Luke 21 Cross References - ISV

¹ The Widow’s Offering
Now Jesus looked up and saw rich people dropping their gifts into the offering box. ² Then he saw a destitute widow drop in two small copper coins. ³ He said, “I tell you with certainty, this destitute widow has dropped in more than all of them, ⁴ because all the others contributed to the offering out of their surplus, but she, in her poverty, dropped in everything she had to live on.”
⁵ Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
Now while some people were talking about the Temple—how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God—he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another that won’t be knocked down.”
⁷ The Coming Wars and Revolutions
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?”
⁸ He said, “Be careful that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name and say, ‘I AM’ and, ‘The time has come.’ Don’t follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and revolutions, never be alarmed, because these sort of things must take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”
¹⁰ Then he went on to say to them, “Nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places, and there will be fearful events and awful signs from heaven.”
¹² Future Persecutions
“But before all these things take place, people will arrest you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. ¹³ It will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴ So purpose in your hearts not to prepare your defense ahead of time, ¹⁵ because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. ¹⁸ And yet not a hair on your head will be lost. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will protect your lives.”
²⁰ Signs of the End
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then understand that its devastation is approaching. ²¹ Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in the countryside must not go into it, ²² because these are the days of vengeance when all that is written will be fulfilled.
²³ “How terrible it will be for those women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!—because there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be carried off as captives among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the unbelievers until the times of the unbelievers are fulfilled.”
²⁵ The Coming of the Son of Man
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
²⁸ “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is approaching.”
²⁹ The Lesson from the Fig Tree
Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ As soon as they produce leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the kingdom of God is near. ³² I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until all these things take place. ³³ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t ever disappear.”
³⁴ Be Alert“Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise ³⁵ like a trap, because it will come on everyone who lives on the face of the earth. ³⁶ So be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”
³⁷ Now during the day Jesus would teach in the Temple, but when evening came he would go out and spend the night on what is called the Mount of Olives. ³⁸ And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the Temple.

¹⁹ But everything made of silver and gold, and vessels made of bronze and iron are set apart to the LORD. They are to go into the treasury of the LORD.”

²⁴ Then the army set fire to the city and to everything in it, except that they reserved the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron for the treasury of the LORD.

²⁶ He stripped the LORD’s Temple and the royal palace of their treasures. He took everything, even the gold shields that Solomon had made.

¹³ Jerusalem’s Citizens are Sent into ExileNebuchadnezzar carried off from there all of the treasures of the LORD’s Temple, along with the treasures in the king’s palace. He cut into pieces all the gold vessels in the LORD’s Temple that King Solomon of Israel had made, just as the LORD had said would happen.

¹⁸ who took back to Babylon every article in God’s Temple, whether large or small, including the treasuries of the LORD’s Temple, the king’s assets, and those of his officers.

¹³ I appointed over the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the descendants of Levi; and next to them Zaccur’s son Hanan, the grandson of Mattaniah, because they had been considered faithful. Their duties were to distribute to their associates.

⁶ The high priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money.”

¹¹ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me is Corban,”’ (that is, an offering to God) ¹² ‘you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.’ ¹³ You are destroying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other things like that.”

⁴¹ The Widow’s Offering
As Jesus sat facing the offering box, he watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it. Many rich people were dropping in large amounts. ⁴² Then a destitute widow came and dropped in two small copper coins, worth about a cent. ⁴³ He called his disciples and told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, this destitute widow has dropped in more than everyone who is contributing to the offering box, ⁴⁴ because all of them contributed out of their surplus, but out of her poverty she has given everything she had to live on.”

²⁰ He spoke these words in the treasury, while he was teaching in the Temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

⁴² Then a destitute widow came and dropped in two small copper coins, worth about a cent.

²¹ and every person whose heart moved him and all whose spirits prompted them, brought an offering to the LORD for constructing the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ²² Both the men and women came—all whose hearts prompted them—and brought brooches, earrings, rings, pendants, and all kinds of gold jewelry. Every person presented a wave offering of gold to the LORD.
²³ Everyone who had blue, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, and dolphin skins brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who could give an offering of silver and bronze brought it as a contribution for the LORD. Also all who had acacia wood for any use in the work brought it.
²⁵ Every skilled woman spun with her hands, and brought what she had spun: blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen. ²⁶ All the women who were skilled artisans spun the goat hair.
²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and the breast piece, ²⁸ spices and oil for the light and for the anointing oil and the aromatic incense. ²⁹ Each Israeli man and woman whose heart was prompted brought something as a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD had commanded them to do through Moses.

⁸ She has done what she could. She poured perfume on my body in preparation for my burial. ⁹ I tell all of you with certainty, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

²⁵ I’m telling you the truth—there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when it didn’t rain for three years and six months and there was a severe famine everywhere in the land.

²⁷ I tell you with certainty, some people who are standing here won’t experience death until they see the kingdom of God.”

⁴⁴ I tell you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.

²⁷ For in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate actually met together with unbelievers and the people of Israel to oppose your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “Now I understand that God shows no partiality.

² In spite of their terrible ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and deep poverty have led them to be abundantly generous. ³ I can testify that by their own free will they have given to the utmost of their ability, yes, even beyond their ability.

¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.

⁶ Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you must give what you have decided in your heart, not with regret or under compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

⁴³ A woman was there who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. Although she had spent all she had on doctors, no one could heal her.

¹² The younger one told his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between them.

⁴⁴ All the believers were united and shared everything with one another. ⁴⁵ They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need.

³⁴ since none of them needed anything, because everyone who had land or houses would sell them and bring the money received for the things sold

¹ Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
As Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to point out to him the Temple buildings. ² But he told them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you with certainty, there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another. They will all be torn down.”
³ Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
⁴ Jesus answered them, “See to it that no one deceives you, ⁵ because many will come in my name and say, ‘I’m the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. ⁶ You’ll hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you aren’t alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet, ⁷ because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains.”
⁹ Future Persecution, Apostasy, and Evangelism
“Then they’ll hand you over to suffer and will kill you, and you’ll be hated by all the nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many people will fall away, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, ¹² and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. ¹³ But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
¹⁵ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Anyone who’s on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house, ¹⁸ and anyone who’s in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
¹⁹ “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Pray that it may not be in winter or on a Sabbath when you flee, ²¹ because at that time there will be great suffering, the kind that hasn’t happened from the beginning of the world until now and certainly won’t ever happen again. ²² If those days hadn’t been limited, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be limited.
²³ “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’, don’t believe it, ²⁴ because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and display great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Remember, I’ve told you this beforehand. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Look! He’s in the wilderness,’ don’t go out looking for him. And if they say, ‘Look! He’s in the storeroom,’ don’t believe it, ²⁷ because just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there’s a corpse, there the vultures will gather.
²⁹ The Coming of the Son of Man
“Immediately after the troubles of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’
³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all ‘the tribes of the land will mourn’ when they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹ He’ll send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they’ll gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another.”
³² The Lesson from the Fig Tree
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things, you’ll know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. ³⁴ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
³⁶ The Unknown Day and Hour of Messiah’s Return
“No one knows when that day or hour will come—not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father, ³⁷ because just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. ³⁸ In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. ³⁹ They were unaware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ At that time, two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left behind. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left behind.
⁴² “So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting him.”
⁴⁵ The Faithful or the Wicked Servant
“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others their food at the right time? ⁴⁶ How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! ⁴⁷ I tell all of you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
⁴⁸ “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master has been delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks, ⁵⁰ that servant’s master will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know. ⁵¹ Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹ Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples told him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what beautiful buildings!”
² “Do you see these large buildings?” Jesus responded. “Not one stone here will be left on another that will not be torn down.”
³ Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were asking him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when these things will be put into effect?”
⁵ Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, ‘I AM,’ and they will deceive many people. ⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, stop being alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet, ⁸ because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places. These things are only the beginning of the birth pains.”
⁹ Future Persecution and Evangelism
“As for yourselves, be on your guard! People will hand you over to local councils, and you will be beaten in their synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings to testify to them because of me. ¹⁰ But first, the gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ When they take you away and hand you over for trial, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that time, because it won’t be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”
¹⁴ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration standing where it should not be (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ The one who is on his housetop must not come down and go into his house to take anything out of it, ¹⁶ and the one who’s in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
¹⁷ “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it may not be in winter, ¹⁹ because those days will be a time of suffering, a kind that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and certainly will never happen again. ²⁰ If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen, he has shortened those days.
²¹ “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’, or, ‘Look! There he is!’ don’t believe it, ²² because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens to deceive, if possible, the elect. ²³ So be on your guard! I’ve told you everything before it happens.”
²⁴ The Coming of the Son of Man
“But after the suffering of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’
²⁶ Then people will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. ²⁷ He’ll send out his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”
²⁸ The Lesson from the Fig Tree
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. ³⁰ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation will not disappear until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
³² The Unknown Day and Hour of the Messiah’s Return
“No one knows when that day or hour will come—not the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be careful! Watch out! Because you don’t know when the time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge, each with his own work, and he ordered the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵ So keep on watching, because you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening, at three o’clock in the morning, or at dawn. ³⁶ Otherwise, he may come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷ I’m telling you what I’m telling everyone: Be alert!”

