The Prostitute and the Beast

Revelation 17 One of the seven angels who had emptied the bowls came over and said to me, "Come on! I will show you how God will punish that shameless prostitute who sits on many oceans. ²Every king on earth has slept with her, and her shameless ways are like wine that has made everyone on earth drunk."
³With the help of the Spirit, the angel took me into the desert, where I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. The beast was covered with names that were an insult to God, and it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet robes, and she wore jewelry made of gold, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup filled with the filthy and nasty things she had done. ⁵On her forehead a mysterious name was written:

I AM THE GREAT CITY OF BABYLON,

THE MOTHER OF EVERY IMMORAL

AND FILTHY THING ON EARTH.

⁶I could tell that the woman was drunk on the blood of God's people who had given their lives for Jesus. This surprising sight amazed me, ⁷and the angel said:

Why are you so amazed? I will explain the mystery about this woman and about the beast she is sitting on, with its seven heads and ten horns. ⁸The beast you saw is one that used to be and no longer is. It will come back from the deep pit, but only to be destroyed. Everyone on earth whose names were not written in the book of life before the time of creation will be amazed. They will see this beast that used to be and no longer is, but will be once more.

⁹Anyone with wisdom can figure this out. The seven heads that the woman is sitting on stand for seven hills. These heads are also seven kings. ¹⁰Five of the kings are dead. One is ruling now, and the other one has not yet come. But when he does, he will rule for only a little while.

¹¹You also saw a beast that used to be and no longer is. That beast is one of the seven kings who will return as the eighth king, but only to be destroyed.

¹²The ten horns that you saw are ten more kings, who have not yet come into power, and they will rule with the beast for only a short time. ¹³They all think alike and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴These kings will go to war against the Lamb. But he will defeat them, because he is Lord over all lords and King over all kings. His followers are chosen and special and faithful.

¹⁵The oceans that you saw the prostitute sitting on are crowds of people from all races and languages. ¹⁶The ten horns and the beast will start hating the shameless woman. They will strip off her clothes and leave her naked. Then they will eat her flesh and throw the rest of her body into a fire. ¹⁷God is the one who made these kings all think alike and decide to give their power to the beast. And they will do this until what God has said comes true.

¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over all kings on earth.

ISAIAH

Isaiah 1 I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
And this is the message that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:

A Guilty Nation

²The LORD has said, "Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised have turned against me.
³Oxen and donkeys know who owns and feeds them,
but my people won't ever learn."

⁴Israel, you are a sinful nation loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the LORD, the holy God of Israel.
⁵Why be punished more? Why not give up your sin?
Your head is badly bruised, and you are weak all over.
⁶From your head to your toes there isn't a healthy spot.
Bruises, cuts, and open sores go without care
or oil to ease the pain.

A Country in Ruins

⁷Your country lies in ruins; your towns are in ashes.
Foreigners and strangers take and destroy your land
while you watch.
⁸Enemies surround Jerusalem, alone like a hut
in a vineyard or in a cucumber field.
⁹Zion would have disappeared like Sodom and Gomorrah,
if the LORD All-Powerful had not let a few
of its people survive.

Justice, Not Sacrifices

¹⁰You are no better than the leaders and people
of Sodom and Gomorrah!
So listen to the LORD God:
¹¹"Your sacrifices mean nothing to me.
I am sick of your offerings of rams and choice cattle;
I don't like the blood of bulls or lambs or goats.

¹²"Who asked you to bring all this
when you come to worship me? Stay out of my temple!
¹³Your sacrifices are worthless, and incense is disgusting.
I can't stand the evil you do on your New Moon Festivals
or on your Sabbaths and other times of worship.
¹⁴I hate your New Moon Festivals and all others as well.
They are a heavy burden I am tired of carrying.

¹⁵"No matter how much you pray, I won't listen.
You are too violent.
¹⁶Wash yourselves clean!
I am disgusted with your filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong ¹⁷and learn to live right.
See that justice is done. Defend widows and orphans
and help those in need."

An Invitation from the LORD

¹⁸I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter than snow or wool.
¹⁹If you willingly obey me, the best crops in the land
will be yours.
²⁰But if you turn against me, your enemies will kill you.
I, the LORD, have spoken.

