Examine Yourselves

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

²I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,

³since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful among you.

⁴For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. For we are also weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him concerning you.

⁵Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test?

⁶And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.

⁷Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.

⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.

¹⁰This is why I write these things while absent, so that when I am present I will not need to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

Benediction and Farewell

¹¹Finally, brothers, rejoice! Aim for perfect harmony, encourage one another,be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³All the saints send you greetings.

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Paul’s Greeting to the Galatians

¹Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—

²and all the brothers with me,To the churches of Galatia:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

⁵to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

⁶I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

⁷which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!

⁹As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

Paul Preaches the Gospel

¹⁰Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

¹¹For I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.

¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased

¹⁶to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

¹⁸Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas,and I stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁹But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.

²¹Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²²I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

²³They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they glorified God because of me.

144,000 Sealed

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.

²And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:

³“Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:

⁵From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

⁶from the tribe of Asher 12,000,from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

⁷from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,from the tribe of Levi 12,000,from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

⁸from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

Praise from the Great Multitude

⁹After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice:“Salvation to our God,who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb!”

¹¹And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”

¹⁴“Sir,” I answered, “you know.”So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵For this reason,they are before the throne of Godand serve Him day and night in His temple;and the One seated on the thronewill spread His tabernacle over them.

¹⁶‘Never again will they hunger,and never will they thirst;nor will the sun beat down upon them,nor any scorching heat.’

¹⁷For the Lamb in the center of the thronewill be their shepherd.‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

I Will Sing of His Love Forever

¹I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.

²For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

³You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,I have sworn to David My servant:

⁴‘I will establish your offspring foreverand build up your throne for all generations.’”Selah

⁵The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—Your faithfulness as well—in the assembly of the holy ones.

⁶For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?Who among the heavenly beingsis like the LORD?

⁷In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,and awesome above all who surround Him.

⁸O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.

⁹You rule the raging sea;when its waves mount up, You still them.

¹⁰You crushed Rahab like a carcass;You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.The earth and its fullness You founded.

¹²North and south You created;Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

¹³Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.Your right hand is exalted.

¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

¹⁵Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.

¹⁶They rejoice in Your name all day long,and in Your righteousness they exult.

¹⁷For You are the glory of their strength,and by Your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹You once spoke in a vision;to Your godly ones You said,“I have bestowed help on a warrior;I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David;with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

²¹My hand will sustain him;surely My arm will strengthen him.

²²No enemy will exact tribute;no wicked man will oppress him.

²³I will crush his foes before himand strike down those who hate him.

²⁴My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him,and through My name his horn will be exalted.

²⁵I will set his hand over the sea,and his right hand upon the rivers.

²⁶He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

²⁷I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn,the highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him,and My covenant with him will stand fast.

²⁹I will establish his line forever,his throne as long as the heavens endure.

³⁰If his sons forsake My lawand do not walk in My judgments,

³¹if they violate My statutesand fail to keep My commandments,

³²I will attend to their transgression with the rod,and to their iniquity with stripes.

³³But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him,nor ever betray My faithfulness.

³⁴I will not violate My covenantor alter the utterance of My lips.

³⁵Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—I will not lie to David—

³⁶his offspring shall endure forever,and his throne before Me like the sun,

³⁷like the moon, established forever,a faithful witness in the sky.”Selah

³⁸Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him;You are enraged by Your anointed one.

³⁹You have renounced the covenant with Your servantand sullied his crown in the dust.

⁴⁰You have broken down all his walls;You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.

⁴¹All who pass by plunder him;he has become a reproach to his neighbors.

⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;You have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³You have bent the edge of his swordand have not sustained him in battle.

⁴⁴You have ended his splendorand cast his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth;You have covered him with shame.Selah

⁴⁶How long, O LORD?Will You hide Yourself forever?Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?

⁴⁷Remember the briefness of my lifespan!For what futility You have created all men!

⁴⁸What man can live and never see death?Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?Selah

⁴⁹Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old,which You faithfully swore to David?

⁵⁰Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,which I bear in my heart from so many people—

⁵¹how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!

⁵²Blessed be the LORD forever!Amen and amen.