masks

²⁴An enemy is known by his lips, though it is from his heart that he draws out deceit. ²⁵When he will have lowered his voice, do not believe him, for there are seven vices in his heart. ²⁶Whoever covers hatred with deceit, his malice shall be revealed in the assembly. ²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back to him. ²⁸A false tongue does not love truth. And a slippery mouth works ruin.

¹⁵Be solicitous in the task of presenting yourself before God as a proven and unashamed worker who has handled the Word of Truth correctly.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

¹³They have been rebellious against the light; they have not known his ways, nor have they returned by his paths. ¹⁴The killer of men rises at first light; he executes the destitute and the poor, but, in truth, he is like a thief in the night. ¹⁵The eye of the adulterer waits for darkness, saying, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face. ¹⁶He passes through houses in the nighttime, just as they had agreed among themselves in the daytime; and they are ignorant of the light. ¹⁷If sunrise should suddenly appear, it is treated by them like the shadow of death; and they walk in darkness, as if in light.

²For there is nothing covered, which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden, which will not be known.

⁸See to it that no one deceives you through philosophy and empty falsehoods, as found in the traditions of men, in accord with the influences of the world, and not in accord with Christ.

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

¹Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁷And the Lord said to Samuel: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature. For I have rejected him. Neither do I judge by the appearance of a man. For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart.”

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer waits for darkness, saying, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face.

¹⁰But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself perfect, confirm, and establish us, after a brief time of suffering.

²⁰Understand this first: that every prophecy of Scripture does not result from one’s own interpretation.

¹³For false apostles, such as these deceitful workers, are presenting themselves as if they were Apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan presents himself as if he were an Angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers present themselves as if they were ministers of justice, for their end shall be according to their works.

¹⁷Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.

¹⁸Yet truly, all of us, as we gaze upon the unveiled glory of the face of the Lord, are transfigured into the same image, from one glory to another. And this is done by the Spirit of the Lord.

⁶But we strongly caution you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to draw yourselves away from every brother who is walking in disorder and not according to the tradition that they received from us.

⁷For, like a seer and an interpreter of dreams, he presumes what he does not know. “Eat and drink,” he will say to you; and his mind is not with you.

¹Then, as great crowds were standing so close that they were stepping on one another, he began to say to his disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ²For there is nothing covered, which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden, which will not be known. ³For the things that you have spoken in darkness will be declared in the light. And what you have said in the ear in bedrooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

³³And having completed these words, he placed a veil over his face.