²⁰ The Jewish leaders said, “This sanctuary has been under construction for 46 years, and you’re going to rebuild it in three days?”

⁷ then I will eliminate Israel from the land that I gave them and from the Temple that I’ve consecrated for my name. I will throw them out of my sight, and Israel will become the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide! ⁸ “This Temple will become a pile of ruins. Everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land and to this Temple?’ ⁹ They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and served them. That’s why the Lord has brought all of this disaster on them.’”

²⁰ then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide! ²¹ “Furthermore, even though this Temple seems so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land and to this Temple?’ ²² They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors, who brought them from the land of Egypt, adopted other gods, worshipped them, and served them, therefore the LORD has brought all of this disaster on them.’”

¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a desert; Zion has become like a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. ¹¹ Our holy Temple and our splendor, where our ancestors praised you, have become a conflagration of fire, and all our dearest places have become ruins.

¹¹ Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout for bandits in your eyes? Look, I’m watching,” declares the LORD. ¹² “Go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. ¹³ Now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “I spoke to you over and over again, but you didn’t listen. I called to you, but you didn’t answer. ¹⁴ Just as I did to Shiloh, I’ll do to the house in which you trust and which is called by my name, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors.

⁶ then I’ll make this house like Shiloh and make this city into a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”’”

⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD that this house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be without an inhabitant?” Then all the people gathered around Jeremiah at the LORD’s Temple.

¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Zion will be a plowed field, and Jerusalem a ruin. The Temple Mount will be a wooded hill.”’

⁶ He plowed under his Temple like a garden, spoiling his tent. The LORD abolished in Zion both festivals and Sabbaths. In his fierce wrath he despised both king and priest. ⁷ The Lord rejected his altar, disavowing his sanctuary. He gave up her palace walls to the control of the enemy. They shouted in the LORD’s Temple, as though they were attending a day of celebration. ⁸ The LORD planned to destroy the walls of cherished Zion. He measured them with his line. He did not withhold his hand from destruction. He made both ramparts and defensive walls mourn; they languish together.

¹ Zion’s Punishment How tarnished the gold has become, the finest gold debased! Sacred stones have been scattered at every street corner.

¹⁸ Because Mount Zion is desolate; foxes roam around it.

²⁰ The Temple Defiled“As for his beautiful ornament, he set it up in majesty, but they made detestable images and loathsome idols. Therefore, I’ll give them something loathsome— ²¹ I’ll give it as plunder into the control of strangers and as the spoils of war to the wicked who will invade the land to profane it. ²² I’ll turn my face away from them so that they’ll defile my treasured place. Robbers will enter and profane it!

²⁶ Then after the 62 weeks, the anointed one will be cut down (but not for himself). Then the people of the Coming Commander will destroy both the city and the Sanctuary. Its ending will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war, with desolations having been decreed. ²⁷ He will make a binding covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he will suspend both the sacrifice and grain offerings. Destructive people will cause desolation on the pinnacle until it is complete and what has been decreed is poured out on the desolator.’”

¹² “Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the Temple Mount like a forest high place.”

¹ Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan Open your doors, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars.

² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city.

² But he told them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you with certainty, there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another. They will all be torn down.”

² “Do you see these large buildings?” Jesus responded. “Not one stone here will be left on another that will not be torn down.”

⁴⁴ They will level you to the ground—you and those who live within your city limits. They will not leave one stone on another within your walls, because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”
⁴⁵ Confrontation in the Temple over Money
Then Jesus went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling things. ⁴⁶ He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a hideout for bandits!”
⁴⁷ Then he began teaching in the Temple every day. The high priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him, ⁴⁸ but they couldn’t find a way to do it, because all the people were eager to hear him.

¹³ They had false witnesses stand up and say, “This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

⁶ One asked the man dressed in linen clothes, who was standing above the waters of the river, ‘How long until the fulfillment of the wonders?’

⁸ Daniel’s Unanswered Question“I heard, but I didn’t understand. So I asked, ‘Sir, what happens next?’

³ Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

¹⁵ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

³ Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were asking him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when these things will be put into effect?”

¹⁴ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration standing where it should not be (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

²⁰ Signs of the End
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then understand that its devastation is approaching. ²¹ Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in the countryside must not go into it,

²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
²⁸ “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is approaching.”

³² I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until all these things take place.

²¹ When Peter saw him, he said, “Lord, what about him?”
²² Jesus told him, “If it’s my will for him to remain until I come back, how does that concern you? You must keep following me!”

⁶ Now those who had gathered together began to ask Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He answered them, “It isn’t for you to know what times or periods the Father has fixed by his own authority.

⁸ For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Don’t let the prophets and diviners who are among you deceive you, and don’t listen to them when they tell you their dreams.

² “Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!”

¹⁷ From then on, Jesus began to announce, “Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!”

⁴ Jesus answered them, “See to it that no one deceives you, ⁵ because many will come in my name and say, ‘I’m the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people.

¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people,

²³ “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’, don’t believe it, ²⁴ because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and display great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Remember, I’ve told you this beforehand.

⁵ Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, ‘I AM,’ and they will deceive many people.

²¹ “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’, or, ‘Look! There he is!’ don’t believe it, ²² because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens to deceive, if possible, the elect. ²³ So be on your guard! I’ve told you everything before it happens.”

²³ People will say to you, ‘Look! There he is!’ or ‘Look! Here he is!’ But don’t go and chase after him.

⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. Yet if another man comes in his own name, you will accept him.

²⁴ That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”

³⁶ For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. ³⁷ After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered.

⁹ Now in that city there was a man named Simon. He was practicing occult arts and thrilling the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. ¹⁰ Everyone from the least to the greatest paid close attention to him, saying, “This is what we call the great power of God!”

¹³ Such people are false apostles, dishonest workers who are masquerading as apostles of the Messiah. ¹⁴ And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is not surprising if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their doom will match their deeds!

⁶ Living in the LightDo not let anyone deceive you with meaningless words, for it is because of these things that God becomes angry with those who disobey.

³ Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for it will not come unless the rebellion takes place first and the man of sin, who is destined for destruction, is revealed.

