Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 “At that time Michael, the mighty angelic prince who stands guard over your nation, will stand up and fight for you in heaven against satanic forces,[a] and there will be a time of anguish for the Jews greater than any previous suffering in Jewish history. And yet every one of your people whose names are written in the Book will endure it.
2 “And many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 “And those who are wise—the people of God—shall shine as brightly as the sun’s brilliance, and those who turn many to righteousness will glitter like stars forever.
16 Save me, O God, because I have come to you for refuge. 2 I said to him, “You are my Lord; I have no other help but yours.” 3 I want the company of the godly men and women in the land; they are the true nobility. 4 Those choosing other gods shall all be filled with sorrow; I will not offer the sacrifices they do or even speak the names of their gods.
5 The Lord himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy! He guards all that is mine. 6 He sees that I am given pleasant brooks and meadows as my share![a] What a wonderful inheritance! 7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me; he gives me wisdom in the night. He tells me what to do.
8 I am always thinking of the Lord; and because he is so near, I never need to stumble or fall.
9 Heart, body, and soul are filled with joy. 10 For you will not leave me among the dead; you will not allow your beloved one to rot in the grave. 11 You have let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own eternal presence.
11 Under the old agreement the priests stood before the altar day after day offering sacrifices that could never take away our sins. 12 But Christ gave himself to God for our sins as one sacrifice for all time and then sat down in the place of highest honor at God’s right hand, 13 waiting for his enemies to be laid under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he made forever perfect in the sight of God all those whom he is making holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit testifies that this is so, for he has said, 16 “This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel, though they broke their first agreement: I will write my laws into their minds so that they will always know my will, and I will put my laws in their hearts so that they will want to obey them.” 17 And then he adds, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 Now, when sins have once been forever forgiven and forgotten, there is no need to offer more sacrifices to get rid of them.
19 And so, dear brothers, now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies, where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. 20 This is the fresh, new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us by tearing the curtain—his human body—to let us into the holy presence of God.
21 And since this great High Priest of ours rules over God’s household, 22 let us go right in to God himself, with true hearts fully trusting him to receive us because we have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean and because our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Now we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt, and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that he will do what he says.
24 In response to all he has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good.
25 Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
13 As he was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, what beautiful buildings these are! Look at the decorated stonework on the walls.”
2 Jesus replied, “Yes, look! For not one stone will be left upon another, except as ruins.”
3-4 And as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives across the valley from Jerusalem, Peter, James, John, and Andrew got alone with him and asked him, “Just when is all this going to happen to the Temple? Will there be some warning ahead of time?”
5 So Jesus launched into an extended reply. “Don’t let anyone mislead you,” he said, 6 “for many will come declaring themselves to be your Messiah and will lead many astray. 7 And wars will break out near and far, but this is not the signal of the end-time.
8 “For nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many lands, and famines. These herald only the early stages of the anguish ahead.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.