Wednesday, March 2, 2016
John Chapter 6 ~ Feeding the 5,000 and Jesus' Claim to Be the Bread of Life
John 6 NLT
1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the
far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias.
2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever
he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.
3Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with
his disciples around him.
4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish
Passover celebration.)
5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people
coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to
feed all these people?”
6 He was testing Philip, for he already
knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for
months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
spoke up.
9 “There’s a young boy here with five
barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said.
So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about
5,000.)
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks
to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the
fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.
12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his
disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”
13 So they picked up the pieces and filled
twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five
barley loaves.
14When the people saw him do this miraculous
sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to
force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
16 That evening Jesus’ disciples went down
to the shore to wait for him.
17But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t
come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.
18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and
the sea grew very rough.
19 They had rowed three or four miles when
suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were
terrified,
20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be
afraid. I am here! ”
21 Then they were eager to let him in the
boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed
on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they
realized Jesus had not gone with them.
23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near
the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten.
24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus
nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to
Capernaum to look for him.
25They found him on the other side of the lake
and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth,
you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the
miraculous signs.
27 But don’t be so concerned about
perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that
the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his
approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s
works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work
God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous
sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?
31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while
they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them
bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses
didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the
true bread from heaven.
33 The true bread of God is the one who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread
every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty.
36 But you haven’t believed in me even
though you have seen me.
37 However, those the Father has given me
will come to me, and I will never reject them.
38 For I have come down from heaven to do
the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
39 And this is the will of God, that I
should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise
them up at the last day.
40For it is my Father’s will that all who see
his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at
the last day.”
41 Then the people began to murmur in
disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from
heaven.”
42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of
Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from
heaven’?”
43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining
about what I said.
44 For no one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them
up.
45 As it is written in the Scriptures,
‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns
from him comes to me.
46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the
Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who
believes has eternal life.
48 Yes, I am the bread of life!
49 Your ancestors ate manna in the
wilderness, but they all died.
50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven,
however, will never die.
51 I am the living bread that came down
from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread,
which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
52 Then the people began arguing with each
other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they
asked.
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the
truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you
cannot have eternal life within you.
54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.
55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is
true drink.
56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my
blood remains in me, and I in him.
57 I live because of the living Father who
sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.
58 I am the true bread that came down from
heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even
though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”
59 He said these things while he was
teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 Many of his disciples said, “This is
very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were
complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you?
62 Then what will you think if you see the
Son of Man ascend to heaven again?
63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life.
Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are
spirit and life.
64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For
Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would
betray him.)
65Then he said, “That is why I said that people
can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples
turned away and deserted him.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and
asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom
would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.
69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy
One of God. ”
70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of
you, but one is a devil.”
71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon
Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.
Psalm 83
Psalm 83 (New International Version)
Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.
2 See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
4 "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you-
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal, [a] Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, "Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God."
13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.
2 See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
4 "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you-
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal, [a] Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, "Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God."
13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Revelation 15
Revelation 15 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 15
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God's wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God's servant Moses and of the Lamb:
"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.[a]
4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed."[b]
5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Revelation 15
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God's wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God's servant Moses and of the Lamb:
"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.[a]
4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed."[b]
5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
John 5 Jesus' Visit to Jerusalem at an Annual Feast (ch. 5)
John 5
1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.
2Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.
3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.
4
5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,
10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”
11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.
13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.
14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”
15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.
16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.
17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”
18So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.
21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.
22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,
23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.
26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.
27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.
28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,
29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.
30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid.
32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true.
33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true.
34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved.
35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.
37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,
38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
41 “Your approval means nothing to me,
42because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.
43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them.
44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.
45 “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes.
46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.
47 But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
Psalm 82
Psalm 82 (New International Version)
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods":
2 "How long will you [a] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'
7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods":
2 "How long will you [a] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'
7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Revelation 14
Revelation 14 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
8 A second angel followed and said, "'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,'[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Revelation 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
8 A second angel followed and said, "'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,'[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Revelation 13
Revelation 13 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 13
The Beast out of the Sea
1 The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?"
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.[b]
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 "If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword, with the sword they will be killed."[d] This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.
Revelation 13
The Beast out of the Sea
1 The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?"
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.[b]
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 "If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword, with the sword they will be killed."[d] This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.
Psalm 81
Psalm 81 (New International Version)
Psalm 81
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. [a]
1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
2 Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre.
3 Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it as a statute for Joseph when he went out against Egypt, where we heard a language we did not understand. [b]
6 He says, "I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
7 In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you— if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
13 "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways,
14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
Psalm 81
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. [a]
1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
2 Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre.
3 Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it as a statute for Joseph when he went out against Egypt, where we heard a language we did not understand. [b]
6 He says, "I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
7 In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you— if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
13 "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways,
14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
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