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the power of Satan. He will use every kind of power, including miraculous signs, lying wonders, ¹⁰ and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them. ¹¹ For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

¹³ But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse as they deceive others and are themselves deceived.

¹ Test What People SayDear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁷ Reject False TeachersFor many deceivers have gone out into the world. They refuse to acknowledge Jesus the Messiah as having become human. Any such person is a deceiver and an antichrist.

³ How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!

⁹ The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.

¹ Davidic
Confidence in the LORD The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom will I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom will I be afraid? ² When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors come near me to devour my flesh, they stumble and fall. ³ If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear. If a war is launched against me, I will even trust in that situation.

¹ To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah, to the tune of “The Maidens”.
God is the Refuge of His People God is our refuge and strength, a great help in times of distress. ² Therefore we will not be frightened when the earth roars, when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas,

⁷ He need not fear a bad report, for his heart is unshaken, since he trusts in the LORD.

²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden disaster, or the devastation that comes to the wicked. ²⁶ Indeed, the LORD will be your confidence, and he will keep your foot from being caught.

¹² “Don’t call conspiracy everything that this people calls conspiracy, and don’t fear what they fear, or live in terror.

¹² “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die, descendants of mere men, who have been made like grass? ¹³ As a result, you have forgotten the LORD who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth’s foundations, and you live in constant fear every day because of the oppressor’s fury, since he’s ready to destroy. Now where is the oppressor’s fury?

¹⁹ Jeremiah’s Lament for His People“My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the aching of my heart! My heart pounds within me; I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm for war. ²⁰ Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains.

⁶ You’ll hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you aren’t alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet, ⁷ because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains.”

⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, stop being alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet, ⁸ because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places. These things are only the beginning of the birth pains.”

⁸ He said, “Be careful that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name and say, ‘I AM’ and, ‘The time has come.’ Don’t follow them.

¹⁸ And yet not a hair on your head will be lost. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will protect your lives.”

²⁸ “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is approaching.”

⁵ “During those days, it wasn’t safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories. ⁶ Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress.

² I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and everyone will fight against his brother, everyone against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

²¹ “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah. Tell him, ‘I’m going to shake the heavens and the earth. ²² I will overthrow royal thrones. I will annihilate the strength of national governments. I will overthrow chariots along with those who drive them. Both horses and their riders will fall, each one by means of his comrade’s weapon.

² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city. ³ Then the LORD will go out to battle against those nations, waging war as in a day of battle.

¹³ At that time, they will be stricken with a terrible panic from the LORD. Everyone will attack each other.

⁸ because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places. These things are only the beginning of the birth pains.”

¹⁹ I will display wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will become dark, and the moon turn to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

²⁸ One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius.

²⁷ The expression “once more” signifies the removal of what can be shaken, that is, what he has made, so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

² Then I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow, and a victor’s crown had been given to him. He went out as a conqueror to conquer.
³ The Vision of the Second Seal OpenedWhen the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” ⁴ A second horse went out. It was fiery red, and its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.
⁵ The Vision of the Third Seal OpenedWhen the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a scale in his hand. ⁶ I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “One day’s ration of wheat for a day’s wage, or three day’s ration of barley for a day’s wage! But don’t damage the olive oil or the wine!”
⁷ The Vision of the Fourth Seal OpenedWhen the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” ⁸ I looked, and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. They were given authority over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals of the earth.
⁹ The Vision of the Fifth Seal OpenedWhen the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, “Holy and true Sovereign, how long will it be before you judge and take revenge on those living on the earth who shed our blood?” ¹¹ Each of them was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers was completed, who would be killed as they themselves had been.
¹² The Vision of the Sixth Seal OpenedThen I saw the lamb open the sixth seal. There was a powerful earthquake. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon turned as red as blood.

²⁹ The Coming of the Son of Man
“Immediately after the troubles of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’
³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all ‘the tribes of the land will mourn’ when they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.

²⁵ The Coming of the Son of Man
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.

¹⁶ Future Persecutions
“Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people who will hand you over to the local councils and whip you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, to testify to them and to unbelievers. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, don’t worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you. ²⁰ It won’t be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
²¹ “Brother will hand brother over for execution, and a father his child. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, because I tell all of you with certainty that you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, and a slave is not above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave to be like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they do the same to those of his household!”

⁶ The rest grabbed the king’s servants, treated them brutally, and then killed them.

³⁴ “That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. ³⁵ As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”

⁹ Future Persecution, Apostasy, and Evangelism
“Then they’ll hand you over to suffer and will kill you, and you’ll be hated by all the nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many people will fall away, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

⁹ Future Persecution and Evangelism
“As for yourselves, be on your guard! People will hand you over to local councils, and you will be beaten in their synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings to testify to them because of me. ¹⁰ But first, the gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ When they take you away and hand you over for trial, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that time, because it won’t be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”

⁴⁹ That is why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,’ ⁵⁰ so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation!

²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

² You’ll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he’s serving God. ³ They’ll do this because they haven’t known the Father or me.

³ So they arrested them and placed them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who heard their message believed, and the men grew to number about 5,000.
⁵ The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes met in Jerusalem ⁶ with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They made Peter and John stand in front of them and began asking, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

¹⁷ The Apostles are Tried before the Jewish CouncilThen the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, ¹⁸ arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. ¹⁹ But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them,

⁴⁰ After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go.

¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at Stephen, grabbed him, and brought him before the Council.
¹³ They had false witnesses stand up and say, “This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ Then everyone who was seated in the Council glared at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

⁵⁷ But they shouted out loud, stopped listening, and together they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ ran him outside of the city, and began to stone him to death. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” After he had said this, he died.

³ But Saul kept trying to destroy the church. Going into one house after another, he began dragging off men and women and throwing them in prison.

⁴ He dropped to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

¹ An Angel Frees Peter from PrisonAbout that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them. ² He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. ³ When he saw how this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter, too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ When he arrested Peter, Herod put him in prison and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning to bring him out to the people after Passover season.

²² The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods. ²³ After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. ²⁴ Having received these orders, he put them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in leg irons.
²⁵ Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors immediately flew open, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

³⁰ The whole city was in chaos. The people rushed together, grabbed Paul, dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the doors were sealed shut.
³¹ The crowd was trying to kill Paul when a report reached the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³⁰ Paul is Brought before the Jewish CouncilThe next day, since the tribune wanted to find out exactly what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, he released him and ordered the high priests and the entire Council to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

¹ Paul Presents His Case to FelixFive days later, the high priest Ananias arrived with certain elders and Tertullus, an attorney, and they summarized their case against Paul before the governor. ² When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus opened the prosecution by saying:
“Your Excellency Felix, since we are enjoying lasting peace because of you, and since reforms for this nation are being brought about through your foresight, ³ we always and everywhere acknowledge it with profound gratitude. ⁴ But so as not to detain you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. ⁵ For we have found this man a perfect pest and an agitator among all Jews throughout the world. He is a ringleader in the sect of the Nazarenes ⁶ and even tried to profane the Temple, but we arrested him. ^{7 8} By examining him for yourself, you will be able to find out from him everything of which we accuse him.”
⁹ The Jewish leaders supported his accusations by asserting that these things were true.

¹ Paul Appeals to the EmperorThree days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² The high priests and Jewish leaders informed him of their charges against Paul, urging

¹¹ If I’m guilty and have done something that deserves death, I’m willing to die. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to the emperor!”
¹² Festus talked it over with the council and then answered, “To the emperor you have appealed; to the emperor you will go!”

