Christian Religion-is satanic and it is mystery Babylon , the great whore sitting on the many waters mentioned in Revelation .
LORD' YESHUA MESSIAH IS OUT, HOLY SPIRIT IS OUT, DEVIL THE OLD CROOKED SERPENT COUNTERFEIT TO HOLY SPIRIT IS IN , Anti Christ is in. Apostles and prophets are out, Fake Pastors False prophets and false teachers are in.
Church REPENT
2 Peter 2
3. THE DANGER OF FALSE TEACHERS (2:1-22)
1But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.+ 2Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.+ 3In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.+
4For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.+ 5And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.+ 6Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.+ 7But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.+ 8Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 9So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.+ 10He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.+
These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. 11But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.+
12These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.+ 13Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.+ 14They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.+ 15They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.+ 16But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.+
17These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.+ 8Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.+ 4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.+ 5A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”+ 6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.+
7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.
Song 2: A Call to Flee
4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.+
5For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.+
6Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much for her.+
7She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’+
8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
Exodus 20
Ten Commandments (20:1-21)
Exod 20:2-17 // Deut 5:6-21
Ancient Law Codes
1Then God gave the people all these instructions:+
2“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3“You must not have any other god but me.+
4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.+ 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a ajealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.+ 6But I lavish unfailing blove for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
7“You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female cservants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the dSabbath day and set it apart as holy.+
12“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.+
13“You must not murder.+
14“You must not commit adultery.+
15“You must not steal.+
16“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”+
18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.+
19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”+
20“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.+
Covenant Requirements for the People (20:22–23:19)
Proper Use of Altars
22And the LORD said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.+
24“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.+ 25If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.+ 26And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.+
Exodus 32
The Gold Calf: A Wrong Attempt to Secure God’s Presence (32:1–34:35)
Making the Gold Calf
1When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”+
2So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”+
3All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”+
5Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!”
6The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.+
The LORD’s Response and Moses’ Intercession
7The LORD told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.+ 8How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”+
9Then the LORD said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.+ 10Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”+
11But Moses tried to pacify the LORD his God. “O LORD!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?+ 12Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!+ 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your adescendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your adescendants, and they will possess it forever.’”+
14So the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.+
Moses’ Response
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.+ 16These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.+
17When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
18But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
19When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain.+ 20He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.+
21Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
22“Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are.+ 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’+ 24So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.+ 3“Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”+ 4Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”
5Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.+ 6Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!+ 8And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.+ 9Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”+
10But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the aglorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.+ 11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never bbelieve me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”+
Moses Intercedes for the People
13But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the LORD. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.+ 14Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.+ 15Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’+
17“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, 18‘The LORD is cslow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ 19In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”+
20Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.+ 21But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, 22not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. 23They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.+ 24But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.+ 25Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”+
The LORD Punishes the Israelites
26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 27“How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. 28Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.+ 29You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die.+ 30You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.+
31“‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.+ 32But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.+ 33And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.+
34“‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’ 35I, the LORD, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”
36The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report—+ 37were struck dead with a plague before the LORD. 38Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
Israelite Defeat at Hormah
39When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.+ 40Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us.”+
41But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. 42Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. 43When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD.”
44But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant left the camp.+ 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.+
Call to Decision: The Narrow Gate
Matt 7:13-14; cp. Luke 13:24
13“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.+ 14But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.+
The Tree and Its Fruit
Matt 7:15-20; cp. Matt 12:33-35 // Luke 6:43-45
15“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.+ 16You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?+ 17A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
True Disciples
Matt 7:21-23; cp. Luke 13:25-27
21“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.++ 22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’+ 23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’+
Building on a Solid Foundation
Matt 7:24-27 // Luke 6:47-49
24“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid crock.++ 25Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.+ 27When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”+
Response to the Sermon
Matt 7:28-29; cp. Mark 1:21-22 // Luke 4:31-32
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,+ 29for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.
39Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?+ 40Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.+
41“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? bHypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
The Tree and Its Fruit
Luke 6:43-45 // Matt 12:33-35
43“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.+ 44A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.+ 45A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Building on a Solid Foundation
Luke 6:47-49 // Matt 7:24-27
46“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?+ 47I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.+ 48It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid crock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
2 Timothy 4
Charge to Carry Out the Ministry
The Mantle of Leadership
1I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he aappears to set up his Kingdom:+ 2Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and bencourage your people with good teaching.+
3For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4They will reject the truth and chase after myths.+
5But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the cministry God has given you.
6As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.+ 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.+ 8And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his dappearing.+
7. PAUL’S FINAL WORDS (4:9-22)
Appeal for Timothy to Come
9Timothy, please come as soon as you can. 10Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my eministry.+ 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my fbooks, and especially my papers.
Warning about Alexander
14Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done.+ 15Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.
Account of Paul’s First Trial
16The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.+ 17But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.+ 18Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.+
Final Greetings and Blessing
19Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus.+ 20Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.+
21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.
22May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you.+
The Message to Laodicea, a Lukewarm and Uncommitted compromised worldly Church
14“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:+
15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!+ 16But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.+ 18So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.+ 19I correct and bdiscipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.+
20“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.+ 21Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.+
22“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
Romans 1
1. THE LETTER OPENING (1:1-17)
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, a aslave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his bGood News. 2God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.+ 3The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,+ 4and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.+ 5Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.+
6And you are included among those Gentiles who have been ccalled to belong to Jesus Christ. 7I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Thanksgiving and Occasion: Paul and the Romans
8Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.+ 9God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.+
10One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual dgift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
13I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.+ 15So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.+
The Theme of the Letter: God’s Good News
16For I am not ashamed of this eGood News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, fsaving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.+ 17This Good News tells us how God makes us gright in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by hfaith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through hfaith that a righteous person has life.”+
2. THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL: JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH (1:18–4:25)
All Persons are Accountable to God for Sin (1:18-32)
Natural Revelation
18But God shows his ianger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.+ 19They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.+ 20For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.+
21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.+ 22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.+ 23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.+
24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.+ 25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.+ 27And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.+
28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.+ 31They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.+ 32They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Galatians 1
1. INTRODUCTION (1:1-10)
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.+
2All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.
3May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.+ 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.+ 5All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.+
There Is Only One Good News
6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the aGood News+ 7but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.+
8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from bheaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.+ 9I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.+
10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s cservant.+
2. PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP AND MESSAGE (1:11–2:21)
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.+ 12I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct drevelation from Jesus Christ.+
13You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it.+ 14I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.+
15But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous egrace. Then it pleased him+ 16to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.+
When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.+ 19The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.+ 20I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.
21After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!”+ 24And they praised God because of me.
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1So Christ has truly set us afree. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.+
Implications of Justification by Faith (5:2-12)
Gaining God’s Favor
2Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.+ 3I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.+ 6For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.+
A Law-Oriented Gospel Is False
7You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?+ 8It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.+ 9This false teaching is like a little byeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!+ 10I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
11Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be coffended.+ 12I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
4. LIFE BY THE SPIRIT (5:13–6:10)
Life in the Spirit (5:13-26)
Freedom and Love
13For you have been called to live in dfreedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your dfreedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.+ 14For the whole elaw can be summed up in this one fcommand: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”+ 15But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
The Spirit’s Power
The Law and the Spirit
16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.+ 17The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.+ 18But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the glaw of Moses.+
Results of the Sinful Nature
19When you follow the desires of your hsinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20iidolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Fruit of the Spirit
22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: jlove, joy, kpeace, patience, kindness, lgoodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no mlaw against these things!
Follow the Spirit’s Leading
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their nsinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.+ 26Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.+
2 Thessalonians 2
3. THE TIME OF THE DAY OF THE LORD (2:1-17)
Response to False Teaching
1Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.+ 2Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.+ 3Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.+ 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.+
5Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.+ 8Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the asplendor of his coming.+
9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and bsigns and miracles.+ 10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.+ 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.+ 12Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.+
Revelation 17
9. BABYLON THE GREAT (17:1–19:10)
The Great Prostitute (17:1-18)
1One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.+ 2The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”+
3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.+ 4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.+ 5A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”+ 6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.+
7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. 8The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.+
Roman Emperors, 27 BC—AD 96
9“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings.+ 10Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.
