Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 “Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is [a]destroyed, this I know,
That (A)in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my [b]heart yearns within me!
Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
(A)You have [a]tried me and have found [b]nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not (B)transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 (C)Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 (D)I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who [c]save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the [d]apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
The Great Apostasy
2 Now, brethren, (A)concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (B)and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 (C)not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of [a]Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come (D)unless the falling away comes first, and (E)the man of [b]sin is revealed, (F)the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and (G)exalts himself (H)above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits [c]as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Stand Fast
13 But we are [a]bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God (A)from the beginning (B)chose you for salvation (C)through [b]sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for (D)the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, (E)stand fast and hold (F)the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our [c]epistle.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, (G)who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and (H)good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts (I)and [d]establish you in every good word and work.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?(A)
27 (B)Then some of the Sadducees, (C)who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second [a]took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven [b]also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”
34 Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are (D)counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for (E)they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, (F)being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord (G)‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for (H)all live to Him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.