Book of Common Prayer

The Creator Is Making Known His Wrath And His Mercy In Humankind

¹⁹ Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does He still find-fault? For who has resisted^[a] His will?” ²⁰ O human, on the contrary, who are you, the one answering-back to God? The thing formed will not say to the one having formed it, “Why did you make me like-this?”, will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? ²² But what if God, wanting^[b] to demonstrate His wrath and to make-known His power, bore^[c] with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared^[d] for destruction, ²³ and did so in order that He might make-known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared-beforehand^[e] for glory— ²⁴ even us whom He called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

He Is Making Those Not His People His Own Children

²⁵ As^[f] He says also in Hosea: “I will call ‘Not My people’, ‘My people’; and ‘Not having been loved’, ‘Having been loved’” [Hos 2:23]. ²⁶ “And it shall be in the place where it was said to them ‘you are not My people’, there they will be called sons of the living God” [Hos 1:10].

But Only a Remnant of Israel Will Be Saved

²⁷ But^[g] Isaiah cries-out concerning Israel: “If the number of the sons of Israel should be like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. ²⁸ For the Lord will accomplish^[h] His word upon the earth, completing^[i] and cutting-short^[j]” [in Isa 10:22-23]. ²⁹ And just as Isaiah said-before [in Isa 1:9]: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left-behind a seed for us, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been likened^[k] as Gomorrah”.

Israel Pursued a Righteousness Through The Law, And Did Not Attain It

³⁰ Therefore, what shall we say? That Gentiles, the ones not pursuing righteousness, took-hold-of ^[l] righteousness— but a righteousness by faith. ³¹ But Israel, pursuing the Law of righteousness, did not attain to that Law. ³² For what reason? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as-if it was by works. They stumbled on the Stone of stumbling, ³³ just as it has been written [in Isa 28:16]: “Behold— I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of falling. And the one putting-faith upon Him will not be put-to-shame”.

Jesus Tells His Disciples That The Temple Will Be Destroyed. They Ask, When?

24 And having departed from the temple, Jesus was proceeding. And His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² But the One, having responded, said to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I say to you— a stone upon a stone will by no means be left here which will not be torn-down^[a]”. ³ And while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us— when will these^[b] things happen? And what will be the sign of Your coming and the conclusion^[c] of the age?” ⁴ And having responded, Jesus said to them—

There Will Be Birthpangs, But The Gospel Will Reach The Whole World Before The End

“Be watching out that no one may deceive you. ⁵ For^[d] many will come on the basis of My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’. And they will deceive many. ⁶ And you will-certainly^[e] hear-of wars and rumors of wars. See^[f] that you are not alarmed! For they must take place, but it is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ But all these things are^[g] a beginning of birth-pains. ⁹ Then^[h] they will hand you over to affliction, and they will kill you. And you will be being hated by all the nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And then^[i] many will be caused-to-fall, and will hand one another over, and will hate one another. ¹¹ And many false-prophets will arise and deceive many. ¹² And the love of the majority will grow cold because of lawlessness being multiplied. ¹³ But the one having endured to the end^[j]— this one will be saved. ¹⁴ And this good-news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations. And then the end^[k] will come.