December 2nd, 2022

December 02, 2022

Today's Reading:

New Testament & Psalms Plan: 1 Peter 4:12–5:14, Psalm 136:1–6
Entire Bible Plan: 1 Peter 4:12–5:14, Psalm 136:1–6, Ezekiel 38:1–40:16

Download NT & Psalms Plan Download Entire Bible Plan

Christian Suffering

Dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

So then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

About the Elders

I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God's flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because

God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.

Conclusion

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. To him be dominion forever. Amen.

Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.


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 Defeat of Gog

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, face Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and say, 'This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders, who are all splendidly dressed, a huge assembly armed with large and small shields, all of them brandishing swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets; Gomer with all its troops; and Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north along with all its troops—many peoples are with you.

"'Be prepared and get yourself ready, you and your whole assembly that has been mobilized around you; you will be their guard. After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely. You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

"'This is what the Lord God says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. You will say, "I will advance against a land of open villages; I will come against a tranquil people who are living securely, all of them living without walls and without bars or gates"— in order to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against ruins now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have been acquiring cattle and possessions and who live at the center of the world. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its rulers will ask you, "Have you come to seize spoil? Have you mobilized your assembly to carry off plunder, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and possessions, to seize plenty of spoil?"'

"Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, 'This is what the Lord God says: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know this and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north—you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses—a huge assembly, a powerful army? You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.

"'This is what the Lord God says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them? Now on that day, the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel—this is the declaration of the Lord God—my wrath will flare up. I swear in my zeal and fiery wrath: On that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before me. The mountains will be demolished, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains—this is the declaration of the Lord God—and every man's sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him. I will display my greatness and holiness, and I will reveal myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'

The Disposal of Gog

"As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, 'This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, drive you on, and lead you up from the remotest parts of the north. I will bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. You, all your troops, and the peoples who are with you will fall on the mountains of Israel. I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and to the wild animals. You will fall on the open field, for I have spoken. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

"'I will send fire against Magog and those who live securely on the coasts and islands. Then they will know that I am the Lord. So I will make my holy name known among my people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Yes, it is coming, and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord God. This is the day I have spoken about.

"'Then the inhabitants of Israel's cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires. They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it down from the forests, for they will use the weapons to make fires. They will take the loot from those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

"'Now on that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel—the Travelers' Valley east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, for Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called Hordes of Gog Valley. The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them and their fame will spread on the day I display my glory. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

"'They will appoint men on a full-time basis to pass through the land and bury the invaders who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will make their search at the end of the seven months. When they pass through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker next to it until the buriers have buried it in Hordes of Gog Valley. There will even be a city named Hamonah there. So they will cleanse the land.'

"Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: Tell every kind of bird and all the wild animals, 'Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my sacrificial feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel; you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the earth's princes: rams, lambs, male goats, and all the fattened bulls of Bashan. You will eat fat until you are satisfied and drink blood until you are drunk, at my sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you. At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, of mighty men and all the warriors. This is the declaration of the Lord God.'

Israel's Restoration to God

"I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid on them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid my face from them.

"So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They will feel remorse for their disgrace and all the unfaithfulness they committed against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to frighten them. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of many nations. They will know that I am the Lord their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel." This is the declaration of the Lord God.

The New Temple

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been captured, on that very day the Lord's hand was on me, and he brought me there. In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On its southern slope was a structure resembling a city. He brought me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the city gate. He spoke to me: "Son of man, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel."

The Wall and Outer Gates

Now there was a wall surrounding the outside of the temple. The measuring rod in the man's hand was six units of twenty-one inches; each unit was the standard length plus three inches. He measured the thickness of the wall structure; it was 10½ feet, and its height was the same. Then he came to the gate that faced east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate; it was 10½ feet deep—one threshold was 10½ feet deep. Each recess was 10½ feet long and 10½ feet deep, and there was a space of 8¾ feet between the recesses. The inner threshold of the gate on the temple side next to the gate's portico was 10½ feet. Next he measured the gate's portico; it was 14 feet, and its jambs were 3½ feet. The gate's portico was on the temple side.

There were three recesses on each side of the east gate, each with the same measurements, and the jambs on either side also had the same measurements. Then he measured the width of the gate's entrance; it was 17½ feet, while the width of the gate was 22¾ feet. There was a barrier of 21 inches in front of the recesses on both sides, and the recesses on each side were 10½ feet square. Then he measured the gate from the roof of one recess to the roof of the opposite one; the distance was 43¾ feet. The openings of the recesses faced each other. Next, he measured the porch—105 feet. The distance from the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the gate's portico on the inside was 87½ feet. The recesses and their jambs had beveled windows all around the inside of the gate. The porticoes also had windows all around on the inside. Each jamb was decorated with palm trees.


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.

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