First Nations Version
Page 73
THE DAY OF OUR HONORED CHIEF
10But you can be sure that the day of our Honored Chief will come. It will come without warning, like a thief. Then with a loud sound like rushing wind, the skies above will come to an end. The elemental things will melt away in the fierce heat. And the earth and the things done on it will be laid bare.4
11Seeing that all these things will come to an end in this manner, you should be a people who walk a sacred path that brings honor to the Great Spirit. 12Keep walking in this way as you wait for the coming day of Creator, doing what you can to help it come more quickly. When that day comes, the skies above will burn away, and the elemental things will melt in the fierce heat. 13But we are looking to what the Great Spirit has promised—a new spirit-world above and a new earth below where all people will walk in his right ways.
WISDOM FROM SMALL MAN
14So then, my much-loved friends, since you are looking for these things, make it your aim to be found by him walking in peace, having no spot or stain on your souls. 15Remember, the reason our Honored Chief is being patient is to give more time for people to trust him to rescue them from what is coming. This is what our much-loved spiritual brother Small Man (Paul) wrote to you about, through the wisdom he was given. 16He writes about these things in all his letters. Some of the things he writes about are hard to understand. In their ignorance, people who have lost their spiritual balance misrepresent these teachings, as they do other sacred teachings, to their own bad end.
CLOSING WORDS
17So then, my much-loved friends, since I have warned you ahead of time, stay alert! Then none of these bent and twisted people will lead you down the wrong path and cause you to lose your own spiritual balance. 18Instead, keep growing in the gift of great kindness and knowledge that is yours through our Honored Chief and Sacred Deliverer, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
To him be all honor and bright-shining greatness, both now and to the time beyond the end of all days.
Aho! May it be so!
FIRST LETTER FROM HE SHOWS GOODWILL
1 JOHN
THE STORY OF THE WORD OF LIFE
1There is one who has existed from the beginning. We heard his story. We saw him with our own eyes. We stared in wonder at him and touched him with our own hands. He is the one we call the Word of Life.
2This Life was made known to us. We have seen it, we give witness to it, and we are now telling you the story of the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. This Life was with our Father the Great Spirit and has now been revealed to us.
3We are telling you about the things we have seen and heard so that you may share with us the same life we share in harmony with our Father the Great Spirit and his Son, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 4We write these things to you so that our hearts can dance together in the circle of life.
THE GREAT SPIRIT IS LIGHT
5The Great Spirit is light, and in him there is no darkness. This is the message we heard from the Chosen One and are now telling you. 6If we say we are in harmony with him yet walk a path of darkness, we are living a lie and not following the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we will be in harmony with each other as the lifeblood shed by Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Son of the Great Spirit, cleanses us from all our broken ways.
8If we say that we have no broken ways, we are lying to ourselves, and the truth is not alive in us. 9If we name our broken ways, our Creator can be trusted to release us from them and purify us from all wrongdoing. 10If we say we have never walked in broken ways, we are calling him a liar, and his words are not at home in us.
THE ONE WHO REPRESENTS US
1My much-loved children, I am writing these things to you so you will not walk a path of broken ways. But if anyone does, we have one who represents us before our Father the Great Spirit. He is Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, who has always done what is right. 2He paid a great price to set us free from our bad hearts and broken ways, not only for us but for all people.
3We can be sure that we truly know him if we follow the teachings of the Chosen One. 4The ones who say, “I know the Great Spirit,” yet do not follow his teachings, are lying, and the truth does not live in them. 5-6But for those who walk in his message, Creator’s love has found its true meaning and purpose. The ones who say they are in harmony with the Great Spirit must walk in the footsteps of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). This is how we know we are living in harmony with him.
AN OLD AND NEW TEACHING
7My much-loved friends, I am not giving you a new teaching1 but an old one, the same one you were given at first. The old teaching is the message you have heard. 8On the other hand, I am giving you a new teaching. Its truth is found in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and also in you. For the darkness is fading, and the true light is already shining. 9Anyone who says, “I walk in the light,” but hates another2 is still walking in darkness. 10Anyone who loves others is walking in the light and has no reason to trip or fall. 11But anyone who hates others is in darkness and walks in darkness. Such ones have lost their way because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
WISDOM FOR ALL AGES
12I write to you children because you have been released from your broken ways through the name of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). 13I write to you elders because you have known the one who was there from the beginning. I write to you young ones because you have won the victory over the evil trickster.
14I have written to you children because you have known the Father, who is the Great Spirit. I have written to you elders because you have known Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the one who was there from the beginning. I have written to you young ones because you are strong, with Creator’s message firmly planted in your hearts, and you have won the victory over the evil trickster.