11“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. 12The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast.+ 13They will all agree to give him their power and authority. 14Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”+
15Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language.+ 16The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.+ 17For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled.+ 18And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”+
Revelation 18
Seven Songs: The Fall of Babylon (18:1-24)
Song 1: A Taunt Song
1After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.+ 2He gave a mighty shout:
“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture
and every foul and dreadful animal.+
3For all the nations have fallen
because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
the merchants of the world have grown rich.”+
Song 2: A Call to Flee
4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.+
5For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.+
6Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much for her.+
7She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’+
8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”+
Songs 3–5: Three Laments
9And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.+ 10They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for you,
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”+
11The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.+ 12She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.+ 13She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
14“The fancy things you loved so much
are gone,” they cry.
“All your luxuries and splendor
are gone forever,
never to be yours again.”
15The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,+
16“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!+
17In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!”+
And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. 18They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”+ 19And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”+
Song 6: A Summons to Rejoice
20Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
for your sakes.+
Song 7: Babylon’s Destruction
21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,
“Just like this, the great city Babylon
will be thrown down with violence
and will never be found again.+
22The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
will never be heard in you again.+
23The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.+
24In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”+
Revelation 19
Songs of Victory in Heaven (19:1-10)
Four Hallelujahs
1After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,
“Praise the LORD!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.+
2His judgments are true and just.
He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has avenged the murder of his servants.”+
3And again their voices rang out:
“Praise the LORD!
The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”+
4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the LORD!”+
5And from the throne came a voice that said,
“Praise our God,
all his servants,
all who fear him,
from the least to the greatest.”+
6Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:
“Praise the LORD!
For the Lord our God, the aAlmighty, reigns.+
7Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.+
8She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.+
John and the Angel, Servants of God
9And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”+
The Worship of Angels
10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”+
10. TRIUMPH AND JUDGMENT (19:11–20:15)
The Rider on the White Horse
11Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.+ 12His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.+ 13He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the bWord of God.+ 14The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.+ 15From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will crule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce dwrath of God, the eAlmighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.+ 16On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
Christian Religion-is 💯 satanic and it is mystery Babylon , the great whore sitting on the many waters mentioned in Revelation .
LORD' YESHUA MESSIAH IS OUT, HOLY SPIRIT IS OUT, DEVIL THE OLD CROOKED SERPENT COUNTERFEIT TO HOLY SPIRIT IS IN , Anti Christ is in. Apostles and prophets are out, Fake Pastors False prophets and false teachers are in.
Church REPENT
2 Peter 2
3. THE DANGER OF FALSE TEACHERS (2:1-22)
1But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.+ 2Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.+ 3In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.+
4For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.+ 5And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.+ 6Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.+ 7But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.+ 8Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 9So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.+ 10He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.+
These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. 11But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.+
12These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.+ 13Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.+ 14They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.+ 15They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.+ 16But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.+
17These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.+ 8Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.+ 4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.+ 5A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”+ 6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.+
7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.
Song 2: A Call to Flee
4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.+
5For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.+
6Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much for her.+
7She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’+
8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
Exodus 20
Ten Commandments (20:1-21)
Exod 20:2-17 // Deut 5:6-21
Ancient Law Codes
1Then God gave the people all these instructions:+
2“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3“You must not have any other god but me.+
4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.+ 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a ajealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.+ 6But I lavish unfailing blove for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
7“You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female cservants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the dSabbath day and set it apart as holy.+
12“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.+
13“You must not murder.+
14“You must not commit adultery.+
15“You must not steal.+
16“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”+
18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.+
19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”+
20“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.+
Covenant Requirements for the People (20:22–23:19)
Proper Use of Altars
22And the LORD said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.+
24“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.+ 25If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.+ 26And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.+
Exodus 32
The Gold Calf: A Wrong Attempt to Secure God’s Presence (32:1–34:35)
Making the Gold Calf
1When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”+
2So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”+
3All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”+
5Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!”