²² Agrippa told Festus, “I would like to hear the man.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”
²³ The next day, Agrippa and Bernice arrived with much fanfare and went into the auditorium along with the tribunes and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all you men who are present with us! You see this man about whom the whole Jewish nation petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ I find that he has not done anything deserving of death. But since he has appealed to his Majesty, I have decided to send him.

² “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, that I can defend myself today against all the accusations of the Jewish leaders, ³ since you are especially familiar with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen patiently to me. ⁴ All the Jews know how I lived from the earliest days of my youth with my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they would but testify to it, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the standards of our strictest religious party.
⁶ “And now I stand here on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our ancestors. ⁷ Our twelve tribes, worshiping day and night with intense devotion, hope to attain it. It is because of this hope, O King, that I am accused by the Jews. ⁸ Why is it thought incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead? ⁹ Indeed, I myself thought it my duty to take extreme measures against the name of Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the high priests and locked many of the saints in prison. And when I cast my vote against them, they were put to death. ¹¹ I would even punish them frequently in every synagogue and try to make them blaspheme. Raging furiously against them, I would hunt them down even in distant cities.

¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, ¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

¹³ For the Lord’s sake submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the king as supreme,

¹² Suffering as a ChristianDear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ Instead, because you are participating in the sufferings of the Messiah, keep on rejoicing, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of the Messiah, you are blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God is resting on you.

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.

¹² The Priority of the Gospel in EverythingNow I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually caused the gospel to advance.

²⁸ and that you are not intimidated by your opponents in any way. This is evidence that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved—and all because of God.

³ so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined. ⁴ In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened.

⁵ This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering.

¹⁹ When they hand you over, don’t worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you. ²⁰ It won’t be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

¹¹ When they take you away and hand you over for trial, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that time, because it won’t be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹¹ When people bring you before synagogue leaders, rulers, or authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, ¹² because at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you are to say.”

¹¹ Then God asked him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes him unable to speak, or deaf, or able to see, or blind, or lame? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now, go! I myself will help you with your speech, and I’ll teach you what you are to say.”

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁹ The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth.

¹² because at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you are to say.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so that they might understand the Scriptures.

⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages as the Spirit gave them that ability.

⁸ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, ¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ He is ‘the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
¹³ Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus.

³¹ When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak messages from God boldly.
³² The Believers Share Their PossessionsNow all the believers were one in heart and soul, and nobody called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything they owned. ³³ With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was on them all,

¹⁰ But they could neither refute the wisdom nor withstand the Spirit by which he kept speaking.

²⁵ As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became afraid and said, “For the present you may go. When I get a chance, I will send for you again.”

²⁸ Agrippa asked Paul, “Can you so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?”

¹⁹ Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel,

³ At the same time also pray for us—that God would open before us a door for the word so that we may tell the secret about the Messiah, for which I have been imprisoned. ⁴ May I reveal it as clearly as I should!

¹⁶ At my first trial no one came to my defense. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be held against them! ¹⁷ However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles could hear it. I was rescued out of a lion’s mouth.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to everyone generously without a rebuke, and it will be given to him.

⁴ “Beware of your neighbors, and don’t trust any of your relatives. For all of your relatives act deceitfully, and every friend goes around as a slanderer.

⁶ Indeed, even your brothers and your father’s family conspire against you. Even they cry out after you loudly. Don’t believe them, even though they speak friendly words to you.

⁵ Don’t trust your friends, don’t confide in a companion, watch what you say to your wife. ⁶ The son disrespects his father, the daughter rebels against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies are the people of his own house.

²¹ “Brother will hand brother over for execution, and a father his child. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death.

¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

⁵³ They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁹ As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

² He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword.

¹³ ‘I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. Yet you hold on to my name and have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives.

⁹ The Vision of the Fifth Seal OpenedWhen the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.

¹¹ Our brothers conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to their lives even in the face of death.

¹¹ “How blessed are you whenever people insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely because of me!

²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.

⁹ Future Persecution, Apostasy, and Evangelism
“Then they’ll hand you over to suffer and will kill you, and you’ll be hated by all the nations because of my name.

¹³ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”

²² “How blessed are you whenever people hate you, avoid you, insult you, and slander you because of the Son of Man!

⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil.

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.

²¹ They will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.

¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world.

¹⁶ since I’m going to show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but rather Jesus the Messiah as Lord, and ourselves as merely your servants for Jesus’ sake.

¹¹ While we are alive, we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our mortal bodies.

¹⁰ That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the Messiah’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

²⁹ For you have been given the privilege for the Messiah’s sake not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.

¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of the Messiah, you are blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God is resting on you.

³ You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary.

⁴⁵ Then the army told Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who brought about this great deliverance in Israel? As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground, because today he did this with God’s help.”

²⁹ If anyone should arise to pursue you and seek your life, may the life of your majesty be bound up with the LORD your God in a bundle of the living, and may he sling out the lives of your enemies from the pocket of a sling.

¹¹ Then she said, “Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don’t do any more damage! Otherwise, they’ll destroy my son!”
So he promised, “As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son’s head will fall to the ground!”

³⁰ Indeed, even the hairs on your head have all been counted!

⁷ Why, even all the hairs on your head have been counted! Stop being afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows.”

³⁴ So I urge you to eat something, for it will help you survive, since none of you will lose so much as a hair from his head.”

¹³ I believe that I will see the LORD’s goodness in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait on the LORD. Be courageous, and he will strengthen your heart. Wait on the LORD!

⁷ Be silent in the LORD’s presence and wait patiently for him. Don’t be angry because of the one whose way prospers or the one who implements evil schemes.

¹ To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Prayer for Help and Praise to God I waited expectantly for the LORD, and he took notice of me and heard my cry.

¹³ But the person who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁵ But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.”

⁷ eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good;

³ Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet observe, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

⁴ For everything that was written long ago was written to instruct us, so that we might have hope through the endurance and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.

³ In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring.

⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of the Messiah.

¹¹ But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope.

¹⁵ And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it.

³⁶ For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you can receive what he has promised.

³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

⁷ Be PatientSo be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious crop from his land, being patient with it until it receives the fall and the spring rains. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Do not complain about each other, brothers, or you will be condemned. Look! The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance and have seen the purpose of the Lord—that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

⁹ John’s Vision of the MessiahI am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.

² ‘I know what you’ve been doing, your toil, and your endurance. I also know that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and have found them to be false. ³ You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary.

¹⁰ Because you have obeyed my command to endure, I will keep you from the hour of testing that is coming to the whole world to test those living on the earth.

¹⁰ If anyone is to be taken captive, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with a sword he will be killed.
The Vision of the Beast from the EarthHere is a call for endurance and faith of the saints:

¹² A Call for EnduranceHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to their faithfulness in Jesus:

²⁷ He will make a binding covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he will suspend both the sacrifice and grain offerings. Destructive people will cause desolation on the pinnacle until it is complete and what has been decreed is poured out on the desolator.’”

¹⁵ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),

⁴³ because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side.

⁷ The Coming Wars and Revolutions
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?”

¹⁷ Then one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the plain. Escape to the hills, or you’ll be swept away!”

²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back as she lingered behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁰ Whoever feared the message from the LORD among Pharaoh’s officials made his servants and livestock flee into shelters. ²¹ But whoever did not pay attention to the message from the LORD left his servants and his livestock outside in the fields.

²⁶ Then he told the community, “Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won’t be destroyed along with all their sins.”

³ The prudent person sees trouble ahead and hides, but the naive continue on and suffer the consequences.

¹ The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north.

¹¹ Now when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come on! Let’s go to Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram. And now we’re living in Jerusalem.’”

