The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 28, 2017 (NIV)

The Lord Will Save Jerusalem

12 This is the prophetic revelation, the Lord’s word about Israel. The Lord—who spread out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit in a person—says, ² “I’m going to make Jerusalem like a cup of wine that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem. ³ On that day I will make Jerusalem a stone too heavy for all the nations to lift. All who try to lift it will be severely injured. All the nations in the world will gather to fight against Jerusalem.”

⁴ The Lord declares, “On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind. ⁵ Then the leaders of Judah will think to themselves, ‘The people who live in Jerusalem are strong because of the Lord of Armies, their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire on a pile of wood and like a burning torch among freshly cut straw. They will burn up all the surrounding nations to the right and to the left. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem.

⁷ “The Lord will save Judah’s tents first so that the honor of David’s family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David’s family will be like God, like the Messenger of the Lord ahead of them.

⁹ “On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem.

The People of Jerusalem Will Look at the One They Stabbed

¹⁰ “I will pour out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son. ¹¹ On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as intense as the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of David by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and the wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of Levi by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and the wives by themselves. ¹⁴ All the families that are left will mourn, each by itself, and the wives by themselves.”

13 The Lord declares, “On that day a fountain will be opened for David’s family and for those who live in Jerusalem to wash away their sin and stain.

False Prophets Will Be Judged

² “On that day,” declares the Lord of Armies, “I will wipe away the names of the idols from the land. They will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the false prophets and the unclean^[a] spirit from the land.

³ “If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will say, ‘You don’t deserve to live because you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will stab him when he prophesies.

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He won’t deceive people by dressing like a prophet in a coat made of hair. ⁵ He will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I’m a farmer. I’ve owned this land since I was a child.’

⁶ “When someone asks him, ‘What are these scars on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘I was hurt at my friend’s house.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

⁸ The Lord declares,

The Lamb’s Wedding

19 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud noise from a large crowd in heaven, saying,

³ A second time they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.” ⁴ The 24 leaders and the 4 living creatures bowed and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Amen! Hallelujah!” ⁵ A voice came from the throne. It said, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, no matter who you are.”

⁶ I heard what sounded like the noise from a large crowd, like the noise of raging waters, like the noise of loud thunder, saying,

This fine linen represents the things that God’s holy people do that have his approval.

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the lamb’s wedding banquet.’” He also told me, “These are God’s true words.” ¹⁰ I bowed at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Don’t do that! I am your coworker and a coworker of the Christians who hold on to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!”

The Great Banquet of God

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open. There was a white horse, and its rider is named Faithful and True. With integrity he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are flames of fire. On his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but only he knows what it is. ¹³ He wears clothes dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

¹⁴ The armies of heaven, wearing pure, white linen, follow him on white horses. ¹⁵ A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to defeat the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his clothes and his thigh he has a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

¹⁷ I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great banquet of God. ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.”

¹⁹ I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast and the false prophet who had done miracles for the beast were captured. By these miracles the false prophet had deceived those who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rider on the horse killed the rest with the sword that came out of his mouth. All the birds gorged themselves on the flesh of those who had been killed.

Psalm 147

31 The sayings of King Lemuel, a prophetic revelation, used by his mother to discipline him.

Advice to a Prince