6The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.+
The LORD’s Response and Moses’ Intercession
7The LORD told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.+ 8How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”+
9Then the LORD said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.+ 10Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”+
11But Moses tried to pacify the LORD his God. “O LORD!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?+ 12Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!+ 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your adescendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your adescendants, and they will possess it forever.’”+
14So the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.+
Moses’ Response
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.+ 16These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.+
17When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
18But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
19When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain.+ 20He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.+
21Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
22“Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are.+ 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’+ 24So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.+ 3“Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”+ 4Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”
5Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.+ 6Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!+ 8And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.+ 9Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”+
10But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the aglorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.+ 11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never bbelieve me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”+
Moses Intercedes for the People
13But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the LORD. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.+ 14Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.+ 15Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’+
17“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, 18‘The LORD is cslow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ 19In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”+
20Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.+ 21But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, 22not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. 23They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.+ 24But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.+ 25Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”+
The LORD Punishes the Israelites
26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 27“How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. 28Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.+ 29You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die.+ 30You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.+
31“‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.+ 32But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.+ 33And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.+
34“‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’ 35I, the LORD, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”
36The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report—+ 37were struck dead with a plague before the LORD. 38Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
Israelite Defeat at Hormah
39When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.+ 40Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us.”+
41But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. 42Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. 43When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD.”
44But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant left the camp.+ 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.+
Call to Decision: The Narrow Gate
Matt 7:13-14; cp. Luke 13:24
13“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.+ 14But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.+
The Tree and Its Fruit
Matt 7:15-20; cp. Matt 12:33-35 // Luke 6:43-45
15“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.+ 16You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?+ 17A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
True Disciples
Matt 7:21-23; cp. Luke 13:25-27
21“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.++ 22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’+ 23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’+
Building on a Solid Foundation
Matt 7:24-27 // Luke 6:47-49
24“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid crock.++ 25Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.+ 27When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”+
Response to the Sermon
Matt 7:28-29; cp. Mark 1:21-22 // Luke 4:31-32
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,+ 29for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.
39Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?+ 40Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.+
41“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? bHypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
The Tree and Its Fruit
Luke 6:43-45 // Matt 12:33-35
43“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.+ 44A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.+ 45A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Building on a Solid Foundation
Luke 6:47-49 // Matt 7:24-27
46“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?+ 47I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.+ 48It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid crock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
2 Timothy 4
Charge to Carry Out the Ministry
The Mantle of Leadership
1I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he aappears to set up his Kingdom:+ 2Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and bencourage your people with good teaching.+
3For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4They will reject the truth and chase after myths.+
5But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the cministry God has given you.
6As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.+ 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.+ 8And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his dappearing.+
7. PAUL’S FINAL WORDS (4:9-22)
Appeal for Timothy to Come
9Timothy, please come as soon as you can. 10Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my eministry.+ 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my fbooks, and especially my papers.
Warning about Alexander
14Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done.+ 15Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.
Account of Paul’s First Trial
16The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.+ 17But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.+ 18Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.+
Final Greetings and Blessing
19Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus.+ 20Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.+
21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.
22May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you.+
The Message to Laodicea, a Lukewarm and Uncommitted compromised worldly Church
14“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:+
15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!+ 16But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.+ 18So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.+ 19I correct and bdiscipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.+
20“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.+ 21Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.+
22“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
Romans 1
1. THE LETTER OPENING (1:1-17)
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, a aslave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his bGood News. 2God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.+ 3The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,+ 4and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.+ 5Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.+
6And you are included among those Gentiles who have been ccalled to belong to Jesus Christ. 7I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Thanksgiving and Occasion: Paul and the Romans
8Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.+ 9God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.+
10One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual dgift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
13I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.+ 15So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.+
The Theme of the Letter: God’s Good News
16For I am not ashamed of this eGood News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, fsaving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.+ 17This Good News tells us how God makes us gright in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by hfaith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through hfaith that a righteous person has life.”+
2. THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL: JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH (1:18–4:25)
All Persons are Accountable to God for Sin (1:18-32)
Natural Revelation
18But God shows his ianger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.+ 19They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.+ 20For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.+
21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.+ 22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.+ 23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.+
24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.+ 25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.+ 27And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.+
28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.+ 31They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.+ 32They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Galatians 1
1. INTRODUCTION (1:1-10)
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.+
2All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.
