Book of Common Prayer
Sealing God’s people
7 After this I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to stop any wind from blowing on earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel coming up from the east, holding the seal of the living God. He shouted out in a loud voice to the four angels who had responsibility for harming the earth and the sea. 3 “Don’t harm the earth just yet,” he shouted, “or the sea, or the trees. Don’t do it until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
4 I heard the number of the people who were sealed: it was a hundred and forty-four thousand who were sealed from all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Twelve thousand were sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, 6 twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar, 8 twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin. That is the number that were sealed.
51 As the time came nearer for Jesus to be taken up, he settled it in his mind to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They came into a Samaritan village to get them ready, 53 and they refused to receive him, because his mind was set on going to Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Master, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn them up?” 55 He turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went on to another village.
57 As they were going along the road a man addressed Jesus.
“Wherever you’re going,” he said, “I’ll follow you!”
58 “Foxes have lairs,” Jesus replied, “and the birds in the sky have nests; but the son of man doesn’t have anywhere to lay his head.”
59 To another person he said, “Follow me.”
“Master,” he replied, “let me first go and bury my father.”
60 “Let the dead bury their dead,” said Jesus. “You must go and announce God’s kingdom.”
61 “I will follow you, Master,” said another, “but first let me say goodbye to the people at home.”
62 “Nobody,” replied Jesus, “who begins to plow and then looks over his shoulder is fit for God’s kingdom.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.