Born Again to a Living Hope

3 ^fBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be ^gborn again to a living ^hhope ⁱthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an ^jinheritance that is ^kimperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ^lready to be revealed in the last time.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

1 Then I saw a ^qnew heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, ^rnew Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a ^sbride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a ^tloud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place¹ of God is with man. ^uHe will ^vdwell with them, and ^wthey will be his people,² and God himself will be with them as their God.³ 4 He will ^xwipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, ^y“Write this down, for ^zthese words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! ^aI am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the ^bwater of life ^cwithout payment. 7 ^dThe one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my ^eson. 8 But as for ^fthe cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the ^glake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^hthe second death.”