ZECHARIAH 12:1-13:9
REVELATION 19:1-21
PSALM 147:1-20
PROVERBS 31:1-7
ZECHARIAH 12:1-13:9
This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the LORD: " This message is from the LORD, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit within humans. 2 I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed. 4 " On that day, says the LORD, I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind the horses of her enemies. 5 And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ` The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the LORD Almighty, their God.' 6 " On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a brazier that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure. 7 The LORD will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the LORD who goes before them! 9 For my plan is to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 " Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. 11 The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the grievous mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. 12 " All Israel will weep in profound sorrow, each family by itself, with the husbands and wives in separate groups. The family of David will mourn, along with the family of Nathan, 13 the family of Levi, and the family of Shimei. 14 Each of the surviving families from Judah will mourn separately, husbands and wives apart.13:1 " ON that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement. 2 " And on that day, says the LORD Almighty, I will get rid of every trace of idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land all false prophets and the unclean spirits that inspire them. 3 If anyone begins prophesying again, his own father and mother will tell him, ` You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the LORD.' Then his own father and mother will stab him. 4 " No one will be boasting then of a prophetic gift! No one will wear prophet's clothes to try to fool the people. 5 ` No,' he will say. ` I'm not a prophet; I'm a farmer. The soil has been my means of livelihood from my earliest youth.' 6 And if someone asks, ` Then what are those scars on your chest?' he will say, ` I was wounded at the home of friends!'7 " Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner, says the LORD Almighty. Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. 8 Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the LORD. But a third will be left in the land. 9 I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure, just as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ` These are my people,' and they will say, ` The LORD is our God.' "
REVELATION 19:1-21
After this, I [John] heard the sound of a vast crowd in heaven shouting, " Hallelujah! Salvation is from our God. Glory and power belong to him alone. 2 His judgments are just and true. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the murder of his servants." 3 Again and again their voices rang, " Hallelujah! The smoke from that city ascends forever and forever!" 4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, " Amen! Hallelujah!" 5 And from the throne came a voice that said, " Praise our God, all his servants, from the least to the greatest, all who fear him." 6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a huge crowd, or the roar of mighty ocean waves, or the crash of loud thunder: " Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She is permitted to wear the finest white linen." (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.) 9 And the angel said, " Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And he added, " These are true words that come from God."10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, " No, don't worship me. For I am a servant of God, just like you and other brothers and sisters* who testify of their faith in Jesus. Worship God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus." 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war. 12 His eyes were bright like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he knew what it meant. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword, and with it he struck down the nations. He ruled them with an iron rod, and he trod the winepress of the fierce wrath of almighty God. 16 On his robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: " Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, captains, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great."19 Then I saw the beast gathering the kings of the earth and their armies in order to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast--miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came out of the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And all the vultures of the sky gorged themselves on the dead bodies.
PSALM 147:1-20
Praise the LORD!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How delightful and how right!
2 The LORD is rebuilding Jerusalem
and bringing the exiles back to Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
binding up their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!
6 The LORD supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.
7 Sing out your thanks to the LORD;
sing praises to our God, accompanied by harps.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures.
9 He feeds the wild animals,
and the young ravens cry to him for food.
10 The strength of a horse does not impress him;
how puny in his sight is the strength of a man.
11 Rather, the LORD's delight is in those who honor him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he has fortified the bars of your gates
and blessed your children within you.
14 He sends peace across your nation
and satisfies you with plenty of the finest wheat.
15 He sends his orders to the world--
how swiftly his word flies!
16 He sends the snow like white wool;
he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.
17 He hurls the hail like stones.
Who can stand against his freezing cold?
18 Then, at his command, it all melts.
He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.
19 He has revealed his words to Jacob,
his principles and laws to Israel.
20 He has not done this with any other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD!
PROVERBS 31:1-7
These are the sayings of King Lemuel, an oracle that his mother taught him. O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my promises, do not spend your strength on women, on those who ruin kings. And it is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave liquor. For if they drink, they may forget their duties and be unable to give justice to those who are oppressed. Liquor is for the dying, and wine for those in deep depression. Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.
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