"And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.'"[Revelation 21:2–3]
One day, Cathe was driving with our youngest son, Jonathan, who was then age 3. She was talking about the Rapture and how we would be caught up to heaven. The more she talked, the quieter Jonathan got. Finally, he blurted out, "Mom, I don't want to go to heaven! I don't want to leave this beautiful world that God made!" It's hard for a 3-year-old to wrap his mind around heaven.
Sometimes Christians say, "When I die I will be with the Lord forever in heaven!" While it is true that when a believer dies they go to heaven, it is not true that we stay there forever. Because one day, heaven is going to come to earth.
My friend Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven writes, "We won't go to Heaven and leave Earth behind. Rather, God will bring Heaven and Earth together into the same dimension, with no wall of separation, no armed angels to guard Heaven's perfection from sinful mankind."
God is not going to abandon His creation; He's going to restore it! Have you ever seen a perfectly restored classic car? (Guys especially see this as a thing of beauty.) Well, God is into restoration too—restoration of lives, bodies, and even our planet!
God's perfect plan is to "bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:10 NIV).
Jesus will make earth into heaven and heaven into earth. Just as the wall that separates God and mankind is torn down in Jesus, so too the wall that separates heaven and earth will forever be demolished.
Share this today:
Have you ever seen a perfectly restored classic car? (Guys especially see this as a thing of beauty.) Well, God is into restoration too--restoration of lives, bodies, and even our planet!
Weekend Bible Reading
2 Kings 13:1 It was in the twenty-third year of Yo’ash the son of Achazyah, king of Y’hudah, that Y’ho’achaz the son of Yehu began his reign over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; he followed the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; and he never ceased committing those sins. 3 Adonai’s anger burned against Isra’el, and he kept handing them over to Haza’el king of Aram and Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el. 4 But Y’ho’achaz pleaded to Adonai, and Adonai listened to him, because he saw the oppression the king of Aram was inflicting on Isra’el. 5 So Adonai gave Isra’el a savior who freed them from the grip of Aram, so that the people of Isra’el could live in their tents, as they had before. 6 Despite that, instead of turning from the sins of the house of Yarov‘am, who made Isra’el sin, they continued to live in this sinful way. Moreover, the asherah continued to stand in Shomron. 7 The king of Aram destroyed Y’ho’achaz’s army, making them like chaff when grain is threshed, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers.
8 Other activities of Y’ho’achaz, all his accomplishments and his power are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 9 Y’ho’achaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Shomron. Then Yo’ash his son took his place as king.
10 It was in the thirty-seventh year of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah that Yo’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz began his rule over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for sixteen years. 11 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective and did not turn from all the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; on the contrary, he lived in this sinful way.
12 Other activities of Yo’ash, all his accomplishments and his power in fighting Amatzyah king of Y’hudah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 13 Yo’ash slept with his ancestors, and Yarov‘am occupied his throne. Yo’ash was buried in Shomron with the kings of Isra’el.
14 Elisha was now ill with the disease from which he would eventually die. Yo’ash the king of Isra’el came down to visit him and wept over him; he said, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Isra’el!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows”; and he brought him a bow and arrows. 16 He said to the king of Isra’el, “Put your hand on the bow”; and he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands 17 and said, “Open the east window.” He opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. He said, “Adonai’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory against Aram! You will defeat Aram completely at Afek!” 18 He said, “Take the arrows”; and he took them. He told the king of Isra’el, “Strike the ground.” He struck three times, then stopped. 19 The man of God became angry with him; he said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram completely. As it is, you will defeat Aram only three times.”
20 Elisha died, and they placed him in a burial cave. Now the raiding parties of Mo’av used to make yearly incursions into the land at the start of the year. 21 Once it happened that just as they were burying a man, they spotted a raiding party; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s burial cave; and the moment the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
22 Haza’el king of Aram oppressed Isra’el throughout the lifetime of Y’ho’achaz; 23 but Adonai was gracious, took pity on them and looked on them with favor, because of his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. He was not willing to destroy them, and to this day he has not banished them from his presence. 24 Haza’el king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son took his place as king. 25 Then Y’ho’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz captured from Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el the cities which he had captured in war from Y’ho’achaz his father. Three times Yo’ash defeated him, thus recovering the cities of Isra’el.