3May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.+ 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.+ 5All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.+
There Is Only One Good News
6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the aGood News+ 7but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.+
8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from bheaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.+ 9I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.+
10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s cservant.+
2. PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP AND MESSAGE (1:11–2:21)
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.+ 12I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct drevelation from Jesus Christ.+
13You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it.+ 14I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.+
15But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous egrace. Then it pleased him+ 16to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.+
When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.+ 19The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.+ 20I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.
21After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!”+ 24And they praised God because of me.
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1So Christ has truly set us afree. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.+
Implications of Justification by Faith (5:2-12)
Gaining God’s Favor
2Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.+ 3I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.+ 6For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.+
A Law-Oriented Gospel Is False
7You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?+ 8It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.+ 9This false teaching is like a little byeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!+ 10I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
11Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be coffended.+ 12I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
4. LIFE BY THE SPIRIT (5:13–6:10)
Life in the Spirit (5:13-26)
Freedom and Love
13For you have been called to live in dfreedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your dfreedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.+ 14For the whole elaw can be summed up in this one fcommand: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”+ 15But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
The Spirit’s Power
The Law and the Spirit
16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.+ 17The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.+ 18But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the glaw of Moses.+
Results of the Sinful Nature
19When you follow the desires of your hsinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20iidolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Fruit of the Spirit
22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: jlove, joy, kpeace, patience, kindness, lgoodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no mlaw against these things!
Follow the Spirit’s Leading
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their nsinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.+ 26Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.+
2 Thessalonians 2
3. THE TIME OF THE DAY OF THE LORD (2:1-17)
Response to False Teaching
1Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.+ 2Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.+ 3Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.+ 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.+
5Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.+ 8Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the asplendor of his coming.+
9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and bsigns and miracles.+ 10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.+ 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.+ 12Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.+
Revelation 17
9. BABYLON THE GREAT (17:1–19:10)
The Great Prostitute (17:1-18)
1One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.+ 2The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”+
3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.+ 4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.+ 5A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”+ 6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.+
7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. 8The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.+
Roman Emperors, 27 BC—AD 96
9“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings.+ 10Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.
11“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. 12The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast.+ 13They will all agree to give him their power and authority. 14Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”+
15Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language.+ 16The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.+ 17For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled.+ 18And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”+
Revelation 18
Seven Songs: The Fall of Babylon (18:1-24)
Song 1: A Taunt Song
1After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.+ 2He gave a mighty shout:
“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture
and every foul and dreadful animal.+
3For all the nations have fallen
because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
the merchants of the world have grown rich.”+
Song 2: A Call to Flee
4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.+
5For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.+
6Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much for her.+
7She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’+
8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”+
Songs 3–5: Three Laments
9And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.+ 10They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for you,
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”+
11The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.+ 12She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.+ 13She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
14“The fancy things you loved so much
are gone,” they cry.
“All your luxuries and splendor
are gone forever,
never to be yours again.”
15The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,+
16“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!+
17In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!”+
And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. 18They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”+ 19And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”+
Song 6: A Summons to Rejoice
20Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
for your sakes.+
Song 7: Babylon’s Destruction
21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,
“Just like this, the great city Babylon
will be thrown down with violence
and will never be found again.+
22The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
will never be heard in you again.+
23The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.+
24In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”+
Revelation 19
Songs of Victory in Heaven (19:1-10)
Four Hallelujahs
1After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,
“Praise the LORD!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.+
2His judgments are true and just.
He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has avenged the murder of his servants.”+
3And again their voices rang out:
“Praise the LORD!
The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”+
4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the LORD!”+
5And from the throne came a voice that said,
“Praise our God,
all his servants,
all who fear him,
from the least to the greatest.”+
6Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:
“Praise the LORD!
For the Lord our God, the aAlmighty, reigns.+
7Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.+
8She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.+
John and the Angel, Servants of God
9And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”+
The Worship of Angels
10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”+
10. TRIUMPH AND JUDGMENT (19:11–20:15)
The Rider on the White Horse
11Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.+ 12His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.+ 13He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the bWord of God.+ 14The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.+ 15From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will crule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce dwrath of God, the eAlmighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.+ 16On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
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