Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Power That Wins
76 God is known in Judah. His name is great in Israel. 2 His holy tent of worship is in Salem. He lives in Zion. 3 There He broke the burning arrows, the iron covering and the sword, and all the things used for fighting in war.
4 You are shining with greatness, more beautiful than the mountains with many animals. 5 Strong men have been robbed. They sleep their last sleep. Not one of the soldiers can lift his hands. 6 O God of Jacob, both soldier and horse were put in a dead sleep because of Your sharp words. 7 You alone are to be feared. Who may stand before You when You are angry?
8 You said from heaven who is guilty or not. The earth was afraid and quiet 9 when God stood up to say who is guilty or not, and to save all the people of the earth who are not proud. 10 For the anger of man will praise You. And You will keep what is left of anger around You.
11 Make promises to the Lord your God and keep them. Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him, Who is to be feared. 12 He will cut off the spirit of princes. He is feared by the kings of the earth.
19 Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth animal which was different from all the others. It filled me with fear, with its iron teeth and sharp nails of brass. It ate and crushed, and whatever was left it crushed with its feet. 20 I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head, and the other horn which came up. I wanted to know about the three horns that fell in front of this larger horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke proud words. 21 As I watched, this horn was fighting a war against the holy ones and winning the battle, 22 until the One came Who has lived forever. This One judged in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. And the time came when the holy ones took the nation for their own.
23 “He told me, ‘The fourth animal will be a fourth nation on the earth. It will be different from all the other nations. It will destroy the whole earth. And it will crush under foot whatever is left. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this nation. And another will come after them who will be different from the ones before. He will put three kings under his power. 25 He will speak against the Most High and make it hard for His holy ones. And he will try to make changes in times and in law. The holy ones will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time (three and a half years). 26 But the Judge will decide against him. And his ruling power will be taken away and destroyed forever. 27 Then the ruling power and greatness of all the nations under the whole heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His nation will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’
The House of God
11 I was given a stick that is used to see how big things are. Someone said, “Go up to the house of God and find out how big it is. Find out about the altar also. See how many people are worshiping. 2 Do not find out about the porch of the house of God. It has been given over to the nations who do not know God. They will walk over all the Holy City to wreck it for forty-two months. 3 I will give power to my two men who tell what they know. They will speak for God for 1,260 days (forty-two months). They will be dressed in clothes made from the hair of animals.”
The Two Men Who Tell What They Know
4 These two men who tell what they know are the two olive trees and the two lights that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone hates them and tries to hurt them, fire comes out of the mouths of these two men. The fire kills those who try to hurt them. 6 They have power to shut up the sky. During the time they speak for God, there will be no rain. They have power to change all waters into blood. They can send every kind of trouble to the earth whenever they want to.
The Death of the Two Men Who Speak for God
7 When they have finished speaking for God, the wild animal will make war with them. It will come up out of the hole without a bottom. This wild animal will have power over them and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem. It is where their Lord was nailed to a cross. The city is sometimes called Sodom and Egypt. 9 For three-and-one-half days those from every people and from every family and from every language and from every nation will look at their dead bodies. People will not allow the dead bodies of these two men to be put in a grave. 10 Those who are living on the earth will be happy because of the death of these two men. They will do things to show they are happy. They will send gifts to each other. They will do this because these two men brought much trouble and suffering to the people of the earth.
The Two Men Come to Life Again
11 After three-and-one-half days, life from God came into them again. They stood on their feet. Those who saw them were very much afraid.
12 Then the two men who told what they knew heard a loud voice from heaven. It said, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud. All those who hated them watched them go. 13 At the same time the earth shook. One-tenth part of the buildings of the city fell down. Seven thousand people were killed. The rest of the people were afraid and gave honor to the God of heaven.
14 The second time of trouble is past. But look, the third time of trouble is coming soon.
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