Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 74[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?[c]
Why does your anger burn[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued[f] so they could be your very own nation,[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.[i]
4 Your enemies roar[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;[k]
they set up their battle flags.[l]
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.[m]
6 And now[n] they are tearing down[o] all its engravings[p]
with axes[q] and crowbars.[r]
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.[s]
8 They say to themselves,[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.[v]
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;[w]
there are no longer any prophets,[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.[y]
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.[z]
12 But God has been my[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.[ab]
13 You destroyed[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster[ad] in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;[ae]
you fed[af] him to the people who live along the coast.[ag]
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.[ai]
16 You established the cycle of day and night;[aj]
you put the moon[ak] and sun in place.[al]
17 You set up all the boundaries[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.[an]
18 Remember how[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.[at]
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.[au]
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.[aw]
23 Do not disregard[ax] what your enemies say,[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.[az]
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he[a] said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on[b] Israel?” 18 Elijah[c] replied, “I have not brought disaster on[d] Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. 19 Now send out messengers[e] and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports.”[f]
20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision?[g] If the Lord is the true God,[h] then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. 22 Elijah said to them:[i] “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. 24 Then you[j] will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.”[k] All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.”[l]
25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.”[m] 26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested,[n] and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped[o] around on the altar they had made.[p] 27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”[q] 28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual,[r] mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.[s] 29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy,[t] but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.[u]
30 Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.[v] 31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord’s message had come, “Israel will be your name.”[w] 32 With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord.[x] Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs[y] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” 34 When they had done so,[z] he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. 36 When it was time for the evening offering,[aa] Elijah the prophet approached the altar[ab] and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove[ac] today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God[ad] and that you are winning back their allegiance.”[ae] 38 Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky.[af] It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The Lord is the true God![ag] The Lord is the true God!” 40 Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed[ah] them there.
Satan’s Final Defeat
7 Now[a] when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive[b] the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,[c] to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.[d] 9 They[e] went up[f] on the broad plain of the earth[g] and encircled[h] the camp[i] of the saints and the beloved city, but[j] fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.[k] 10 And the devil who deceived[l] them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur,[m] where the beast and the false prophet are[n] too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.
The Great White Throne
11 Then[o] I saw a large[p] white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven[q] fled[r] from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then[s] books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life.[t] So[u] the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.[v] 13 The[w] sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death[x] and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then[y] Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 If[z] anyone’s name[aa] was not found written in the book of life, that person[ab] was thrown into the lake of fire.
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