21My much-loved children, keep away from spirit-images or anything that would take the place of the Great Spirit in your hearts.
Aho! May it be so!
SECOND LETTER FROM HE SHOWS GOODWILL
2 JOHN
GREETINGS AND FIRST WORDS
1From He Shows Goodwill (John), the elder.
To the honored woman and her children who have been chosen by the Great Spirit. You are all truly loved, not only by myself but by all who know the truth. 2This love comes from the truth that lives in us and will remain with us to the time beyond the end of all days.
3It is this truth and love, coming from our Father the Great Spirit and from his Son, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, that blesses us with the gift of his great kindness, mercy, and peace.
WALKING IN LOVE
4It made my heart dance for joy when I found some of your children following the way of truth, just as our Father from above has instructed us. 5I now call on you, honored woman, to make sure that we love each other. This is not a new instruction I am writing to you, but the same one we were given from the first. 6Love means we are following his instructions. This is the same instruction you heard from the beginning—that we should walk in love.
WARNINGS ABOUT FALSE TEACHERS
7For in this world there are many false teachers, leading people down the wrong path. They say that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) did not come into this world as a human being. Those who say this are deceivers and of the false chosen one. 8Guard your hearts. You do not want to lose what we all have worked so hard for and fail to receive the full honor that should be yours.
9All who go too far in their thinking and do not remain true to the teaching about the Chosen One have walked away from the Great Spirit. But the ones who remain true to this teaching walk together both with the Father and with his Son. 10If any of these people come to you who do not agree with this teaching, do not welcome them to stay in your home or greet them as members of the sacred family. 11For greeting them in this way means you are joining with them in their evil deeds.
FINAL WORDS
12I have much more to tell you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. I am hoping to come and speak with you face to face. In this way, our hearts will dance for joy.
13The children of your honored sister who have been chosen by the Great Spirit send their greetings to you.
Aho! May it be so!
THIRD LETTER FROM HE SHOWS GOODWILL
3 JOHN
GREETINGS AND FIRST WORDS
1From He Shows Goodwill (John), the elder.
To my much-loved spiritual brother Glad Heart (Gaius), whom I truly love. 2My close friend, I pray that good things will come your way and that you will remain in good health, even as your soul does well.
WALKING THE PATH OF TRUTH
3It made my heart dance for joy when some of the members of the sacred family came and told me of your great respect for the truth—a path you now walk. 4Nothing gives me more joy than to hear that my spiritual children are walking the path of truth.
TREATING TRAVELERS WELL
5My much-loved brother, it is good that you keep treating the traveling members of our sacred family so well, even though they are strangers to you. 6At a gathering of our sacred family they told us about the love you showed to them. You are doing a good thing when you send these family members on their way in a manner that honors the Great Spirit. 7For they went out to make his name known without taking any help from those outside the sacred family.1 8So it is up to us to help them on their way. In this way, we share together with them in making known the truth.
A WARNING TO THE HEADMAN
9I wrote to the sacred family that gathers with you, but Raised by the Sky Spirit (Diotrephes), who loves to be the headman, will not listen to us. 10So if I come, I will give him a stern talking-to, for he has spoken foolishly, accusing us with evil words. As if this were not enough, he also refuses to welcome traveling members of the sacred family. He puts a stop to those who want to welcome them and forces them out of the sacred family gathering.
A GOOD REPORT
11My much-loved brother, do not follow these evil ways, but walk in step with those who do good. The ones who walk in a good way are of the Great Spirit. The ones who walk in evil ways have not truly seen the Great Spirit.
12Everyone has something good to say about Corn Spirit (Demetrius), and what they say agrees with the truth. We also say good things about him, and as you know, we always speak the truth.
CLOSING WORDS
13I have much more to say to you, but I do not want to use pen and ink. 14I hope to see you soon, so we can speak face to face.
15Peace be with you. Our friends from the sacred family who gather here send their greetings to you. Please greet our friends from the sacred family who gather with you. Greet each of them by name.
Aho! May it be so!
STRONG OF HEART
JUDE
GREETINGS
1From Strong of Heart (Jude), a brother of He Leads the Way (James) and a sacred servant of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
To all whom our Father the Great Spirit has called, who are loved by him, and kept safe by Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 2May Creator’s mercy, peace, and love flood into your lives like a rushing river.
