But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense.

The LORD lives! Praise my defender! Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me.

In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me; and because I live, you also will live.

For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again---death will no longer rule over him.

For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life.

so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.

If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead.

We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death.

He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne.

The four living creatures sing songs of glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. When they do so,

The four living creatures answered, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshiped.

He was made a priest, not by human rules and regulations, but through the power of a life which has no end.

And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it.

Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to the earth, and it was given the key to the abyss.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain.

He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent---that is, the Devil, or Satan---and chained him up for a thousand years.

Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.)

Our God is a God who saves; he is the LORD, our Lord, who rescues us from death.

I will give him complete authority under the king, the descendant of David. He will have the keys of office; what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open.

I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."