December 24th, 2022

The Lamb and the 144,000

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

The Proclamation of Three Angels

Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”

And another, a third angel, followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name. This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven. Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.” So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The pronouncement concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

God’s Vengeance

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against his foes;
he is furious with his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
He rebukes the sea and dries it up,
and he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles at his presence—
the world and all who live in it.
Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
even rocks are shattered before him.

Destruction of Nineveh

The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
he cares for those who take refuge in him.
But he will completely destroy Nineveh
with an overwhelming flood,
and he will chase his enemies into darkness.

Whatever you plot against the Lord,
he will bring it to complete destruction;
oppression will not rise up a second time.
For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.
One has gone out from you,
who plots evil against the Lord,
and is a wicked counselor.

Promise of Judah’s Deliverance

This is what the Lord says:

Though they are strong and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he will pass away.
Though I have punished you,
I will punish you no longer.
For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.

The Assyrian King’s Demise

The Lord has issued an order concerning you:

There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.

Look to the mountains—
the feet of the herald,
who proclaims peace.
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.

Attack against Nineveh

One who scatters is coming up against you.
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace yourself!
Summon all your strength!

For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes, the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches.

The shields of his warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away.

Beauty is stripped;
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves
and beat their breasts.
Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,
but they are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.
Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,
knees tremble,
insides churn,
every face grows pale!

Where is the lions’ lair,
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion’s cub,
with nothing to frighten them away?
The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.
Beware, I am against you.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

I will make your chariots go up in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.

Nineveh’s Downfall

Woe to the city of blood,
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.
The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!
Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over their dead.
Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,
I am against you.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.
I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;
I will make a spectacle of you.
Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?

Are you better than Thebes
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river her wall?
Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her allies.
Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
You also will become drunk;
you will hide.
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!

Look, your troops are like women among you;
your land’s city gates
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.

Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
The fire will devour you there;
the sword will cut you down.
It will devour you like the young locust.
Multiply yourselves like the young locust;
multiply like the swarming locust!
You have made your merchants
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips the land
and flies away.
Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.

King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
with no one to gather them together.
There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.