Revelation 14; Esther 5; Esther 6:1-13; Psalms 106:24-48

Revelation 14

1 Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.

2 I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps.

3 They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

4 These are the ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed from the human race as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

6 Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth-to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

7 He spoke with a loud voice: "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

8 A second angel followed, saying: "It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath."

9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10 he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,

11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.

12 Here is the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus."

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!"

14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

15 Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe."

16 So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the sanctuary in heaven.

18 Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from earth's vineyard, because its grapes have ripened."

19 So the angel swung his sickle toward earth and gathered the grapes from earth's vineyard, and he threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

20 Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses' bridles for about 180 miles.

Esther 5

1 On the third day, Esther dressed up in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace facing it. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing its entrance.

2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she won his approval. The king extended the golden scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

3 "What is it, Queen Esther?" the king asked her. "Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be given to you."

4 "If it pleases the king," Esther replied, "may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for them."

5 The king commanded, "Hurry, and get Haman so we can do as Esther has requested." So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.

6 While drinking the wine, the king asked Esther, "Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be done."

7 Esther answered, "[This is] my petition and my request:

8 If the king approves of me and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and perform my request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet I will prepare for them. Tomorrow I will do what the king has asked."

9 That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits.But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King's Gate, and Mordecai didn't rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

10 Yet Haman controlled himself and went home. He sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh to join him.

11 Then Haman described for them his glorious wealth and his many sons. He told them all how the king had promoted him in rank and given him a high position over the other officials and the royal staff.

12 "What's more," Haman added, "Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she had prepared. I am invited again tomorrow to join her with the king.

13 Still, none of this satisfies me since I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King's Gate all the time."

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, "Have them build a gallows 75 feet high. Ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself." The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.

Esther 6:1-13

1 That night sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read to the king.

2 They found the written report of how Mordecai had informed on Bigthana and Teresh, two eunuchs who guarded the [king's] entrance, when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus.

3 The king inquired, "What honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this [act]?" The king's personal attendants replied, "Nothing has been done for him."

4 The king asked, "Who's in the court?" Now Haman was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

5 The king's attendants answered him, "See, Haman is standing in the court." "Have him enter," the king ordered.

6 Haman entered, and the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the king wants to honor?" Haman thought to himself, "Who is it the king would want to honor more than me?"

7 Haman told the king, "For the man the king wants to honor:

8 Have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse the king himself has ridden, which has a royal diadem on its head.

9 Put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officials. Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and proclaim before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.' "

10 The king told Haman, "Hurry, and do just as you proposed. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the King's Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested."

11 So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, "This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor."

12 Then Mordecai returned to the King's Gate, but Haman, overwhelmed, hurried off for home with his head covered.

13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is Jewish, you won't overcome him, because your downfall is certain."

Psalms 106:24-48

24 They despised the pleasant land and did not believe His promise.

25 They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the Lord's voice.

26 So He raised His hand against them [with an oath] that He would make them fall in the desert

27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands.

28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.

29 They provoked the Lord with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them.

30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.

31 It was credited to him as righteousness throughout all generations to come.

32 They angered [the Lord] at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them;

33 for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them,

35 but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways.

36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.

38 They shed innocent blood- the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood.

39 They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.

40 Therefore the Lord's anger burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.

41 He handed them over to the nations; those who hated them ruled them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power.

43 He rescued them many times, but they continued to rebel deliberately and were beaten down by their sin.

44 When He heard their cry, He took note of their distress,

45 remembered His covenant with them, and relented according to the abundance of His faithful love.

46 He caused them to be pitied before all their captors.

47 Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, so that we may give thanks to Your holy name and rejoice in Your praise.

48 May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!" Hallelujah! BOOK V (Psalms 107-150)