¹² Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin to take possession of his property there among the people.

¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵ The one who is on his housetop must not come down and go into his house to take anything out of it,

³¹ “The person who is on the housetop that day must not come down to get his belongings out of his house. The person in the field, too, must not turn back to what’s left behind. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

⁴ The Warning to Leave BabylonThen I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you don’t participate in her sins and also suffer from her diseases.

¹⁴ Cascading Consequences“But if you won’t listen to me and obey all these commands, ¹⁵ and if you refuse my statutes, loathe my ordinances, and fail to carry out all of my commands, thereby breaching my covenant, ¹⁶ then I will certainly do this to you: I’ll appoint sudden terror to infect you like tuberculosis and fever. Your eyes will fail and your life will waste away. You’ll plant in vain, because your enemies will consume what you plant. ¹⁷ I’ll set my face against you so that you’ll be defeated before your enemies. Those who hate you will have dominion over you and you’ll keep fleeing even when no one is pursuing you.
¹⁸ “If, despite all of this, you still don’t listen to me, then I’ll punish you seven times more on account of your sins. ¹⁹ I’ll break your mighty pride. I’ll make the heavens to be like iron and the ground like bronze. ²⁰ Your strength will be spent in vain, because your land won’t yield its produce and the trees of the land won’t yield their fruit.
²¹ “If you live life contrary to me and remain unwilling to listen to me, then I’ll add to your wounds seven times more on account of your sins. ²² I’ll send wild beasts against you from the open country to deprive you of your children, destroy your cattle, and decrease your number so that your roads become desolate.
²³ “If, despite these things, you still won’t return to me, but live life contrary to me, ²⁴ then I’ll certainly oppose you. I’ll take vengeance against you seven fold on account of your sins. ²⁵ I’ll bring the sword against you to execute the vengeance of my covenant. When you gather in your cities, I’ll send a pestilence. As a result, you’ll be delivered into the control of your enemies. ²⁶ When I destroy the source of your bread, ten women will bake bread in one oven. Then they’ll return back your bread by weight. You’ll eat but won’t be satisfied.
²⁷ “If, after all of this time, you don’t listen to me, but instead live life contrary to me, ²⁸ I’ll oppose you with vicious rage. Indeed, I myself will punish you seven fold on account of your sins. ²⁹ At that time, you’ll eat the flesh of your sons and you’ll eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I’ll destroy your high places and cut down your sun pillars. Then I’ll cast your dead bodies on top of the bodies of your idols. I’ll loathe you. ³¹ I’ll lay your cities to waste and destroy your sanctuaries so I don’t have to smell the scent of your soothing odors. ³² I’ll make the land so desolate that your enemies who live in it will be astonished.”
³³ Captivity among the Nations“I’ll scatter you among the nations and draw the sword after you so that your land becomes desolate and your towns become ruins.

¹⁵ Reversal of Blessings“But if you don’t obey the LORD your God and faithfully carry out all his commands and statutes that I’m giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you and overwhelm you.
¹⁶ “Cursed will you be in the city and cursed will you be in the country.
¹⁷ “Cursed will be your grain basket and your kneading bowl.
¹⁸ “Cursed will your children be, as well as the produce of your land, the offspring of your beasts and cattle, and the offspring of your flock.
¹⁹ “Cursed will you be in your comings and goings.”
²⁰ Diseases and Drought“The LORD will send the curse among you, will confuse you, and will rebuke you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and perish quickly because of your evil deeds, since you will have forsaken him. ²¹ The LORD will cause you to be ill with long-lasting diseases until you are wiped out from the land that you are entering to possess. ²² The LORD will afflict you with tuberculosis, fever, inflammation, high fever, drought, blight, and mildew. These will attack you until you are completely destroyed. ²³ The sky above your head will become bronze while the ground beneath you will become iron. ²⁴ The LORD will change the rain on your land to powder and dust. It will come down from the sky until you are exterminated.”
²⁵ From Defeat to Exile“The LORD will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You’ll go out against them in one direction, but you’ll flee from them in seven directions. Consequently, you’ll be in a state of great terror throughout all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ Your dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to chase them away.
²⁷ “The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, skin disease, and festering rashes, and none of them will be curable. ²⁸ The LORD will afflict you with insanity, blindness, and mental confusion. ²⁹ As a result, you’ll wander aimlessly in broad daylight just as a blind person wanders in darkness. You won’t prosper in life. Instead you’ll be oppressed and plundered all day long, with no deliverer.
³⁰ You’ll be engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You’ll build a house but you won’t live in it. You’ll plant a vineyard but you won’t harvest it. ³¹ Your ox will be slaughtered in front of you, and you won’t be able to eat it. Your donkey will be stolen from you while you watch and won’t be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be handed to your enemies and there will be no deliverer. ³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you watch, and you won’t be able to approach them at all, and you’ll be powerless to help.
³³ “A people whom you don’t know will devour what your land and labor produces. You’ll be only oppressed and discouraged continuously ³⁴ until you are driven insane from what your eyes will see.
³⁵ “The LORD will inflict you with incurable boils on your knees and legs, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
³⁶ “The LORD will banish you and your king whom you will appoint over you to go to a nation that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you’ll serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ You’ll become a desolation and a proverb, and you’ll be mocked among the people where the LORD will drive you.”
³⁸ Complete Reversal“You’ll plant many seeds in a field, but your harvest will be small because the locust will consume it. ³⁹ You’ll plant a vineyard, but you won’t drink wine or harvest any grapes, because worms will consume it. ⁴⁰ You’ll have olive trees throughout your territory, but you won’t be able to anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off the trees. ⁴¹ You’ll bear sons and daughters, but they won’t belong to you, because they’ll go into captivity. ⁴² Whirling locusts will consume every tree and the produce of your land. ⁴³ The foreigner in your midst will be elevated higher and higher over you, while you are brought low little by little. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you won’t lend to him. He’ll be the head, but you’ll be the tail. ⁴⁵ All these curses will come upon you and will overwhelm you until you are exterminated, because you didn’t obey the LORD your God to keep his commands and statutes, which he had commanded you. ⁴⁶ These curses will serve as a sign and wonder for you and your descendants as long as you live.”
⁴⁷ Servitude and Bondage“Because you didn’t serve the LORD your God joyfully and wholeheartedly, despite the abundance of everything you have, ⁴⁸ you’ll serve your enemies whom the LORD your God will send against you. You will serve in famine and in drought, in nakedness, and in lack of everything. They’ll set a yoke of iron upon your neck until they have exterminated you.
⁴⁹ “The LORD will raise a distant nation against you from the other side of the earth. Swooping down like a vulture, ⁵⁰ it will be a nation whose language you don’t understand, whose stern appearance neither shows regard nor extends grace to anyone whether old or young. ⁵¹ Its army will consume the offspring of your animals and the produce of your soil until you are exterminated. They will leave you without your grain, wine, oil, the increase of your cattle, and the lamb of your flock, until you are completely destroyed. ⁵² They’ll besiege all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you have trusted collapse throughout the land. Indeed, they will besiege all your cities, which the LORD your God gave you.”
⁵³ Cannibalism“You’ll eat your own children—the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God gave you—on account of the siege and the distress with which your enemy will oppress you. ⁵⁴ Even the compassionate man among you—the very sensitive one—will look with evil in his eyes toward his brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving sons, whom he spared. ⁵⁵ He will withhold from each of them the flesh of his sons that he is eating—since there will be nothing left—on account of the siege and distress with which your enemy will oppress you in all your cities. ⁵⁶ The most tender and sensitive lady among you, who doesn’t venture to touch the soles of her feet to the ground on account of her daintiness, will look with hostility in her eyes against her beloved husband, her sons, and her daughters. ⁵⁷ She will eat her afterbirth and her newborn children secretly—since there will be nothing left—on account of the siege and distress with which your enemy will oppress you in your cities.”
⁵⁸ Reduction in Population“If you aren’t careful to observe all the words of this Law that have been written in this book, instructing you to fear this glorious and awesome name of the LORD your God, ⁵⁹ then he will inflict extraordinary plagues on you and your children, great and lasting plagues, and severe and lasting illnesses. ⁶⁰ He will inflict on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they won’t be curable. ⁶¹ Moreover, the LORD will inflict you with illnesses and plagues that were not written in this Book of the Law, until you are exterminated. ⁶² Because you will not have obeyed the LORD your God, very few of you will be left—instead of you being as numerous as the stars in the heavens. ⁶³ Just as the LORD delighted to prosper and increase you, so now the LORD will delight to destroy, exterminate, and banish you from the land that you are about to enter to possess.”
⁶⁴ Scattering among the Nations“He’ll scatter you among the peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you’ll serve other gods made of wood and stones, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. ⁶⁵ Among those nations you’ll have no rest. There’ll be no resting place for the soles of your feet. Instead, the LORD will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a despairing spirit. ⁶⁶ You’ll cling to life, being fearful by both night and day, with no assurance of survival. ⁶⁷ In the morning you’ll say, ‘I wish it were evening.’ Yet in the evening you’ll say, “I wish it were morning,” on account of what you’ll dread and what you’ll see. ⁶⁸ Finally, the LORD will bring you back to Egypt by ship, a place that I said you’ll never see again. There you’ll try to sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

