“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12 ESV). The apostle John wrote this letter to believers in the late first century, correcting false doctrine and teaching them how to have assurance of salvation. In this verse, he

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” (Psalm 122:1). This psalm of David is one of the fifteen “Songs of Ascent,” a collection arranged in the Psalter for pilgrims to sing as they journeyed upward toward Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. These songs prepared worshipers

“I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:16 ESV). The apostle John wrote this letter to believers in the first century to strengthen their assurance and warn them against loving

“These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever (Daniel 7:17–18 ESV). The prophet Daniel, writing during Israel’s exile in Babylon, interpreted this vision to his fellow Jewish exiles, offering them

“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Peter 3:14 ESV). The apostle Peter wrote this letter to believers scattered throughout Asia Minor, urging them to stand firm amid false teaching. In this verse, he addressed them tenderly as “beloved,”

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first (2 Peter 2:20 ESV). Peter warns of those who, after escaping the corruption of the

“And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things (2 Peter 1:15 ESV). Near the end of his life, the apostle Peter writes with deep pastoral urgency, determined to ensure that believers would remember the truths he had taught even after his

“The king answered and said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery (Daniel 2:47 ESV). Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a troubling dream revealing the future of earthly kingdoms. Recognizing its importance yet unable to

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21 ESV). In this verse, Peter drew a comparison between baptism and Noahs flood. Just as Noah and his family