14:1 It was in the second year of Yo’ash son of Y’ho’achaz king of Isra’el that Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah began his reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Y’ho‘adan, from Yerushalayim. 3 He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, although not like David his ancestor; he lived the same way as his father Yo’ash. 4 However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and offered on the high places.
5 As soon as he had the kingdom firmly under his control, he put to death the servants of his who had murdered the king his father. 6 But he did not put the children of the murderers to death, because of what is written in the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, as Adonai ordered when he said, “Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin.”
7 He slaughtered 10,000 men of Edom in the Salt Valley and captured Sela in the war, renaming it Yokte’el, as it is today. 8 Then Amatzyah sent messengers to Y’ho’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz, son of Yehu, king of Isra’el, with this challenge: “Come on, let’s have it out face-to-face.” 9 Y’ho’ash the king of Isra’el sent this reply to Amatzyah king of Y’hudah: “Once, in the L’vanon, the thistle sent a message to the cedar: ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal passed by the thistle and squashed it. 10 True, you have defeated Edom, and now you’re ambitious. So enjoy the glory, but stay home! Why provoke calamity, to your own ruin, yours and Y’hudah’s too?” 11 But Amatzyah wouldn’t listen. So Y’ho’ash king of Isra’el went up; and he and Amatzyah king of Y’hudah had it out face-to-face at Beit-Shemesh, which belongs to Y’hudah. 12 Y’hudah was defeated by Isra’el, and every man fled to his tent. 13 Y’ho’ash king of Isra’el took Amatzyah king of Y’hudah, the son of Y’ho’ash the son of Achazyah, prisoner at Beit-Shemesh. Then he went to Yerushalayim and demolished the wall of Yerushalayim between the Gate of Efrayim and the Corner Gate, a section 600 feet long. 14 He took all the gold and silver, all the articles he could find in the house of Adonai and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and hostages; then he returned to Shomron.
15 Other activities of Y’ho’ash that he did, his power and how he fought Amatzyah king of Y’hudah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 16 Y’ho’ash slept with his ancestors and was buried in Shomron with the kings of Isra’el. Then Yarov‘am took his place as king.
17 Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah lived another fifteen years after the death of Y’ho’ash son of Y’ho’achaz, king of Isra’el. 18 Other activities of Amatzyah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah.
19 Because of a conspiracy formed against him in Yerushalayim, Amatzyah fled to Lakhish; but they followed him to Lakhish and killed him there. 20 They brought his body back on horses, and he was buried in Yerushalayim with his ancestors in the City of David. 21 Then all the people of Y’hudah took ‘Azaryah at the age of sixteen and made him king in place of his father Amatzyah.
22 ‘Azaryah recovered Eilat for Y’hudah and rebuilt it; after that the king [Amatzyahu] slept with his ancestors.
23 It was in the fifteenth year of Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash, king of Y’hudah, that Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash, king of Isra’el, began to reign in Shomron; and he ruled for forty-one years. 24 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; he did not turn from all the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin.
25 He recovered the territory of Isra’el between the entrance of Hamat and the sea of the ‘Aravah, in keeping with the word of Adonai the God of Isra’el, which he spoke through his servant Yonah the son of Amitai, the prophet from Gat-Hefer. 26 For Adonai saw how bitterly Isra’el had suffered, with no one left, either slave or free, and no one coming to Isra’el’s aid. 27 Adonai did not threaten to blot out the name of Isra’el from under heaven, but saved them through Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash.
28 Other activities of Yarov‘am, all his accomplishments, all his power, how he conducted war and how he recovered Dammesek and Hamat for Y’hudah in Isra’el are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 29 Yarov‘am slept with his ancestors the kings of Isra’el, and Z’kharyah took his place as king.
2 Chronicles 25:1 Amatzyahu was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Y’ho‘adan, from Yerushalayim. 2 He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, but not wholeheartedly.
3 As soon as he had the kingdom firmly in his control, he put to death the servants of his who had assassinated the king his father. 4 But he did not put their children to death; rather, he acted according to what is written in the Torah, in the scroll of Moshe, as Adonai ordered when he said, “Fathers are not to die for the children, nor are the children to die for the fathers; every person will die for his own sin.”