¹⁹ because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself and say: ‘I will have a peaceful life, even though I’m determined to be stubborn.’ By doing this he will be sweeping away both watered and parched ground alike.’
²⁰ “The LORD won’t forgive such a person. Instead, the zealous anger of the LORD will blaze against him. All the curses that were written in this book will fall on him. Then the LORD will wipe out his memory from under heaven. ²¹ The LORD will set him apart from all the tribes of Israel for destruction, according to the curses of the covenant that were written in this Book of the Law.”
²² A Reminder of Sodom and Gomorrah“Then the generation to come—your descendants after you and the foreigners who come from afar—will see plagues and illnesses infecting the land that the LORD will inflict on it. ²³ The whole land will be covered with salt pits and burning sulfur, with nothing planted, nothing sprouting, and producing no vegetation—overthrown like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, when the LORD overthrew them in his raging fury. ²⁴ All the nations will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land? What is the meaning of this fierce and great anger?’ ²⁵ Then they will answer themselves, ‘Because they’ve abandoned the covenant of their LORD, the God of their ancestors that he had made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. ²⁶ They followed and worshipped other gods whom they had not known and whom he did not assign to them. ²⁷ For this reason, the anger of the LORD raged against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that were written in this book. ²⁸ The LORD uprooted them from the land in his anger, wrath, and great fury, deporting them to another land, and that’s the way things are today.’

³⁴ The LORD’s Response“Is this not kept in reserve, sealed up with me in my treasury?

⁴³ “Sing for joy, nations! Sing for joy, people who belong to him! For he’ll avenge the blood of his servants, turn on his adversary, and cleanse both his land and his people.”

²² May their dining tables entrap them, and become a snare for their allies. ²³ May their eyes be blinded and may their bodies tremble continuously. ²⁴ May you pour out your fury on them. May your burning anger overtake them. ²⁵ May their camp become desolate and their tents remain unoccupied. ²⁶ For they persecute those whom you have struck, and they brag about the pain of those you have wounded. ²⁷ May you punish them for their crimes; may they receive no verdict of innocence from you. ²⁸ May they be erased from the Book of Life, and their names not be written with the righteous.

⁷ as they bring retribution to nations and punishment to peoples, ⁸ binding their kings with chains, their officials with iron bands, ⁹ and executing the judgment written against them. This is honor for all the ones he loves. Hallelujah!

⁸ For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for Zion’s cause.

² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

⁴ “For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year for my redeeming work had come.

¹² I’ll consign you to the sword, and all of you will bend down for the slaughter— because when I called, you didn’t answer, when I spoke, you didn’t listen; but you did what was evil in my sight, and chose what I took no pleasure in.”
¹³ The Righteous and Wicked ContrastedTherefore, this is what the LORD says: “See, my servants will eat, but you’ll go hungry; my servants will drink, but you’ll go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you’ll be put to shame. ¹⁴ My servants will sing in gladness of heart, but you’ll cry for help from anguish of heart, and you’ll howl from brokenness of spirit. ¹⁵ You’ll leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death permanently. ¹⁶ Then whoever takes an oath by the God of faithfulness, and whoever takes an oath in the land, will swear by the God of faithfulness, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

⁶ Flee from Babylon, and each of you, escape with your life! Don’t be destroyed because of her guilt, for it’s time for the LORD’s vengeance. He is paying back what is due to her.

²⁴ Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city: to restrain transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for lawlessness, to establish everlasting righteousness, to conclude vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. ²⁵ So be informed and discern that seven weeks and 62 weeks will elapse from the issuance of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed Commander. The plaza and moat will be rebuilt, though in troubled times.

⁷ The time for your judgment has now come; payday is here— and Israel knows it. The prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is insane. Because of your great sin, the hatred against you is great.

¹ Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan Open your doors, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars. ² Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen while the stately trees are destroyed. Wail, oak trees of Bashan, for the old growth forest has been cut down. ³ Hear the wailing of the shepherds, for the magnificence of the forest is ruined! Hear the roar of the lions, for the Jordan’s arrogance is ruined!

¹ The LORD Comes to the Mount of Olives“Look! A day is coming for the LORD, when your plunder will be divided among you. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city.

¹ The Great Day of the LORD“The coming day is certainly going to burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and all who practice evil will be stubble—the coming day will set them on fire,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

²² Now all this happened to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said,

¹⁹ because those days will be a time of suffering, a kind that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and certainly will never happen again. ²⁰ If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen, he has shortened those days.

⁵ But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

⁷ Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.

⁵⁶ The most tender and sensitive lady among you, who doesn’t venture to touch the soles of her feet to the ground on account of her daintiness, will look with hostility in her eyes against her beloved husband, her sons, and her daughters. ⁵⁷ She will eat her afterbirth and her newborn children secretly—since there will be nothing left—on account of the siege and distress with which your enemy will oppress you in your cities.”

¹⁰ With their own hands, compassionate women boil their own children— they become their food— when my beloved people were destroyed.

⁴¹ They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”

⁴⁴ The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

¹⁹ “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁷ “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”

²⁹ because the time is surely coming when people will say, ‘How blessed are the women who couldn’t bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’

¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

¹² Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!
¹⁵ The Messiah is the Mediator of a New CovenantThis is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶ For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive.

²⁶ For if we choose to go on sinning after we have learned the full truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who violates the Law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” ²⁹ How much more severe a punishment do you think that person deserves who tramples on God’s Son, treats as common the blood of the covenant by which it was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the one who said, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and to be generous, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

¹ Advice for Rich PeopleNow listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you.

¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?

⁵ “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please, what I’m going to do to my vineyard. “I’m going to take away its protective hedge, and it will be devoured; I’ll break down its wall, and it will be trampled.

¹⁸ Your holy people took possession for a little while, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.

¹² The Rule of GodThis is what the LORD says: “See, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; and you will nurse, and you will be carried on her hip, and bounced upon her knees.

