Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies^(A)

A Song. A Psalm of David.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you ^(A)return to the Lord with all your hearts, then ^(B)put away the foreign gods and the ^(C)Ashtoreths^[a] from among you, and ^(D)prepare your hearts for the Lord, and ^(E)serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the children of Israel put away the ^(F)Baals and the ^[b]Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵ And Samuel said, ^(G)“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and ^(H)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered together at Mizpah, ^(I)drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they ^(J)fasted that day, and said there, ^(K)“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the children of Israel said to Samuel, ^(L)“Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁹ And Samuel took a ^(M)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then ^(N)Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. ^(O)But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and ^[c]drove them back as far as below Beth Car. ¹² Then Samuel ^(P)took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name ^[d]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

^13 (Q)So the Philistines were subdued, and they ^(R)did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ And Samuel ^(S)judged Israel all the days of his life.

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(A)having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He laid hold of ^(B)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and ^(C)set a seal on him, ^(D)so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

⁴ And I saw ^(E)thrones, and they sat on them, and ^(F)judgment was committed to them. Then I saw ^(G)the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, ^(H)who had not worshiped the beast ^(I)or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they ^(J)lived and ^(K)reigned with Christ for ^[a]a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such ^(L)the second death has no power, but they shall be ^(M)priests of God and of Christ, ^(N)and shall reign with Him a thousand years.