The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 28, 2019 (NIV)

The Future Deliverance of Jerusalem

12 This is a message about Israel from the Lord, the Lord who spread out the skies, created the earth, and gave life to man. He says, ² “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of wine; the nations around her will drink and stagger like drunks. And when they besiege Jerusalem, the cities of the rest of Judah will also be besieged. ³ But when that time comes, I will make Jerusalem like a heavy stone—any nation that tries to lift it will be hurt. All the nations of the world will join forces to attack her. ⁴ At that time I will terrify all their horses and make all their riders go crazy. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will make the horses of their enemies blind. ⁵ Then the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The Lord God Almighty gives strength to his people who live in Jerusalem.’

⁶ “At that time I will make the clans of Judah like a fire in a forest or in a field of ripe grain—they will destroy all the surrounding nations. The people of Jerusalem will remain safe in the city.

⁷ “I, the Lord, will give victory to the armies of Judah first, so that the honor which the descendants of David and the people of Jerusalem will receive will be no greater than that of the rest of Judah. ⁸ At that time the Lord will protect those who live in Jerusalem, and even the weakest among them will become as strong as David was. The descendants of David will lead them like the angel of the Lord, like God himself. ⁹ At that time I will destroy every nation that tries to attack Jerusalem.

^10 (A)“I will fill the descendants of David and the other people of Jerusalem with the spirit of mercy and the spirit of prayer. They will look at the one whom they stabbed to death, and they will mourn for him like those who mourn for an only child. They will mourn bitterly, like those who have lost their first-born son. ¹¹ At that time the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad Rimmon^[a] in the plain of Megiddo. ^12-14 Each family in the land will mourn by itself: the family descended from David, the family descended from Nathan, the family descended from Levi, the family descended from Shimei, and all the other families. Each family will mourn by itself, and the men of each family will mourn separately from the women.

13 “When that time comes,” says the Lord Almighty, “a fountain will be opened to purify the descendants of David and the people of Jerusalem from their sin and idolatry. ² At that time I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and no one will remember them any more. I will get rid of anyone who claims to be a prophet and will take away the desire to worship idols. ³ Then if anyone still insists on prophesying, his own father and mother will tell him that he must be put to death, because he claimed to speak the Lord's word, but spoke lies instead. When he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him to death. ⁴ When that time comes, no prophet will be proud of his visions or act like a prophet or wear a prophet's coarse garment in order to deceive people. ⁵ Instead, he will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer—I have farmed the land all my life.’ ⁶ Then if someone asks him, ‘What are those wounds on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘I got them at a friend's house.’”

The Command to Kill God's Shepherd

^7 (B)The Lord Almighty says, “Wake up, sword, and attack the shepherd^[b] who works for me! Kill him, and the sheep will be scattered. I will attack my people ⁸ and throughout the land two-thirds of the people will die. ⁹ And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are my people, and they will confess that I am their God.”

19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, “Praise God! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God! ^2 (A)True and just are his judgments! He has condemned the prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. God has punished her because she killed his servants.” ^3 (B)Again they shouted, “Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up forever and ever!” ⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. They said, “Amen! Praise God!”

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

^5 (C)Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, “Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!” ^6 (D)Then I heard what sounded like a crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder. I heard them say, “Praise God! For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King! ⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it. ⁸ She has been given clean shining linen to wear.” (The linen is the good deeds of God's people.)

^9 (E)Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And the angel added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with other believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!”

For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.

The Rider on the White Horse

^11 (F)Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. ^12 (G)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. ^13 (H)The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God.” ¹⁴ The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. ^15 (I)Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

^17 (J)Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair: “Come and gather together for God's great feast! ¹⁸ Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and soldiers, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all people, slave and free, great and small!”

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army. ^20 (K)The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.

In Praise of God the Almighty

Advice to a King

31 These are the solemn words which King Lemuel's mother said to him:

² “You are my own dear son, the answer to my prayers. What shall I tell you? ³ Don't spend all your energy on sex and all your money on women; they have destroyed kings. ⁴ Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink wine or have a craving for alcohol. ⁵ When they drink, they forget the laws and ignore the rights of people in need. ⁶ Alcohol is for people who are dying, for those who are in misery. ⁷ Let them drink and forget their poverty and unhappiness.