Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Praise

95 Come, let us sing with joy to the Lord. Let us sing loud with joy to the rock Who saves us. ² Let us come before Him giving thanks. Let us make a sound of joy to Him with songs. ³ For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. ⁴ The deep places of the earth are in His hand. And the tops of the mountains belong to Him. ⁵ The sea is His, for He made it. And His hands made the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us get down on our knees before the Lord Who made us. ⁷ For He is our God. And we are the people of His field, and the sheep of His hand. If you hear His voice today,

¹³ The man who went to call Micaiah said to him, “See, the words of those who speak for God are all in the king’s favor. Let your words be like theirs and speak in favor of the king.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord says to me.” ¹⁵ Micaiah came to the king. And the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or should we not?” He answered, “Go up and do well. The Lord will give it to the king.” ¹⁶ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I tell you to speak nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ So Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel spread upon the mountains like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no owner. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’” ¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not speak good of me, but bad?” ¹⁹ Micaiah said, “So hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne. All those in heaven were standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ The Lord said, ‘Who will lead Ahab to go up and die at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another thing. ²¹ Then a spirit came and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will lead him.’ ²² The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all those who will tell what will happen in the future.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are to lead him, and do well. Go and do so.’ ²³ Now see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these who tell what will happen in the future. The Lord has said bad things against you.”

The Lamb Stands in Jerusalem

14 Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with Him. These people had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² I heard a voice coming from heaven. It was like the sound of rushing water and of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like people playing music on their harps. ³ This large group sang a new song. They sang before the throne and in front of the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders. Only the 144,000 could learn this song. They had been bought by the blood of Christ and made free from the earth. ⁴ These are men who have kept themselves pure by not being married. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been bought by the blood of Christ and have been made free from among men. They are the first ones to be given to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ No lie has come from their mouths. They are without blame.

The Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in the heavens. He was carrying the Good News that lasts forever. He was preaching to every nation and to every family group and to the people of every language and to all the people of the earth. ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Honor God with love and fear. The time has come for Him to judge all men. Worship Him Who made heaven and earth and the sea and the places where water comes out of the earth.”

⁸ A second angel followed, saying, “Babylon has fallen! The great city Babylon has fallen! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her sinful sex life.”

⁹ A third angel followed, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the wild animal and his false god and receives a mark on his forehead or hand, ¹⁰ he will drink of the wine of the anger of God. It is mixed in full strength in the cup of God’s anger. They will be punished with fire and burning sulphur in front of the holy angels and before the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of those who are being punished will go up forever. They have no rest day or night. It is because they have worshiped the wild animal and his false god and have received the mark of his name.