Book of Common Prayer

¹⁹ But you are only a man. Will you tell God what to do? Can the pot say to the man who made it, `Why did you make me like this?'

²⁰ The person who makes pots has power over the mud. He can make two different pots out of one pile of mud. One pot will be fine and another will not be fine. Can the potter not make them so?

²¹ God has a right to be very angry if he wants to be. He has the right to show his power. God was very angry with some people who deserved to die. And yet he waited a long time before he did anything to them.

²² He did it to show how very great he is. He was kind to some people. He planned for them to be made great.

²³ That means he also called us. He called not only those who are Jews, but also those who are not Jews.

²⁴ In the book written long ago by the prophet Hosea, God says `They were not my people. But I will call them "my people". I did not love her, but I will call her "the one I love."

²⁵ And in the very place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," they will be called "sons of the living God." '

²⁶ Isaiah the prophet of God said long ago about Israel, `Even if the people of Israel are as many as the sand by the sea, only some of them will be saved.

²⁷ The Lord will do what he said he will do on the earth. He will do it all and do it soon.'

²⁸ And Isaiah also said, `The Lord who has power, left some of our children. If he had not, we would have been like Sodom. We would have been destroyed like Gomorrah.'

²⁹ So what shall we say? The people who are not Jews have been put right with God. They did nothing to make themselves right with God. But they were put right because they believed God.

³⁰ But the Jews tried to obey the law that could make them good people. But they did not obey it all.

³¹ Why was that? They did not trust in God. They only trusted in doing the things of the law. They therefore hit their feet on the stone on which men hit their feet.

³² That is what the holy writings say, `I put in Zion a stone on which people will hit their feet. It is a rock that will make them fall down. Anyone who believes in him will not be ashamed.'

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to him. They wanted to show him the different buildings that were a part of the temple.

² But Jesus answered them, `Do you see these buildings? I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on top of another stone. They will all be thrown down!'

³ Jesus was sitting on the hill called the Mount of Olives. The disciples came to him alone. They said, `Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign to show you are coming and that it is the end of this world?'

⁴ Jesus answered them, `Take care. Do not let anyone fool you.

⁵ Many men will come in my name. They will say, "I am the Christ". They will fool many people.

⁶ You will hear about wars. You will hear that war is coming. But do not fear. These things must happen, but that is not yet the end.

⁷ One tribe will fight against another tribe. And one country will fight against another country. The people will have no food to eat. Many people will be sick. The earth will shake in many different places.

⁸ All these troubles are only the beginning of troubles that will come.

⁹ `Then people will trouble you and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are true to me.

¹⁰ Then many people will stop believing. They will give one another over to trouble. They will hate one another.

¹¹ Many people will come and say they are prophets of God. But they will not be true. They will fool many people.

¹² People will do more and more wrong things and many people will stop loving me.

¹³ But the person who keeps on being true to me until the end, that one will be saved.

¹⁴ This good news about the kingdom will be told in all the world. The people in all countries must know about it. And then the end will come.'