DO NOT LOVE THE WAYS OF THE WORLD
15Do not love the ways of this world, nor the things you can get from the world. When you love the world, it shows that the love of our Father the Great Spirit is not alive in you. 16For all the things found in the world—desiring to walk in broken ways, longing to have everything you see, thinking you are better and more deserving than others—these things are not from our Father the Great Spirit but from the world. 17This world is coming to an end along with all its broken desires, but the ones who walk in the ways of the Great Spirit will remain to the time beyond the end of all days.
THE FALSE CHOSEN ONE
18My much-loved children, the time of the end3 has come! You have heard that a false chosen one is coming. I tell you even now that many false chosen ones have appeared. This is how we know that the time of the end4 has come. 19These false chosen ones were among us, but they did not belong, so they left. If they had truly belonged, they would have remained—but they left, showing that they did not belong.
20But as for you, the Holy One has poured out his Spirit as a sweet-smelling ointment on you, choosing you as his own, and all of you know the truth. 21I write this to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the one who denies that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is the Chosen One. This is the false chosen one, the one who denies both Father and Son. 23The ones who deny the Son do not have the Father. The ones who speak well of the Son have the Father also.
HARMONY WITH CREATOR
24So then, let the message you first heard remain in you. If you do, then you will also remain in harmony with the Son and with the Father. 25His promise to us is the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.
26I write to you to warn you about the ones who are trying to lead you down the wrong path. 27But the sweet-smelling ointment of his Spirit remains within you, and there is no need for anyone to teach you. The sweet-smelling ointment of his Spirit is your teacher in all things. Through it, he speaks only the truth and never anything false. So remain in harmony with him just as he has taught you.
28So I sa
y again, my much-loved children, remain in harmony with him, so that when he appears we may stand boldly before him and not have to hang our heads in shame. 29Since you know that the Chosen One always does what is right, you can be sure that the Great Spirit is the father of all who walk in his right ways.
CHILDREN OF THE GREAT SPIRIT
1Behold the greatness of the love shown to us by our Father the Great Spirit that he would call us his children! And so we are! The ones who belong to the ways of this world do not know the Giver of Life, so they do not see us in this way. 2Much-loved friends, we are now Creator’s children. It is not yet clear what we will be. But we know that when the Chosen One appears, we will be like him, for we will see him as he truly is. 3All who through him have this hope will keep themselves pure, in the same way that he is pure.
A WARNING ABOUT BROKEN WAYS
4All who walk in broken ways are trampling over the law of the Chosen One, for all broken ways go against his law. 5You know that he came to do away with bad hearts and broken ways and that in him there are no broken ways. 6The ones who remain in harmony with him do not walk in broken ways. Those who walk in broken ways have not truly seen or known him.
7My much-loved children, do not let anyone take you down the wrong path. The Chosen One always did what was right. So the ones who keep walking his right ways show that they are in good standing with him. 8The ones who stay with walking in broken ways are following the evil trickster, for he has been walking in broken ways from the beginning. The reason Creator’s Son appeared was to bring an end to the ways of the evil trickster. 9Those who have been born from the Great Spirit do not keep walking in broken ways. They are not able to, for Creator is their Father and he has planted his message5 deep within them to stay.
LOVING EACH OTHER
10There is a clear difference between Creator’s children and the children of the evil trickster. The ones who do not walk in a good way do not belong to Creator, nor do those who do not love the sacred family. 11The message you heard from the beginning was that we should love each other. 12Do not be like Spear Maker (Cain), who gave himself to the ways of the evil trickster and killed his own brother. Why did he kill him? Because what he was doing was wrong, and what his brother was doing was right. 13So then, my much-loved family members, do not be surprised if the world hates you.
14We know that we have crossed over from death to life, because we love each other. The ones who do not love remain under the power of death. 15All who hate others have murder in their hearts, and you know that murderers do not have the life of the world to come that never fades away, remaining in them.
16The Chosen One laid down his life for us. This is how we know what love is. In the same way, we should lay our lives down for each other. 17If someone who has many possessions sees another in need and shows no pity, how can Creator’s love remain in that person? 18My much-loved children, our love must not be empty words on our tongues but deeds done in truth. 19-20This is how we can be sure we belong to the way of truth. Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace when we stand before him. For Creator is greater than our hearts and knows all things.
21My much-loved friends, if our hearts are free from guilt, this gives us the courage to stand boldly before Creator. 22He will give us whatever we ask of him because we keep his instructions and do the things that make his heart glad.
23This is his instruction to us, that we trust in the name of his Son, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, and love each other as he taught us to do. 24The ones who follow these instructions remain in him, and he remains in them. We know that he remains in us by the Spirit he has gifted to us.