¹⁹ “I will put up signs among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations—to Tarshish, Libya, and Lydia, (who draw the bow), to Tubal and Greece, to the far off coastlands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. Then they will proclaim my glory among the nations.

¹⁵ He rejected all the valiant men— the LORD, in my midst. He set a time to meet with me to crush my young warriors. The LORD has trampled, as in a winepress, the fair virgin that is Judah.

¹³ The Duration of the Desolation“Then I heard one holy person speaking, and another holy person addressed the one who was speaking: ‘In the vision about the regular burnt offering, how much time elapses while the desecration terrifies and both the Holy Place and the Heavenly Army are trampled?’

⁷ “I heard the man dressed in linen clothes, who was standing above the waters of the river as he lifted his right and left hands to heaven and swore by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and a half. When the shattering of the power of the holy people has occurred, all these things will conclude.”

¹¹ Even so, from where the sun rises to where it sets my name will be great among the Gentiles. Incense will be brought to me everywhere, along with pure offerings, because my name will be great among the Gentiles,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

²⁵ The Restoration of IsraelFor I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.

² But don’t measure the courtyard outside the Temple. Leave that out, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the Holy City for 42 months.

³ when its waters roar and rage, when the mountains tremble despite their pride. Interlude

³ The rivers have flooded, LORD; the rivers have spoken aloud, the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves. ⁴ More than the sound of surging waters— the majestic waves of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic.

³⁰ They will roar over it at that time, like the sea waves roar. If one surveys the land, watch out! There’s darkness and distress; even the daylight is darkened by its clouds.

¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations won’t shine their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon won’t shine its light.

¹³ Therefore I’ll make the heavens tremble. The earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, at the time of his burning anger. ¹⁴ They will be like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with no one to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.

⁴ Therefore I said: “Look away from me; and let me weep bitter tears; don’t try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.” ⁵ For to the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies belongs the day of tumult, trampling, and confusion in the Valley of Vision, and the pulling down of his Temple on its mountain.

²³ Then the moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem; and in the presence of its elders there will be glory.”

¹⁵ A Promise of Restoration“For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea, so that its waves roar, ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.’

²³ A Vision of ChaosI looked at the earth, and it was formless and void, at the heavens, and there was no light there.

⁷ When I extinguish your lights, I’ll cover the heavens and darken their stars. I’ll cover the sun with a cloud and the moon won’t reflect its light. ⁸ I’ll darken the bright lights in the sky above you and bring darkness to your territory,’ declares the Lord GOD.

¹ The End Times“‘At that time, Michael will arise, the great prince who will stand up on behalf of your people, and a time of trouble will come like there has never been since nations began until that time. Also at that time, your people will be delivered—everyone who will have been written in the book.

³⁰ I will display warnings in the heavens, and on the earth blood, fire, and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun will be given over to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and terrifying Day of the LORD.

⁹ It will come about at that time,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will cause the sun to set at noon and the earth to darken in the daylight. ¹⁰ I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all of your songs to dirges. I will cause all of you to put on sackcloth and to shave all of your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son, and its conclusion will be like the end of a bitter day.”

⁴ The best of them is like a thorn, and their most upright like a hedge of thorns. The day announced by your watchmen— and by your own calculations—approaches. Now it’s your time to be confused!

²⁹ The Coming of the Son of Man
“Immediately after the troubles of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’

⁴⁵ Jesus Dies on the Cross
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

²⁴ The Coming of the Son of Man
“But after the suffering of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,

²⁶ Then people will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.

³³ Jesus Dies on the Cross
At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

¹⁹ I will display wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.

¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will disappear with a roaring sound, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be exposed.
¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, think of the kind of holy and godly people you ought to be ¹² as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire.

¹² The Vision of the Sixth Seal OpenedThen I saw the lamb open the sixth seal. There was a powerful earthquake. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon turned as red as blood. ¹³ The stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree drops its fruit when it is shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

¹¹ The Vision of the White Throne JudgmentThen I saw a large, white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

³⁶ “As for the remnants among you, I’ll bring despair in their hearts in the land of their enemies so that even the sound of a blown leaf will chase them and they flee as though pursued by the sword and fall when no one is pursuing.

³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you watch, and you won’t be able to approach them at all, and you’ll be powerless to help.
³³ “A people whom you don’t know will devour what your land and labor produces. You’ll be only oppressed and discouraged continuously ³⁴ until you are driven insane from what your eyes will see.

⁶⁵ Among those nations you’ll have no rest. There’ll be no resting place for the soles of your feet. Instead, the LORD will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a despairing spirit. ⁶⁶ You’ll cling to life, being fearful by both night and day, with no assurance of survival. ⁶⁷ In the morning you’ll say, ‘I wish it were evening.’ Yet in the evening you’ll say, “I wish it were morning,” on account of what you’ll dread and what you’ll see.

²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’

²⁶ For if we choose to go on sinning after we have learned the full truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

¹³ The Vision of the Son of Man“I continued to observe the night vision—and look!—someone like the Son of Man was coming, accompanied by heavenly clouds. He approached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

²⁷ The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to what he has done. ²⁸ I tell all of you with certainty, some people standing here will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all ‘the tribes of the land will mourn’ when they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.

³¹ The Judgment of the Nations“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.

⁶⁴ Jesus told him, “You have said so. Nevertheless I tell you, from now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

⁹ Jesus Goes Up to HeavenAfter saying this, Jesus was taken up while those who had gathered together were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, two men in white robes stood right beside them. ¹¹ They asked, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go up into heaven.”

⁷ Look! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.So be it! Amen.

¹⁴ The Vision of Earth HarvestedThen I looked, and there was a white cloud! On the cloud sat someone who was like the Son of Man, with a gold victor’s crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

⁵ Sing praises to the LORD with a lyre— with a lyre and a melodious song! ⁶ With trumpets and the sound of a ram’s horn shout in the presence of the LORD, the king! ⁷ Let the sea and everything in it shout, along with the world and its inhabitants; ⁸ let the rivers clap their hands in unison; and let the mountains sing for joy ⁹ in the LORD’s presence, who comes to judge the earth; He’ll judge the world righteously; and its people fairly.

¹ Israel’s Praise to the LORD At that time, you will say: “I will praise you, LORD, for although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me. ² “Look! God—yes God—is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid. For the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
³ You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:

⁸ he has swallowed up death forever! Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and he will take away the disgrace of his people from the entire earth.” for the LORD has spoken. ⁹ “And you will say at that time, ‘Look! It’s the LORD! This is our God! We waited for him, and he saved us. This is the LORD! We waited for him, so let us rejoice, and we will be glad that he has saved us.”

¹ The Light of God’s Deliverance “Arise, shine! For your light has come; the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. ² For look! Darkness will cover the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.

⁷ Won’t God grant his chosen people justice when they cry out to him day and night? Is he slow to help them?

¹⁹ For the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God’s children,

²³ However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory.

³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

³² The Lesson from the Fig Tree
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things, you’ll know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. ³⁴ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

²⁸ The Lesson from the Fig Tree
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. ³⁰ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation will not disappear until all these things take place.

⁵⁷ Settling with Your Opponent
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

¹ Interpreting the Time
When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He replied to them, “You say, ‘Red sky at night, what a delight! ³ Red sky in the morning, cloudy and storming.’
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, yet you can’t interpret the signs of the times? ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

⁵¹ Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? Not at all, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵² From now on, five people in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
⁵⁴ Interpreting the Time
Then Jesus told the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming in from the west, you immediately say, ‘There’s going to be a storm,’ and that’s what happens. ⁵⁵ When you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and so it is. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, yet you don’t know how to interpret the present time?”
⁵⁷ Settling with Your Opponent
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

³⁷ For “in a very little while the one who is coming will return— he will not delay;

⁹ Do not complain about each other, brothers, or you will be condemned. Look! The Judge is standing at the door!

