focused extensively on warning them about false prophets and teachers. He reminded them of the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ’s coming, as well as cautioned them about the scoffers and false teachers that will surround them as they watch for Him. He encouraged them to demonstrate the certainty of their calling and their election, be fruitful in their Christian lives, gain an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven and know of the ultimate destruction of the present heavens and earth, as recorded in the infallible inspiration of Scripture through prophesy.
2 Peter 1
1:1-4 Salutation 1:5-11 Growing in grace 1:12-21 Grounded in the truth
Evidence points to the author of the three Epistles of John, as John, the son of Zebedee who is the same writer who wrote the gospel bearing his name. John’s gospel seeks to bring the reader to faith and 1 John seeks to confirm the reader in that faith. He writes to strengthen the faith of his readers and to fight against the specific threat of Gnosticism towards their beliefs. Gnosticism is a deviant form of Christianity that values knowledge as the means of salvation rather than the Cross and asserts that physical matter was evil and proof that the Son of God could not come in the flesh. These aberrant teachings targeted many of John’s students, and led him to assure them of salvation, and firmly express their beliefs as compared to the false teachings of the Gnostics.
1 John 1
1:1-4 Testimony to Christ 1:5-7 God is light 1:8-10 Sin, it’s reality and remedy
1 John 2
2:1-2 Sin, it’s reality and remedy (continued) 2:3-6 Tests of true knowledge 2:7-17 The first love 2:18-27 The danger of the antichrists 2:28-29 The children of God and righteousness
1 John 3
3:1-10 The children of God and righteousness (continued) 3:11-24 Love one another
1 John 4
4:1-6 Trying the spirits 4:7-21 God is love
1 John 5
5:1-5 God is love (continued) 5:6-12 The witness concerning the Son 5:13-21 The knowledge of eternal life
The same person that wrote the first epistle of John, was also the author to the second epistle, and was probably John, the disciple and son of Zebedee. He was writing to the elder elect lady and her children, which some take literally to mean a personal acquaintance, and others believe it to metaphorically represent a particular local church and congregation of members. John intended to visit his readers soon. He was pleased in their spiritual progress, but felt that special words of admonition were necessary to assure continued progress.
2 John 1
1:1-3 Greeting 1:4-6 The commandment of love 1:7-11 Warning against deceivers 1:12-13 Final greetings
This brief epistle is attributed to the apostle John, though he does not give his name. He called himself “the elder” which seems to have been John’s self-designation in the final years of his ministry. The same stylistic and theological similarities apparent in the fourth gospel, 1 John and 2 John are a distinct feature of 2 John as well. The letter is addressed to Gaius, a common name that can not be identified as a specific person. John commends and exhorts Gaius for his steadfastness and for his care of Christian missionaries, and he uses Diotrephes as an example of how not to live as a Christian. John’s words are meant to encourage Gaius until John can see him personally.
3 John 1
1:1-4 Salutation 1:5-8 Service to the brethren 1:9-10 Rebuke to Diotrephes 1:11-12 A good testimony 1:13-14 Conclusion
The half brother of Jesus Christ is likely the author of Jude. The writer gives his name and identifies himself as James’s brother, and the possibility exists that he can be the brother of one of four James, which creates some uncertainty among scholars. Jude writes to Christians who have been infiltrated by false teachers and people spreading the message that promotes immorality, theological error, destructive pride and divisiveness. Jude encourages his readers to stand firm against the pressure to dilute pure Christian doctrine.
Jude 1
1:1-2 Salutation 1:3-16 Judgment on false teachers 1:17-23 Exhortations to Christians 1:24-25 Benediction
The English title “Revelation” comes from the first word of the book in Greek. That word is apokalypsis, which means “the unveiling of something previously unrevealed. In Revelation Christ and His eternal program are fully revealed, so that the book provides a fitting capstone to the New Testament revelation. Revelation is prophetic in form. It was written during a time of persecution by John, the author of the Gospel John. The book is filled with visions and the style is generally figurative and symbolic. The book contains many symbols and signs, such as numbers, colors, animals, stones, persons, groups and places. Some symbols are interpreted in the text itself; others have to be interpreted in the light of the Old Testament; and others may have no previous biblical connection. Revelation is commonly referred to by the Christian believers when discussing things such as end times, rapture, tribulation, the mark of the beast and Judgment Day.
