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First Reading: Ezekiel Chapter 17 and 18Ezekiel 17
17:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set forth an allegory
and tell the house of Israel a parable. 3 Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign
LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage
of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, 4 he broke
off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted
it in a city of traders.
5 "'He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He
planted it like a willow by abundant water, 6 and it sprouted and became a low,
spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under
it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.
7 "'But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage.
The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted
and stretched out its branches to him for water. 8 It had been planted in good
soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become
a splendid vine.'
9 "Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive?
Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its
new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull
it up by the roots. 10 Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not
wither completely when the east wind strikes it-wither away in the plot where
it grew?'"
11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 "Say to this rebellious house,
'Do you not know what these things mean?' Say to them: 'The king of Babylon
went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back
with him to Babylon. 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a
treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men
of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again,
surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15 But the king rebelled against him by
sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed?
Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?
16 "'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, he shall die in
Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised
and whose treaty he broke. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will
be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to
destroy many lives. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because
he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.
19 "'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live,
I will bring down on his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that
he broke. 20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare.
I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there because he was
unfaithful to me. 21 All his fleeing troops will fall by the sword, and the
survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the LORD
have spoken.
22 "'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from
the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its
topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain
heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and
become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find
shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know
that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I
dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.
"'I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'"
Ezekiel 18
18:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "What do you people mean by quoting
this proverb about the land of Israel:
"'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer
quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father
as well as the son-both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who
will die.
5 "Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. 6
He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of
Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her
period. 7 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for
a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides
clothing for the naked. 8 He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest.
He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man.
9 He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous;
he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD.
10 "Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these
other things 11(though the father has done none of them):
"He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife. 12 He
oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he
took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. 13 He lends
at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable
things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.
14 "But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits,
and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
15 "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the
house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. 16 He does not oppress
anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives
his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 17 He withholds
his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws
and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father
will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother
and did what was wrong among his people.
19 "Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?'
Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all
my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die.
The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the
guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to
him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
21 "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and
keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he
will not die. 22 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against
him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. 23 Do I take
any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather,
am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin
and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None
of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness
he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.
25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel:
Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 If a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of
the sin he has committed he will die. 27 But if a wicked man turns away from
the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save
his life. 28 Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns
away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel
says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel?
Is it not your ways that are unjust?
30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according
to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses;
then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you
have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house
of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign
LORD. Repent and live!
Revelation 2
2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks
among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your
perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested
those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You
have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember
the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its
place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree
of life, which is in the paradise of God.
8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came
to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich!
I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue
of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the
devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution
for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the
crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know
where you live-where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You
did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful
witness, who was put to death in your city-where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless,
I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching
of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed
to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those
who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise,
I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him
a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives
it.
18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and
whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith,
your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did
at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants
into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have
given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will
cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with
her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children
dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,
and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest
of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned
Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you):
25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does
my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-
27'He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like
pottery'-
just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the
morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
REVELATION
Part 1 of 4
The first verse of Revelation states that it is a revelation of Jesus Christ concerning what must soon take place. The revelation was given to the servants of Jesus through John. It is commonly believed that this John is the apostle John who also wrote the gospel of John and the three letters. The time frame is debated but most scholars date it around 95 A.D. making it the last book chronologically of the Bible. Most of Revelation is apocalyptic and highly symbolic. However, many of the symbols and other concepts can be found in other parts of the Bible such as in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah. Some parallels can be drawn between Genesis and Revelation. The number 7 is used repeatedly throughout the book. The number 7 is understood to stand for completeness.
The first two sections of Revelation are:
INTRODUCTION:
1) Prologue - Ch 1:1-3
2) Greetings - Ch 1:4-8
3) The Son of Man - Ch 1:8-20
THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES - Chapters 2-3
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea
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