Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 108^[a]

A song. A psalm of David.

³ Then Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are turning to the Lord with all your heart, then get rid of all the foreign gods and the Astartes you have. Set your heart on the Lord! Worship him only! Then he will deliver you from the Philistines’ power.” ⁴ So the Israelites got rid of the Baals and the Astartes and worshipped the Lord only.

⁵ Next Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.”

⁶ So they assembled at Mizpah, and they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence. They fasted that same day and confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Samuel served as judge of the Israelites at Mizpah.

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had assembled at Mizpah, the Philistine rulers went up to attack Israel. When the Israelites learned of this, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ The Israelites said to Samuel, “Please don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us, so God will save us from the Philistines’ power!” ⁹ So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as an entirely burned offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out in prayer to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ While Samuel was offering the entirely burned offering, the Philistines advanced to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against the Philistines with a great blast on that very day, throwing the Philistines into such a panic that they were defeated by Israel. ¹¹ The Israelite soldiers came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines. They struck them down until they reached a place just below Beth-car. ¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah.^[a] He named it Ebenezer,^[b] explaining, “The Lord helped us to this very point.”

¹³ So the Philistines were defeated, and they stopped coming into Israelite territory. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines throughout Samuel’s life. ¹⁴ The towns the Philistines had captured from Israel, from Ekron to Gath, were returned to Israel. Israel also recovered the territory around those two cities from the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel served as Israel’s judge his whole life.

Satan confined

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. ² He seized the dragon, the old snake, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the abyss, then locked and sealed it over him. This was to keep him from continuing to deceive the nations until the thousand years were over. After this he must be released for a little while.

The saints rule with Christ

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and people took their seats on them, and judgment was given in their favor.^[a] They were the ones who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and God’s word, and those who hadn’t worshipped the beast or its image, who hadn’t received the mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and ruled with Christ for one thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead didn’t come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Favored and holy are those who have a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will rule with him for one thousand years.