Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
98 Sing a new song to the Lord telling about his mighty deeds! For he has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness. 2-3 He has announced this victory and revealed it to every nation by fulfilling his promise to be kind to Israel. The whole earth has seen God’s salvation of his people. 4 That is why the earth breaks out in praise to God and sings for utter joy!
5 Sing your praise accompanied by music from the harp. 6 Let the cornets and trumpets shout! Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King! 7 Let the sea in all its vastness roar with praise! Let the earth and all those living on it shout, “Glory to the Lord.”
8-9 Let the waves clap their hands in glee and the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the world with perfect justice.
10 Suddenly a throne of beautiful blue sapphire[a] appeared in the sky above the heads of the Guardian Angels.
2 Then the Lord spoke to the man in linen clothing and said: “Go in between the whirling wheels beneath the Guardian Angels, and take a handful of glowing coals and scatter them over the city.”
He did so while I watched. 3 The Guardian Angels were standing at the south end of the Temple when the man went in. And the cloud of glory filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the Guardian Angels and went over to the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud of glory, and the court of the Temple was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And the sound of the wings of the Guardian Angels was as the voice of Almighty God when he speaks and could be heard clear out in the outer court.
6 When the Lord told the man in linen clothing to go between the Guardian Angels and take some burning coals from between the wheels, the man went in and stood beside one of the wheels, 7-8 and one of the Guardian Angels reached out his hand (for each of the mighty Angels had, beneath his wings, what looked like human hands) and took some live coals from the flames between the Angels and put them into the hands of the man in linen clothes, who took them and went out.
9-13 Each of the four Guardian Angels had a wheel beside him—“The Whirl-Wheels,” as I heard them called, for each one had a second wheel crosswise within—sparkling like chrysolite, giving off a greenish yellow glow. Because of the construction of these wheels,[b] the Angels could go straight forward in each of four directions; they did not turn when they changed direction but could go in any of the four ways their faces looked. Each of the four wheels was covered with eyes, including the rims and spokes. 14 Each of the four Guardian Angels had four faces—the first was that of an ox;[c] the second, a man’s; the third, a lion’s; and the fourth, an eagle’s.
15-16 These were the same beings I had seen beside the Chebar Canal, and when they rose into the air, the wheels rose with them and stayed beside them as they flew. 17 When the Guardian Angels stood still, so did the wheels, for the spirit of the Guardian Angels was in the wheels.[d]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved from the door of the Temple and stood above the Guardian Angels. 19 And as I watched, the Guardian Angels flew with their wheels beside them to the east gate of the Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God begin?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘It has begun here in this place or there in that part of the country.’ For the Kingdom of God is within you.”[a]
22 Later he talked again about this with his disciples. “The time is coming when you will long for me[b] to be with you even for a single day, but I won’t be here,” he said. 23 “Reports will reach you that I have returned and that I am in this place or that; don’t believe it or go out to look for me. 24 For when I return, you will know it beyond all doubt. It will be as evident as the lightning that flashes across the skies. 25 But first I must suffer terribly and be rejected by this whole nation.
26 “When I return[c] the world will be as indifferent to the things of God as the people were in Noah’s day. 27 They ate and drank and married—everything just as usual right up to the day when Noah went into the ark and the Flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot: people went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the hour of my return.[d]
31 “Those away from home that day must not return to pack; those in the fields must not return to town— 32 remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it. 34 That night two men will be asleep in the same room, and one will be taken away, the other left. 35-36 Two women will be working together at household tasks; one will be taken, the other left; and so it will be with men working side by side in the fields.”
37 “Lord, where will they be taken?” the disciples asked.
Jesus replied, “Where the body is, the vultures gather!”[e]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.