TESTING THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS
1My much-loved friends, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits of the prophets to see whether Creator sent them, for there are many false prophets who have gone out into the world. 2This is how to know whether a spirit comes from Creator: Every spirit that says Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One came to us as a human being is from the Great Spirit. 3Every spirit that does not speak of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in this manner is not from the Great Spirit. This is the spirit of the false chosen one, the one you have heard was coming and who is now already in the world.
4Much-loved children, you have been born of Creator and have won the victory over these false prophets. For the Spirita in you is much greater than the spirit6 in the world. 5These false prophets are of this world, so they speak the way the world speaks, and the world listens. 6We are of the Great Spirit, and those who know the Great Spirit listen to us. The ones who are not of the Great Spirit do not listen to us. This is how we can tell the Spirit that is true from the spirit that is false.
MORE ABOUT LOVE
7My much-loved friends, love each other, for love comes from the Great Spirit. All who love have been born of him and know him. 8Those who do not love do not know him, for the Great Spirit is love. 9Creator showed his love for us by sending the only Son who fully represents him into this world, so that we could live through him. 10This is love, not that we loved Creator, but that he loved us and proved his love by sending his Son to take on himself the burden of our broken ways.
11My much-loved friends, if Creator loved us like that, then we should also love each other. 12No one has ever seen the Great Spirit, but as long as we love each other, he remains in us, and his love is made complete in us. 13We know that we live in him and he lives in us because Creator has shared his Spirit with us. 14We have seen and now tell you the truth about what our Father the Great Spirit has done. He sent his Son to be the Sacred Deliverer of the world. 15Those who tell others that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is the Son of the Great Spirit are the ones Creator lives in, and they live in him.
THE GREAT SPIRIT IS LOVE
16We have come to know and trust the love Creator has for us. The Great Spirit is love. He remains in those who love and keep on loving, and they remain in him. 17Love is made complete in us so that we will stand without fear on the day Creator decides who has done right or wrong. For in this world, when we love as he loves, we are just like him.
18Where love is there can be no fear, for mature love drives all fear away. Fear comes from the thought of punishment. So love has not yet matured in those who continue to be afraid. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If we say that we love the Great Spirit but hate others, then we are speaking with a forked tongue. If we do not love someone we can see, then how can we love a Creator we cannot see? 21And from him we have been given this instruction: the ones who love the Great Spirit must also love the members of his family.
LOVE WINS THE VICTORY
1All who believe that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is the Chosen One have the Great Spirit as their Father. All who love the Father will also love his children. 2We can be sure that we are loving Creator’s children when we love Creator and follow all of his instructions. 3For when we follow his instructions, it shows our love for the Great Spirit. And his instructions are not hard to follow. 4Whoever has the Great Spirit as their Father wins the victory over the ways of the world. For it is our trust in him and his way of love that wins the victory.
THE WATER, THE BLOOD, AND THE SPIRIT
5Who is able to win the victory over ways of the world? Those who trust that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is the Son of the Great Spirit. 6He is the one who came through water and blood—Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. He did not come by water only, but by both water and blood. It is the Holy Spirit who tells us that this is true, for the Spirit himself is the truth. 7So then, we have three who witness to this truth— 8the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in harmony.
TRUE LIFE IS FOUND IN CREATOR’S SON
9If we accept truth from human beings, then how much more should we accept the truth of what the Great Spirit has told us about his Son! 10The ones who trust in the Son of the Great Spirit have accepted this truth in their inner beings. But those who do not trust in him are making Creator out to be a
liar, because they do not believe he has told the truth about his Son. 11And the truth we have heard from Creator is that he has gifted us with the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony—and this life is found in his Son. 12The ones who have the Son have life. The ones who do not have Creator’s Son do not have life.
BOLDNESS IN PRAYER
13I have written these things to you who trust in the name of Creator’s Son, so that you may know you have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. 14We can be sure that if we ask anything of the Great Spirit that is in harmony with his will, he will hear us. 15If we know that he hears us, then we know we have whatever we have asked of him.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRAYER
16You might see a sacred family member walking in a broken way that does not end in death. You should pray and that person will be given life, as long as the broken way does not end in death. There is a broken way that ends with death. If that is so, prayer will not help. 17All who do wrong walk in broken ways, but not all broken ways end in death.
LAST WORDS
18We know that all who have the Great Spirit as their Father do not continue to walk in broken ways. They are kept safe by the Son, who fully represents his Father, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19We know that we are children of the Great Spirit. We know that the evil one rules over the ways of this world. 20We also know that the Son of the Great Spirit has come. He has given us a way to know the True One. It is through his Son, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, that we are in harmony with the True One. This is the one true Great Spirit and the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.