FIRST WORDS
3My much-loved friends, I was eagerly preparing to write to you about how we have all been set free and made whole. As I thought about this, I felt that I needed to urge you to wage a spiritual battle1 for the faith that was once and for all handed down to his holy ones. 4For there are some bad-hearted people who have snuck in among you. They twist the gift of Creator’s great kindness into an excuse to give in to uncontrolled selfish pleasures. In doing so, they deny our only Headman and Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. It was written long ago that people like this would come to a bad end.
A SOLEMN REMINDER
5I want to remind you of some things you already know. First, that our Honored Chief who rescued his people from Black Land (Egypt) later stuck down the ones who turned away from trusting him.
6You also know about the spirit-messengers who did not remain in their place of authority and deserted their rightful dwelling. They are bound continually in a place of deep darkness waiting to face their fate on the great day of deciding.
7In the same way, Village of Bad Spirits (Sodom) and Village of Deep Fear (Gomorrah) and the small villages nearby gave themselves over to sexual impurity and to twisted and shameful ways. These villages, which were punished with a fire that burned on and on, are now set before us as a warning against such things.
DECEITFUL DREAMERS
8But the bad-hearted people I have been telling you about ignore these warnings. They are deceitful dreamers2 who through their corrupt desires reject all authority and speak against spirit-beings of shining-greatness. 9Not even Who Is Like Creator (Michael), who is himself a very powerful spirit-messenger, dared to speak in this way against the evil trickster when they both argued over the body of Drawn from the Water (Moses). Instead he said, “May the Great Spirit Chief rebuke you!” 10But these bad-hearted ones speak against things they do not understand. They are like wild beasts who do not think but act only on instinct. These things are taking them to a bad end.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
11Sorrow and trouble are coming their way! They are following in the footsteps of Spear Maker (Cain), who out of anger and jealousy killed his own brother.3 In their longing for more possessions they have given themselves over to the greedy ways of People Destroyer (Balaam), a prophet who would have brought a curse on Creator’s people for pay.4 And like Baldheaded Man (Korah), who led an uprising5 against Drawn from the Water (Moses), they will come to the same bad end.
LOST AND WANDERING STARS
12These bad-hearted ones have no respect for the love you share when they feast with you at your sacred family gatherings. They are dark spots and stains on your g
atherings, caring only for themselves. They are clouds with no rain, blown about by the winds. They are trees that have no fruit at the harvest moon. They are twice dead, with their roots plucked from the ground. 13Their shameful ways are like the foam churned up by the storm-tossed waves of the sea. They are lost and wandering stars that have strayed from their proper path in the night sky. A place of deep darkness that goes on and on is kept ready for them.
THE COMING OF OUR HONORED CHIEF
14It was people like this that Walks with Creator (Enoch), the seventh generation from Red Clay (Adam), prophesied about when he said, “Behold! Our Honored Chief is coming with many thousands of his holy ones. 15When he comes, he will carry out the decision he has made against the ones who have followed their bad hearts and broken ways. Their shameful ways will be exposed along with all the insulting things they have spoken against the Great Spirit.” 16These people keep grumbling and complaining, even as they try to satisfy all of their own broken desires. They speak big, boastful words and use flattery to get what they want from others.
END-TIME SCOFFERS
17But I call on you, my much-loved friends, to remember the words spoken by the message bearers of our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, as they warned us of what was coming. 18They told you that in the time of the end there would be scoffers who would follow their own selfish desires. 19They were talking about these troublemakers who turn people against each other—beast-like people—who do not have the Spirit.
STAY ROOTED IN LOVE
20But you, my much-loved friends, use your trust in our sacred and spiritual ways6 to grow even stronger as you pray with the words the Holy Spirit gives you. 21Keep yourselves deeply rooted in the love of the Great Spirit, as you keep looking and waiting for the mercy of our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, who gives us the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.
22Show this same mercy to some among you who are doubting, 23and rescue some as if you were snatching them from flames of fire. To others show mercy as you tremble in fear, hating the broken ways that have stained their regalia and ruined their lives.
CLOSING WORDS
24Now to the one who is able to keep you from stumbling, who can make you pure and blameless, so that with great joy you can stand before his bright-shining greatness. 25To the one Great Spirit, who has set us free and made us whole through our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. Bright-shining greatness, beauty, power, and chiefly rule belong to him from the time before all days, today, and to the time beyond the end of all days.
Aho! May it be so!
BOOK OF THE GREAT REVEALING
REVELATION
OPENING WORDS
1Written down in this sacred scroll are the things the Great Spirit revealed to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. This great revealing was given to the ones who serve him, to show them what will soon happen. He sent his spirit-messenger to He Shows Goodwill (John), his sacred servant, to make this message known to him through signs, omens, and sacred visions.
