Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let’s come to him with thanksgiving.
Let’s sing songs to him.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the great King over all gods.
4 The deepest places on earth are his.
And the highest mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it.
He created the land with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship him.
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 He is our God.
And we are the people he takes care of
and the sheep that he tends.
Today listen to what he says:
13 The messenger who had gone to get Micaiah found him. He said to Micaiah, “All the other prophets are saying the king will succeed. You should agree with them. Give the king a good answer.”
14 But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
15 Then Micaiah came to Ahab. The king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?”
Micaiah answered, “Attack and win! The Lord will let you defeat them.”
16 But Ahab said to Micaiah, “Tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord. How many times do I have to tell you this?”
17 So Micaiah answered, “I saw the army of Israel. They were scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’”
18 Then Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you! This prophet never says anything good about me. He only says bad things about me.”
19 But Micaiah continued to speak. He said, “Hear the message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. His heavenly army was standing near him on his right and on his left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will trick Ahab into attacking Ramoth in Gilead? Do this so he will go and be killed.’
“The spirits did not agree about what they should do. 21 Then one spirit came and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 “The Lord asked, ‘How will you trick Ahab?’
“The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab’s prophets. I will make them tell lies.’
“So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.’”
23 Micaiah said, “Ahab, this has now happened. The Lord has caused your prophets to lie to you. The Lord has decided that great trouble should come to you.”
The Song of the Saved
14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion.[a] There were 144,000 people with him. They all had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of flooding water and like the sound of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like people playing harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living things and the elders.[b] The only ones who could learn the new song were the 144,000 who had been saved from the earth. No one else could learn the song. 4 These 144,000 are the ones who did not do sinful things with women. They kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb every place he goes. These 144,000 were saved from among the people of the earth. They are the first people to be offered to God and the Lamb. 5 They were not guilty of telling lies. They are without fault.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying high in the air. The angel had the eternal Good News to preach to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 The angel said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him praise. The time has come for God to judge all people. Worship God. He made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.”
8 Then the second angel followed the first angel and said, “She is destroyed! The great city of Babylon is destroyed! She made all the nations drink the wine of her adultery and of God’s anger.”
9 A third angel followed the first two angels. This third angel said in a loud voice: “It will be bad for the person who worships the beast and his idol and gets the beast’s mark on the forehead or on the hand. 10 He will drink the wine of God’s anger. This wine is prepared with all its strength in the cup of God’s anger. He will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.