The LORD Condemns Jerusalem

²¹Jerusalem, you are like an unfaithful wife.
Once your judges were honest and your people lived right;
now you are a city full of murderers.
²²Your silver is fake, and your wine is watered down.
²³Your leaders have rejected me to become friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking for gifts and bribes.
Widows and orphans never get a fair trial.

²⁴I am the LORD All-Powerful, the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make you a promise:
You are now my enemy, and I will show my anger
by taking revenge on you.
²⁵I will punish you terribly and burn away everything
that makes you unfit to worship me.
²⁶Jerusalem, I will choose judges and advisors
like those you had before.
Your new name will be "Justice and Faithfulness."

The LORD Will Save Jerusalem

²⁷Jerusalem, you will be saved by showing justice;
Zion's people who turn to me
will be saved by doing right.
²⁸But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the LORD, will all disappear.

²⁹You will be made ashamed of those groves of trees
where you worshiped idols.
³⁰You will be like a grove of trees dying in a drought.
³¹Your strongest leaders will be like dry wood
set on fire by their idols.
No one will be able to help, as they all go up in flames.

Peace That Lasts Forever

Isaiah 2 This is the message that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem: ²In the future, the mountain with the LORD's temple
will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills; every nation will rush to it.
³Many people will come and say,
"Let's go to the mountain of the LORD God of Jacob
and worship in his temple."

The LORD will teach us his Law from Jerusalem,
and we will obey him.
⁴He will settle arguments between nations.
They will pound their swords and their spears
into rakes and shovels;
they will never make war or attack one another.
⁵People of Israel, let's live by the light of the LORD.

Following Sinful Customs

⁶Our LORD, you have deserted your people, Israel,
because they follow customs of nations from the east.
They worship Philistine gods and are close friends
of foreigners.
⁷They have endless treasures of silver and gold;
they have countless horses and war chariots.
⁸Everywhere in the country they worship the idols
they have made.
⁹And so, all of them will be ashamed and disgraced.
Don't help them!

A Day of Judgment

¹⁰Every one of you, go hide among the rocks
and in the ground,
because the LORD is fearsome, marvelous, and glorious.
¹¹When the LORD comes, everyone who is proud
will be made humble,
and the LORD alone will be honored.
¹²The LORD All-Powerful has chosen a day
when those who are proud and conceited
will be put down.

¹³The tall and towering cedars of Lebanon will be destroyed.
So will the oak trees of Bashan,
¹⁴all high mountains and hills, ¹⁵every strong fortress,
¹⁶all the seagoing ships, and every beautiful boat.
¹⁷When that day comes, everyone who is proud
will be put down. Only the LORD will be honored.
¹⁸Idols will be gone for good.

¹⁹You had better hide in caves and holes--
the LORD will be fearsome, marvelous, and glorious
when he comes to terrify people on earth.

²⁰On that day everyone will throw to the rats and bats
their idols of silver and gold they made to worship.
²¹The LORD will be fearsome, marvelous, and glorious
when he comes to terrify people on earth--
they will hide in caves and in the hills.

²²Stop trusting the power of humans.
They are all going to die, so how can they help?

Psalm 108
[A song and a psalm by David.]
With God on Our Side

¹Our God, I am faithful to you with all my heart,
and you can trust me.
I will sing and play music for you with all that I am.
²I will start playing my harps before the sun rises.
³I will praise you, LORD, for everyone to hear;
I will sing hymns to you in every nation.
⁴Your love reaches higher than the heavens,
and your loyalty extends beyond the clouds.

⁵Our God, may you be honored above the heavens;
may your glory be seen everywhere on earth.
⁶Answer my prayers
and use your powerful arm to give us victory.
Then the people you love will be safe.

⁷Our God, from your holy place you made this promise:
"I will gladly divide up the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley piece by piece.
⁸The lands of Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is my symbol of royal power.
⁹Moab is merely my washbasin,
and Edom belongs to me.
I shout with victory over the Philistines."

¹⁰Our God, who will bring me to the fortress
or lead me to Edom?
¹¹Have you rejected us? You don't lead our armies.
¹²Help us defeat our enemies! No one else can rescue us.
¹³You are the one who gives us victory
and crushes our enemies.