2He Shows Goodwill (John) as a truth teller wrote down everything he saw and heard as a witness to this message from the Great Spirit and the things told to him by Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
3Creator’s blessing rests on the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and on those who hear and take to heart what is written in it, for the time it speaks about is almost here.
THE MESSAGE BEGINS
4From He Shows Goodwill (John) to the seven sacred families in Land of the Rising Sun (Asia):
I greet you with great kindness and peace from One Who Is and Was and Is to Come, and from the seven spirits who stand face to face with him as he sits in his seat of honor. 5I also greet you from Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. He is the honorable witness, the first to rise from among the dead, and the Grand Chief over all who rule on earth. All honor belongs to the one who loves us, the one who, by giving up his own lifeblood, set us free from our bad hearts and broken ways.
6He has made us to be chiefs of a sacred nation of holy men and women who represent the good road of his Father the Great Spirit. All honor and power belong to him from the ages past to the time beyond the end of all days. Aho! May it be so!
CLOUD RIDER IS COMING
7Behold! He comes riding on the clouds! Every eye will see him, even the ones who pierced him. When all the tribes of the land see him, their hearts will be pierced through with sorrow and fall to the ground.1 Aho! May it be so.
8“I am Alpha and Omega,2 the one who is before all things and beyond all things,” says the Great Spirit Chief. “I am One Who Is and Was and Is to Come, the All-Powerful One.”
ON THE ISLAND OF WALKING PLACE
9I, He Shows Goodwill (John), am your brother in the sacred family and one who walks a path of suffering with you as we walk the good road with firm steps following Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. I had been banished to the island called Walking Place (Patmos) because I had spoken the truth about Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his message from the Great Spirit.
A LOUD VOICE SPEAKS
10I was taken up into the spirit world on the day we gather in honor of our Great Chief. I heard a loud voice from behind me that sounded like an eagle bone whistle.3
11The voice said, “Write down in a scroll the things that you see. Send this scroll to the seven sacred family gatherings in Land of the Rising Sun (Asia).
“Send it to the sacred family gatherings in Village of Desire (Ephesus), Village of Bitter Herbs (Smyrna), First in Courage (Pergamum), High Rock House (Thyatira), Safe Place (Sardis), Family of Friends (Philadelphia), and The People Will Decide (Laodicea).”
THE TRUE HUMAN BEING IS REVEALED
12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13The lampstands encircled one who looked like a True Human Being.4 His regalia was a robe that reached all the way to his feet. He wore a golden sash that was wrapped across his chest. 14The hair on his head was as white as the tip of an eagle’s tail feathers,5 as white as freshly fallen snow, and his eyes blazed like flames of fire. 15His feet glowed like molten bronze purified in a furnace of fire, and his voice roared like the sound of great rushing waters. 16In his right hand he was holding seven stars. Out from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged long knife, and his face shone with the full strength of the sun.
17When I saw him, I dropped to the ground and lay at his feet as a dead man.
I AM FIRST AND LAST
He put his right hand on me and said, “Do not fear! 18I am first and last, the Living One, who was dead, and now, behold! I am alive, never to die again. And in my hands I hold the power6 to free people from the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades).
19“So then,” he said to me, “Write down the things you have just seen and the things that will be shown to you. 20I will tell you the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the mystery of the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the messengers of the seven sacred family gatherings, and the seven lampstands are the seven sacred families.
TO VILLAGE OF DESIRE
1“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in Village of Desire (Ephesus):
These are the words of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know what you have been doing, how hard you have worked, and the rough path you have walked with firm steps. I also know that you do not put up with evil and worthless ways. You have put to the test the ones who falsely call themselves message bearers and have proven them to be liars who speak with forked tongues.
3I know you have never grown tired of representing me, even when thorns grew across the path. 4But I have against you this one thing—you have walked away from the love you had at first. 5So remember what made you stumble, go back and find that first love, and do what needs to be done. Unless you change y
our thinking about this, I will have to come and remove your lampstand. 6But you have this in your favor: like me, you hate what the Rulers of the People (Nicolaitans) do.
7Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families. To the ones who win the victory, I will give them fruit to eat from the tree of life that grows in Creator’s Beautiful Garden.
TO VILLAGE OF BITTER HERBS
8“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in Village of Bitter Herbs (Smyrna):
First Nations Version Page 74