Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

¹³ And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favourable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favourably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, ^(A)“As the Lord lives, ^(B)what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” ¹⁵ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ¹⁶ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, ^(C)as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^(D)“Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: ^(E)I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, ^(F)and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; ²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be ^(G)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and behold, on ^(A)Mount Zion ^(B)stood the Lamb, and with him ^(C)144,000 who ^(D)had his name and his Father's name written ^(E)on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven ^(F)like the roar of many waters and ^(G)like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of ^(H)harpists playing on their harps, ³ and they were singing ^(I)a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. ^(J)No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for ^(K)they are virgins. It is these ^(L)who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as ^(M)firstfruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and ^(N)in their mouth no lie was found, for they are ^(O)blameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel ^(P)flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^(Q)those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷ And he said with a loud voice, ^(R)“Fear God and ^(S)give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come, and ^(T)worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^(U)springs of water.”

⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ^(V)“Fallen, fallen is ^(W)Babylon the great, ^(X)she who made all nations drink ^(Y)the wine of the passion^[a] of her sexual immorality.”

⁹ And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^(Z)worships the beast and its image and receives ^(AA)a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink ^(AB)the wine of God's wrath, ^(AC)poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and ^(AD)he will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And ^(AE)the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever, and ^(AF)they have no rest, day or night, these ^(AG)worshippers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”