5 Amatzyahu assembled Y’hudah together and put them in order by clans under captains of thousands and captains of hundreds — all Y’hudah and Binyamin. He registered everyone twenty years old and older, and found that there were 300,000 select troops able to go to war, capable of using spears and shields. 6 He also hired 100,000 strong, brave men from Isra’el for three-and-a-third tons of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him and said, “King, don’t let the army of Isra’el go with you; because Adonai is not with Isra’el or with any of the people of Efrayim. 8 And if you do go, then no matter how fiercely you fight, God will cause you to fail before the enemy. For God has the power to help and to cause failure.” 9 Amatzyahu said to the man of God, “But what do we do about the three-and-a-third tons [of silver] I paid for Isra’el’s army?” The man of God answered, “Adonai can give you far more than that!” 10 Then Amatzyahu separated out the battalion that had come to him from Efrayim and told them to go back home — which made their anger burn hotly against Y’hudah, and they returned home enraged.
11 Amatzyahu took courage, led his people out and went to the Salt Valley, where he killed 10,000 of the people of Se‘ir. 12 The people of Y’hudah took another 10,000 away alive, brought them to the top of the Rock and threw them off the top of the Rock, so that they were all dashed to pieces.
13 Meanwhile, the men in the army that Amatzyahu had sent back and hadn’t allowed to join him in battle fell on the cities of Y’hudah, all the way from Shomron to Beit-Horon, killed 3,000 of them and took much spoil.
14 After Amatzyahu returned from the slaughter of the people from Edom, he brought the gods of the people of Se‘ir and set them up as his own gods, prostrating himself before them and offering incense to them. 15 As a result, the anger of Adonai blazed up against Amatzyah, and he sent him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought out the gods of those people, when they couldn’t even rescue their own people from you?” 16 But as [the prophet] was speaking to him, he interrupted him: “Were you made an adviser to the king? You had better stop before you get yourself killed!” So the prophet stopped, but he added, “I know that God is planning to destroy you for having done this and for refusing to listen to my advice.”
17 Then, after taking counsel, Amatzyah king of Y’hudah sent a challenge to Yo’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz, the son of Yehu, king of Isra’el: “Come on, let’s have it out face-to-face.” 18 Yo’ash the king of Isra’el sent this reply to Amatzyah king of Y’hudah: “Once, in the L’vanon, the thistle sent a message to the cedar: ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal passed by the thistle and squashed it. 19 You say you defeated Edom, which is true; so you’re excited and itching for more glory. But now, stay home! Why provoke calamity, to your own ruin, yours and Y’hudah’s too?” 20 But Amatzyah wouldn’t listen. And this was from God, so that he could hand them over [to their enemies], because they had sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Yo’ash king of Isra’el went up; and he and Amatzyah king of Y’hudah had it out face-to-face at Beit-Shemesh, which belongs to Y’hudah. 22 Y’hudah was defeated by Isra’el, and every man fled to his tent. 23 Yo’ash king of Isra’el took Amatzyah king of Y’hudah, the son of Yo’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz, prisoner at Beit-Shemesh. Then he brought him to Yerushalayim and demolished the wall of Yerushalayim between the Gate of Efrayim and the Corner Gate, a section 600 feet long. 24 [He took] all the gold and silver, all the articles he could find in the house of God, with ‘Oved-Edom, and the treasures of the royal palace, together with hostages; then he returned to Shomron.
25 Amatzyahu the son of Yo’ash, king of Y’hudah, lived another fifteen years after the death of Yo’ash son of Y’ho’achaz king of Isra’el. 26 Other activities of Amatzyah, from beginning to end, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah and Isra’el.
27 From the time that Amatzyahu turned away from following Adonai, they formed a conspiracy against him in Yerushalayim. So he fled to Lakhish; but they followed him to Lakhish and killed him there. 28 They brought his body back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the City of Y’hudah.
2 Timothy 3:1 Moreover, understand this: in the acharit-hayamim will come trying times. 2 People will be self-loving, money-loving, proud, arrogant, insulting, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, uncontrolled, brutal, hateful of good, 4 traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than God, 5 as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power.
