Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 It was the 24th day of the sixth month.
The New Temple Will Be Beautiful
In the second year of King Darius, 2 1 a second message came from the Lord. It came to Haggai the prophet. The message came on the 21st day of the seventh month. The Lord said, 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Also speak to Joshua the high priest, the son of Jozadak. And speak to all my people who are still left alive. Ask them, 3 ‘Did any of you who are here see how beautiful this temple used to be? How does it look to you now? It doesn’t look so good, does it? 4 But be strong, Zerubbabel,’ announces the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua. Be strong, all of you people in the land,’ announces the Lord. ‘Start rebuilding. I am with you,’ announces the Lord who rules over all. 5 ‘That is what I promised you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit continues to be with you. So do not be afraid.’ ”
6 The Lord says, “In a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth once more. I will also shake the ocean and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations. Then what is desired by all nations will come to my temple. And I will fill the temple with glory,” says the Lord who rules over all. 8 “The silver belongs to me. So does the gold,” announces the Lord who rules over all. 9 “The new temple will be more beautiful than the first one was,” says the Lord. “And in this place I will bring peace,” announces the Lord who rules over all.
A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.
145 I will honor you, my God the King.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
3 Lord, you are great. You are really worthy of praise.
No one can completely understand how great you are.
4 Parents praise your works to their children.
They tell about your mighty acts.
5 They speak about your glorious majesty.
I will spend time thinking about your wonderful deeds.
17 The Lord is right in everything he does.
He is faithful in everything he does.
18 The Lord is ready to help all those who call out to him.
He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him.
19 He satisfies the needs of those who have respect for him.
He hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all those who love him.
But he will destroy all sinful people.
21 I will praise the Lord with my mouth.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
A psalm.
98 Sing a new song to the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
By the power of his right hand and his holy arm
he has saved his people.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save.
He has shown the nations that he does what is right.
3 He has shown his faithful love
to the people of Israel.
People from one end of the earth to the other
have seen that our God has saved us.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
Burst into joyful songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with the harp.
Sing and make music with the harp.
6 Blow the trumpets. Give a blast on the ram’s horn.
Shout for joy to the Lord. He is the King.
7 Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
Let the world and all who live in it shout.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing together with joy.
9 Let them sing to the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the nations of the world
in keeping with what is right and fair.
The Man of Sin
2 Brothers and sisters, we want to ask you something. It has to do with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It concerns the time when we will go to be with him. 2 What if you receive a message that is supposed to have come from us? What if it says that the day of the Lord has already come? If it does, we ask you not to become easily upset or alarmed. Don’t be upset whether that message is spoken or written or prophesied. 3 Don’t let anyone trick you in any way. That day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is headed for ruin. 4 He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshiped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God’s temple. He will announce that he himself is God.
5 Don’t you remember? When I was with you, I used to tell you these things.
Remain Strong in the Faith
13 Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. The Lord loves you. That’s because God chose you as the first to be saved. Salvation comes through the Holy Spirit’s work. He makes people holy. It also comes through believing the truth. 14 He chose you to be saved by accepting the good news that we preach. And you will share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Hold on to what we taught you. We passed our teachings on to you by what we preached and wrote.
16 Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loved us. By his grace God gave us comfort that will last forever. The hope he gave us is good. May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father 17 comfort your hearts. May they make you strong in every good thing you do and say.
Marriage When the Dead Rise
27 The Sadducees do not believe that people rise from the dead. Some of them came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us about a man’s brother who dies. Suppose the brother leaves a wife but has no children. Then the man must marry the widow. He must provide children to carry on his dead brother’s name. 29 There were seven brothers. The first one married a woman. He died without leaving any children. 30 The second one married her. 31 And then the third one married her. One after another, the seven brothers married her. They all died. None left any children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers were married to her.”
34 Jesus replied, “People in this world get married. And their parents give them to be married. 35 But it will not be like that when the dead rise. Those who are considered worthy to take part in the world to come won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. 36 They can’t die anymore. They are like the angels. They are God’s children. They will be given a new form of life when the dead rise. 37 Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush. Even Moses showed that the dead rise. The Lord said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) 38 He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. In his eyes, everyone is alive.”
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