⁷ Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can pray.

²⁸ I tell all of you with certainty, some people standing here will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”

³⁴ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things happen.

³⁰ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation will not disappear until all these things take place.

²⁶ They will perish, but you will remain; and they all will become worn out, like a garment. You will change them like clothing, and they will pass away.

⁸ Grass withers and flowers fade away, when the LORD’s breath blows on them, but the word of our God will stand forever. “

⁶ “Lift up your eyes, you heavens and look to the earth beneath; and see who created these. Its inhabitants will die just like this; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never fail.

¹⁸ because I tell all of you with certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished.

³⁵ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

³¹ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

²⁵ but the word of the Lord lasts forever.”Now this word is the good news that was announced to you.

⁷ Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.
⁸ Don’t forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some people understand slowness, but is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to repent. ¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will disappear with a roaring sound, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be exposed.
¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, think of the kind of holy and godly people you ought to be ¹² as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

⁹ “You and your sons with you are not to drink wine—that is, any intoxicating drink—when you enter the Tent of Meeting. That way, you won’t die. This is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

¹⁹ because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself and say: ‘I will have a peaceful life, even though I’m determined to be stubborn.’ By doing this he will be sweeping away both watered and parched ground alike.’

³⁶ Nabal’s DeathAbigail returned to Nabal, and he was there in his house holding a festival like the festival of a king. Nabal’s heart was glad, and he was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything at all until morning.

⁸ Let destruction come upon them unawares, and let the net that he hid catch him; let him fall into destruction.

⁴ A proud attitude, accompanied by a haughty look, is sin; they reveal wicked people.

¹ The Captivity of Ephraim How terrible it will be for that arrogant garland— the drunks of Ephraim! How terrible it will be for that fading flower of his glorious beauty, which sits on the heads of people bloated with food, of people overcome with wine! ² Look! The LORD has one who is mighty and strong, like a hailstorm and destructive tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing water— and he will give rest to the land. ³ With hands and feet, that proud garland— those drunks of Ephraim—will be trampled.

⁷ These people also stagger from wine and reel from strong drink. Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink; they’re drunk from wine; they reel from strong drink, waver when seeing visions, and stumble when rendering decisions.

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep! ¹¹ Meanwhile, the dogs have a mighty appetite— they can never get enough. And as for them, they are the shepherds who lack understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, each and every one. ¹² “‘Come!’ they say, ‘let’s have some wine, and let’s fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!’”

¹¹ “Sexual immorality, wine, and fresh wine seduce the heart of my people.

²² As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop.

³⁹ They were unaware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ At that time, two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left behind. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left behind.
⁴² “So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting him.”
⁴⁵ The Faithful or the Wicked Servant
“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others their food at the right time? ⁴⁶ How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! ⁴⁷ I tell all of you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
⁴⁸ “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master has been delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks, ⁵⁰ that servant’s master will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know.

¹⁹ but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop.

⁹ Future Persecution and Evangelism
“As for yourselves, be on your guard! People will hand you over to local councils, and you will be beaten in their synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings to testify to them because of me.

¹⁴ The ones that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature.

⁴¹ The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things.

⁴⁰ So be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.”

⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time to come back,’ and begins to beat the other servants and to eat, drink, and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know. Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with unfaithful people.

³ “Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

¹¹ Live in the Light of the Messiah’s ReturnThis is necessary because you know the times—it’s already time for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we became believers. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is near. Let’s therefore put aside the actions of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let’s behave decently, as people who live in the light of day. No wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, quarreling, or jealousy!

¹¹ But now I am writing to you to stop associating with any so-called brother if he is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk, or a robber. You must even stop eating with someone like that.

¹⁰ thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²⁰ idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions,

⁶ Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.

² for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ When people say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.
⁴ However, brothers, you are not in the darkness, in order that the Day of the Lord might surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. ⁶ Therefore, let’s not fall asleep like others do, but let’s stay awake and be sober. ⁷ For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober. We must put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled.

³ For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living. ⁵ They will give an account to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ Indeed, this is why the gospel was proclaimed even to those who have died, so that they could be judged in their mortal flesh like all humans and live in the spiritual realm like God.
⁷ Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can pray.

¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will disappear with a roaring sound, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be exposed.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

³ So remember what you received and heard. Obey it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know the time when I will come to you.

⁴ Seven days from now I’ll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I’ll destroy every living creature that I’ve made.”

⁶ He rains on the wicked burning coals and sulfur; a scorching wind is their destiny.

¹² In addition, no human being knows his time: Like fish captured in a cruel net, or as birds caught in a snare, so also are human beings caught by bad timing that surprises them.

¹⁷ The Universal Impact of Judgment“Terror and pit and snare are coming in your direction, you inhabitants of the earth! ¹⁸ Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit, and whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. For the windows of judgment from above are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁴³ Terror, pit, and trap will be used against you who live in Moab,” declares the LORD. ⁴⁴ “The one who flees from the terror will fall into a pit. And the one who comes up out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For I’ll bring upon her, that is upon Moab, the time of her punishment,” declares the LORD.

³⁷ Then they asked him, “Where, Lord, will this take place?”
He told them, “Wherever there’s a corpse, there the vultures will gather.”

²⁶ From one man he made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live,

¹⁵ “See, I am coming like a thief. How blessed is the person who remains alert and keeps his clothes on! He won’t have to go naked and let others see his shame.”

¹⁰ Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times?”

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not escape judgment, nor will sinners have a place in the assembly of the righteous.

² But who will survive the day when he comes? Or who can stand when he appears? Because he’s like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap,

⁴² “So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming.

¹³ So keep on watching, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”

⁴¹ All of you must stay awake and pray that you won’t be tempted. The spirit is indeed willing, but the body is weak.”

³³ Be careful! Watch out! Because you don’t know when the time will come.

³⁷ I’m telling you what I’m telling everyone: Be alert!”

³⁷ How blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching for him when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he himself will put on an apron, make them sit down at the table, and go around and serve them. ³⁸ How blessed they will be if their master comes in the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them awake! ³⁹ But be sure of this: if the homeowner had known at what time the thief were coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ So be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.”

¹ The Parable about the Judge and the WidowJesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up.

³⁵ but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

² He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.

¹³ Final InstructionsRemain alert. Keep standing firm in your faith. Keep on being courageous and strong.

¹³ For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel,

² Closing ExhortationsDevote yourselves to prayer. Be alert and thankful when you pray.

¹⁷ Continually be prayerful.

⁵ This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction,

⁵ But you must be clear-headed about everything. Endure suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Devote yourself completely to your ministry.

⁸ Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

²⁸ Abide in HimEven now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes.

²⁴ Final PrayerNow to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence,

⁴ His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south.

¹ The King Enters Jerusalem
When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead and

¹⁷ Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

³⁰ After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

⁵⁵ At this point, Jesus asked the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit? Day after day I sat teaching in the Temple, yet you didn’t arrest me.

¹² Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus became hungry.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.

³⁷ He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen.

³⁹ Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
Then he left and went to the Mount of Olives, as usual. The disciples went with him.

¹ Mary Anoints Jesus
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived, the man whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

¹² A New Apostle Takes the Place of JudasThen they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

¹ The Woman Caught in AdulteryJesus, however, went to the Mount of Olives. ² At daybreak he appeared again in the Temple, and all the people came to him. So he sat down and began to teach them.