Stay away from these people! 6 For some of them worm their way into homes and get control of weak-willed women who are heaped with sins and swayed by various impulses, 7 who are always learning but never able to come to full knowledge of the truth. 8 In the same way as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moshe, so also these people oppose the truth. They are people with corrupted minds, whose trust cannot pass the test. 9 However, they won’t get very far; because everyone will see how stupid they are, just as happened with those two.
10 But you, you have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, trust, steadfastness, love and perseverance — 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings that came my way in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 And indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
14 But you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; 15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Amos 1:1 The words of ‘Amos, one of the sheep owners in T’koa, which he saw concerning Isra’el in the days of ‘Uziyah king of Y’hudah and Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash, king of Isra’el, two years before the earthquake; 2 he said:
Adonai is roaring from Tziyon
thundering from Yerushalayim;
the shepherds’ pastures will mourn,
and Mount Karmel’s summit will wither.
3 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Dammesek’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they threshed Gil‘ad
with an iron-spiked threshing-sledge;
4 I will send fire to the house of Haza’el,
and it will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break the bars of Dammesek’s gates.
I will cut off the inhabitants from Bik‘at-Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from Beit-‘Eden.
Then the people of Aram will go into exile
in Kir,” says Adonai.
6 Here is what Adonai says:
“For ‘Azah’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they exiled a whole population
and handed them over to Edom;
7 I will send fire to the wall of ‘Azah,
and it will consume its palaces.
8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against ‘Ekron,
and the rest of the P’lishtim will perish,”
says Adonai, God.
9 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Tzor’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they exiled a whole population to Edom
and did not remember the covenant with kinsmen;
10 I will send fire to the wall of Tzor,
and it will consume its palaces.”
11 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Edom’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because with sword he pursued his kinsman
and threw aside all pity,
constantly nursing his anger,
forever fomenting his fury;
12 I will send fire on Teman,
and it will consume the palaces of Botzrah.”
13 Here is what Adonai says:
“For the people of ‘Amon’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they ripped apart pregnant women
just to expand their territory,
14 I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah,
and it will consume its palaces
amid shouts on the day of battle,
amid a storm on the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king will go into exile,
he and his princes together,” says Adonai.
2:1 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Mo’av’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because he burned the bones of the king of Edom,
turning them into lime;
2 I will send fire on Mo’av,
and it will consume the palaces of K’riot.
Mo’av will die with turmoil and shouting,
along with the sound of the shofar.
3 I will cut off the judge from among them
and kill all his princes with him,” says Adonai.
4 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Y’hudah’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they rejected Adonai’s Torah
and haven’t observed his laws,
and their lies caused them to fall into error
and live the way their ancestors did;
5 I will send fire on Y’hudah,
and it will consume the palaces of Yerushalayim.
6 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Isra’el’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they sell the upright for silver
and the poor for a pair of shoes,
7 grinding the heads of the poor in the dust
and pushing the lowly out of the way;
father and son sleep with the same girl,
profaning my holy name;
8 lying down beside any altar
on clothes taken in pledge;
drinking wine in the house of their God
bought with fines they imposed.
9 “I destroyed the Emori before them;
though tall as cedars and strong as oaks,
I destroyed their fruit above
and their root below.
10 More than that, I brought you up from Egypt,
led you forty years in the desert,
so that you could have the Emori’s land.
11 I raised up some of your sons to be prophets,
other young men of yours to be n’zirim.
People of Isra’el!
Isn’t that true?” asks Adonai.
12 But you gave the n’zirim wine to drink
and ordered the prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
13 “Enough! I will make all this crush you,
just as a cart overloaded with grain
crushes what’s under it.
14 Even the swift won’t be able to flee;
the strong won’t be able to use their strength,
the warriors won’t save themselves.
15 Archers won’t be able to stand,
the fastest runners won’t save themselves,
those on horses won’t save themselves.
16 On that day even the bravest warriors
will throw off their weapons and flee,” says Adonai.
3:1 “Listen to this word which Adonai has spoken against you, people of Isra’el, against the entire family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 “Of all the families on earth,
only you have I intimately known.
