Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A psalm.

The Glory of the Lord Moves Out of the Temple

10 I looked up and saw something that appeared to be a throne made out of lapis lazuli. It was above the huge space that was spread out over the heads of the cherubim. ² The Lord spoke to the man who was wearing linen clothes. He said, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from the fire that is among the cherubim. Scatter the coals over the city.” As I watched, he went in.

³ The cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in. A cloud filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim. It moved to the doorway of the temple. The cloud filled the temple. And the courtyard was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The sound the wings of the cherubim made could be heard as far away as the outer courtyard. It was like the voice of the Mighty God when he speaks.

⁶ The Lord gave a command to the man who was dressed in linen clothes. He said, “Get some coals of fire from among the wheels. Take them from among the cherubim.” So the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand. He picked up some of the burning coals that were among the wheels. He handed them to the man who was wearing linen clothes. The man took them and left. ⁸ I saw what looked like human hands. They were under the wings of the cherubim.

⁹ I looked up and saw four wheels beside the cherubim. One wheel was beside each of them. The wheels gleamed like topaz. ¹⁰ All four of them looked alike. Each wheel appeared to be inside another wheel at right angles. ¹¹ The wheels could go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced. The wheels didn’t change their direction as the cherubim moved. The cherubim went in the direction their heads faced. They didn’t change their direction as they moved. ¹² Their whole bodies were completely covered with eyes. That included their backs, hands and wings. Their four wheels were covered with eyes too. ¹³ I heard someone tell the wheels to start spinning around. ¹⁴ Each of the cherubim had four faces. One face was the face of a cherub. The second was the face of a human being. The third was the face of a lion. And the fourth was an eagle’s face.

¹⁵ The cherubim rose from the ground. They were the same living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved. The cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground. As they did, the wheels didn’t leave their side. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still. When the cherubim rose, the wheels rose along with them. That’s because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the doorway of the temple. It stopped above the cherubim. ¹⁹ While I watched, they spread their wings. They rose from the ground. As they went, the wheels went along with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

The Coming of God’s Kingdom

²⁰ Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He replied, “The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see. ²¹ People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ That’s because God’s kingdom is among you.”

²² Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. “The time is coming,” he said, “when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you won’t see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ Or, ‘Here he is!’ Don’t go running off after them. ²⁴ When the Son of Man comes, he will be like the lightning. It flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first the Son of Man must suffer many things. He will not be accepted by the people of today.

²⁶ “Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ²⁷ People were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking. They were buying and selling. They were planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven. And all the people were destroyed.

³⁰ “It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is shown to the world. ³¹ Suppose someone is on the housetop on that day. And suppose what they own is inside the house. They should not go down to get what they own. No one in the field should go back for anything either. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life will keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One person will be taken and the other left. ^35-36 Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” his disciples asked.

He replied, “The vultures will gather where there is a dead body.”