Revelation 1
1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus Christ 1:4-8 Greetings to the seven churches 1:9-20 A vision of the Son of Man
Revelation 2
2:1-7 The message to the church at Ephesus 2:8-11 The message to the church at Smyrna 2:12-17 The message to the church at Pergamos 2:18-29 The message to the church at Thyatira
Revelation 3
3:1-6 The message to the church at Sardis 3:7-13 The message to the church at Philadelphia 3:14-22 The message to the church at Laodicea
Revelation 4
4:1-11 Around God’s throne
Revelation 5
5:1-4 The sealed book 5:5-14 The Lion and the Lamb
Revelation 6
6:1-17 The seals
Revelation 7
7:1-8 The 144,000 sealed 7:9-17 The numberless multitude
Revelation 8
8:1-5 The seventh seal 8:6-13 The trumpets
Revelation 9
9:1-21 The trumpets (continued)
Revelation 10
10:1-11 The angel and the little book
Revelation 11
11:1-14 The two witnesses 11:15-19 The seventh trumpet
Revelation 12
12:1-2 The sun-clad woman 12:3-4 The great red dragon 12:5-6 The man child 12:7-9 Michael 12:10-17 The blood of the Lamb
Revelation 13
13:1-10 The first beast 13:11-18 The second beast
Revelation 14
14:1-5 The Lamb 14:6-13 The messages of the angels 14:14-20 The harvest of the earth
Revelation 15
15:1-8 Preparation of the seven vials
Revelation 16
16:1-21 The vials of wrath
Revelation 17
17:1-18 The doom of Babylon predicted
Revelation 18
18:1-24 The fall of Babylon
Revelation 19
19:1-5 Those in heaven praise God 19:6-10 The marriage supper of the Lamb 19:11-21 The rider on the white horse
Revelation 20
20:1-15 Satan bound for a thousand years
Revelation 21
21:1-8 The new heaven and the new earth 21:9-27 The new Jerusalem
Revelation 22
22:1-5 The new Jerusalem (continued) 22:6-21 Christ is to come quickly
Israel moves to Egypt Israel journeys with his family Joseph meets his father
King James Version Bible
“1 ¶ And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here [am] I. 3 And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.”
“5 ¶ And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7 His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. 8 And these [are] the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. 9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. 11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. 14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These [be] the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters [were] thirty and three. 16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. 18 These [are] the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, [even] sixteen souls. 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. 20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. 21 And the sons of Benjamin [were] Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22 These [are] the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls [were] fourteen. 23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim. 24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These [are] the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls [were] seven. 26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls [were] threescore and six; 27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, [were] two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, [were] threescore and ten.”
“28 ¶ And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou [art] yet alive. 31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which [were] in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; 32 And the men [are] shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. 33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What [is] your occupation? 34 That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, [and] also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd [is] an abomination unto the Egyptians.” (Genesis 46:1-34 KJV)
Israel presented to Pharaoh Joseph provides for his father and his brothers Joseph’s administration in Egypt
King James Version Bible
“1 ¶ Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they [are] in the land of Goshen. 2 And he took some of his brethren, [even] five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What [is] your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants [are] shepherds, both we, [and] also our fathers. 4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine [is] sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 The land of Egypt [is] before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest [any] men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old [art] thou? 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage [are] an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to [their] families.”
“13 ¶ And [there was] no bread in all the land; for the famine [was] very sore, so that the land of Egypt and [all] the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. 16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. 17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread [in exchange] for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. 18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide [it] from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: 19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give [us] seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. 20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from [one] end of the borders of Egypt even to the [other] end thereof. 22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion [assigned them] of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. 23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, [here is] seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth [part] unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants. 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, [that] Pharaoh should have the fifth [part]; except the land of the priests only, [which] became not Pharaoh’s.”
“27 ¶ And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.” (Genesis 47:1-31 KJV)
Joseph visits Jacob Israel blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
King James Version Bible
“1 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that [one] told Joseph, Behold, thy father [is] sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And [one] told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an everlasting possession. 5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, [and] shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet [there was] but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same [is] Bethlehem.”
“8 ¶ And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who [are] these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom God hath given me in this [place]. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, [so that] he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought [them] near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon Ephraim’s head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my son, I know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” (Genesis 48:1-22 KJV)
“1 ¶ And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou [it]: he went up to my couch.”
“5 ¶ Simeon and Levi [are] brethren; instruments of cruelty [are in] their habitations. 6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7 Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”
“8 ¶ Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah [is] a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be]. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12 His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”
“13 ¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he [shall be] for an haven of ships; and his border [shall be] unto Zidon. 14 Issachar [is] a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15 And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. 16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. 18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. 19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. 20 Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 21 Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.”
“22 ¶ Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall: 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him: 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 25 [Even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. 27 Benjamin shall ravin [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.”
“28 ¶ All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel: and this [is it] that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 In the cave that [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] therein [was] from the children of Heth. 33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.” (Genesis 49:1-33 KJV)