This is why I will punish you
for all your crimes.”
3 Do two people travel together
without having so agreed?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl in his lair
if it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird get caught in a trap on the ground
if it hasn’t been baited?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
when it has taken nothing?
6 When the shofar is blown in the city,
don’t the people tremble?
Can disaster befall a city
without Adonai’s having done it?
7 Adonai, God, does nothing without
revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear?
Adonai, God, has spoken. Who will not prophesy?
9 “Proclaim it on the palaces in Ashdod
and on the palaces in the land of Egypt; say:
‘Assemble yourselves on the hills of Shomron!
See what great tumult is seething within it,
how much oppression is being done there.’
10 For they don’t know how to do right,” says Adonai.
“They store up violence and robbery in their palaces.”
11 Therefore, here is what Adonai Elohim says:
“An enemy will surround the land.
He will strip you of your strength,
and plunder your palaces.”
12 This is what Adonai says:
13 “As a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion
a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear;
so the people of Isra’el in Shomron will be rescued,
huddled under cushions in the corners of their beds.
“Hear, and testify against the house of Ya‘akov,”
says Adonai Elohim Elohei-Tzva’ot.
14 “For when I punish Isra’el’s crimes,
I will also punish the altars of Beit-El.
The horns of the altar will be cut off,
and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down winter houses
as well as summer houses;
houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed;
the mansions will be no more,” says Adonai.
Psalm 80:(0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen!
You who lead Yosef like a flock,
you whose throne is on the k’ruvim,
shine out!
3 (2) Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M’nasheh,
rouse your power; and come to save us.
4 (3) God, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
5 (4) Adonai, God of armies, how long
will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
6 (5) You have fed them tears as their bread
and made them drink tears in abundance.
7 (6) You make our neighbors fight over us,
and our enemies mock us.
8 (7) God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
9 (8) You brought a vine out of Egypt,
you expelled the nations and planted it,
10 (9) you cleared a space for it;
then it took root firmly and filled the land.
11 (10) The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
12 (11) It put out branches as far as the sea
and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.
13 (12) Why did you break down [the vineyard’s] wall,
so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]?
14 (13) The boar from the forest tears it apart;
wild creatures from the fields feed on it.
15 (14) God of armies, please come back!
Look from heaven, see, and tend this vine!
16 (15) Protect what your right hand planted,
the son you made strong for yourself.
17 (16) It is burned by fire, it is cut down;
they perish at your frown of rebuke.
18 (17) Help the man at your right hand,
the son of man you made strong for yourself.
19 (18) Then we won’t turn away from you —
if you revive us, we will call on your name.
20 (19) Adonai, God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
2 Timothy 44:1 I solemnly charge you before God and the Messiah Yeshua, who will judge the living and the dead when he appears and establishes his Kingdom: 2 proclaim the Word! Be on hand with it whether the time seems right or not. Convict, censure and exhort with unfailing patience and with teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear. 4 Yes, they will stop listening to the truth, but will turn aside to follow myths.
5 But you, remain steady in every situation, endure suffering, do the work that a proclaimer of the Good News should, and do everything your service to God requires.
6 For as for me, I am already being poured out on the altar; yes, the time for my departure has arrived. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 All that awaits me now is the crown of righteousness which the Lord, “the Righteous Judge,” will award to me on that Day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for him to appear.
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, because he has fallen in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone off to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia; Titus has gone to Dalmatia — 11 only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, because he is a very useful helper in my work. 12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the coat which I left with Carpus in Troas, also the scrolls and especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm; the Lord will render to him according to his works;[2 Timothy 4:14 2 Samuel 3:39; Psalms 28:4; 62:13(12); Proverbs 24:12] 15 and you should guard against him, because he bitterly opposed everything we said.
16 The first time I had to present my defense, no one stood by me; everyone deserted me — may it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me power to proclaim the full message for all the Goyim to hear, and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.[2 Timothy 4:17 Psalm 22:22(21); Daniel 6:21(20), 23(22)] 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
19 Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus has remained in Corinth, and Trophimus I left ill at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, California 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1-800-821-3300
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