Old/New Testament
The Future Reign of God
4 “But in the last days it will come about
that the Temple Mount of the Lord will be firmly set
as the leading mountain.
It will be exalted above its surrounding[a] hills,
and people will stream toward it.
2 Many nations will approach and say,
‘Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the Temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways,
and we will walk according to his directions.’
“Indeed, the Law will proceed from Zion,
and the message of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he will judge among many people,
rebuking strong nations far away;
and they will reshape their swords as plowshares
and their spears as pruning hooks.
No nation will threaten another,[b]
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Instead, each man will sit in the shade of[c] his grape vines
and beneath the shade of[d] his fig tree,”
since the[e] Lord of the Heavenly Armies has spoken.
5 “Because all of the people will walk,
each person in the name of his God,
and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
6 “At that time,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame;
and I will gather those whom I have scattered,
along with those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will transform the lame into survivors,
and those who were scattered into a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion,
now and forever.”
Zion’s Captivity
8 “And you, watchtower of the flock,
you stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
it will happen even to you:
The former dominion, even the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem, will come.
9 Why are you crying so loud now?
There’s no king among you, is there?
Perhaps your advisor has died?
For pain has overtaken you like a woman in labor.
10 Be in pain! Be in labor, you daughter of Zion,
like a woman about to give birth,
because now you will depart from the city,
living in the open fields.
To Babylon you will go.
There you will be delivered,
there the Lord will rescue you from the power[f] of your enemies.”
The Nations Despise Zion
11 “Now many nations have gathered against you, saying,
‘Let her be defiled,’ and
‘Let’s look down on Zion.’
12 But they don’t know the thoughts of the Lord,
and they don’t understand his tactics,
for he will gather them like harvested grain to his threshing floor.
13 Get up and smash[g] them to pieces, daughter of Zion,
because I will make your horn like iron
and your hooves like bronze!
And you will beat many people to pieces,
and I will consecrate their dishonest[h] gain to the Lord
and their assets to the Lord of the entire earth.”
5 [i]“Now marshal yourselves as troops.[j]
He has laid siege to us.
They will strike the judge[k] of Israel on the cheek with a rod.”
The Ruler from Bethlehem
2 [l]“As for you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
even though you remain least among the clans[m] of Judah,
nevertheless, the one who rules in Israel for me
will emerge from you.
His existence has been[n] from antiquity,
even from eternity.
3 Therefore that ruler[o] will abandon them
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of his countrymen will return to the Israelis.”
4 “Then he will take his stand,
shepherding by means of the strength of the Lord,
by the power[p] of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will be firmly[q] established;
indeed, from then on he will become great—
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace.”
God’s Judgment on Assyria
“When the Assyrian invades our land,
trampling through our palaces,
we will raise up seven shepherds against him,
even eight significant men.
6 The shepherds[r] will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword,
along with the entrances to the land of Nimrod.
“This is how he will vanquish[s] Assyria
when he invades our land,
trampling within our borders:
7 The survivors of Jacob will live among many nations,
as dew from the Lord,
as showers upon the grass.
They will look to no one,
and will place no hope in human beings.
8 The survivors of Jacob will live among the nations;
they will live among many nations,
like a lion among flocks of sheep,
who, if he passes through,
will trample and tear down
with no one to deliver.
9 You will turn your power[t] against your adversaries,
and all of your enemies will be cut down.”
God Removes Idolatry
10 “It will come about at that time,” declares the Lord,
“I will tear away your horses from you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and I will tear down all of your fortifications.
12 I will render your witchcraft powerless,[u]
and mediums will no longer exist among you.
13 I will separate you from your carved images and sacred pillars,
and you no longer will worship
what you’ve made with your hands.
14 I will uproot your cultic gods[v] from you,
and I will tear down your cities.
15 I will execute vengeance, anger, and fury
on the nations who do not obey.”
The Vision of a Woman Dressed with the Sun
12 A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a victor’s crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out from her labor pains, the agony of giving birth.
The Vision of the Red Dragon
3 Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule[a] all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her by God so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The Vision of War in Heaven
7 Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back. 8 But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.
The Vision of the Cry of Victory
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
“Now the salvation, the power,
the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah[b] have come.
For the one who accuses our brothers,
who accuses them day and night
in the presence of our God,
has been thrown out.
11 Our brothers[c] conquered him by the blood of the lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to their lives
even in the face of death.
12 So be glad, heavens, and those who live in them!
How terrible it is for the earth and the sea,
because the Devil has come down to you, filled with rage,
knowing that his time is short!”
The Vision of Persecution of the Woman and Her Children
13 When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued[d] the woman who had given birth to the boy. 14 However, the woman was given the two wings of a large eagle so that she could fly away from the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she could be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. 15 From its mouth the serpent spewed water like a river behind the woman in order to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed from its mouth. 17 The dragon became angry with the woman and went away to do battle against the rest of her children, the ones who keep God’s commandments and hold on to the testimony about Jesus. 18 Then the dragon[e] stood on the sand of the seashore.[f]
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