ZECHARIAH 1:1-21
REVELATION 12:1-17
PSALM 140:1-13
PROVERBS 30:17
ZECHARIAH 1:1-21
In midautumn of the second year of King Darius's reign, the LORD gave this message to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo. 2 " I, the LORD, was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore, say to the people, ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty.' 4 Do not be like your ancestors who would not listen when the earlier prophets said to them, ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: Turn from your evil ways and stop all your evil practices.' 5 " Your ancestors and their prophets are now long dead. 6 But all the things I said through my servants the prophets happened to your ancestors, just as I said they would. As a result, they repented and said, ` We have received what we deserved from the LORD Almighty. He has done what he said he would do.'" 7 Then on February 15 of the second year of King Darius's reign, the LORD sent another message to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo. Zechariah said: 8 In a vision during the night, I saw a man sitting on a red horse that was standing among some myrtle trees in a small valley. Behind him were red, brown, and white horses, each with its own rider. 9 I asked the angel who was talking with me, " My lord, what are all those horses for?" " I will show you," the angel replied. 10 So the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, " They are the ones the LORD has sent out to patrol the earth." 11 Then the other riders reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, " We have patrolled the earth, and the whole earth is at peace." 12 Upon hearing this, the angel of the LORD prayed this prayer: " O LORD Almighty, for seventy years now you have been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. How long will it be until you again show mercy to them?" 13 And the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.14 Then the angel said to me, " Shout this message for all to hear: ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. 15 But I am very angry with the other nations that enjoy peace and security. I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations punished them far beyond my intentions. 16 " ` Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the LORD Almighty, and plans will be made for the reconstruction of Jerusalem.' 17 Say this also: ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: The towns of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem as his own.' "18 Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19 " What are these?" I asked the angel who was talking with me. He replied, " These horns represent the world powers that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." 20 Then the LORD showed me four blacksmiths. 21 " What are these men coming to do?" I asked. The angel replied, " The blacksmiths have come to terrify the four horns that scattered and humbled Judah. They will throw them down and destroy them."
REVELATION 12:1-17
Then I [John] witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant, and she cried out in the pain of labor as she awaited her delivery. 3 Suddenly, I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail dragged down one-third of the stars, which he threw to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to her child, ready to devour the baby as soon as it was born. 5 She gave birth to a boy who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And the child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to give her care for 1,260 days.7 Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. 8 And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. 9 This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. 10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, " It has happened at last--the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth--the one who accused our brothers and sisters* before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. 12 Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time."13 And when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the child. 14 But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle. This allowed her to fly to a place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. 15 Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from its mouth. 16 But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. 17 Then the dragon became angry at the woman, and he declared war against the rest of her children--all who keep God's commandments and confess that they belong to Jesus.
PSALM 140:1-13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
Preserve me from those who are violent,
2 those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
3 Their tongues sting like a snake;
the poison of a viper drips from their lips.
Interlude4 O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Preserve me from those who are violent,
for they are plotting against me.
5 The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way.
Interlude6 I said to the LORD, " You are my God!"
Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
7 O Sovereign LORD, my strong savior,
you protected me on the day of battle.
8 LORD, do not give in to their evil desires.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed, O God.
Interlude9 Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
10 Let burning coals fall down on their heads,
or throw them into the fire,
or into deep pits from which they can't escape.
11 Don't let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause disaster to fall with great force on the violent.
12 But I know the LORD will surely help those they persecute;
he will maintain the rights of the poor.
13 Surely the godly are praising your name,
for they will live in your presence.
PROVERBS 30:17
The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures.
