Fire from Heaven

7 ^(A)As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, ^(B)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, ^(C)and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. ³ When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, ^(D)for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The Dedication of the Temple

^4 (E)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ The priests stood at their posts; ^(F)the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—^(G)for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;^{[a] (H)}opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

^7 (I)And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

⁸ At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from ^(J)Lebo-hamath to the ^(K)Brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity^[b] that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

If My People Pray

^11 (L)Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer ^(M)and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. ^13 (N)When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name ^(O)humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ^15 (P)Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ^16 (Q)For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. ¹⁷ And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, ¹⁸ then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ^(R)‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

^19 (S)“But if you^[c] turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ^20 (T)then I will pluck you^[d] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it ^(U)a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ^(V)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Greeting

^1 (A)The elder to the elect lady and her children, ^(B)whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^(C)know ^(D)the truth, ^2 (E)because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

^3 (F)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

^4 (G)I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, dear lady—^(H)not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—^(I)that we love one another. ⁶ And ^(J)this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^(K)as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ⁷ For ^(L)many deceivers ^(M)have gone out into the world, ^(N)those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, ^(O)so that you may not lose what we^[a] have worked for, but ^(P)may win a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^(Q)does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching ^(R)has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(S)do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him ^(T)takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

^12 (U)Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^(V)Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^(W)so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children of your elect sister greet you.

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith

² And the Lord answered me:

Woe to the Chaldeans

⁶ Shall not all these ^(L)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,

The Widow's Offering

21 ^(A)Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich ^(B)putting their gifts into ^(C)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two ^(D)small copper coins.^{[b] 3} And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(E)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(F)poverty put in all ^(G)she had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

^5 (H)And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, ^(I)the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, ^(J)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, ^(K)“See that you are not led astray. For ^(L)many will come in my name, saying, ^(M)‘I am he!’ and, ^(N)‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^(O)terrified, for these things ^(P)must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ^(Q)“Nation will rise against nation, and ^(R)kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great ^(S)earthquakes, and in various places ^(T)famines and pestilences. And there will be ^(U)terrors and great ^(V)signs from heaven. ¹² But before all this ^(W)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to ^(X)the synagogues and ^(Y)prisons, and you ^(Z)will be brought before ^(AA)kings and ^(AB)governors for my name's sake. ^13 (AC)This will be your opportunity to bear witness. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds ^(AD)not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for ^(AE)I will give you a mouth and ^(AF)wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or ^(AG)contradict. ¹⁶ You will be delivered up ^(AH)even by parents and brothers^[c] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. ^17 (AI)You will be hated by all for my name's sake. ¹⁸ But ^(AJ)not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your ^(AK)endurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

²⁰ “But ^(AL)when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that ^(AM)its desolation has come near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²² for these are ^(AN)days of ^(AO)vengeance, to fulfill ^(AP)all that is written. ^23 (AQ)Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and ^(AR)wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and ^(AS)be led captive among all nations, and ^(AT)Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, ^(AU)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “And ^(AV)there will be signs in sun and moon ^(AW)and stars, and on the earth ^(AX)distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For ^(AY)the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And then they will see ^(AZ)the Son of Man coming in a cloud ^(BA)with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and ^(BB)raise your heads, because ^(BC)your redemption is drawing near.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹ And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰ As soon as they come out in leaf, you see ^(BD)for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ^32 (BE)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. ^33 (BF)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BG)my words will not pass away.

Watch Yourselves

³⁴ “But watch yourselves ^(BH)lest ^(BI)your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and ^(BJ)cares of this life, and ^(BK)that day come upon you suddenly ^(BL)like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ But ^(BM)stay awake at all times, ^(BN)praying that you may ^(BO)have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and ^(BP)to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ And ^(BQ)every day he was teaching in the temple, but ^(BR)at night he went out and lodged on ^(BS)the mount called Olivet. ³⁸ And early in the morning ^(BT)all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.